The Jealousy Trap

Lucian was so close that Zara could feel the heat radiating off his chest. His dark eyes searched her face, hungry for a crack in her icy armor.

What exactly are you hiding up there, Zara?

For a split second, panic fluttered in her throat. Did he know? Could he hear the phantom laughter of Mia or see the genius in Liam's code?

But Zara was no longer a frightened girl. She was a queen who had built her empire from the dirt. She let out a soft, mocking laugh that cut through the heavy tension like a knife.

"Hiding?" Zara stepped back, putting a cold, professional distance between them. She looked him up and down with absolute boredom. "Lucian, you flatter yourself. I am a billionaire with enemies across three continents. I have military grade security because my life is valuable. Not because I am hiding something from you."

Lucian's jaw clenched so hard she thought his teeth might crack. He hated that she wasn't intimidated. He hated that she was looking at him like he was nothing more than an annoying speck of dust.

He opened his mouth to fire back, but a smooth, deep voice interrupted them from across the lobby.

"Zara, darling. Are we ready to go?"

Lucian's head snapped toward the voice.

Walking toward them was a man who looked like he had just stepped off a European runway. He was tall, with dirty blonde hair and sharp blue eyes. He wore a custom navy suit that fit him perfectly.

This was Julian, the Chief Operating Officer of Vance Design. He was Zara's right hand man, her fiercest protector, and to the outside world, her rumored boyfriend.

Julian walked right up to Zara and casually placed a warm hand on the small of her back. The gesture was so natural, so intimate, that Lucian physically stiffened.

"Is there a problem here?" Julian asked. His voice was polite, but his blue eyes locked onto Lucian with a deadly, silent warning.

Lucian looked at Julian's hand resting on Zara's waist. The temperature in the lobby seemed to drop ten degrees. Lucian's hands balled into fists inside his pockets. The possessive fury radiating from him was so intense it was almost suffocating.

"I don't believe we've met," Lucian growled, stepping forward. He didn't offer his hand. "I am Lucian Sterling."

"Julian Pierce," Julian replied smoothly, keeping his hand exactly where it was. "Ah, the tech division we are acquiring. It's a pleasure, Mr. Sterling. Though I usually prefer my business meetings in a boardroom, not ambushing my CEO in a hotel lobby."

Lucian's eyes flashed with absolute murder. "I wasn't talking to you." He shifted his dark gaze back to Zara. "Is this who you brought back with you? Is this the reason your past is erased?"

Zara felt a dark spike of satisfaction. The great, untouchable Lucian Sterling was jealous. He was actually losing his mind right in front of her.

"My personal life is none of your business, Mr. Sterling," Zara said smoothly. She turned her body slightly, leaning into Julian's touch just to twist the knife a little deeper. "We have a multi million dollar merger to finalize. I suggest you go back to your office and prepare. Julian, the car?"

"Waiting right outside, darling," Julian smiled down at her, his eyes softening.

Without giving Lucian another glance, Zara and Julian walked toward the spinning glass doors. Chloe hurried closely behind them.

Lucian stood frozen in the center of the lobby. He watched Julian guide her into the back of the waiting black SUV. He watched the car pull away into the busy city traffic.

He had never felt a rage like this before. It burned in his chest, hot and violent.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and hit a speed dial number. It rang exactly once.

"Marcus," Lucian barked into the phone, his voice dripping with pure ice. "Forget the background check. I need you to find everything you can on a man named Julian Pierce. And Marcus?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Find me a way into the top floor of that hotel. Tonight."