Semua Bab RUTHLESS TEMPTATION : Bab 11 - Bab 20

Jace could not stop thinking about the folder. 2009 – Legal Correspondence. Whatever secrets it held, it was enough to make his skin prickle and his stomach twist. And it had almost been within his reach. But Victor Crane walked in, and instead of answers, he’d walked out with questions pounding in his chest like fists. Now, hours later, he sat on the edge of a leather couch in the lounge Elias had sent him to. The space was all rich wood, dim lighting, and understated luxury. The kind of room designed for power brokers to sip whiskey and sign million-dollar deals. Jace didn’t belong here—not really. The door opened behind him. He didn’t turn. He didn’t have to. The energy shifted. Elias. "You didn’t leave," Elias said, voice low, silk over gravel. Jace looked over his shoulder. Elias had taken off the suit jacket, and the top buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing a sliver of toned chest. His sleeves were still rolled up, veins prominent on his forearms. The man looked

The morning after Noah's surgery, the hospital ward was quiet, the stillness broken only by the faint beeping of machines and the rustle of nurses’ footsteps. Sunlight filtered in through the windows in dusty beams, falling across the pale sheets that covered Noah's small frame. Jace hadn’t slept. He’d spent the night in the narrow hospital chair, his body curled awkwardly, one hand locked around Noah’s. Every time Noah stirred, even slightly, Jace jolted awake. He didn’t want to miss a moment—not after everything. Noah was stable. The doctor had said that a dozen times. But those words never stopped echoing in Jace’s mind with fragile hope. Stable wasn’t safe. Stable wasn’t forever. He stood and stretched, bones popping from the awkward position. His body ached, but he welcomed the pain. It grounded him. Reminded him that Noah was still breathing. Jace walked down to the hospital cafeteria and bought the cheapest coffee they had. It tasted like ash and metal, but he drank it a

Trigger Warning: This chapter contains depictions of domestic violence and emotional abuse. Reader discretion is advised.*******Elias Crane sat in his corner office, the late afternoon sunlight bleeding through the tinted windows. The entire floor was quiet, save for the occasional clicks from his assistant’s desk outside. But Elias was far from focused on any spreadsheet, email, or investment deal. No, his mind was tangled in memories—hot, sinful memories that burned behind his eyes like wildfire.He leaned back in his leather chair, letting the weight of the moment wash over him. The sterile scent of the hospital still lingered in his nose, mixed with Jace's shampoo—the sharp, clean citrus of it. Elias closed his eyes.Jace's body under him, writhing and responsive, his mouth spilling desperate, gasping pleas. That sinful mouth. Elias could still feel the imprint of Jace’s lips stretched around his cock, feel the tremble in his thighs as Jace took him in so submissively, so willin

The silence that lingered after Victor’s confession felt like a scream Elias couldn’t silence.Your mother is alive.Those four words had detonated something deep inside him—rage, confusion, grief, disbelief. He didn’t move as Victor exited the room, not even a flicker of acknowledgment. He simply stood there, staring at the empty space where his father had been seconds ago, his hands clenched so tight his nails bit into his palms.It felt like his world had been rewritten in permanent ink. Again.Everything he had believed—her death, his hatred, the vow for revenge—it all hovered on the edge of something darker now. Something messier. The clarity of his pain was now clouded with questions.Where was she?Why did Victor lie?Had she abandoned him—or had she been taken?He lowered himself slowly onto the leather couch, the cushions groaning beneath his weight as if they, too, were exhausted by the truth. His mind was a cyclone, spinning too fast, scattering every thought before he coul

The morning light that slipped between the blinds felt too clean for what had happened the night before. Jace sat at the edge of the bed, shirtless, watching the man sleep. His breathing was steady, chest rising and falling with the kind of peace Jace hadn't known in years. And maybe that was the danger—how easy it was to get used to this. To Elias’s touch. To the way he made him feel wanted. Worshipped. But none of that mattered.He wasn’t here to fall for soft touches or whispered promises. He was here so he can gain access to elias office and get the file. The 2009 legal consequence document. The one that had briefly surfaced during their last encounter in Elias’s office before Elias’s father, Victor Crane walked in. Jace stood, pulled on his jeans slowly, because his body ached in places Elias had fucked him. It was a painful pleasure. The bruises weren’t visible, but Jace could feel them in his bones. Jace turned back and stared at Elias’s sleeping face. ---- Few moments