Thor

ites in the room froze for a second before bur

Did the rain wash her brains out?" one of the corporate Betas

d at me like a man watching a cheap trick he had already seen through. "Bet? If I sold every

table and picked up a wooden cue, holding it at an awk

turning to look at him with clear, stea

tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I

slightly, letting one thin red silk

win," he st

ce of provocation into my soft voice. "If I win, you give me ten minutes alone in this room with

te audience with the ruler of the Apex conglomerate was

long seconds, his golden eyes narrowing

ckering in his pupils. "Jasper, teach her how to hold the

gentlemanly inch of space between us. "Alright, beautiful,

that the tip of my cue slipped and scraped loudly against the green cloth. The la

ht legally wins," Jasper said after racking the balls tight

onto the sofa. Beneath the black silk shirt, the hard, powerful li

ac

tbook-perfect. Two striped balls dro

ere ruthless, fast, and precise. One after another, the striped balls vanished

is direct line of sight across the pocket. Pretending to smooth down my wrinkled silk dress, I shifted my weigh

of a second. His breathing hitched ever so slightly, and as

h

the jaws of the corner pocket a

. Nobody had ever seen the Alph

s a thundercloud as he glared across the table

e butt of his cue down against t

moment my fingers wrapped properly around the wood,

the superior spatial geometry and lightning-fast neural reflexes of a pureblood White Wo

I drew the cue

o the side pocket, the white cue ball spinning

n the faces of the

Crack! Crack! Crack! Solid balls dropped into the pockets one after another like a string of firecrackers, e

one. Only the decisive black eight ball sat near

jaw was clenched so hard a muscle ticked in his

The black eight sliced across the felt, banked off the side rail, and