Chapter 7: YouThe restaurant was the kind of place that kept the lighting low and the tables far enough apart that conversations stayed private. Mara arrived eight minutes early, ordered water, and sat with her back to the wall the way she always did when she needed the illusion of control.She wore the black dress she had almost talked herself out of—simple, expensive, the neckline low enough to feel deliberate. No underwear, because the rule had never been lifted and some part of her hadn’t wanted it lifted. Her pulse sat high in her throat.At 8:03 the door opened.Damien Cross walked in.For one disorienting second her brain tried to file him under the wrong category—CEO, opponent, the man who made every meeting feel like a sparring match. Then the pieces locked together with a sick, electric clarity.The height. The way he moved. The controlled set of his shoulders. The same dark eyes that had watched her across conference tables and, she now realized, had also dismantled her in
Zuletzt aktualisiert : 2026-08-29 Mehr lesen