(NOT EDITED)
*Perrie's Pov *
My hands shook as I unlatched the gate and made my way to the front door. I'd only been here once before, and I hadn't thought I'd return again. But I knew jade returned to this house this evening. Waiting for Eliza and Alycia to come home had nearly killed me, but now I was back at the one place I'd never wanted to be. The paving stones under my feet felt uneven as though any moment they might flip and turn my world upside down. Of course, that had already happened.
I should have been surprised that Jade called my bluff in such a public way, or at least shocked by her audacity, but I wasn't. Had I been stupid enough to think Jade would take no for an answer? But if she thought she could lie and pretend nothing was wrong between us, she had another thing coming. I'd walked out of here for a reason. It was the same reason that I'd managed to avoid her for nearly two months.
There was a deadline on our relationship—a ticking time bomb that lust, or even love, couldn't defuse. Jade's family had expectations for her marriage, and I'd grown up in the twenty-first century. I wasn't about to become her mistress.
The door swung open before I'd climbed the final step, and there she was, still dressed in her evening attire. Her bow tie hung loose around her unbuttoned collar, revealing the neck that I longed to run my lips down. I pushed the thought down into the darkest recesses of my mind and willed myself to maintain control.
"Expecting me?" I asked dryly.
Jade stepped to the side, motioning for me to enter.
"I'd hoped you would come." She slipped her tux jacket off her shoulders and stepped forward to wrap it around me, but I backed away, nearly stumbling as my heel came too close to the edge of the step. Was this her plan? To kill me with kindness? To wrap a warm jacket around my shoulders and blanket me in the heady scent of her until I fell back into her arms? Because I knew it would work if I let her enact it. Jade was a wolf and I wasn't a stupid sheep. I wouldn't be such easy prey this time.
"You must have known I was coming. I didn't even have to knock," I said, each word more biting than the last. "Did you have someone follow me?"
"Pez." Her tone was filled with warning, but I raised my eyebrow, forcing her to add, "What I do is for your protection."
"What you do is a cry for help! Has anyone told you that you have control issues?"
Jade's lips twitched, but she kept the smile off her face. "Many times. But we've had this argument before. Tell me why you're angry now."
"Saying something in front of a camera doesn't make it true. I don't live here." Though even as I spoke, my heart twisted. I could live here with her. I shook my head, trying to keep my thoughts clear even in her intoxicating presence.
"You needed a commitment," she reminded me in a low voice that dripped with sex, "and I want to give you what you need."
"Fucking hell Jade!" I threw my hands up in the air and stomped into the house, telling myself I wouldn't go past the foyer. "I needed you to be honest with me. That's all I've needed from the beginning, but it's been one lie after another."
"Secrets are not lies." Jade's eyes flashed and she turned away, closing the door behind her. My heart jumped as the lock clicked into place. I'd stepped over the threshold into her domain and now she had me caged.
"And what was tonight?" I demanded. "What was the point of telling those leeches that I live here?"
"You wanted a commitment," Jade repeated, "and I gave it to you."
