She bit her lip. Her fingers hovered. Then tapped.
So you really think I’m a good girl?
She didn’t know why she sent it. Maybe to feel the heat again. Maybe to watch him squirm.
His answer wasimmediate.
Not for a second. I prefer it that way, remember?
She closed her eyes; that reckless smile tugged at her lips.
Oh, she remembered.
Thanks for having my back, Blackwell. I’d say don’t pull that secret spy stuff again, but… I suspect you’re not good at following orders.
Gideon: I follow them when they make sense.
Gideon: Lock your door, Rivers.
She rolled her eyes.
And she locked it.
But that other door, the one inside her? The one she’d kept sealed shut for years?
It was cracked open now.
And God help her… she wasn’t sure she wanted it closed again.
CHAPTER 40
Unseen Gestures
The Blackwell Room wasn’t just a club; it was a stage.
The glances. The low murmurs. That maddeningly timed smirk.
Tonight, there was a shift.
No circling. No defense.
His presence clung to her like a vow—in glances across the bar, in footsteps down familiar halls, and in the spaces that mattered.
In her apartment.
In the rasp of his voice seared into her skin.
In the heat of his touch, still felt beneath the fabric of her clothes long after he’d left.
You’re mine, he’d told her.I’ve known it since the night we met.
And the terrifying part, the part that shook her the most, was how much she believed him.
The chandeliers threwwarm amber light across the room. It caught on crystal, splintering into soft prisms that skimmed polished wood and velvet trim. The room thrummed with quiet wealth; ice hitting crystal, silk brushing against tailored suits, and the kind of laughter reserved for people who knew they were being observed.
Arden moved behind the bar with practiced ease, each motion second nature. But rhythm of the night felt unsettled, a reflexive unease threading through her thoughts, too faint to name but too persistent to ignore.
Across the lounge, Alex and Harlan leaned in close, their laughter low and intimate, coated in charm, edged in a chill that didn’t match the room’s warmth.
