Chapter 66

Drew's POV

Her eyes.

That was the last thing I saw before she stepped back, they looked wide, guarded and uncertain and the tiny moment we had crumbled between us.

For a heartbeat, I had been close enough to feel her breath brush my mouth. Close enough to close the gap and erase the distance I had worked so hard to rebuild since that faithful night we spent together.

And God help me, I almost did it.

I almost kissed her.

The same woman I had once sworn to keep at arm’s length. The same woman I had already crossed a line with once and vowed never to repeat.

Yet here I was, standing in her living room, heart pounding like I was twenty years younger, watching her slip away from me again.

I straightened, pulling my composure back around me like armour. The discipline I had built over years in business and the iron control I wore like a second skin was back as I forced it all into place.

“Yeah It’s late,” I said, my voice calm, clipped and professional. As if I hadn’t just nearly undone myself in front of her. “I should be going.”

When she stepped back she had mentioned that it was already late and I had to leave and I just echoed the same words back to her, acting like I was okay. Relief flickered across her face and it shouldn’t have stung, but it did.

I grabbed the mug, sipped to buy myself a second, then set it down. Bitter coffee, bitterer thoughts.

“Lock up,” I ordered. “And don’t open the door for anyone tonight. If anything happens, call me.”

Her quiet reply “Alright” followed me out the door.

The cool night air outside should have steadied me, but it didn’t.

I crossed to the BMW with deliberate strides, my jaw tight and every step measured. If anyone had been watching, they would have seen nothing but control.

Inside, I slammed the door harder than necessary, gripping the wheel until the leather bit into my palms.

I started the engine, but I didn’t drive yet.

Instead, I sat there in the dim light, replaying everything.

Her face. The way her lips parted, uncertain but not unwilling. The way her eyes had locked on mine like she was caught in the same pull I was.

And then the way she had pulled back.

It shouldn’t matter. I didn’t need her to want me. I didn’t even want her to want me.

So why did it feel like rejection all over again?

My mind dragged me back to the events that happened in the office earlier.

Max’s voice still echoed in my head. “It would be my pleasure to tell him your little secret.”

I had felt the shift in the room instantly, dozens of eyes turning toward her, toward me.

And then she lied.

“I don’t know what he’s talking about.” Calm voice, steady gaze but not steady enough.

I knew a lie when I saw one. I had built an empire reading people, knowing when they were bluffing, when they were hiding, when they were selling me something they didn’t believe in themselves.

Lila was hiding something.

But when Max lunged for her, even the twitch of his hand toward her I hadn’t thought.

I moved. Instinct, reflex and Fury.

I had stepped between them before I could even process it, and when the security finally came, I asked them to get him out and make sure he never sets foot in this building again.

Not because she worked for me. Not because he had disrupted business.

But because the thought of him touching her made something sharp and violent rise in me.

That wasn’t logic. That wasn’t business.

That was personal.

And I don’t do anything personal.

The car hummed around me, the low growl of the engine steady under my grip, but my thoughts refused to settle.

She was still hiding something. I could see it in her eyes. But the secret wasn’t what consumed me now.

It was her.

Lila Bennett.

The woman I had once pulled into my bed in a moment of weakness, only to shove her away by morning.

I could still see her face that morning, the flicker of hurt in her eyes when I told her it was a mistake.

I had thought I was doing the right thing. Protecting her and protecting myself. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping the lines clear, business here and desire locked away where it couldn’t ruin everything I have built.

And yet, tonight, I had almost undone all of it.

I pressed harder on the wheel, knuckles whitening.

Why her? Why now?

Ever since Kimberley shattered me I have been with women before although as flings. I was never serious with any of them.

Beautiful, smart, ambitious women no doubt but none of them had shaken me. None of them had made me feel like I was standing on the edge of a cliff with no ground under me.

But Lila…

Lila did. She was just supposed to be one of my flings but I just couldn't place her there.

I finally pulled out of the lot, the BMW gliding onto the dark street, headlights carving lines into the night.

The city was quieter at this hour, just a few scattered cars, neon signs glowing faintly against brick walls and the occasional pedestrian with their head down.

I should be thinking about Max. About the inevitable next move he’d make. About strategy, defense, offense.

Instead, all I could think about was her.

The way her apartment smelled faintly of coffee and lavender. The way she fidgeted with her mug to cover nerves. The way she looked at me like she didn’t know whether to trust me or run from me.

And the way, for one suspended second, she almost let me close the distance.

Almost.

My chest tightened.

I wasn’t supposed to feel like this.

I wasn’t supposed to want to protect her this badly.

Yes, Max was dangerous. Yes, keeping her safe was logical. But there was more to it, and I hated admitting it.

It wasn’t just that I didn’t want Max to get to her.

It was that I couldn’t bear the thought of her being hurt at all.

Not by him.

Not by anyone.

Not even by me.

Which was exactly why I needed to stay the hell away from her.

But could I?

The memory of her eyes tonight said otherwise.

By the time I reached my building, I still didn’t have answers.

I parked, killed the engine, but stayed sitting there, staring out at the city lights.

I needed a plan. I couldn’t let Max make the next move unchallenged. He had already crossed a line and made threats that I know he's capable of fulfilling.

Tomorrow, I will have my security team tighten surveillance. Lila’s building, her routes and her schedule but they would follow her discreetly in such a way that Lila herself wouldn't know she was being watched. I will make sure there was a shield around her that Max couldn’t break.

And if he tries, he will regret it.

I didn’t know why I felt this need so fiercely or why it was clawing at me like a hunger I couldn’t satisfy.

All I knew was this, protecting Lila wasn’t business anymore.

It was personal.

And that terrified me more than Max ever could.