The conference room was filled with tension thick enough to slice through. The city's elite were present—investors, media reps, CEOs, and board members. Cameras were set up, capturing every polished move, every sharp glance. Aurora Valentine entered first, a vision in an ivory pantsuit that screamed power and rebellion in equal measure. Her high heels clicked against the marble floor like war drums.
Dominic Raine followed moments later, tall, brooding, and dressed in a charcoal-black suit with the ease of a man used to owning rooms—and people.
Their eyes met.
Electric.
Explosive.
The air shifted.
"Let's keep this professional," Aurora muttered under her breath as they reached the long glass table.
Dominic smirked, leaning just close enough so only she could hear, "Tell that to the way you looked at me last night."
Her jaw clenched. Bastard.
They sat across from each other like kings at war, the contract for the merger of Raine Enterprises and Valentine Group laid bare between them. It was supposed to be the deal of the decade. The headlines were already prewritten: Enemies join forces in billion-dollar merger.
But neither of them had expected their personal feud to bleed so deeply into the professional world. Not after last night.
Aurora's assistant leaned in to whisper something in her ear. Her gaze flicked to Dominic's pen, already poised above the signature line.
"Are you trying to win by looking hotter than me today?" Dominic asked under his breath, leaning back in his chair with the laziest damn grin she'd ever seen.
Aurora didn't flinch. "If I wanted to win with looks, you'd be crying in a corner already."
Dominic chuckled. "That mouth of yours... God, I missed it for a whole eight hours."
Aurora didn't reply, but her heart betrayed her. It skipped. She signed the first section of the contract with ruthless precision and passed it to him.
The board members began clapping. The merger had officially begun.
But Aurora didn't relax. She watched Dominic as he signed, his face calm but his eyes darker than they had any right to be. As if beneath all the business success and careful manipulation, there was something... hungry.
He looked up. "You still don't trust me."
She met his gaze head-on. "You haven't given me a reason to."
"I could give you one right now," he said, voice dropping so low only she could hear.
She arched a brow. "Are you threatening me, Raine?"
"I'm offering," he said. "But you'd rather keep fighting me, wouldn't you?"
"I'm not scared of you," she lied.
He leaned closer. "You're scared of needing me."
She laughed, sharp and defiant. "That's your biggest mistake—you think I need anyone."
Before he could respond, a camera clicked too close, pulling them back into the public eye. The photographers swarmed around them as the CEOs shook hands. Dominic's hand closed over hers, formal and professional—yet the grip lingered too long, too firm.
It wasn't just a handshake. It was a promise.
This isn't over.
---
Later that evening, Aurora sat in her office, the contract finally sealed. The deal was done. But her emotions were a battlefield.
He got under her skin. Every time.
She heard a knock and didn't bother looking up. "Not now, Lacey."
But it wasn't her assistant's voice that responded.
"Good. I was hoping I could get you alone."
Dominic.
She looked up sharply. He had ditched the suit jacket, sleeves rolled up, the top button undone. His signature look—like a billionaire with a sin addiction.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"I came to talk. No board members. No cameras. Just you and me."
She leaned back in her chair, crossing one leg over the other. "We've signed the papers. There's nothing left to talk about."
"Is that what you think?" he said, stepping closer. "You think this is just business now?"
She stood, defiant. "It was always business. You were just too distracted to realize that."
He closed the space between them in three strides. "If it was just business, why did you kiss me back last night?"
Her chest tightened. Her resolve cracked. But her mask remained.
"I was drunk."
"You weren't."
"I was bored."
"You weren't."
"I hate you."
"You don't," he whispered. "You're just terrified that I see through your act. You can flirt with the world, but you can't lie to me."
Aurora's fists clenched. "And what about you, Dominic? What exactly do you want from me? Another win? Someone to conquer?"
"No," he said, voice suddenly raw. "I want to see the real you. Not the one behind the boardroom mask. Not the one who hides behind sarcasm. The you who kissed me like I was the only person who ever mattered."
Her breath hitched.
He took a step back, gaze unreadable. "But maybe I'm wrong. Maybe you are just business."
He turned to leave.
She wanted to stop him.
She didn't.
And when the door clicked shut behind him, she realized she wasn't as strong as she pretended to be.
---
That night, she couldn't sleep. She stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything he said.
I want to see the real you.
The walls she had built so carefully were beginning to crack. And Dominic Raine was the only one who knew exactly where to hit.