Page 9 of His Ruthless Match (Below #3)

EVA

I slammed my fists into the heavy bag, each hit reverberating through my body like a drumbeat.

Left jab, right cross, left jab, hook. Sweat dripped down my spine, and my ponytail swung behind me as I threw punch after punch.

The burn in my muscles was cathartic, and it drowned out the noise in my head.

The converted workout room was my sanctuary. Polished floors, mirrored walls, and not a single distraction in sight. Just me, the bag, and my thoughts.

A sharp pop of air behind me shattered that peace.

I froze mid-swing, my heart hammering as I spun around. I stared, wide-eyed, at the soaking wet figure in my doorway.

“What the fuck?” I snapped, yanking the wraps off my hands.

Jareth stood there, dripping water onto my immaculate floor, a towel slung precariously low on his hips. His dark hair was plastered to his forehead, and the hard lines of his muscles glistened under the light. He looked more annoyed than worried, which only pissed me off more.

“Your heart rate spiked,” Jareth said flatly, crossing his arms like he wasn’t dripping all over my floor. Water pooled around his bare feet, and the towel slung dangerously low on his hips looked ready to betray him at any second. “I thought you were in danger.”

I stopped myself from gaping at the absurdity of the situation. Barely. “Clearly, I’m fine,” I shot back, snatching my towel from the bench. The sight of him standing there, smug and soaked, wasn’t helping. “I was working out. You ever heard of cardio?”

His golden-brown eyes narrowed slightly as a flicker of exasperation crossed over his face.

“Yeah, well, this stupid bracelet doesn’t seem to know the difference between danger and a good cardio session,” he muttered, holding up his wrist to display the matching device.

“I’ll have to talk to Vivian about recalibrating it. This is ridiculous.”

I glared down at the offending bracelet on my wrist. Its smooth, polished metal seemed innocent enough, but it may as well have been a leash. And right now, I wanted nothing more than to snap it in half.

“How did you even get here so fast?” I demanded, my frustration simmering just under the surface.

Jareth sighed heavily, dragging a hand through his dark, wet hair.

The motion sent another stream of water trickling down his chest, tracing along sharp muscle lines I tried very hard not to notice.

“Vivian’s latest gadget,” he said, his voice tinged with something that sounded suspiciously like boredom.

“She combined human tech with veilstepping. I push a button, and bam—here I am.”

“Great,” I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm. “So now you can invade my personal space faster than ever. Wonderful. Truly cutting-edge.”

His lips twitched upward in the faintest hint of a smirk. “Convenient, right?”

“For you? Maybe. For me? Absolutely not.” I crossed my arms, my irritation boiling over. “This is invasive. You can’t just pop in whenever my heart rate goes up. What if I’d been—” I cut myself off, suddenly realizing I didn’t want to finish that sentence in front of him.

His smirk grew. “What? In the shower? Don’t worry, princess. I would’ve knocked.”

I clenched my jaw so hard that my temples ached. “Knocking would imply you have boundaries,” I snapped. “And that’s giving you and my brother way too much credit.”

“Relax,” he said with maddening calmness, leaning casually against the doorframe like he owned the place. “I’m just doing my job.”

“You’re not doing your job,” I shot back, stepping closer to him despite every instinct screaming at me not to. “You’re pushing every single one of my buttons on purpose. Don’t even try to deny it.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” he said smoothly. “It’s just so easy.”

I wanted to throw something at his head. Preferably something heavy. “This is harassment,” I hissed.

“This is protection,” he countered. “You can complain all you want, but the fact is, if your heart rate spikes like that, I’m gonna show up. Get used to it.”

I jabbed a finger into his chest. “You don’t get to decide how much of my life you invade.”

He caught my wrist, his grip firm but not painful. “I don’t want to be here any more than you want me here, but your brother put me on this job, and I don’t take his orders lightly. So yeah, I’m going to be invasive if I need to be. Deal with it.”

For a moment, we stood there, locked in a silent battle of wills. His eyes searched mine, and I hated the way they seemed to see right through me, cutting past my defenses like they weren’t even there.

I yanked my wrist free, my face hot with anger—or maybe something else I didn’t want to think about. “You’re impossible.”

“And you’re predictable,” he said, that damn smirk returning like it had never left. “See you around, princess.”

He held up his hands as if to pacify me. The movement made the towel slip lower on his hips. Dangerously low. My traitorous gaze flicked downward, taking in the sharp, defined muscles of his abdomen and the infuriating V-shape leading lower.

My face heated when I realized I was staring. Jareth’s grin only widened.

“You’re enjoying this,” I accused.

“Not the word I’d use, but sure.” He had the nerve to wink. And just like that, he was gone.

Fuming, I clenched my fists at my sides. The nerve of him.

Grabbing my phone, I typed furiously, jabbing the keys harder than necessary.

Eva: What the hell, Raffaele? Seriously? Jareth?

I didn’t have to wait long for his reply.

Raffaele: Good morning to you too.

I rolled my eyes.

Eva: Don’t “good morning” me. He just showed up in my apartment soaking wet and half - naked because of a pair of bracelets YOU made us wear.

Raffaele: He’s doing his job.

Eva: Babysitting isn’t a job. It’s a punishment. For both of us.

Raffaele: He’s not that bad.

Eva: False.

I threw my phone onto the bench, then ran a hand through my damp hair. I didn’t have time for this nonsense. My schedule was already packed, and the last thing I needed was my brother’s assassin throwing himself into my personal space whenever he felt like it.

My phone buzzed again, and I snatched it up, ready to chew Raffaele out some more.

Raffaele: Focus on your day. I’ll come by tonight, and we can talk.

Eva: Fine. But he’s your problem, not mine.

When Raffaele didn’t respond, I tossed the phone back down with a huff.

If Jareth thought this bracelet gave him free rein to pop in whenever he wanted, he was sorely mistaken.

Tonight, I’d make that clear to Raffaele…

and to Jareth if I had to. I didn’t care who Jareth was or how fucking skilled he was, I didn’t want anyone interfering in my life.

I’d made it this far with no issues and had no plans of giving up my hard-won independence and the carefully controlled life I’d developed.

I needed a shower. Preferably one long enough to wash off the lingering irritation and the image of Jareth’s stupid smirk burned into my brain.

Balancing the precariously stacked drink carrier in one hand and my tote bag in the other, I elbowed the door to the office open with a bit more force than necessary. The scent of freshly brewed coffee wafted through the air, immediately catching Theo’s attention.

“Morning, boss!” Theo chirped, appearing out of nowhere like the office elf he apparently moonlighted as.

His grin was as vibrant as his suit—navy today, paired with an offensively bright tie dotted with tiny pineapples.

“Did you bring me my liquid lifeline? Oat milk, too? Be still my heart. You are the best.”

“You only love me for the coffee,” I muttered, setting the drinks down on the reception desk. My oat milk latte perched precariously on the edge of the carrier, and I snatched it before it could tip over.

Theo winked. “You’ve figured me out. Guess I’ll just take this and slink away in shame.” He snagged his cup, sniffed the lid theatrically, and sighed in mock contentment. “Ah, bliss.”

Nadia adjusted the sleek braid that fell over her shoulder before reaching for her drink. “Thanks, Eva,” she said softly, her warm smile making me feel just a little less like I’d already failed this morning. “You didn’t have to.”

“Yes, I did. If you didn’t take this one, Theo would just drink it, too.”

“True,” Theo chimed in shamelessly.

They laughed, but I had too much on my mind to join in. “All right, you two. Back to work. I’ll be in my office if you need me.” Latte in hand, I retreated before Theo’s morning energy could annoy me.

My office was as I’d left it: meticulously organized, every file and paper in its place. I dropped my bag in its usual spot and settled into my chair with a sigh, savoring the first sip of my latte. It was bliss—creamy, warm, and just sweet enough. Perfect.

That perfection shattered the second I glanced at my computer monitor.

A neon sticky note was taped dead center, its obnoxiously bright edges practically vibrating against the sleek black screen. The handwritten message was impossible to miss.

Hate that I missed you. Sorry if I left some cat hair on your screen.

J.

The coffee went down the wrong way, and I coughed and sputtered. “What the actual fuck?”

Leaning forward, I yanked the note off the monitor like it might bite me. My hand trembled with the force of my irritation.

“What the hell was he doing in my office?” I hissed.

Theo’s head popped around the door, his tie askew like he’d just tripped over himself. “Everything okay in here?”

“Fine,” I snapped, crumpling the sticky note in my fist. “Everything’s peachy. Close the door, please.”

His eyebrows shot up, but he closed the door without argument.

Apparently, there was no place Jareth wouldn’t invade. How was I supposed to work—how was I supposed to breathe—when that smug, infuriating ass was lurking in the shadows?

The sharp trill of my phone cut through my spiraling thoughts. I answered without looking at the screen.

“Delgado,” I said.

“Eva?” Genevieve’s voice was shaky and panicked.

“Genevieve, what’s wrong?”