---
The boardroom was colder than Zara remembered.
Her father's seat at the table was gone. So were the smiles. So was the future she once had.
She sat in silence, trying to steady her breath. Dressed in the most professional armor she owned, she tried to look unbothered. Untouchable. But her skin still burned from the memory of him—the man who touched her like he wanted to memorize her... and left before she could ask his name.
She had tried to forget him. She really had.
Then the door opened.
And there he was.
Aiden Knight.
CEO of KnightCorp. Billionaire. Ruthless dealmaker. Her father's biggest rival.
And the man who had made her fall apart with nothing more than his mouth and the whisper of "Tell me to leave… and I will."
Zara blinked, frozen in time. But he... didn't.
He strode in like a storm in a tailored suit—dark, crisp, and dangerous.
His eyes swept over her like she was a stranger.
But she wasn't.
She was the woman who had begged him last night, breathless and trembling…
called him Daddy like it meant salvation.
And now? He wouldn't even blink twice.
"Miss Blake," he said, voice unreadable. "Let's begin."
His eyes lingered on her face for a second too long.
Like he almost smirked.
Like he remembered everything—
—and was daring her to say something now.
She nearly choked on her own breath.
That voice had been in her ear. In her dreams. Wrapped around her moans.
Now it was giving orders across a conference table.
She forced herself to nod. "Yes… of course."
---
Ten minutes in, her composure was hanging by a thread.
Aiden flipped through documents like he hadn't tasted her the night before.
Like he hadn't whispered filth against her skin.
Like he hadn't dragged pleasure out of her until she broke apart and screamed for a man she didn't know.
Now she did.
And he was the one man she couldn't afford to hate—or want.
"Clause 17 covers employee retention," he said, his tone clean, corporate, soulless.
Zara narrowed her eyes. "Do you always treat people like this?"
He paused.
His pen stilled. His eyes—so cruelly unreadable—lifted to meet hers.
"Like what?"
"Like they don't matter."
A beat passed. The room was silent, but it pulsed with heat.
"I don't get emotional about business," he replied. "It keeps things… clean."
Zara's lip curled. "And the people you sleep with? Do they fall under business, or pleasure?"
Silence. Sharp and personal now.
His gaze didn't flinch.
Then—his lips twitched. Barely.
"Depends on whether they remember the rules," he murmured, gaze heavy.
For a split second, his voice dropped into the same tone he used when she was under him, whispering "That's it, say it again…"
Her breath caught. Her thighs clenched under the table.
He smirked and looked away.
Oh, he remembered.
And he was playing her.
---
She stood as he closed the folder like the conversation was over.
"This meeting is done. KnightCorp takes full control on Monday. Be ready."
She took a step toward him, her voice low and biting. "And if I'm not?"
Aiden turned to face her. Close. Too close.
"Then you'll learn what happens to women who break them."
His voice dropped an octave.
Not a threat. A promise.
Zara's skin prickled with heat. But she didn't flinch.
"You're not the only one who knows how to play this game, Mr. Knight."
He tilted his head, as if amused. "Good. I like it when they fight back."
Then he left. Without another word. Without another look.
Leaving her standing there—shaking, furious, and aching for more.
---