The Crimson Weapon

"Lucian just changed the rules of the game," Zara whispered, her eyes sweeping over the suffocating sea of red roses that had completely swallowed her corporate lobby.

Julian stared at her, his jaw ticking furiously. He looked from the massive floral arrangements to the black envelope she had just slipped into her pocket. His protective instincts were screaming, but he was also a businessman who had just witnessed the impossible.

"Zara, he handed over a three billion dollar tech division without a single legal fight," Julian said, his voice dropping so the staring employees couldn't hear. "And now this? This isn't a negotiation. It's a psychological siege. You cannot seriously be considering whatever he just demanded in that letter."

Zara forced her face into a mask of pure, unbothered ice, even as her traitorous heart continued to hammer against her ribs.

"I am the CEO of this company, Julian," she said sharply, her tone leaving no room for argument. "If Lucian Sterling wants to wave the white flag and hand us his empire on a silver platter, I am going to look him in the eye and take it. Have security clear these flowers and send them to the local hospitals. I have somewhere to be tonight."

She didn't wait for his response. Zara turned on her stiletto heel and marched toward the private elevator, leaving Julian standing alone in the fragrant, blood-red lobby.

By 7:00 PM, the sprawling luxury of Zara's penthouse was quiet. The triplets, exhausted from a day of private tutoring, were fast asleep in their massive playroom fort, guarded by their loyal nanny.

Zara stood alone in her dimly lit, walk-in closet, staring at the crimson suit hanging on the door.

Wear this crimson suit tonight. My driver will be at your penthouse at eight. Don't keep me waiting.

The sheer, unadulterated arrogance of his demand made her blood boil, but beneath the fury was a dark, heavy ache low in her belly that she couldn't ignore. For five years, no man had been able to spark a fire inside her. Julian was safe. Julian was kind. But Lucian? Lucian was a storm, and heaven help her, her body remembered exactly what it felt like to be caught in his rain.

I am going to end this tonight, Zara told herself fiercely. I will sit across from him, I will take his tech division, and I will tell him to stay out of my life.

But if she was going to play his game, she was going to make sure he choked on it.

Zara dropped her silk robe to the floor. Instead of putting on the white blouse she had worn to the office, she slid her bare arms directly into the tailored crimson blazer. She buttoned a single button at her waist. The sharp, plunging 'V' of the jacket exposed the flawless, golden curve of her cleavage and the tantalizing strip of bare skin beneath it.

She applied a coat of dark, matte red lipstick, leaving her long hair to fall in loose, wild waves down her back. She wasn't dressing up for a date. She was dressing for a kill.

At exactly 7:55 PM, Zara stepped out of the private elevator into the underground parking garage of her building.

The sleek, midnight black Maybach was already idling in the shadows. The driver, a tall man in a dark suit, immediately rushed forward to open the rear door for her, his eyes respectfully averted.

Zara took a deep breath, bracing herself for the empty ride to whatever ridiculous, five star restaurant Lucian had rented out. She slid into the back of the massive car.

But the car wasn't empty.

"You wore it," a dark, gravelly voice rumbled from the shadows of the backseat.

Zara gasped, her heart leaping into her throat as the heavy door slammed shut behind her, sealing them inside the soundproof, tinted cabin.

Lucian was sitting in the corner, his long legs stretched out, an aura of absolute danger radiating from his massive frame. He had shed his suit jacket and tie. His crisp white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to expose the thick, corded muscles of his forearms.

The intoxicating scent of cedarwood and expensive scotch instantly wrapped around Zara's senses, making her head spin.

"What are you doing here?" Zara demanded, her voice betraying a slight tremble as the Maybach smoothly pulled out of the garage. "The note said your driver was picking me up."

"I lied," Lucian murmured, his dark, predatory eyes slowly dragging up her long legs, over the sharp cut of the crimson blazer, and locking onto the deep plunge of bare skin.

When he realized she was wearing absolutely nothing underneath the jacket, a feral, possessive groan ripped from the back of his throat. His pupils blew wide, swallowing the dark irises almost entirely.

"Lucian..." Zara warned, pressing her back against the leather door as the raw, suffocating heat in the car spiked to a dangerous level.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?" he rasped, completely ignoring her warning.

Before Zara could take another breath, Lucian closed the distance between them. His massive hand gripped her jaw, his thumb roughly tracing the outline of her red lips. He didn't kiss her, but his face was mere inches from hers, his ragged breath fanning across her cheek.

"I handed over a three billion dollar division today without blinking, Zara," he whispered fiercely, his eyes burning with a desperate, obsessive fire as he stared down at her lips. "I would burn the rest of it to ash right now just to taste you again."

Zara's breath hitched, her icy CEO armor completely shattering as a hot, wet rush of desire flooded between her thighs. She wanted to slap him. She wanted to scream at him.

But when his thumb parted her lips, an overwhelming wave of desire crashed through her. God help her, she wanted to feel that intense, consuming passion with him all over again.