The tension in the ballroom hadn’t settled, not even after Killian’s commanding presence forced the crowd to look away. Whispers still buzzed through the air like an electric current, and Aria felt every eye tracing her every move. She stood there, chest rising and falling, her emotions torn between fear and defiance.
Killian’s hand was firm on her waist, his grip unyielding as though daring anyone else to approach her. His touch burned her, both a shield and a prison, and she couldn’t tell which unsettled her more.
“You enjoy playing with fire, don’t you?” he murmured in a voice only she could hear, his lips brushing dangerously close to her ear.
Aria’s pulse jumped. “And you enjoy making threats in front of a crowd,” she shot back, her chin tilting stubbornly. “Are you trying to humil
