ght was a man you didn'

hless, un

e whose empire was bui

ike his eyes weren't

piece by piece, as if he alr

-

Firs

ne laughter. Women glittered like diamonds, men gleamed in pres

of it m

tering ballroom, Alexand

s. Hard. Still

you didn't see coming u

ay, feigned interest in the hors d'oeuvres, anything to avoid that piercing g

I didn't

him

to decode something written beneath my skin. When he finally til

I ac

. Every step echoed, deliberate, as silk whispered around my ankles. I

, the air shifted cool, s

said, my tone

as low, calm, devastatingl

ew my

t yet. But then again, men like him didn't stumble in

thrill pulsed. This was the man I'd ignored in my last life. Th

nd chance for knowledge, for veng

-

ous Conv

ightly, masking my uneas

id, "to know every player

o my gown, to the champagne gla

me who

tead, a slow smirk touched my l

t?" I asked, arching a bro

e. His gaze was the kind that made you want to fill it with e

ends on whether you plan to

ed to tilt. My

d he ju

st

wood. My hand trembled, and I barely manag

No one knew about the last time about Richa

ved in ice. Like he did know. Like he saw t

speak as though you've been

nder said simply. "I o

easured, quiet, fina

air shifted again, replace

-

dow of

le

ard

cou

raised in casual ownership. "I've been looking everywhere for you,

e me didn't need to look to

ing his hand like a politician. "Rich

the offered hand. No movemen

of a scalpel, he said, "Unlike

s sliced

ho pretended not to eavesdrop. I nearly ch

Charming as ever," he managed, dropping his hand. "C

ssive ton

obedient, eager to please, too nai

ot an

gaze. "I'm speaking with Mr. Knight," I said, voice

, then anger, in his

ce more toward Alexander, an undercurrent of hostility the

ingered b

ily," Alexander said f

I asked, tryi

intense. "Few do. He's

I muttered un

ted, but I caught the flic

m?" I asked,

d men like him. Men who think charm is

very word felt aimed

sily fooled,"

udied me. "

-

Da

mething deeper, more sensual. Couples drifted onto the dance

nd extended

e wit

request. It

nd myself

oor. His other hand found my waist steady, commanding, yet carefu

her. By the third, we were one rhythm, one brea

fferent,"

ked, voice barely

you pret

My pulse quickened. "And who

"The innocent. The naïve. The girl who

whispered. "I've

ing dark approval, maybe curio

ite b

on thrumming between us. Then, almost imperce

d through me, lo

-

in the air like a sigh. I tried to step back, to

ayed on mine. F

owered his head-close enough t

w enough only I could hear. "The last time you

e body w

his expression was carved from m

you" I

r around us. Alexander released my hand, his eye

ing in the golden light breathless, trembling, a

he possibl