Chapter 13
By the time they emerged from the locker room, Riven’s skin was clean, his body loose with exhaustion—and still he felt tense, coiled, like he hadn’t truly exhaled since Cassian first called to him that morning.
Then he saw the reason why.
Thane was in the central gym, stripped to the waist, sparring with Cassian’s twin, Luca. Cassian had said his name earlier with a shrug, as if the two of them weren’t the most lethal, beautiful men Riven had ever seen.
Now, Thane and Luca moved against each other like gods made of violence.
Thane’s body, bare from the waist up, was honed perfection—broad shoulders, thick-cut arms, the flex and ripple of muscle under golden-tan skin.
Sweat slicked his chest. His hair was pulled back in a rough half-knot that left his sharp, merciless face on full display.
Riven stopped without meaning to. His breath hitched.
Thane moved like a force of nature, controlled but devastating.
Every strike he landed was pulled just short of crushing.
Luca didn’t stand a chance, but he held his own with a kind of resigned grace, grinning even as Thane swept his legs and pinned him.
There was a reason Thane was called the Beast.
They rolled, tangled, then broke apart.
Thane looked up and locked eyes with Riven.
Fuck.
Riven turned fast, heat crawling up his neck. He didn’t look to see if Cassian noticed. He didn’t wait.
But he’d only taken three steps when the voice curled around him like smoke.
“Leaving already?” Thane called.
Riven paused. Closed his eyes briefly. Then turned with his jaw set.
Thane approached, toweling off his face as he walked. Still shirtless, his pants hung low on his hips, teasing the carved line of his V and the silvery trail of hair that disappeared below the waistband. It took effort not to stare. Riven gave up halfway through the effort.
“Didn’t realize you were the voyeur type,” Thane said, his mouth crooked in a knowing smirk. “I’ll have to remember that.”
“I was watching the fight,” Riven snapped. “Not you.”
“Mm.” Thane tossed the towel over his shoulder. “Come. We have something to discuss.”
He turned without waiting and strode off. Riven cursed under his breath, then followed.
Thane led him to his private quarters. The space was cleaner than Riven expected—minimalist but expensive, full of dark stone and warm wood, with sharp edges and soft lighting. The air smelled faintly like cedar and ozone, like storms waiting to break.
Thane walked to the desk, opened a drawer, and tossed a sleek black folder onto the surface. “We have a lead. Kieran was spotted in a red-zone district last night, on the far side of the city. One of our watchers caught a trace signature of his magic in the air.”
Riven approached and opened the folder. A location, time stamp, blurry image of a male figure vanishing down a dark alley.
“It’s him?” Riven asked.
“Almost definitely. This area’s unstable—magic leaks in from the deep. We’ll have to go in armed.”
He said it calmly. But even before Riven could ask anything else, Thane was already unfastening his pants.
Riven blinked. “What are you doing?”
“Showering,” Thane said, his voice bland. “You’re the one who followed me to my quarters.”
“You brought me here.”
“Semantics.”
The pants dropped to the floor with a soft whisper of fabric. Thane stepped out of them, naked and utterly unbothered, walking past Riven toward the bathroom like this was routine.
Riven’s mouth went dry.
Thane’s body was…obscene.
Broad chest tapering to a tight waist, a dusting of light hair on his pecs and a trail leading down between his legs.
His cock hung, heavy and thick between his thighs, soft but still intimidating—long, veined, hooded, the kind of size that made Riven’s thighs tense involuntarily.
Thane kept his bush trimmed very close, putting his cock and balls on perfect display, as he must well know.
He looked away fast, heat rushing to his face, his own cock already twitching with interest in his pants.
Thane paused at the threshold of the bathroom. “This mission will be more dangerous than the last. I need your head on straight, Riven. What do you need to make sure of that?”
You. On the floor. My throat full of your cock.
Riven swallowed. “You. With clothes on.”
Thane’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile—something filthier. His eyes flicked down to Riven’s waistband, like he could see what was happening underneath. “That’s not what you were thinking about.”
“No,” Riven admitted before common sense could stop him.
Thane’s cock began to harden slowly, lazily, as if responding to Riven’s denial. As if he knew exactly what he was doing, offering a challenge without ever saying the words.
“We leave at midnight,” Thane said, voice lower now, velvet edged with threat. “Get some rest. Or don’t.”
He turned to enter the shower, but glanced back one last time. “I watched you. It’s only fair I return the favor. Door’s open if you change your mind.”
Steam began to rise as the shower hissed on.
Riven stood frozen, fists clenched at his sides, staring at the curve of Thane’s back, the way water already began to run down golden skin. His cock throbbed in his pants, hot and pulsing.
He turned and left before he could humiliate himself. The second the door shut behind him, he regretted it.