All Chapters of COLLATERAL DESIRE : Chapter 81 - Chapter 84

They broke apart slowly.Not abruptly, not awkwardly, just enough for air, for space, for reality to settle back in.But it didn’t feel the same anymore.Nothing about it did.The room felt different now. Not louder, not brighter, just… altered, like something irreversible had clicked into place and neither of them had fully processed it yet.Lance was the first to really look at him properly.Not the cold version of him. Not the boss. Not the wall he usually hid behind.Just Ragnar.And the second he did, something in Lance shifted.A smirk pulled at the corner of his lips. Slow. Knowing.Dangerous in its own way.“…So,” he murmured, voice lower now, lighter, like the tension that had been suffocating him for days had finally snapped, “you do have a heart after all.”Ragnar didn’t answer immediately.And that alone said everything.Because for the first time, He looked… off.Not shaken. Not out of control.But not entirely composed either.His usual stillness was there, but it wasn’

Ragnar didn’t wait long after the meeting ended.He dismissed the others with the same calm authority he always had, but there was something sharper beneath it now, something restrained, barely held in place.The moment the room cleared, he moved.Straight out. No hesitation.He already knew where Lance would be.The kitchen was quiet.Too quiet compared to the tension that had filled the room minutes ago.Lance stood by the counter, one hand resting against it while the other lifted a glass of water to his lips. He looked completely unbothered, like nothing had happened, like he hadn’t just said all that in front of everyone.Like he hadn’t crossed a line.The door opened behind him.He didn’t turn immediately.He already knew.Ragnar stepped in, the door closing a little harder than usual behind him, not a slam, but enough to carry intent.“Do you find this amusing?”Lance took another slow sip before answering, setting the glass down with a soft clink.“…A little,” he admitted, fin