I glared at him. He looked delighted. Absolutely delighted. Then he lifted a second finger. "You're a mafia kid."
My mouth fell open. "What?!"
He laughed softly. "Little troublemaker, normal girls don't scan exits every five seconds. Nor do they get forcibly married at your age."
Oh no. I had done that. I'd been doing that all night. My outrage grew. "No. Absolutely not. You are cheating somehow."
He lifted a third finger, mouthing the word three. Then he looked at me. And his smile faded slightly. "You are a virgin.”
His third guess landed between us like a dropped glass. I stared at him. For one full second my brain stopped functioning entirely. Then outrage exploded. "You have zero proof, Devil."
Heat rushed straight into my face so fast I thought I might physically burst into flames. He was smiling. Not smug exactly. Worse. Amused. Absolutely delighted.
"You cannot just say things like that to people." I pointed at him accusingly. "That's not normal behavior."
"Mm,” he nodded. “You might be right. But so am I.”
"I hate you,” I muttered. His smile widened. I folded my arms tighter and glared at him with every ounce of betrayal I possessed. "You cheated. I know you did."
"I absolutely didn’t.”
He pushed away from the couch slowly and took one step toward me. Then another. Not enough to trap me. Not enough to make me back away. Just enough that I had to tilt my head up a little. Just enough that I could see gold light catch along the edges of the devil mask. Just enough that I became very aware of the quiet around us.
Very aware of how far away the music sounded. Very aware of the fact that I could smell his cologne again. Very aware ofhim.
"I won," he said quietly.
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. Because technically… Damn him. He had. My eyes narrowed. "I hate that you're right."
A soft laugh left him. Not the cocky one. The real one. The one I was starting to realize I liked better. Dangerous realization. He looked at me for a long moment. And he wasn't laughing anymore.
The room felt smaller. Or maybe he just felt closer. My heartbeat started doing something stupid. Something deeply embarrassing. Because he looked down at me like he'd forgotten every joke we'd made tonight. Like he'd forgotten the games. Forgotten the teasing. Forgotten everything except me.
"Little troublemaker," he said quietly.
And for the first time all night, he sounded careful. His hand lifted slowly. Not grabbing. Not demanding. Just brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Giving me time to move. Time to stop him. I didn't. I should have.
Instead I just stood there staring up at him. And his eyes dropped to my mouth. Then lifted back to mine. Question marks raised between us. Not assumption that I would give in. He was waiting for my permission.
"You still owe me a kiss,” he said softly.
My heart nearly stopped. Because somehow, the devil had stopped sounding like a devil at all. He looked down at me fora long moment. And then he smiled. Not the lazy smile. Not the smug one. This one was slower. Darker. Like he'd just realized something and decided he liked the answer entirely too much.
"You know," he said quietly, stepping closer, "you chased me."
Heat rushed into my face. “Stop talking.”
"You crossed an entire club for me, little troublemaker."
The words should have annoyed me. Instead they slid through me and lodged somewhere dangerous. Because he wasn't teasing now. He was certain. And certainty looked unfairly good on him.
I opened my mouth to argue. Nothing came out. His gaze dropped to my lips. Then lifted again. Slowly. Deliberately. Like he was taking his time. Like he already knew I wasn't walking away.
His hand lifted and settled lightly against my jaw, thumb brushing my cheek. Not soft enough to feel hesitant. Not forceful enough to take away choice. Just there. Certain. Present. His eyes never left mine.
"Look at you," he said quietly, almost amused. "Still standing here, so desperate for this."
My heart betrayed me. Because I was. I absolutely was. Every smart thing I could've said vanished. Every argument disappeared. The music beyond the walls felt far away. The room felt smaller. And somehow he felt bigger. Like he filled every space around me without even trying.
