chapter 13:The Night,the Fire,the Choice
942 Words
It had rained that evening.
The city glistened — wet pavement reflecting the gold haze of traffic lights and the silver of moonlight. Liam’s penthouse felt warmer than it ever had. Or maybe it was just her.
Amara.
Barefoot, hair damp from the shower, wrapped in one of his black dress shirts. It fell halfway down her thighs, swallowing her frame.
She moved around his kitchen like she’d always belonged there — making tea, humming softly under her breath, her skin glowing against the stainless steel and marble.
Liam leaned against the counter, eyes dark.
“Careful,” he murmured. “You’re going to make this permanent.”
She turned, amused. “Me? You’re the one feeding me like a wife.”
“I could get used to that.”
She raised a brow. “You’d give up your schedule, your power meetings, your sleek solitude for this?”
“For you?” He stepped forward, his voice lower now. “I’d trade my world for one more night like this.”
She didn’t answer with words.
Instead, she reached up, gripped the open collar of his shirt, and pulled him down into a kiss that wasn’t gentle.
It was hungry.
Months of tension. Weeks of doubt. Every unspoken promise and held-back moan burst in that moment.
---
In the Bedroom…
Liam lifted her off the floor effortlessly.
She gasped against his mouth, her legs wrapping around his waist as he carried her into the bedroom.
She pushed his shirt open — buttons flying — revealing the body that made women stare and men seethe. Rigid abs. Carved chest. The coiled strength of a man who used to fight to survive, and now ruled with restraint.
But tonight, there was no restraint.
He laid her on the bed like something sacred — not breakable, but worthy.
Then slid the shirt from her shoulders, leaving her bare beneath him.
His lips found her neck, collarbone, the soft curve of her breasts. Slow. Unhurried.
She arched beneath him, her fingers in his hair, her breath turning to whimpers as his mouth closed around her n****e — sucking, teasing, then dragging his tongue lower until her stomach quivered.
“Liam,” she gasped.
“Say it again.”
“Liam—”
He slid lower, mouth meeting the heat between her thighs.
She cried out, her back arching off the bed as his tongue traced every slick, trembling inch of her.
It wasn’t fast. It wasn’t about release.
It was about worship.
When she came undone, her cries were sharp, broken, raw — and he didn’t stop until she was panting, shaking, her hand fisted in the sheets.
Then he rose above her, kissed her lips, and entered her in one slow, deliberate thrust.
She gasped into his mouth.
Nothing had ever felt more complete.
---
Hours Later...
They lay tangled in sheets, their limbs intertwined, her head on his chest.
It wasn’t just s*x.
It had been a declaration.
He stroked her back in lazy circles.
“I’ve never let anyone in like this,” he said.
She smiled sleepily. “You did good, Blackwood.”
He laughed. “You’re trouble.”
“And yet… you love me.”
He was quiet a moment.
Then: “Yeah. I do.”
She looked up.
And his eyes weren’t afraid anymore.
They were sure.
So was she.
---
The Next Morning...
A call came from the site.
Amara answered it while Liam was in the shower.
“What’s going on?”
The voice was frantic. “There’s been a delay. A major one. Materials went missing from the third shipment. One of the investors is threatening to pull out if the structure inspection fails next week.”
She froze.
“That’s impossible—”
“Someone messed with the delivery manifests. It looks internal.”
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
She hung up.
Her heart pounded — but not from fear.
From clarity.
Someone was still trying to sabotage them.
---
An Hour Later – Roosevelt Tower Site
Amara stalked through the open floors of the unfinished skyscraper, her heels crunching against loose concrete dust.
She found Rick near the freight elevator.
“They pulled steel. And glass panels from the top levels,” he said. “If they delay the glass, we can’t close it on time. It’ll void the bond.”
She clenched her jaw.
Sabotage. Strategic. Calculated.
She didn’t need a name.
She already knew who.
Victor Green.
He hadn’t gone down with the board vote.
He’d gone quiet — and now he was playing dirtier.
She didn’t want to drag Liam back into another scandal.
But this wasn’t just business anymore.
This was war.
---
Back at Blackwood Industries
Amara waited in Liam’s office, pacing.
When he entered, freshly shaven, in a crisp suit, his smile faltered at her expression.
“What happened?”
“They hit the project. Sabotaged materials. Rick says we could lose inspection clearance.”
His smile vanished.
“Victor?” he asked.
“I can’t prove it yet.”
“Then we find a way to.”
She looked up at him. “You don’t have to do this.”
“I do,” he said firmly. “I promised you truth. I promised you I’d fight.”
“But if the inspection fails, Blackwood Industries takes a hit. Your board will use it to force you out.”
He stepped forward.
Took her hands.
“Let them try.”
Her heart flipped.
“You’d really risk it all?”
“I already have.”
She blinked back tears. “Then let’s finish this.”
- Writer
- chap_listContents
- likeADD