Page 72 of Thirst Trap

Then Bonnie laughed low, sharp, and dangerous.

“Oh, I like you.”

Lucas smirked faintly, but Maddison kept her chin high.

“You’re loyal,” Bonnie continued, setting her glass down. “Loyalty matters more than blood in this family. Don’t forget that.”

“I won’t,” Maddison said evenly.

Bonnie studied her for another long moment, then nodded. “You’ll do. Don’t make me regret it.”

Lucas’s hand brushed against Maddison’s under the table.

Warm. Steady. Claiming.

For the first time since she’d walked into the empire, Maddison felt it. She wasn’t just standing beside him.

She was being pulled into the family.

And Bonnie Creams had approved.

Chapter 36

Business Dinner

Creams Tower glittered that night, chandeliers dripping diamonds, Bordeaux swirling beneath the hum of international accents. It wasn’t just dinner. It was war in silk and cufflinks, fortunes sealed with eye contact.

Maddison stood at Lucas’s side in crimson silk, heels sharp enough to stab a man, smile polished into something halfway between charm and warning. She was there to shield him, to read the room, to remind every CEO in attendance that Lucas Creams wasn’t untouchable.

He was taken.

And then she saw it.

Lucas leaned just a little too close to the woman across the table , an Italian CEO with slicked-back hair and diamonds swinging from her ears. His hand rested casually on the back of her chair, his half-smile dangerously close to charm. She laughed, throaty and low.

Maddison’s nails bit into the stem of her wine glass. She didn’t make a scene.

Not Here.

But the second they slipped out the Tower’s side exit into the cool night air, the mask

Cracked.

“Enjoy yourself?” Maddison snapped, heels striking pavement.

Lucas blinked, tugging at his tie. “What?”

“Flirting with diamond-earring Barbie while I stood there like your PA.”

His brows drew tight. “It wasn’t flirting. It was business.”

“Business that made you laugh at her jokes. Business that made you put your hand on her chair the way you used to put it on mine.”

Lucas stopped dead, turning to face her. His jaw flexed. “You’re jealous.”

Her laugh came sharp and bitter. “Damn right I’m jealous. I shot a man for you, Lucas. I bleed for you. And you think I’ll just smile pretty while you play charming CEO with someone else?”

The air crackled hot between them. Maddison’s chest heaved, fury sparking in her eyes. Lucas stared like she was the only living thing in the city.