The third shot of tequila coursed through her, spreading warmth to her limbs. Seraphina's body grew numb, but her mind remained razor-sharp, honed by fury.
Her gaze drifted aimlessly across the bar, not deliberately searching for anything. She didn't want to see Julian's spot again, didn't want to see his face anymore.
Perhaps she needed a man. One who would make Julian look pathetic, insignificant. He had to be handsome, powerful, and he had to look expensive, better than Julian in every way.
Her eyes swept past a cluster of slick Wall Street types, too polished and predatory. She skipped over some young athletes, too loud and flashy.
Then, she saw that man.
He sat alone in the darkest corner of the room. A glass of whiskey rested in his hand, but he wasn't drinking it, merely letting the amber liquid catch the dim light. He wore a well-tailored charcoal suit, no tie. The top two buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing the sharp lines of his collarbones.
The light was too dim to make out his face clearly, but his profile was striking: a straight, aristocratic nose, a firm jaw, and thin lips pressed into a severe line. He looked like a Roman statue, all hard angles and breathtaking perfection. An invisible, intimidating aura surrounded him. No one dared approach his table.
Seraphina stared for a long time.
For once, she wasn't calculating anything. She was just dazed and adrift. She felt utterly exhausted, yet her mind refused to stop churning.
He was much older than Julian, yet there was something strangely reminiscent of him. He was the kind of man who didn't need to perform or pretend. He simply existed, and the whole space seemed to rearrange itself around him. His very presence made Julian's loud bravado seem childish.
She noticed the cufflinks at his wrists. Simple in design, but they gleamed with the deep, subtle luster of custom craftsmanship. Everything about him, from the cut of his suit to his stillness, radiated the kind of authority Julian could only dream of imitating.
She picked up her glass. For a moment, doubt crept in. Was she really going to do this? Throw herself at a stranger just to hurt a man who wasn't worth her time?
Then another burst of laughter came from Julian's booth.
That rational voice vanished.
She closed her fingers around the ring in her palm, the ring she had intended for a proposal. The future she had imagined with Julian would never happen now. She rose from her seat and walked toward his corner.
He must have sensed her approach, because he slowly raised his head.
Her breath caught. His eyes were a deep, complex gray. They were sharp and perceptive, as if they could see right through her.
For a moment, she felt utterly exposed, as if he could see all her pain, all her humiliation, everything that had gone so terribly wrong that night. The urge to turn and flee was overwhelming.
But she was tired of running. The alcohol made her bold, or perhaps just stupid. She could no longer tell the difference.
She stopped at his table and set her glass down with a sharp clink, spilling a few drops of tequila onto the dark wood.
Without a word, she placed the ring on the table and pushed it toward him.
"Take it," she said, her voice rough and low. "It's yours now."
He looked at the ring, then at her. His gray eyes held hers for a long, unreadable moment. Then he reached out, picked it up, and slipped it into his pocket. He had accepted it.
"Alone?" she asked, her voice rough from the alcohol and unshed tears.
The man didn't answer. His gray eyes held hers again, then flickered briefly downward to the neckline exposed by her slight forward lean.
Heat crept up her neck. She had really done it. She had actually done it.
She dipped one finger into the spilled tequila on the table. Slowly, deliberately, she brought the finger to her lips and licked it clean.
Her gaze never left his. It was a challenge, a plea, perhaps a touch of madness.
A flicker of something, interest or surprise, finally broke through the placid surface of his expression.
He spoke, his voice low and resonant: "You're playing with fire."
She let out a bitter laugh. It wasn't the laugh of a woman in control. It was the laugh of a woman who had lost everything that mattered and felt she had nothing left to lose.
"Maybe," she said, her voice barely a whisper. "But tonight, I want to be burned."
She didn't wait for his response. She slid into the seat beside him, her thigh pressing against his. She leaned in, her lips brushing his ear.
"Take me with you. Anywhere."
She felt the immediate tension in his body, muscles stiffening beneath the fine wool of his suit. She caught his scent: cedarwood and something crisp, like cold winter air.
For a moment, she thought he would refuse. She braced herself. In truth, a part of her even hoped he would.
Then a large, warm hand settled firmly and gently on the curve of her lower back.
