Karden's Pov.It was already passed 11 pm when I leaned back in my chair, letting the tension slip slightly from my shoulders, but the heat inside me didn’t fade. Daniel. I couldn’t shake him. The memory of his hands on me, the way he’d fucked me when he thought I was River, drunk and reckless… it was still burning through my veins. The thought made my pulse race, made my body tighten in ways that had nothing to do with the man in the room with me.Eric was already back from where he went to meet one of his source. He’d been leaning against the wall when I came back, arms crossed, that smirk on his face that always said he knew more than he should. His presence was heavy, pressing against the air between us, and I could feel it in my chest, my stomach, every nerve ending. But this wasn’t about him. Not really. My mind was elsewhere, chasing the memory of Daniel’s hands, Daniel’s lips, Daniel’s reckless heat.“Still thinking about him?” Eric said, voice low and teasing. He stepped clos
Karden's Pov.The city lights bounced off the wet pavement as I walked back to my apartment, my phone pressed against my ear. The hum of traffic was loud, but it barely registered. All I could hear was Daniel’s voice in my head, calm, precise, infuriating. I clenched my jaw and let the cool night air hit my face. It did nothing to calm the fire burning inside me.“You said you’d have it done,” I muttered into the phone. “Now I want results, not excuses.”The voice on the other end hesitated, and I could hear the faint click of a keyboard, someone scrambling. “I… I’m working on it, Karden. You’ll have everything you need by tomorrow morning.”“Tomorrow morning?” I scoffed. “I said tonight. You’re either good at your job, or you’re not. And if you’re not…” I let the threat hang in the air. I didn’t need to finish the sentence. Fear filled the line, and that was enough. That fear always worked.“I… I’ll get it done. I promise,” the voice stammered.“Good,” I said, hanging up. My hand tre
River’s POV We lay there, tangled in each other’s sweat-slicked limbs, breaths still heavy, hearts hammering in sync. The first round had left me raw, trembling, and yet… the ache hadn’t faded. If anything, it had sharpened, a low burn pulsing through me that refused to be ignored. Noah’s fingers traced patterns along my back, slow, teasing, and I felt my cock twitch again, slick and heavy.“You’re insane,” he muttered, voice low, rough, a crooked smirk tugging at his lips. “One round isn’t enough for you, is it?”I groaned, pressing closer, chest to chest, feeling the hard length of him against me even now. “Apparently not,” I whispered, voice hoarse, ragged with want. The memory of the first round, the way he’d driven me insane, claimed me, stretched me, still burned deep. Every nerve screamed for more, and I wasn’t about to fight it.He rolled us slightly, pressing me onto my back on the couch this time, dark eyes glinting as he hovered over me. “Good,” he breathed. “Because I’m n
River’s POVI stood up from the booth, shifting my weight. My legs felt a little heavy, like every step carried the weight of the morning. Daniel’s eyes followed me, calm, sharp, and something else I refused to name.“River,” he said, his voice low, almost hesitant. “Before you go… can we spend a little more time together? Just… talk?”I froze, my hand on the back of the chair. My chest tightened, every muscle tensing at the sound of that tone. That voice. My mind screamed yes, every instinct in my body wanted to stay. To linger. To let myself lean just a little closer, to let the tension in his eyes and mine… do what it wanted.But my rational side, the side that had fought every pull for two years, the side that had seen too much, that had survived too much, whispered louder. No.“I… can’t, Daniel,” I said finally, my voice calm, steady, careful. I let my hand drop, turning slightly, masking the storm inside me. “I have to go. I… have things to take care of.”He tilted his head, stu
River’s POVThe moment Daniel walked in, my chest tightened, the air around me feeling heavier, charged, as if the space itself knew the storm we were about to navigate. I kept my hands folded neatly over the notebook on the table, the tip of my pen pressing lightly against the paper, grounding me. I could feel the pull, that old, undeniable pull I had felt since the first time I had truly seen him, the one that had haunted me for years and I stiffened, determined not to give anything away.He scanned the room, and when his eyes landed on me, it was like gravity shifted. Every nerve in my body hummed. I wanted to look away, to pretend that the tightness in my chest wasn’t there, that my pulse wasn’t betraying me, but I couldn’t. Not completely. Not yet.“River,” he said, stepping closer, calm but intense, the kind of presence that made the world shrink to just him and me. “Thanks for agreeing to meet. I… I need to talk to you about Karden.”I didn’t move, didn’t flinch. My jaw tighten
Daniel’s POVThe moment I saw him, my chest caught in a vise.River. Standing there. In the middle of my classroom. Fully grown, fully present, and yet somehow still that boy who had haunted my every thought for the past two years. My pulse spiked without warning, a traitor betraying my careful composure.I couldn’t breathe. Not properly. Not like I normally did. My mouth went dry, and for a second, I could barely form words that would sound like instruction instead of panic. His eyes were sharp, assessing, familiar and they met mine, and the room seemed to tilt, to shrink, to compress everything around us into the singular point of him.I wanted to look away. To retreat behind the podium, to hide behind the guise of professor, authority, control. But I couldn’t. Not when every muscle in me was tense, every nerve buzzing with the memory of what had never been said, never resolved, never… finished.The students around him were oblivious, typing notes, shuffling papers, leaning into pho