Chapter 14 - Cohen

I lean in, close enough to brush my lips against hers before I move back. "Because I've been watching you for a long time, little phoenix. Since the night at the Mitchell Gala two years ago, when I saw you standing on the balcony all alone, looking up at the sky with tears running down your face. Since that night, you've been mine. Every breath. Every heartbeat. Every second of my life has belonged to you."

Her eyes widen at my confession, and for a moment, I worry that I've said too much, that the darkness inside me has scared her. But then she smiles—a soft, tentative thing that's like seeing the sun rise after a long, endless night.

"You've been planning this for two years?" she whispers. "Everything—marrying my mother, moving in here—it was all to get to me?"

"Yes." There's no point in denying it. Not when the truth feels so fucking right. "And it was all worth it. Every move, every decision, has been leading to this moment. To us."

She swallows hard, and I track the movement of her throat with hungry eyes. "That's... that's insane."

"Is it?" I cup her face in my hands, forcing her to meet my gaze. "Tell me you don't feel it too. This connection between us. This pull that makes everything else fade away."

"I do feel it," she admits, her voice barely above a whisper. "But Cohen, you're married to my mother."

"Not in the ways that count," I say, my thumb brushing across her bottom lip.

She tries to turn away, but I hold her still. "Do you... do you sleep with her?"

The question makes my jaw clench, pure disgust coursing through me. The thought of Emerald imagining me with Madeline makes me want to demonstrate exactly how wrong she is about who I belong to.

"No," I say, letting her hear the revulsion in my voice. "I have never touched your mother the way I touch you. I never will. She means nothing to me beyond being a means to an end."

"But—"

I cut her off with a kiss, unable to bear another second of her doubting who she belongs to. She makes a soft sound of surprise against my mouth, but then she's melting into me, her hands fisting in my shirt as I devour her.

She tastes like peppermint tea and innocence, and I growl as her tongue tentatively meets mine. My hand slides into her hair, holding her still as I take what's mine, showing her with lips and teeth and tongue exactly who she belongs to.

When I finally pull back, we're both breathing hard. Her lips are swollen from my kiss, her pupils blown wide, and the sight of her like this—wrecked and messy—makes my cock throb.

"You're the only one I want," I tell her, my voice rough. "The only one I've ever wanted. Everyone else is just collateral damage on my path to you."

"But why me?" she whispers, her fingers still twisted in my shirt like she’s afraid to let go.

"Because you're mine," I say, pressing my forehead to hers. "Because the moment I saw you, something inside me recognized something inside you. Like we were carved from the same midnight, you the starlight, me the void.”

My hand slides down to her flat stomach, wondering if my seed has already taken root inside her. If she's carrying the physical proof of my claim on her. The thought makes my blood burn hotter, my grip on her tightening possessively.

"I'm going to give you everything," I promise against her lips. "A future. A family. A love so consuming it'll rewrite your DNA until there's nothing left but us."

Her skin heats under my touch, a flush spreading down her throat to disappear beneath her dress. "What if I'm not strong enough for this?" she whispers.

"You're stronger than you know," I tell her, my fingers tracing patterns on her skin. "Strong enough to survive everything your mother’s done to you. Strong enough to become what you're meant to be."

"And what's that?"

"The beginning and end of everything I am." The words come out like a prayer and a curse combined.

"I'm afraid," she admits, and the vulnerability in her voice makes me want to paint the walls with the blood of everyone who's ever hurt her.

"Don't be," I murmur, kissing her again, claiming her mouth with slow, deliberate possession. "I'll destroy anyone who tries to touch you. Your mother, Emmitt, all of them."

"Even Daniel Montgomery?"

"Especially him." My hand settles gently around the front of her throat as I imagine all the ways I could make him disappear. "Your mother can make all the plans she wants. But the only future that exists is the one where you're carrying my child, wearing my ring, sharing my bed. And I'll eliminate anyone who tries to stand in the way of that."

My teeth graze her bottom lip, drawing a soft gasp from her throat. "Cohen—"

My phone vibrates in my pocket, cutting off whatever confession was about to fall from those perfect lips. One look at the screen shows Tristen's name.

When my client and friend calls—when any of the Savage Six calls—you answer.

"I need to take this," I say, stealing one more taste of her mouth before standing. "Don't move. We have unfinished business."

She nods, lips swollen from my kisses, eyes dark with something desperate and needy that makes walking away feel like carving out my own heart.

I move to the window, positioning myself where I can watch Emerald while scanning the snow-covered grounds. "What's happening?"

"Montgomery Jr.'s been shooting his mouth off at my club." Tristen's voice carries the casual menace of a man who could start a war with a single phone call. "Seems the little bastard can't stop talking about his Christmas present from Madeline."

"Elaborate."

"He's telling anyone who'll listen that he's going to announce his engagement to Emerald at the party. That Madeline's arranged everything." Tristen pauses. "You want me to handle it?"

An offer from one of the Savage Six to "handle" a problem isn't made lightly, and I know Tristen has a lot going on right now. "Not yet. But keep him talking. I want to know what else Madeline's promised him."

"There's more. He's been asking questions about you. About our connection. The kind of questions that suggest Madeline's fishing for leverage."

I watch Emerald through the reflection in the glass, memorizing every detail of how she looks right now - flushed and wanting. "Let him ask. It'll be the last mistake he makes."

"She's not as smart as she thinks she is," Tristen says, a hint of amusement coloring his voice.

"Of course she isn't." My eyes stay fixed on Emerald's reflection as she pretends to read, stealing glances in my direction. "She's getting sloppy."

"Want me to put some pressure on Montgomery Sr.? Nothing ruins Christmas like your company stock taking an unexpected dive."

I smile at the casual way Tristen offers to destroy a family's generational wealth. This is why we’re friends. "Not yet. But keep watching him. I want to know every word that comes out of his mouth about Emerald."

"Done. And Cohen?" Tristen's voice drops lower. "Watch yourself. She's starting to realize she's lost control. Makes her unpredictable."

I end the call, already calculating how many moves ahead I need to be. Madeline's desperation makes her dangerous, but it also makes her vulnerable.

"Everything okay?" Emerald's soft voice pulls me back from the edge of darker thoughts. She's watching me with those pretty eyes, and something in my chest twists at the concern I see there. I cross back to her, drawn like a compass finding north.

"Everything's fine," I tell her, though we both know it's a lie. When she steps into my arms, my entire existence narrows to the weight of her against me. "Just business."

She tilts her face up, studying me. "You're angry."

"Not at you," I assure her, brushing my lips across her forehead. "Never at you."

She's quiet for a moment, her fingers tracing patterns on my chest. "My mother wants me to go to the Christmas party with Daniel Montgomery."

"That's not happening." The words slice through the air between us, and I feel her shiver. "At the party, everyone's going to learn exactly who you belong with. No more hiding. No more pretending."

"What do you mean?"

I cup her face in my hands, drinking in every detail of her features—features I've memorized in midnight visits and endless hours staring at the camera feed in her room. "I mean it's time to burn your mother's perfect world to ash. Starting with her precious Christmas party."

Her eyes widen. "But my mother—"

"Will learn to accept reality," I say, each word falling like a death sentence between us. "Or she'll learn there are worse things than losing control."

The rest of the morning passes in a blur of stolen moments and heated looks. I have meetings I can't avoid, calls I have to take, but my mind keeps circling back to Emerald. The heat in her skin when I touched her. The way she looked at me like I could give her everything she's been starving for.

By late afternoon, I can’t stay away any longer and I go looking for her. I find her in the formal dining room, surrounded by elaborate gift baskets she's assembling under Madeline's strict instructions. Another way for her mother to assert control, to remind Emerald of her place.

I watch from the shadows as she meticulously arranges bottles of wine and artisanal chocolates, checking items off a detailed list with the precision of someone who knows the cost of even the smallest mistake. Her dark hair falls forward, hiding her face as she works, but I can see the tension in her shoulders, the careful way she moves.

She pauses in her work, staring out the window at the falling snow. There's such longing in her expression, such desperate need for freedom, that it makes something in my chest constrict painfully. She doesn't belong here, arranging pretty boxes of expensive trinkets for her mother's social circle. She belongs in my bed, in my arms, creating a life she loves instead of these soulless displays of wealth.

I think about the black folder locked in my office drawer. A USB drive containing security footage from the night Madeline pushed her elderly father down the stairs when he threatened to cut off her inheritance. The same drive holds video of her confession about arranging Emerald's father's "accidental" overdose when he tried to get custody. Bank records that reveal her lifestyle empire for what it really is—an elaborate front for selling young models to wealthy men like Emmitt. Files detailing how she's systematically broken every person who's ever crossed her, including her own sister who mysteriously overdosed after threatening to expose her.

Proof that her perfect image is built on rot and corruption, collected over the last two years.

I’m only waiting for the perfect moment to destroy everything she’s built.

And Emmitt... my lip curls thinking about what I’ve found on him. Three girls in the past two years alone, all of them underage, all of them paid to disappear with their families' silence bought through ironclad NDAs. The latest one was the daughter of one of Madeline's socialite friends. The settlement amount was substantial, but money can't erase security footage. Can't erase the bruises documented in hospital records that mysteriously vanished from official files.

Can’t erase rape kits.

That moment is coming. I can feel it in my bones, in the way the air seems charged with the potential for violence. Madeline won't let go easily—of me or of Emerald. She'll fight with everything she has to maintain control.

Let her try.

I watch as Emerald returns to her task, efficiently tying a perfect bow around another basket. Such a small act of submission, but it makes my blood boil. Soon, I'll free her from all of this. Soon, she'll never have to bow to anyone's will but mine.

I turn away, leaving her to her work. I have preparations to make, pieces to move into place. The Christmas party is approaching faster than I'd like, and everything needs to be perfect. By then, I should know if she's carrying my child. If she's already growing the future I planned for us.

Because that night won't just be about announcing our relationship. It won't just be about showing everyone that she belongs at my side. It will be about destroying everything Madeline has built, piece by precious piece.

And if she tries to stand between me and what's mine... well. I didn't get where I am by letting obstacles live. The divorce papers I drew up the day I married her will be the least of her concerns.

I stride into my office, unlocking the drawer that contains my insurance policies. Everything I need to ensure Emerald's freedom is right here. Every piece of leverage, every dark secret, every weapon I might need to deploy.

Of course, these aren’t my only copies, but their proximity brings me comfort.

My phone buzzes with a text from Madeline, demanding my presence at dinner tonight for her goddamn menu tasting.

I ignore it, a cold smile curving my lips as I flip through the folder's contents. Let her make her demands. Let her think she still has any control over me.

Soon, she'll learn what happens when you try to keep a monster from what belongs to him.

Soon, she'll learn that her daughter was never hers to keep.