Chapter 9
Kane
“ K ane?”
I should have been prepared for this possibility. A club frequented by half my coworkers, on a Friday night, right after one of them had proposed to his girlfriend if everything had gone as expected. Of course someone would be here.
But I’d been so wrapped up in Charlotte—in the lingering high of watching her shatter beneath my hands, in the satisfaction that still hummed through my veins—that I’d forgotten to be vigilant about anything except her presence beside me.
I blamed it on the floating sensation that refused to fade.
It was always a privilege to dom for someone, but no one had ever made me feel that privilege so acutely as Charlotte.
No one had ever given me the same rush, the same bone-deep satisfaction of knowing I’d pushed them exactly where they needed to go.
When I’d first conceived of the nipple orgasm challenge that night two years ago, back then I’d planned to work her up to it gradually over multiple sessions. I hadn’t intended to throw her into the deep end on our first night back together.
But circumstances had changed. And I’d been aching—desperate, if I was honest—to know whether she would sink or swim.
She hadn’t disappointed me. Christ, when she’d finally crested that impossible edge, orgasming without a single touch to her clit, I’d been so hard it physically hurt.
It had taken every ounce of self-control I possessed to check her circulation after the fact, ensure her limbs weren’t stiff, and reposition her carefully before sliding home and fucking her harder than I’d ever fucked anyone.
Anyone except Charlotte herself, a few hours earlier at her apartment.
The intensity of how much I wanted her was terrifying.
This was supposed to clear our heads. Get the attraction and sexual tension out of our systems so we could work together professionally. Instead, I craved her more than ever—and that craving felt dangerously close to something I couldn’t afford to feel.
I was still an idiot when it came to Charlotte, apparently. But what was done couldn’t be undone. I just had to maintain control. Charlotte trusted me with her body—but she didn’t trust me . Not where it mattered. And I couldn’t let myself forget that distinction. Fool me once, and all that.
I’d intended to escort her straight out of the club and take her home. Tate should have finished the diagnostics on her electronics by now.
Then someone called my name.
Suppressing a sigh, I turned toward the voice. I could pretend I hadn’t heard, but I knew that tone—Chase Noble, and he wouldn’t be deterred. The perceptive bastard would see right through me if I tried to ignore him.
“Chase.” I walked over, guiding Charlotte with a hand at the small of her back. I didn’t have much choice.
She stiffened slightly at my touch but didn’t resist. Let me lead her toward the cluster of people arranged on the sofas in the lounge near the main floor’s edge.
Chase sat with his wife Andrea curled against his side like a contented kitten.
She had that soft, dazed expression of someone floating through subspace, her body boneless and relaxed while Chase kept a protective arm around her shoulders.
On the nearby stage, Violet—Andrea’s half-sister, all confident curves and delicate tattoos in pretty lingerie—was attempting something ambitious on the stripper pole while Ford watched with an expression caught between admiration and barely concealed anxiety.
The engagement ring on her finger caught the light with every spin.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Chase said, a knowing grin spreading across his face. His gaze slid to Charlotte with obvious curiosity. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Chase. This is my wife, Andrea.”
“Hello,” Charlotte said, greeting them both in a soft voice.
Andrea managed a tired wave, her smile dreamy and unfocused. “Hi.”
“The daredevil risking a concussion on the stripper pole is Violet,” Chase continued, gesturing toward the stage with a shake of his head. “And the idiot encouraging her to break her neck is Ford.”
“And I’m Austin.” A younger man appeared from behind us, two glasses of water in hand and an easy grin on his face as he addressed Charlotte. “Chase’s brother. The one nobody ever bothers to introduce.”
Chase rolled his eyes at that. Austin handed one glass to Chase, who immediately helped Andrea drink the water. Austin kept the other for himself, taking a long sip while his eyes moved between Charlotte and me with unconcealed interest.
Everyone looked relaxed. Happy. Connected in a way that made something twist uncomfortably in my chest and made me anxious to get the hell out of there.
Chase and Austin had always been like this—brothers in the truest sense.
Chase was serious, disciplined, carrying the weight of responsibility like he’d been born to it.
Austin was all easy charm and quick humor, lightening every room he entered.
But beneath the surface differences lay an unshakeable bond.
Austin looked up to his older brother with genuine admiration, and Chase let Austin get away with things he’d never tolerate from anyone else.
I didn’t know much about Andrea and Violet’s history—different mothers, same father, both parents deceased, complicated family dynamics I’d only caught in fragments.
But their protectiveness of each other was obvious.
They’d chosen each other, built something real from the wreckage of their circumstances.
And then there was Kohen and me.
My brother and I had never had what Chase and Austin shared.
Not even close. Growing up, there had always been this.
.. tension between us. A competition I’d never fully understood.
Kohen had always seemed to resent something about me—my grades, my spot on the football varsity team, my easy rapport with our parents despite me being adopted.
Or maybe I’d just imagined the resentment and projected my own insecurities onto him.
It didn’t matter now. What mattered was that when everything had fallen apart—when my name was plastered across every newspaper in the city alongside words like “corrupt” and “criminal”—Kohen had seen his chance.
Not to defend me. Not to stand by his own brother.
But to finally justify the distance he’d always wanted.
You understand, right? he’d said, not quite meeting my eyes. I can’t be associated with this, and you. Not if I want to make detective.
I understood perfectly. Family meant nothing when your career was on the line.
At least I’d had Mom and Dad, once. They’d never been shy about showing they cared, about making sure they knew how much we were loved, equally, despite me being adopted by them at the age of two.
But even that was gone now, eroded by the scandal and my own inability to face their disappointment—or worse, their confused, helpless attempts to bridge a gap that seemed to widen every time we spoke.
We didn’t know what to say to each other anymore.
The easy warmth of family dinners had curdled into stilted phone calls and avoided holidays.
And Kohen felt vindicated. Finally had the excuse he’d always wanted to cut me out entirely. The petty rivalry that had defined our childhood had found its ultimate justification, and I didn’t even know why that contention existed in the first place.
Now here were my coworkers, who actually seemed to function like family, grinning at me like I belonged among them. Like I was part of their circle. It made me want to do something childish and self-destructive—tell them all to go to hell and storm out into the night.
Charlotte, to my surprise, also seemed reserved.
She smiled and said hello and made appropriate comments about how nice it was to meet everyone, but I knew Charlotte when she was actually being charming.
This wasn’t it. She was holding back, keeping distance, probably because of our complicated situation.
At least we had that in common.
“What brings you here tonight?” Chase asked, his tone casual but his eyes sharp. “I heard you just caught a pretty heavy assignment.”
“I did,” I said carefully, keeping my response vague. They might have heard Charlotte’s name mentioned in passing, but it was clear no one had seen her in the conference room earlier today. “Just working off some steam. Clearing my head before things get intense.”
That certainly wasn’t a lie.
“Well, thanks for helping Kane with that,” Austin said to Charlotte, his grin turning playful. “This guy is way too serious. Desperately needs someone to loosen him up.”
“Oh, I needed the release too,” Charlotte said, surprising me with her almost lighthearted reply. “Trust me.”
Andrea stirred, rousing herself from her pleasant haze. “Stay for a drink with us,” she said, focusing on Charlotte with sudden interest. “Kane never introduces us to anyone. It’s genuinely lovely to meet someone he spends time with.”
Charlotte’s polite smile flickered with something like alarm.
“I should get her home,” I said, a little too quickly. “Need to follow up with Tate on something work-related.”
“That doesn’t mean she can’t stay!” Violet had hopped down from the stage, landing neatly in Ford’s arms. She was flushed and grinning, practically vibrating with happiness. “We’re celebrating! The more the merrier.”
“Congratulations,” I said, the word coming out more perfunctory than I’d intended.
“Ford proposed this evening,” Chase explained to Charlotte, his expression softening as he glanced at the newly engaged couple.
“Congratulations,” Charlotte echoed, and the wistful tone of her voice made my own chest tighten. “That’s wonderful.”