I stepped out of my bui

with a driver standing beside it like a soldi

s Ar

odd

up," he said, opening the back

rse, h

nst my skin. As the car pulled away, I leaned

on the scenery.

as about to

-

was

through the restaurant doors, light

r

er figure, elegant but understated, and her hair framed her face in loose waves. The roo

ldn't take my

faint smile when the hos

catching on hers. There was something magnetic about the way she looked a

s gave nothing away. "Flattery this

ing?" I ask

er head slig

en us. We ordered-steak for me, salmon for her-and

lf, Aria. I want to know who the wo

ow. "Is this an

. You don't strike me as someone who

lightly. "Maybe I

"I don't d

ugh every movement, every smile, was

-

like I was a puzzle

o

wanted him to search for

de over my tongue, and met his gaze. "And you? Do yo

. Just the int

Inside, I was analyzing him-the way his jaw tightened when he la

ail. Ever

steak with deliberate slowness. "You're not

Is that supposed t

be the truth," h

sound was hollow in my own ea

as almost possessive, like it

buried it under my mask. "Careful, Damien," I said l

e said. "

ua

me Aria would not b

my name or my money. There was a sharpness in her, a

know what sh

-

room. Alone, I stared into the mirror, dabbing my lipstic

whispered to my reflection,

sy. No

ed. I could see

table, her express

r," she said as I st

ed. "This isn't the last time

alf amused, half skeptical. "

e faint scent of her perfume. "When I wan

nd, I thought I saw something flicker in

soft and unreadable

-

leave, I knew one

just a passi

hing I needed

car, I let out a slow breath,

d under my breath, a s

had only

a single move. And Aria