Chapter 2

The way he said it made Ethan shiver. Not from fear. From something else. Something that slid down his spine and settled between his legs, pulsing.

Floor 16.

The elevator slowed.

Adrian reached out — slowly, as if restraining himself with every ounce of strength — and pressed the emergency button.

The elevator stopped between floors with a gentle jolt.

The lights flickered once.

Absolute silence.

Ethan felt his heart in his throat.

Adrian came closer. Placed one hand on the wall beside Ethan’s head. Then the other. Strong arms caging him completely. His scent was unbearable now — dominant, possessive, irresistible. Ethan’s knees truly weakened.

“You shouldn’t be here,” Adrian murmured, his face inches away. His hot breath brushed Ethan’s skin.

“I… work here,” Ethan managed, voice shaking.

“No,” Adrian growled low. “You shouldn’t be here. Near me.”

Ethan blinked, confused.

“I don’t—”

Adrian lowered his face. His nose brushed the curve of Ethan’s neck — exactly where the pulse hammered wildly. He inhaled deeply. Long. As if drowning in that scent.

“You are…” he stopped. His teeth grazed the skin lightly. Not biting. Not yet. “…impossible.”

Ethan moaned. Couldn’t help it. A small, broken sound that escaped without permission.

Adrian froze.

His eyes squeezed shut. The muscles in his arms trembled with restraint.

Then he opened them again.

They were completely black.

“Get out,” he said, voice almost unrecognizable. “Get out of the elevator. Get out of the building. Get out of my life.”

But he didn’t pull away.

Instead, he pressed his body against Ethan’s. Just enough for Ethan to feel the huge, hard, throbbing erection against his stomach.

Ethan gasped.

Adrian growled louder.

And then, with a sudden movement, he spun Ethan around and shoved him against the elevator wall.

Ethan’s face hit the cold mirror. Adrian’s hands grabbed his wrists and pinned them above his head, one single palm engulfing both. The other arm wrapped around Ethan’s waist from behind, pulling him back until his back was flush against that broad chest.

Ethan felt everything.

The hard cock pressing against his ass.

The chest rising and falling rapidly against his back.

Adrian’s nose buried in his hair, inhaling as if his life depended on it.

“You don’t understand,” Adrian whispered against his ear, voice rough with desire and anger. “If I don’t let you go now… I won’t be able to stop.”

Ethan was shaking all over.

Not from fear.

From need.

He didn’t understand what was happening to his body. He only knew he wanted — needed — that man to touch him more. Deeper. Harder. More everything.

“Then don’t stop,” the words slipped out before he could hold them back.

Adrian went still.

For one second.

Two.

Then he released a growl that made the entire elevator vibrate.

And pulled Ethan even tighter against him.

The elevator lights flickered again.

The emergency button was still lit.

And no one — no one — knew what was happening inside that steel box between the 16th and 17th floors.

No one except the two of them.

And Adrian’s wolf, which now refused to hold back any longer.

Ethan Moore stumbled out of the elevator on the 17th floor as if he had been spat out of a time machine. His legs were shaking. His heart still hammered against his ribs as if it wanted to break free. He pressed his badge so hard against the glass door reader of the mergers and acquisitions department that the plastic creaked. The green light flashed. The door opened.

He stumbled inside.

The open-plan office was a sea of white desks, dual monitors, and low voices discussing valuations, due diligence, and earn-outs. No one looked at him twice — the late newbie was just another face in the corporate herd. Ethan headed straight for his workstation, tossed his briefcase onto the chair, and sat down before his legs gave out completely.

The scent was still on him.

Not Adrian’s scent — though that one was also soaked into his shirt, his skin, the air he breathed. It was his own scent betraying him now. Something sweet, sticky, leaking between his legs and soaking his underwear in a shameful way. He clamped his thighs together tightly, trying to contain the flow. It didn’t help. Every movement made the fabric rub and sent a wave of heat straight to his cock, which was still half-hard from the elevator.

“Fuck,” he muttered through gritted teeth, opening his laptop just to have something to do with his hands.

The screen lit up. Welcome email. Team introduction. First task: review the teaser for a mid-market acquisition in the healthcare sector. Normal words. Normal work. But nothing felt normal.

Because Adrian Blackwood was in the building.

Ethan could feel him. He couldn’t see him. Couldn’t hear him. But he felt him. As if there were an invisible thread stretched between the 32nd floor and the 17th, and every vibration reached straight into Ethan’s chest. His stomach. Between his legs.

He tried to focus on the document. Lines of text danced. Numbers blurred. He squeezed his thighs again and let out a soft moan as another wave of wetness slipped out.

“You okay, man?”

Ethan snapped his head up too fast. It was the guy at the next desk — Lucas, red beard, round glasses, easy smile.

“Yeah. Yes. Just… coffee too strong.”

Lucas laughed.

“First day and already mainlining caffeine? Careful, Blackwood hates shaky people in meetings.”

Ethan forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

“Noted.”