~HUNTER’S POV-


    I’ve always been in control. My time. My actions. My emotions. I’ve spent years mastering the art of detachment, perfecting it to the point where event forgot what it was like to feel something raw.


    But now… Now I can’t stop staring at my hand.


    The hand that touched her. That brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, grazing the curve of her cheekbone like it belonged there.


    I flex my fingers as if that will erase the memory. It doesn’t.


    I’m halfway back to the house before I realize I haven’t heard a word of the call I just ended. My phone is in my pocket, forgotten.


    It should bother me, thisck of focus. It always has before. But right now, my head is a mess and my body’s worse. The gardens air felt heavy, but the moment I stepped inside, it was suffocating.


    There’s a hum of conversation. sses clinking.


    The soft, controlledugh of men who think they own the world and the women who want to own them.


    I’ve done this a thousand times. I’ve hosted nights like this with ease. But tonight, it feels different. I’m different. My eyes search for her without permission. And there she is.


    Celine.


    Still in her beige dress. That’s a damn dress again. Her hair was still slightly damp from where she wiped cake from Caesar’s face. There’s a smear of something near her wrist. She looks out of ce.


    She looks like the only person here who doesn’t belong. And yet, I can’t look away.


    Nathaniel notices her too. He starts talking to her. Laughing at something she says-although judging by the panic on her face, it wasn’t funny.


    I should move. Intervene.


    I don’t. Instead, I stand there like an idiot watching them, a drink in my hand I’m not drinking.


    Charlotte Hill approaches from the side, moving in like smoke.


    I don’t even look at her, but I can smell her perfume before she speaks.


    “Hiding from me?” she teases, her tone a mixture of flirt and usation.


    “No,” I murmur. It’s automatic.


    She slips her arm through mine anyway. “You seem distracted tonight.” I hum.


    Nathaniel leans closer to Celine. She steps back, and almost trips over someone’s chair, but steadies herself. My fingers tighten around the whiskey ss.


    Charlotte notices. “You’re squeezing that ss like it owes you money.” Sheughs at her joke.


    I don’t.


    “She’s pretty.” It takes me a second to realize who Charlotte is talking about. She follows my gaze and answers it.


    “Your maid. The one who ruined my dress.” Her voice has teeth, and she smiles like she wants to bite something


    “She looks different tonight,” Charlotte adds, dragging out every word like she’s thinking through each one too carefully. “Talmost mitook her for one of the guests.” I don’t respond.


    Because I know what she’s saying.


    And because Celine, who was supposed to disappear into the background, hasn’t. Charlotte continues, her voice dripping sugar but her eyes ring with something else entirely.


    “I didn’t know you changed the maid’s uniform.”


    “I didn’t,” I say tly.


    “She doesn’t look like one of them,” Charlotte says. She doesn’t.


    And that’s a problem. I finally turn toward Charlotte and give her a smile I know will distract her, even if just for a second.


    “Don’t tell me you’re jealous of a maid, Charlotte. That’s not like you.” She bristles, but she tries not to show it.


    Still, her nails dig into my arm a little. I don’t care. Because Nathaniel’s hand is now on Celine’s elbow, and I’m one second away from making a scene.


    Then it happens. Nathaniel takes the tray from her hands. Passes it off to another maid. And drags her onto the dance floor.


    She shakes her head. She says something. He doesn’t listen. Of course, he doesn’t.


    “Fucking Nathan,” I mutter, finishing what’s left of my drink and handing the empty ss to Charlotte.


    “Where are you going?” I don’t answer.


    Because I’m already moving toward them, my jaw tight, my hands fists at my sides. “I swear I’ll drive a hole through his damn annoying face,” I growt under my breath.


    But I won’t. Because Nathaniel Cross isn’t just some random prick. He’s a business associate. An important one.


    I reach them just as Nathaniel spins her into him, his hand too low on her back, his smile too wide. “Careful,” he’s saying, “or I might fall for you.” Celine stiffens.


    Her hands press against his chest as if to create space where there isn’t any. My chest tightens. And then her eyes lift. And they find mine.


    Wide, scared, and so damn pleading I almost lose the fragile grip I have left.


    “Mind if I cut in?” I ask. Nathaniel’s smirk doesn’t fade. “If you must.” I don’t answer. I just move between them.


    My hand goes to her waist. I’m careful not to touch more than I have to, but it’s still too much. Nathanielughs under his breath.


    “What’s the matter, Hunter? Can’t bear to share?” Celine flinches as the words hit her. And maybe they did.


    “What’s it going to be, Mr. Reid?” Nathaniel asks, his tone too casual. “I dance with the beautifuldy, and you step aside…” <fn80c0> Find the newest release on Find1Novel</fn80c0>


    His sentence trails off like he’s waiting to see just how far I’ll go.


    I clench my jaw.


    “You’ve had your turn,” I say evenly. Nathaniel raises his hands like he’s surrendering. But hi


    nis sharp.


    “Didn’t know you were so possessive,” he says.


    I don’t answer. Because I don’t know what to say that won’t ruin everything. The music shifts. Another waltz. I ce her hand on my shoulder. My fingers brush her waist,


    She’s trembling. I hate that I can feel it. I hate that I don’t know how to stop it. “You’re shaking,” I murmur, keeping my tone low. Neutral,


    “-” she starts, but her voice cracks.


    “It’s fine,” I cut in, steering us away from the crowd. But not far enough to be obvious. Not far enough to matter.


    “I didn’t want to dance,” she whispers.


    “I know.”


    “But I didn’t want to be rude.”


    “You’re allowed to be rude.” Her eyes sh to mine. They’re ssy. Like she’s holding something back.


    “I thought you were going to fire me,” she says.


    I almostugh. Almost. “Maybe I should,” I say instead. Her breath catches. But I don’t mean it. And we both know it.


    “You look different,” I say after a moment.


    She blinks. “This dress,” I rify. “Oh,” she murmurs, ncing down like she forgot what she was wearing.


    “It’s not a uniform.”


    “No,” she says softly. “Mine was ruined after… earlier.” Earlier. When Caesar fell. When 1-1 flex my fingers again, remembering how I touched her cheek.


    “Hunter,” she says suddenly. I look at her. And I’m not prepared for what’s there. Not fear. Not anger. Something else.


    I stop moving. The dance halts. But she doesn’t pull away.


    Neither do I. And for a second, the entire room disappears. Until Nathaniel’s voice cuts back in.


    “I have all the time,” he says to no one in particr. “I can wait.” And just like that, everything crashes back down.


    I


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