Adrian Whitmore had not intended to follow her. He told himself that. Again and again, as the black sedan slipped through the streets, keeping just enough distance from Velvet's car. He told himself it was coincidence, concern, duty. Anything but the truth.
The truth was jealousy.
When Velvet stepped into the rooftop bar, Adrian's chest tightened. And when Sebastian Kane rose from his corner table to greet her, Adrian's hand curled into a fist against the steering wheel. He stayed in the shadows of the building across the street, his vantage point giving him a clear view of their table through the tall glass windows.
Two predators. Two rulers of their own worlds, leaning toward each other as if no one else existed. Adrian had known Sebastian was circling, but seeing it—seeing Velvet meet him, not with fear, but with amusement—was unbearable.
Every second of their conversation stretched Adrian thinner, like glass under pressure. He couldn't hear the words, but he saw the body language: Sebastian's leaning confidence, Velvet's poised composure, her smile that was just sharp enough to cut.
When Velvet finally stood and left Sebastian at the table, Adrian could no longer hold himself back. He moved before he had time to think, slipping into the bar just as Velvet exited to the elevator.
---
"Mr. Whitmore," Sebastian drawled when Adrian approached, his voice smooth, carrying the faintest edge of mockery. "What a surprise. I thought you didn't frequent places like this."
Adrian ignored the jab, his eyes narrowed. "What do you want with her?"
Sebastian's smile deepened. "Straight to the point. Admirable. What I want, Adrian, is the same thing you do. Velvet."
The name hung in the air like smoke. Adrian's jaw tightened. "Stay away from her."
"Ah," Sebastian leaned back, swirling the last of his whiskey. "The knight protecting his lady. Charming, but naïve. She doesn't need your protection. She doesn't need anyone's."
Adrian slammed a hand against the table, the crystal glass rattling. "She's not your game piece, Kane."
Sebastian arched a brow, utterly unfazed. "Isn't she? Look at her, Adrian. She's building an empire of devotion with nothing but her voice and her gaze. Do you think she's doing it for love? For companionship? No. She's doing it for control. And she's magnificent at it."
Adrian's breath came fast, his composure slipping. "You see her as a prize to conquer. I won't let you use her."
Sebastian's eyes glinted, sharp as a blade. "And what are you doing, Whitmore? Protecting her? Or trying to possess her in your own way? Don't mistake your obsession for nobility."
The words cut deeper than Adrian expected, because they were too close to truth. His silence gave Sebastian all the confirmation he needed.
"Face it," Sebastian continued, his voice low, deliberate. "You and I are not so different. We both want her. The only question is—who does she want to belong to?"
Adrian's eyes burned, but before he could answer, Velvet's voice broke through.
"Enough."
Both men turned. Velvet stood at the entrance of the bar, her gaze icy, her posture a queen before two errant knights. She had returned quietly, almost anticipating this confrontation.
"Velvet—" Adrian began, but she cut him off with a raised hand.
"You think I'm something to be claimed, something to fight over," she said, her voice sharp, carrying. "But let me be perfectly clear: I don't belong to either of you."
Sebastian's smile flickered, intrigued rather than offended. Adrian, however, looked stricken, his fury barely held in check.
Velvet walked slowly to their table, her heels echoing like a gavel. She leaned forward, hands flat on the polished wood, eyes moving between the two men.
"I will choose who has a place in my world. Not you, Adrian. Not you, Sebastian. Me. And if either of you think you can bend me into submission, you'll find yourselves broken first."
For a moment, silence reigned. The city lights gleamed behind her, turning her figure into something untouchable.
Adrian's fists unclenched, but his voice was low, raw. "I don't want to break you, Velvet. I want to save you."
Her gaze softened for just a flicker, but she masked it instantly. "Then stop trying to fight for me. Because if you can't, you'll lose me."
Sebastian rose, finishing the last of his drink. "And that," he said with a sly grin, "is why she fascinates us both." He inclined his head slightly toward Velvet before strolling past them, leaving Adrian and Velvet alone in the tense quiet.
Adrian turned to her, desperate. "Why him? Why meet with him at all?"
Velvet's eyes lingered on the empty glass Sebastian left behind. Then she looked at Adrian, her smile dangerous.
"Because, Adrian," she said softly, "sometimes the best way to defeat your enemy… is to invite him to dinner."
---