Billionaire Alpha's 99 Deadly Games

Chapter 15

The proximity was intoxicating. Unlike their distant encounter across the stage, Lucas could now detect subtle details that sent shivers of recognition down his spine-the faint jasmine scent that had haunted his dreams for a year, even the staccato rhythm of her pulse visible at her neck.

Each familiar element heightened his impossible suspicion.

Her deliberate silence felt strategic rather than shy. No other dancer in the company maintained this careful muteness-only her.

With an uncharacteristically tentative motion, he reached toward her mask, his usually steady hand betraying a slight tremor. The closer he got, the more his own heartbeat echoed in his ears, his breathing becoming shallow with anticipation.

Aria hadn't anticipated this direct approach. Based on her years with Lucas, she had expected his typical reaction to being ignored-a flash of entitlement, then dismissal. The Alpha Lucas Thornwood she had known would have scoffed at her silence and walked away, his infamous impatience with "time-wasters" sending him in search of more accommodating company.

She had risked silence as her best defense, never imagining he would simply reach for the mask himself.

As his fingertips hovered mere centimeters from the pearlescent surface, Aria's entire body tensed, her breath caught mid-inhale.

Just as contact seemed inevitable, a sharp ringtone sliced through the tension.

Lucas withdrew his hand with visible reluctance, reaching for his phone with a suppressed sigh. "What is it?" he answered tersely.

Whatever news came through transformed his expression from intense curiosity to grave concern within seconds.

With a last lingering look at Aria, he turned abruptly and strode away, already issuing rapid instructions to whoever had called.

Only when his silhouette disappeared completely did Aria's rigid posture collapse. She exhaled shakily, unclenching fists that had been prepared to push him away if necessary.

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Billionaire Alt

Chapter 15

company excitedly departed for a night tour of Southern Crescent's historic

years intimately familiar with every cobblestone and hidden garden, she had no desire

as a weapon against

her colleagues goodnight, she settled into the town car headed back to their hotel, eager for the

however, seemed determined to stress-test her

collided with a small group of men in expensive suits exiting the lobby-at their center,

before she could retreat, his

her turn, but panic quickly overrode her surprise. She fumbled frantically

associates with a curt nod and approached her directly, studying her with that penetrating

to her casual attire of jeans and an oversized sweater. "Why

to risk him recognizing her voice. Instead, she pointed to her throat and made a negative gesture that any dancer would recognize

she quickly typed: "Doctor's orders. Strained

is murder on the ankles, too, isn't it? Especially for principals who spend so much time

rambling about dance technique while

16:40

Pilli

Chapter 15

apologetic tone she'd rarely heard from him: "I behaved inappropriately earlier. Let me make it up to you

toward the hotel's restaurant. "You must be starving after that performance. All that glycogen depletion needs

nutrition needs caught her off guard. She had lectured him about proper post-performance refueling dozens of

mentally calculating the risks of extended exposure versus the suspicion an outright refusal

if to undermine her resolve, her traitorous

against her abdomen, unable to hide the flush creeping up

said, a warmth in his voice that seemed alien compared to the cold,

with the arrogant, entitled Lucas she remembered that she almost laughed at the irony. Was this the same man who had orchestrated ninety-eight humiliations? Who had ordered his friends to trap her in a burning building? His newfound courtesy seemed like the cruelest joke of

his interest, Aria reluctantly nodded her agreement. The sooner

restaurant's subdued lighting created an intimate atmosphere that did nothing to ease her

be hungry himself, Lucas merely picked at his steak, instead attentively ensuring her water glass remained filled and even cutting her salmon into precise, manageable pieces