Page 48 of Discretion at Its Finest

There was something off in his face—distress, maybe. Or something worse.

I offered a faint smile. “Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” I murmured, already stepping past them.

They didn’t even seem to notice my disappearance.

Reid disappeared from view, heading for the doors that led to the outside balcony, and I followed him, my heart racing as the noise dulled in the background.

The doors closed behind me with a muted thud, sealing off the world.

My eyes landed on him standing near the edge of the balcony, one hand braced against the railing, his back to me. The cold air kissed the bare skin at my shoulders, but I barely felt it.

Reid didn’t turn right away, but he knew I was there. Felt me the same way I had always felt him. For a second, I thought maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t have come.

Then he spoke, his voice rough. “You shouldn’t be out here.”

“I could say the same to you.”

He exhaled through his nose, but still didn’t look back. I slowly moved closer, my heart pounding in my chest. Something was definitely wrong. “Reid…” I said, softer now. “What’s wrong?”

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” he reiterated.

“Youshouldn’t have dragged me here if you were just going to leave me alone the entire night. I didn’t have a choice…”

“You had the choice to not follow me.”

I actually didn’t… not really. There had been an ever-growing pull between us getting stronger by the day. Every time I fought it I still ended up in his arms.

“I don’t think I did,” I whispered back.

That made him turn, slow. His eyes found mine. And just like that, everything else disappeared.

There was something feral behind his gaze. Something stronger than before. The anger in his eyes was more vivid. The rage that had always simmered beneath was boiling at the surface. The lust, the need that he kept under control, was unraveling.

“You always have a choice, Genevieve,” he said coldly, taking long and steady footsteps toward me. “You just never make the right one.”

My jaw tightened. “And dragging me to this gala was the right choice?”

“You’re the one who wanted to play pretend. I gave you the stage to do it.” His eyes locked on mine, dark and hungry.

For a second, neither of us moved. We just stood there. The world around us seemed to slow.

Then his mouth crashed to mine.

The kiss felt like a collapse. A resurgence of the past. A descent into our ruin. And I let it happen. Ineededit to happen.

His hand slid into my hair, pulling just enough to tilt my head back, his lips devouring mine like he hadn’t tasted anything like it in years. His other hand, hot and possessive, gripped my hip, dragging me against him until there wasn’t an inch left between us.

I gasped as my back hit the cold stone wall, but he swallowed the sound before his mouth moved down to my neck. His teeth grazed skin. Gone was the restraint or gentleness. That version of him, of us, was gone.

“You shouldn’t…” I whispered, breathless. “Someone could see—”

“Let them.”

The words vibrated against my throat, so dangerous and dark. Before I could breathe, he pinned me harder against the stone, his body caging mine, the cold wall biting into my spine while the heat of him threatened to melt every inch of me.

His knee slid between my legs, forcing them apart just enough to make my breath hitch.

His hand gripped my jaw, tilting my face up, claiming control. Our years apart hadn’t made either of us forget.