The air shimmered with wealth and excess, the grand ballroom of the Imperial Hotel bathed in golden light. Crystal chandeliers sparkled overhead, reflecting off the champagne glasses clutched in manicured hands. The scent of expensive perfume mingled with the crisp bite of aged whiskey, and the murmur of refined conversation hummed beneath the soft notes of a live string quartet. It was a scene Rafael Castellan had witnessed countless times—another gala, another night of forced pleasantries, another parade of socialites and business elites vying for his attention.
But tonight, his focus was singular.
Across the room, wrapped in a crimson silk dress that clung to her curves like sin itself, stood Selene Carter. Unaware of the weight of his gaze, she conversed with a small group of attorneys, her expression poised, her every movement effortless. She exuded confidence, the kind that came from knowing she belonged in rooms like these—not because of privilege, but because she had earned her place. Unlike the women who adorned themselves in wealth to attract men like him, Selene needed no embellishment.
Rafael's fingers tightened around his glass. He had seen many women, had taken many to bed, but none had ever commanded his attention the way she did. It wasn't just attraction—it was an obsession. A dangerous, unrelenting hunger that simmered beneath his carefully controlled exterior.
He had watched her before. Studied her. Memorized the way she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear when deep in thought, the way her lips pressed together when she was listening intently. She was precise, logical, and utterly unattainable. That was what intrigued him most.
Selene Carter was the one woman in this city who seemed utterly unaffected by him.
She knew who he was—everyone did. Rafael Castellan, the ruthless CEO of Castellan Corp, a man whose name alone sent whispers through boardrooms and cocktail parties alike. Women chased him, men envied him, competitors feared him. And yet, in the few brief encounters they had shared, Selene had regarded him with cool professionalism, nothing more.
That indifference made her all the more irresistible.
His jaw tensed as he watched her laugh at something one of her colleagues said. The sound—soft, warm—was a stark contrast to the sharp, calculated world they both thrived in. He had never heard her laugh before.
It wasn't fair.
She had no idea how deeply he had let her into his mind. No idea that he had sought out her name long before their paths had formally crossed. No idea that he knew things about her—small, insignificant details that shouldn't have mattered, yet somehow did. He knew she took her coffee black, that she preferred the sharp bite of bourbon over wine, that she ran in the mornings before dawn, pushing herself harder than necessary.
She didn't see him watching now, but he saw everything.
His thumb traced the rim of his glass as his gaze darkened. This wasn't a fleeting interest. It wasn't mere curiosity.
He wanted her.
And Rafael Castellan always got what he wanted.
THE NEXT DAY
Rafael Castellan didn't believe in fate. He believed in control, in precision, in making things happen. And if something—or someone—didn't bend to his will, he simply applied more pressure until they did.
That was why, when a legal storm threatened Castellan Corp, there had been no hesitation in his decision.
Selene Carter was the only lawyer fit to handle it.
He sat behind his obsidian desk, the city skyline stretching endlessly beyond the glass walls of his office. The contract lay open in front of him, pristine and carefully worded, the ink fresh on the final clause. His fingers tapped lightly against the polished surface as he read the name on the document.
Holloway & Carter.
Not just the firm. Her.
It hadn't been difficult to maneuver. Castellan Corp was an empire, and an empire commanded the best. It just so happened that the best was also the one woman he could never quite shake from his mind. He had let the months pass, watching her from a distance, letting the slow burn of fascination fester into something deeper, sharper. But now? Now, he was done waiting.
He had given his legal team clear instructions—Holloway & Carter would be the firm representing Castellan Corp in the upcoming dispute. And if Selene wasn't personally assigned to the case, the deal was off the table.