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2025-07-15 14:33:32
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The Seduction Clause 17
Celeste’s heart hammered in her chest, her palms suddenly sweaty despite the slight breeze. Does he know? The thought screamed through her mind. Does he know my identity is a cover? Has he uncovered who I am and why I’m really here? But then, a sliver of logic cut through the panic. No, he'd said his intentions, not hers. The emphasis was on him. She forced her breathing to remain even, her expression calm, though every nerve ending buzzed with heightened awareness."Why are you here?" she asked, her voice steady, despite the tremor in her hands.He brushed a stray strand of hair that had escaped her low bun behind her ear. The feather-light touch sent an unexpected shiver through her. "I don't want to burden a stranger," he responded, his gaze intense.Celeste let out a small, ironic laugh. "Sometimes that's the best person to burden," she countered, her eyes challenging his.Julian let out a slow, heavy sigh, the sound carrying a surprising weight in the cool night air. "My home is
The Seduction Clause 16
"Oh! Julian, I'm so sorry!" Celeste gasped, her hands instinctively splayed against his chest to brace herself. She could feel the rapid thrum of his heart beneath her palms, a beat as elevated as her own. The expensive fabric of his dress shirt, two buttons casually undone, offered a tantalizing glimpse of bare skin and dark, fine chest hair. The muscles beneath her fingers were taut, tense from the unexpected collision. Julian's grip remained firm, his eyes, dark and intense, holding hers. "No harm done, Sloane," he murmured, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through her. A slow smile, a truly devastating one, spread across his face. "Though I can't say I mind the sudden embrace." Celeste’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly at his admission. She gingerly stepped back, creating a sliver of space between them, her hands dropping from his chest. "I was just going to get some air," she explained, her voice a touch cooler than before, though her pulse still raced. "Funny, I was doi
The Seduction Clause 15
She moved through the lobby like muscle memory, heart pounding with questions that refused to settle. The scent of eucalyptus and faint sweat still clung to her collar as the city swallowed her again, neon and steel blurring past the cab window on the ride back. Vivienne hadn’t lied—Celeste could read people too well for that. Two years of trying. Appointments booked. Progress made. Life insurance policies updated not in preparation for disaster—but in hopeful anticipation of legacy. Julian wasn’t covering up betrayal. But he was covering something. No mention of Royce Tillman. Not even recognition of the name. And Vivienne? She was deeply in love, holding onto a dream that involved Julian in every chapter. That kind of hope couldn’t fake the tremble in her voice or the way her shoulders dropped when she answered. So if she wasn’t part of it... Then she was being kept in the dark. And that meant Julian’s secrets had sharper edges than Celeste had accounted for. She p
The Seduction Clause 14
The door clicked shut behind her, muffling the soft hum of the hallway as Sloane March—Celeste—leaned momentarily against the wall. Her bag landed on the corner chair, jacket draped across the arm with intentional carelessness. She crossed to the bed, peeled off the crisp navy blouse from the panel, and stood quietly for a moment, letting her skin adjust to the cool air of the room. The city was painted across the window: dusk-shrouded towers, traffic threading its way down the grid like electric veins. Dinner was in an hour. Most attendees were locals, yes—but nearly everyone had booked rooms, including Julian, and she already knew his suite number from the hotel registrar Dom had nudged three days ago. The proximity wasn't accidental. It was chess. Quiet, slow, and deliberate. She changed with that same intention. Less professional. More powerful. A deep wine-toned dress—backless, fitted, tastefully cut to emphasize what she usually concealed. Not overt. Not obvious. But unm
The Seduction Clause 13
Julian didn't approach her right away. He waited, just long enough for the crowd to thin and the ambient buzz to die down. That timing—too precise to be accidental—was one of the first things Celeste had clocked about him. He didn’t move like someone uncertain. He moved like someone planning three conversations ahead. She was tucking the last business card into the side pocket of her folio when he stepped beside her, not intruding—just arriving. "Impressive session," he said evenly. Celeste glanced up, smile sharp. “Glad you enjoyed it. You weren't on the attendee list.” “No,” he said. “I wasn’t supposed to stay this long.” She raised a brow. “Changed your mind?” Julian smiled faintly. “Something about your take on leadership sounded less like theory, more like experience.” She tilted her head, feigning modesty. “Well, I do spend a lot of time watching powerful men try to avoid their own reflection.” “Do they usually succeed?” She met his eyes. “Not if I’m in the r
The Seduction Clause 12
Celeste slipped away after the breakout session, heels clicking against the polished concrete as she made her way down a quiet corridor reserved for panelists. A small prep room had been sectioned off for speakers—low lighting, bottled water, and a single orchid on a glass table that looked expensive enough to be fake. She settled into the high-backed chair, sliding her folder in front of her and flipping through the session agenda again. Her topic was behavioral triggers in executive leadership—technically outside her typical sandbox, but close enough to speak with authority. She had pulled from a decade of adjacent experience, layered the presentation with data, trends, a few sharp takeaways she knew would land well. Still, the butterflies were there. Not because she feared public speaking—she’d talked judges into reconsidering prenups with less than five minutes’ notice. No, her nerves were less about the material and more about who might be sitting in. The attendee list fo
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