Chapter Three: Cracks in the Mask

Kai slipped through the mansion’s side gate at midnight, his heart hammering against his ribs. The club’s black car waited two blocks away. Double pay. He couldn’t say no. His late father’s unsettled medical bills are there,  he had to build his life without being a pawn in the rich man’s game, and he had to give his mom a better future than the one she is having with Magnus Voss.

“Same client again,” Lena texted. “He’s impatient tonight.”

The private suite felt hotter this time around, even more dangerous. Kai adjusted his mask, whip in hand, as the door opened. Damien lounged in the chair, shirt already discarded, eyes burning with raw hunger.

“You came back,” Damien said, voice rough. “Good boy.”

Kai didn’t reply. He cracked the whip sharp, his strokes precise and just hard enough to make Damien hiss in pleasure. Every lash built the tension his client needed. Damien’s body reacted instantly, hard and straining, the rare response Kai now knew was almost impossible for him.

“On your knees,” Kai commanded, stepping close. He grabbed Damien’s hair, tilting his head back. “Beg for it.”

Damien’s eyes flashed with dark delight. “Fuck… do it.”

Kai worked him mercilessly, with his whip, his hands, and mouth, pushing the billionaire to the edge and over it with brutal efficiency. Damien came with a guttural groan, fingers digging into Kai’s shoulders, his body shuddering.

As the aftershocks faded, Damien reached for the mask again. “Let me see you. Name your price. I need to know who you are.”

Kai twisted away, his pulse spiking. “No. That’s not the deal.”

He bolted for the door, Damien’s frustrated shout chasing him down the corridor. “I’ll find you, mask or not!”

Kai changed in the back room and raced home, arriving just before dawn. He crept through the garden, scaling the low wall to avoid the main gate.

A light flicked on in the mansion.

“Shit.”

He dropped into the shadows and sprinted toward the side entrance. Footsteps crunched on gravel behind him.

“Stop right there.”

Kai froze. Damien stood ten feet away in nothing but sweatpants, his arms crossed, staring at him with narrowed eyes.

“Out for a midnight run, stepbrother?” Damien’s tone dripped with suspicion. “Or were you doing something you shouldn’t?”

Kai forced a smirk, wiping sweat from his brow. “What, I need permission to breathe now? I couldn’t sleep. This place feels like a cage.”

Damien stepped closer, studying Kai’s face under the security lights. “You’re flushed. Breathing hard. And those marks on your arms…” His gaze lingered on faint red lines from the harness. “Looks like you’ve been playing rough.”

Kai’s stomach twisted. “Gym. Weights. Not that it’s your business.”

Damien’s hand shot out, gripping Kai’s wrist before he could pull away. The touch burned. “You’re lying. I can smell it on you, leather, sweat, sex. Who were you with?”

Kai yanked free, anger flaring hot. “Let go. I don’t answer to you. You and your father bought my mother’s safety, not me. I’m not your property.”

Damien’s eyes darkened, but not with anger. It was something hungrier. “Keep talking back like that and I might decide I want to own you after all.”

The words hung heavy between them. Kai’s traitorous body reacted to the memory of dominating this same man hours earlier. He hated how much he wanted to push Damien against the wall and remind him who had really been in control.

“Try it,” Kai challenged, stepping closer despite every warning in his head. “See what happens.”

Damien’s breath ghosted across Kai’s cheek. For one electric second, Kai thought he might kiss him or just shove him. Instead, Damien released a low, dangerous laugh.

“You’re different. People come easily to me but you, you are defiant. It’s… refreshing.” He tilted his head. “Almost familiar.”

Kai’s blood ran cold. He turned sharply toward the house. “I’m going to bed. Stay out of my way.”

He made it inside and up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door behind him. Leaning against it, he slid to the floor, shaking. 

His phone buzzed. Lena again.

“Client wants you three nights a week now. Paid in advance. He’s obsessed.”

Kai groaned. He couldn’t keep this up. Not with Damien living down the hall.

Morning came too fast. At breakfast, Magnus and Elena discussed wedding details while Damien watched Kai across the table like a predator tracking prey.

“You look tired, Kai,” Damien said smoothly, sipping coffee. “Rough night?”

Kai met his eyes. “Productive night, actually. Got some… work done.”

Elena smiled nervously. “Kai’s always been a hard worker.”

Damien’s smirk deepened. “I bet. What kind of work exactly?”

Before Kai could answer, his phone vibrated loudly on the table. He glanced down. A message from the club: “Tonight. Urgent. Client insists.”

Damien’s sharp eyes caught it. “Important?”

“University stuff,” Kai lied, pocketing the phone.

After breakfast, Damien cornered him in the hallway. “We’re not done talking about last night. I don’t like secrets in my house.”

“Your house?” Kai laughed bitterly. “Last I checked, your father’s still breathing. And I don’t owe you anything.”

Damien backed him against the wall, one hand planted beside Kai’s head. “You will. Sooner or later, I’ll figure out what you’re hiding. And when I do…” His voice dropped to a whisper. “I won’t let you run again.”

Kai’s heart raced. Part fear, part twisted excitement. He shoved Damien’s chest hard. “Back off.”

Damien stepped back, but the heat in his gaze promised he wouldn’t for long.

That afternoon, while Kai tried to study in the library, Damien appeared again, dropping a folder on the table.

“Background check came back clean,” Damien said casually. “But something’s missing. You’re too… controlled. Like you’ve got practice hiding who you really are.”

Kai stood up abruptly. “Stay out of my life.”

“Make me,” Damien replied, echoing Kai’s words from the garden. The challenge hung in the air.

Kai brushed past him, his shoulder knocking Damien’s. The contact sent sparks through both of them and both of them stood for a while trying to understand what just happened.

Later that evening, as Kai prepared to sneak out again, his mother knocked softly.

“Kai, honey? Damien asked about you. He seems… interested in getting to know his new brother. Maybe give him a chance?”

Kai nearly laughed at the irony. “Yeah. Sure.”

He waited until the house quieted, then slipped toward the side exit. Halfway down the hall, a door opened.

Damien stepped out, fully dressed, keys in hand. Their eyes locked.

“Going somewhere?” Damien asked, voice silk over steel. “Because I was just about to head out myself. Care to join me? Or should I follow you instead?”

Kai’s blood turned to ice. The club car would be waiting. His double life was one wrong move from exploding.

Damien took a step forward, eyes gleaming with suspicion and dark fascination. “Well?”