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He didn’t have to step in. Didn’t have to shield her from Celeste’s venom. The realization burned in her chest: Adrian had chosen to protect her. Not because of their contract, not because of obligation, but because he wanted to.
She was a pawn in his game, she knew that. The contract, the marriage, all of it carefully orchestrated to thwart his family’s plans. She should feel used, should rage against being nothing more than a convenient escape route.
She shouldn’t feel this pull, this dangerous attraction to the man who’d bought her freedom with golden chains. But watching him defend her, seeing the raw intensity beneath his controlled exterior… it awakened something in her she couldn’t ignore, couldn’t fight.
Maybe, just maybe there was more to his actions than pure manipulation. The thought terrified her almost as much as it thrilled her.
Georgia watched the crowd ripple and shift around them, conversations resuming like water flowing around stones. The moment passed, but the weight of it settled beneath her skin, a constant pressure she couldn’t shake.
Adrian remained facing away from her, his broad shoulders a wall between her and the watching eyes of the ballroom. He occupied the air itself, commanding notice through stillness alone, pulling at her awareness without motion or sound. He didn’t turn to look at her. His authority radiated through the simple act of standing there, claiming her without touch.
When he finally turned, his gaze pierced through her, cutting straight to her core. The look wasn’t gentle. Adrian didn’t do gentle. It wasn’t cruel either. Instead, his eyes held something far more dangerous: a challenge that made her pulse quicken, a warning that sent heat crawling up her spine, a promise that made her breath catch.
Georgia hated the way her body responded to that look. Hated how it made her feel seen and exposed all at once. Most of all, she hated that the emotion rising in her chest wasn’t entirely hatred. Something else lurked there, something that made her want to step closer even as every instinct screamed at her to run.
Georgia couldn’t tear her gaze from Adrian’s face. Her skin tingled where his eyes traced over her, leaving trails of fire in their wake. The raw possession in his stare should have made her recoil. Should have reminded her of contracts and cages and carefully crafted deals.
Instead, heat pooled low in her belly. A slow ache unfurled in her chest as she watched him command the space around them without a single word. The way he’d cut Celeste down, not for his own gain, but for Georgia—it awakened something primal inside her.
She shifted her weight, pressing her thighs together as that dangerous warmth spread through her core. The crystal flute in her hand had grown warm, forgotten as she studied the sharp line of his jaw, the controlled power in his stance.
What would happen if she challenged that control? If she pushed against the boundaries he’d set? The thought sent a shiver down her spine that had nothing to do with fear.
The night stretched on around them. Conversations ebbed and flowed, music drifted through the air, but Georgia barely registered any of it. All she could focus on was the electric current humming between them, charging every stolen glance and careful movement with unspoken meaning.
Something had shifted tonight. The rules felt different, the game more dangerous. And the worst part? She couldn’t convince herself she wanted to stop playing.
Her body betrayed her with every breath, drawn to him as helplessly as petals seeking sunlight. Even as her mind screamed warnings, her pulse quickened at the possibility lurking in those ice-blue eyes.
CHAPTER 9
Georgia stepped into Adrian’s study, the thick carpet muffling her footsteps. Lamplight cast long shadows across his desk where he worked, head bent over documents. She paused in the doorway, letting the silence stretch between them.
Her fingertips trailed along the leather-bound spines of books as she made her way around the perimeter of the room. The scent of aged paper mingled with his cologne, wrapping around her like invisible silk. She pulled a volume from the shelf, pretending to study its cover while watching his reflection in the darkened window.
Adrian’s pen continued its steady scratch across paper. His shoulders remained relaxed, posture unchanged, but she felt the weight of his attention like a physical touch. The air grew thick with unspoken tension as she drifted closer to his desk.
Her hip brushed the polished wood as she rounded the corner. Still, he didn’t look up. Georgia’s pulse quickened at this dangerous game she’d started. She traced abstract patterns onthe desk’s surface with one finger, each movement slow and purposeful.
The scratch of his pen stilled mid-stroke. Silence settled, broken only by the steady rhythm of his breathing, too even to be natural. His hand remained poised over the page, fingers curled like he might continue, but didn’t. He didn’t look up, but she felt his attention shift, sharp and deliberate. When she moved, so did his focus, tracking her like a pressure against her skin. A muscle ticked in his jaw, a crack in the composure he wore like armor.
She continued her lazy circuit of the room, letting her fingers dance across the spines of more books, the edge of a shelf, the cool surface of a crystal decanter. Every motion was a question written in the air between them. Every lingering touch was a dare neither of them voiced.
The silence stretched taut as a bowstring. Still, she waited, taunting the edges of his restraint with each casual step, each subtle shift of her body through the space between them.
Georgia stepped behind Adrian’s chair, close enough that her breath stirred the dark hair at his nape. His shoulders tensed, just for a heartbeat, then eased into stillness, the way a predator might feign sleep. He didn’t speak, didn’t move, but the shift in his body told her he felt it too. The air between them crackled with possibility.
She lingered there, letting the silence build. Her fingers itched to trace the line of his shoulders, to test if the fabric of his suit was as smooth as it looked. Instead, she leaned forward, her arm brushing his as she reached for a document on his desk.
“This report looks interesting.” Her voice came out softer than intended. She lifted the top page, pretending to study the one beneath. The scent of his cologne wrapped around her, making her head swim.
The pen stilled between his fingers. Though Adrian kept his focus locked on the page, his grip tightened until the veins in his hand stood out. Georgia watched the muscle in his cheek twitch, heard the catch in his breathing when she inched nearer. Still, he refused to meet her eyes.
Georgia’s heart thundered against her ribs, but she kept her features schooled into perfect composure. The paper trembled slightly in her grip as she pretended to read, hyperaware of Adrian’s proximity. His cologne filled her lungs with each breath, making her dizzy with a dangerous mix of fear and something else she refused to name.
She shifted her weight, letting her hip brush against his shoulder. The contact sent electricity racing through her veins. Adrian sat frozen in place, but the rigid line of his shoulders betrayed what his silence fought to hide. The iron grip he kept on his emotions had started to crack.
The realization thrilled her. She’d spent so long under his thumb, following his rules, bending to his will. But here, in this moment, she held a fraction of power. Her fingers traced the edge of the paper, imagining they were trailing across his skin instead.