CHAPTER 130: TEST ME

Lucien’s POV

Braelyn just had to jump into the trap laid out for her. This viper was either brazen or challenging my limits. Someone was going to be taught a lesson and it wasn’t just going to be the bastard whose eyes wouldn’t leave her

She just had to open her mouth, and the moment I heard her speak, my jaw clenched so hard it hurt.

"If I share a drink with the minister, will it secure your approval?"

Fantastic. I held back the urge to laugh.

This was exactly what I needed to make this shitty meeting more unbearable. She’s feeding that bastard’s ego.

A cold, irritated breath slipped out of me. I didn’t bother looking at her; if I did, I wasn’t sure I’d keep my expression neutral. My grip on my glass tightened, the edge biting into my palm. Under the table, my hand landed on her thigh hoping she would get the hint.

But my little Viper was always determined to be my damnation. Even when I wanted to maintain appearances, she knew how to tear them down. She ignored my warning without batting an eye

The minister’s disgusting smile widened. "A glass isn’t enough, but we can come to an agreement."

He endorsed the idea without a second thought because it was what he bloody wanted. I had to remind myself of Ronan who wanted me to fail this project because I had almost forgotten the stakes at that moment

The Minister had been eyeing her like a starving dog since we walked in, and now she was handing him entertainment on a silver platter.

Braelyn, in all her brilliant stubbornness, grabbed a tumbler and tossed it back like she had something to prove.

"Three, then," she announced. I smiled helplessly; this was one of the few moments she ticked me off, and it was even because of Raphael.

Her hand barely touched the second glass before I snatched it from her, downed it in one breath, and set the tumbler down hard enough to crack.

"I thought I said," I bit out, voice deceptively even, "that I can drink for two."

Only then did I look up at the minister. Irritation simmered in every corner of my expression.

"How about we double the stakes?" I added, tone sharp enough to cut.

I was done playing nice, letting him ogle her, and even more done with her giving him the damn opportunity.

Fuck it

I should never have brought her.

The moment we walked in, the minister’s eyes slid over Braelyn like she was a piece of entertainment delivered to his table instead of my partner. His gaze didn’t drift, it clung. With his disgusting thoughts barely hidden

I was even surprised at my self-control. I had no idea I actually valued my position in the company this much

If I’d known he would be present, I would have let her breathe the same air as him and kept her as far away from this smoke-soaked jerk as far as possible.

He has enough rumours about his exciting lifestyle.

But now she was already here, and that bastard wouldn’t look away like his favourite snacks were before him.

Every laugh he forced out, every drag of his cigarette, every "innocent" glance at her chest, it all scraped down my spine like a rusted blade. I held my composure only because there were consequences to breaking a minister’s nose against a marble table.

But my patience was thinner than ice now. Braelyn’s discomfort radiated off her from the minute she sat down. She could hide it from them, but not from me. The slight tightening of her fingers. The way she angled her body away from the minister’s line of sight

I noticed every fucking detail even though my attention was on the greasy geazer.

She shouldn’t have been here.

And yet she had the audacity, the sheer suicidal boldness to grab a full glass and challenge the minister like it was a game ignoring my warning.

Three glasses for a man who’d been undressing her since she walked in

Bold little viper forgetting where to bear her fangs

The minister raised a brow, amused. He had no idea how close he was to leaving this room with a broken wrist and a mouthful of blood.

His attention flicked back to Braelyn. "She’s a lively one. I prefer women who can keep up, Mr Volkov."

My jaw flexed. "I prefer women who don’t drink themselves into hospitalisation," I replied with a pleasant smile that meant the exact opposite. "She has to go to work tomorrow ."

His suspicion narrowed. "You seem protective. Is that all or something more?"

He was provoking the wrong man because of the wrong woman on the wrong night. He wanted Braelyn drunk, vulnerable. To make her an easy prey then after that what next...her straddling his thighs

That was over my dead body.

He insisted again. "Let the lady drink. She looks perfectly capable."

"She can’t," I said flatly. "Doctor’s orders. And I don’t need her husband killing her."

That shut them up for a beat. Their eyes exchanged that familiar political calculation. It was fine. "Her husband just happened to be the vice chairman of the Volkov group, one of the current president’s biggest benefactors, not to forget how much support you have gotten from the Volkov family." I drawled letting the words sink

He wasn’t the only one who held an upper hand over her. This meeting was just out of respect for putting on appearances because he wouldn’t dare cross the Volkov family

If they wanted weakness, they could feast on the one I handed them. Not on her.

I leaned back, voice smooth. "Leave the drinking to the men.." I beckoned the server to give him a glass

"Unless, Minister... you’re worried you won’t be able to hold your glass as long as I can?"

That worked beautifully.

His pride puffed, his face almost turned scarlet. His associates laughed to ease the challenge but they knew the stakes. He accepted the challenge, doubling the stakes.

Idiots.

I let him drink freely, watching the alcohol turn his face an ugly shade of red by the fourth round. His words slurred. His eyelids drooped. And still, he tried.

He even reached out.

I hissed. His drunk mind still had the guts to touch Braelyn’s hand as he complimented her.

My fingers closed around his wrist mid-air, squeezing hard enough to make the joints pop.

"You’re done," I said softly.

He blinked, disoriented. "W-What?"

" Let’s call it a night sir. " My voice carried a condescending tone that made him scrunch even in his drunk state. " The contract," I murmured. "Sign it."

His veins throbbed but he accepted the pen handed to him anyway. He signed anyway. It was sloppy but straight enough to make the document hold its ground.

"Take the minister home before he pukes." I beckoned his men, tired of keeping up appearances. He has crossed the line. I had introduced Lyn as Mrs Volkov but he still went ahead to have those thoughts.

His men immediately dragged him up, muttering apologies as they escorted his stumbling body out of the room.

The door clicked shut, and even the server followed behind leaving just the two of us

Braelyn exhaled in relief, stood up. "That was a crazy meeting." She said dramatically about leaving. I grabbed her hand.

A startled yelp rang when I caught her wrist and pulled her straight back down onto my lap with my arm holding her firmly

Her breath hitched. The scent of smoke, whisky, and her perfume flooded my senses at once.

Her back pressed against my chest. My arm locked around her waist like steel. I lifted her chin, my fingers dug into her skin from restrained rage forcing her to meet my eyes.

A smirk curled at the corner of my lips. She shuddered from the cold intensity of my gaze.

"Tell me," I murmured against her ear, voice low, "why were you acting so naughty tonight?"

Her heartbeat jumped violently, and she clutched my shirt like a prey being tackled.

"Do you know what you were doing?" I tilted her chin higher. "Or were you just asking to be punished, Viper?"

My restraint was thin enough to bleed.

And she knew it.