Page 54 of His Ruthless Match

Moments later, he handed me a perfectly prepared cup of coffee. It was rich, smooth, and just the right amount of sweet. “Thank you, Grelth. This is perfect.”

He nodded curtly. “Breakfast will be ready soon. Go enjoy the view while you wait.”

I stepped onto the deck, pausing to take in the full expanse of the ocean in daylight. The horizon stretched endlessly, the waves glittering under the sun. It was breathtaking.

Jareth didn’t glance my way as I approached, his focus locked on the ocean. His profile was relaxed but unreadable.

“How’d you sleep?” he asked, breaking the silence but still not looking at me.

I took a seat across from him at the small table. “Better than I have in a long time.”

He hummed in response, and I couldn’t help but notice the distance in his demeanor. Normally, he’d have made some smartass comment by now, but he was more reserved today.

Before I could dwell on it, Grelth arrived with a tray. The plates were piled high with pancakes, sausage, eggs.

“This looks amazing,” I said, genuinely impressed.

Grelth bowed slightly. “Enjoy, miss.”

“Wait,” I called after him as he turned to leave. “Aren’t you going to join us?”

He stopped and gave me a flat look. “No, miss. The ocean makes me nauseous.”

I glanced at Jareth, who shrugged as if this was completely normal.

The breakfast was every bit as good as it looked, and for a while, we ate in silence. I tried to focus on the moment, on the rare peace of sitting by the ocean with no pressing demands, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d done something to upset Jareth.

After breakfast, I thanked Grelth again and went to change. When I emerged, Jareth was waiting by the car.

Jareth didn’t say much on the drive, and though part of me wanted to ask what was bothering him, I held back. When we reached the tear in the Veil, he got out and opened the passenger door for me. The gesture caught me off guard, but I murmured a quiet, “Thank you,” before stepping out.

“Safe travels,” he said, his tone unreadable.

“Jareth... thanks for letting me stay last night. And for everything.”

His lips twitched, almost forming a smile, but he just nodded. “Any time, Delgado.”

As I stepped through the tear, I couldn’t help but feel that something had shifted between us.

Back home,the first thing I did was wash the sticky, lingering salt residue off my body. I stood under the warm spray, letting the heat seep into my muscles and loosening the tension I hadn’t realized I’d been carrying. My mind drifted back to the previous night. Jareth’s sharp wit, that ridiculous splash war, and the unexpected softness beneath his usual bravado had been unexpected, to say the least. But refreshing.

By the time I stepped out of the shower and toweled off, I felt lighter than I had in weeks. Maybe it was the ocean air. Or maybe it was Jareth being tolerable for once. Either way, I needed that clarity because my laptop was glaring at me like the taunting asshole it was.

I pulled on a pair of leggings and a loose top, then settled into the chair at my desk. Taking a deep breath to steady myself, I opened my inbox. As predicted, it was overflowing with unread emails.

The first one that caught my attention was from Gabe.

The original leads with Burnt Toast were a dead end. They were all ghost accounts with no one behind them. I’m still trying my best to get to the bottom of this, but I’m getting nowhere.

What the hell was going on? Gabe’s intel was usually much better than this. Was there something deeper going on here? I typed a quick response.

Thanks for your diligence. We need a solid lead ASAP. Keep me posted.

Hitting send, I leaned back in my chair and sighed. I hated spinning my wheels. The answer had to be out there somewhere, and I was going to fucking find it if it was the last thing I did.

The next email made me pause. A subject line from a prominent publication group caught my eye.

I clicked it open and read. Then read it again.