The next morning broke with a blood-orange sunrise streaking across the skyline of Virellia City, painting the glass towers with molten light. But in the penthouse suite of Velmora Corp, there was no warmth... only tension.
Aurelia Voss stood barefoot on the cool obsidian floor of her private executive suite, staring into the mirror with a glass of bitter rootwine in one hand. Her silk robe clung to her body like a second skin, revealing far more than it concealed, but it didn't matter. No one saw her like this. No one was allowed to. The world didn't deserve Aurelia unmasked.
Only the mirror knew the truth.
And Kael Drayven was beginning to see through it.
She sipped the drink, watching her own reflection. Her silver eyes were unreadable, Calculated, Cold.
But last night, in that elevator…
Her lips still tingled from his kiss. Her thighs still ached with the ghost of his touch. She hated how he invaded her. Not just her body... her mind. That insolent, infuriating, intoxicating man. She'd hired him to break him. To see how long he'd last. She'd expected another ego, another crumble. But Kael had looked at her like she was human not royalty, not a Voss, not some untouchable ice queen.
That… terrified her.
And excited her more than she wanted to admit.
Kael Drayven stared down at his hands, bruised from gripping the elevator railing too tightly the night before. He sat at the small café across the street from Velmora, sipping lukewarm black coffee, eyes hollow with fatigue and fire.
He shouldn't have kissed her.
He shouldn't have touched her.
But gods, he wanted to do it again.
His mother's latest healer visit had cost nearly all of last week's pay. The blackroot was progressing. Her skin was going gray along her spine now. She barely walked on her own.
If he lost this job, she would die.
And Aurelia? She was no ordinary boss. She was a weapon. One smile from her could ruin a reputation; one glare could silence a room. Everyone feared her. Admired her. Hated her. But he had seen what hid beneath that perfect armor.
Loneliness,
Fury,
Control born of fear.
And when she moaned his name last night, it wasn't the CEO of Velmora in his arms.
It was a woman.
A beautiful, broken woman craving something real in a world of lies.
He needed to be smart, Careful.
But how do you outthink the storm when you're already inside it?
The office buzzed like a beehive when Kael walked in. Conversations dipped into whispers, eyes followed him, and smiles vanished the second he passed.
Everyone had seen the look in Aurelia's eyes when she stepped out of that elevator with him. Everyone had heard the rumors.
"Oh, he's definitely fucking her."
"No one survives two weeks in her office. He's lasted three."
"She'll ruin him. Or he'll ruin her."
Kael ignored it. He walked straight to her door, knocked once, and entered without waiting.
She sat at her desk like a queen on a throne...unreadable, radiant, lethal.
"You're early," she said without looking up.
"You're welcome."
She glanced at him, lips twitching.
"I don't recall thanking you."
"Then let me give you a reason."
He dropped a folder on her desk... precisely organized, color-coded, annotated. Her upcoming investor meeting, complete with predictive analytics and suggestions for the magical-tech merger her board was still arguing over.
She flipped through it, expression flickering.
"Who helped you with this?"
"No one."
"You expect me to believe that?"
"You can verify every source I used. It's real. Just like me."
Their eyes locked.
Aurelia slowly closed the folder, leaned back in her chair, and crossed her legs deliberately.
"Tell me something, Mr. Drayven," she said, voice low. "Are you trying to impress me? Or seduce me?"
"Why can't it be both?"
The silence that followed was thick with electricity. Neither of them blinked.
She stood suddenly, the chair sliding back noiselessly. Her heels clicked on the polished floor as she circled the desk, closing the space between them.
He didn't move.
She stopped inches away, tilting her chin up to meet his gaze.
"You're playing a very dangerous game."
"I've played worse."
Then...
"Prove it."
And she kissed him.
Hard, Brutal, Devouring.
His arms wrapped around her waist instantly, pulling her flush against him. Their mouths clashed... teeth, tongue, hunger. She tasted like wine and war.
He lifted her effortlessly, placing her on the desk as her legs wrapped around him. She ripped his tie loose, flung it aside. He unbuttoned her blouse with trembling hands, revealing silk and lace and bare skin that made his vision blur.
She gasped when he bit softly at her collarbone. He groaned when her nails dug into his back.
It wasn't soft,
It wasn't sweet,
It was dominance and surrender colliding like lightning in a bottle.
And when she came, it was with her head thrown back and his name seared into the air.
Afterward, silence reigned.
She didn't move. Neither did he.
Their breathing filled the room.
And then she said, "You're still fired if you fuck up the quarterly brief."
He laughed against her neck.
"You'll have to fire me after I finish making you come again."
She smirked, but her eyes were softer now.
"Get to work."
And for once… her voice wasn't cold.
Elsewhere in the building, whispers spread like wildfire.
The Queen had taken a consort.
And the war had only just begun.