The Devil's obsession with the Heiress

[Music recommendation:Yehezkel Raz - When the Sunrise]

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Aliana raised a hand to shield her eyes from the blinding headlights as the car came to a slow halt beside hers.

When she cautiously lowered her hand, her breath caught. The ghost had vanished into thin air, as though it had never existed, leaving behind nothing but a sleek black Maybach from the hotel where she was staying.

Just then, the car window slid down, revealing those familiar, mesmerising icy blue eyes, and for a moment, she forgot how to breathe.

As the silence stretched between them, he tilted his head to look past her at her car, noting the open hood, before returning his gaze to her.

"Get in," he finally spoke with a lazy grace.

His chauffeur stepped out and opened the door on the other side, silently inviting her in. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Aliana blinked, still reeling from everything that had just happened, so she didn’t respond immediately.

But in the next moment, she opened her own car door.

Gavriel thought perhaps this was her way of rejecting an offer he never extended to anyone else.

But then she proved him wrong by quickly leaning into her car to grab her clutch before turning to her chauffeur. "I will be heading back to the hotel with them."

"Of course, Miss," the chauffeur replied with a bow.

She then made her way to the open door and slid inside. The door closed softly behind her, all the while acutely aware of his gaze fixed on her.

As soon as the car pulled away, she took a deep breath, her senses slowly wrapping around his unique, expensive, minty-fresh scent.

Only then did she turn to look at the man seated beside her, just in time to hear him ask, "Another trouble?"

"As you can see," Aliana replied softly, meeting his eyes without hesitation.

"I am beginning to understand that you attract trouble quite... consistently," he stated. His gaze drifted over her features, seemingly expecting her to flare up in irritation again.

However, this time, a small tug at the corner of her plump lips pulled into an amused smile. "Consistently," she echoed. "That would explain why I am currently seated in your car, in such close proximity to you yet again."

Aliana threw the subtle jab and watched as a ghost of a smile graced his face.

"Careful, Miss Vanderbilt. One would think you are throwing yet another baseless accusation against someone from the Archon Group," Gavriel replied. He was subtly referencing how she had thrown Cillian under the bus during her interview.

"But Mr. Valentine... it cannot be an accusation when there is truth to it, can it?" Aliana retorted.

"One can only prove something as true when one has the evidence to support it," Gavriel shot back.

Aliana pressed her hand against the seat between them and leaned slightly towards him, her voice dropping. "Then you can consider this moment as proof. After all, here you are within my vicinity yet again, while I find myself in yet another situation, when one would think you’d still be back at the club, enjoying another drink with Mr. Pierce."

Gavriel’s eyes gleamed with interest as he held her gaze, drawn to the fierce light grey of her eyes that refused to waver.

Suddenly, for the briefest fraction of a second, he saw it, a flicker in them, as though her irises had bled into a deep, unnatural red. But the moment she blinked, they were back to their original grey.

Aliana, catching the way his silence stretched just a little too long and arched a brow. "What’s wrong? Finally, have nothing more to say? Did I hit the-"

She didn’t get to finish.

Gavriel reached out and caught her chin, his grip gentle but firm as he pulled her face closer to his.

Ba-dum!

Her heart stumbled before beginning to race wildly, each beat louder than the last. Her breath faltered, stuck in her throat as her eyes widened, locked helplessly onto the icy depths of his.

And everything stilled.

The hum of the engine, the world beyond the tinted glass, even the air between them seemed to hold its breath. He was so close that the warmth of his breath ghosted over her lips, sending a sharp, unfamiliar shiver down her spine.

Gavriel, on the other hand, was left wondering if he had simply imagined the change in her eyes.

’Just what was that? Did I imagine it? No... it couldn’t be...’ he thought.

He continued holding her in place, hardly realising just how little space remained between them.

But soon, the effect of his actions began to take hold.

The more he looked into those light grey eyes, which seemed to shine even in the shadows of the night, pulled at something within him.

It wasn’t just curiosity anymore; it was something far more dangerous, a quiet urge to see them unravel, to watch that composure of hers fracture piece by piece. Before he could stop himself, his thumb lightly brushed against her jaw and felt her breathing hitch once again.

He saw a flood of questions rise in her nervous eyes, words she wanted to speak but couldn’t find.

’Nervous...’ he murmured inwardly.

It was a word he had never thought to associate with a woman like Aliana, who had shown him nothing but boldness and fire until now. And yet here she was, caught in his hold, her composure slipping in ways that intrigued him far more than it should have.

Seeing her face slowly turn crimson while her lips parted like a silent invitation to lean in just a little more.... he found himself wanting to know what it would be like.

Would she show him even more new sides of herself?

Suddenly realising where his thoughts were leading him, Gavriel parted his lips and spoke in a low, sinful whisper. "Did you ever consider that just because I happen to be at the place when you are in distress, it does not mean I am the source of the problem... Aliana."

The way her name rolled off his tongue sent a shudder through her, her heart thudding hard against her ribcage.

Silence fell between them, as their eyes remained locked for a moment that stretched just a little too long.

Aliana did not know how long she remained suspended in that moment before she finally found her voice. "So... are you suggesting that all of this was merely a coincidence... Gav-"

The name died on her lips the instant she realised what she was about to say.

She stilled for a second, but then his thumb brushed against her jaw slowly once more, as if awakening every single cell in her body as he leaned just close enough to murmur, "Say it... finish what you were about to say."

Aliana didn’t know what came over her. She felt as though she were being hypnotised.

Parting her trembling lips, her eyelids grew heavy before she finally whispered, "Gavriel."

As soon as she whispered his name, it stirred something within him that he couldn’t quite define.

Her scent of roses was so intoxicating that it felt as though it were awakening something primal deep inside him.

Before he knew it, a devilish smile bloomed on his face. His elusive dimple made a rare appearance, and the sight of it effectively knocked the air from Aliana’s lungs.

Their gaze inevitably drifted from each other’s eyes to their lips. But before they could even consider an action that would surely spell ruin, the car slowed and came to a smooth halt.

Both of them turned slightly towards the front, greeted by the sight of the grand gates of Mar Azura slowly yawning open, as though the world itself had intervened just in time.