Page 39 of Yours

“No,” she said proudly, defiantly even as she lifted her chin.

I chuckled softly, leaning forward just enough to lower my voice. “You should be.”

CHAPTER 14

Kiera

I leaned back in the leather chair, crossing my legs under the long folds of the dress, and stared Ronan down with what I hoped looked like confidence, or defiance, or whatever the hell he might potentially look at with respect. His dark eyes were fixed on me, completely unreadable, but there was a faint curve to his lips, like he was just waiting for me to snap.

“Afraid?” I scoffed, shaking my head. “Of you? Please.”

Ronan chuckled, the sound low and almost amused, but there was an edge to it that made my stomach twist. “You’re a terrible liar, love,” he said, his voice smooth and maddeningly calm.

I rolled my eyes, even as my pulse quickened. “I’m not lying. I’m not afraid of you. You’re all bark and no bite.”

His brow arched slightly, and the smirk tugging at his lips deepened. “Is that so?”

I nodded, lifting my chin. “Yep.”

He leaned forward then, his elbows resting on the table as he closed the distance between us. The warm glow of the candlelight caught the sharp line of his jaw, the faint stubble darkening his skin, and I suddenly felt much less confident about my defiance.

“You have no idea what I’m capable of,” he said quietly, sending a shiver skittering down my spine.

I swallowed hard, my fingers tightening around my napkin as I tried to keep my composure.

“Well, if you’re so dangerous, why haven’t you shut me up already?” I shot back, my voice laced with as much sass as I could muster. I don’t know why I was pushing him. Maybe it was insanity. Maybe it was something else.

His smirk widened, his dark eyes glinting with something I couldn’t quite name.

“Oh, Kiera,” he murmured, his tone dropping just enough to make my breath hitch. “Keep threatening me with that sassy mouth and I’ll make sure to deal with it even more thoroughly than I did before.”

I felt the heat rush to my cheeks, and I bit my lip, looking away quickly. His gaze lingered, heavy and unrelenting, and I hated the way my body reacted to it—the flush creeping up my neck, the quickening of my pulse, the twist of arousal settling low in my stomach.

I cleared my throat, determined to steer the conversation back to safer ground.

“Leena would kill you if she knew you what you were doing to me,” I said, forcing a smirk onto my face as I glanced back at him.

He didn’t even blink. “Good thing Leena’s not here, then.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words caught in my throat. There was something in the way he looked at me that made it clear he wasn’t joking.

And that was the problem, wasn’t it? This thing between us had been simmering for years—unspoken, unacknowledged, but always there. From the moment we met, there’d been this spark between us that neither of us had been willing to confront.

Until now.

“Ronan,” I started, my voice quieter this time.

He leaned back in his chair, breaking the spell with a casualness that felt almost deliberate.

“Enough about me,” he said, his tone shifting as he picked up his glass. “Let’s talk about the Benedettis.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic. “What about them?”

Ronan swirled the amber liquid in his glass, his gaze thoughtful as he stared at it.

“You asked me how dangerous they are,” he said finally, his voice calm, but edged with something darker. “Let me explain just how much power they have in this city.”

I leaned forward slightly despite myself.

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