Chapter 5 — Don’t.

-POV Derby

I told myself I wasn’t going.

I stood in the elevator, finger hovering over the button for my own floor, heart slamming so hard I could feel it in my throat. Just go back to your desk. Pretend you never saw that email. Pretend he never said your name like that.

The doors started to close.

I slammed the 15 button instead.

The private lounge on the fifteenth floor was quiet, all dark wood and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the city. Empty except for him.

Jordan was already there.

He stood by the window, suit jacket off, sleeves rolled up, one hand in his pocket like he had all the time in the world. When the door clicked shut behind me, he turned. Those calm eyes found mine instantly, and the same dangerous stillness from the bar settled over the room.

“You came,” he said. Low. Certain. Like he’d never doubted it for a second.

I clutched my bag strap tighter. “You didn’t exactly give me a choice.”

He took one slow step closer. “I gave you a choice. You chose to come anyway.”

Heat rushed through me so fast my knees almost buckled. I remembered the weight of him pinning me down, the way he’d paused right before pushing inside me, eyes locked on mine like he wanted me to feel every inch of what was about to happen. The way he’d moved — deep, controlled, relentless — until I was shaking and gasping his name like it was the only word I still knew.

I hated how clearly my body remembered.

“I shouldn’t be here,” I whispered.

“No,” he agreed, voice quiet. “You shouldn’t.” Another step. Close enough now that I could smell that clean woodsy scent again, the one that had clung to my skin for two days straight. “But you are.”

My back hit the edge of the long conference table. I hadn’t even realized I was backing up until I couldn’t go any farther.

Jordan stopped right in front of me. Not touching. Just… there. Towering. Calm. The same man who had watched every reaction on my face while he fucked me slow and deep like he had something to prove.

“You left without saying goodbye,” he said.

“I didn’t think there was anything left to say.”

His gaze dropped to my mouth, then dragged back up. “There was plenty.”

My breath hitched. “Jordan—” “Say it again.”

I swallowed hard. “What?”

“My name.” His voice dropped lower. “The way you said it that night when you were coming around my cock.”

Heat flooded between my legs so suddenly I had to grip the table behind me. I could feel how wet I already was, how my nipples had tightened against my blouse again. The same ache from the meeting flared hotter, sharper.

“I can’t do this here,” I managed. “This is my job. My life.”

He leaned in, one hand bracing on the table beside my hip, caging me without touching. “Then stop looking at me like you want me to bend you over this table and remind you exactly how deep I can get.”

I closed my eyes, but it only made the memory worse — the way he’d flipped me onto my stomach, spread my legs, and driven into me from behind while growling how good I felt clenching around him. The way he’d controlled every thrust until I was begging.

When I opened my eyes again, he was still right there. Watching. Waiting.

“I don’t know what you want from me,” I said, voice barely above a whisper.

His answer was simple. Dangerous.

“I want the same thing you want, Derby.” He reached up, brushed a loose strand of hair behind my ear with surprising gentleness. “I want you to stop pretending this is over.”

My pulse roared in my ears.

He stepped back just enough to give me space, but his eyes never left mine.

“Tonight,” he said. “My place. Eight o’clock. Or I’ll come find you again.”

He turned and walked toward the door like he hadn’t just dropped a bomb in the middle of my workday.

I stayed frozen against the table, thighs slick, heart racing, the ache between my legs almost painful now.

I knew I should say no, and I should run.

But — the part that terrified me more than anything — was the dark, warm thrill curling low in my stomach.

I was already counting down the hours.

End of Chapter 5