The first warning came disguised as courtesy.
Elias noticed it in the way the room shifted when Damien entered not the usual recalibration of attention, but something sharper. Eyes lingered longer. Conversations paused not out of respect, but calculation.
Someone was watching.
The charity summit was supposed to be neutral ground. Global investors, political figures, legacy families all gathered beneath crystal chandeliers and the pretense of goodwill. Damien had insisted Elias attend openly this time. No shadows. No distance.
Stand with me, Damien had said earlier that morning. Not behind me.
Now Elias understood why.
Damien moved through the room with composed authority, hand resting lightly at the small of Elias's back. The touch was subtle, professional to any observer but Elias felt the intention beneath it. This wasn't possession.
It was alignment made visible.
Whispers followed them.
Not scandalous. Not yet. But curious.
Damien felt it too. Elias could tell by the way his shoulders remained relaxed while his awareness sharpened. Damien Blackwood never missed a shift in power dynamics. He anticipated them.
"Marcus Vale is here," Damien murmured quietly.
Elias stiffened slightly. "The energy magnate?"
"The same," Damien replied. "And my most persistent adversary."
Elias glanced across the room and saw him immediately a tall man with a polished smile and eyes that never stopped measuring. Marcus Vale watched Damien with open interest, his gaze flicking briefly to Elias before returning, thoughtful.
"That look," Elias said under his breath. "He knows."
Damien's thumb pressed once against Elias's back. Grounding.
"He suspects," Damien corrected. "There's a difference."
Marcus approached with deliberate ease, champagne flute in hand.
"Damien," he greeted smoothly. "Still commanding the room, I see."
"Marcus," Damien replied coolly. "You're far from home."
"Opportunity travels," Marcus said, eyes sliding briefly to Elias. "You must be Elias Kane. I've heard… interesting things."
Elias held his gaze steadily. "Only the useful ones, I hope."
Marcus's smile widened. "Ah. Sharp."
Damien didn't move but the air tightened.
"Elias is with me," Damien said calmly.
The words were simple.
The implication was not.
Marcus's eyebrow lifted. "So I see."
The pause stretched just long enough to register. Then Marcus chuckled lightly, retreating with a nod.
"Well," he said, "I look forward to future conversations."
When he left, Elias exhaled slowly.
"That was deliberate," Elias said.
"Yes," Damien replied. "He wants leverage."
"And I'm the leverage," Elias said quietly.
Damien turned to face him fully, gaze steady and unyielding.
"No," he said. "You are the line he will not cross."
The certainty in Damien's voice sent a tremor through Elias not fear, but something dangerously close to devotion.
They didn't leave immediately. That would have been a concession. Instead, Damien continued the evening as planned, introducing Elias openly, engaging him in conversation, never once stepping away.
This was not secrecy.
This was exposure.
When they finally returned to the penthouse, the doors barely closed before Elias turned to Damien.
"You didn't hesitate," Elias said.
"No."
"You knew it would draw attention."
"Yes."
Elias searched his face. "Why?"
Damien removed his jacket slowly, placing it aside with deliberate care.
"Because hiding you would make you vulnerable," Damien said. "Visibility is protection."
Elias absorbed that. "And what about you?"
Damien met his gaze. "I stopped pretending this was a temporary risk."
Silence fell heavy, charged.
Damien moved closer, close enough that Elias felt the warmth of him, the gravity of his presence.
"You were right," Damien continued. "About jealousy. About fear."
Elias swallowed. "Damien "
"No," Damien interrupted gently. "Let me finish."
He reached out, fingers brushing Elias's wrist, feeling his pulse.
"Marcus Vale will test boundaries," Damien said. "He will probe for weakness. He always does."
Elias's voice was steady. "And will he find one?"
Damien's gaze softened, something rare and unguarded passing through it.
"If he does," Damien said quietly, "it won't be you."
The intimacy of the statement undid something in Elias.
They moved together without planning Damien's hand sliding to Elias's waist, Elias stepping closer, bodies aligning instinctively. The kiss that followed was deeper than before, less restrained, though still deliberate.
Damien broke it first, breath steady but eyes dark.
"This changes the rules," Damien said.
Elias nodded. "I know."
"From this point," Damien continued, "your safety emotional and otherwise is my responsibility."
Elias's chest tightened. "That sounds like ownership."
"It's accountability," Damien corrected. "Chosen."
Elias leaned in, resting his forehead against Damien's. "Then choose me."
Damien's exhale was slow, controlled but not untouched.
"I already have."
They moved to the bedroom without urgency, shedding layers of the evening as if stepping out of armor. The intimacy deepened not rushed, not frantic but intentional.
Damien guided Elias onto the bed, following but not covering him, maintaining eye contact the entire time.
"This isn't about proving anything," Damien said. "Tell me if you want to stop."
"I don't," Elias said immediately.
Damien nodded. "Good."
He kissed Elias again slow, consuming hands mapping skin with reverent attention. Elias responded fully now, no hesitation, no retreat.
They explored each other carefully, deliberately touch building heat, closeness deepening into something that felt dangerously close to surrender.
Damien's control never vanished.
It transformed.
When Elias's breath hitched, Damien slowed. When Elias leaned closer, Damien met him halfway. Every movement was a conversation, every pause a question asked and answered.
"You're shaking," Damien murmured.
"Because I'm not hiding," Elias replied.
Damien kissed his throat, lingering there. "Neither am I."
They didn't need to rush toward climax to understand what was happening. The intimacy itself was consuming bodies aligned, trust woven through every touch.
At some point, Elias found himself pressed beneath Damien not pinned, not restrained but held in a way that felt encompassing and safe.
"This is dangerous," Elias whispered.
"Yes," Damien agreed. "But not destructive."
Elias's fingers curled into Damien's shoulder. "Promise me something."
Damien stilled. "What?"
"If this becomes public… if it costs you something…"
Damien met his gaze. "It will."
Elias's breath caught. "Then why"
"Because," Damien said softly, "power means nothing if it costs me integrity."
The words shattered something inside Elias.
He pulled Damien down into a kiss that held no restraint at all desperate, honest, consuming. Damien returned it fully, finally allowing himself that surrender.
They stayed tangled together long after, bodies close, breaths slowing.
Later, when sleep hovered near, Damien spoke again.
"Marcus will make his move," he said. "Soon."
Elias didn't pull away. "Then we face it."
"Yes," Damien replied. "Together."
Morning arrived with a quiet inevitability.
Elias woke first, watching Damien sleep
truly sleep for the first time. The sight was disarming. Without the armor of wakefulness, Damien looked… human.
Vulnerable.
Elias realized then the true cost of what they were doing.
He was no longer just risking his heart.
He was holding Damien's too.
Damien woke moments later, eyes focusing instantly on Elias.
"You're thinking," Damien said.
Elias smiled faintly. "You taught me that."
Damien pulled him closer. "Good."
They didn't speak of Marcus again that morning.
But the storm was coming.
And this time, Damien Blackwood would not stand alone at its center.
He would stand with Elias Kane openly, deliberately, and without apology.
Because when power finally looked back at him…
Damien had chosen what mattered more.