CHAPTER THREE

JANE'S POV

We both froze at the sound of the doorbell.

​Benjamin's eyes, still burning with passion, snapped toward the door. A flicker of panic, then pure frustration crossed his face. My heart, already pounding from the kiss, hammered with a new kind of fear. Who could it be? How long had they been standing out there?

​He pulled back from me slowly, as if he had been burned. The sudden loss of his touch left me feeling instantly cold and entirely exposed. The air, which had been thick with desire, now felt thin and dangerous.

​"Stay here," he rasped, his voice incredibly rough. He gave me a silent, severe warning look. He ran a hand through his messy hair, trying desperately to calm down.

​I nodded, unable to speak. My lips were still tingling from his kiss, and my body was still shaking. I watched him walk away. His usual smooth movements were stiff and tense as he disappeared around the corner toward the front hall.

​I stood completely alone in the kitchen, my mind wandering like a confused thief. What just happened? Benjamin, my brother's best friend, just kissed me. And it was everything. It was raw, desperate, and utterly forbidden.

​The doorbell rang again—longer this time and more insistent.

​I heard Benjamin's voice from the front hall. "Can I help you?" His tone was back to his usual polite self, but I knew a storm was still raging beneath that calm face.

​A woman's voice replied, bright and cheerful. "Benjamin, darling! You took your sweet time! I thought you'd forgotten about our dinner plans!"

​My blood ran entirely cold. Dinner plans? with a woman?

​My stomach dropped into a hollow pit. I hadn't even considered that he might have other women. Of course he did. He was an attractive, successful man.

​I crept silently to the edge of the kitchen, peering around the dark corner into the front hall.

​Benjamin was standing there, his back to me, his body incredibly rigid. Facing him was a stunning woman. She was tall, elegant, with perfectly styled blonde hair and a designer dress that probably cost more than my entire wardrobe. She was smiling up at him with a deeply possessive look in her eyes.

​And then, without hesitation, she reached up, placed a manicured hand on his cheek, and pulled him down for a kiss.

​I didn't wait to see if he kissed her back. The icy shock in my veins instantly turned into a hot, territorial rage. He just branded me his in that kitchen. He doesn't get to touch anyone else.

​Before my brain could stop me, I stepped out of the shadows. My bare feet padded softly against the hardwood floor.

​"Benjamin?" I called out, making my voice sound sleepy and innocent. I ran a hand through my messy hair—the hair he had just tangled his fingers in. "Is everything okay? I was waiting for you to come back..."

​The blonde woman snapped her head toward me instantly, her lips parting in utter surprise. But it was Benjamin's reaction that made my chest tighten. He pulled away from her immediately, going completely still. His dark eyes locked onto my short shorts, my bare legs, and my swollen lips. A flash of deep anger crossed his face.

​"Benjamin, darling," she said, her voice turning sharp and icy as she looked me up and down. "Who is this?"

​Benjamin cleared his throat. His polite mask locked back onto his face, though a muscle violently ticked in his clenched jaw. "Victoria, this is Jane. Leo’s younger sister. She’s staying with me while she finishes her first university papers."

​Victoria. The name sounded as expensive as her dress.

​"Ah. The little sister," Victoria said. She looked thoroughly irritated, her eyes narrowing at my disheveled appearance and flushed skin. A flash of real alarm crossed her face before she hid it with a tight, fake smile. She recognized me as a threat.

​Stepping right back into Benjamin’s space, she wrapped her arm tightly through his. She smoothed the lapel of his jacket, anchoring herself to him. "Well, Benjamin, we really must leave if we're going to make our reservation. I don't want our night ruined by... distractions."

​I watched Benjamin. I waited for him to look at her with the same wild hunger he had just shown me. But as he looked down at Victoria, his eyes softened into something steady and real.

​He loves her.

​The realization hit me like a punch to the stomach, knocking the air right out of my lungs. He didn't love me. That kiss in the kitchen wasn't about hidden feelings. It was pure, raw lust. He loved the beautiful blonde standing in his foyer, but he was secretly, darkly possessive of me.

​Benjamin didn't look at me as he spoke to her, but his voice held a dangerous, heavy weight. "Give me five minutes to change, Victoria. Wait for me in the living room."

​"Of course, darling," she purred, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek before walking past me. As she passed, she deliberately bumped her shoulder hard against mine, whispering a cold, quiet warning. "Know your place, little girl."

​The moment she walked into the living room, the silence in the hall became suffocating.

​I turned to storm back to my bedroom, my heart breaking into a million pieces. But before I could take a single step, Benjamin’s massive hand shot out of the darkness.

​He gripped my wrist, twisting me around and slamming my back hard against the hallway wall.

​"Let go of me," I choked out, tears of anger burning my eyes. "Go get changed for your girlfriend."

​Benjamin didn't let go. Instead, he stepped into my space, trapping my body between the wall and his chest. His eyes were completely black with rage. He leaned down, his lips brushing against my ear as his grip tightened on my wrist until it almost hurt.

​"You think you won a game tonight, Jane?" he growled, his voice a low, terrifying promise. "You wanted me to notice you? Look at me. I'm noticed. But don't you ever dare interrupt my life again."

​He leaned closer, his scent completely wrapping around me.

​"Fix your clothes. Lock your bedroom door," he whispered darkly against my skin. "Because when I get back from dinner tonight... you and I are going to finish exactly what you started."

​Without another word, he released my wrist, turned around, and walked up the stairs to change, leaving me sliding down the wall in pure, terrified shock.