The sun began to dip below the horizon, turning the Sulu Sea into a pool of liquid gold. Nyx felt the familiar rush of a successful experiment. She had provoked him, and he had bit.
"My pulse is an autonomic response to an interesting specimen," she countered, her voice steady. "Don't mistake biological curiosity for attraction, Linghe. I've dissected hearts more complex than yours."
"Is that so?" Linghe's hand moved from her hair to the nape of her neck, his grip firming just enough to be a claim. "Then let's test your hypothesis. You have thirty-two hours left of your 'freedom.' No labs, no courts. Just a man who plays roles for a living and a woman who thinks she can control every variable."
He leaned down, his breath ghosting against her ear. "I wonder... if I stop following the script, will you know how to react? Or will the great Nyx Ishizaki-Zobel finally find a problem she can't solve with a double degree?"
Nyx felt the thrill of the power play. He was trying to dominate the space, to use his physical presence and his fame as leverage. But he didn't realize that she had already started the countdown. She wasn't just on vacation; she was hunting.
"I've never met a problem I couldn't solve," she whispered, looking up at him with eyes that were beautiful and utterly predatory. "I usually just find the weakest point and apply pressure until it breaks. I wonder where yours is, Linghe? Is it your reputation? Or is it the fact that for the first time in your life, you're looking at someone you can't charm?"