Chapter 5

The air on the rooftop was crisp, carrying the faint, metallic scent of rain that hadn’t yet fallen, mixed with the expensive perfume of the elite who populated this exclusive slice of the city. Below us, the skyline was a jagged constellation of gold and white lights, the grid of Manhattan pulsing like a living vein, but my world had narrowed to the space between us. We had escaped the thrum of the jazz band and the clinking of crystal glasses, slipping into a secluded alcove behind a towering planter of ferns and a velvet rope that nobody had bothered to untie. The noise of the party muffled into a distant hum, a dull roar that felt miles away. He stood there, looking down at me with those dark, heavy eyes that always made my knees weak. He had loosened his silk tie, letting it dangle loose around his neck, a small rebellion against the formality of the evening. I was still wearing the dress he’d chosen for me, a slip of emerald green silk that clung to every curve, but I knew he wanted to see what was underneath. Or rather, he wanted to see me. "Look at you,"