LU CORPORATION – EVENING HOURS
Most of the lights on the lower floors had gone out. The building quieted as employees clocked out, leaving behind the ticking of digital clocks.
But on the executive floor — the light in Lucian's office still shone.
Allison stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, arms crossed as she stared out at the city. Her presentation was over. The day was done. She should've left an hour ago or maybe 2 hours ago. But he hadn't called for her and she hated how much she noticed that.
"Still here?" came his voice from behind, deep, steady,low and magnetic as usual.
She turned slowly. "You ignored me after the meeting."
Lucian walked in from the hallway, having removed his blazer. His sleeves were rolled up now, forearms bare, veins trailing up.
"I was thinking."
"You do that often?"
"Only when I want to stop myself from doing something reckless."
Her heart skipped a beat.
"What kind of reckless?" she asked carefully.
He stepped closer. "The kind where I pin you against that window and ask if your heart races for me… or for Aaron Li."
Allison's breath caught.
She forced a smirk. "You're jealous."
"I'm watching him," he corrected. "There's a difference."
"Then stop watching," she whispered. "I can handle myself."
"I know you can," he murmured. "But I don't want to miss the moment you finally look at me… and realize I'm already yours."
His voice was silk and fire. She looked down, her fingers were trembling slightly. She shouldn't feel this way. Not here, not in an office with glass walls and polished floors. Not after everything that had happened there past few days but she did. Still, she backed away.
"Don't make me feel like a possession," she said, voice tight, eyes narrowed.
"I wouldn't dare," he replied. "But I can't unfeel you either."
Then he reached into his drawer, pulled out a thin folder.
"Your permanent assignment."
She blinked.
"You're putting me in a team?"
"I'm putting you in my team," he said quietly.
Her eyes flicked up. "Why?"
"Because if you're going to set this place on fire, I want to be the one holding the water… or the gasoline." He chuckled.
Allison swallowed.
And for the first time in a while, she wasn't sure if she wanted to go against him or fall for him.
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LUCIAN'S VILLA – THAT NIGHT
She sat at the edge of her bed, still in her office clothes, the folder resting unopened in her lap. Outside, the leaves on the tree shifted gently in the wind. Inside, her pendant throbbed against her chest, soft but constant. A pulse of ancient fire that told her to trust no one, making her have doubts with every fleeting moment.
But her heart? Her heart whispered otherwise, she looked up and in her mind, she saw Lucian's eyes. Silver, eternal and haunted.
***********************
EXECUTIVE LOUNGE – NIGHTFALL THE NEXT DAY
The floor was empty now. Cleaning staff had finished, security was rotating shifts. The executive lounge with its black couches and panoramic city view was bathed in warm golden light and the distant shimmer of stars through the high glass windows.
Allison stood alone near the shelf of the many liquor bottles, her fingers trailing along a decanter she had no intention of pouring. The door slid open behind her silently.
"I should've expected you," she murmured.
"I told you," Lucian said, voice low. "I don't know how to leave."
She didn't turn.
"Why are you really here?" She asked but there was silent.
"I was trying not to want this," he said.
That made her freeze.
Lucian stepped forward, slow, deliberate, every movement like a storm biding its time. She turned only when he was close, too close, his breath brushing her temple, his presence too large to ignore.
"Say it again," she whispered, voice barely audible.
He looked down at her, eyes stormy, vulnerable, unguarded.
"I want you, Allison."
The words settled in the space between them like lightning waiting to strike. The spark was there, increasing with each breathe they took. And then she did something she didn't expect, she grabbed his collar pulled him down and kissed him. It wasn't soft, it wasn't gentle. It was fire meeting fire.
His hands gripped her waist, gripping her as her fingers buried in his hair. She kissed him like she was daring him to pull away and he didn't. He deepened it, slow at first, then hungrily. Like he'd been waiting centuries for her lips, her taste.
The pendant between them reacted wildly.
Magic sparked, not outward, but inward. Their bond flared, tethered tighter.
Lucian pulled back slightly, their foreheads touching.
" That was nice " he said as he tightened his hands on her waist.
Her breath shuddered.
"And you kiss like I'm going to slip away any moment ," she replied as she let out a chuckle.
He kissed her again, slower this time, lingering, soft and passionate.
Then stopped.
"I said I would wait," he whispered, voice thick.
She stepped back, chest heaving.
"I didn't ask you to stop."
He smiled faintly, brushing his thumb along her bottom lip.
"But if I don't now… I won't stop." He stared at her lips.
The air between them was chargedm sparks igniting. Still too full of unsaid things.
But her eyes shimmered with truth.
"I'm not ready to love you," she said. "But I'm not ready to lose you either."
He stepped back, one hand clenching like it was resisting a force.
"Then I'll wait."
And he left.
This time, without looking back.
Leaving her with the taste of him still on her lips.
And the fire inside her burning wildly because she wanted more.
LU CORPORATION – LOWER FLOORS – THE NEXT MORNING
It started like any other day, Allison sipped her tea in the private executive lounge while reviewing the notes for her upcoming project pitch. Her fingers were steady, her mind focused but her senses were alert ( it has always been like that ever since she discovered her true identity). The pendant under her blouse pulsed faintly. Restless like a caged bird wanting to be free. Outside the glass walls, the city buzzed like every other day. Until the screams started, a loud crash thundered through the lower levels, panic swept up the building like tsunami.
Allison stood up immediately, instincts flaring as the fire in her blood woke without permission.
"Emergency lockdown initiated," said a cold automated voice from the ceiling.
Footsteps rushed past outside. She opened the door, ajunior staffer stumbled down the hall, her arm bloodied, eyes wide and red .
"They...they're inside! They've breached the front lobby, people are trapped downstairs and we don't know what they are."
Allison didn't hesitate, she moved very fast, going down through flights of stairs. Past frightened employees huddled near fire exits. Her breath calm, steps sharp and fast, she reached the main floor and saw it.
A group of masked attackers, armed and organized. Using dark technology, smoke from mils bombs that left trails of unnatural shadows. They wore black batch shaped like an open eye glowing faintly blue. Behind the main reception desk, a group of interns cowered together. One girl, barely twenty years old was pinned under collapsed light fixtures, crying. And no one could reach her except Allison.
One of the attackers noticed her. "Hey, what are you...." But she raised her hand before he could finish. Red with flame and glorious as it always was. The pendant flared violently, casting a sharp red glow across the lobby and a circle underneath her feet. Heat surged through her bloodstream, her irises flaring like burning suns ready to devour her opponents. A spiral of flames danced around her hands as she stepped forward. Then,she called it, a sword not crafted by human but gifted by God and ordained by spirits. It was a blazing, straight blade of ethereal flame, inscribed with ancient writing that shimmered gold beneath the fire. The room shook with power.
She moved like she had trained for centuries. One swing and the sword sliced through a dark form like paper. A second spin in a glowing arc as she knocked two men off their feet. Her movements were not human. They were too fast, too precise. She lunged toward the pinned girl sliced the couch under her then yanked her free with one hand while shielding her with the other. Flames spiraled from her sword's edge, deflecting stray bullets mid-air, she hit all bullets down with precision. Allison turned, standing between the girl and the intruders. The sword hovered in her grip now burning brighter.
"Leave," she said, voice echoing unnaturally across the cement walls but they refused to leave. A single upward slash and fire rose from the floor, circling her like a blooming flower of wrath. The masked men faltered then retreated. The moment the last one ran away the fire winked out. Her sword flickered… then vanished into thin air leaving only speck of fire flying.