Damien couldn't move. His ring his royal crest lay on the center of the bed like a quiet threat. He had never taken it off. Not even once.
Alec stood still, knife in hand, eyes scanning every corner of the stone chamber. "Someone was here. Not watching here."
His voice was low and lethal.
Damien's heart pounded as Alec stalked toward the door, yanked it open, and swept the hallway. Nothing. No sound. No movement. Just the whisper of distant wind pushing against the ancient stones.
Alec returned, jaw tight. "Whoever it was… they knew exactly where to look. They knew this was our space." He looked at Damien, his gaze softening slightly. "This was supposed to be safe."
Damien sat slowly on the edge of the bed, still staring at the ring. "What if… they were here while we were asleep? Or worse watching us when we…"
Alec crossed the room in two strides, gently lifting Damien's chin. "They saw nothing I regret." His voice was a growl of possession. "That night was mine. No one will take it from us."
Damien exhaled, tension unraveling slightly. "Tell me something, Alec. Who was the last person who knew about this place? Before me."
Alec hesitated. "My mentor. General Thorne. He trained me in silence, strategy, submission… discipline."
"Discipline?" Damien's brows rose.
Alec's eyes darkened, something unreadable swimming beneath them. "He taught me how to break a man's will then build it back. To use control as power. And sometimes… pleasure."
Damien blinked slowly, his breath catching. "Pleasure?"
Alec stepped back, the flicker of restraint in his expression. "It's not something I share. Not anymore."
Damien rose to his feet. "Show me."
Alec froze.
"I'm tired of running. Tired of feeling powerless. I want to feel something real. With you." Damien said
"Damien…" Alec's voice cracked, low and rough.
"I trust you. Isn't that what this is about? Power. Control. Trust."
For a long moment, Alec said nothing. Then, slowly, he reached for a panel in the stone wall. It clicked open to reveal a smaller chamber, dimly lit with a single lantern hanging from the ceiling. Inside, a polished wooden chest sat against the wall.
Damien followed him, heart pounding not with fear, but anticipation.
Alec opened the chest and removed a leather strap, metal cuffs, and black silk cloth. He didn't speak. His silence was charged.
"Tell me what to do," Damien whispered.
"Take off your robe," Alec said.
Damien obeyed.
The air felt colder now, more intimate, as Alec circled him like a wolf studying its mate. "Close your eyes."
Damien closed them.
The silk cloth pressed gently over his face, blinding him to the world. The sensation was instant—every sound, every breath magnified.
"Hands behind you," Alec murmured.
Cool metal wrapped around Damien's wrists, and he heard the click of the cuffs locking. The weight of them, the helplessness, made him tremble but it wasn't fear. It was surrender.
Alec leaned close, breath hot against Damien's ear. "You speak when I ask. You stop when I say. Do you understand?"
"Yes," Damien whispered.
Alec's fingers traced the line of Damien's back, slow and firm. His touch commanded obedience without a single blow. Damien's entire body tensed in aching need.
Alec moved behind him, one hand at Damien's throat, not squeezing just resting there. Possessive. Assured. "You begged me to show you this part of me," he growled. "Don't run from it now."
"I won't," Damien breathed.
He felt leather trace down his spine, followed by Alec's tonguea single lick of heat that made his knees weaken. Damien moaned, low and involuntary. Alec caught him before he fell.
"Not yet," Alec said. "You'll beg soon enough."
Damien couldn't see, couldn't move. All he could do was feel. And in Alec's hands, every nerve, every muscle, every breath belonged to someone else.
The metal cuffs tightened slightly with each subtle shift in Damien's body, grounding him in the moment. Alec's control was absolute but never cruel. Each motion was deliberate, every pause calculated to stretch the tension tighter.
Then, just when Damien thought he couldn't take more.....
A sound. A whisper....Both men froze.
Alec stood, steps swift and silent, reaching for his blade. "Stay here."
Damien's heart leapt. "Alec?"
But Alec didn't answer. He vanished into the main chamber, blade drawn.
Damien, still blind
folded and bound, could only wait, his body still trembling from pleasure… and now fear.
Alec looked and searched but found no one,he rushed back to the chambers ... Did you see anyone ? Damien asked Alec said he saw no one that they might have heard wrongly,they both slipped in the mood again ...
The chamber was dark, lit only by a single golden lantern swinging above the bed. Alec stood at the foot, shirtless, his eyes heavy with desire, control, and something more dangerous. Damien knelt on the edge of the bed, breathless, flushed, stripped of his royal composure.
"You said you wanted to forget everything outside this room," Alec said, voice low, deliberate.
Damien nodded. "Yes."
"Then obey."
The word cut through him like lightning. Damien swallowed, his body already reacting to the steel in Alec's voice. He shifted, hands behind his back, eyes lowered. It was instinctive now.
Alec moved closer, fingers tracing Damien's jaw, then trailing down his neck to his bare chest. "You're not a prince here. Not in this bed. Understand?"
Damien's lips parted, trembling. "Yes… Sir."
Alec smirked, hand tightening ever so slightly on Damien's throat. "Not good enough."
Damien's breath hitched. "Yes… Daddy...."
"That's better." Alec leaned in, dragging his teeth across Damien's shoulder. "Now lie down. Face down. Arms above your head."
Damien obeyed, his heart pounding. The sheets were cool against his skin, his back arched, every nerve exposed. Alec climbed over him, straddling his thighs, hands pressing firmly into Damien's hips, anchoring him.
"You don't get to beg tonight," Alec whispered against his ear. "You just take what I give you."
A kiss followed the command, slow and teasing, then another trailing down his spine. Alec's hands explored with practiced precision fingers that coaxed, commanded, and controlled. Damien moaned into the pillow, his body trembling under the tormenting rhythm Alec set never too much, never quite enough.
"You like being under me, don't you?" Alec growled.
"Yes," Damien gasped. "I love it."
Alec chuckled darkly, tightening a silk belt around Damien's wrists, binding them to the headboard. "Then you'll stay there. Helpless. Beautiful. Mine."
He kissed Damien again harder this time, biting his lip until it bled, marking him.
Damien whimpered, aching and desperate, each second more intense than the last. Alec controlled the pace like a symphony, pushing Damien closer to the edge and pulling him back again, again, again.
"Say it," Alec demanded. "Who owns you?"
"You do," Damien cried. "You own me, Daddy....."
"Louder..."
"You own me!!!"
The words ignited something feral in Alec. He moved faster now, rougher, each movement a command written in fire. Damien's body arched with every touch, every thrust of Alec's tongue, teeth, hands, hips. He was undone his crown, his pride, all stripped away.
But just as he was about to shatter, Alec stilled Silence.
Damien panted. "Why did you stop?"
Alec covered his mouth. "Shhh."
He tilted his head toward the door. Footsteps. Very faint. Almost imagined.
Then, a creak.
Alec moved like a shadow, grabbing his dagger from under the mattress. He pulled on his pants swiftly and gestured for Damien to stay still. The lantern flickered above them, casting dancing shadows on the walls.
Damien's heart thundered, still bound to the headboard, exposed, vulnerable. "What is it?" he whispered.
"Someone's in the corridor."
Alec stepped silently toward the hidden panel door near the bookshelf—the only entrance into the safehouse other than the main door. It had been locked. Triple sealed.
He pressed his ear to the wood...Nothing.
He turned back to Damien and walked over, untying him quickly. "Get dressed. Now."
Damien was still catching his breath, shaken and overwhelmed. "But you said....."
"I know what I said," Alec cut in, voice tight. "And I meant every word. But someone tried to get in. And if they heard us... if they saw us..."
He didn't finish....
Damien dressed swiftly, adrenaline overtaking the daze of desire. Alec checked every entrance, every vent, every panel, but found nothing out of place except for one detail.
A single feather lay on the floor by the hidden door...A black one.
Damien stared at it. "That wasn't here before."
Alec picked it up carefully. "It means they've found this place."
Damien's voice was barely a whisper. "We're not safe anymore, are we?"
"No," Alec said, staring into the darkness beyond the lantern's light. "Not even here."
Then came the knock...Once. Soft. Mocking.
Followed by silence.
Damien's hand tightened around Alec's...Whoever it was… they were close..and they knew everything.