The statement landed in the air between us, not a suggestion, but a proclamation. We’ll share a hotel suite.
It was a test. A power play, designed to bulldoze every remaining boundary. He was lashing me to his side, professionally and personally, making it clear that this alliance meant absolute proximity. No escape. No pretense.
A frantic, trapped bird beat against my ribs. Every instinct screamed refuse. Demand your own space. Maintain the last shred of independence. But the darkness in his eyes was unmistakable. If I flinched, if I showed even a flicker of fear at being alone with him—at the undeniable current that arced between us—he’d see it as a fatal weakness.
He would be right. But I would die before I let him know it.
I tilted my chin, meeting his molten gaze with a cool fire
