Elijah's POV
For a split second, I was genuinely startled, my eyes widening just a fraction before I quickly regained my composure.

I am more curious than shocked about how she could know that because it's not a thing to bluff around, but a slow, rueful grin spread across my face as I realized I might have underestimated her.

Now, I can't let you leave so easily sweetheart.

"Touché." I inclined my head slightly, acknowledging her clever jab. Even if it's just a bluff or she actually knows and still dares to say this to my face. Either she is too smart or too stupid, but the second option's chances are less here.

“Is it?” The corner of her lips stretched with her eyebrows arched in amusement.

I hesitated for the first time in my life, unsure if I should confirm or deny. But there is something about her, something that made me want to test her boundaries, push her to see how it could go and how much she knew. "Let's just say I have... interests.”

“Interests!” She crossed her arms. “What kind of interests?” Her tone is so calm as if we are discussing the weather.

I took my hands out of my pockets, balling them into fists at my sides as I debated how much to reveal. Well, it's not a thing to hide because I love my job. The adrenaline rush that my work gives me is indescribably out of this world.

I leaned in closer, my voice dropping lower. "The kind that requires a certain level of... influence. The kind that makes people disappear." And watched her reaction closely.

She didn't reply; instead, that damn fucking smirk is still there on her lips. No fear, no shock. Just that damn smirk.

I studied her expression intensively, searching for any hint of fear or surprise, and for the first time in my life of 30 years, I didn't find any. Instead all I saw was that damn smirk, still plastered on her face like she was enjoying a private joke.

"Fuck," he muttered underneath my breath, impressed despite myself. "You're either incredibly brave or utterly insane."

“What do you think?" She asked in a mere whisper while stepping a little closer to me, filling the gap between us.

I didn't back away as she stepped closer, instead holding my ground, my gaze locked with hers.

A smirk tugged at the corner of my mouth as I considered her question. "Honestly? I think you might just be the most intriguing woman I've ever met.” I answered honestly.

“And what are your intentions with this intriguing woman?” That vixen asked, smiling.

I straightened up, my posture becoming more imposing as I towered over her, but she was not feeling intimidated by my presence at all, and that made my smirk turn predatory. "My intentions?" I paused, my eyes glinting with an unspoken challenge.

“Yes, your intentions!” She asked while dusting the invisible dust off my coat.

I reached out, my fingers brushing against the sapphire ring on her middle finger, tracing the intricate design. My voice turned low and dangerous as I said, looking straight into those green eyes. "I think my intentions are to figure you out, Sapphire. To peel back those layers and see what's really going on underneath that cool exterior.”

“You mean my clothes." She whispered in my ear. But her blunt words sounded more seductive to me.

My breath hitched at her whispered words, and my heart pounded inside my chest as I felt her warm breath against my ear.

I snaked my arm around her waist and yanked her flush against myself when our fronts collided, and I felt her soft breasts pressing against my hard chest.

I turned my head slightly, and my lips brushed against the shell of her ear. "Something like that, Sapphire." I pulled back slightly to look into her eyes with mine that were burning in intensity.

“Where?" She asked while rolling the tip of her nose behind my ear slowly and sensually.

A deep, throaty growl escaped my lips at the slight touch of her nose against my ear, and I tightened my hold around her.

"My place." My voice firm, leaving no room for negotiation. "Tell your driver he can leave.”

See! No, women can deny my charm. Not even an unyielding Sapphire.

“Why would I trust a stranger? And more precisely a Mafia king?" She asked with a playful giggle while stepping away from me.

I let out a bark of laughter, amused and impressed by her defiance. Stepping forward to her, I raked a hand through my hair, a rueful smile playing on my lips. "Fair point, Sapphire. A Mafia king, after all. I come with built-in security, so why are you scared? Unless you have some other motives?” I teased.

She crossed her arms and answered with a sly smile. “I am not going to your place, nor will I invite you to mine.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair in frustration. I can't believe this woman who is standing in front of me, refusing to give me an inch while the women die for my attention. But there was something about her, something that made me want to keep pushing, to see just how far I could go.

"Fine.” I clenched out with gritted teeth.

She chuckled as if I had said a joke, "Oh! You have given up so easily.” The mock and tease in her tone flickered something within me.

My eyes flashed with annoyance, but I quickly regained my composure because I want this woman tonight in my bed at any cost.

The thing is, even if I am Mafia, I still have some morals. I never forced a woman, so I want her to willingly surrender herself.

I stepped closer to her, my voice dropping to a low, dangerous whisper. "I haven't given up, Sapphire. I've just decided to change my strategy.”

“Oh really!” She purrs, clearly enjoying my desperation for her. Damn this woman!

It's true what they say about men. When it comes to our dicks, we throw our rationality out of the window.

I reached into my jacket pocket and pulled out a small, elegant business card, extending it toward her with one hand while keeping the other close enough to her waist that I could catch her if she tried to walk away. "I have all the time in the world to figure you out.”

“What will I do with this stupid card and your time?” She asked, tilting her head slightly in a challenging tone.

My lips curled into a confident smirk as I maintained my grip on the card, ensuring her fingers brushed against mine when she would take it. My voice dropped lower. "The card has my number.”

“I don't want that.” She denied arrogantly.

I chuckled softly, shaking my head in amusement at her persistence.

Wild! Good. It will be fun to spend time with you, Sapphire.

"Oh, but you will, Sapphire. Whether you want to admit it or not, there's a connection here. It's rare, and it's intriguing." I tapped the card lightly against her palm. "Keep it.”

“I said, I don't need this." She whispered while throwing that card away.

My jaw tightened as I watched her toss the card away, but my determination only seemed to grow stronger.

Fuck me!

She turned her head and told her driver to leave, "Leave! I am staying in my room here tonight.” and turned her heels to get inside without sparing me a single glance.

A room here! In this elite club! That sounds like a woman matching my caliber.

I followed her to the entrance of the club like a lost puppy, my voice carrying through the night air. "Listen, beautiful... I don't usually chase after women who throw away my number.”

But she didn't turn or say anything and kept walking to the private section of the club.

I finally caught up to her when we were in an empty corridor, my hand reaching out to grasp her elbow and spin her around to face me.

My eyes bored into her deep emerald ones, with a mix of frustration and determination as I pinned her to a nearby wall. "I said, listen. You might be the most intriguing woman I've ever met, but you're also the most stubborn.”

But instead of answering me, she grazed her beautifully manicured nails on my jaw lightly, very lightly, and whispered, “We are still very far away from my room."

My breath caught at her teasing touch, as my muscles tensed beneath her fingertips. Fuck, this little tease!

For a moment, I fought against the urge to pull her closer and fuck her senseless right there against this wall.

"Then let me walk you to your room." My voice was firm but gentle, a dangerous smirk playing on my lips because once we are in the room, then I won't leave her. "Consider it..." I paused, grinning wolfishly.

“What?” Now for the first time I saw curiosity in her eyes.

I leaned in closer, my lips brushing against her ear as I whispered, "A gentleman's escort." As my hand slid down to interlace my fingers with hers. "Unless you'd prefer I carry you there instead?”

“No thanks, I can walk.” She replied confidently.

I walked beside her, my fingers entwined with hers, pulling her closer to my side as we turned, and that corridor was a bit crowded.

“Left.” She whispered, and I took the left turn. “Third room.” She said, and we stopped in front of a closed door.

I demanded. "Key card…”

But she interrupted me, “No, darling!" She whispered while pressing her thumb on the lock, and the door clicked open.

We both stood there in the doorway, and no one made a move.

“After you.” I gestured like a gentleman. In reality I am anything but a gentleman.

She walked inside the room swaying her hips, and I followed her inside, my gaze taking in the lavish interior of her private room.

As I closed the door behind me with a soft click, my eyes never left the seductress.

I pulled her by her arm and pinned her against the closed door. She didn't even gasp or flinch as if she had already anticipated my move. I wrapped my hand around her throat firmly, my jaw tightened, and I demanded in a low, dangerous tone, “Now tell me, Sapphire, who you really are.”

I’m no fool.

I haven’t built this dark empire by letting excitement cloud my judgment.

A woman who knows something this big about me, something that could bury empires, doesn’t just walk away.

That’s why I couldn’t let her go.

So I followed her here, not out of trust, not out of curiosity, but because I couldn’t risk her slipping out of my hands.

And yet… standing this close to her, with that intoxicating scent clinging to the air, all I can think about right now isn’t who sent her…

but what it would feel like to have her beneath me.

But I kept that side and tightened my fingers around her throat, feeling the soft pulse beating beneath my thumb. “Speak,” I demanded, but she just smiled…. that slow, infuriating smile that could make saints sin.

Not a flicker of fear in those hypnotic green eyes. Not a tremor. Not even a breath out of place.

That alone made my blood heat.

No one, no one… looked me in the eye like that and lived easy afterward.

She knew things buried in the shadows of the underworld,  things no ordinary soul should even whisper about. Which meant only one thing…

She wasn’t ordinary.

She was either sent by my enemies to kill me in my bed… or she was the enemy herself.

“I asked you something,” I growled, tightening my grip just a little. “Who sent you here? Who the fuck do you work for?”

But instead of answering, she chuckled, low, throaty, arrogant. “You actually think I work for someone?” she said, dragging one manicured nail slowly along my jawline. The faint scrape sent a chill straight through me.

“And as for your first question…” she whispered, leaning in until her breath mingled with mine, lips just a heartbeat away.

“No one sent me, Elijah. You came here… because I wanted you to.”

For a second, a rare, dangerous second, my mind went still. My grip loosened slightly, though I still held her there, fingers firm around that delicate neck.

“What the hell are you talking about?” I muttered.

Her lashes fluttered, and that wicked smirk curved her lips. “You really thought Kovači’s right-hand man would just stumble into you here by chance? Do you really think that your brother just had a dream about finding him here out of nowhere? No, darling. I served you those starters so you’d think you might have me as your main course. Every step… was mine to control.”

I was more impressed than shocked right now.

Fuck.

Confidence like that shouldn’t be legal. Neither should a mind that sharp.

My jaw flexed. “What the hell do you want?”

Her eyes gleamed dark, taunting, burning with the same hunger I felt clawing at my gut.

“The same thing you do,” she whispered.

For a moment, silence. Only the sound of our breaths. My pulse roared in my ears.

Fuck.

Because for the first time in years… I couldn’t tell…..

whether she meant power…

Or me.