Chapter 65 I Expect You To Fight Me

Elena’s Point Of View For a split second, the words didn’t feel real. My brain scrambled, tripping over itself, as if reality had bent into some impossible dream. My chest rose and fell, breath trapped halfway between panic and disbelief. This had to be a dream. It had to. My mind grasped for logic, maybe I fell asleep on Lexy’s plush couch while flipping through gowns, maybe the boutique had slipped into one of those vivid nightmares where desire and fear tangled too tightly. But the sharp heat of his hand still lingered on the middle of my back. His scent… dark spice, smoke, something I’d hated myself for memorizing, was too sharp, too precise. No dream could conjure this. Slowly, I twisted, my voice catching in my throat. My lips parted, but sound was hard to find. Finally, in a hoarse whisper, I managed, “What are you doing here, Jaxx? How…” I swallowed hard, eyes darting around the dressing room like the walls might betray a hidden crack. “How did you even get in here?” His mouth