Something had shifted in the air, and Jax could feel it as he hurried away from the group. It had to do with Cal, and the thought of it derailing the fragile progress he and Ruan had made sent a jolt of urgency through him. He rushed toward Ruan, grabbing his hand to stop him.
"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" Jax asked, his voice light but laced with concern.
Ruan glanced over his shoulder, his brow furrowing at Cal.
"We were getting ready for a tour," Jax explained quickly, hoping to ease the tension. "Cal wants to show us around. It's nothing serious." But even as he spoke, Jax's mind lingered on the almost-kiss Cal's arrival had interrupted. If Cal hadn't shown up, would Ruan have closed the distance between them?
The thought sent a shiver through him. A kiss in public would've been a disaster. If someone had seen and reported it to Lucas, Jax could lose his job—and worse, he might never see Ruan again because it was a breach of their contract.
