Ezra’s hand stills, his expression shifting from predatory to incredulous. A laugh escapes him, sharp enough to cut. “That’s why you left? Because you thought I was too young?” He withdraws his hand, and I hate myself for missing his touch. “I wasn’t a kid, Knox. I was twenty-two and obsessed with you.”
“Twenty-two is young,” I insist, steadier now that he’s stopped touching me. “I was twenty-nine. I shouldn’t have?—”
“What? Fallen in love with me? Let me fall in love with you?” The words hang in the air between us, dangerous and volatile.
Love. We never used the word during those thirty-one days. Never dared to name what was growing between us. Hearing it now, a year later, in this cold study with makeup smeared across my face and lies piled at my feet, opens an ache in my chest rooted in an emotion far deeper than desire.
“It wasn’t real.” The lie burns my tongue. “I approached you with an agenda. I needed access to the manor.”
Ezra’s expression turns shrewd. “For what? The art? The security codes? What was so valuable that you spent a month in my bed?”
I look away, shame tightening my throat. How do I explain that I tricked him into bringing me here to case the manor, to gather information for a potential heist, only to become distracted by the Alpha with the silver streak in his hair? That I’d forgotten my purpose in the headiness of his attention?
“It doesn’t matter now.”
“It matters to me.” Ezra steps closer again, but doesn’t touch me this time. “Whatever you came for, whatever you thought you were doing, I don’t care. I don’t care about the lies or the money you took.”
“Aaiden offered?—”
“I know what Aaiden offered. I know you took it. I don’t care!” He catches himself mid-outburst, reigning in his emotions with visible effort. “Do you understand what I’m saying? I. Don’t. Care.”
He stands close enough now for me to see the different flecks of color in his irises, the way the gold bleeds into green at the edges. Close enough for his breath to mingle with mine, filling each other’s lungs, giving and taking life.
“All I want,” he continues, softer now, “is you. Back in my life. Back in my bed. Back where you belong.”
The intensity of his desire both thrills and terrifies me. No one has ever wanted me like this, raw and honest and unapologetic. Even knowing the lies and understanding that I approached him with ulterior motives, he still wants me. It defies logic. Defies self-preservation.
“Why?” The question escapes before I can stop it. “Why would you want me back after what I did?”
His hand rises to my face, this time tracing the curve of my cheek where he’d smeared away my disguise. “Because in thirty-one days, you made me feel more alive than I had in twenty-two years. Because when you left, you took something vital with you.”
His thumb brushes my lower lip. “Because the hunt for you was the only thing keeping me sane this past year.”
My breath catches in my throat. I should be afraid of this obsession. Should run from the danger of being wanted this much. Instead, my body leans into his touch.
“I can’t—“ The words catch in my throat, but I force them past my body’s resistance to deny him. “I can’t be what you want.”
“You alreadyarewhat I want.” Ezra’s hand slides to the nape of my neck, fingers tangling in the short blond hairs of my wig. “Everything else, the names, the disguises, the lies… Those are just details. I want the man beneath them all.”
His face draws closer, and I know with absolute certainty that if his lips touch mine, I’m lost. One kiss, and I’ll surrender all my defenses, my secrets, even my freedom.
The loud click of two pairs of dress shoes sounds from outside, drawing closer, and we both freeze as reality crashes back in.
But Ezra doesn’t step back right away. His attention remains locked on me, and his fingers tighten on my neck before he releases me. “This isn’t over. You’re not escaping me again.”
He moves away at last, putting appropriate distance between us as the door swings inward, disrupting our time alone.
5
Aaiden and Sebastian enter the study, and I thank the blockers for keeping the scent of my desire from the Alphas.
I stand with my hands in my pockets, the weight of Ezra’s presence behind me a heat I can’t escape. My mouth goes dry as I realize I’m the only prey in a room full of predators.
Sebastian takes position beside the desk, his scarred face catching the light and deepening the furrows running down his left cheek. The damage makes his expression difficult to read as he studies me like someone assessing threat levels rather than listening to a story.
My pulse hammers in my throat as Aaiden settles behind his desk, fingers steepled beneath his chin. He doesn’t look at me but at Ezra, who stands behind me.
“Mr…” His gaze drops to my nametag. “Nico. Please recount what you saw at Halcyon Hall concerning Jade Bustly.”
