The sound of the desk hitting the wall was loud in the quiet office. Julius was pinned back, his hips pressed against the edge of the table. Harrison was right there, a solid weight against his body.

The air was thick with the smell of them both. Harrison’s scent had turned into something heavy and dark, wrapping around Julius.

Julius’s head was tilted back, his eyes half-closed. He could feel Harrison’s heartbeat against his chest. It was fast and hard.

He waited for Harrison to move, for his hands to go lower, for the sound of a zipper.

His own body was on fire, his Alpha pride completely drowned out by the need for the man in front of him.

"Do it," Julius whispered, his voice cracking. "Stop talking and do it."

Harrison didn’t move.

He buried his face in the crook of Julius’s neck. He wasn’t kissing him anymore. He was just breathing.

His hot breath hit the sensitive skin over Julius’s pulse, making Julius shiver.

Harrison’s hands tightened on the back of the desk, his knuckles turning white.

For a long minute, neither of them spoke. The only sound was their heavy breathing.

Then, Harrison started to pull back.

He let go of the desk and stood up straight, smoothing his suit jacket. His face was a mask of cold control, though his eyes were still dark with a hunger he was trying to hide.

Julius stared at him, confused. His heart was still racing.

"Harrison?"

Harrison looked down at him. His voice, when he finally spoke, was a low, rough growl that made the hair on Julius’s arms stand up.

"I can’t fuck you like some slut in my office, Julius," Harrison said. "Not the first time. Not like this."

Julius felt like he had been slapped.

The heat in his body turned into a cold, stinging shame. He stayed leaning against the desk, his shirt messy and his hair pushed back.

"What?"

"Fix yourself," Harrison said, his voice becoming more distant and professional with every second. "You’re acting on impulse. You’re frustrated because I’m not giving you answers, so you’re trying to use your body to get what you want. It won’t work."

"That’s not what this is," Julius said, his voice rising.

He felt humiliated. He had just offered himself up, had begged for it, and he had been rejected.

"You were the one who started this. You were the one who trapped me at the party. You were the one who told me I was yours."

"And you are," Harrison said. "But I won’t have you like this. Go home, Julius. Before I change my mind and do something we both regret."

"I don’t regret it," Julius snapped, pushing himself off the desk.

He felt exposed, his skin still humming from where Harrison had touched him.

"I’m the one who asked. Don’t act like you’re doing me a favor by stopping."

Harrison didn’t answer.

He turned his back to Julius and walked toward the window, looking out as if the conversation was over.

"Go," Harrison repeated.

Julius opened his mouth to shout, to demand that Harrison look at him, but the sound of the door handle turning stopped him.

The doors swung open. Anna walked in, her tablet in one hand and a stack of folders in the other. She didn’t knock.

She stopped in her tracks the moment she saw them.

The room was a mess. Papers were scattered across the floor where they had been knocked off the desk. Julius was standing there, his face flushed, his tie crooked, and his clothes wrinkled.

Harrison was by the window, his back to the room, but his scent was still so strong it was almost suffocating.

Anna’s eyes went from the papers on the floor to Julius’s messy appearance.

Her face stayed perfectly still, but her nostrils flared.

As an Alpha, she could smell exactly what had almost happened. She could smell the desire and the rejection hanging in the air.

"The board is waiting for the finalized signatures on the merger," Anna said. Her voice was flat and professional.

Harrison didn’t turn around. "Leave the folders on the desk, Anna."

"I also have the schedule for your trip to the coast," she continued, walking further into the room. She passed Julius as if he were an intruder. "And the background check you requested on the Vane family’s recent partners."

Julius felt a fresh wave of anger hit him.

He was standing right there, and they were talking about business. He felt like a fool. He felt like a distraction that had just been cleared out of the way.

He looked at Harrison’s back, then at Anna, who was calmly placing folders on the desk where he had just been pinned down.

"We’re done," Julius said, his voice tight.

He didn’t wait for a response. He didn’t fix his tie or smooth his hair.

He didn’t want to spend another second in that room being looked at by Anna or ignored by Harrison.

Julius grabbed his bag from the chair and walked toward the door.

As he passed Anna, he didn’t move out of the way. His shoulder hit hers hard, a deliberate bump that made her stumble back a step.

"Watch it," Anna hissed, her Alpha scent flaring in warning.

Julius didn’t even look at her. He didn’t say a word.

He walked out of the office and slammed the door behind him so hard the glass rattled in the frame.

He didn’t take the elevator. He headed straight for the stairs. He was shaking with rage.

He was an Alpha. He was supposed to be the one in control. He was supposed to be the one making people bow.

Instead, he had been used as a toy and then tossed aside because it wasn’t "the right time."

He reached the lobby and walked straight through the doors into the cool evening air.

His car was waiting at the curb. His assistant opened the door, but Julius didn’t get in immediately.

He stood there, breathing in the fresh air, trying to get the smell of Harrison out of his lungs.

But it wouldn’t go.

It was on his clothes. It was on his skin. It was everywhere.

"Take me home," Julius told the assistant as he finally slid into the back seat.

"Are you alright, Mr. Vane?" the assistant asked, looking at him in the rearview mirror. "You look... troubled."

"Just drive," Julius said, staring out the window.

As the car pulled away from the Nexus Global building, Julius looked up at the top floor. The lights were still on.

Harrison was up there, probably back to work, acting like nothing had happened.

Julius leaned his head against the glass of the window. His body still felt heavy and unsatisfied.

He hated Harrison Moretti. He hated the way the man made him feel.

But most of all, he hated that he knew he would be back tomorrow.