Page 39 of Knot Heirs: Serenity's Reign

"I've been waiting for your arrival after you read my text," he said, his thumb brushing over her knuckles in a touch so brief she might have imagined it. "Please, sit."

He gestured to the plush seating opposite him, waiting until she'd arranged herself before lowering himself back into his chair.

The movement was fluid, controlled—everything about him was controlled, from the perfectly arranged pocket square to the calculated warmth of his smile.

"You look ravishing," he said, those amber eyes making a slow assessment that felt more like a security scan than a flirtation. "Black suits you, though I suspect you chose it for practical reasons rather than aesthetic ones."

Serenity wore a suit instead of a dress to throw him off balance.

Wearing a tailored ensemble was meant to convey strength, a rejection of the feminine vulnerability that often came with her Omega designation. Maybe some would see it as her leaning into a tomboy, someone refusing to fit the mold.

She was trying to project a kind of power, a masculine aura that left no room for the usual expectations people had of her. A direct contrast to the soft, feminine dresses she imagined Lucian expected, like a declaration that she wouldn't play into his or anyone else's fantasies.

But she was quickly realizing that her cunning plan wasn’t having the intended effect. From the way Lucian was appraising her every curve in that fitted black suit with those obnoxious purple cuffs, taking inventory of the dark purple shirt with its annoying collar that nodded to jewelry, it was clear her "more is more" strategy was failing spectacularly. In fact, it seemed his interest had dialed up from intense to all-consuming.

Or maybe it was bordering on obsession. With Lucian, she couldn't quite tell. Yet.

A statement wrapped in a compliment wrapped in an observation. Serenity tilted her head slightly.

"And you chose white because you enjoy making a spectacle?" she countered, crossing one leg over the other.

Lucian's laugh was genuine, the sound of it transforming his face for a split second from calculating predator to something almost human.

"Perhaps. Or I enjoy reminding everyone around me that I can afford to be impractical." His fingers tapped once against the tabletop, an almost imperceptible tell. "Shall we order before we discuss why you've finally agreed to meet with me?"

"Certainly." She maintained the pleasant veneer, her mind categorizing each micro expression that crossed his face. "Though I suspect you already know what I drink."

His smile sharpened at the edges, proving he not only orchestrated this union but did his research.

Goodness…I hate an Alpha who may potentially outsmart me…

"MacCutcheon, neat. Your father's preference as well, though he preferred it with two ice cubes. You take it straight." He signaled to a waiter who appeared silently at his side, bowing in his presence to ensure the acknowledgment of the hierarchy difference was crystal clear. "The lady will have a MacCutcheon, neat. I'll have the same."

The waiter nodded and disappeared.

Serenity kept her expression neutral, despite the chill that swept through her at this small evidence of his research into her life.

"You've done your homework," she acknowledged, the words crisp. She really hated to admit the truth, but she couldn’t ignore the work he inputted into this unexpected confrontation. It made her wonder what his true motive was for her — for him and potentially anyone else involved in this elaborate plan to “claim” her.

"I always do." Lucian leaned forward slightly, his elbows resting on the table. The position should have seemed casual; instead, it felt like the coiling of a predator before a strike. "Knowledge is leverage, Ms. Vale. And I never enter a situation without leverage."

Oh really?

"Is that what this is? A situation requiring leverage?" She kept her tone light, but her fingers tensed against the smooth leather of the booth.

"This is many things." His amber gaze locked with hers, unblinking. "A business opportunity. A security measure. Perhaps the beginning of a mutually beneficial arrangement."

Their drinks arrived, interrupting whatever he might have said next.

Serenity waited until the waiter had retreated before lifting her glass.

"To mutually beneficial arrangements," she said, the irony thick in her voice.

Lucian's lips quirked upward as he raised his own glass.

"To new partnerships."

The whiskey burned a pleasant path down her throat, warming her from the inside out. She set her glass down with deliberate care.

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