Chapter 31
ROAN
Her words make my chest lock up as I look down at her.
Katie—pregnant with my child.
The thought alone has my cock stirring inside her, and she moans in response, her cunt fluttering around me like it knows exactly where my head just went. A delicious shiver races up my spine, leaving me lightheaded, eyes rolling back in my skull.
Fuck.
I curse under my breath and slowly pull out of her, momentarily mesmerized by the sight of my release slipping out of her swollen entrance.
Acting purely on instinct, I drag my middle and index finger up her inner thigh, gathering the cum and shoving it back inside her.
She moans my name like a prayer, her body twitching against the desk.
That sound nearly breaks me.
I shake my head and force myself to step away before I lose what’s left of my sanity. “You still have that pill of yours, don’t you?”
“Plan B isn’t exactly a reliable long-term birth control,” she says softly, “but yes, I do.”
I nod and put more distance between us. Getting her pregnant is a horrible idea, no matter what my cock or that primitive part of my brain thinks about it. We’re not in the right place for that kind of complication. This is not that.
Can’t be that.
My legs feel weak and rubbery as I make my way to the ensuite.
I soak a towel in warm water and scrub it methodically over my sweaty body and cock, wincing slightly at how oversensitive I still am.
When I’m done, I toss the used towel to the floor and grab another one to dry myself.
Then I reach for two more clean towels—one wet, wrung out, the other left dry—and head back out.
Back in my office, Katie is still collapsed chest-down across my desk, skirt hiked up around her waist. Bare. Open. Vulnerable.
She’s not mine, not really—not yet. But still, the thought of someone else walking in here and seeing her like this makes my hands curl into fists.
I shouldn’t have touched her again. Not after how intense the first and the second times were. But I did anyway. And now, when I look at her, it’s not just lust clogging my throat anymore. It’s something heavier. Real. It knots my stomach.
She turns her head to look at me over her shoulder, brows furrowed, eyes filled with uncertainty and something that looks dangerously like hope, and my chest constricts, my steps actually faltering.
That look—half guarded, half soft—it makes me feel like a fucking idiot for letting this get so far out of control. Or maybe for pretending it wasn’t already this far gone weeks ago.
I should say something to make her feel less guarded, less uncertain. But I don’t know what. There’s no manual for this kind of situation. No rule book for what to do when the girl you were supposed to use starts crawling under your skin and making a home there.
My steps feel jerky and awkward as I approach her in silence.
Her gaze stays heavy on my face, searching while I drag the wet towel up her thigh, cleaning her up as gently as I can.
Then I follow with the dry towel, trying to keep my movements clinical even though nothing about this feels neutral.
Once she’s clean, I wad up both towels in one hand and tug her rumpled skirt down over her ass with the other, covering her.
Space. I need it before I do something I can’t undo.
I turn away and head back to the ensuite, dumping the towels next to the others before pulling open the drawer where I keep spare clothes.
I pull on a pair of clean slacks and a fresh shirt.
Routine movements, grounding ones. By the time I step back into the office, I’m dressed again—contained, at least on the outside.
She’s off the desk now, sitting in my chair, looking small and vulnerable in the big piece of furniture. “What—what do we do now?” She licks her lips, and I can’t help noticing they’re swollen and red… from my cock, my mouth.
I clear my throat and drag my gaze back to hers. “Give me a few hours to come up with a plan.”
She gets to her feet, wincing slightly. “Do you want to see the ledger? The physical copy?”
I nod. Yes. Seeing it in person and thoroughly examining it will make it feel more real than just scrolling through the pictures she took on her phone. I watch her carefully as she walks towards me, noticing a slight limp in her steps. “Are you okay?”
Her cheeks flush red, and she avoids my gaze as she passes me. “I’m fine. Just… a little worn out.”
My lips lift into a smirk as she reaches the door and glances back impatiently, waiting for me to unlock it. “Not a word out of you,” she warns, shaking a finger.
I mime zipping my mouth shut, but my smile only widens as I retrieve my discarded pants from the floor and fish the key from the pocket.
I unlock the door, and we head into the hallway, the silence between us thick as we make our way towards Ate’s office. As I open his office door, someone appears at my side. I don’t need to look. Dhimiter’s presence is unmistakable.
I spare him a glance, ignoring the judgment written all over his face. “Katie found something that might be useful to us.”
“Katie,” he repeats blandly, shifting his gaze to the woman now approaching my father’s desk. “Her name’s Katie?” He lowers his voice so she won’t overhear.
That’s right. I deliberately withheld her real name from him. Because for reasons I didn’t examine too closely at the time, I didn’t want him digging into her background. I wanted to be the only one who knew who she truly was beneath the lies. But there’s no need for that secrecy anymore.
“Yes, Katie.” I step away from him, my attention snapping back to her just as she finds the false drawer in Ate’s desk. I didn’t even know that existed.
A heavy envelope drops into her palm, and she brings it straight to me.
Thankfully, Dhimiter keeps quiet as I slip the ledger out and open it to the first yellowed page. “Thank you,” I tell her. “I’ll go through this and get back to you.”
It’s a clear dismissal, and from the way her eyes narrow, she doesn’t like it one bit. She spins on her heel and storms off.
As soon as she’s gone, Dhimiter explodes. “What the hell do you think you’re doing? You’re thinking with your cock instead of your head, and it’s going to get someone killed.”
My hands go still on the ledger’s fragile pages, and I glance up at him cooly, “You dare question me?”
He freezes mid-breath, mouth opening and closing as if searching for words that won’t get him thrown out of my inner circle. “Roan…”
Without another word, I leave Ate’s office, closing and locking the door behind us. Dhimiter stays on my heels as I make my way back down the hall, the ledger heavy in my hand.
Entering my office, a tight knot forms in my chest as the realization fully sinks in: this ledger—this evidence of betrayal—is probably what triggered my father’s heart attack.
I asked him to look into Fabian to give him something productive to do, never thinking he would actually find anything.
I was so careless with his life. My grip on the ledger tightens, and I blink rapidly against the burning sting in my eyes as I move forward.
I ignore my desk entirely and collapse into one of the armchairs, suddenly drained. Dhimiter slides into the one across from me. “Do you know what this is?” I ask him, waving the ledger in the air.
He shakes his head slowly, waiting.
“It’s the evidence we’ve been looking for to prove Fabian is a traitor. He’s been steadily sabotaging our empire for over a decade—for reasons only he knows. And—” My throat locks for a second. I force the words out. “He was somehow involved in my mother’s death.”
I lean back, closing my eyes, trying to push down the overwhelming emotions.
Not now. I can’t break now.
Dhimiter’s sharp inhale has me opening my eyes. “He wouldn’t hurt his own sister.” But he looks a little hesitant as he says it.
I don’t reply to that. “You know how I got this?” I ask instead. “Katie.”
“She went snooping around and found it,” he guesses correctly, then jumps to his feet. “You should have her thrown into the frigorifer. Or better yet, the dungeon, for violating—”
“She brought it to me,” I tell him firmly, reminding him that this was my plan all along.
Move her into my house, turn her into my mole.
Play the ultimate reverse card on the fucker who thought they could infiltrate my estate.
But jokes on me, because she got so far under my fucking skin I can’t remember what life felt like before her.
Dhimiter’s eyes widen with sudden understanding.
“She gave it to you willingly,” he repeats, sinking back into his chair.
“You were right then. Torturing or threatening her might not have made her spill her secrets. But sex, making her feel important, valued...” He nods to himself, working through the logic. “Is she under your control now?”
Not precisely.
“Yes.” I tug at my collar, suddenly feeling like it’s choking me. My eyes wander to the door—and I freeze. It’s slightly ajar. And standing there, framed in the gap, is none other than Katie. My heart lurches into my throat at the paleness of her face. Did she hear?
“Katie,” I start, not even sure what I want to say.
Her eyes are as cold as glaciers as she steps inside. “You’re right, Dhimiter. Fabian wouldn’t hurt his own sister intentionally. The person he actually wanted dead was Afrim. But there was some sort of mistake and Hana got killed instead.”
She heard.
Fuck.
“What are you doing eavesdropping on private conversations?” Dhimiter demands, tossing a glance at me, but my whole attention is fixed on the woman who seems determined to ignore my existence. “You were told to leave.”
“I came back because I don’t want you guys making plans that involve me and my sister behind my back. I want in.”
“Katina…” I try.