gesture he simply watched. I should have turned away, lost myself in conversation with someone safer, someone predictable. But inste

did he move like smoke here one moment, vanished the next? I told myself it didn't matter.

ven ask, and I let the bubbles steady me. Conversations hummed around me, a blur of politics, invest

in.Not just presence th

His voice came low, threaded with tha

should have been, close enough that I could catch the faint sc

on," I said, my tone shar

? Because you walk like someone preparing for battle. A

u always study stra

isible." His mouth curved, but his eye

far more dangerous. I wanted to walk away. Instead, I fou

or his words to brush against my ear, "I've spen

Every instinct screamed that I should put distance between us

nt to say his name, but it slipped out like

his eyes. Not amusement. Not superiority.

ause, "is not a question you'r

harp, angry. Heads turned, laughter cut short. I turned too, grateful for the distraction, but

breeze. Beyond them, on the terrace, I caught the shadow of him

ight and the spill of chandeliers from the ballroom. Nicholas stood near the edge, his back to me, looking out o

I was giving you a choice."A cho

nto the safety of the glittering ballroom. But something in his tone, in th

closer. "And i

o shadows and angles, sharp and dangerous. His gaze loc

ly, "we both know you've al

efore I could demand clarity, a voice called my name from inside the

e voice, but when I looked back