The house was quiet when Julius stepped through the front door, but the air felt heavy. He didn’t even have his coat off before he saw his mother standing in the middle of the living room. She was holding her phone in one hand, her face flushed with a mix of anger and pure panic.

"Have you lost your mind?" she asked. Her voice was high and thin. "Julius, look at me. Have you completely lost your senses?"

Julius didn’t stop. He walked toward the stairs, his footsteps heavy on the floor. "I’m tired, Mom. We can talk about this tomorrow."

"We will talk about it now!" she shouted, following him to the base of the stairs. She held up the phone, the bright screen showing the headlines about him and Helen.

"Why are you doing this? Why are you calling that girl? Why are you messing with your life like this?"

Julius stopped on the third step and turned around. He looked down at her. She looked small, her hands shaking as she gripped her phone.

"I’m not messing with my life," Julius said, his voice low and steady. "I’m taking it back."

"By going back to Helen?" she cried. "By provoking Harrison? Do you have any idea what you’ve done? He was in a state today, Julius. People are calling me, asking what is going on at Nexus Global."

"You are poking a sleeping giant and you think it’s a game."

"It’s not a game," Julius said. He stepped down one stair so he was closer to her level. "You spent years telling me to be a leader. You told me to protect the Vane name."

"But every time I try to make a move, you run to Harrison. You hide behind him like he’s some kind of god."

"He is trying to help us!"

"No," Julius countered. "He is trying to own us. And you’re letting him."

"I’m doing what you didn’t have the guts to do, Mom. I’m making my own moves. I’m choosing who I stand with at that gala, and it’s not going to be the man who thinks he can kick my doors down whenever he feels like it."

"You are going to regret this," she whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "You don’t know him. You don’t know what happens when he stops being patient."

"Then I guess I’ll find out tomorrow," Julius said.

He turned and walked up the rest of the stairs. He could hear her calling his name, her voice cracking with a fear he didn’t want to understand.

He didn’t look back.

He went into his room and locked the door, leaning his head against the wood until the sound of her crying faded away.

He felt dirty. Not just from the day of work, but from the smell of Harrison that seemed to be stuck in his skin. He stripped off his shirt and tossed it into the corner.

He kicked off his shoes and headed for the bathroom.

He turned the shower on, letting the steam fill the room. He stepped under the spray, closing his eyes as the warm water hit his shoulders.

He wanted to relax. He wanted to forget the way Harrison had pinned him to the desk.

But as soon as he closed his eyes, he saw him.

He saw the way Harrison’s eyes had turned completely black. He remembered the heat coming off the man’s body and the way his voice had sounded—dark and rough, vibrating right through Julius’s chest.

He remembered the scent, that heavy, spicy smell that made Julius feel like he was losing his mind.

He leaned his forehead against the wet wall, his breathing getting faster. He was angry. He hated Harrison for what he was doing.

He hated him for the secrets and the control.

But his body wasn’t listening to his head.

He felt his heart hammering against his ribs. A dull ache started low in his belly, and before he could stop it, he felt himself reacting.

His dick was rising, hardening quickly as the memory of Harrison’s hands on his neck played over and over in his mind.

"Damn it," Julius growled.

He gripped the handle of the shower, his knuckles turning white. He was furious with himself. He was supposed to be the one in control.

He was supposed to be moving the pieces on the board.

But here he was, alone in the dark, wanting the very man he was trying to ruin.

"Stop it," he hissed to himself. "Get it together."

He tried to think about Helen. He tried to think about the business meetings and the stocks. But the image of Harrison wouldn’t leave.

He could almost feel those large hands sliding under his shirt. He could almost feel the power of the Enigma pushing him down, demanding that he give in.

He felt a surge of heat go through him. He was so close to touching himself, so close to just giving up and letting the feeling take over.

"No," he said out loud.

He reached out and grabbed the shower handle. With a hard yank, he turned it all the way to the right.

The hot steam vanished instantly. A blast of freezing, icy water hit him square in the chest. Julius gasped, the air leaving his lungs in a sharp burst.

He shook under the cold, his skin breaking out in goosebumps.

He stood there, letting the numbing cold soak into his hair and run down his back. He didn’t move.

He watched the water swirl down the drain, imagining his desire for Harrison going down with it.

He stayed until his teeth started to chatter and his skin turned a pale, bluish tint.

Finally, the heat in his body died down. He felt tired—truly, deeply tired.

He turned the water off and stepped out, shivering. He wrapped a towel around his waist and wiped the fog off the mirror.

He looked at his reflection.

His eyes were red, and he looked like a man who hadn’t slept in days.

He walked back into his bedroom. Hanging on the back of his closet door was his suit for the gala. It was black, simple, and perfect.

Julius sat on the edge of his bed and stared at it.

He wasn’t thinking about Harrison’s hands anymore. He was thinking about the look Harrison would have on his face when he saw Julius walk in with Helen.

He was thinking about the power he was going to take back.

He lay down on top of the covers, not even bothering to get under them. He watched the shadows of the trees move across the ceiling, waiting for the sun to come up.

Tomorrow was the day.

Tomorrow, everyone would see that Julius Vane wasn’t anyone’s prize.

He closed his eyes, the cold from the shower still lingering in his bones, and finally fell into a restless sleep.