The Meeting (Part Three)
1347 Words
It looked like a bathroom door.
Probably.
I opened it.
Wrong.
Very, very wrong.
Two huge men sat inside.
And between them—
Someone I couldn't see clearly.
I froze.
They froze.
I gave them an awkward smile.
“I'm really sorry.”
Silence.
“I thought this was the bathroom.”
I started backing out.
A large hand caught my arm.
“Where you going, sweet pea?”
Oh, Lord.
My stomach dropped.
“Um…”
Before I could think of an answer, I was sitting in a chair in the middle of the room.
Thankfully, I wasn't tied up.
Yet.
One of the men leaned toward me.
“Who sent you?”
His voice was harsh enough to make me flinch.
“No one.”
“Who sent you?”
“No one, I swear!”
“A pretty little thing like you shouldn't swear.”
“Shut up.”
The voice came from the shadows.
Low.
Deep.
Masculine.
Every person in the room went silent.
Including me.
I turned toward the sound.
A man was leaning against a bookshelf.
He slowly pushed himself away from it.
And finally stepped into the light.
Oh.
Oh, wow.
My brain immediately forgot every sensible thought it had ever possessed.
He was—
Very attractive.
No.
That wasn't enough.
He was ridiculously attractive.
Midnight-black hair.
Icy blue eyes.
A sharp, chiseled jaw.
Olive-toned skin.
Broad shoulders.
And muscles that were very clearly visible beneath his dark suit shirt.
My eyes traveled down him before I could stop myself.
Damn.
He looked like a male lead ripped straight from one of my dark romance books.
Except somehow, he looked even more dangerous.
My stomach flipped.
Is it hot in here?
Or was that just me?
Heat rushed through my body.
I immediately scolded myself.
Really, Eliana?
Getting attracted to a complete stranger?
In a suspicious back room?
With two enormous men standing nearby?
Have some shame.
Then I noticed his eyes.
They were on me.
More specifically—
My cleavage.
I swallowed.
Oh.
Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd noticed the attraction.
He murmured something to the two men.
They looked at him.
Then at me.
Then exchanged a glance.
Finally, they left.
The door shut.
Silence.
I stared at it.
Then at him.
Now I was alone in a room with a strange man.
A very sexy strange man.
He looked at me.
I looked at him.
Neither of us spoke.
Finally, he broke the silence.
But not the tension.
“Well,” he said, his voice smooth, “what's your name?”
I lifted my chin.
“Why do you want to know?”
His mouth twitched.
Then he smirked.
“Princess, just tell me your name.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Don't call me that.”
His smirk widened.
“Didn't answer my question.”
I sighed.
“Eliana.”
“Eliana.”
The way he repeated my name sent a strange little shiver down my spine.
He looked almost amused by it.
“That's a pretty name for a pretty girl.”
My stupid heart fluttered.
Traitor.
I crossed my arms.
“What's your name?”
He went quiet.
Then—
“Why do you want to know, princess?”
I stared at him.
“Because I told you mine.”
He smiled briefly.
“That doesn't mean I have to tell you mine.”
“That's not how conversations work.”
“Maybe I'm not interested in normal conversations.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“Then what are you interested in?”
His gaze moved over me.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
My pulse jumped.
He looked back into my eyes.
“Not now, princess.”
I blinked.
“What do you mean, not now?”
His smirk returned.
“That desperate to know my name already?”
“I am not desperate.”
“Could've fooled me.”
I scoffed.
“You're annoying.”
“And yet you're still talking to me.”
I opened my mouth.
Nothing came out.
His smile deepened.
God, I hated that smile.
And I hated even more that I liked it.
He moved closer.
My breath caught.
Then, suddenly, he stepped between my knees.
My eyes widened.
“What the f**k do you think you're doing?”
He leaned closer.
The scent of his cologne hit me.
Dark.
Expensive.
Addictive.
His voice dropped beside my ear.
“I know how hot you are right now.”
My entire body went still.
He pulled back just enough to look at me.
His icy blue eyes were burning into mine.
“I can feel it.”
Heat rushed to my face.
I looked away.
Shamefully.
He reached beneath my chin and gently turned my face toward him.
“Don't hide from me.”
I swallowed.
His eyes searched mine.
And that was the moment I realized I was in serious trouble.
Because I wanted him.
Badly.
I wanted this mysterious stranger whose name I didn't even know.
A man I'd met less than an hour ago.
A man sitting in a suspicious room at the back of a nightclub.
A man who looked like trouble wrapped in an expensive suit.
And somehow, my mind was already betraying me with thoughts I had absolutely no business having.
I should have pushed him away.
I should have walked out.
I should have found Isabelle and gone home.
Instead, I stared into those icy blue eyes and wondered what kind of man would look at me like I was the only woman in the room.
I didn't know his name.
I didn't know what he did.
I didn't know why two enormous men had been taking orders from him.
I knew absolutely nothing about him.
And yet—
Something told me I was going to remember this stranger.
For a very, very long time.
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