Halfway down the hall, I heard the sound. Low, rhythmic. Moans punctuated by the creak of an expensive bed frame.
"Nightmare fuel," my brother muttered with disgust.
Derrick laughed lowly, a rumble that barely escaped his throat.
I didn't slow my stride, each. When I reached the door—some hideously heavy mahogany thing carved with intricate patterns of peacocks and grapevines, I pushed it open with the flat of my palm, feeling the cool brass handle dig into my flesh.
The smell hit first. Cologne mingling with Dom Pérignon and the faint metallic scent of sweat that clung to the air like a desperate perfume. Darius Darzi stood half-naked behind a woman draped over his bed, her spine curved like a drawn bow, her hair tumbling over olive-tanned shoulders in glossy waves as he pounded into her with lazy, practiced thrusts that spoke of entitlement rather than passion.
Neither seemed to notice us.
He had no sense of awareness until my brother spoke.
“I give her arch a solid 4,” Cassian remarked loudly.
Derrick shook his head and glanced down, nose twitching. “3.5”
The woman froze mid-movement as she rocked back onto Darius dick, kohl-rimmed eyes going wide, pupils dilating with shock.
She was pretty, in that ornamental way men like him preferred. Flushed pink at the cheeks and chest, full lips parted in interrupted pleasure, a body that spoke of being used to indulgence and display, the delicate strap of a black negligee hanging uselessly off one \ shoulder.
Darius turned, his breathing heavy but his stance casual, like finding someone watching him fuck was nothing more than a minor disruption to his day. His lips curled into a slow, vulgar smile.
"Kostas. Ah, and my favorite Voss," he greeted, running fingers through his disheveled hair. "What brings you to my bedroom?"
I remained motionless. "I was wondering if you’d finish before you noticed us."
The woman jerked upright, manicured fingers clutching crimson silk to her heaving chest, her skin flushed with humiliation. Goosebumps prickled across her exposed shoulders as she trembled. Darius laughed—a soft, grating sound, as he withdrew his stubby, glistening cock from her with an obscene wet pop. He slapped her breast with casual contempt before tucking himself away.
"A phone call would have been courteous," he drawled, voice thick with the arrogance of a man who'd never faced consequences.
"Courtesy is a privilege," I replied.
A low chuckle escaped him, his teeth gleaming unnaturally white against his tanned skin. "You're forgetting whose property you're standing on."
"I'm well aware whose shitty property I'm standing on," I replied, each word precise as ice forming. "Your daughter, however, is no longer on it and won't be again. That's why I'm here now."
His smirk vanished instantly, melting away like wax near flame. The muscles in his face tightened. "What did you say?"
I met his gaze without wavering. "I think you heard me just fine.”
He blinked. "You believe you can simply claim what's mine?"
My feet carried me forward without hesitation. "Mine."
A muscle twitched in his jaw as he measured the distance between us. "Bold of you to enter my home and issue decrees."
"It isn’t a decree. This is a reality you'll need to accept."
His lips curled into a sneer, but I caught the sweat beading at his temple. "Whatever lies my daughter has fed you, she's not worth creating friction between men of our standing. The girl has always lived in her own fantasies."
"Fantasies?" The air thickened with tension as I invaded his personal space. "The only fantasy here is your belief that you still have any control over her."
Behind me, Cassian shifted his weight—a subtle reminder of our numerical advantage. The woman on the bed had gone completely still, her eyes darting between us.
"What exactly do you think you're doing, Kostas?" Darzi's voice had lost its earlier smugness, replaced by something closer to genuine concern. Good. He should be concerned.
"I'm taking what's mine and informing you personally," I replied simply. "Selene won't be returning to this house. She's moving into my estate effective immediately."
