Lydia fixed her eyes on his gaze while her heart drummed so fast she could feel it in her throat. She knew he could hear it, his kind always did. But she refused to let that shake her.
"I need this project. And whether you like it or not, so do you."
Ethan studied her for a moment, his head tilting slightly like he was enjoying some private joke. "And what exactly are you offering?"
Lydia hesitated. She wasn't expecting him to ask that. "Anything." The word slipped out before she could think it through.
Ethan's lips curled not quite a smirk, but close enough to make her stomach flip. "Anything?"
Lydia clenched her jaw. "Not like that. I just mean I'll do whatever it takes to make this partnership work. If you want me to do the entire project alone, fine. If you want me to-
