Page 25 of Declan

As the maid places the silverware near Viviana, it slips from her hand and clatters to the floor. I watch, expecting Viviana to snap at the girl.

She reaches out, grabbing the maid’s wrist—not roughly, but gently.

I tense up, waiting for her to make a snide remark or pull another one of her stunts. But instead, she smiles—a real smile.

“Don’t worry, honey,” she says, her voice softer than I’ve ever heard it. “No need to hurry.”

The maid looks like she’s about to cry, but she nods, calms herself, and finishes moving Viviana’s place before leaving.

Viviana’s never shown kindness since she stepped foot in this house. She’s been nothing but a firestorm, burning through every interaction with a ruthless edge. But this... this is different.

Kian and Connor exchange glances, both as caught off guard as I am. This is a side of her we hadn’t seen before, and I don’t like it. Not because I prefer her being difficult, though I do enjoy the challenge, but because it makes her even more unpredictable.

“What’s this?” I say, leaning back in my chair, eyes locked on hers. “New tactic, Viviana? Trying to win over the staff now?” My tone is sharp, but there’s an edge of curiosity I can’t quite mask.

She meets my gaze, unflinching. “I don’t need to win over anyone; they already work in constant fear under the devil himself; there is no need to make it worse.”

I lean forward slightly, resting my elbows on the table. “This isn’t about them working in fear; they obey the rules, something you should learn.”

She tilts her head, a small, defiant smile playing on her lips. “I obey rules that make sense, not rules made by men in power who crave constant control. I feel like men that do that are… making up for something else,” she smirks. I want to fuck that smirk out of her face, fucking brat.

“Is that right, Viviana?” I say, my voice dropping low.

“I heard that the ones that can’t make others follow their rules are lacking… on something else,” I wink at her.

She shrugs, seemingly unaffected. “I doubt that.”

The tension between us is palpable, thickening the air in the room. Kian clears his throat, breaking the silence. “Are weeating, or are you two going to keep dancing around each other all night?”

Connor smirks, his eyes darting between us. “Shh, let them continue; this is pretty entertaining.”

I almost roll my eyes at him, but the food arrives, and I shift my attention to the plate.

Kian and Connor keep talking about the football match; a fun fact is that neither one of us enjoys watching it, but they are doing their best to keep this death silence from consuming us all. Viviana continues to eat, her eyes flickering to mine once in a while.

“Sir, Roisin is here, in the—” a guard says, but as soon as the three of us snap to him, he shuts up, looking at Viviana, and there it is, the damn smile, the fire in her eyes; she caught it. That’s just great.

I nod to the guard, and he scoops away.

That smile on her face is dangerous, a warning wrapped in sweetness. She doesn’t say a word about Roisin, but the way she’s handling this is almost worse.

The silence is loaded, each bite of her food a taunt. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and it’s infuriating that she’s choosing to keep her mouth shut.

She finishes her meal, getting up with a slow, deliberate grace; she walks around the table. That dangerous smile only grows wider as she leans in close enough for me to hear her next words, my heartbeat increases and I clench my hands under the table.

“Enjoy your… workout, Declan,” she says, her voice dripping with mockery. “Try not to think of me.” Her hand travels on my chest, going down to my belt before she pulls her hand away.

My jaw tightens, but I say nothing as she sashays out of the room, hips swaying provocatively. I keep my expression neutral, but inside, there’s a storm brewing. My cock half hardens, fuck.

She knows about Roisin. Hell, everyone does. But I expected something else from her: anger, spite, a fight. Instead, she leaves me with that playful jab and the knowledge that she’ll be on my mind no matter what I do.

Kian clears his throat, his voice cutting through the tension left in her wake. “That went… better than expected?”

Connor stares at me, “She’s taking it too well.”

I don’t respond immediately, my eyes still fixed on the doorway where Viviana disappeared. He’s right, of course. She’s playing this smart, using my tactics against me.

“Too fucking well,” I say, my voice steady, controlled. “She’s messing with me.”

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