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I push off the wall. “Not here. I don’t like the way this castle breeds the unexpected, like that note left for you.” I offer her my hand. “Come with me to my tower where I know we have privacy. Let me explain.”
“Do you really think there is any version of a story you can tell me that I’ll be able to live with?”
“Yes. The truth, Emma.”
In rejection of my hands, she folds her arms in front of her. “Right. The truth.”
“The truth that I intended to tell you tonight,” I say, settling my hands on my hips, “before I did anything final, and after I knew the full plan. Come to our tower. We can talk freely there.”
“Yourtower,” she corrects.
“I still want it to be ours. Give me a chance to make you want it, too.”
“I don’t want to end up naked and forget what just happened.”
I hold up my hands. “I won’t touch you until you touch me.”
“IfI touch you.”
“There is no if, Emma. We’re good together. That hasn’t changed.”
She exhales a shaky breath. “I’ll go with you, but I’m not promising that I’ll stay.”
Relief washes over me. She’s going to hear me out, and the truth is, Emma’s ability to stay rational under duress is one of the many things I love about her. Sure, she tore up the DNA test and washed it down the ocean drain, but that was a one-off forher. She’s smart. She thinks. She listens. Too bad those traits, most likely, come from all those years of being punished by her father. Which is why I’m trying to make sure her brother doesn’t pull a repeat. “I can live with that,” I say, motioning her forward.
Emma double steps and I wave off Savage, who is hovering nearby. He grimaces, and I tune him out, leading her to an archway, down a private hallway that avoids the guests but still gets us to my tower.
We round a corner, and to my irritation, Brody steps in our path. I forget my vow not to touch Emma until she touches me and I pull her close, under my arm. She doesn’t move away. In fact, she melts into me, and God, it feels good. I don’t want to lose her. I did nothing to hurt her, but rather protect her. I have to make her see that.
“Fancy seeing me here, right?” Brody asks, eyeing Emma. “Hello, Emma.”
“What do you need, Brody?” I demand tightly.
“You. Got a minute, big brother?” he asks.
“No,” I say. “I do not have a minute. Not now.” I crowd him, until he steps aside, and I take Emma with me, walking us a few more feet to the stairs.
Once we’re there, I force myself to let her go. “I know I promised, but Brody—”
“It’s okay,” she says quickly, but she doesn’t look at me, doesn’t speak. I don’t speak either. The tension between us pulls and stretches, a tightrope about to break, and when it does, we crash and burn, if I don’t catch our fall. But I will. I am not letting us crash and burn.
Finally, we reach the tower entrance and are finally about to be alone.
Chapter one hundred four
Jax
The minute I shove open the door, Emma charges into the upstairs’ foyer ahead of me, obviously ready to blow. I shut the door and lock it, turning to find her on the attack. “What was that?” she demands.
I close half the steps between us, expecting her to back away. Her chin lifts defiantly. She doesn’t retreat. She stands her ground. That tells me she’s ready to hear what I have to say. “Ask me who I thought would do a better job with Knight than Chance.”
“You said—”
“It would be in better hands.Your hands, Emma.”
“I don’t want what is my brother’s, Jax. Why would you think I would do that?”
“Only if he fails the test.”
