Chapter Four: Burning Edges

Kai’s back hit the wall as Damien crowded him in the dim hallway. “Going somewhere?” Damien repeated, voice low and dangerous. “Answer me.”

Kai shoved him hard, chest heaving. “Get the fuck off me. I don’t report to you.”

Damien didn’t budge. His eyes burned. “You’re hiding something. I can feel it. And I always find out what I want.”

The tension snapped. Kai slipped past him and bolted for the garage. He took one of the spare cars, tires screeching as he raced toward the club. His phone lit up. It was Lena.

“Why are you late? He’s already there. He has been waiting for five minutes now. Demanded you. Triple rate.”

The private suite door barely closed before Damien grabbed him by the harness and yanked him close.

“You ran again last time,” Damien growled, already half-hard. “Not tonight.”

Kai flipped their positions with practiced strength, slamming Damien against the padded bench. “You want this? Then shut up and take it.”

The whip cracked. Damien groaned loud as red lines bloomed across his back. Kai worked him mercilessly with sharp lashes, firm hands, then dropping to his knees and taking Damien deep into his throat while twisting the pain just right.

“Fuck, yes, harder!” Damien snarled, hips thrusting, his fingers tangled in Kai’s masked hair. The pleasure-pain mix shattered him faster than before. He came with a raw, broken shout, body convulsing.

Kai pulled back, breathing hard. Damien lunged for the mask again.

“Enough games,” Damien panted, voice wrecked. “Let me see your face. I’ll give you money. I’ll give you one million dollars, right now. Cash. Just take it off.”

Kai’s heart stuttered at the insane number, but he shook his head fiercely. “No. That’s not the deal.”

He tried to flee, but Damien was faster this time. HIs strong arms caught him around the waist and slammed him to the floor. Damien pinned him down, knees on either side of Kai’s hips, one hand already gripping the edge of the mask.

“Stop fighting,” Damien growled, breathing hot against Kai’s neck. “I need to see you.”

Kai struggled wildly, bucking and twisting, but Damien’s weight and strength kept him trapped. The mask shifted dangerously. Damien’s fingers tightened, ready to yank it off completely.

“No..no..”

A loud knock shattered the moment.

“Mr. Voss?” a deep voice called from outside the door. “Security here. We heard unusual noise and thumping. Is everything okay in there?”

Damien froze, cursing under his breath. The security guard pushed the door open slightly and stepped in, eyes widening at the scene.

“Sir,” the guard said firmly, “I must remind you, the establishment rules are clear. Performers remain masked at all times. Removing a performer’s mask violates the club’s strict policy. No exceptions.”

Damien’s grip loosened just enough. Kai twisted free with a desperate surge of strength, scrambled to his feet, and bolted past the guard.

He sprinted down the corridor, his chest burning. As he disappeared around the corner, a small silver chain slipped from beneath his costume and clattered onto the floor behind him.

Kai dodged and fled once more, heart in his throat. He changed in record time and drove back, slipping into the mansion just before sunrise.

He almost made it to his room.

“Where the hell have you been?” Damien’s voice stopped him cold outside his door. He stood there in sweatpants, arms crossed, eyes wild. “Same clothes as yesterday. Smell like sex and leather again. Who is he?”

Kai turned slowly. “Jealous, Voss? Worried I’m getting fucked better than you ever could?”

Damien’s control snapped. He shoved Kai inside the bedroom and kicked the door shut. “You think you can talk to me like that?”

Their bodies collided. Mouths crashed together in a brutal, angry kiss. Damien tasted like whiskey and obsession. Kai bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, then pushed him onto the bed.

“You want control?” Kai hissed, straddling him. “You don’t get any from me.”

They tore at each other’s clothes. Damien’s hands roamed greedily while Kai pinned his wrists above his head. The friction made Damien hard again, grinding up against him.

“Fuck me,” Damien demanded, voice hoarse. “Like you mean it.”

Kai’s eyes widened. “What the hell is wrong with you”

“Nothing is wrong,” Damien rasped, hips jerking forward despite being pinned. “Your grip. The way you’re controlling me. It is the first real thing I’ve felt in years. Don’t let go.”

Kai released him like he’d been burned and stepped back, his chest heaving. “Stay away from me. This…whatever this is… is not happening.”

Damien lunged, grabbing Kai’s shirt and shoving him backward until they crashed through the side door into a dimly lit hallway. They grappled hard, knocking a vase off a pedestal. It shattered loudly.

A sharp knock came from the hallway. Elena’s worried voice filtered through. “ Boys?... Kai? Damien? Everything okay? I heard noises.”

Kai’s mother stepped in moments later after Damien left for an emergency meeting. “The club manager called again. Something about a special performance tonight. I didn’t know you had a second job, sweetheart.”

“It’s nothing, Mom,” Kai said quickly. “Just a drama presentation for a university thing. The club we booked reached out about tickets. That’s all.”

He felt stupid after saying those words and just hoped his mom genuinely bought the lie.

Elena stepped closer, eyes narrowing. She reached out and touched his neck. “Where’s your chain? The silver one your father gave you? You never take it off.”

Kai’s hand flew to his bare neck. The chain was gone. Terror spiked through him.

“I… I left it in my room,” he stammered, forcing a straight face. “Must have taken it off earlier.”

His mother frowned, surprised. “That’s unusual. You’ve worn that chain every day since your father passed. Don’t lose it, okay?”

Kai nodded stiffly. “I won’t.”

The second she left, he rushed to his room and tore it apart. His drawers yanked open, bed stripped, closet searched. The chain was nowhere to be found. His fear grew into panic. It must have fallen at the club. That was dangerous. Extremely dangerous.

His phone buzzed with a new message from an unknown number.

Hey, cutie. I just got back from London. Let’s hang out.

It was Victor Kane—Kai’s toxic, manipulative ex-boyfriend from high school.

Kai stared at the screen, his hands shaking from terror and fear. “Shit!”