The Blackwood Corporate Tower stood like a jagged shard of glass against the city skyline, a monument to the man who now held Ren's life in his hands.
When the elevator doors opened to the penthouse floor, it wasn't a boardroom that greeted them. It was a gala. The air was thick with the scent of lilies and expensive perfume, the low hum of a hundred elite voices clinking against crystal.
Ren froze at the threshold. "I thought this was a meeting about the trust."
"It is," Vane murmured, his hand settling firmly on the small of Ren's back. The heat of his palm through the charcoal silk felt like a brand. "A trust is built on perception, Ren. Tonight, the city needs to see the new Blackwood heir's spouse. And I need to see if you can hold your head up when the wolves come to circle."
"Julian should be here," Ren whispered, his heart hammering against his ribs.
"Julian is at home, playing with his ghosts," Vane said, his voice dropping to a dangerous, intimate level. He leaned in, his lips inches from the silver thorn in Ren's ear.
"Tonight, you are with me. Smile, Little Bird. You're about to see how much power your cage actually has."
As they moved through the crowd, the silence followed them like a wake. Men in power suits bowed their heads to Vane; women in diamonds watched Ren with a mixture of envy and pity.
"Vane! And this must be the famous Ren," a voice boomed. A tall, portly man with eyes like a shark's approached, his gaze raking over Ren with a hungry curiosity. "Julian is a lucky man. Though, I must say, he looks more like your protege than your son's husband tonight."
Vane didn't flinch. He tightened his grip on Ren's waist, pulling him a fraction closer—a possessive move that was impossible to misinterpret.
"Ren is a Blackwood now, Marcus," Vane said, his voice like velvet over steel. "He belongs exactly where I put him."
The night became a gauntlet of forced smiles and stinging judgments. Ren felt like a trophy being polished by a predator. Every time he tried to step away to catch his breath, Vane's hand would find him—his thumb grazing Ren's wrist, his fingers brushing the nape of Ren's neck.
It was a slow, public seduction, performed in plain sight.
By the time they reached the private balcony overlooking the city, Ren was trembling. The cold air hit his face, but it did nothing to cool the fire in his blood. He looked out at the lights below, the black turtleneck feeling tighter than ever.
He is dangerous, the thought echoed in his mind again, louder this time. He looked at Vane, who was leaning against the railing, watching Ren with a dark, satisfied intensity. Vane looked like he owned the city, the night, and every soul within it.
But what is this feeling? Ren realized with a jolt of terror that he wasn't afraid of Vane anymore. He was afraid of himself. He was afraid of the way his body leaned toward Vane's gravity. He was afraid of how much he wanted Vane to push him against the glass and claim him right there, with the whole world watching.
"You're doing it again," Vane said, his voice a low growl. He walked toward Ren, the light from the gala casting long, jagged shadows between them.
"Doing what?" Ren breathed.
"Looking at me like I'm the one who pushed you, when we both know you jumped." Vane trapped Ren between his body and the railing, his hands gripping Ren's hips. "Julian would be horrified by the look in your eyes right now, Ren. He thinks you're his innocent angel. But I see the hunger. I see the fall."
Vane leaned down, his mouth inches from Ren's. "Tell me. Do you want to go home to the boy who calls you his? Or do you want to stay here, in the dark, with the man who made you his?"
Ren looked into the stormy depths of Vane's eyes and felt the last thread of his loyalty to Julian snap. He didn't answer with words. He reached up, his fingers tangling in Vane's dark hair, and pulled the monster down to meet him.
The kiss was a declaration of war. It was the moment the debt was no longer a burden, but a choice.
Ren was falling, and for the first time in his life, he didn't want anyone to catch him.