Page 33 of The Price of Mercy

Enzo’s eyes had darkened, his jaw tightening as he stepped closer, his presence overwhelming. “You’re here because I want it,” he’d said, his voice low and dangerous. “And if you think you can just ignore me, you’re wrong.”

Julian had glared at him, his chest heaving, but before he could respond, Enzo had closed the distance between them, his hands gripping Julian’s hair as he pulled him close.

The kiss had been hard and desperate, a clash of teeth and lips and raw, unfiltered emotion. Julian had tried to resist, tried to push him away, but the moment Enzo’s mouth claimed his, all rational thought had vanished.

Suddenly, the kiss turned different.. It wasn’t the desperate, hungry clash of teeth and lips that had defined their earlier encounter. This was slower, deeper, more deliberate. Enzo’s hands moved to cradle Julian’s face, his touch achingly tender as he tilted Julian’s head back, his lips moving against Julian’s with a quiet intensity that made his knees weak.

Julian’s hands trembled as they gripped Enzo’s shirt, his mind spinning while he tried to hold onto some semblance of control. But it was impossible. The way Enzo kissed him, like he was something precious, something worth savoring, left Julian breathless, his heart pounding in his chest.

Enzo’s tongue brushed against Julian’s lips, a silent request for entry, and Julian couldn’t stop himself from opening to him. The moment their tongues met, a shiver ran down Julian’s spine, his body responding to Enzo’s touch in ways he couldn’t control. Enzo’s hands slid down to Julian’s waist, pulling him closeruntil their bodies were pressed together, the heat between them almost unbearable.

Julian’s fingers tangled in Enzo’s hair, his grip tightening as the kiss deepened, the world around them fading into nothing. All he could feel was Enzo; the warmth of his body, the taste of his mouth, the way his hands roamed Julian’s back, pulling him closer, closer, until there was no space left between them.

It was too much. Not enough. Julian didn’t know anymore. All he knew was that he couldn’t stop. Didn’t want to stop. The fear, the doubt, the voice in the back of his mind screaming that this was a mistake; it all faded away, replaced by the overwhelming need to be closer, to feel more, to lose himself in the man who had turned his world upside down.

When Enzo finally pulled back, his breath ragged, his forehead resting against Julian’s, Julian felt like he’d been shattered and put back together all at once. His chest heaved, his mind reeling, and he couldn’t bring himself to open his eyes, afraid of what he might see in Enzo’s gaze.

“Julian,” Enzo murmured, his voice rough but soft, his thumb brushing against Julian’s cheek. “Look at me.”

Julian’s breath hitched, his eyes fluttering open to meet Enzo’s. The intensity in those dark eyes made his chest ache, the raw emotion there impossible to ignore.

“You are not going anywhere,” Enzo said, his voice steady but filled with something Julian couldn’t name. “Not unless I tell you to.”

Julian’s throat tightened, his hands still gripping Enzo’s shirt as if he were the only thing keeping him grounded. He wanted to say something, to tell Enzo to stop, to walk away, to let him go.But the words wouldn’t come. Because the truth was, he didn’t want Enzo to stop. He didn’t want him to let go.

???

In the days following, he told himself, time and time again, that his weakness for Enzo was a matter of survival. That the way his pulse raced when Enzo was near was nothing more than misplaced adrenaline. That the heat of their arguments, the tension crackling between them like a live wire, was simply the product of two men forced into the same space, unwilling to yield.

But lies could only hold for so long before the truth burned through them.

He wanted Enzo.

It was dangerous. It was reckless. It was inevitable.

Tonight was no different.

Julian stood in Enzo’s office, yet again arguing about Enzo’s request for him to quit. His arms were crossed, breathing hard. “You don’t own me.”

Enzo’s smirk was slow, deliberate. “I never said I did.”

“You act like it.”

Enzo stepped closer, and Julian hated the way his body reacted to the nearness, the way heat coiled low in his stomach. “Do I?”

Julian scoffed, even as his pulse hammered. “You’re insufferable.”

“And you’re lying to yourself.”

Enzo’s voice was low, velvet over steel, a challenge and a promise all in one. Julian hated how much he wanted to close the space between them. Hated how much he knew Enzo wanted it too.

The air between them was electric, charged with something more than anger, more than defiance. Julian knew if he let this go any further, there would be no turning back. But the problem was; he had already fallen too far.

The moment Enzo reached for him; Julian didn’t stop him. He should have. He should have shoved him away, walked out, pretended that this was still something he could control. Instead, he grabbed the front of Enzo’s shirt and dragged him down into a kiss that was all teeth and frustration and fire.

Enzo groaned into his mouth, hands gripping Julian’s waist, pressing him back against his desk. It was messy and desperate, months of tension snapping like a rubber band stretched too tight.

Enzo kissed like he fought; like he needed to win, like surrender was never an option. And still, Julian matched him, refusing to be overtaken, pushing back just as fiercely.

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