What do you want in Return?

KAMARAH'S POV

His voice slid over my skin making my breath hitch.

I tried to yank my wrist free, but Zephyr didn’t release me. His grip wasn’t painful yet, but it was unbreakable. The same way it had been five years ago when he pinned my wrists above my head and ruined me for any other man.

“Let go,” I whispered, my voice barely audible over the loud music.

He stepped closer until his chest brushed my back. Heat radiated off him, mixing with the sharp scent of his cologne — something masculine yet sweet, whiskey, and pure power. My traitorous body remembered that scent too well.

“You ran from me, Kamarah.” His breath fanned my ear. “Disappeared like a ghost after screaming my name all night. And now you have the fucking nerve to sing in my casino?”

I swallowed hard, heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted to escape. The backstage hallway felt too narrow, too dark.

A few staff members glanced our way but quickly looked away when they saw who held me. Of course they did. No one challenged Zephyr.

“I needed the money,” I said, keeping my tone steady even though my knees wanted to buckle. “I didn’t come here for you.”

A low, humorless chuckle vibrated from his chest. “Liar.”

He spun me around so fast the world blurred. Suddenly I was facing him, trapped between his hard body and the cold wall. Up close, he was even more devastating.

The years had sharpened his features — strong jaw, high cheekbones, and those stormy gray eyes that seemed to see straight through every wall I’d built.

Five years, and he still looked like sin wrapped in an expensive black suit.

“You look different,” he murmured, his free hand coming up to grip my chin, tilting my face toward the dim light. His thumb brushed my lower lip, sending unwanted sparks down my spine. “Thinner. Tired. But still so fucking beautiful it pisses me off.”

I jerked my face away. “Don’t touch me.”

His eyes darkened. “I’ve touched every inch of you before, siren. Don’t pretend you’ve forgotten.”

Memories crashed over me without permission. His hotel suite. The way he’d looked at me like I was the only woman alive.

How he’d taken me slow and deep, then hard and desperate, whispering filthy promises against my neck while I came apart beneath him. I had never felt so wanted. So owned.

Then morning came, and reality hit. Men like him didn’t keep women like me. They used them and discarded them. Or worse — they kept them as pretty little pets in golden cages.

I ran before he could do either.

“I have to go,” I said, hating how breathless I sounded. “My set is over. I need to collect my pay and leave.”

Zephyr’s lips curved into a cold smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “You’re not going anywhere.”

He released my wrist only to grab my hand instead, pulling me down the hallway like I weighed nothing. I stumbled after him in my cheap heels, panic rising fast.

“Zephyr, stop. Please.”

He ignored me, pushing open a heavy door that led to a private elevator. The second we stepped inside, he pressed his keycard and the doors slid shut, sealing us in. The space felt too small. Too intimate. I could hear my own ragged breathing.

“What do you want from me?” I demanded, pressing myself against the far wall.

He watched me like a predator studying prey. “Everything.”

The single word sent ice flooding through my veins. I thought of Nevan waiting at home, feverish and waiting for his medicine.

I thought of the bills piled on the kitchen table. I thought of how one wrong move could destroy the fragile life I’d built for my son.

“I can’t give you that,” I whispered.

The elevator dinged. He grabbed my arm again and led me into what had to be his private office — all dark wood, leather, and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the glittering city. The door locked with a soft click that sounded final.

Zephyr leaned against his massive desk, crossing his powerful arms as he studied me.

“Five years, Kamarah. Not a word. Not a trace. I had men searching for you in three different countries.” His voice dropped lower. “Do you have any idea what that did to me?”

I laughed bitterly before I could stop myself. “What it did to you? You think you suffered? I was the one who had to disappear. I was the one who—”

I snapped my mouth shut.

Careful, Kamarah. Don’t mention Nevan.

But Zephyr caught the slip. His eyes narrowed dangerously. “Who what?”

“Nothing.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “I need to leave. My… family is waiting for me.”

Something lethal flashed across his face. In two strides he was in front of me again, caging me against the wall with both hands on either side of my head.

“Family?” The word came out like a threat. “You mean another man? Because if some bastard has been touching what’s mine—”

“I don’t belong to you!” I snapped, even as my pulse raced.

His hand slid into my hair, gripping just tight enough to tilt my head back. “You do. You became mine the second you let me inside you. The second you moaned my name like a prayer.”

My lips parted on a shaky breath. God, why did his words still affect me like this? I hated him. I feared him. But my body clearly hadn’t gotten the message.

Zephyr’s gaze dropped to my mouth. “Tell me why you really came back, siren. Truth this time.”

I closed my eyes, fighting tears. Nevan’s sweet face flashed in my mind — his tired smile, his weak little hugs, the way he called me “Mama” even on his worst days.

“Money,” I whispered. “I need a lot of it. Medical… reasons.”

He was quiet for a long moment. When I opened my eyes, his expression had shifted into something darker. More calculated.

“How much?”

I named the figure — the terrifying amount the hospital needed for Nevan’s upcoming treatments. Zephyr didn’t even blink.

“I’ll cover it,” he said simply. “Every cent.”

Hope flared stupidly in my chest before reality crashed back down.

“And what do you want in return?”

His smile was slow and predatory. He leaned in until his lips brushed my ear.

“You already know the answer, Kamarah.”

He pulled back just enough to look into my eyes.

“Everything. Starting tonight.”

My stomach dropped.

Because I knew Zephyr Kane always collected his debts.

And this time, the price was me.