Chapter 34

ELOISE

His words settled in the air like the world had slowed down.

I blinked, my mind struggling to catch up with his unexpected confession. He seemed to want to control everything around him and do whatever pleased him, yet he told me he wanted me. Not Zoey, nor anyone else.

It was suddenly a lot to take in, and my heart pounded as I processed his words in my brain. I caught my chest with my palm to calm it down.

“You want me?” the words escaped my lips like a breath, almost in disbelief. I searched his eyes for any sign that he might be playing with me, but I found his deep ocean-blue eyes staring back at me with a hint of vulnerability instead.

He adjusted himself in his seat and cocked his head in discomfort. “I don’t know what this means or where this is going. I just know that being around you is different. You’re the source of my headache recently, so I’m rectifying that.”

I swallowed the lump building in my throat. “What about Zoey?”

He grimaced. “What about her? She’s