Chapter 3
702 Words
CHAPTER THREE
Luna POV
Every time she walked out of Laurel Tech, Luna felt like she was shedding a layer of herself.
She stepped into the back seat of her black town car, the tinted windows swallowing her whole. The moment the door shut, her mask cracked just slightly. Not enough to break. Just enough to breathe.
“Home, ma’am?” the driver asked.
“No,” she said, too quickly. “Hotel Sainte Claire.”
She didn’t have to check her phone. No texts. No calls. No confirmation.
He’d be there.
He always was.
The city blurred past in shades of gold and glass, and Luna leaned her head against the window. Her reflection stared back — flawless, severe, hollow. Her mother used to say the Knight women never showed emotion. Emotion was for art. For weakness. For the tabloids to devour like wolves.
But they never said anything about what to do when the wolf was in your bed.
CASSIAN Laurel. Arrogant, volatile, and beautiful in the most dangerous way. She hated him for existing. For knowing her too well. For making her want something that didn’t come with a contract or condition.
They had rules. Always.
Never stay the night.
Never say each other’s names in public.
Never let it touch business.
But lately? Every time he looked at her across a boardroom table, she wanted to rip the table in half.
Because this wasn’t just lust anymore. Not after Tokyo. Not after the storm in Paris. Not after he kissed her like he’d die if he didn’t.
And it terrified her.
Not the falling — Luna could handle falling. She was born in high places.
What terrified her was what she’d be willing to give up to land in his arms.
The car slid to a stop at a private entrance. She didn’t wait for the door to be opened. Her stilettos clicked up the polished stairs like a warning shot.
Suite 1907.
No key. No knock.
She pushed the door open and found him exactly where she knew he’d be.
Standing by the window, jacket discarded, sleeves rolled up, and glass in hand. Cassian Laurel, heir to the most vicious tech empire on the planet, with a jawline that made empires kneel.
His eyes met hers.
The tension dropped like silk between them — heavy and intimate.
“You’re late,” he said, voice low.
“You’re always early,” she replied, stepping inside and locking the door behind her.
A heartbeat. Two.
Then he crossed the room in three strides, and the space between them collapsed.
He didn’t ask. He never did.
His mouth found hers like it belonged there, all heat and hunger. She curled her fingers into his shirt, dragged him closer, felt the way his breath hitched when she kissed him like she needed it to breathe.
And maybe she did.
When they finally broke apart, his forehead pressed against hers, both of them still catching up to what they already knew.
“This is insane,” she whispered.
“Then stop coming,” he challenged, voice rough.
“Then stop waiting,” she shot back.
Silence.
They wouldn’t stop.
They never did.
She pulled away first, because someone had to. She poured herself a drink, needing something to hold besides regret. “They’re going to find out eventually.”
Cassian leaned against the window. “Then what?”
“Then your father uses me to burn my own house down. My board turns on me. Your legacy turns into a war zone. You lose LaurelTech. I lose Knight.”
“Sounds dramatic,” he said dryly, but his eyes were steel.
“It is dramatic. It’s real.”
He stepped toward her again, slower this time. “You think I care about LaurelTech more than you?”
She hesitated.
Then nodded, just once.
Because she did. She had to.
He stared at her like she’d stabbed him. And maybe she had.
“Then why do you keep coming back, Luna?”
She swallowed.
“Because,” she said softly, “when I’m with you, I forget everything I was trained to do
And that was the most dangerous part of the game
- Writer
