And I feel that difference sit somewhere in my chest, tight enough to notice, but not enough to disrupt anything.
At dinner, I bring it up.
Carefully.
“Hey—thank you for arranging the Pilates lesson. Beth was amazing. But… why did you decide to do that? I could’ve just gone to the class down the street. I had it booked and everything. It wouldn’t have been a problem.”
Soren shrugs, his expression serious. “I prefer knowing exactly who has access to you.”
The words land heavier than I expect.
“It’s just a Pilates class. Not naked tantric yoga. Who do you think would ‘access me’ somewhere like that?”
Something shifts in his expression. Subtle. Sharp. “Men who are not me,” he says. “That’s who.”
My stomach dips.
“I prefer to remove any uncertainty from that,” he continues, his tone even. “For their sake. As much as mine.”
I hold his gaze. “What does that mean?”
His eyes don’t soften. “If anyone so much as looked at you like the way I know they would if you were stretching the way you were today in front of them,” he says calmly, “I’d snap their necks and remove their eyes.”
The silence after is immediate.
Clean.
There’s no smile. No signal that it’s exaggerated.
And I have no doubt that he means it completely.
CHAPTER 33
IVY
Ifind it the next morning. In the center of the fitness room, like it’s always been there.
A reformer machine.
Not just any reformer—sleek, professional-grade. The kind I’ve only ever used in high-end studios where everything smells like eucalyptus and money.
I stop in the doorway. “You’re fucking joking.”
Soren’s voice comes from behind me, close enough that I can feel the heat of him before I turn. “I don’t joke about things like this.”
I step forward slowly, like it might disappear if I move too fast. My fingers trail along the frame, the smooth metal cool under my skin. The carriage. The straps. The springs.
It’s perfect.
“This is…” I let out a short laugh, shaking my head. “This is insane. Too much.”
It’s the most extravagant thing anyone has ever given me. By a mile.
He shrugs. “It’s what you need. I’ll always take care of whatyou need.”
Not what I want. What Ineed.
It’s not something I asked for. Or something I thought about. And yet—now that it’s here—Idowant it. I just hadn’t let myself think that big.