After My Ex Kissed My Stepsister at the Gala

Saturday afternoon, I took Lewis to a boutique in SoHo. He needed a suit for a charity dinner next week. Lewis was my cousin, but he was also my only real friend in this city. I owed him a lot for staying by my side. He didn't ask questions about my late nights or the dark circles under my eyes. He just showed up.

The boutique was bright and smelled like expensive leather. I felt tired. I hadn't slept well since I saw Paxton with Nora at the Plaza Hotel. The image of her hand on his chest played in my mind on a loop. My chest felt hollow and cold.

Lewis walked along a long rack of designer jackets. He flipped through the hangers, humming quietly to himself. Suddenly, he stopped and pulled one out. He grinned widely.

"What about this one?" he asked.

I looked up, and the air instantly left my lungs.

It was a royal blue suit. The color was rich and deep. It was the exact shade.

My mind flashed back four years. It was the night of my college Spring Formal. Paxton had waited for me at the bottom of my dorm stairs. He wore a royal blue suit just like that one. He was broke back then. He had worked extra shifts at a diner for three weeks just to afford the rental. When I walked down the stairs, his dark eyes lit up. He gave me a warm, shy smile and held out his hand to me. That was the exact moment I realized I was completely in love with him.

The memory hit me like a physical blow. A sharp pain twisted in my stomach. I reached up and gripped my mother's gold locket tightly. I tried to breathe, but my throat closed up.

I turned my face away quickly. I didn't want Lewis to see my eyes watering.

"Earth to Saoirse," Lewis laughed. He held the blue jacket against his chest and struck a funny pose. "Are you spacing out? Do you think it's my color?"

I forced a small smile. I kept my voice as steady as I could. "It's nice, Lewis. Really nice. You should try it on."

"Awesome," he said. He grabbed a few white shirts to match and walked into the men's fitting room area.

I needed a minute to myself. The blue suit brought back too much. I walked down the hall and stepped into an empty fitting room. I let the heavy velvet curtain fall shut. The space was small and quiet. I leaned my back against the cool glass of the tall mirror. I closed my eyes and took a deep, shaky breath. I just wanted the ache in my chest to stop. I wanted to forget his smile.

Suddenly, the thick curtain ripped open.

I gasped and opened my eyes.

Paxton stepped inside. He let the heavy curtain swing shut behind him. The small fitting room instantly felt tiny.

He wore a black coat over a dark sweater. His jaw was locked tight. His broad shoulders filled the space. He looked like a storm about to break. He was breathing heavily, like he had been running down the street.

"Paxton," I breathed, my eyes wide. "What are you doing here?"

He didn't answer. He stepped right up to me. I pressed my back flat against the mirror. He slammed his large hand against the glass, right next to my head. I flinched. The heat radiating off his body was overwhelming. He smelled like cedarwood and cold city rain.

"Who is he?" Paxton demanded. His voice was a low, dangerous growl.

My heart hammered wildly against my ribs. "What?"

"Don't play dumb with me," he snapped. His dark eyes drilled into mine. They were wild and furious. "I have eyes, Saoirse. I know you've been spending time with a guy. Shopping. Laughing in cafes. Sharing meals. Who is he?"

He had been tracking me. He used Dayana or his own security to watch my movements. He thought Lewis was my new boyfriend.

I lifted my chin. I tried to look brave, but my hands were shaking. "It's none of your business."

"Make it my business," he fired back. He leaned in closer. His face was only inches from mine. "You pushed me away in your office. You told me no. You looked me dead in the eye and said you didn't want me. And now you're parading some new guy around my city?"

"I'm not parading anyone!" I argued. "You're crazy. Get out of here, Paxton."

"Tell me his name," he whispered harshly.

His gaze dropped to my lips for a second, then snapped back up to my eyes. The tension in the tiny room was thick and electric. It was suffocating. I could feel the ghost of his touch everywhere. He was so angry, but he was also so close. He was out of his mind with jealousy.

"Why do you care?" I challenged him, my voice breaking slightly. "You have Nora. I saw you with her."

A muscle twitched in his tight jaw. "This isn't about Nora. This is about you. Tell me who he is."

I stared into his dark eyes. Beneath the fury, I saw raw, desperate pain. He really thought I had replaced him. He thought I moved on easily while he was still bleeding from three years ago.

I swallowed hard. My throat felt completely dry. "His name is Lewis."

Paxton's knuckles turned white against the mirror. "And?"

"And he's my cousin," I said quietly. "He's my mother's nephew."

Paxton froze completely.

The words hung in the tight space between us. He stopped breathing. His dark eyes searched my face rapidly. He looked for a lie. He looked for a trick. But he found nothing. I wasn't lying, and he knew it.

Slowly, the fierce anger drained out of his face.

But he didn't step back.

In fact, the air in the room grew even heavier. He stayed right where he was, his hand still planted by my head. We were so close I could feel the warmth of his breath on my cheek. He looked down at me, and the fury was replaced by something else. It was a deep, starving hunger.

He looked at me like he wanted to consume me. Like he wanted to pull me into him and never let me go.

My skin burned. My whole body ached for him. I wanted to lean forward. I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck and bury my face in his chest. I wanted to tell him everything. I wanted it so badly that my knees felt weak.

But I couldn't. Ricardo was still out there. The trap was set, but the war wasn't over. If I let Paxton in, Ricardo would use him against me. I couldn't drag him into my darkness. I had to protect him.

I raised my trembling hand. I placed my palm flat against his hard chest. I could feel his heart beating fast and hard beneath his dark sweater.

"Leave, Paxton," I whispered.

I pushed him. Gently, but firmly. It was the hardest thing I had ever done.

He didn't move at first. He just looked down at my small hand resting over his heart. Then, slowly, he dropped his arm from the mirror. He took a single step back. The cold air rushed in between us.

He reached behind him and pulled the curtain open. The bright lights of the store spilled into the dim fitting room. He stopped in the doorway and looked back at me over his shoulder.

It wasn't a look of anger anymore. It was something far more dangerous.

It was the look of a man who just realized I was hiding something. If I didn't have a new boyfriend, then my rejection in the office didn't make sense. He was figuring it out. He was a hunter, and he had just caught my scent.

He turned and walked away without a single word.

I stayed pressed against the mirror, shaking from head to toe.