Married to the Enemy CEO

The rules we keep breaking

Alina’s POV

I barely slept that night.

Not because the bed was uncomfortable, but because Jace Thorn had kissed me—and I’d kissed him back like a woman possessed.

And now?

He acted like it never happened.

We arrived back in the city before noon, greeted by a dozen paparazzi stationed outside the penthouse. Jace shielded me from the flashes, hand resting low on my back like a protective husband—except I could still feel the exact pressure of his lips on mine.

I didn’t know what to do with that.

Or the way my body still betrayed me around him. A glance. A breath. A memory.

Back upstairs, I headed to my room without a word. I needed distance. Sanity. Oxygen.

But my hand froze on the doorknob when I heard him speak behind me.

“Running already?”

I turned slowly. “What do you want me to say, Jace? That the kiss meant something?”

He stepped forward, eyes unreadable. “Did it?”

I hated how much power that question held over me.

“…Yes,” I whispered. “And that’s what scares me.”

His gaze darkened. “Don’t be scared of me, Alina.”

“I’m not scared of you. I’m scared of what you make me feel.”

There was a beat of silence between us, so thick it could be sliced.

But he broke it first—with the last thing I expected.

“No more kissing,” he said flatly.

My heart twisted. “Excuse me?”

“I meant what I said. This changes nothing. We can’t afford to blur the lines.”

“Because of the contract?”

He didn’t answer.

Of course he didn’t.

Instead, he turned away, disappearing into his office like the kiss we shared was just a flicker of heat in a snowstorm.

But I wasn’t going to forget it.

Not when I could still taste him.

Jace’s POV

I kissed her.

And I regret it.

Not because I didn’t want it—but because I wanted it too much.

Alina Reyes was supposed to be a pawn. A shield. A beautiful, disposable solution to a business problem.

But she wasn’t disposable anymore. Not after the lake. Not after her fingers tangled in my hair. Not after the way she said my name like she almost trusted me.

I couldn’t afford that.

I’d already made the mistake of letting someone too close before.

Once.

And she paid the price for it.

That’s why I needed control. Distance. Boundaries.

Even if it killed me.

So when she walked into the kitchen the next morning in nothing but one of my white shirts and bare legs, I didn’t speak. I turned away before I could ruin us both again.

Alina’s POV

Two days passed.

We barely spoke.

Each word was like walking on a tightrope between desire and disaster.

Until today—when everything snapped.

We were hosting a private dinner for investors at the penthouse. Jace handed me a diamond choker to wear—flawless, sharp, heavy with intent.

“It makes you look powerful,” he said.

I looked at him through the mirror. “Or owned?”

He froze behind me. “Is that what you think you are?”

“Aren’t I?” I whispered. “Your perfect little wife? For display?”

His hands came up slowly, fastening the choker.

But his fingers brushed my skin… and lingered.

Too long.

His voice dropped.

“You’re not just a display.”

And then he kissed my shoulder—softly. Deliberately.

I turned.

Face to face. Breath to breath.

This time, I kissed him.

Because pretending nothing happened wasn’t working anymore.