Page 60 of The Heiress

I wasn’t sure how he was going to manage to keep us apart, but it wasn’t my world. “Okay.”

He scrubbed his face. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about our conversation the other day.”

“And?” It was so, so hard to look him in the eyes, but I did it. I had to hold my breath to do it, but I did it.

All that intensity directed at me was hard to handle.

“And I think you’re right. There are similarities there. Between the life I lead and the Roarks.” He placed his hand on my knee. “Those similarities are making me real uncomfortable.”

“Uncomfortable or worried?” The distinction seemed important, especially because the look in his eyes was far more pained than I’d attribute to justnot likingsomething.

He looked up at the ceiling like he expected to find a camera with a blinking red light. Then he scratched the back of his neck and lowered his voice. “In my world everything is about power. Who has it, who doesn’t, whothinksthey have it. There’s a hierarchy and rules. If our worlds are really so similar, you need to figure out where you fit quickly. It’s the only way to play.”

I instantly imagined a chessboard with Georgia as both the King and Queen and the Feyereisens as bishops, powerful but not quite powerful enough. “Otherwise I’m doomed to a life as a pawn?”

His frown twitched into a soft smile. “Yeah. That.”

“And if I walk away from it all?”

The smile disappeared. “It’s already too late for that.”

“But I haven’t done anything. I haven’t signed or agreed to anything.”

He took my hand and cradled it between his. It was a gentle touch, barely anything at all, but the gesture was so very tender that it took my breath away. “The minute Georgia laid eyes on you it was too late. That’s the way it works in the club and I’m now absolutely sure it’s the way it works here. You’re a Roark now and the only way out is in a body bag.”

The price is your soul.

The very idea was so extreme that it felt wrong, but I also knew he was probably right. I wrapped my fingers around his. “Did you ever have a choice?”

For a few brilliant moments I had Jace’s full and complete attention. His gaze slid over my face. My lips and cheeks, my forehead and hair, and then finally,finallyhe gave me his eyes again. I swear my heart stopped beating altogether.

He flipped my hand over and traced the blue veins that ran along my wrist. “It’s in the blood. Membership is stamped on our DNA.”

The tips of his fingers danced along my skin. They might as well have been kisses. It felt just as intense, just as intimate. “I’m scared,” I whispered.

His jaw clenched and his eyes hardened. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I learned to navigate Devil’s Wrath and you’ll learn your world, too.” Then he threaded his fingers through mine and held on tight. “We’re a team now, you hear? We didn’t choose the game, but if we have to play, we’re going to win. Losing isn’t an option.”

Deep inside I knew there was no way out. I held onto this shred of an idea that I could leave and things would go back to the way they were, but I knew I was lying to myself. Hearing Jace say it made it real. It erased the option from my mind once and for all. This was my life now. The corporations, the private jets, the secrets. I needed to learn where I fit because if I didn’t...well I think I’d already lived through what happens when you don’t fit. They eliminate you, one way or another.

It helped to know I had someone on my side—someone who really knew what it would take to survive. “Jace, I—” I froze as the words got stuck on my tongue. How did I articulate what I felt? Grateful wasn’t right. His hand in mine felt so good and all I could think was that to truly express my feelings I needed to be closer. To touch him. To—

His eyebrows rose with...hope?Maybe. “You?”

“I...”Need you. Want you. Get you.“Never thought our lives would seem so similar. Make so much sense together.” It was like life waited until the perfect moment.

His breath stuttered. He swallowed hard. “We went from friends to...more...and haven’t had a second to figure it out.”

“Like getting stuck in the waves on a windy day. You just barely get up for air and then the next one’s already pulling you back and sucking you under.”

One half of his lips pulled up. “Yeah. Like that. Seems the girl can leave the island, but the island never leaves the girl.”

Electric silence expanded between us. “The timing is shit, but I’m glad it happened.”

“No matter what happens—and a lot of shit is gonna happen, Sam—know that keeping you safe and making you happy is my first priority, even when it doesn’t seem that way.”

The electric pull stuttered to a stop. “What do you mean?”

His eyes unfocused as his mind went somewhere else. Someplace dark. “This isn’t a fairytale. It’s not simple. There isn’t a magic wand waving overhead with money and power that doesn’t come with a hell of a lot of strings. We might have to make choices, Sam. Maybe we get to be together and maybe…”

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