The ride back to the mansion happened in complete silence.

Not comfortable silence.

Not soft silence.

The kind stretched tight enough to snap if either of them breathed wrong.

Rain streaked across the SUV windows while the city blurred past outside in pale gold and gray. Ivy sat near the far door with both arms crossed tightly over Lucien’s hoodie.

Lucien sat across from her.

Watching.

Not constantly.

Worse.

Quietly.

Every few minutes, Ivy caught his eyes on her again before he looked away toward the rain-dark windows.

Like he still needed visual confirmation she existed inside the vehicle.

The realization irritated her immediately.

Good.

She needed irritation right now.

Not awareness.

Definitely not awareness.

The SUV rolled through the mansion gates at exactly 4:06 p.m.

Nobody spoke until the front doors shut behind them.

Then Ivy spun around sharply in the foyer.

“No.”

Lucien stopped halfway toward the staircase.

The marble floors echoed softly beneath the word.

Several guards immediately looked elsewhere.

Smart men.

Lucien faced her slowly.

“No what.”

“You don’t get to do that.”

“Do what.”

Ivy laughed once under her breath.

Not humor.

Disbelief.

“You tracked my location like I escaped federal custody.”

“You disappeared after Hale visited my house.”

“There it is again.”

Lucien’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“What.”

“My house.”

The silence shifted instantly.

“Ivy—”

“No, seriously, let’s discuss this.” She stepped closer now, anger finally catching up properly. “You keep acting like I belong here.”

“You were in danger.”

“I went to see my sister.”

“You left alone.”

“I LEFT A BUILDING.”

Her voice cracked violently through the foyer.

One of the guards quietly retreated toward another hallway.

Excellent instincts.

Lucien stayed perfectly still.

Too still.

“I called six times.”

“I didn’t answer.”

“That concerns me.”

“That is not normal!”

The words echoed upward toward the chandelier.

Lucien’s jaw tightened once.

Rain tapped steadily against the windows behind them.

“You don’t understand what Hale is capable of.”

“And you don’t understand boundaries!”

“I understand risk.”

“You understand control.”

The sentence landed hard.

Lucien looked away first.

Tiny movement.

Still there.

Ivy noticed immediately.

Good.

“You tracked my phone,” she continued. “You showed up at my job. You grabbed me in front of everybody like I was—”

She stopped herself.

Too late.

Lucien stepped closer.

“Like you were what.”

Ivy swallowed once.

Too close now.

Way too close.

The foyer suddenly felt smaller despite the ridiculous ceiling height.

“You know exactly what,” she said quietly.

Lucien stared at her.

No coldness now.

No distance.

Only exhaustion stretched tightly beneath control.

“You disappeared.”

Again.

That word.

Always that word.

Like losing sight of her physically clawed at something ugly inside him.

Ivy’s anger faltered for half a second.

Bad timing.

“You cannot react like that every time I leave the house.”

“Yes, I can.”

The answer came immediate.

Sharp.

Honest.

Both of them froze slightly afterward.

Lucien realized what he’d admitted first.

His expression hardened instantly.

But too late.

Ivy already saw it.

Saw the fear underneath the control.

Saw the possessiveness getting worse every day she stayed here.

And terrifyingly—

part of her understood it.

That realization scared her more than the tracking did.

“You don’t own me,” she whispered.

Lucien stepped even closer.

Now she could hear the faint roughness in his breathing.

Could smell rain and cedarwood still clinging to his coat.

“No,” he said quietly. “I protect what’s mine.”

The words slammed straight through her chest.

Silence exploded between them afterward.

Somewhere upstairs, a door shut faintly.

Neither of them moved.

Ivy looked up slowly.

“…That is an insane thing to say to another human being.”

Lucien’s eyes never left hers.

“You matter too much now.”

There it was.

Raw.

Accidental.

Real.

The confession hit both of them equally hard.

Ivy’s breath caught instantly.

Lucien looked almost furious with himself for saying it.

But he didn’t take it back.

Didn’t look away.

Only stood there in the middle of the foyer breathing slightly harder than normal while the entire mansion disappeared around them.

“You can’t just—” Ivy stopped. Tried again. “You don’t get to decide that for me.”

“You think Hale won’t use you against me?”

The sentence came rougher now.

Less controlled.

“He looked at you once and understood immediately.”

Ivy blinked.

“What.”

Lucien laughed quietly under his breath.

No humor in it.

“You really don’t see it.”

“See what?”

“The way people react to you.”

“I’m literally a barista.”

“You walk into rooms and people rearrange themselves around you.”

“That sounds fake.”

“It isn’t.”

His voice dropped lower.

Dangerously soft.

“You make yourself important to people without trying.”

The foyer went completely silent again.

Ivy stared at him.

No sarcasm left now.

No jokes.

Only Lucien standing inches away looking more exposed than she’d ever seen him.

Like every wall inside him had cracked slightly at once.

And suddenly—

all the fighting shifted.

Something hotter slid underneath it.

Something dangerous.

Ivy realized how close they were standing at the exact same moment Lucien did.

Neither moved backward.

Big mistake.

Rain streaked slowly across the tall foyer windows behind him while warm chandelier light caught sharp lines beneath his eyes.

Lucien looked exhausted.

Beautiful.

And completely wrecked by her.

The realization hit hard enough to make her dizzy.

“You’re staring again,” she whispered.

His gaze dropped briefly toward her mouth.

Then back up.

“You are too.”

Fair point.

Neither denied it.

The tension tightened violently between them.

Lucien lifted one hand slowly—

paused halfway toward her face.

Giving her time to move.

She didn’t.

Another terrible decision.

His fingers brushed lightly beneath her jaw.

Cold skin.

Gentle touch.

Everything inside Ivy’s chest went painfully quiet.

Lucien’s breathing changed instantly.

She noticed.

Of course she noticed.

The entire mansion seemed to disappear around them.

Only this.

Only him.

Only the way his thumb moved once against her skin like he was trying very hard not to lose control completely.

Ivy’s hands tightened slowly against the front of his coat.

Not pushing him away.

That realization nearly killed both of them.

Lucien lowered his forehead slightly closer to hers.

One inch.

Maybe less.

“Ivy,” he said softly.

Not a warning.

Her name sounded wrecked.

Like he already knew this was a mistake and couldn’t stop anyway.

Ivy tilted her head upward slightly—

Footsteps echoed sharply from the upstairs balcony.

Both of them jerked apart instantly.

Matteo stopped halfway down the staircase.

Looked at Ivy.

Looked at Lucien.

Then immediately covered his own eyes.

“Oh, wow. Okay. Nope.” He turned around dramatically. “I can absolutely come back later.”

Lucien closed his eyes briefly.

Ivy stepped backward so fast she nearly slipped on marble.

Her heartbeat felt homicidal.

Matteo kept climbing backward upstairs with one hand over his face.

“I saw nothing,” he announced loudly. “Emotionally, spiritually, legally—”

“Matteo,” Lucien said flatly.

“I’m leaving!”

A door slammed upstairs.

Silence crashed back down afterward.

Ivy stared very hard at literally anything except Lucien.

The chandelier.

The staircase.

The concept of oxygen.

Lucien rubbed one hand slowly across his jaw.

Still breathing harder than normal.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

Finally, Ivy looked back at him carefully.

Big mistake.

He was still watching her like he hadn’t recovered either.

The realization sent heat straight up her throat.

“I should go,” she muttered weakly.

“Yes.”

Neither moved.

Another dangerous silence stretched.

Then Ivy turned abruptly and headed toward the staircase before her survival instincts failed permanently.

Halfway upstairs, she stopped.

Turned slightly.

Lucien still stood exactly where she left him in the foyer below.

Watching her.

Always watching her.

And for the first time since entering this mansion—

Ivy realized she was no longer afraid of being trapped here.

She was afraid of wanting to stay.