"Now you're something else entirely."
He doesn't elaborate. I guess he really doesn't need to. I can see the truth in his eyes, feel it in the way he holds me like I might disappear if he lets go. This man, this powerful, dangerous, terrifying man, is looking at me like I'm his whole world.
I press my lips to his, soft and sweet, and he kisses me back with the same tender restraint.
When I finally drift toward sleep, wrapped in his arms and his warmth and the scent of his skin, I realize Persia was right.
Trust builds a thousand small moments at a time.
And Drake Moses has given me more of those moments in a few days than anyone else has given me in years.
I'm falling for him. Fast. Hard. And I'm not sure I want to stop.
Fifteen
Drake
My brother has always had impeccable timing for ruining my day.
The meeting request came three days ago, delivered through official channels like we're strangers instead of men who shared a mother. Jonah wants to discuss a "business opportunity." Needs my connections at the docks to facilitate some kind of import arrangement. The details were vague enough to raise every red flag I have, but refusing would only delay the inevitable.
He saw us. At the restaurant last week. I caught his reflection in the window as we were leaving, his face twisted with something between shock and rage as he watched me help Katriana into the car. Watched my hand settle possessively on her lower back. Watched her lean into me like she belonged there.
Because she does. She belongs with me. And my brother can choke on that truth until he hits the grave.
I've been expecting this confrontation. Part of me has been looking forward to it.
Jonah arrives at Redthorne Holdings at two o'clock sharp, which is unusual for him. He's always been careless with other people's time, assuming the world will wait for him because Drake Moses's little brother has never had to wait for anything in his life.
I made sure of that. Paid for his private schools. His college tuition. His first apartment, his first car, his entry-level position at a firm that owed me favors. Everything Jonah has, I gave him.
And he's hated me for every kindness.
Kon escorts him to the conference room on the thirty-second floor. I watch through the security feed as my brother settles into a chair, his posture radiating the entitled arrogance that's always made my teeth grind. He's wearing a suit that costs more than most people's monthly rent, his dark hair styled with the kind of careful carelessness that takes an hour to achieve.
He looks like me. That's what people always say. The same strong jaw, the same broad shoulders, the same intensity in the eyes. But where my edges have been sharpened by decades of fighting my way up from nothing, Jonah's have been softened by a lifetime of having everything handed to him.
He's thirty-four years old and he's never had to struggle for anything.
Except Katriana. She was the one thing he couldn't buy or charm or manipulate into his bed. And when she refused to give him what he wanted, he punished her for it. Called her frigid. Cheated on her. Made her feel broken for having boundaries.
I've wanted to break his face for three years.
Today might be the day I finally do.
I take my time walking to the conference room. Let him wait. Let him stew in the silence and wonder if I'm going to show at all. By the time I push through the glass doors, Jonah's knee is bouncing with barely contained agitation.
"Brother." I take the seat across from him, not at the head of the table where I usually sit. I want to be close enough to watch every microexpression cross his face. "You said you had a business proposition."
"I do." He slides a folder across the table. "Import operation. Goods coming through the eastern docks. I need your connections to smooth the customs process."
I flip open the folder and scan the contents. Shipping manifests. Port schedules. A list of container numbers. The documentation looks legitimate on the surface, but something about it makes my instincts prickle with warning.
"What kind of goods?" I don’t dirty my hands for just anyone. Especially people I don’t trust. Brother or not.
"Luxury items. High-end electronics, designer merchandise. The kind of things that attract unwanted attention from customs officials who think they deserve a bigger cut."
"And you came to me because..."
