Chapter 6 - The Velvet Trap
The silence in the master suite grew thick, punctuated only by the crackle of the fireplace and the distant drumbeat of rain against the glass.
Vivian’s fingers curled slightly against the edge of the mahogany desk. Every instinct she possessed warned her to step back, to put distance between herself and the dangerous, magnetic gravity of the man standing before her. Dominic Bellardi wasn't a corporate heir playing dress-up; he was a relic of an older, harder Chicago—a man who owned shipping ports, real estate syndicates, and enemies who disappeared without a trace.
Yet she didn't move an inch.
“You’re playing with fire, Dominic,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the wind outside.
“I am the fire, Vivian,” he murmured, closing the remaining distance between them.
When his hand came up to cup her cheek, his palm was warm, calloused, and impossibly gentle—a stark contrast to the ruthless reputation that preceded him. His thumb brushed lightly across her cheekbone, tracing the shell of her ear before resting just beneath her jawline.
She shivered, her eyes fluttering closed for a fraction of a second.
When he kissed her, it wasn't the frantic, desperate kiss of a woman seeking revenge against an unfaithful fiancé. It was deliberate, slow, and devastatingly thorough—a kiss that tasted of aged bourbon and quiet authority. It swept away the wreckage of the last eight months, burning through her doubts and leaving behind a strange, terrifying sense of clarity.
When he finally pulled back, his dark eyes searched her face with an intensity that made her breath catch.
“Still want to make him jealous?” Dominic asked, a faint, rare smile touching his lips.
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“Nathan doesn't matter anymore,” Vivian breathed, her hand coming up instinctively to rest against the crisp cotton of Dominic’s shirt, feeling the steady, heavy beat of his heart beneath her palm. “He never really did.”
Dominic’s expression softened, the hard lines of his face relaxing into something older and deeply protective. “Good. Because tomorrow, the real work begins.”
