Chapter 25

Elena’s POV

“What the hell is wrong with you?” I demanded the moment we were outside, the cool night air hitting my flushed face.

Jonathan didn’t answer. He just strode toward the car, his jaw was set, and his entire body was rigid with tension.

“Jonathan! I’m talking to you!”

“Get in the car, Elena.”

“No! Not until you tell me what the hell that was about!”

He stopped, turning to face me, and the look in his eyes made my breath catch. I’d never seen him like this…wild, barely controlled, like he was holding himself back from doing something reckless.

“Get in the car,” he repeated, his voice dangerously low.

“Why did you drag me out of there?”

“Because I couldn’t watch it anymore.”

“Couldn’t watch what?”

“You!” He shouted, running a hand through his hair. “I couldn’t watch him touching you, looking at you like that, like he had no right…”

He stopped himself, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

“Get in the car,” he said again, quieter this time. “Please.”

I don’t know why him saying Please made me feel weak. I got in, slamming the door harder than necessary.

Jonathan slid into the driver’s seat…not the back where we usually sat with Michael driving…and started the engine.

“Where’s Michael?” I asked.

“I told him to take the night off.”

Before I could respond, he pulled out of the parking lot, the tires screeching slightly.

We drove in tense silence for maybe two minutes before I realized how fast he was going.

“Jonathan, slow down.”

He didn’t respond, his knuckles white on the steering wheel.

“Jonathan…”

“I couldn’t stand it,” he said suddenly, his voice tight.

“So you dragged me out like some caveman?” I snapped. “You don’t get to do that, Jonathan. You don’t get to act like you own me when you’ve spent the past three weeks treating me like I don’t exist!”

“That’s not…”

“One minute you’re saving me and being really nice and the next you’re dismissing me for Lisa and acting like I’m just another employee whose name you can barely remember!”

“That’s not fair…”

“None of this is fair!” I shouted. “You don’t get to push me away and then get jealous when someone else pays attention to me. You don’t get to be cold and distant and then act like this when I’m just trying to move on!”

“Is that what you’re doing?” he demanded, his voice rising. “Moving on? With Thomas fucking Lim?”

“Maybe! At least he’s clear about what he wants!”

“And what do you think he wants, Elena? Because I can tell you exactly what every man in that room wanted…”

“Stop the car.”

“…and it has nothing to do with your brilliant mind or your professional skills…”

“Jonathan, stop the car!”

“…they just want to get you out of that dress!”

“STOP THE CAR!”

He slammed on the brakes, and we skidded to a stop on the side of the road.

I was breathing hard, my heart pounding, my hands shaking with adrenaline and anger.

“You’re a hypocrite,” I said, my voice shaking. “You act like you’re above all this, like you’re so controlled and professional, but the truth is you’re just as much of a mess as I am. You want me but you won’t admit it. You push me away because you’re scared, and then you get angry when I try to move on.”

“Of course I’m scared!” He turned to face me, his eyes blazing. “You’re twenty-seven years old, Elena. You work for me. There are a thousand reasons why this is a terrible idea.”

“Then why did you pick out that dress?” I demanded. “Why did you drive through a storm for me? Why did you save me from that man at the bar? Why do you care so much if you’re so convinced this is a terrible idea?”

“Because I can’t help it!” He shouted. “Because every time I try to keep my distance, you pull me right back in. Because watching another man touch you makes me want to commit murder. Because the thought of you with anyone else makes me…”

He stopped, his jaw clenching.

“Makes you what?” I pressed, my voice softer now.

“Insane,” he finished quietly. “It makes me insane.”

The air between us was charged, electric, every nerve in my body on high alert.

“Then stop fighting it,” I whispered.

For a moment, neither of us moved.

Then Jonathan reached across the space between us, his hand cupping the back of my neck, and pulled me toward him.

His mouth crashed against mine, and I gasped, my hands coming up to grip his shoulders.

The kiss was nothing like I’d imagined…and God help me, I’d imagined it. It was fierce, desperate, like he’d been holding himself back for too long and couldn’t anymore.

His other hand slid into my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss, and I responded without thinking, parting my lips and letting him in.

He tasted like whiskey and something darker, something purely Jonathan, and I couldn’t get enough.

I shifted in my seat, trying to get closer, and he groaned against my mouth, the sound sending heat straight through my already wet pussy.

His hand moved from my neck to my waist, pulling me toward him across the center console. I went willingly, climbing awkwardly into his lap, my dress hiking up around my thighs.

“Elena,” he breathed against my mouth, his hands gripping my hips. “Fuck, Elena.”

I kissed him harder, my hands sliding into his hair, tugging slightly, and he made that sound again…that low, desperate groan that made me feel powerful and wanted and completely out of control.

His mouth moved to my jaw, then down to my neck, and I tilted my head back, giving him access, my breath coming in short gasps.

“We shouldn’t…” I started, but my body was already betraying me, arching into him. “Jonathan, we shouldn’t be doing this.”

“Tell me to stop,” he murmured against my skin, his lips trailing fire down to my collarbone. “Tell me you don’t want this, and I’ll stop.”

I opened my mouth to do exactly that, but the words wouldn’t come.

Because I did want this. I wanted him. I had wanted him for longer than I was willing to admit, even to myself.

“I…” I gasped as his teeth grazed the sensitive spot where my neck met my shoulder. “I can’t.”

“Can’t what?” His hands slid up my sides, his thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts through the silk of the dress.

“Can’t tell you to stop,” I admitted, my voice breaking.

He pulled back just enough to look at me, his eyes dark and intense, his chest heaving.

He rolled his hips up slightly, and I felt exactly what he meant…the hard evidence of his desire pressing against me through our clothes.

“Yes,” I whispered, past the point of denying it.

“Say it,” he demanded, his voice rough. “Tell me you want this.”