LOGINThe holding area of the station smelled of coffee and a sensory insult to a man accustomed to the pristine air of his own estate. Dominic paced the length of the cramped room, his expensive suit rumpled, the fabric straining against his broad shoulders. He turned on the officer stationed at the door, his voice a low."Do you have the faintest idea who you are detaining?" Dominic demanded, his eyes gleaming with a repressed fury. "By morning, I will have your badge, your pension and the deed to this entire precinct."The officer, a man whose face had gone pasty with terror, fumbled with his clipboard. "Sir, please. It is not our choice. We are following orders. We’re sorry, really.""Save your apologies," Dominic hissed, the words coming out as a curse. "They are as useless as the men who issued them."—Back at the estate, the silence was deafening. Ava paced the length of her room, She held her phone.Cain.He was expecting the file. He was expecting the destruction of a man who, des
The tranquility of the villa was shattered by the thundering intrusion of heavy boots against marble. Security alarms, usually dormant and silent, erupted into a chorus as a phalanx of armed men poured into the foyer. Dominic’s own guards moved to intercept, their weapons drawn, but they faltered instantly upon seeing the crest on the intruders' uniforms. They stepped back, lowering their rifles as if confronted by a force of nature they dared not defy.Dominic’s bedroom door was kicked inward with a crash. He was hauled from his bed, his hands pinned behind his back by men who moved with efficiency."What the hell are you doing?" Dominic roared, twisting against the iron grip of his captors."Following orders, sir," one of them replied, his voice devoid of inflection. "Please, just follow us."Dominic snarled a string of profanities, his eyes darkening with a fury as they marched him into the living room. There, standing at the center of the villa like a king surveying a conquered p
The drive to the warehouse was quiet. Outside the limousine window, the island was a blur of jungle and white sand, a playground for the wealthy. Ava turned to him, the silence between them becoming a distant she couldn't bear to carry any longer. "How do you justify a warehouse on an island like this?" she asked, gesturing toward the dense treeline that hid the industrial structure. "It seems… incongruous."Dominic didn't look at her. He was scrolling through a stream of data on his phone, his thumb moving with a repetitive flick. "Everywhere I go is a boardroom, Ava. Commerce does not care for scenery. If there is land, there is a profit to be squeezed from it.""Do you ever rest?" she asked, her voice softer now, bordering on genuine curiosity. "Or is it always just the next batch, the next shipment, the next conquest?"Dominic finally turned his head. His eyes, dark and unreadable, raked over her face, and for a fleeting second, the sharp gaze of his expression softened into a sm
Ava felt her pulse fluttering at the base of her throat, a trapped bird seeking exit."I—I should get to the garden," she stammered, her voice barely heard. She made a move to slip away, her dress rustling against the chair, but his presence was a wall she could not scale."The garden can wait," Dominic murmured. His voice had dropped into a low, register that vibrated through the small space between them. He reached out, his hand firm as he urged her up from her seat, shifting her body until she was pinned against the solid heat of him. "Tell me, Ava. What is your deal? What are you truly doing?""Nothing," she lied, her eyes searching the shades of the room. "I’m not doing anything.""You’re a liar," he countered, the words sounding almost like a caress despite the accusation.Ava began to squirm, the friction of her skin against his suit jacket igniting a spark she was desperate to extinguish. Before she could find a foothold in the argument, the intrusive trill of a phone cut thro
"Who are you on the phone with?"The voice was a low threat that seemed to materialize from the very shades of the room. Ava stiffened, her heart leaping into her throat as she fumbled with the device. She disconnected the call with an urgent press of her thumb.She turned, forcing a nervous, brittle smile onto her face as she looked up at Dominic. He was leaning against the doorframe, his silhouette broad and imposing, his eyes unblinking as they tracked the slight tremor in her hands."Just a friend," she said, her voice sounding unconvincing even to her own ears."Male or female?" Dominic asked. He didn't move, but the atmosphere in the suite tightened, the air suddenly feeling scarce."Female," she lied, the word tasting like copper.Dominic continued to stare at her for a long, agonizing moment, his gaze searching for the lie he knew was there. Finally, he straightened, his expression smoothing into a mask of polite indifference. "Shall we?"Ava nodded, her knees feeling like wat
Ava felt the weight of a gaze before she heard a sound.She slowed her stroke, treading water as she turned toward the villa. Dominic stood at the edge, his silhouette stark against the white stone. He looked as though he had been watching her for a long time."I looked for you when I woke up," Ava said, her voice carrying across the still surface. "I didn't think you'd vanished so quickly."Dominic didn't answer immediately. He walked to the very lip of the pool and crouched down, bringing his face level with hers. The proximity was startling, she could see the golden flecks in his dark eyes and the dampness of the salt air on his skin."I didn't realize I had married a professional," he remarked, his voice a low grate. "You move through the water as if you were born to it."Ava drifted closer to the ledge, her fingers gripping the tile. "I won quite a few championships back in the day. It was the only time I felt like I could outrun everything else.""Interesting," Dominic murmured
The silence of Dominic’s departure the following day had lingered for a full day, He had been absent, ava retreated to the velvet sofa, her mind looping through the man’s instructions.The sudden knock at the front door shattered the quiet. Before she could rise, a small procession of women entered
Ava stiffened, her lungs seizing as she drew in a ragged, shallow breath. "You must be out of your mind!" she roared, the sound tearing from her throat in a rasp.She lunged for the door, her fingers clawing at the polished wood, desperate for the hallway, for the street, for anywhere that wasn't
The memory of their last encounter still burned against Ava’s lips, a phantom pressure that refused to fade. It wasn’t just the audacity of the kiss itself, it was the way Dominic had claimed it, as if it were a debt she hadn’t known she owed. She had walked away then, her heels clicking in an angr
Ava stood frozen under the spray, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. Then, she heard it, the distinct, heavy click of the bedroom door settling into its frame.She reached out with a trembling hand and wrenched the handle, killing the flow of water instantly. The sudden sile







