LOGINDaphneI hear Julian’s footsteps before I see him, the front door closing with more force than necessary, footsteps coming up the stairs fast. I'm still in my dress from dinner, sitting on the edge of the bed, phone in my hand, when he pushes the door open."Why do you have your man following me?"He doesn't answer. He crosses to the small bar cart by the window, pours himself a scotch, and drinks half of it before he sets the glass down. His jacket comes off next, tossed over the chair, then his tie, then two buttons at his collar, unhurried, like I haven't said anything at all."Julian."He finally sits in the armchair across from the bed, glass in hand, and looks at me like he's deciding where to start."Why did you defy me?""Defy you?" I stand up. "Is that what this is about right now? I'm asking you why you have security trailing me. This is what you always do, and I've told you to stop. And you still sent Marco to follow me to dinner.""You haven't answered my question." His vo
JulianThe city looks smaller from up here, all those lives moving through streets I own more of than they'd ever guess. I take a slow sip of whisky, the glass sweating slightly in my hand, turning Marco's message over in my mind. Table for two. Detective Hunter. She didn't say a word about it before she left, just slipped out of the house like she thought I wouldn't notice.I made myself clear about that man. She heard me, argued with me, and apparently decided my answer didn't apply to her the moment my back was turned.My hand tightens around the glass hard enough that I feel it protest.My phone rings against the desk behind me. I don't need to look to know who it is."Report.""Boss, she's leaving the restaurant. Headed home now." Marco's voice is flat, professional. "You want me to keep on her?""No." I set the whisky down. "Come back in.""Copy that.”The door opens before I've finished pocketing the phone, and Luca steps in, closing it behind him with the quiet efficiency he's
DaphneI tell Eli I’m going out for dinner, and he sits up so fast his controller slides off the bed.“With Caleb? Daph, this is a bad idea.”“Eli, it’s just dinner.”“You didn’t tell Julian.”“No.” I fix my hair in the mirror by the door. “And you’re not going to either.”“He’s going to find out. Nothing about you ever gets past him.”“Then he finds out. I’m not doing anything wrong, Eli.”“You’re doing it to prove a point. And that’s wrong.”“Maybe I am trying to prove a point.” I meet his eyes in the mirror. “Doesn’t mean I’m wrong.”He sighs, the way he does when he knows he’s lost. “Text me when you get there. And when you leave.”“Yes, Dad.”The restaurant is small and warm, with candles in mismatched jars. Caleb is already at a table near the back, and he stands when he sees me, relief crossing his face before he covers it with a smile."Daphne,You came.""I said I would.""People say a lot of things." He pulls out my chair. "I half expected a text canceling.""
Julian The club is loud in the way expensive places are, bass thumping through the floor, bodies packed around the bar under red light. I ignore all of it and follow the host up the back stairs to the private balcony, where one man sits alone with a bottle of scotch and a view of the whole floor.He sees me coming and freezes with the glass halfway to his mouth."Julian?" Lancelot Veyron sets the drink down and stands so fast his chair scrapes the floor. "Julian Macini. I don't believe it.""Lance.""Twelve years." He laughs, shaking his head, and steps forward like he's about to hug me. I stop him with a look, and he pulls back, still grinning. "Same as always. You haven't changed.""You have.""Ouch." He spreads his hands. "You cut me off, you know. I called your office. I sent word through three different people. I even showed up at your wedding to Katrina, and you walked right past me.""I know.""Then why now?" He gestures to the empty chair across from him. "Sit. Please. Drink
JulianI press Daphne back against the wet tile, the full weight of my body pinning her there. Water cascades over both of us. I push my tongue between her lips and take her sweet taste. She moans softly into me, then louder when I tangle my fingers in her wet hair and tilt her head to deepen the kiss. A sharp thread of need cuts straight through me when her teeth catch my bottom lip.“Fuck, baby girl,” I groan against her mouth, then drag my lips down the side of her throat, nipping at the pulse that jumps under my tongue.Her hands are already on me, sliding over my chest, my shoulders, down the ridges of my stomach. She wraps her fingers around my cock without hesitation and gives it a firm stroke that nearly drops me to my knees. I cage her in with both hands against the tile on either side of her head while she works me, slow and deliberate, thumb sweeping over the head and spreading the precum already leaking for her.“That’s it,” I grit out. “Keep touching me just like that
DaphneWater is running down both of us, and Julian cups my face in his hands, tilting my chin up until I have no choice but to look at him."Talk to me," he says quietly. "Whatever this is, I can see it sitting on you.""I'm fine, Julian.""You keep saying that." His thumb brushes along my cheekbone. "You don't have to be fine right now. Not with me."I don't answer, and he doesn't push. Instead he reaches past me, adjusting the water until it's warmer, and turns me by the shoulders so my back is to him."What are you doing?""Taking care of you. Since you won't talk."Julian’s hands find my shoulders first, thumbs working into the knots that have been building there since I don't even know when. I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding."You didn't strike me as the massage type.""I contain multitudes." His hands move lower, tracing down my spine, careful, paying attention to every place I flinch. "Better?""A little."He turns me back around, reaches for the washcloth, and







