Chapter 42
The days blurred into a restless haze, each one clawing at Jace with a weight he couldn’t shake. Elias’s apologies arrived like clockwork—texts, calls, unexpected visits all filled with remorse, and then there was Aiden. He spoke of love with reckless certainty, as if what burned between them was already carved into stone. His messages, his voice, his presence all were laced with the kind of devotion Jace hadn’t felt in years.
Jace couldn’t breathe beneath the pull of it all. He told himself to shut them out, remember the plan... the mission... the years of pain that had brought him here. He was supposed to be playing Elias, supposed to be weaving his way into the Crane family’s veins like poison until they bled out. That was the goal.
And yet… Elias’s desperation scraped at something raw inside him. Aiden’s declarations wrapped around him like a dangerous warmth. Jace felt himself splintering, guilt festering like an open wound he couldn’t stitch closed. He hated them for breaking through his defenses. He hated himself more for listening... For wanting.... For craving what he swore he didn’t need.
Worst of all, he feared the truth creeping at the edges of his denial....he didn’t want either of them to stop.
\~~~
It was late, the kind of evening where the city outside buzzed with life, but Jace’s apartment sat in suffocating silence. He had just lowered himself onto the couch, the weight of exhaustion finally pressing down on him, when a knock rattled through the door.
He froze. No one has ever visited him this late. Who could that be?
“Jace.”
The voice, deep and unmistakable, seeped through the wood like smoke.
Jace’s pulse leapt. He stayed rooted, jaw clenched. Why was elias here?
But the knock came again, harder this time. “Open the door.”
Jace dragged himself up, each step heavy. He cracked the door just enough to see Elias standing there, dressed sharp as always, but his eyes… they were wild.
“why are you here? You should have—,”
Elias shoved his way inside before jace could finish his statement and slammed the door the slam of the door echoing through Jace’s apartment like a warning. Jace stumbled back, chest heaving, but before he could speak, Elias had him caged against the wall.
“Enough of these games...” Elias growled, his voice a low thunder. His hand clamped around Jace’s jaw, tilting his head back, forcing him to meet those searing eyes. “You’ve ignored me for days unend....You think you can shut me out?”
“I told you—” Jace tried, but Elias’s mouth crashed down on his, a bruising, punishing kiss that stole the air from his lungs. His back hit the wall hard, Elias’s body pressing in until Jace felt trapped, helpless, and burning with need.
Elias’s hand slid from his jaw to his throat, squeezing just enough to make Jace gasp. “You belong to me....Jace. you belong to only me....Don’t forget that.”
Jace’s protest was swallowed as Elias’s teeth sank into his lip, the metallic taste of blood sharp between them. Jace moaned, shame and arousal colliding in his veins. His hands gripped Elias’s shirt, torn between pushing him away and pulling him closer.
Elias didn’t give him the choice. He spun Jace around, pressing him chest-first into the wall, grinding against him. His teeth dragged over Jace’s neck before biting down, hard enough to mark.
“Say it,” Elias demanded, breath hot against his ear. “Say you belong to me.”
Jace’s knees buckled as Elias’s hand shoved down the front of his pants grabbing his cock rough and unrelentingly. He gasped, his forehead hitting the wall. “Fuck....Elias...”
“Not enough.” Elias’s hand tightened in Jace’s hair, yanking his head back so his throat was bared. His other hand stroked Jace's cock mercilessly, a rhythm that had Jace trembling. “Say it.”
“I....I belong to you,” Jace finally choked, shame twisting with raw, brutal pleasure.
The sound Elias made was guttural, a dark satisfaction. He shoved Jace toward the couch, bending him over the armrest without warning. Pants were yanked down, skin exposed to the cool air, and then Elias’s palm cracked hard across Jace’s ass. The sting made him cry out.
“You can't ignore me ....you can’t walk away from me,” Elias hissed, landing another slap, harder this time. “Not after everything we've been through...everything we've done.”
Jace’s breath came ragged, his body aching, wanting more, needing more. He buried his face in the couch cushions, teeth sinking into the fabric as Elias lined himself up behind him.
The first thrust tore a broken cry from Jace’s throat. Elias didn’t ease in he claimed him with raw force, filling him so completely Jace’s body arched in shock.
“Elias....God...”
Elias gripped his hips bruisingly tight, slamming into him again, again, each thrust shaking the couch. The sound of skin against skin filled the room, Jace’s cries mixing with Elias’s low groans.
“You think you can leave me....for someone else?” Elias snarled, pounding into him harder. His hand came down on Jace’s back, pressing him flat, forcing him to take it. “No. You’re mine to ruin.”
Jace clawed at the cushions, his body burning, spiraling between pain and pleasure until he could not tell them apart. Every thrust drove him closer, every filthy word from Elias’s mouth tore at the fragile walls he had tried to build around himself.
“Say it again.” Elias’s voice was hoarse, ragged with lust. His thrusts grew frantic, deeper, punishing.
“I belong to you,” Jace gasped, tears pricking his eyes from the intensity. “I’m yours....fuck....I’m—”
His climax hit hard, ripping through him, his body convulsing as Elias held him down, still pounding into him until he too came with a guttural roar, spilling inside Jace and collapsing against him.
For a moment, the room was silent save for their ragged breathing, their sweat-slicked bodies pressed together.
Then Elias bit down on Jace’s shoulder, hard, leaving a mark. His voice was dark, possessive, against Jace’s ear:
“You’ll never be able to leave me.”