Page 50 of Forbidden Billionaire Rockstar

Listening to Jace share his journey, I’m struck by how different our paths have been. Yet here we are, intersecting in thismoment. For the first time, I see Jace not just as a rockstar or a temporary fling but as a person with dreams and struggles of his own. It’s a realization that both warms and unnerves me.

I shift in the tub, and water spills over the edge slightly, catching Jace’s attention. He rises from his place on the bench, then walks over to a cabinet across the room and pulls out a towel before coming back over to me with it held out.

When I don’t move, he rolls his eyes. “Come on, sweetheart, I’ve already seen every inch of you.”

He’s not wrong, but it’s always been with the intention of bringing me pleasure. I haven’t stood in front of him, naked, without an end goal in sight. After the night I’ve had, climbing into bed with him doesn’t seem like the right choice tonight.

Jace taps his foot impatiently, an amused expression on his face, and I sigh heavily. “Fine, but no funny business.”

Immediately, as the suds trail down my frame, Jace’s eyes take in every inch of me from head to toe, and I shiver under the heated gaze. He’s not even touching me, yet every spot his attention falls, it feels as though his fingers are grazing my skin. It’s unnerving yet exciting at the same time.

My pussy reacts, clenching with need, but I shake the feeling away.

No funny business.

As soon as both my feet are planted flat on the floor, he steps forward and encircles me with the fluffy towel, then he leads me into the bedroom with an arm snaked around my waist. I hate the way my heart flutters when it shouldn’t, but that seems to be happening a lot lately. Which is why I should keep my distance, especially with my job hanging in the balance.

Jace clears his throat, then takes a step away from me before disappearing back into the bathroom and coming out with something slung over his arm. He places it onto the bed in front of me, then stands off to the side with his eyes still trailing over my frame.

I shouldn’t be so aware of him.

“This was nice,” I say, repeating my earlier statement. “But I should head back to my room.”

A hint of sadness swirls through his gaze, but it’s gone almost as quickly as it appeared, and he nods. “Right.”

We stand there in silence, only the sounds of our breathing and the echo of rainfall drifting in the air between us, and I slowly drop the towel before walking back into the bathroom for my clothes. As much as I hate putting the same clothes back on, it’s the only option I have if I want to head back to my own room.

Jace’s stare is still burning a hole into my back, but I do my best not to steal a peek at him as I continue tugging the clothes over my frame. When I’m fully dressed, I finally spin around and come face to face with him.

“Thank you again,” I whisper, then look toward the bathroom. “It was sweet of you to do this for me.”

“No problem, sweetheart.”

Before I make the mistake of staying in this room with him, I clear my throat, nod, and hurry toward the exit as quickly as my feet will allow me. Thankfully, I don’t hear his heavy footsteps following me, so it’s a little easier to breathe when I step out into the hallway — although my mind is running rampant now that I’m alone.

First, I’ve got to get a handle on these emotions I shouldn’t be feeling toward Jace.

Distance.

Keeping my distance from him is for the best, I tell myself. But as I walk back to my room, every step feels like I’m moving against a current, pulling me back to Jace.

I pause at my door, my hand on the knob. Tonight was supposed to help me relax, to clear my head. Instead, it’s left me more conflicted than ever. Because now I know what it feels like to be truly cared for by Jace Brooks.

It feels like heaven.

This realization doesn't terrify me - it leaves me breathless, teetering on the edge of a decision that could reshape myentire world. The exhilaration of possibility wars with the gut-wrenching fear of loss, leaving me dizzy with uncertainty.

As I push away from the door on shaky legs, one thing becomes crystal clear. Whatever I decide, there's no going back. The safe, uncomplicated arrangement Jace and I started with has evolved into something far more potent, far more dangerous.

And I'm not sure I have the strength - or the desire - to stop it.

18

Jace

Three days of silencefrom Mallory, and my world has tilted off its axis. Each unanswered text is a dagger, and each averted glance is a twist of the blade. I’ve become a stranger even to myself - the calm, quiet Jace replaced by a man I barely recognize, all because of a woman who’s suddenly vanished from my life.

Was this her plan all along? Am I the only one who has been feeling more?

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