Liam's POV
The city never truly slept, but tonight, it felt quieter than usual. From the top floor of KnightCorp, Manhattan looked like a field of burning embers, light pulsing in the distance, cars like fireflies trapped in a dark web of streets. Liam stood at the glass, hands buried deep in his pockets, his reflection staring back at him with the same cold restraint that had carried him through years of empire building. But beneath the calm, something restless stirred.
He could still hear Selena Hart's voice echoing faintly in his mind during the interview he had with her, her sultry voice and seductive demeanor, but not like My Alicia. The way she had looked at me, the calculated tilt of her head, the deliberate invitation in her tone. She was beautiful, yes, but beauty meant little when it came attached to intent. And her intent was loud, though she had spoken so softly. He could smell ambition on her like perfume.
Still, his mind refused to linger on her. It went back, again and again, to the woman he left locked in his world high above the city. Alicia.
He thought of her pacing barefoot across the marble floor of the penthouse, that nervous habit of brushing her hair behind her ear when she felt watched. He knew she hated being confined, but he also knew she would never truly run from him. She was too tangled in the invisible thread that connected them. He had made sure of that.
He turned away from the window and walked to his desk, his shoes silent on the polished floor. Delacroix had sent a brief summary of Selena Hart's final interview to his email, professional and concise as always. "Competent, confident, but dangerous," Delacroix had written. "She will charm men easily if she chooses. Her goal is not the position, it is access." Liam smirked faintly. Delacroix was rarely wrong. He replied with a single line: "Keep her close enough to watch, but not enough to matter. Let her be under probation for now, let her work with you."
Then he shut his laptop and leaned back in his chair, eyes closing for a moment. The exhaustion of the day pressed against him, but under it was the familiar pull, that need that never quieted when it came to Alicia. The woman had burrowed into his thoughts like a soft poison, one he no longer wished to cure.
He rose, took his jacket and left the office. His driver straightened as he approached, but Liam waved him off. "I'll drive," he said simply. The man nodded without question.
The city lights blurred past him as he took the dark road to his mother's grave, the low hum of the engine the only sound. His fingers tapped lightly against the wheel, an unconscious rhythm born of anticipation.
He imagined her being alive to see how he is striving on his own, without his father's help and how he has finally willed everything he has to him. He gave his mistress Lorren, a building in one of the estate that now belong to him.
He took the rare blue rose flower, which his mom likes the most from the back seat and opened the car door.
He put the flower on her grave, sat on it and chatted with her for some minutes, he stood up and told her one day, he will bring someone dear to him after her, to come greet her, then he left.
By the time he reached the private entrance of his building, the hunger had coiled tight inside him. The elevator accepted his code and rose swiftly, silent and smooth, carrying him toward the penthouse.
The doors opened to darkness. Only the faint city glow filtered through the glass walls, painting the room in soft blue and silver. He didn't turn on the lights. He preferred it this way.
By the time he got inside, Alicia was already waiting, half angry, half afraid, yet unable to look away when he entered. He knew her too well.
A faint sound reached him, movement from the far end of the room. He followed it until his eyes found her. Alicia stood near the balcony doors, wrapped in one of his shirts, her hair loose around her shoulders. She turned when she sensed him, her eyes wide for a moment, then guarded.
The way her breath quickened when he drew close. The way she trembled, torn between defiance and surrender.
He said nothing at first. He let the silence do what it always did between them….stretch, hum, fill the air until she could hardly breathe.
"You didn't call," she said finally, her voice low but steady.
"I was busy," he replied.
Her chin lifted slightly, stubborn as ever. "Busy or avoiding me?"
He walked toward her slowly, unhurried, his presence filling the space like a tide. "You think I could avoid you, Alicia?" His tone was calm, almost soft, but his gaze burned.
She looked away, her fingers tightening on the hem of his shirt. "You've kept me here for days, almost a month Liam."
"I told you why," he said, stepping closer until she could feel his breath near her temple. "You are safer here."
"Safe," she whispered, bitterly. "That's what you call it?"
He tilted her chin up with a finger, forcing her to meet his eyes. "That's what I call it."
"Safe from what exactly?"
Her heartbeat was visible in the hollow of her throat. He could see it, feel it even, the quick flutter that betrayed her anger. He smiled faintly. "You think you want freedom, but freedom is cold, Alicia. I've seen what it does to people. It breaks them."
"I'm not people," she said quietly.
"No," he agreed. "You're Alicia and You're mine."
Her breath caught, but she didn't look away. "And if I refuse that? If i refuse to be yours!"
His smile faded. "Then you will make me remind you, why you never should."
She flinched, but not from fear from the weight of his words. From the truth in them. Because part of her already knew that every time he touched her, she surrendered a little more, willingly.
He let his hand fall, turning away to pour a drink. The amber liquid caught the dim light as he swirled it in the glass. "We got a new assistant today, Selena Hart" he said casually.
Her brows drew together. "Who?"
"A new applicant. Charming, intelligent, ambitious. Reminds me of someone." His tone was teasing, but his eyes were sharp when he looked at her again. "You would have disliked her immediately."
Alicia's lips pressed into a thin line. "Why are you telling me?"
"Because I want you to know," he said simply. "Every woman who walks through my door, every one who looks at me, they remind me of something I already have. You."
Her face softened, confusion flickering in her eyes, but before she could respond, he closed the distance between them again. The tension shifted, becoming heavier, slower, electric. He traced a finger down her arm, watching the goosebumps rise under his touch. She closed her eyes briefly, fighting the response.
"Do you hate me tonight, Alicia?" he asked, voice low.
"I don't know," she breathed.
"Good," he murmured, his mouth near her ear now. "Because hate means I still have you."
He kissed her temple, slow and deliberate, and she shivered. The air between them thickened until words became useless. The city outside glowed like molten gold, but inside, everything was quiet except for the sound of their breathing.
She whispered something then his name, maybe or a plea he couldn't quite catch and it pulled something raw from deep inside him. He cupped her face, forcing her to look up, and for the first time that night, his control slipped. His expression softened, revealing something almost tender beneath the iron.
"You drive me insane," he said softly. "You make me forget everything I've built."
Her eyes shimmered, torn between fear and need. "Then let me go," she whispered.
He shook his head, his thumb brushing her lower lip. "That's the one thing I'll never do."
The night closed in around them, quiet and charged, the city lights casting their reflection on the glass. Liam's hand lingered against her face as if memorizing her, his voice barely above a whisper. "Tomorrow, you can go back to work. But you don't leave without me. Ever again."
She looked shocked. "Are you being serious?" He nodded faintly, though she knew the promise meant little. Freedom under his rule was no freedom at all. Still, as he drew her closer, the fight in her melted against the warmth she hated herself for craving.
Liam's thoughts quieted finally. The ache that had followed him all day eased as he held her. And somewhere deep inside, he knew he wasn't protecting her from danger, he was protecting his world from falling apart if she ever walked away.