022 | Something's Not Right

Ethan’s POV

I wished Aria had just agreed to have dinner with me. Forcing her into it with a vague threat had never been my intention, but here we were. Why she wouldn’t want a handsome, powerful Alpha to cook for her was a mystery – but that was her all over, wasn’t it? She was a mystery wrapped in an enigma, and damn, it was really working for me.

My charms seemed lost on her, though. Whatever secret she was keeping had to be a pretty juicy one, because the second I’d wielded that tactic like the poisoned chalice it was, her sharp expression had crumbled.

I had no idea what that secret was, of course. I just wanted her to have dinner with me.

As I smoothed down my suit, running not at all sweaty palms over its sleek lapels, I recalled the way she’d barely managed to choke out a, “What?”

She’d not given anything about it away, but she’d told me enough. There was something I could hold over her, blackmail her with, even, if I wanted to. Not that I did – yet. It was always wise to make