Page 14 of Broken Obsession

He appeared to be a couple of years younger, with a sharp jawline and stunning ruby red eyes with flecks of black and gold. Those eyes seemingly latched onto Eden’s very soul, calling to him, coaxing him forward, until he found himself resting an arm on the table and doing just that.

Eden leaned a little bit closer, breath catching in his lungs. If he were a painter, he’d be scrambling for a brush or a pen, but as it were, music was his only art form. He could probably write a million ballads off this man’s looks alone.

The longer Eden stared, the more the man’s angelic features seemed to morph into feline ones, his thick brows lifting almost teasingly, the full, plush lips of his mouth tipping upward at the left corner. A couple curls of ebony hair fell over his forehead, one slipping lower, to obscure his right eye.

It should have broken the spell, but it didn’t. All it did was draw attention to the rest of him. To his broad shoulders and fit arms, currently encased in a tailored suit made of silk in a stone-gray shade. There was no tie, and the white dress shirt beneath had been left unbuttoned almost to the center of his chest. A pairof black and red headphones perched around his neck, a boyish detail that somehow did nothing to detract from the lavish vibe exuding from the stranger.

Even the scent of his cologne was expensive and enticing. Spicy and woody, with the barest hint of something citrusy.

Masculine.

Devilish.

Dangerous.

Eden felt his dick twitch in his pants, an altogether insane reaction to have from one single look, and it finally pulled him out of the trance.

He blinked, painfully aware he’d been staring like a loon, and cleared his throat as he pulled back and straightened in his seat. It wasn’t enough space, but he couldn’t very well get up without fear of letting his semi-hard-on be known, and there weren’t any other empty chairs available anyway.

“Hello,” the word came out breathy and low, far too telling, and if he’d been anyone else, he might have blushed in embarrassment. Instead, he kept himself as composed as possible, hoping he hadn’t lost as much time as it felt like he had. “I’m Eden Baldur. I play—”

“Ransom.” Gods, even the man’s voice was angelic.

Eden shivered.

“Uh,” at his side, Noon elbowed him lightly, “this is the new major investor Ismay was telling us about earlier, Ares Major.”

The new investor?

“Howoldare you?” Eden blurted before he could help himself. He hadn’t thought much about who the new investor might be, but a part of him had just assumed it was another man or woman in their prime, looking for a fresh side hustle. The type of person who could comfortably blow a small fortune on a gaming company that hadn’t even been around for five years.

Sure, Vanity was doing fantastic now, but they were still in the early stages. Trends changed, and fans moved on all the time. Investment in their company wasn’t child's play, and yet…

Across from them, Pilar, another voice actor who’d been listening in, swore under his breath at Eden’s bold comment.

“I’m twenty-one,” the angel—Ares—replied. “If I’m not mistaken, that was how old you were when the company was formed.”

It was. He and the others had been at the end of their senior year when Vanity had completed the testing stages and finally came together.

“We didn’t have the type of funding you apparently do, Mr. Major,” Eden said.

“He’s a Black Hart,” Noon told him, and if Eden wasn’t mistaken, the light in Ares’ eyes dimmed some.

Was he angry?

At least that settled the question. If this man was a Black Hart, that made him a devil for sure. A fallen angel.Thefallen angel, with looks like his.

Lucifer was said to be gorgeous.

Lucifer.

Shit, now he was thinking about the masked stranger.

“What are you doing all the way on this side of the planet?” Eden asked. Since he was in his early twenties, Ares was no doubt a student at the prestigious university, Sacrum Cor, located on the opposite part of the globe, in the capital city.

“He’s a fan of our game,” Yarrow appeared behind Ares then, having abandoned his seat sometime during their talk. His hand came down on Ares’ shoulder, and he must have missed the way their new shareholder tensed at the contact, because he continued to grin at Eden. His excitement was palpable. “He came all this way to buy out half of our other shareholders, that’s how big a fan he is!”

Yarrow had always sought fame and fortune. To him, Vanity stood for more than hard work and dedication. It was only part of his dream. Recognition? Idealization? Those were the end goals, and it appeared that he felt he’d achieved those things by attracting someone with the sort of social standing Ares held.