Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Seraphina's Pov

I dropped the bombshell, folded my arms across my chest and leaned back into my chair.

Watching his every move, and every expression that flashed across his face keenly. His eyelids twitched, and I could swear I saw a faint smile tug at his lips, but it disappeared just as soon as it appeared.

My eyes landed on his chest as it rose up and down, as he took a deep breath.

He leaned back into his chair, and our eyes locked in a staring contest.

I blinked, and he scoffed, pushing his chair backwards as he stood up, walking over to the mini-bar in his office, where he poured a drink into two glasses, and handed me one.

He leaned on the table, just beside, and this close, I had to admit he was dashing.

Chiseled jaw, perfect dentition, and a face that screamed perfection.

I gulped hard, as I managed to tear my eyes away from his face, but still didn't lower my gaze.

In my world, lowering your gaze meant submission, and I had been taught from a young age, never to be submissive.

“Are you done gawking or should I come closer?” He raised his brows, a proud smirk forming on his lips, as he took a sip from his drink.

“Cassian,” I called calmly, taking a slow sip from my drink.

“Let's talk about business, shall we?” I nudged at his chair.

“I think I'm fine just where I am, Seraphina Lancaster,”

My glass paused midway to my lips. This was becoming interesting.

My lips curved into a full smile.

“You know, I've always known that you are the brains behind Roth corporation. That company would be bankrupt if it weren't for your input.”

“Really?” I raised my brows at him, leaning back into my chair, “Tell me Cassian, how much more do you know about me?”

“Well, I know that you lost your parents to a crash, and you were raised by your grandfather,”

“That's common knowledge,” I rolled my eyes, and shook the glass.

“Well,” he drawled, “I also know that you love mint ice cream, which is weird, considering the fact that it tastes like toothpaste,”

I squinted my eyes at me, but said nothing.

“I know that you tend to turn to snacks, at the first sign of stress,” I shifted my weight from one foot to another, while trying to remain expressionless.

“I also know you're claustrophobic and nyctophobic, due to an incident that occurred in your high school, where you were locked in an elevator, for an entire day,”

“And I…”

“Cassian, have you been stalking me?” I cut in, my voice sounding sharper than I intended.

The glistening of his eyes proved he had noticed the crack in my demeanor.

“I wouldn't call it that,” he finally spoke, after a few seconds of silence, that sounded louder than any word he had spoken.

I tilted my head, my lips parted, but on a second thought, I shut them back.

“I just really admired your beauty and brains, and decided to do a little research,”

I scoffed, and the whiskey burned my throat as I took a sip.

“You call that a little research?” 

“You ran a full background check on me, and I want to know why,”

“Doesn't matter,” he dismissed the matter with a wave of his hand, as he headed back to his chair.

“Cassian,”

“Do you understand the full implications of what you're asking for?”

His gaze was back on his laptop.

Fine, I leaned forward. If this was the game he wanted to play, then two could play it.

“I wouldn't be here if I didn't,” my voice dropped to a deadly calm.

“See, the thing is, I don't actually think you do Seraphina,” he raised his head, and his gaze met mine.

We held it there for a while, none of us wanting to break the contact.

“I like your calculating and determined nature, but you must know, Damien is dangerous,”

“Well, so I am,”

His eyes lit up with something I would call amusement, for lack of a better word.

“Damien won't hesitate to hurt you if he senses even the littlest threat to his company,”

I scoffed for what seemed to be the umpteenth time, but chose to remain silent.

“Damien has illegal connections with the underground clubs, they run money laundering, human and sex trafficking, casinos, drugs and the likes and…” he paused, taking in my facial expression.

“No one gets involved in those kinds of things, and keeps their hands clean,”

I clenched my fist tightly around the glass, a little bit more, and I would have crushed it.

Damien was a bastard in every sense of the word, but I refused to let my disgust show.

“And you're telling me, why?”

“You need to understand the full weight of what you're walking into. Damien will kill you and have no regrets.”

“Well then, luckily, I'm here to put him in his place. I didn't top the charts of successful businesswomen by luck only,” I sneered.

“Fine,” he said simply.

“Fine?” I arched my brows in confusion.

“Yes, fine, I'll help you, it's a win for me anyway… but… we need to get you protected,”

He took a sip from his drink, deliberately avoiding his gaze, I felt a nut tighten in my stomach. Whatever he was about to say was definitely not going to sit well with me.

“What kind of protection?”

“Now, as much as I'm not going to let a single harm come to you, you still need legal and social protection, if this is to work… The kind of protection only the Blackthorne name can provide,”

I shut my eyes tightly, leaning back into my chair, every nerve in my body screaming for me to stand up and leave. I knew where he was heading, but I needed to hear it for myself. For some reason, I couldn't explain.

“What are you proposing?” I asked calmly, strength had been drained from my voice.

“Marry me, Seraphina.”