Kaden simply glanced at her. His face and gaze implied nothing. There was only a slight glimmer of amusement. He tilted his head and stared into her clear eyes, where he could see his own reflection within them.

“And if I am immortal?” Kaden shot back. ​​

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Lina seethed.

Kaden let out a soft laugh. So, she was still hurt by memories. Memories that she spun herself, lies that she uttered to comfort herself, and moments she refused to hear his explanation.

Kaden shook his head at her insolence, his jaws clenching.

“How is it possible?” Lina suddenly asked. “You’ve lived for hundreds of years, outliving even Pure-Blood vampires, yet you’ve managed to make yourself the infamous Young Master of House DeHaven.”

Kaden raised a brow. “And don’t you find it humorous that no matter what life you live, you’re always born into a wealthy family?”

Lina was taken aback. “You knew me from my past lives beside my first one?”

Kaden’s gaze hardened. So she truly had forgotten.

Kaden didn’t think she had truly forgotten everything. It seemed her reaction in the museum wasn’t acting.

Someone was suppressing her memories, but who? Headaches like the ones she had shouldn’t be that severe, unless there was extreme hypnotism or therapy performed on her.

“Answer me,” Lina demanded, tired of the games he forced her to play.

“Let’s just say, the DeHavens owe me a favor,” Kaden said, leaning back in his seat.

Lina suddenly thought back to the founding of House DeHaven. They’re one of the most prestigious families in Ritan, with lineage tracing back to the royal eras. They possessed the blood of royalty. Her breath was caught in her throat. She suddenly recalled their name briefly mentioned in her first life.

“You…” Lina trailed off, looking at him haphazardly. “You’re trusting the enemy.”

Kaden laughed, but it sounded cold. “Hire your enemies, they have more to prove than friends.”

Lina shakily looked at him. “The DeHavens own a bloody business empire.”

“Of course they do,” Kaden mused. “Just like how the Yang Clan rule the underworld. Do not pretend your hands aren’t tainted in just as much blood as ours.”

“I have no connection to my family, I—”

“You are Lina Yang, the favorite granddaughter of the great Lawrence Yang. You dare claim you have no connection to the Yangs?” Kaden snarled.

Lina’s heart stopped. She opened and closed her mouth. His hazel eyes stared back at her, the color of the powerful oak trees. The color darkened like the infinite abyss, where all hopes and dreams go to die.

“Do not take me for a fool, you’ll regret it,” Kaden warned.

“I have no connection to the business and underworld aspect of my family,” Lina explained. “I am simply a woman blessed enough to be born with the Yang family name.”

Kaden scoffed. “You mean to tell me that Lawrence Yang does not consider you the next heir to Yang Enterprise?”

“I—”

“You mean to tell me your Uncle, the current chairman of Yang Enterprise didn’t bring you to the office so you could train under his watch?” Kaden demanded.

“He just—”

“And you mean to tell me that your Father has not signed you up for heir training ever since you could walk, but then you abruptly stopped shortly after returning from boarding school?” Kaden commanded.

Lina was floored. The rug was yanked from her feet.

No one knew about this. Not even her own mother.

No one knew her grandfather considered her the next heir, her uncle viewed her as the best asset to the company, and her father had trained her since birth to take over the company, despite the prevalence of male cousins.

“So don’t you dare judge this wretched DeHaven name, for the Yangs are just as worse,” Kaden said, his voice growing soft.

Kaden reached a hand out, his thumb softly caressing her neck. He felt her pulse quicken, her lashes fluttering. He carefully arranged strands of her hair forward, letting it fall softly against her chest.

“My family’s business has nothing to do with me,” Lina finally admitted.

Kaden lifted his gaze from her dark hair to her darker eyes.

“Of course not,” Kaden said. “How could the Yang family ever let their precious Lina stain her pretty little fingers with blood?”

Kaden took her hand in his and admired her thin fingers, fragile like ice. He stroked his thumb across her knuckles. He heard her sharp intake of breath.

Pull away. Do it now.

Kaden was waiting for her to reject him, for her to run out of his car and never look back.

“Why do you think that?” Lina softly asked.

Kaden knew he was no good for her. He knew Lawrence Yang would never give his granddaughter away to just anyone. The prize and pearl of the Yang family, their youngest daughter.

Lina was never meant to be in the arms of a man with more blood on his hands than the entire Yang generation combined.

Unfortunately, the Dehaven men always wanted what they couldn’t have. And that was how many of them ended up with bullets between their eyes.

“I am not as dear to my family as you think,” Lina scoffed.

Lina tried to keep her fingers steady, even though her insides were on fire from his touch. His hands were much bigger than hers. One of Isabelle’s dirty comments lingered in her hand. The bigger the hands, the bigger the—

“You are,” Kaden firmly said. “The sweet Lina Yang, with a heart of gold and eyes of storm.”

Kaden cupped the side of her face. Her lashes trembled, her gaze meeting his. Softly, gently, he caressed her smooth skin.

“This face is why your family has kept you away from high society,” Kaden murmured.

His thumb stroked her bottom lips, soft and sensual.

“And these lips are what men would wager in agreements,” Kaden promised.

Lina’s heart skipped. She knew what he meant. A contractual marriage.

Lina wanted to pull away from his touch, but it was so intoxicating. The way he touched her, the way he gazed at her, it was as if she was the only woman in his eyes.

Her skin itched for more of him, her stomach fluttering. She pressed her legs together, a familiar warmth gathered in between them.

“Can’t you just answer my question?” Lina softly asked, placing her hand over his.

She was no fool. Two could play this game of seduction, for it took two to tango.

Lina leaned closer to him, innocently widening her eyes.

“Can’t you tell me the truth, Kaden?” Lina emphasized, lowering her voice to sound intimate.

Something stirred from within.

Kaden narrowed his gaze. When she batted her pretty little lashes at him, he felt his groins tighten. Damnation. This woman was going to be the death of him.

“And what is the truth?” Kaden demanded, his hand flexed under her touch.

Lina’s fingers stroked the prominent veins on his masculine hand. “Are you an immortal?”

“Will you kiss me if I tell you?” Kaden bantered.

Lina let out a laugh. “Something tells me you’ll say the truth even before I kiss you.”

Damn right.

Kaden gritted his teeth, his jaws tightening, his eyes flashing. In an instant, he grabbed her waist and yanked her towards him. Her hands flew to his chest and he had her in his lap.

Lina’s breath was caught in her throat. He carried her like she weighed nothing. His large hands firmly clenched her waist. THrough the fabric of her shirt, she could feel his molten touch.

“If you’re so desperate to know the truth, then kiss me,” Kaden coaxed in a soft, cunning voice.

Lina swallowed. He was the one who started the game, and she was the one who decided to join. She had to finish it.

“Maybe if you beg,” Lina said.

Kaden paused, the thought flashing in his mind for a split second.

Lina rested her fingers against his jaw, so sharp it could cut glass. She dragged it down to his throat, earning a low groan from him. She bent her head and met his fiery gaze. He wanted her as much as she wanted him.

Lina brushed her nose against his, their lips so close, it nearly touched.

But she didn’t kiss him. And neither did he kiss her. Kisses were for lovers, not flings.

“You know what?” Lina whispered.

“What?” Kaden rasped, eager for more.

“I don’t need to beg to know the truth,” Lina said. “I already know you’re immortal, Kaden, and I already know exactly how you acquired it.”

Before he could respond, she pulled away.

Kaden swore he felt a stir in his chest. This damn tease. She had touched him once and he was so hard for her, it hurt.

“Then why do you beg for the answer so much?” Kaden demanded, a hand sliding up her back, tracing her spine. She shuddered under his caress. He knew she wanted him as much as he wanted her. He’d put her in every position possible. If only she let him.

“Because I want to hear it personally from your mouth,” Lina responded, her attention flickering to his lips.

Kaden’s heated eyes met her fiery ones. He leant forward. He could practically hear her heart skip. His lips brushed against her ear. She fisted the fabric of his shirt.

“And if I am immortal?” Kaden whispered, his breath tickling her.

Lina became puddy in his hand. “Then you are.”

Kaden chuckled, softly squeezing her waist, feeling the firmness of her skin.

“Then I am,” Kaden confessed.

“You are…?”

“I’m immortal, dear dove of mine.”