Chapter 315: Safe Travels

"Psycho," April murmured softly, though the corner of her mouth twitched with a subtle, dark amusement.

"I’m insane about you, sweetheart. So, I guess it counts," Nat replied without missing a beat, his sharp smirk broadening as his gaze dropped deliberately back down to her chest. His fingers reached out, idly playing with the edge of her silver pendant. "Now, how about that button? You’re hiding all the best parts."

Before Nat could lay a finger on her shirt, Xavier moved.

He stepped around the table and seized Nat by his jacket collar, pulling him back from April’s space with brute force. The sudden move dragged Nat’s chair back with a sharp, harsh scrape against the glass floor.

"That’s enough," Xavier gritted out, his raspy voice shaking with an edge of dangerous authority. His broad frame loomed over Nat, his dark eyes burning with pure, unadulterated fury. "You’ve had your fun, Nat. But this date is over, and April is coming home with me."

Nat didn’t even bother to break Xavier’s grip on his coat. Instead, he tilted his head back, looking up at the tycoon with a cold, mocking glint in his eyes.

"Touchy, touchy," Nat drawled, his tone dangerously smooth. "You really think you get to decide where she goes tonight, Reed? Why don’t you ask her?"

The air on the private balcony instantly turned suffocatingly heavy, thick with the silent, suffocating threat of two dominant apex predators ready to tear the establishment apart over a single woman.

April quietly slipped her bare feet back into her stilettos beneath the tablecloth. She stood up smoothly, adjusting her coat over her shoulders. The sharp click of her high heels hitting the floor instantly broke the standoff between the two men.

"I decide where I go," April stated calmly, her dark eyes sweeping over both of them with absolute authority.

Both Xavier and Nat snapped their attention to her, their aggressive postures instantly freezing.

April looked at Xavier, her expression softening just a fraction. "Thank you for the dinner, Master Reed. It was exceptional and... I enjoyed my time with you."

She then flicked her dark gaze to Nat, her lips curving into a faint, dangerous smirk. "And as for you... if you’re so eager to spend time with me, you can drive me back. How’s that?"

Nat let out a loud, delighted laugh, casually snapping his collar free from Xavier’s lingering grip as he stood up. "With pleasure, sweetheart."

Xavier’s jaw locked tight, a flicker of quiet defeat passing over his face. He hated every second of this, but April had spoken, and her decision was absolute. He wouldn’t degrade himself or upset her by turning it into a petty street fight.

She had spent all evening with him. A few hours spent with Nat would not erase the words she said to him.

Before he could step back, April reached across the space, her hand gently brushing over his wrist right where his pulse thrummed fast and heated.

"I’ll see you back at the estate, Xavier," she murmured softly, her eyes locking onto his with a quiet, undeniable warmth that instantly quelled the burning storm in his chest.

Xavier swallowed hard, his raspy voice dropping into a tender, reluctant murmur as his fingers lightly grazed hers in return.

"Safe travels, April."

That’s right. Nothing could erase what they had shared.

As Nat led her toward the elevator, his hand resting firm and warm at her waist, April glanced up at him. "You would’ve created a bigger scene had I chased you away, wouldn’t you?"

His lips curled into a sharp, lazy grin as he leaned into her side, his heavy weight pressing lightly against her. "You know me so well I’m almost embarrassed. Or did you use your foresight just now?"

April sighed softly, her dark eyes tracking the descending floor numbers. "I don’t need foresight to know what you’d do."

He was a villain, after all. She had come to realize that just as they were all living according to their Classes, their core traits remained absolute—and a villain and a saint were never going to see eye to eye.

Nat would always pick on Xavier and Xavier would be provoked every single time.

"So, where do you want to take me?" she asked.

"Oh? I thought you wanted to go home," Nat mused, his tone dripping with fake innocence.

April scoffed, unbothered. "Like you’d take me home right away just because I said so. You’re not fooling anyone."

He felt thoroughly entertained by her dry sharpness, that distinct villainous glint dancing in his eyes. As the elevator doors slid completely shut, sealing them into the quiet privacy of the cabin, Nat spun her around, hooking his arm around her waist to pull her flush against his chest, and kissed her.

The kiss was not unexpected. If he could kiss her in front of Xavier like that, there was no way he would keep his hands off her in a closed, private space like this.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. Nat let out a low, rough growl directly into her mouth, his hands gripping her waist so tightly her body was pinned flush against his chest.

"I missed you like hell, sweetheart," he rasped against her lips, smacking them together with a sharp, possessive rhythm before diving back in.

"Why did you show up now if you still can’t control yourself?" April managed to breathe out, her eyes half-lidded, her voice laced with a raspy, breathless calm. "I’m still on my period."

"I know," Nat growled, his dark eyes burning into hers. "But I’ll do my best to keep my hands away. I’m starving for you, April... so let me have only a lick, and it’ll sustain me until I can properly feast on you."

Since when did he start speaking in metaphors? she wondered silently, her heart hammering against her ribs as he trailed a line of scorching kisses down her jawline to her throat. His fingers hooked into her collar, effortlessly popping open that top button he had been glaring at all evening, his warm mouth immediately pressing right over her collarbone and sucking on the top flesh of her breast.

April kept her eyes on the digital indicator lights above the doors, watching the floor numbers rapidly count down.

"Nat... the elevator," she warned softly, her breath catching as his lips dug deeper against her skin. "The doors are going to open soon."

Nat hissed a sharp curse under his breath. Without breaking his hold on her waist, he reached blindly to the side and slammed his palm directly onto the emergency stop button.

With a low, mechanical shudder, the elevator jerked and came to a complete halt between floors, trapping them together in the quiet, dimly lit shaft.

"Now, it won’t open,"