Page 142 of Sienna Rossi: Beyond Shattered Trust

Were the girls right? That the dress and Seth would get to him?

Well, if it got him talking to me, then that’s all that matters, even if I do wish it wasn’t just because of that.

I take a sip of my drink when Jayce speaks again.

“It’s pretty loud; want to get out of here for a bit?” he asks, his voice low as he downs the rest of his drink before placing the empty glass onto the table beside him. Then he turns towards me and holds his hand out. My eyes widen, and his gaze narrows faintly. “I need to talk to you, nothing more.”

I blush, shaking my head. “I know!” I say, but the seriousness in his voice makes my stomach tighten. After days of avoiding me, after all the mixed signals and tension, he wants to talk, and that terrifies me.

“Sure,” I say softly, accepting his hand.

The second his fingers close around mine, sparks dance through me, the mate bond sending tingles through every part of me. He squeezes my hand gently, and that tiny gesture sends a flurry of butterflies through me.

It’s the small things like this that consume me entirely, these precious little moments.

He leads me away from the drinks table, weaving us through the crowd and around the side of the huge marquee. Leaving the music and laughter behind us the further we walk down the side of the mansion. One wall of the mansion is lit by small lights, and on the other side, the wall is lined with a bed of flowers, with small lights spread amongst the flowers.

I look at the back of his head, my chest tightening. Gods, I’ve missed him so much. These last few days had been so hard, but I had told myself I would give him time, that I would just be myself and fight for him. And by that, I have to stay strong.

“Is everything ok?” I ask once we’re far enough away that no one will overhear us.

“Yeah,” he says quietly. “It is.”

Yet despite his words, there’s tension in his voice and jaw. His shoulders are tight beneath his shirt, and when he finally slows his pace, releasing my hand to walk beside me instead, I can see conflict in his eyes.

“Ok, it’s just… You ignored me for days,” I say softly, not wanting to push him away again.

Jayce exhales slowly, glancing down at the gravel path beneath our feet.

“Yeah. I know.” He turns his head, raking his fingers through his hair. “What happened that day... It shouldn’t have.”

I come to an abrupt stop and turn, staring up at him with confusion.

“At the gym?” I ask. “Jayce, I enjoyed it as much as you did. It doesn’t matter, as I said; you can pretend it didn’t happen if that’s easier for you.”

He turns his head, his eyes meeting mine. “But I can’t,” he says, making my heart skip a beat. “I can’t pretend something didn’t happen. I can’t continue like this. Every fucking time my resolve weakens, I can’t keep taking from you and then call it an accident or a lapse in judgement.”

Something in my chest twists painfully. There’s something different about him tonight, and fear fills me.

The torment is still there, the guilt and conflict that have been eating him alive ever since the dome, but he’s no longer trying to bury his feelings beneath distance and coldness. Is he going to reject me?

“There was something on your mind that day, so it’s fine,” I say softly, searching his face. “You had the same look in your eyes then that you do now. What is going on, Jayce? Talk to me.”

For a moment, he just looks at me before averting his gaze and shaking his head.

“What look?” he asks quietly. “The look of a man realising he can’t fight this anymore?”

My heart thumps as unease fills me. “Is this because of Seth?”

Jayce scoffs, and some of that familiar arrogance flickers back into his expression. “No. And it’s not the dress either, although if that was your plan-”

“There was no plan from me,” I cut in quickly, heat flooding my cheeks. “I promise.”

“Good,” he says immediately, his gaze dropping briefly down my body before he drags his eyes away again with visible effort.

Gods, that fire in his eyes…

He rakes his fingers through his hair again before exhaling sharply.