Chapter 20
The first sign of Alexander’s jealousy was my phone.
It was lying on the kitchen counter when a message from Daniel appeared on the screen.
Hope you’re doing okay. Coffee offer still stands if you ever want to catch up.
Alexander read the notification because it appeared in front of him.
He picked up the phone.
“What are you doing?”
“Blocking him.”
I stared. “Excuse me?”
His thumb moved once.
“Alexander.”
He handed the phone back.
“He knows you’re married.”
“That does not give you permission to manage my contacts.”
“Noted.”
“Unblock him.”
His expression suggested he would rather negotiate with a hostile government.
He did it anyway.
I should have recognised the argument as a warning.
Three days later, Daniel appeared at the estate gates.
Security alerted Alexander before anyone alerted me.
By the time I reached the front drive, Daniel stood on the other side of a controlled checkpoint with two guards near him and Alexander several yards away, posture frighteningly calm.
“I came to see Grace,” Daniel said.
“You were told to leave.”
“I just want five minutes.”
“You attempted to pass a restricted perimeter after being denied access.”
“I didn’t know this place was a military base.”
“It is my home. The distinction does not improve your position.”
“Alexander!”
Both men looked at me.
I hurried down the steps.
“Let him go.”
“Return inside, Grace.”
The order struck exactly the nerve it should not have.
“Do not order me around.”
His jaw tightened.
Daniel stepped forward. Security moved instantly.
Alexander’s entire body changed.
The husband disappeared. The commander took his place.
“Detain him.”
“No.”
I caught Alexander’s arm.
He looked down at my hand.
“He is not dangerous.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I know Daniel.”
Something sharp crossed Alexander’s face.
“You are defending a man who ignored security instructions to reach you.”
“I am preventing you from destroying his life because you’re angry.”
“You think this is anger?”
“What else would it be?”
He stepped closer.
“Who are you protecting, Grace? Him?”
“Right now, yes.”
The answer landed badly.
Alexander dismissed security with a clipped order and told Daniel to leave.
Daniel did.
Then Alexander turned on me.
“He will not return.”
“You don’t get to decide who speaks to me.”
“I decide who breaches my perimeter.”
“You blocked him on my phone. Was that perimeter security too?”
Silence.
“You are jealous,” I said.
His eyes darkened.
“Careful.”
“No. You want the rights of a husband when it suits you, but every time this becomes real, you hide behind the contract.”
He moved so quickly I barely registered it.
One moment there was space between us.
The next, his hand was at my wais,t and his mouth was on mine.
The kiss was nothing like the restrained man I knew.
It was anger and fear and weeks of discipline breaking at the same point.
For one stunned second, I did not move.
Then I kissed him back.
When he finally pulled away, both of us were breathing too hard.
Alexander looked almost furious with himself.
I touched my mouth.
“Was that perimeter security?”
His eyes closed briefly.
“Go inside, Grace.”
This time it sounded less like an order than an attempt to survive the next minute.
I went.
Neither of us mentioned the kiss that night.
It existed between us anyway.
