登入~~ Kai's POV ~~Her question hung in the air between us like a physical thing. "Don't you want me anymore? Isn't this what you've always wanted?"I wanted her.God, I wanted her so badly that it was physically painful. Every muscle in my body was taut with restraint. My hands wanted to pull her closer instead of holding her at distance. My mouth wanted to taste her skin instead of forming words. My entire being was screaming at me to let go of control and claim what she was offering because I’ve been waiting so long for this day.But I couldn't.Not like this.I held her wrists, feeling the delicate bones beneath my palms, acutely aware of how easily I could hurt her. How easily I could take what she was offering and leave her shattered tomorrow morning.I forced myself to take a breath. Then another."I do want you, Hazel." I said finally, my voice rough with the effort of restraint. The admission came out like a confession, like something I had been holding back for weeks.She looke
~~ Hazel's POV ~~I couldn't stay away.I told myself I would rest. I told myself I would stay in that guest bedroom and wait until morning when everything would make more sense.But I couldn't.So I stripped off the emerald dress and looked at myself in the mirror.The silk nightie I found in the closet was sinfully short and impossibly sexy. “How did Kai have something like this in here? Does he bring other girls here too?” I pushed the thought away and wore the dress. It clung to every curve and left absolutely nothing to the imagination. I wrapped a silk robe around myself, knowing it wouldn't help much, and headed downstairs.The penthouse was beautiful. All floor-to-ceiling windows and modern furniture and art that probably cost more than my entire restaurant. I had never been here before. I didn't even know Kai had a place like this, a place so private, so intimate.I stepped out onto the terrace and my breath caught.Kai was in the hot tub with his eyes closed, his head tilted
~~ Kai's POV ~~I took Hazel to my private penthouse overlooking the city, I didn’t want to go back to the mansion because I wanted some privacy, I needed to clear my head. And the only place I could do that without interruption was in the penthouse I bought three years ago. Reed was the only person that knew about this place, I made sure the location wasn’t too common so my enemies could figure it out.It was past midnight and the event felt like it belonged to a different lifetime. The confrontation with Damon had shattered the careful control I had been maintaining all night.I had wanted to do more than slam him against a wall. I had wanted to end him.The fact that I had restrained myself at all was a miracle.I poured us both drinks in the living room. Hazel took hers with shaking hands, she didn't speak. She just stood there looking at the city lights below us like they held answers."You should rest," I said quietly. "It's been a long night."She looked at me and I saw somethi
~~ Damon's POV ~~The bathroom hallway felt like it was spinning.I pressed my hand against the wall where Kai had slammed me, trying to steady myself, trying to catch my breath. My throat felt like it had been crushed. My back ached from the impact. My pride was shattered into a thousand pieces.I had just been thrown against a wall like I was nothing.Like I was weak.Like I didn't matter.The worst part wasn't the physical pain. The worst part was that it had happened in front of everyone. Well, not in front of everyone, but close enough. People had seen. People were talking. I could hear the whispers already, spreading through the event like wildfire.Damon Moretti got thrown around by Kai Valentino.Damon Moretti lost control.Damon Moretti isn't the power he used to be.I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror and barely recognized the man staring back at me.My hair was disheveled. My jaw was clenched so hard it hurt. There was a small cut on my lip where I must have hit somet
~~ Hazel's POV ~~I was coming out of the bathroom when Damon appeared in front of me.He was blocking the hallway, leaning against the wall like he had been waiting for me. Which he probably had been. My first instinct was to turn around and go back into the bathroom, but I forced myself to stop that impulse. I wasn't the woman who ran anymore. I was the woman who faced things head-on."Hazel," he said, straightening up when he saw me. His voice was smooth, familiar, dangerous in a way I had forgotten."Damon," I said coldly, moving past him.He stepped into my path. "We need to talk," he stated."No, we don't," I said. "We're done talking. We're done with everything.""You don't mean that," he said. He reached out like he was going to touch my arm and I jerked away from him."Don't touch me," "Come on, Hazel," he said, and there was something in his voice that sounded almost pleading. "Look at you. You're incredible, you've built something, you've become someone. That's amazing but
~~ Kai's POV ~~The moment we walked into the ballroom, every eye in the room turned toward us.I was used to that, people always looked when I arrived. It was natural. I was power personified and they could all sense it. But tonight was different.Tonight they weren't just looking at me. They were looking at her.Hazel moved beside me like she belonged there, like she had always belonged there. The emerald dress caught the light with every step, drawing attention, making it impossible to look away. But it was more than the dress.It was the way she held herself, confident, untouched by fear, like she had walked into that room knowing exactly who she was and daring anyone to question it.I had never wanted her more.I guided her through the crowd with my hand on her back, making sure everyone saw the gesture. Making sure everyone understood that she was mine. Not in a possessive way. In a protective way. In a way that said: try to touch her and I will destroy you.My father, Victor Va







