“Thank you, I suppose.” I licked my lips. I really hoped he wanted to fuck me and not fight me. Or at the very least, both. He was giving me very mixed signals.

Lorcan was tall, but not exceptionally. His presence was large though. He wore a well-fitted suit and held his body with rigid confidence. His knuckles were white as he gripped the gilded pole banister behind him.

Why did he know my name? Why was he so stiff? Why was he holding on for his life to that damn banister? My eyes flipped to the buttons and I saw he’d pressed the penthouse. What did that mean? Who was he?

It was all suspicious and I’d been given no answers. The instability of what was coming made me excited. As my anxiety grew, so did my glee. The greedy pit inside me that wanted more stimulation rushed to my heart and between my legs. I felt a smile sliding up my face. These were the moments I lived for.

“Don’t be nervous,” Lorcan said and I couldn’t help laughing a little. I loved it when I was nervous. His eyebrows pinched closer together at my reaction.

“Am I nervous?” I asked.

“I can sense it,” he said, turning his eyes away. I tilted my head to the side.

“Sense it?” I asked. Just then the elevator doors opened and some of the tension relaxed.

“Follow me,” he said, walking into the penthouse.

“Fuck,” I grumbled, hating being told what to do but knowing I would follow this unbearably attractive man regardless. And I did, breezing into the place and scanning the room.

Immediately, I wanted this place as I took in the large sprawl of the penthouse. The living room had a dipped floor in the center—a circular conversion pit where a couch wrapped around the entire rim with a round coffee table in the center. The back wall of the penthouse was glass. I could see my own building from here. It was shorter than this one. I couldn’t have that now, could I? I wanted the best.

I wanted this.

The couch was custom made, a long curved stretch that fit perfectly in the lower space. It was both dated and modern in design. I adored its grotesque size and the unnecessary tassels that clung to the edge like a skirt. It was green crushed velvet that hardly gave an inch when I sat down. I spread my arms across the back and brushed my fingers against the fabric.

For a moment, I forgot Lorcan was here. I felt like I was sitting on my throne as I gazed out the window—in the highest room of the tallest building, overlooking my city. I felt like the island’s owner. The green glow of my eyes flamed to life in the windows in front of me and I looked away. Not again.

“Would you like a drink?” Lorcan asked. I could feel his eyes burning into the back of my head and smiled.