Chapter 52
Elias sat in the dark.
The mansion was silent, He had not bothered with the light. Instead, he sat in the armchair at the far corner of his bedroom, a glass of untouched whiskey warming in his hand, his eyes fixed on the other seat across the room.
On him.
Jace sat there, and elias watched as his chest slowly rose and fell. His face was turned slightly toward the window, the dim glow of the city brushing over his features, softening the sharp lines of his jaw. He looked peaceful and so beautiful.
Elias’s jaw flexed.
Maybe he overreacted. He should not have gone too far. He did not need to drug jace. Those were the first thoughts that clawed through him now. But it was rage that consumed him... Elias had been drowning in it ever since the incident in the restroom.
The image burned in his mind.
Jace flushed....his lips parted.... his trousers undone. Aiden on his knees...taking him into his mouth. The image carved itself into him with a viciousness he could not shake. The sounds.... Jace’s helpless moan..... it all echoed in his skull.
Elias was going insane.
It had taken everything within Elias not to kill Aiden right then and there. That bastard did not belong anywhere near jace.
Elias’s teeth ground together, the glass now in his hand was creaking under his grip. His entire chest was tight with it, the raw, unfiltered need to rip that memory apart. The rage filled him better than liquor could.
And then... just as though he could feel it, Jace’s eyelids fluttered.
~~
Jace’s eyes fluttered open.
For a moment, the world swam in a haze of dim light and shadows. His head felt heavy, his throat dry, and his entire body sluggish. Blinking hard, he scanned the room slowly, heart hammering as clarity bled back in. The last thing he remembered was that he was at the restaurant, The wine and food, Elias across from him, his unreadable eyes, And then… darkness.
His chest tightened.
He shifted, but the second he tried to move, resistance snapped against him. Panic surged hot in his chest. He looked down and his stomach dropped. Thick restraints pinned his wrists to the arms of a chair, steal biting against his skin. His ankles, too, bound tightly together, forcing him in place.
Cold realization crashed over him.
“W-What the hell…?” His voice came out hoarse, cracking. His gaze shot across the room, straight into the shadows where Elias sat. “What is this? Why am I tied up?”
Elias did not answer. He just sat there at the corner in the opposite end of the room, half-hidden in the dark, his posture calm but his face carved from stone.
Elias’s jaw was tight, his eyes unreadable, Jace noticed the Rage in his eyes, but they seemed to be mixed with something else..... guilt.
The combination made Jace’s pulse stutter.
“Elias…” His voice was lower now, shakier. “If this is about Aiden... "
The flicker in Elias’s eyes made jace snap his mouth shut.
Jace’s thoughts spiralled, tumbling into darker and darker places. What was Elias going to do to him? He was a Crane, after all. Son of the person that did not even think twice before murdering his parents.... Maybe the apple didn’t really fall far from the tree.
His throat worked as he swallowed hard. His mind conjured possibilities he did not want to face. Elias could hurt him.... Make him disappear, and no one would question it.
And all of this because of one mistake. Jace’s mind went back to noah ... how would his sick brother survive without him?
He tugged at the restraints uselessly, the steel biting harder into his skin. His chest rose and fell faster, panic rattling through him. “Please… please don’t do this.”
But Elias only sat there, unmoving, silent, his cold gaze heavily on jace.
And then, his voice finally cut through the silence. “Luca.”
The door opened.
Jace heart beat faster.... who was he calling? Did he want another person to finish him off?
Jace’s breath caught when the figure stepped inside.
The man who entered was striking in a way that made Jace’s stomach twist with something dangerously close to awe. He was tall, lean but yet muscular, with confidence that clung to his every movement. His skin was a warm bronze, glowing even in the dim light, and his hair was dark, tousled, falling just enough to shadow his sharp cheekbones and his full sensual mouth. His eyes, a deep molten brown, locked onto Jace with a heat that felt invasive.
And his clothes.... God. If they could even be called that. A loose black silk shirt hung open, revealing his chest, the fabric gleaming against the bronze of his skin. His trousers were obscenely tight, clinging to him like a second skin, leaving nothing to the imagination at all. The tailored fit outlined the long lines of his toned thighs, the curve of his ass and even the heavy shape of his groin when he shifted his weight.
A thin silver chain hung low against his chest, glinting whenever he moved, drawing Jace’s unwilling gaze down to where the fabric gaped. It was obscene, the way he looked... like a stripper, every detail was tailored to seduce, to make anyone watching imagine how easily the clothes could come off.
He was seduction and temptation embodied.
Jace could not stop staring. For a moment, fear loosened its grip.
But why was Elias bringing someone like this here?
His pulse stuttered harder, and for one wild second, he wondered if Elias had brought this man here to.... no...no... Elias would not do such a thing to him... Would he? The thought made his stomach turn cold.
What was lucas purpose then?
Lucas stopped in front of him, his molten gaze dragging slowly over Jace’s restrained body. Jace fought not to shrink back, but the steel cuffs held him still anyway.
“Elias…” His voice cracked again. “What... what is this?”
Elias still did not answer. Instead, He rose from the chair in the corner, shadows peeling away from his frame. His steps were slow and deliberate, his presence filling the space. Elias reached lucas, stopping close enough that their body almost touched. He caught luca by the waist and pulled him closer to himself.
Jace froze. His stomach knotted.
Lucas did not resist. He leaned easily into Elias’s touch, his lips curling with a knowing smirk. Elias looked at Jace, straight at him, his gaze dark and unreadable.
“Now,” Elias said, his voice low and rough “you get to feel what I felt.”
And before Jace could even take a breath, before he could even utter a word, Elias’s mouth crashed against lucas in a kiss that was hungry and burning with passion.
Jace’s heart stopped...