Chapter 7 MineKeaton’s POVThat voice—low, deep, deliberate—still vibrated through me.“Did you really think I wouldn’t follow you here?”My blood iced. I wanted to scoff, to laugh, to scream. He had me brought here, I know he did but he’s acting like I did something to get myself in here and away from him.“Graves.” My voice scraped raw in my throat. “What the fuck are you doing here?”I expected silence, maybe even the smug twist of his lips in the dark. What I got instead was the click of the door sealing shut behind him. My stomach plummeted.The isolation cell was supposed to be empty, a punishment. Nobody came here except guards delivering food trays twice a day. But of course Graves would bend rules, bribe whoever he had to, pull strings I didn’t even know existed. Of course he’d make sure no door was ever truly closed between us.“You looked better in chains,” he said quietly, almost fondly.The words made me jolt, like he’d touched me already. My wrists weren’t cuffed, but
Chapter 6The Cage InsideKeaton’s POVI woke to the clang of keys and the scrape of boots. The air in the cell still stank of sweat and rust, but something in the rhythm of those footsteps made my stomach drop. This wasn’t the usual shift change.“Rhoades.”The guard’s voice was clipped, businesslike. No drawl, no smug tone, just the flat authority of someone following orders. He didn’t tell me why he was here, didn’t bother with the usual taunts. Just unlocked the door and jerked his chin.“On your feet. Transfer.”Transfer. The word landed like a punch to the gut. Transfers didn’t happen in the middle of the night unless something was wrong.I sat up slowly, eyes narrowing. “To where?”The guard didn’t answer. He stepped aside, two others flanking the door. All stone-faced, all avoiding my eyes. That silence said more than words ever could.Something in my chest twisted.I shoved my feet into my shoes and stood, shackles clinking as they fastened them around my wrists and ankles. T
Chapter 5 The Warden’s ObsessionGraves’ POVThe prison was never quiet.Even at night, when the cells were locked and the convicts forced into restless slumber, the air still buzzed. The hum of the generators, the metallic creak of pipes expanding against the cold, the occasional distant yell from a dream-ridden inmate who forgot where he was. I knew every sound of it. I had ruled this fortress long enough to read its language. The prison was my heart, my lungs and bones.And yet—tonight—its rhythm felt broken.I sat behind my desk, coat unbuttoned, collar loosened, my hands braced on the arms of my chair. The lamp to my right cast an amber glow across a stack of reports, but the words blurred together. I wasn’t reading, my eyes were narrowed, fixed on nothing, my jaw tight.I could still smell him.Keaton.The taste of sweat, the sting of pain where nails raked, the sound of breathless curses caught between moans—every scrap of it clung to my memory like a smoke scent I couldn’t wa
Chapter 4 Brutal PossessionKeaton had lost track of time.Solitary made the hours bleed into each other, no light but the slit in the door, no sound but his own ragged breathing. He hated that in the silence, the memories came back sharper in his mind. Graves’ mouth on his, the bruising kiss that had left his lips tender, the way the warden’s hands had taken without hesitation.He pressed the back of his head to the cold wall, forcing himself to shove it down, but his body betrayed him. Every shift of his hips reminded him he was hard, strung tight and angry at his own hunger. He had always known how to starve himself of weakness. But Graves…Graves had ripped past his defenses and left him shaking.The rattle of keys scraped through the quiet.Keaton’s eyes snapped up. Slow footsteps echoed before the lock clicked, and the door swung inward.Graves filled the doorway, tall and broad, the tailored black of his uniform stretching across his shoulders. His presence swallowed the air i
Chapter 3Testing BoundariesKeaton’s POVSolitary had a way of stripping a man down to the bones.No noise, no daylight, no distractions, just the hum of the fan in the vents, the sound of my own breathing, the endless echo of my thoughts.Most men broke in here. They begged to be put back into general population after two days, three at most. Me? I’d been in worse cages. The silence didn’t scare me, it just left me with too much time to think.And every damn thought circled back to him.Warden Callum Graves.Steel-blue eyes, broad shoulders, that gravelly voice that felt like it belonged in my ear while his hand shoved me against a wall.I lay on the cot, staring at the ceiling, replaying his order in my head. Strip. The way his gaze hadn’t wavered once, like he was cataloging every inch of me for future use. The way his hand had yanked me to my feet like I weighed nothing.My cock twitched at the memory, and I groaned, dragging an arm over my face. Fucking pathetic, lusting after t
Chapter 2The First EncounterKeaton’s POVThe walk to the warden’s office was quieter than I expected. No inmates leering from the cells this time, just cold corridors, steel doors, and the echo of my chains dragging across the floor. The guard’s grip on my arm was tight, like he was afraid I’d slip loose and vanish into the shadows.Not that I had anywhere to go.We stopped in front of a heavy oak door set apart from the rest of the prison’s bleak architecture. Unlike the steel everywhere else, this one looked polished and expensive. A brass nameplate gleamed above the handle.Warden Callum Graves.The guard knocked once, then opened it without waiting for a response. He shoved me inside, and the door shut behind me with a final, echoing click.The office didn’t look like it belonged in a prison. Warm wood paneling, leather furniture, floor-to-ceiling shelves stacked with files and books. A massive desk dominated the center of the room, and behind it—of course—sat Graves.He wasn’t