JAY'S POV
The chaos finally thinned when the event started shutting down.
People filtered out, cameras died down, music softened, and the ballroom slowly returned to normal human oxygen levels.
Dad stretched his neck with a groan.
"I'm too old for this soap opera. I'm going to the hotel."
Aries and Angelo nodded, flanking me automatically like a pair of overprotective FBI agents.
"We're heading home," Angelo said. "Jay, come—"
But Stella slid between us like a demon wearing six-inch heels.
"Actually—"
She smiled sweetly. Too sweetly.
"Can Jay stay with me tonight?"
Aries looked instantly suspicious.
"Why."
Stella sighed dramatically.
"Because she needs to go through some of Cole's files. Old stuff. Emotional stuff. I don't know if you want her crying alone—"
Their faces softened.
Instantly.
She played them like violins.
Angelo's jaw eased.
"If it's about Cole… yeah. She should be with someone."
Aries placed a hand on my shoulder.
"You okay to go with Stella?"
I nodded.
Partly because… yes.
Partly because I needed to breathe without three overprotective men breathing on me.
Partly because Keifer's gaze from across the ballroom hadn't left me once.
Dad called from near the exit,
"Text when you reach, Jay!"
"I will!"
They left.
One by one.
Keifer stayed.
Watching.
Not interfering. Not asking.
Just watching me leave.
His eyes saying exactly: I'll see you later.
The moment my brothers turned away, Stella grabbed my wrist.
"Let's go before they change their minds."
She practically shoved me into her car.
INSIDE THE CAR — THE LIES BEGIN
I buckled in.
"You're not taking me to your house, are you?"
"Nope."
"Then where—"
"You'll see."
She grinned at the road like a woman possessed.
We passed the familiar streets of her neighborhood.
Then kept driving.
Past the city lights.
Past the business district.
And then—
My stomach dropped.
"Stella… this road…"
"Mhm."
"I know this road."
"Mhm."
"This is the road to—"
"Mhm."
"STELLA—"
She smirked.
"Jay, my beloved, my precious traumatized friend…"
She flicked her blinker on.
"You're going to Keifer."
My spine straightened like I'd been electrocuted.
"STELLA—WHY—"
"Because," she said, sipping her iced latte,
"You two have unfinished business."
"WE DO NOT—"
"Oh really?"
She pointed at my neck.
"At your lipstick. At your hair. At Keifer's entire existence?"
I covered my face.
"Stella please—"
"He told the whole world he cared about you," she sang.
"He faced three grown men ready to commit murder, Jay."
She tapped the wheel.
"That man deserves his reward."
"STELLA!"
"Shh," she cooed.
"I'm dropping you off, and then I'm going to my house to binge K-dramas. Text when you're alive."
I grabbed the door handle like it could save my soul.
Too late.
The car slowed.
Pulled into a private garage.
And stopped in front of a private elevator.
Keifer's elevator.
Stella turned to me.
"Go."
"I CAN'T—HE'S PROBABLY ASLEEP—"
Her phone buzzed.
She checked it.
Smirked wider.
"He's awake."
"HOW DO YOU KNOW—"
She turned the screen.
Keifer:
"Send her up."
My breath vanished.
Stella winked.
"Have fun not being done."
My heartbeat attempted a backflip.
The elevator doors slid open.
Waiting.
For me.
Stella gently nudged me forward.
"Go get your CEO, Miss Fifty Hickeys."
And with a deep breath and absolutely zero dignity left—
I stepped inside.
KEIFER'S POV — THE DRIVE HOME FELT TOO QUIET
The ballroom finally emptied, cameras fading, laughter dying out, the chaos dissolving into soft jazz and tired footsteps.
But my mind?
Not quiet.
Not even close.
Jay's brothers had left. Her father too. Aries still looked like he wanted to throw me through a window. Angelo barely stopped himself from lunging.
I didn't blame them.
Not when I'd nearly kissed their sister senseless in an elevator.
I stood near the exit, hands in my pockets, watching her walk out with Stella.
She turned once—just for a second.
Her eyes found mine.
And everything inside me went still.
Safe. Goodbye. Wait for me.
All in one look.
Then she was ginsid
OUTSIDE THE VENUE — MY PHONE BUZZED
A notification.
Stella: "Plan in motion. Don't screw this up, CEO boy."
I smirked.
I typed back:
"Make sure she ends up where she needs to be."
Stella: "She will. Also you owe me Starbucks for life."
I didn't hesitate.
"Fine."
No explanation. No clarification.
Just yes.
Then—
She left with Jay. I watched them get into the car.
Jay glanced back again.
Just a glimpse.
But it was enough to make my chest tighten.
The Watson Estate was quiet at night. Gates opening with a low rumble. Fountain lights hitting marble. The long driveway lined with warm lanterns.
Home.
Empty tonight.
Keiran was at Zach's house. Keigan at Cael's.
Just me.
Just her.
If she came.
I showered. Loosened the tie around my neck. Unbuttoned the top two buttons of my shirt. Poured a drink but didn't touch it.
I kept glancing at the door.
Waiting.
Listening.
Thinking of her flushed cheeks. Her voice shaking in the elevator. Her fingers in my tie. Her mouth—
I exhaled sharply.
Then—
A soft vibration on my phone.
Stella: "She's in the door. Brace yourself and also knowing you well better use it..."
I almost laughed.
Almost.
Instead— I walked to the front hallway.
Lights low. Room quiet. Breath caught in my throat.
Then—
Footsteps.
Soft.
Hesitant.
The door to the foyer opened—
And there she was.
Jay.
Hair still slicked back. Dress black and sharp against her skin. Neck concealed—poorly. Eyes searching.
For me.
Her breath hitched when she saw me.
I stepped forward slowly.
"Jay."
Her fingers tightened around her phone.
"I—Stella—she—"
"I know."
Silence crackled between us.
Heat. Tension. Everything we didn't say in the ballroom.
I moved closer. Close enough to feel her breath hitch again.
"No one's home," I murmured. "It's just us."
Her eyes flickered up to mine.
Dangerous. Curious. Wanting.
I reached up—slowly—giving her time to step away if she wanted.
She didn't.
My fingers touched her jaw.
She inhaled.
"Jay…"
Her name left me like a confession.
She leaned in— barely—
And whispered,
"Lock the door."
Every inch of self-control I had evaporated.
I stepped back only to turn the lock—
Click.
She exhaled.
I turned to her again.
Tension snapping like a wire between us.
This time when I walked toward her— she met me halfway.
Soft lips. Quick breath. Hands sliding to my shoulders.
And before either of us could think—
My mouth crashed into hers...
Jay's breath hitched when her back touched the library table.
The lamps cast gold light over her skin, her flushed cheeks, her parted lips.
She looked up at me like she wasn't sure whether to kiss me again or drag me down with her.
I didn't give her the chance to choose.
I leaned in, lips brushing her jaw, voice low.
"You have no idea what you're doing to me."
Her fingers tugged at my shirt.
The last restraint I had snapped.
I shrugged out of it—
Buttons pulling—
Fabric falling to the floor.
Jay froze for half a second.
Her eyes dragged down my chest, slow, helpless.
Heat surged up my spine.
"Jay," I murmured, stepping between her knees.
"Look at me."
She did.
And there was nothing innocent about it.
Her hands slid up, palms flat against my skin, tracing every line, every inch she could reach.
Her breath trembled.
"Keifer…"
My name from her lips was a plea.
I gripped her waist, pulling her closer until her hips met mine—
and she gasped softly, fingers tightening against my shoulders.
Her dress slipped slightly off one shoulder.
Not by accident.
Not by force.
Because she let it.
Because she wanted to.
I swallowed hard and reached up, brushing the fallen strap with my fingertips.
Her eyes fluttered.
"Jay…"
My thumb stroked the smooth skin of her shoulder.
"You sure?"
She nodded.
Too fast.
Too breathless.
I stepped closer until her knees pressed against my hips.
She leaned forward—
hands sliding up my chest—
lips grazing my neck in a soft, warm breath that nearly buckled my legs.
I clenched my jaw, fingers gripping the table behind her.
"Jay," I warned softly, "if you keep doing that, I'm not letting you go home tonight."
She lifted her head.
Slowly.
Eyes dark.
Voice barely there.
"I wasn't planning to go home."
The room tilted.
My breath left me.
I grabbed her waist, pulling her harder against me, and she gasped—
hands clawing lightly at my back, breath mixing with mine.
I kissed her again—
Not careful.
Not slow.
Not controlled.
Deep.
Possessive.
Everything I'd been holding back since the moment she stepped into the ballroom.
Her hands slid into my hair.
My fingers pressed into her lower back.
She arched into me, trembling softly when my mouth found the side of her throat.
"Keifer…"
Her voice cracked against my shoulder.
And that—
That was it.
I lifted her onto the table in one motion, her breath catching in surprise, hands flying to my shoulders for balance.
Her dress shifted higher on her thighs as she settled, her knees parting around me without thinking.
My breathing went uneven.
"Jay," I rasped, forehead resting against hers, "if I stay here… if we keep going…"
She touched my jaw gently, guiding me to look at her.
Her lips brushed mine.
"I want you to.
I want you keifer..."
My control broke clean in half.
Everything inside me… stopped.
Then surged.
I grabbed her by the waist, pulling her flush against me.
She gasped—quiet and breathless—her hands sliding to my shoulders like she needed something to hold onto.
I kissed her again.
Not careful.
Not patient.
Not the kind of kiss you give when you intend to step back.
The kind you give when you've been waiting far, far too long.
Her fingers dragged through my hair.
My mouth trailed to her throat.
She shivered, whispering my name like it was the first prayer she ever learned.
I lifted her in one motion, setting her onto the table, her breath catching as her legs parted instinctively around me.
Her chest rose, fell—
a little too fast.
Her palms braced behind her, pulling me down with her, bringing our faces inches apart.
"Keifer…"
Her voice was a broken whisper, trembling with something between fear and wanting.
"You—
You don't have to stop."
I cupped her jaw gently, my thumb brushing her cheek.
"I'm not stopping," I murmured.
"Not unless you tell me to."
Her lips brushed mine—
a feather, a promise.
"I won't," she whispered.
"I don't want you to."
My control shattered.
Completely.
I kissed her—slow and deep and desperate—
her hands pulling me closer, my fingers sliding to her lower back as the room fell away behind us.
Her breath mingled with mine.
Her pulse raced beneath my mouth.
Her dress shifted under my hands like it was begging to be touched.
The lamps flickered softly.
Her voice caught on a quiet, unsteady sound.
My name left her lips again, fragile and wanting.
And the rest—
The rest melted into the dark warmth of the library,
the soft heat of her skin against mine,
the quiet hum of two people finally, finally giving in.
Everything after that…
Belonged only to them....