JAY'S POV
The moment the elevator doors slid shut behind us, the air snapped.
Tight.
Electric.
Loaded with everything he'd been holding in for the last hour.
Keifer didn't move at first.
He just stood there, chest rising and falling like he'd run miles, jaw clenched so hard the muscle ticked.
"Jay," he said, low… too low. "What the hell was that?"
I stepped toward him, pulse racing.
"What was what?"
His eyes darkened. "Don't."
One word.
A warning.
A plea.
I swallowed.
Then the elevator hummed and began its slow ascent.
And something inside him broke.
Because in the span of a single heartbeat—
I was pinned.
His hand slapped the wall beside my head, the other grabbing my waist, dragging me flush against him.
My breath punched out of me.
"Keifer—"
"No," he growled, voice rough, uneven. "I've been watching men line up for you all night. Touching your hand. Looking at you like—"
His jaw flexed.
Like he was physically holding back the storm.
"…like they had a chance."
Heat shot up my spine.
I whispered, "They didn't."
His fingers tightened on my waist.
"You think I don't know that? You think I wasn't two seconds away from dragging you out of that ballroom?"
I exhaled shakily.
"Why didn't you?"
His eyes lifted to mine.
And… collapsed.
All his restraint.
All his composure.
Gone.
"Because you were radiant," he whispered, forehead lowering against mine. "And I couldn't take that from you. Not tonight."
My chest tightened painfully.
"Keifer…"
His thumb brushed the corner of my mouth.
Slow.
Possessive.
"Say it again," he murmured. "Say my name."
"Keifer."
His breath hitched—sharp.
And that was it.
He snapped.
His mouth crashed into mine.
Hot.
Messy.
Zero control.
He kissed me like he was starved.
Like he'd been holding himself back for hours and finally—finally—let go.
I grabbed his suit jacket, pulling him closer, kissing him back just as fiercely, just as desperately.
The elevator jerked slightly as it passed a floor.
Neither of us cared.
His hands roamed—one gripping my waist, the other sliding up my back, fingers curling into my hair, tilting my head to deepen the kiss.
I gasped into his mouth.
He groaned into mine.
"Jay…" he muttered against my lips, voice wrecked. "You have no idea what you do to me."
I kissed him harder.
He walked me backward until my back hit the cold wall of the elevator.
Then his hips pressed against mine—
And I felt just how badly he'd been affected tonight.
My breath stuttered.
"Keifer—"
He nipped at my bottom lip, swallowing the sound I made.
"You drive me insane," he whispered into my neck. "Every man in that room wanted you."
I tilted his face back toward mine, brushing my lips against his.
"But I walked to you."
His eyes darkened so sharply I felt it.
"You did," he whispered.
And he kissed me again—
Slower this time.
Deeper.
Like he wanted to memorize the shape of my mouth.
My fingers slid into his hair and he let out the softest groan, pressing his forehead to mine as we both tried to breathe.
"Jay…"
He swallowed hard.
"I'm not done with you."
The elevator dinged.
We didn't move.
He didn't even look at the doors.
He just muttered, voice thick:
"We're not stepping out until I can think straight."
I smiled breathlessly.
"Then we'll be here a while."
His lips tugged into a dangerous smile.
"Good."
And he kissed me again— slow, deep, claiming.
The elevator doors stood open…
But neither of us stepped out.
Not yet.
Not when the only world that existed was him and me— and the heat between us.
His chest rose and fell, jaw tight, pupils blown wide with something feral and barely contained.
"Jay," he rasped, voice wrecked with the jealousy he'd been swallowing all night, "if one more man looks at you the way they just did—"
I didn't let him finish.
I grabbed his tie and pulled.
Hard.
His mouth crashed onto mine.
It wasn't a kiss.
It was a collision.
Messy, hot, desperate.
He groaned into my mouth—low, guttural—and pressed me back against the elevator wall, fingers digging into my waist like he'd been holding himself back for hours.
I kissed him harder.
Faster.
His hand slid up my thigh, gripping, claiming, and I felt the restraint in him shatter.
He broke the kiss only to breathe against my lips:
"You're mine."
My knees nearly buckled.
The elevator chimed.
We didn't move.
He kissed me again—slower now, deeper—like he needed to relearn every part of me he'd missed.
Doors opened.
He didn't even look.
He just took my hand and pulled me out.
---
— KEIFER'S POV
I wasn't thinking.
Couldn't.
Not with her lipstick smeared on my mouth, her breath still trembling, her dress slightly rumpled from my hands.
Every step down the hallway felt like walking a tightrope made of fire.
She stumbled and I caught her waist, pressing her gently against the wall.
She laughed softly, breathless.
"Keifer…"
I kissed her again — this one sharp, quick, a warning.
"Don't," I growled. "I'm barely holding it together."
Her eyes darkened.
She whispered, "Then don't hold it."
I swear I almost lost it right there.
But I grabbed her hand again and kept walking, faster now, jaw clenched, vision tunneling.
We reached the corner suite.
My suite.
I pulled out the key.
She pressed close behind me, lips brushing my neck.
"Keifer."
I nearly dropped the card.
Door unlocked with a click.
---
JAY'S POV
The door shut behind us.
And I didn't waste a second.
I grabbed my phone.
Text to Ethan:
Distract my family. Now.
Tell them I'm doing interviews.
His reply came instantly.
Ethan:
Say less.
I barely had time to breathe before Keifer's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me back against him.
His lips brushed my shoulder.
"Done?" he asked, voice rough.
I nodded, and he turned me around.
And then—
nothing gentle remained.
He kissed me like he'd been starving.
My back hit the wall, his hands bracketing my hips, thumbs slipping under the fabric of my dress.
He was everywhere.
Warm.
Hard.
Unrestrained.
His mouth moved down my neck, slow and claiming, and I felt his words against my skin:
"Do you know what it did to me," kiss— "watching them touch you," kiss— "talk to you," kiss— "want you?"
I shivered.
"Keifer…"
He pressed his forehead to mine.
"You said take me to you," he whispered. "So don't blame me for doing exactly that."
In one smooth, effortless move, he lifted me.
I gasped, legs wrapping around his waist instinctively.
He carried me to the table and set me down, not breaking the kiss once.
His hands slid to my thighs, fingers pressing bruising circles that made my breath hitch.
He pulled back just enough to see my face.
"You have no idea," he growled softly, "how close I came to dragging you out of that ballroom the moment that prince touched you."
I smirked, breath shaky.
"Is that why you're mad?"
He leaned in, lips hovering mine.
"I'm not mad," he said.
"I'm possessive."
Then his mouth crashed onto mine again.
Hot.
Hungry.
Unapologetic.
His hands slid up my thighs.
My fingers tangled in his hair.
He kissed me until I couldn't think.
Until there was no ballroom.
No investors.
No prince.
Just us.
Just heat and breath and wanting.
Just Keifer Watson, jealous and undone, kissing me like he intended to rewrite my name into him.
And I let him.
Because he was mine too....
KEIFER'S POV — LOSING CONTROL, LETTING GO
She tasted like fire.
Like everything I'd been holding back for months, breaking loose at once.
Her legs wrapped around my waist, nails digging into my shoulders, lips swollen from my mouth—and every inch of me tightened with the urge to ruin the distance that had existed between us all night.
I carried her from the table to the bed without breaking the kiss.
Not once.
Her breath hitched when her back hit the soft sheets, and for the first time tonight, I let myself look at her—
Flushed. Breathless. Mine.
My hands slid to the buttons of my shirt, and I pulled it off in one sharp motion.
Jay's eyes darkened.
Very dark.
She pushed herself up on her elbows, lips curving into the smallest, most dangerous smile.
"Take it off slower next time," she murmured. "I was watching."
My pulse slammed.
"Jay," I growled, "don't test me."
She raised a brow.
"Oh? You think you're the only one allowed to be possessive?"
I froze.
Then she moved—slow, deliberate—fingers hooking into the waistband of my belt, pulling me closer until her lips brushed my jaw.
"You're not the only one who hated people looking at me," she whispered against my throat. "I saw them looking at you too."
I blinked.
Once.
"Jay."
Her thumb brushed my hip, teasing, taunting, claiming.
"Especially that delegate from Japan," she added softly. "She stared at you like she was undressing you."
I exhaled sharply.
She tilted her head.
"Don't pretend you didn't notice."
I didn't.
But hearing her say it—hearing the jealousy in her voice—ignited something brutal in my chest.
I lowered myself over her, hands pinning hers to the mattress.
"You want to know what I noticed?" I murmured into her skin.
She swallowed.
Hard.
I tightened my grip on her wrists.
"That even with an entire ballroom watching you—wanting you—you still walked to me."
Her breath trembled.
"And I'm not going to forget that."
Her legs tightened around my waist.
Her lips brushed mine.
"I didn't walk," she whispered.
"I chose."
I crashed my mouth onto hers again—hot, consuming, every ounce of tension finally snapping.
And she met me with equal fire—
Kissing me back like she was trying to claim me, mark me, own me.
Her hands broke free from mine, sliding into my hair, gripping hard enough to pull a groan out of my chest.
She pushed my shoulder, flipping us, taking control with a slow grind of her hips that made my vision blur.
Oh, she wanted dominance too.
Fine.
She could try.
She hovered over me, breathing hard, lips swollen, eyes gleaming with mischief and heat.
"You think you can boss me around just because you're jealous?" she teased breathlessly.
I smirked up at her, dark and sharp.
"I don't think, Jay."
I grabbed her waist, pulling her down until her forehead touched mine.
"I know."
She gasped, fingers tightening in my hair.
"And tonight," I whispered, voice low and wrecked, "you're not getting the last word."
Her lips brushed mine.
"Try me."
My hands slid to her waist.
Challenge accepted.
The room tilted, the world blurred, and the last thing I tasted before everything dissolved into heat—
Was her breath whispering against my lips:
"Keifer…"
And the last thing she heard was my voice, rough and certain:
"You're mine."
Just as her mouth brushed mine again—
RIIIIING.
Her phone.
Jay groaned. "Ignore it."
I did.
Until—
RIIING. RIIING. RIIING.
Then my phone.
Then her phone again.
We just… stared at each other.
She sighed, collapsing onto my chest.
"We're cursed."
I brushed my thumb along her jaw. "…Yes."
We didn't cross the line.
We didn't need to.
The tension alone could've set the whole room on fire.
We eventually sat up, breathless, still flushed — trying to act like normal humans again.
Jay stood in front of the mirror.
And froze.
"Oh my god."
I walked behind her, locking eyes with her reflection.
Hickeys.
Multiple.
Neck. Collarbone. Jaw.
Mine.
Her glare shot to me.
"Keifer."
I raised a brow. "What?"
"You said ONE."
"I said nothing."
"You implied—"
"You tasted distracting."
She slapped a hand over her face.
"My brothers are downstairs."
I lifted her hair, admiring a particularly dark mark.
"They'll live."
"KEIFER."
I kissed her temple once, slow and smug.
"Let's go before they break the elevators."
She groaned like it was the end of the world....