Seduction Game: Gideon Dunhaven

Chapter 5: Terms of the Game

Selene sat across from Gideon in his sleek, modern office, the weight of the contract pressing down on her like an iron chain. Her fingers gripped the pen tightly as she tapped it against the edge of the crisp paper, each beat echoing in the otherwise silent room.

The tension between them had thickened since their last encounter—since that kiss that should never have happened. A lapse in judgment, a fleeting moment of recklessness that had nearly shattered her carefully constructed plan. She had to regain control, set boundaries before this spiraled into something neither of them could afford.

With deliberate precision, she slid a fresh page across the desk.

“We need rules.”

Gideon arched a brow, leaning back in his leather chair, his fingers steepled beneath his chin. “Rules?”

“Yes.” She forced herself to meet his gaze, refusing to be intimidated by the amusement flickering in his dark eyes. “If we’re going to be in a contracted marriage, we need ground rules to keep this strictly business.”

A smirk played at the edge of his lips, dangerous and knowing. “Strictly business, is it? You didn’t seem so business-minded the other night when you were gasping against my lips.”

Her cheeks burned, but she refused to let him see how easily he could shake her. “Rule one—no bringing up the past. This marriage is a transaction. Anything that happened before or outside of it is irrelevant.”

Gideon hummed, as if considering it. “Fair enough. But in that case, rule two—no pretending in public. If we’re going to sell this marriage, we sell it properly. That means affection, sweetheart. Handholding, kisses, maybe even—”

“Fine,” she cut in, her pulse quickening. “But rule three—no intimacy behind closed doors.”

His smirk widened. “Afraid you won’t be able to resist me?”

She exhaled sharply. “It keeps things simple.”

“If you say so,” Gideon drawled, though the knowing look in his eyes sent a shiver down her spine. “Then I’ll add rule four—no seeing other people while we’re married.”

Selene blinked. “Why does that matter? This is a contract, not a real marriage.”

“It matters because I won’t have my wife caught in some scandal,” he said, his voice turning sharper. “If we’re doing this, we do it properly. No third parties.”

She hesitated but nodded. “Fine. Then rule five—I keep my freedom. I’ll attend events with you, play the part of your devoted wife, but I won’t be controlled.”

Gideon tilted his head, studying her. “Deal. But then rule six—if you make the first move, I won’t stop you.”

Her breath hitched. “Excuse me?”

“You said no intimacy behind closed doors,” he said lazily, “but if you break that rule first, I’m not going to pretend I don’t want you.”

Selene’s pulse pounded. This was dangerous—playing this game with him.

But she still wrote the rules down.

When she glanced up, Gideon’s gaze was locked on her, a dark promise lurking beneath the amusement.

“Careful, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Rules are made to be broken.”

Selene had barely set the pen down when Gideon leaned forward, his fingers grazing the edge of the paper, his touch deliberate.

"Rules are made to be broken."

His voice was low, teasing—but beneath it was something darker. Something restrained.

Selene’s breath hitched as he reached out, his knuckles grazing her wrist, a featherlight touch that sent a shiver racing through her. She told herself to pull away, to remind him that this was about control, not temptation.

But she didn’t move.

Gideon’s gaze flickered down to her parted lips before dragging back up to her eyes, the space between them shrinking until she could feel the heat radiating from him.

The cold glass sent a shiver down Selene’s spine as her back collided with the towering window of Gideon Dunhaven’s penthouse office. The entire city sprawled beneath them—glittering skyscrapers, car headlights streaming like molten gold, a world that neither of them truly belonged to. Not anymore.

She gasped, her pulse hammering as Gideon’s strong hands pinned her wrists above her head. His body pressed against hers, heat radiating through the thin barrier of her silk dress.

"You wanted power, didn’t you?" His voice was dark, edged with something dangerous. Something that made her stomach tighten with anticipation. "Well, sweetheart, you have it now."

Selene’s breath caught as his words slithered over her skin, smooth and lethal, like the man himself. She should push him away. Remind him that this was just a contract—paperwork, signatures, a mutually beneficial lie.

But when his lips brushed the sharp line of her jaw, fire licked down her spine, betraying every rational thought.

"You were supposed to stay away from me," she whispered, her voice barely audible above the pounding of her heart.

Gideon chuckled, low and knowing. His grip tightened just enough to make her body arch involuntarily, a silent surrender she wasn’t ready to admit. "Then stop looking at me like you want me to ruin you."

Her eyes flickered to his, deep blue like the midnight sky, stormy with something unreadable. Was it desire? Control? Or the same reckless hunger that clawed at her insides whenever he was near?

This wasn’t part of the deal.

But every stolen glance, every possessive touch, every argument laced with unspoken want had unraveled that lie thread by thread—until it was nothing but a thin veil, easily shattered.

Gideon’s free hand skimmed down the curve of her waist, his fingers slow, deliberate. Testing. Tempting.

"This is a mistake," she whispered, but her voice lacked conviction.

"Then tell me to stop."

She parted her lips, the words right there on her tongue. But when his mouth claimed hers, everything else disintegrated.

The kiss was brutal, unrelenting. His lips moved against hers with a desperation that mirrored the storm raging inside her. She responded before she could think, her fingers curling into his dress shirt, pulling him closer instead of pushing him away.

His grip on her wrists loosened, and in an instant, she was free—but instead of fleeing, her hands found their way into his hair, tugging him deeper into the kiss.

Gideon groaned against her mouth, a sound so raw it sent a shudder through her. His hands skimmed down her arms, over the delicate fabric of her dress, before settling firmly on her hips. He lifted her effortlessly, and she wrapped her legs around his waist as he carried her to the sleek black desk in the center of the room.

The cool wood met the backs of her thighs as Gideon set her down, but she barely registered it. His mouth was everywhere—trailing fire along the column of her throat, grazing her collarbone, tracing the hollow between her ribs.

She should stop this. She should remember why she was here.

Revenge.

The word flickered through her mind like a dying ember, quickly snuffed out as Gideon’s hands slid higher, parting her thighs with slow, agonizing precision.

"You think I don’t see you?" His voice was husky, lips brushing her skin. "You think I don’t know exactly what you’re doing?"

Selene forced herself to meet his gaze, her breath shaky. "And what am I doing, Gideon?"

A smirk played at the corner of his lips. "Trying to convince yourself you don’t want this as much as I do."

She swallowed hard, every nerve ending sparking with electricity.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

But maybe, just maybe, she had been his from the moment she signed her name on that contract.

The real question wasn’t whether their passion would consume them.

It was whether either of them would survive the fire.