登入Kai put the envelope on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. Damien stayed close, arm around his shoulders.
“You don’t have to open it today,” Damien said again. “Or ever, if you don’t want to.”
Kai nodded. “I know. I just… it feels heavy. Like my mom’s still trying to talk to me from wherever she is.”
Damien kissed the side of his head. “She loved y
They lay tangled in the sheets, breathing hard. Damien’s hand rested heavy on Kai’s chest, right over the phoenix tattoo. Sweat cooled on their skin. The room was quiet except for their slowing breaths.Kai turned his head and kissed Damien’s shoulder. “That was… a lot. But I needed it.”Damien pulled him closer, voice still rough. “Me too. I get scared and it turns into this. I just want to feel like you’re really mine. Like no one can touch us.”Kai ran his fingers down Damien’s arm. “I am yours. You don’t have to doubt that. Even when people are watching us from outside, I still come home to you.”Damien kissed his forehead. “I know. But it’s getting to me. The photos. The feeling that someone’s always there. I hate it. I hate that they saw us in the limo. I hate that they might have seen us tonight.&r
Damien hung up the phone and turned back to Kai. His face was tight, eyes full of worry and something darker.“Security found nothing else in the building,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean we’re safe. Whoever took those photos is still out there.”Kai stood up from the couch and walked over to him. “I know. I’m scared too. But standing here worrying isn’t going to fix it.”Damien pulled him close, hands gripping Kai’s waist hard. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Someone watching us. Taking pictures while I was inside you. While you were moaning my name. It makes me fucking angry.”Kai pressed against him, voice low. “Then don’t be angry alone. Use it. Take it out on me. I need you right now. I need to feel you and forget everything else.”Damien’s eyes darkened. “You
Kai put the envelope on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch. Damien stayed close, arm around his shoulders.“You don’t have to open it today,” Damien said again. “Or ever, if you don’t want to.”Kai nodded. “I know. I just… it feels heavy. Like my mom’s still trying to talk to me from wherever she is.”Damien kissed the side of his head. “She loved you. That much is clear. And Clara seems like a good person for holding onto it all these years.”They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Kai’s phone buzzed on the table. He picked it up, thinking it was Lila or Marcus.His face changed.“What is it?” Damien asked.Kai turned the phone so Damien could see. The message had no words. Just a photo. It was them kissing in the back of the li
Kai was still in the kitchen the next afternoon, washing the last plate from lunch, when the doorbell rang. He dried his hands and walked over. Damien was in the living room on a call.Kai opened the door.An older woman stood there, maybe sixty, with short gray hair and kind but tired eyes. She wore a simple coat and held a small bag. She looked at Kai for a long moment.“Kai Lennox,” she said softly. “You’ve grown up so much.”Kai blinked. “Do I know you?”The woman smiled sadly. “Not really. But I knew your mother. I’m Clara. I used to live two floors down from you when you were a boy. I helped watch you sometimes when she had to work late.”Kai’s stomach tightened. “Clara… yeah, I think I remember you. You brought cookies sometimes.”Clara nodded. &ld
They lay together for a long time after, breathing slow, bodies still warm. Damien finally got up to get water. Kai watched him walk to the kitchen, then rolled over and reached for Damien’s laptop on the nightstand. His own phone was dead, and he just wanted to check the time and maybe send a quick text to Lila.He opened the laptop. The screen lit up. Damien had left a folder open on the desktop something called “Background_KL”.Kai clicked it without thinking.Inside were pages of documents. Old photos of his mother. Bank records from when he was a kid. Notes about his toxic ex. Even a copy of the police report from when that ex had gotten rough with him years ago. At the bottom was a short email from a private investigator dated two months ago.*“Subject’s family history confirmed. Father left when he was 8. Mother struggled financially. No major red fl
Damien stared at the three small black bugs lined up on his desk. Security had just left. The office felt violated.He picked up his phone and called Kai.“I’m coming home,” he said the second Kai answered. “Right now. I need you.”Kai’s voice was soft. “Okay. I’ll be waiting. Drive safe.”The penthouse door barely clicked shut before Damien pulled Kai into his arms.“Bad day?” Kai asked, hands sliding up Damien’s back.“Someone’s been listening to me,” Damien said. “Bugs in my office. Three of them. I don’t know how long they’ve been there.”Kai hugged him tighter. “Shit. That’s messed up. You okay?”Damien buried his face in Kai’s neck. “I will be. But right no







