( Ava's POV )
The house was quiet again, but the silence no longer offered comfort.
Ava paced the hallway, bare feet brushing against the hardwood floor. Her chest was tight, her mind buzzing. Every step she took echoed with last night’s conversation, Brian’s possessive words, the way he’d said her name, the way his hand had hovered over hers, not touching, but close enough to make her pulse stutter.
She hated him. She hated that she wanted him. And she hated herself even more for thinking about what it would feel like to give in.
The knot in her stomach tightened further when she heard him move in the living room. His steps were deliberate, controlled, and yet impossible to ignore. She paused, pressing her back against the wall.
“I said we can’t,” she whispered to herself.
But he h
