VEILED OBSESSIONS

CHAPTER THREE: VEILED OBSESSIONS

CASPIAN'S POV

I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

From the edge of the ballroom, I watched Serena navigate the crowd like a woman walking a tightrope. That emerald gown I’d chosen clung to her body. The mark on her neck letting every man in that room she's mine. The same body I’d fucked hard this morning, the one that still bore faint marks from my grip on her hips. She smiled for the guests, her chin high, but I saw the truth beneath the mask. The way her fingers kept brushing her clutch. The way her shoulder was tensed. The way her brown eyes flicked to her phone every few minutes when she thought no one was looking.

She was hiding something.

I knew it. I also knew she was innocent of stealing those documents. My investigators had confirmed it weeks ago, with financial trails that proved Serena Vale had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. No spy. No traitor. Just a desperate event planner trying to pay her brother’s medical bills.

Yet I had married her anyway.

The one-year contract wasn’t about protecting my company. Not entirely. It was about her. The fire in her eyes when she defied me. The way she gasped my name even while cursing me. The moment I saw her in that room that night, something primal had snapped into place. She belonged to me. And I wasn’t ready to let her go after twelve months. Maybe not ever.

Helena’s voice echoed in my head from earlier today.

Emotions destroyed your mother, Caspian. Don’t make the same mistake.

My aunt’s being my advisor after the succession, has being a pain in the ass, but she was right about one thing. Attachment and vulnerability was weakness. I had built an empire by controlling everything. Serena was becoming the one variable I couldn’t fully control, and that both infuriated and fascinated me.

Nathan appeared at my side, silent as always. “Sir. The acquisition was successful and on the other matter, there are anomalies.”

“Anomalies,” I repeated, my eyes still locked on my wife.

Nathan nodded once. “We’re digging deeper.”

Serena laughed politely at something an investor’s wife said. She excused herself and stepped toward the balcony doors, pulling out her phone again. My jaw tightened. Whoever or whatsover was on the other end of that phone had her rattled. No one rattled what was mine.

I crossed the room, the crowd parting instinctively. Vivian watched from a distance, her red dress a warning flag I ignored. Let her seethe. Serena was mine to break and protect.

She sensed me before I reached her. Her spine straightened, something flashing across her face even as her body responded to my presence. Good. She could hate me. Her pussy still welcomed me every night.

“Serena,” I said quietly, stepping into her space until her back was nearly against the wall. My hand settled on her waist, my thumb stroking the silk over her hip. “Who’s been texting you all evening?”

Her eyes widened slightly before she masked it. “It’s nothing important.”

I leaned closer, my lips brushing her ear the way I knew made her wet. “Don’t lie to me, wife. I see everything. That phone has had your attention more than I have tonight. Who is it?”

She hesitated, then lifted her chin. “It’s Lucas’s doctor. Dr. Ramirez called earlier about moving up the procedure. I was… handling the details.”

Lucas. Of course. The one lever that always worked on her. Her love for her brother was her greatest strength and her greatest vulnerability. I respected it, even as I used it.

I studied her face, searching for the lie. Her pulse jumped under my fingers where they rested on her neck. She was hiding something more. The doctor story was partial at best. But pushing her now in public would backfire. Serena fought hardest when cornered.

“Fine,” I said smoothly, though my mind was already turning. “I’ll handle the procedure personally. He’ll be at the top of the list by morning.”

Relief flickered in her eyes, mixed with suspicion. She knew nothing came free with me.

I pulled out my phone and dialed Nathan. “Nathan. Contact the jeweler. Have them deliver the new diamond necklace, the one with the emerald drops to the mansion tonight. Gift wrap it. For my wife.”

Serena’s breath caught. “Caspian, you don’t have to—”

“I do,” I cut her off, voice low. “Consider it a reminder of who takes care of you now. And who expects gratitude in return.”

Her cheeks flushed. I could practically feel the war inside he. Resentment battling the unwilling spark of desire. That was the addiction. Breaking her resistance night after night only to watch her come back for more.

The rest of the gala dragged on. Vivian tried approaching again, but one look from me sent her retreating. Investors congratulated me on the “love match,” Through it all, I kept Serena close, my hand on her lower back, my thumb tracing circles that promised what was coming later.

By the time the main speeches ended, I’d had enough. “We’re leaving early,” I told her, guiding her toward the exit without waiting for to answer.

The cool night air hit us as we stepped outside. The black SUV waited, the door held open by my driver. Serena slid in first, the slit in her gown revealing a tantalizing stretch of thigh. I followed, closing the door behind us. The partition rose, sealing us in privacy.

The moment the car pulled away from the curb, I acted.

I gripped her chin, tilting her face to mine. My mouth crashed down on hers. She gasped, and I took advantage, biting her lower lip softly, tugging it between my teeth just enough to sting before soothing it with my tongue. The taste of her, champagne and defiance, went straight to my cock.

She moaned into the kiss, her hands fisting my shirt, even as she tried to pull back. I didn’t let her. I deepened the kiss, pouring every ounce of my lust into it.

When I finally broke away, both of us breathing hard, I rested my forehead against hers. My voice came out low, dark, and laced with warning.

“Don’t lie to me, Serena.”

Her eyes widened, lips swollen from my kiss. The car continued gliding through the city lights, but the tension between us was thicker.