LOGINNorth’s POVHe stood up, shedding his own clothes with an efficiency that was still so Lucien. He was beautiful, all hard lines and lean muscle, a monument to power and control. But his eyes… his eyes were soft, vulnerable.He led me to the couch, laying me down on my back. He covered me with his body, his weight a comforting, grounding pressure. He kissed me again, a deep, slow kiss that tasted of me and him and something new, something fragile and hopeful. He entered me slowly, his eyes locked on mine, watching for any sign of pain, any hint of hesitation. There was none. I opened for him, welcoming him in, my legs wrapping around his waist, pulling him deeper.He moved inside me with a slow, steady rhythm, each thrust a declaration, each retreat a promise to return. There was no punishment, no anger, no jealousy. There was only a deep, abiding need to connect, to merge, to become one. It was the gayest love-making I had ever imagined, a slow, tender dance between two men who wer
North’s POVMoney.Payment.Proof in the only way he understood.I didn’t know what to say.I didn’t even know how to react.He watched me closely, his eyes searching my face like he needed to see something, like my reaction mattered more than the amount he had just thrown at me.Then his gaze dropped to my lips.“Give me a kiss,” he said, his tone softer now.I hesitated.It was small, barely noticeable, but it was there, just a second where my body didn’t move, where everything I was feeling caught up with me.He noticed.Of course he did.His expression didn’t change, but his hand moved again, his phone lighting up once more as he tapped the screen without hesitation.Another notification.Another transfer.Another one hundred million.My chest tightened.“This should be enough,” he said quietly.The weight of it pressed down on me in a way I couldn’t explain.Two hundred million.Sitting there like it meant nothing to him.Like I was something that needed to be secured.Bought.My
North’s POVI cut in. “Every single person that thought they could mean something to you ended up discarded. So don’t stand there and act like I was supposed to be different.”Silence.Heavy.Then—“You are different.”The words came out quieter.Strained.I froze slightly.He was looking at me differently now, something raw slipping through the cracks of his control, something I had never seen this clearly before.“You’re special,” he said, his voice lower, almost rough. “Because I love you.”The world tilted.For a second, nothing made sense.Four months.Four months of contracts, rules, boundaries, control.And this…This was the first time he had ever said it.“I hate it,” he continued, the words coming faster now, like once they started, they couldn’t stop. “I hate what it does to me. I hate how it makes me feel, how it makes me look at you like you’re the only thing that matters when I’ve spent my entire life making sure nothing ever mattered that much.”I couldn’t move.Couldn’
North’s POVJules opened her mouth to argue again, already gearing up for a fight.I grabbed her wrist.“It’s fine,” I said quietly.She turned to me, eyes wide. “Fine? North—”“I want to stay,” I added, cutting her off.The words tasted like a lie.But I said them anyway.Because fighting them wouldn’t change anything.Because deep down…I already knew where this was coming from.Jules searched my face for a second longer, frustration clear, but she didn’t push it.“Call me,” she said instead, softer now. “The second anything feels off.”I nodded.She left.The door closed.Silence settled again.Heavier this time.My phone buzzed.I froze.Slowly, I looked down at the screen.A message.From him.My chest tightened as I opened it, my fingers suddenly unsteady.After a week of nothing…Lucien Crowe finally replied.Stay inside or I will make you regret everything.The words hit harder than any silence ever could.Cold.Sharp.Final.I stared at the screen, my heart dropping somewhere
North’s POV“What the fuck did I ever do to you?”Blood dripped from his mouth, sliding down his chin, but his eyes…His eyes burned.“You took him from me,” he said, voice hoarse but steady. “He was finally noticing me. For once, he looked at me like I mattered.”The words landed, heavy, unexpected.“And then you showed up,” he continued, bitterness spilling out now, years of it, festering. “Everything changed. Everything.”A hollow laugh ripped out of me, sharp and broken.“You think you ever had a chance?” I shot back, something cruel rising up to meet his hatred, something I didn’t bother to hold back anymore. “You think he ever looked at you like that?”His jaw tightened.Good.Let it hurt.“Lucien told me himself,” I continued, my voice dropping, colder now, more deliberate. “During a fight. He said I was better than Kang Ethan. Ethan thought he had something real with him.”Jeremy’s expression flickered.“He never compared me to you,” I pressed on, every word sharper than the l
North’s POVMy jaw tightened slightly.Memories flickered.Money.Control.The way everything around Lucien always felt… structured.“You’re just another project to him,” Jericho finished quietly. “One he hasn’t decided to discard yet.”Silence stretched between us.Heavy.Loaded.I didn’t interrupt him.I didn’t argue.I just watched him.Because belief wasn’t the problem.Trust was.“And what does that make you?” I asked finally, my voice calm, almost bored.His lips curved slightly, like he had been waiting for that question.“Someone offering you an alternative.”I let out a quiet breath, leaning back fully now, crossing my arms as I studied him.“An alternative,” I repeated. “That sounds generous.”“It is,” he said simply.“To what? One controlling billionaire to another?”A flicker of amusement passed through his eyes.“I don’t pretend to be something I’m not,” he replied. “That’s the difference.”“Honesty doesn’t make you better.”“It makes me predictable.”“That’s worse.”He c
Lucien’s POVAnd one single day without him.That was all it took to send my patience to hell.It was absurd.Completely irrational.Yet the more I tried to focus on my work, the more my mind drifted back to the same thought.North.I was supposed to travel three days ago.A scheduled trip to Dubai
Lucien’s POVThis was raw, hungry, a claiming that matched the desperation building inside me. My hands moved of their own accord, one tangling in his hair, the other sliding down his back to cup his ass, pulling him flush against me.He responded instantly, his body molding to mine, his tongue del
North’s POVI wished he hadn't seen that stamp, because it seemed to unleash something in him. He had me yelling "Yes, daddy" all night, my voice raw, my body a vessel for his relentless desire, the words a bitter reminder of exactly what I was to him.*Maybe telling him I couldn’t sleep because o
North’s POVAs I reached our gate, the scent hit me.Garlic sizzling in oil. Fish sauce was blooming in the heat. Fresh basil torn by hand. Jasmine rice was steaming.Pad kra pao.She only made that when she wanted everyone at the table.I slipped inside and dodged Winter’s questions about where I’