I was still trying to catch my breath.
Ronan’s smirk was slow, lazy, like he wasn’t standing in the middle of a battlefield, like Asher wasn’t five seconds from ripping him apart.
And Asher?
Asher was seething.
Every muscle in his body was coiled tight, his fists clenched, his jaw locked.
He wasn’t the kind of person who lost control easily. He was too calculated for that. Too precise.
But Ronan had always known exactly how to push him.
And right now?
I was the button he was pressing.
1. The Challenge
Ronan stepped closer.
I didn’t move.
Neither did Asher.
But the air between us shifted, growing thick with something dark and unspoken.
Ronan tilted his head, his eyes dragging over me in a way that sent a sharp thrill down my spine. “Didn’t think you’d have the guts,” he mused.
