The question hung between them like something neither of them wanted to break first.
Alex’s grip loosened, but the anger was still burning.
“I care about you, Lena. More than I should. You’re my best friend. I miss… I miss the old us. Our movie nights on the couch. Those long talks that went until three in the morning about nothing and everything. The way you used to make me laugh until my sides hurt.” His voice cracked.
“I miss everything before the club… before I got hard for you. I don’t love you. I can’t. This was never supposed to be more than bodies. But seeing you with him… it destroyed me. You don’t respect your body. You don’t respect me. You just spread your legs for whoever gives you the next thrill.”
Lena’s tears spilled over.
She pushed his hands away firmly.
“I do respect myself, Alex. That’s the problem. You think because I love sex, because I enjoy my body and let it feel good, that I don’t value it? That I’m just a hole for anyone?” She wiped her face with the back of her hand.
“Maybe I also slept with Kingston for the thrill. Yes, I’ll admit that. It made me feel alive. But I also did it for you. He was the same Kingston giving you headaches at work, and now he’s going to agree to everything you want.”
Alex’s phone rang.
He glanced at the screen.
It was Megan calling.
“What?” he answered.
Her excited voice came through.
“Mr. Voss!
Great news!
Mr. Kingston has agreed to partner with VossTech.
The contracts are ready to—”
“Tell him to go fuck himself.
VossTech won’t be partnering with him.” He hung up.
He turned back to Lena, eyes still burning.
“You used your body to close a deal with a business partner?
Is that how you handle things as a marketer?
Spreading your legs like a—”
“Don’t.” Lena’s voice cut clean through his.
“Don’t twist this into something ugly.
I did what I had to do.
You’re so controlling, Alex.
You want loyalty from me but you can’t even admit you’re falling for your best friend.
Feelings are bad for both of us.”
“So you’re still open to other people?
Even after everything between us?”
“Yes.
I made that clear from the beginning.
It’s my body and my choice.
I care about you, deeply, but I won’t let you cage me.” Her voice broke slightly at the edges.
“Yesterday hurt me too. Not just what you did. What you said. Your words cut deeper than anything.”
She was crying harder now, shoulders shaking.
“I thought we could do this without destroying each other, but look at us.”
Alex stood there, chest tight, the anger still simmering underneath everything.
Then slowly, he reached out and pulled her in.
Lena buried her face in his chest and sobbed quietly.
He held her close, one hand stroking her hair, and said nothing because there was nothing clean left to say. Read this novel at g.com for the best experience.
They stayed like that for a long time.
The anger didn’t vanish, but it softened at the edges.
He tilted her chin up gently and their lips met in a slow kiss that held everything they couldn’t put into words.
When they pulled apart, they held each other tighter instead.
“Was this a mistake?” Alex whispered.
Lena pressed her forehead against his.
“Only if you’re growing feelings for me. We can’t go there, Alexi.”
Their foreheads stayed together, breaths mingling in the quiet between them.
Lena’s hands came up slowly and cupped his face.
Her thumbs brushed his cheeks and he felt it somewhere it had no business reaching.
She leaned in and kissed him again, almost careful, like they were both afraid the moment would break if they pushed it.
Her hands slid down to his chest.
She traced the lines of muscle slowly, then pushed his shirt off his shoulders.
It fell to the floor.
Lena broke the kiss only to trail her mouth along his jaw, down the side of his neck, lower.
Alex’s breath hitched.
His hands found her waist and held on without demanding anything.
When her lips reached his chest, she kissed every inch, tasting salt on his skin.
She took one nipple into her mouth and sucked gently, then bit just enough to pull a low groan out of him.
“Lena…” He breathed.
She moved to the other nipple and gave it the same attention.
His head fell back slightly, eyes half-closed.
Then the door burst open.
“Alex!”
They both turned.
Mr.
and Mrs. Voss stood in the doorway, staring.
“What the hell is going on here?
Nancy has been crying all day about you ignoring her since she landed in Manchester!”
“Dad.
Mum.” Alex’s jaw tightened.
“What are you doing here?”
Mrs. Voss’s eyes moved to Lena, narrowing.
“I thought you were a good girl, Lena. He is engaged to someone. How dare you throw yourself at him like this?”
Alex stepped in front of a stiffened Lena protectively.
“Stay out of my business,” he said coldly.
“Both of you.”
Mr. Voss’s face went red.
“Your business? This is our company. We can remove you as CEO tomorrow and take back this penthouse if we want.”
Alex laughed. The source of this chapter is g.com.
“You greedy lots will never hand your company to someone outside this bloodline. I’m marrying Nancy like you wanted, so don’t push me. Don’t meddle in my business. And don’t make me call the whole thing off.”
He grabbed his shirt from the floor, took Lena’s hand, and walked them both straight past his parents like they were furniture.
“Alex, get back here!” Mrs. Voss called after them.
“You’re throwing everything away for that girl!” Mr. Voss’s voice followed them down the hall.
Neither of them stopped.
They half-ran to the elevator, adrenaline loud in their chests, and the moment the doors closed Alex pulled her in and kissed her hard.
“I loved the way you kissed me back there,” he said against her lips.
Their hands moved over each other like they were making up for the last twenty-four hours.
When the doors opened at the parking level, Lena pulled back with a breathless laugh.
“Maybe I’ll give you more in the car.”
She ran ahead.
He caught up and landed a light slap on her ass.
“We’re taking the Ferrari.”
In the car, everything felt lighter.
Alex started the engine and glanced over at her with something close to a real smile.
“I’m skipping work today.”
“Good!” Her face lit up.
“I just want to drive around with you. Let’s have breakfast, lunch, and dinner in different places. Just us.”
He put one hand on her lap as he pulled out.
“I want the same thing.”
“I need to change first though.
This shirt is cute but…”
“There’s a boutique nearby.”
“Actually, we’re close to Zen.
I have spare clothes there.
Five minutes.”
Alex smirked.
“I have a feeling it won’t be five minutes.”
Lena laughed.
“I promise.”
He parked on the street when they reached the block.
“I’m not coming in. I don’t trust myself.” They shared a quick kiss.
“Five minutes?”
“Five minutes,” she said.
He watched her walk down the alley and disappear through Zen’s first door.
Inside, the place was quiet, daytime-empty the way it always was.
She headed toward the service room where she kept her spare things, and a voice stopped her cold.
“Can I see a pass?”
She froze.
Not because of the question, but the voice.
She turned slowly.
“J-Jax?”
“Oh…” A slow grin spread across his face as his eyes moved down her body and stopped at the hem of the oversized shirt, which sat just inches below her pussy.
He tilted his head.
“Hello, sexy…”