Chapter 10 – Midnight Offers
It started small.
Hunter in the kitchen at midnight, making tea when I came down for water.
Conversation easy.
He listened more than he spoke.
Asked about the company like he genuinely cared.
Laughed at the right moments.
A week in, he brought dinner to my study.
Simple—grilled salmon, greens.
Plate placed carefully beside my laptop.
He stayed.
Leaned against the doorframe.
Shirt sleeves rolled up.
Forearms strong, veins visible.
“You work too hard,” he said quietly.
I didn’t look up.
“Someone has to.”
He moved closer.
Knelt to pick up a pen I’d dropped.
Handed it back slowly.
Fingers grazed mine again.
This time deliberate.
Heat followed the touch.
I met his eyes.
Dark.
Patient.
Hungry.
I didn’t pull away.
Not yet.
Later—much later—the house was silent.
My bedroom door opened without a knock.
Hunter stood in the doorway.
Shirt unbuttoned halfway.
Moonlight cutting across his chest.
He didn’t speak.
Just waited.
Invitation clear.
I set my book aside.
Rose.
The door clicked shut behind him.
The lamp stayed on low.
Fabric whispered to the floor.
Skin met skin.
Heat built slow, deliberate.
His mouth on my throat.
My hands in his hair.
Control shifted back and forth like a tide.
Neither of us surrendered it completely.
Afterward, dawn crept through the curtains.
He lay on his stomach, breathing steady.
Sheet low on his hips.
Marks on his shoulder—my nails.
His phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Three missed calls.
All from Alex.
He silenced it without looking.
Rolled toward me.
Smiled, sleepy and satisfied.
I traced a finger down his spine.
Felt him shiver.
Inside, I catalogued every reaction.
Every small surrender.
He thought he was hunting.
He had no idea the trap was already sprung.
I turned off the lamp.
Let him sleep.
Tomorrow, I would promote him.
Private secretary.
Closest seat to power.
Perfect view of the fall.