Chapter 5 - Blurring the Lines
The ride back to the penthouse was charged with a heavy, electric silence.
The moment the private elevator doors closed inside their penthouse, Ava kicked off her designer heels. She turned to Julian, her chest heaving with a mix of adrenaline and something much deeper.
“You didn’t have to get him fired,” Ava said softly. “You ruined his career.”
“I didn’t ruin anything he didn’t ruin himself,” Julian stated, loosening his tie and pouring two glasses of scotch. He walked over and handed her one. “He used you, Ava. He drained you of your youth, your money, and your spirit, and then he humiliated you for sport. I destroy men for much less in the boardroom.”
Ava took a sip of the scotch, the liquid burning a pleasant trail down her throat. She looked at Julian, seeing past the terrifying billionaire exterior for the first time. She saw the tension in his shoulders, the exhaustion in his eyes.
“Why do you care so much?” she asked quietly. “You could have just hired an actress and avoided this drama. Why did you protect me like that?”
Julian set his glass down. He walked toward her slowly, stopping only when their bodies were inches apart. He reached up, his long fingers gently tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear.
“Because I know what it’s like to be Damian’s stepping stone,” Julian confessed, his voice a low, rough rumble. “I wasn’t born with this money, Ava. I grew up in a trailer park in Ohio. My mother worked three jobs to keep me fed. When I started my first company, the woman I loved—the woman I was going to marry—stole my patents and sold them to a rival firm because I ‘wasn’t moving fast enough’ for her.”
Ava’s heart broke for him. The King of New York, the untouchable titan, carried a scar just like hers.
“I built my empire so no one could ever use me again,” Julian continued, his thumb gently tracing her jawline. “When I saw Damian laughing at you... I saw my past. I saw a man taking a woman’s sacrifice and spitting on it. I couldn’t let him win.”
Ava looked up into his stormy eyes. The boundary they had set twenty-four hours ago was crumbling into dust.
“Julian...” she whispered.
He didn’t ask for permission. The gravity between them was too strong. Julian leaned down and captured her lips with a desperate, crushing intensity.
Ava gasped into his mouth, dropping her glass. It shattered on the floor, but neither of them cared. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, tangling her fingers in his dark hair.
Julian groaned, wrapping his massive arms around her waist and lifting her off the floor. He backed her up against the floor-to-ceiling window, the glittering skyline of Manhattan serving as the backdrop to a kiss that tasted like expensive scotch, raw need, and the terrifying realization that this fake engagement was already painfully real.
When they finally broke apart for air, Julian rested his forehead against hers, his chest heaving.
“Ava,” he whispered fiercely. “If this is going to remain a business arrangement, you need to tell me to stop right now. Because if you don’t... I am never letting you go.”
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Ava looked into the eyes of the most feared man in New York, a man who worshipped the ground she walked on.
“Don’t stop,” she breathed.
