MasukAs the crowd dispersed, a few lingering, dangerous eyes fell back on me before the lieutenants finally filed out of the double doors. The moment the room cleared of everyone except Daniel, Lucien yanked me back by my waist.Before I could even catch my balance, he pulled me straight onto his lap."Whoa!" I gasped, my hands slamming flat against his broad shoulders to steady myself.The heat radiating from him was instantaneous and overwhelming. He wrapped a thick arm around my waist, pinning me flush against his chest, while his other hand reached up to secure the back of my neck. He brought his lips directly to my ear, his breath hot and ragged against my skin as his grip tightened, pressing me down into the heavy muscle of his thighs."Way to control the crowd, sweetheart," Lucien whispered, his low, gravelly voice vibrating right through my collarbone. "You know, Pedro is a stubborn and dangerous man... and you managed to convince him.""Thank you," I panted, my heart hammeri
"This sounds very absurd," a calm yet cold voice spoke up, cutting through the heavy silence that had settled over the room.It was Pedro, one of Lucien's oldest and most calculating lieutenants. Unlike Desmond, Pedro wasn't red-faced or visibly angry; he sat with his elbows resting on the polished wood, his fingers laced together, his sharp gray eyes assessing me with a terrifyingly sharp intellect.He leaned forward slightly, his posture completely relaxed despite the suffocating tension in the room."With all due respect, Boss," Pedro began, his voice devoid of mock or humor, focusing entirely on Lucien before shifting his gaze back to me. "You want us to mobilize our entire network, pull our families out of their homes, spend hundreds of millions, and build a fortress as if the end of the world is coming. Fine. We obey orders. But if we're going into total lockdown, we need tactical clarity. What enemy are we up against that requires ‘this’ much preparation? Give us a name. A s
I took a deep breath, smoothing down the front of my new bomber jacket as I stepped into the dimly lit conference room on the ground floor.The atmosphere in the room was suffocating.Around the massive mahogany table sat nearly a dozen men. These weren't the polished, suit-wearing associates from the Onyx Club—these were Lucien's top lieutenants, field commanders, and head defense engineers. Men with scarred faces, hardened eyes, and thick, muscular builds that practically screamed violence.The moment I walked in, every single pair of eyes locked onto me.Silence fell over the room, sharp and hostile.I could hear the unspoken thoughts radiating off them like heat. To them, I was just a ghost who had appeared out of nowhere. A pretty girl who had somehow managed to completely bend the Mad Dog of the Giovanni family to her will. Some looked at me like I was a witch who had bewitched their boss; others looked at me like a gold-digging opportunist exploiting Lucien’s resources fo
I shook my head, letting out a long, dramatic sigh as I followed them toward the elevator. "You two are absolute menaces. I'm trying to plan for the collapse of human civilization, and I'm stuck with a walking pervert and his instigator sidekick." I grumbled.Daniel didn't even try to hide his grin. He held the elevator door open for me, leaning lazily against the frame as I brushed past him. "Instigator? Feisty, I’m the voice of reason around here. If it were up to Lucien, we'd be packing velvet robes and champagne into the fallout shelter.""Don't give me any ideas, Daniel," Lucien purred from right behind me, his heavy, looming presence filling the small elevator space the second he stepped inside. The doors slid shut with a soft chime, sealing the three of us back into that high-tension pressure cooker.Lucien casually slung a heavy arm over my shoulders, his broad frame weighing down on me just enough to keep me anchored right at his side. I tried to wriggle out from under hi
"There, it fits," Daniel said, his voice low but it broke the heavy silence near the floor.I looked down, expecting him to give his usual lazy salute and step back. Instead, he stood up smoothly, rising to his full height directly in front of me. The movement erased the final bit of breathing room I thought I had left. Now, I was completely sandwiched—Lucien’s massive chest was solidly pressed against my back, his hand still pinned to my bare waist, while Daniel stood less than a breath away in front of me, his half-open jacket practically brushing against my newly donned bomber jacket.It was an awkward, suffocating moment. No one moved. No one talked. Even the boutique manager seemed to have vanished into the background, leaving only the sound of my own erratic breathing filling the space.Daniel didn't back down. Up close, his droopy eyes lacked their usual mocking humor, replaced instead by a dark, intense focus that mirrored the dangerous energy of his boss. His gaze droppe
I snatched the clothes from the manager and marched into the oversized fitting room. Within a few minutes, I swapped out my cargo pants for the new outfit. The utility pants were made of a stretchy fabric—durable enough to sprint in, but hugging every curve of my hips—while the cropped top left my belly completely bare, contrasting sharply with the deep crimson silk underwear peeking just above the waistband.I stepped out of the fitting room, feeling exposed but undeniably agile.Lucien’s breath hitched. The smug, teasing look on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a dark, heavy intensity. His gaze traveled slowly from my boots, up the tight line of my legs, lingering on the bare skin of my waist before finally locking onto my eyes. He sat up slightly, his broad shoulders tensing."Well, damn," Daniel’s lazy voice cut through the silence. He strolled over from a different section, carrying a heavy, olive-green bomber jacket with reinforced lining. He stopped a few feet aw







