Chapter 9 SMOKE AND SEDUCTION

The city looked different at night.

From the top floor of Maddox Tower, the lights below pulsed like a restless heartbeat, but inside the penthouse, everything was unnervingly still.

Liana sat curled on the edge of the couch, staring at the email again.

"Round two. Tonight. Or the world sees everything."

The clock read 8:47 p.m.

Dominic had been pacing for an hour.

Finally, he stopped. "I'm meeting them."

Her head snapped up. "You can't go alone."

His gaze locked on hers. "That's exactly what they want. No backup. No interference. Just me."

"And what if it's a trap?"

"Then I'll deal with it," he said simply, pulling on his jacket.

Liana stood, crossing the room to grab his arm. "Dom-"

He cupped her face in his hands, gentle but firm. "You've trusted me so far. Trust me with this."

Her throat tightened. "What if you don't come back?"

"Then you'll burn this place down," he said with a grim smile. "I know you."

---

The meet location came at 9:02 p.m. via encrypted text:

An abandoned theater on West 63rd. Midnight. Alone.

---

By the time Dominic left, Liana's nerves were in shreds.

She paced. She sat. She stood again. She tried reading, drinking, even watching the news, but nothing silenced the gnawing dread in her chest.

When the elevator chimed at 12:47 a.m., she nearly ran.

Dominic stepped out, his shirt disheveled, a smear of blood on his knuckles.

"Dominic!" she rushed to him. "What happened?"

"I'm fine," he said, brushing past her into the living room.

"Fine?" she echoed, trailing after him. "You're bleeding!"

"It's not mine," he muttered, grabbing a glass of water.

Her stomach dropped. "Then whose is it?"

He turned, finally looking at her.

"There were two of them. Masks. One talked, the other stayed silent. They want leverage, Liana. That's what this is about. They didn't even ask for money."

"Then what did they want?"

"They want me distracted. Vulnerable. While someone else finishes what your father tried to stop."

Her heart pounded. "And the pictures?"

"They said those are just the beginning. They have audio. Video. Every second of last night."

Her breath caught. "You didn't-"

"No," he cut in, stepping closer. "I didn't promise them a damn thing."

There was silence for a beat. Thick. Charged.

"You could lose everything," she whispered.

"I've lost everything before," he said quietly. "But I'm not losing you again."

Something in the way he said it broke her.

All the fear, the tension, the guilt - it all surged into one unstoppable wave.

She kissed him.

Hard.

He grabbed her waist, pulling her against him with a groan that sounded like pain and hunger all at once.

It wasn't slow this time. There was no teasing, no patience. Just two people clinging to each other because the world outside was falling apart.

"I thought I lost you tonight," she whispered against his mouth.

"You never will," he growled, backing her toward the wall.

She hit it with a soft thud, and he kissed her again, hands everywhere - her hair, her back, the curve of her hips.

Her shirt was gone in seconds. So was his jacket.

"Dom-"

"Tell me to stop," he said against her neck.

"I can't."

His mouth traced a hot path down her collarbone, to her chest, and lower.

She gasped when he dropped to his knees in front of her, pushing her legs apart.

"Dominic," she breathed.

"Let me take care of you," he murmured, his voice rough.

And then he did.

The heat was overwhelming. She clutched at his hair, his shoulders, the wall behind her, as if she might float away from the intensity of it.

Her climax hit like a thunderclap, shaking her to her core.

But Dominic didn't give her time to recover.

He stood, lifted her effortlessly, and carried her to the dining table, clearing it with one sweep of his arm.

"Here," he said, laying her down. "I need you here."

The moment he entered her, they both gasped.

It was fast, rough, desperate. Every thrust a silent declaration: Mine. Mine. Mine.

"Look at me," he ordered.

Her eyes locked on his, tears blurring her vision.

"I've spent years trying to hate you," he said between thrusts. "And I can't. I never could."

Her lips trembled. "Then stop fighting."

He kissed her like a man drowning.

When release finally crashed over them, it left them shaking, clinging to each other on the table, sweat-slicked and breathless.

After a long silence, Liana whispered, "Tell me what happened in there, Dominic. The truth."

He exhaled, leaning his forehead against hers.

"They know someone close to me. Someone I trust. They know exactly where to hit."

"Who?"

"I don't know yet. But tonight, one of them slipped."

Her pulse quickened. "Slipped?"

"They said 'she' once. And I swear to you, Liana, I'm going to find out who that is."

Her mind flashed to Clara.

As they lay there, breathing in the dark, Liana thought she heard a faint beep.

Hidden in the corner of the room, another tiny camera light blinked once.

Then again.