Page 25 of Monsters Wear Crowns
“No,” he admitted, setting his drink down and settling onto the stool beside me. “But I had to be sure my business interests wouldn’t be compromised if I partnered with you.”
The way he said it sent a ripple of unease through me. Business interests. A deliberately vague term. Too vague.
I didn’t let it slide. “And whatexactlyare those interests?”
He let the question linger between us, watching me with the kind of patience that felt predatory. “That depends,” he said, voice smooth as silk. “Are you looking for a client, Adela? Or are you just curious?”
I hesitated. I shouldn’t have. That flicker of hesitation gave him something–an upper hand I couldn’t afford to pass over. But the way he said my name, the way his gaze never wavered, it sent something sharp curling in my stomach.
“I don’t do business with people who deal in shadows,” I said carefully.
He chuckled. “You work in cybersecurity. Your entire business is built on navigating shadows. Your father saw to it when he hid the illegal activities of multiple companies.” He paused, smirking. “You protect a lot of bad people. I know some of them.”
Fuck.
“What? If I don’t work with you, are you going to tell the world that Sinclair Solutions safeguards criminals and blood-thirsty wolves?”
He lifted a hand, and before I could decide whether to lean away or let him, his fingers brushed against my hair, tucking a loose strand behind my ear. A touch so small, so deceptively intimate, that it sent a shiver down my spine.
Before allowing myself the satisfaction of that touch, I stood, leaving my drink and making my way toward the elevator. I couldn’t entertain this anymore. But I didn’t get far before heswiftly blocked me with his arm in the dark hallway.
“Let’s talk about something else, shall we? Something a bit more…personal.”
My stomach clenched. “What? What could you possibly want to talk about?”
“There’s an issue bothering you beneath this...facade.” He hummed, amused by my reaction. “One you can’t seem to shake. One that has been closer than you realize.”
My blood ran cold. I opened my mouth, but the words caught in my throat.
A slow smirk curved his lips as if he could hear the war in my head.
He moved in closer, until my back met the cool glass of the window behind me. The city glittered below, but my world had narrowed tohim.
His hand lifted, fingers grazing my jaw, tilting my chin up just slightly. “You walked into the viper’s pit tonight, Adela,” he murmured. His thumb brushed the edge of my lower lip, slow and achingly deliberate. “You should be terrified of me. I know where you live.”
My breath came in sharp, uneven pulls. “Should I be?” I whispered. “You haven’t told me enough. I was leaving because this is a waste of my time. I was bored.”
Something dark flashed in his gaze–not anger, not amusement, but something entirely unhinged. And instead of stepping away, he stayed. His fingers tightened slightly on my jaw, his other hand pressing firmly against my waist. He towered over me, and that hunger that no man had ever been able to satisfy bloomed. I was 5’4, so he must have been about 6’5.
Without thinking, I asked the question tearing through my mind. “What would you have done to me if I opened my door that night?”
Rafe’s lips hovered near mine, but he didn’t close the distance. Instead, he let the silence stretch until I was certain hecould hear the pounding of my pulse.
Then, finally, he spoke.
“I would have fucked you.”
I struggled to keep my gaze sharp, though I slightly tightened my thighs against the fire that had just blazed between them.
He noticed, his eyes sweeping over me. “But I didn’t summon you here for pleasure,” he murmured, though the heat in his gaze said otherwise. “I requested your presence for work.”
I clenched my fists as his proximity remained suffocatingly close, his words brushing against my lips like a threat I desperately wanted him to make. “Work?” My voice came out steadier than I felt.
He nodded slowly, a smirk tugging on his lips. “You will do what I ask, Adela.”
I bristled, my body tensing against the command in his voice. “And whatexactlyis it that you’re asking?”
Rafe leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. “I know what you want most. More than money, more than power or any material thing.”
