The man acted as though he hadn't heard a word.
He didn't stop until he was thoroughly satisfied, his arm wrapping securely around her waist once more. "You keep abandoning me for hours on end. Collecting a little interest is hardly unreasonable, is it?"
Trapped firmly against his chest, Serena poked the back of his hand, a silent demand for him to loosen his grip.
Nicholas didn't budge an inch. Instead, he smoothly pivoted the conversation, putting on a mask of perfect innocence. "Running that massive psychological play to force the Obsidian Sun into dropping a hundred and thirty billion on Specimen Fourteen... You're after more than just making them swallow a bitter pill, aren't you?"
Serena stopped poking his hand. She looked up, her eyes narrowing slightly in surprise.
They were deep inside Project Zero-Transit's territory.
Was he really going to casually discuss a high-stakes conspiracy out in the open?
She flicked her gaze around, running a rapid visual sweep of the luxurious dining
room.
Reading her hesitation, Nicholas's thumb began a slow, mesmerizing stroke against her waist. "Relax. While I was waiting for you, I swept the room. There are no bugs or surveillance feeds in this suite."
Hearing that, Serena dropped the tactical vigilance.
Since he had cleared the room, there was no need to keep playing the untouchable Panacea.
She pressed her palms into his shoulders, preparing to stand up and move to her own chair, but the arm wrapped around her waist instantly went rigid.
Nicholas hauled her right back into his chest. "Where do you think you're going?" Serena tipped her chin toward the empty chair beside them. "To eat breakfast." Nicholas locked her firmly against him, his voice dropping an octave into a gravelly purr. "You can eat right here. Let me hold you."
Serena looked down at the massive hand clamped possessively around her waist, a spark of amusement dancing in her eyes.
Then, her gaze drifted downward, sweeping meaningfully over his lap. "You're awfully eager this morning, darling."
She smirked, intentionally shifting her hips against him. "Are you absolutely sure you just want to hold me?"
That single, deliberate movement made the dark lust in Nicholas's eyes flare into an absolute inferno. The hand locked around her waist clamped down hard.
Even through the thick layers of fabric, Serena could feel the searing, dangerous heat of his palm.
"If you keep playing with fire, sweetheart, holding you is going to be the absolute least of what I do to you." His voice was entirely ragged, a breathless, deliberate warning.
Every word was a seductive threat.
This arrogant bastard... the second the surveillance cameras were off, he turned into an absolute predator.
Deciding not to push her luck, she relaxed into his embrace. "Fine. If you want to hold me, hold me. You're the one who has to suffer the consequences."
Since he was so eager to torture himself, she was more than happy to enjoy the most comfortable seat in the room.
Leaning against him, she cut
straight to the chase. "I couldn't care less about Specimen Fourteen Bankrupting the Obsidian Sun and making them bleed is just me collecting some overdue interest."
"Oh?" Nicholas arched a brow. He casually arranged the silverware in front of her, sliding a bowl of stearning catmeal perfectly into her reach. "Then what is it you actually want?"
Serena picked up her spoon, stirring the oatmeal with slow, methodical circles. "What I want... is to drag the Obsidian Sun completely out of the shadows."
She took a bite, swallowing before she continued, "They've been hiding in the dark for far too long."
"They've been sitting on the international most-wanted lists for years. Every major power is gunning for them, but no one has ever managed to expose their true foundation."
Her eyes darkened, but the smile on her lips grew sharper, practically radiating danger. "I've used the Gray Zone's intelligence network to hunt them All I ever found were disposable outer rings and shell corporations. Their central nervous system is a ghost."