The air in the dining room was thick enough to choke on. After her father's firm declaration, Kaida didn't stay to argue. She didn't give Jax the satisfaction of a response. With a sharp, icy glare that could have frozen the Mediterranean, she turned on her heel.
She marched out of the room, her silhouette disappearing behind the heavy oak doors. She didn't look back once.
Jax stood perfectly still, his hands clasped behind his back in a professional stance. But behind his dark sunglasses, his eyes were dilated, following the sway of her hips until she was gone.
Oh, my Princess, Jax thought, a dark, dangerous heat blooming in his chest. Go ahead. Ignore me. Hate me. Every time you turn your back on me, it only makes the hunt more delicious. You think your silence is a shield, but it's just another reason why I'm going to make you mine. And I will. Very soon.
The Father's Warning
"Mr. Rossi?" Lorenzo Valerius called out, snapping Jax back to the present.
Jax turned, his face instantly becoming a mask of cold professionalism. "Yes, Signor?"
"Kaida is... spirited," Lorenzo said, sighing as he rubbed his temples. "She is used to Leo. Leo was soft. He let her have her way. But the world is getting more dangerous for a man in my position. I need you to know everything. I've prepared a file—every schedule, every friend, every cafe she visits. Leo has documented her life for years. You must memorize it."
Jax looked at the thick folder on the table. He felt a surge of silent mockery.
"I understand, Signor," Jax replied smoothly. "I will study her every move."
But as Lorenzo began to explain Kaida's favorite routes to college, Jax's mind drifted. I don't need your files, old man, he thought. I've spent the last week living in the shadows of her life. I know she likes her coffee black with one sugar. I know she listens to melancholy music when she thinks no one is listening. I know the exact moment she turns off her lamp at night.
Jax didn't need a map to find Kaida. He was already her shadow. His only goal now was to ensure that no other man—not a classmate, not a friend, not even a stranger—ever got within arm's reach of her again.
The Sounds of the Sanctuary
Upstairs, Kaida slammed her bedroom door shut. Her chest was heaving with fury.
"I hate him," she whispered to the empty, luxurious room. "I hate his suit. I hate his voice. I want Leo back."
She felt like a prisoner in her own home. To her, Jax wasn't a protector; he was a replacement for the only man who had ever treated her like a person instead of a trophy.
Aggravated and wanting to wash off the feeling of Jax's eyes on her, she grabbed her silk robe and headed into the marble bathroom. She turned the shower on, the steam beginning to fill the room.
Outside in the hallway, Jax stood like a gargoyle. He was the only person on the second floor. The other guards were stationed at the perimeter, but Jax... Jax stayed at her door.
He closed his eyes, his senses heightening. He could hear everything. He heard the click of the lock. He heard the soft rustle of her clothes hitting the floor. Then, the rhythmic, melodic sound of the water dripping—hitting the tile, then hitting her skin.
The scent of her body wash—a mix of expensive roses and dark honey—drifted through the gap beneath the door. Jax took a deep, slow breath, memorizing the smell. It was intoxicating. It was a scent that belonged in a palace, and he was the only one allowed to guard the gates.
As he stood there, his eyes caught something. On the vintage brass door knob of her bedroom, there was a tiny, jagged hole—perhaps an old lock malfunction or a wear in the metal. It was small, but if someone leaned in, they could see into her private sanctuary.
Jax's jaw tightened. A flash of pure, murderous possessiveness flared in his eyes. He didn't look through it. He wouldn't allow anyone else to have that view, either. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a small piece of black adhesive from his tactical kit, and silently covered the hole.
No one looks at what is mine, he thought darkly. Not even the walls.
The Confrontation
At exactly 8:00 AM, the bedroom door swung open.
Kaida stepped out, dressed for college in a style that screamed "Billionaire's Daughter." She looked radiant, her skin glowing from the shower, her hair perfectly styled. But her expression was pure ice.
She saw Jax standing there, exactly where she had left him.
"You're still here," she said, her voice dripping with artificial sweetness and sharp edges. She decided right then that she would treat him like a servant. She would be the boss. She would break his composure until he begged to quit.
"Hey, Jax," she said, using his name without a title, her tone rough and demanding. She stepped right up to him, looking him in the eye. "Let's go. I'm ready. And don't walk too close to me—I don't like the smell of 'cheap' security."
She expected him to be insulted. She expected him to flinch or get angry.
Instead, a slow, dark smirk spread across Jax's face. He liked the bite in her tongue. He liked that she was a fighter. It was going to make breaking her even more satisfying.
He stepped aside and gave a mock-bow, his voice smooth and dangerous.
"Yes, Mam," Jax replied, his eyes burning with a fire she didn't understand yet. "After you."
Kaida marched toward the stairs, thinking she had won the first round. She didn't see the way Jax watched her walk, his hand resting on his holster, his mind already calculating how he would keep her trapped in his world forever.
The game had officially begun.