Page 23 of Monsters Wear Crowns
He leaned in slightly, just enough for me to catch the faintest hint of his cologne–dark, smooth, dangerously inviting. “I wanted to see how long you’d resist.”
Heat coiled low in my stomach, but I kept my expression schooled. “You think I came here because I couldn’tresistyou?”
His smile deepened, but he didn’t answer right away. Instead, he reached for a second glass, pouring a measure of whiskey before sliding it toward me. “Drink?”
I scoffed, and didn’t touch it. “Why don’t you stop playing games and get to the point?”
He hummed in approval, his gaze dropping briefly to mylips before returning to my eyes. “Alright, Adela. Let’s talk about the breach.”
Ice shot through me.
I kept my expression neutral, but he caught it. He saw the flicker of realization, the confirmation that I knew exactly what he was talking about. “It was you,” I murmured, gripping the edge of the bar.
He didn’t confirm. He didn’t need to. Instead, he leaned back, studying me with something between amusement and fascination. “You intrigue me. The way you handled it? Impressive.”
I swallowed hard, refusing to give him the satisfaction of an immediate answer. But the truth was unsettling. It had excited me–the chase, the unknown, the knowledge that I had drawn the attention of someone formidable. I always enjoyed a good puzzle or challenge.
He smirked as if he already knew the answer. “You’re used to dangerous men, aren’t you?” he mused, running a finger along the rim of his glass. “How many of them have made you feel alive like I did?”
“None.” I said quickly with venom. I exhaled slowly, fighting against the pull he had on me. “I don’t scare easily, Rafe.”
“No,” he agreed, his voice dropping lower. “But youdocrave something more, don’t you?”
The air between us thickened, charged with something that was no longer just verbal sparring. It was raw. He stared at me like he knew very intimately what I craved.
“How would you know what I crave?” I asked with a grin.
He bit his bottom lip, and I had to squeeze my thighs to dampen the heat that flared between them. “You read some interesting books.”
My heart stuttered. “How do you know what kind of books I read?”
“I know that you’re desperate for something that I can give,”he tilted his head, inspecting me. Goosebumps ravaged my skin, though I tried my best to keep myself composed.
“What do you want, Rafe?”
“Several things,” he sipped from his glass.
Then, before I could respond, a voice from the shadows interrupted us.
“She’s even more stunning in person.”
I stiffened.
Rafe didn’t turn right away. Instead, his lips twitched in something close to irritation before he finally looked toward the man who had spoken.
My pulse pounded as my gaze followed his–and my stomach dropped. I recognized the man approaching the bar. He had a wild reputation. A name whispered in elite, dangerous circles. A man who shouldn’t know my face but somehow did.
And just like that, I realized I was in the lion’s den.
“Maximillian,” a woman’s voice interrupted us. I turned to see one of those beautiful women draped in silk and diamonds beckoning him over. He grinned, winking at me as he shoved away from the bar.
As soon as he left, the tension in the room shifted again. It didn’t dissolve, not entirely, but it changed shape. I turned to Rafe, forcing my expression into one of quiet confidence, even as my pulse still raced from the unspoken threats hanging in the air. “A client of yours?”
“Yes.”
I straightened. “Are you going to tell me now?”
Rafe’s brow lifted slightly. “Tell youwhat, exactly?”
