Chapter 348: Mercy
Kael sat inside, behind a desk big enough to crush me if it fell. Tall windows let in sheets of sunlight, spilling across him like he was carved into place. Laptop open, phone pressed to his ear, his voice carried like a whipcrack.
"If they think I’ll fold to their threats, they don’t understand what it means to challenge a Roman. Let them try, I’ll bury them with the same investors they’re trying to steal."
My stomach tightened. That wasn’t a boyfriend’s tone. That was Kael Roman, business tycoon, predator.
His gaze flicked up the moment I stepped in. I waved at him like an idiot. Confusion flickered across his face before smoothing into something amused. He didn’t miss a beat, though, he spoke into the phone like I wasn’t even there.
I sauntered in and dropped into a chair in front of his desk, crossing my legs.
Niko stiffly delivered the envelope he was carrying with him, bowing toward both of us before retreating. He shot me one last look, half apology, half exasperation. I ignored it, chin lifted like a queen pretending I wasn’t still mad.
The door clicked shut.
And then it was just me. And Kael.
And the way his eyes were fixed on me like I’d already interrupted his world, and he was deciding whether to devour me or thank me for it.
Minutes later,
I was practically hanging off the couch, hair grazing the floor as I tried to make sense of some finance-heavy article in the newspaper. Half the words might as well have been in Greek, but the headline was enough to catch me: Chairman Ewan Roman rumored to step down, succession questions arise.
Ewan. The snake. Just thinking about him made my skin crawl. He was the kind of man who could smile and poison you in the same breath. And Andrew, golden boy Andrew, too clean, too polished, too uncanny. He looked like the type the who would play victim just to be the perpetrator himself. Meanwhile, Kael... Kael was the black sheep. The one no one expected to hold the crown, yet the one ruthless enough to keep it.
I was just about to form my own verdict on which son Ewan would hand the empire to when a deep voice cut through my thoughts.
"You’re awfully comfortable, aren’t you?"
I snapped my head up, the newspaper slipping from my fingers. Kael was rising from behind his desk, phone set aside, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore a simple black button-down, half undone at the top like he didn’t care about pretense, paired with dark tailored trousers that hugged his thighs a little too well. Rich man uniform, but in a way that screamed I own this place and don’t give a damn who knows it.
"Stay there!" I blurted, pointing at him.
He froze mid-step, brows lifting in confusion, but he obeyed, sinking back into his leather chair.
A slow smile tugged at my lips as I flipped upside down again, then swung my legs down and rose to my feet. He was still watching me like I was insane, and maybe I was. My bare feet padded against the rug as I closed the distance, circling his desk until I was in front of him.
"You know," I drawled, tilting my head, "you’re terrifying when you’re ruthless in those...what do you call them? Hostile takeovers? Asset freezing?"
His mouth curved, faint and lethal.
I didn’t let him answer. Instead, I stepped between his spread legs and perched myself onto his lap. He caught my waist automatically, adjusting me until I was straddling him properly, knees hugging his hips. His hands tightened like he’d been waiting for me to make this exact move.
My breath froze when his green eyes locked onto mine, hunger flickering beneath their cool exterior.
"So..." I traced a finger down his chest, feeling the heat of him even through the fabric. "Thank you, Mr. Roman, for not firing me yet. Considering I’ve left all my work in your hands these last few months. I should be your worst assistant, but instead, you’re sparing me."
His jaw ticked, his grip on my waist tightening. The atmosphere thickened between us, the air charged like static, like I’d just walked onto a live wire and dared it to shock me.
I smiled, tilting closer to his mouth, whispering, "Should I call this mercy... or favoritism?"
"Mercy." Kael’s hands closed tighter around my waist, anchoring me to his lap as though daring me to move. His voice was a low rumble, dangerous but threaded with something softer only I ever got to see.
"Do you know what would happen to anyone else who dumped their work on me and thought they could get away with it?" His lips brushed the side of my jaw as he spoke, his breath warm against my skin. "They’d already be gone. Fired. Blacklisted. An extra weight cut loose without a second thought."
I smirked, my nose brushing his. "Mhm, I know, I know. You don’t tolerate incompetency. Or... what do you call them?" I let my nails graze lightly over his chest. "Liabilities."
His mouth curved in that sharp, devilish smirk that made my pulse stumble. "But you..." His grip dug deeper, pulling me flush against him. "You’re the only one reckless enough to try it, and the only one who’s allowed to get away with it."
Heat surged between us, the atmosphere charged, every inch of my skin prickling under his stare. Even though I had barely recovered from last night, I was already aching for more. I leaned closer, lowering my lips to his ear, whispering slow and deliberate, "Then maybe I should show you my gratitude, Kael."
I didn’t need to look down to know the effect I was having; I could feel it, thick and hard beneath me, pressing insistently against my core. His breath hitched, jaw flexing as though he was one second away from losing every shred of control he had left.
I dragged it out, torturing him, rocking just slightly, letting the friction stay between us. His grip turned bruising, his green eyes darkening to something ravenous, and I knew he was right at the edge, teetering, burning,
And then his phone buzzed.
Kael’s body went rigid beneath me, a growl vibrating in his chest. "Ignore it."
"No" I grinned, brushing my lips across his cheek, then the corner of his mouth, then his jaw, each kiss feather-light. "Pick it up."
"Aria..."
I kissed him again, slow and soft. "Pick it up."
He exhaled sharply, like I’d stabbed his patience through the heart, but finally swiped his phone, pressing it to his ear with the kind of clipped coldness that made boardrooms tremble.
"What?"
I stayed exactly where I was, lips tracing his temple while he listened. From the brief exchange, it was clear enough: his scheduled guests had arrived, ready for their meeting. Kael’s hand tightened at my hip as if he might physically forbid me from leaving, but then he drawled, "Send them in."
My heart jumped.
I slid off him in a rush, not to escape, but to the open space in front of his chair, right between his spread legs. Kael’s brows furrowed in confusion for half a second, and then he realized. Oh, he realized.
His eyes darkened, a flare of shock and amusement flickering over his face, quickly replaced by something far more dangerous.
And then the door opened.
"Mr. Roman." Two sharp male voice followed with footsteps, offering handshakes and greetings with that mix of fear and respect he commanded so easily. Kael leaned back in his chair, already the ruthless tycoon again, voice calm, smooth, unreadable.
But me? I was hidden in plain sight, on my knees before his large, mouthwatering bulge, my lips parting in anticipation, my pulse beating fast as the meeting began.