Love Under The Sheets

Chapter 2

"CEO Orion Black."

The name cut through the room like a blade.

Talia Robinson shot to her feet, stepping forward—only to freeze mid-stride as the two imposing men flanking the entrance turned their glacial stares on her. The air thickened, charged with an unspoken threat.

Freya’s gaze locked onto the man who had sent the room—especially Talia—into a panic.

And then his eyes found hers.

Her breath hitched.

It was like staring into the abyss. Dark, fathomless, consuming. His gaze held hers with the weight of a predator sizing up prey, and for a heartbeat, she couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Only when he finally looked away did she realize she’d been holding her breath. The silence around her was deafening.

Every head had turned toward him, drawn like moths to an unforgiving flame—yet no one dared meet his gaze for long. The weight of his presence pressed down on them all, suffocating, like a storm wrapped in immaculate black.

Talia’s lips parted, her usual venom momentarily stolen. The words withered in her throat beneath the CEO’s razor-edged stare.

Freya almost smirked.

So, the witch knows fear after all.

A man like Orion Black didn’t just command a room—he owned it. He was the kind of force that made even the most arrogant hesitate, the kind of power that didn’t need to raise its voice to silence the world.

And he hadn’t even spoken yet.

Without sparing a glance at anyone, he strode forward, his polished Oxfords striking the marble floor like a death knell. The family instinctively cowered, their breaths held, their bodies rigid.

"CEO Black… this is… unexpected."

The man gripping Freya’s arm jolted as if burned, releasing her so abruptly she stumbled backwards. He threw a frantic look at his wife, Rebecca, but found only terror mirrored in her wide-eyed stare—locked entirely on Orion.

"Eh—!" Rebecca flinched as the documents were ripped from her hands.

Orion scanned the pages, his voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Stock transfer certificate." His gaze—sharp enough to draw blood—flicked from Rebecca to Conrad.

"U-uh… um…" Both stammered, their voices crumbling under the weight of his attention.

Talia seized the moment, stepping forward with practiced poise.

"We are on the process of transferring the thirty-five percent shares on my name, CEO Black. Just a few more formalities, and we can finalize our collaboration." Her eyes darted to Freya, a silent command flashing in them—stay down, stay quiet—but Freya feigned inattention.

Orion’s stare lingered on Talia before sliding back to Freya.

"By coercion," he remarked, so dry it was almost bored.

Talia’s smile tightened. "A minor family misunderstanding. Already resolved." But her fingers twitched at her sides, betraying her nerves.

"Resolved?" Orion arched a brow, handing the folder to his assistant, Chris, before locking eyes with Freya again.

Chris skimmed the document, his smirk growing. "Miss Freya Winters will transfer her shares to Madame Talia Robinson-Winters."

"My granddaughter has already agreed, Mr. Beaumont," Talia insisted, her voice honeyed but brittle.

"She agreed?"

Chris Beaumont's lips curled into a smirk that didn't reach his eyes—cold, mocking, dangerous.

"Yes, Mr. Beaumont," Conrad chimed in, his voice dripping with syrupy falsehoods as he nudged Freya forward like a sacrificial lamb. "My niece agreed. Isn't that right, Freya, dear?"

Freya's jaw clenched, her silence louder than any protest.

Chris didn't blink. "Well, her mother would be strangled if she didn't, wouldn't she?"

The tension in the room plummeted.

Talia Robinson stood rigid, her carefully constructed mask of composure fracturing under the weight of Orion's glacial stare. "Well, uhm... it's not what it looked like, CEO Black," she stammered, her manicured fingers twisting the edge of her blazer like a noose tightening around her own throat.

"Even if my granddaughter won't transfer her shares, I'm already representing her thirty-five percent at the board. The transfer is just... a formality."

Silence.

Orion didn't move. Didn't blink. Behind him, Chris remained statue-still, but the gleam in his eyes was unmistakable—amused, anticipatory, vicious.

Talia swallowed hard, desperation leaking into her voice like poison. "We—we could proceed with the collaboration. The board has already approved. Winters Corporation won't claim any profits for five years—consider it... repayment for the investment we can't provide upfront."

Her hopeful smile withered as Orion's lips curled—not into a smile, but a predator's bared teeth.

A dark chuckle cut through the tension like a blade.

Orion moved then, his strides slow, deliberate, predatory, as he claimed a chair like a king taking his throne. Meanwhile, Chris stepped forward, offering a hand to Leila Winters, who still slumped on the floor, her face ashen.

"Do you honestly believe," Orion began, his voice a velvet-wrapped razor, "that your mere three percent stake gives you the authority to negotiate Winters Corporation's fate with me?"

Talia's breath hitched. Around her, the others froze, the air thickening with the kind of dread that precedes a s*******r.

"Black Diamond is a conglomerate," Orion continued, leaning forward, his gaze piercing, relentless, unforgiving. "Am I a fool to you, Madame Robinson?"

Every breath stilled. Every heartbeat stuttered as CEO Orion Black's expression had gone from icy to murderous.

In Frostvale City, crossing the Blacks was suicide. But deceiving Orion Black? That was worse. That was the kind of mistake that ended bloodlines.

"No, CEO Black, I would never—" Talia's words tumbled out in a frantic rush, her composure unraveling.

Because crossing Orion Black wasn't just asking for death—it was begging for annihilation.

The Black family didn't just rule Frostvale City—they owned it. Their influence wasn't just power; it was law. And at the helm stood Orion Black, a man who don't crush opposition—he erased it.

"And you still owe us millions," Orion murmured, his tone dry, disinterested, deadly.

Rebecca, sensing the looming disaster, lunged for a lifeline. "For your assurance, CEO Black, we could... deepen our association!"

Orion's gaze flicked to her, unimpressed, unmoved.

Seizing the moment, Rebecca yanked her daughter forward. "This is Chinny, our Director of Operations. Perhaps you two could... get acquainted?" Her smile was sugary, suggestive, sickening.

Chris scoffed. Orion didn't even dignify it with a glance.

"Will your daughter pay the millions you owe us?" Chris mused, his voice laced with dark amusement. "If she can produce the exact amount right now, then perhaps we'll have something to... acquaint ourselves over."

The silence that followed wasn't just uncomfortable—it was fatal.

Chinny’s face burned with humiliation, but Chris didn’t spare her another glance.

Freya had remained silent since the famous CEO's entourage arrived, her gaze locked on Orion Black—the man whose very presence commanded the room like a storm rolling in.

From the moment he stepped inside, something inside her had tightened, a strange pull she couldn’t ignore.

A man she should fear.

Yet, despite the danger radiating from him, Freya couldn’t tear her eyes away.

Garbed in all black, he was a shadow given form—sharp, untouchable, lethally beautiful. His raven hair framed a face carved with ruthless precision, his eyes like polished obsidian, cold and unreadable. But it was his mouth that caught her off guard—heart-shaped lips, faintly red, almost cruel in their perfection.

A traitorous thought flickered through her mind: How would they feel against mine?

She stiffened, horrified at herself.

What was wrong with her? Her mother was moments away from ruin, their enemies circling like wolves—and here she was, fantasizing about the devil himself.

To silence the unholy thoughts swirling in her mind, Freya forced herself to look away. She needed to clear her head—just the sight of him made her chest tighten, her breath hitching as if the air had turned to lead.

Rebecca, undeterred by the suffocating tension, pressed on shamelessly.

"Chinny is well-versed in business dealings. She can hold her own in any discussion. I’m certain the two of you would get along."

Freya’s attention snapped back to the present, grateful for the distraction—until a derisive scoff cut through the room.

Orion Black’s gaze locked onto Rebecca’s hopeful, anxious expression, his voice a blade of ice.

"My only interest here is the money you owe me. This meeting is already a waste of my time, Madame Robinson. Don’t insult me with nonsense." his bored gaze turned to the elder of the family.

Talia’s hands trembled as she stammered, "CEO Black, we—we haven’t raised the full amount yet. Please, just a little more time. We’ll repay the principal and interest, I swear—"

Orion’s lips curled in cold amusement. "So you’re stalling by offering me your daughter instead? Is that the plan?" His stare froze Rebecca in place, humiliation burning through her.

"N-no! That’s not—I only meant—" She shook her head frantically, her excuses crumbling under the weight of his scrutiny.

A sharp, mocking snort from Chris sent a ripple of fear through the room. Orion’s patience was a fraying thread, and everyone knew it.

Then—unexpectedly—Orion smirked. "Actually, Madame Rebecca, you’ve made a fair point. If I’m to ensure repayment, I should… familiarize myself with someone from Winters Corporation." His tone dripped with dark amusement.

"I like the way you think." He bore his calm gaze at Rebecca.

The Robinson family’s collective breath hitched. Jaws dropped. For the first time in months, hope flickered in their hollowed-out world.

"CEO Black?!" Chinny clasped her hands, barely containing her glee as she shot her mother a triumphant glance.

Orion rose, sliding his hands into his pockets with deliberate slowness. Chinny nearly vibrated with anticipation, already stepping forward—only to freeze when Orion’s hand shot out, seizing Freya’s wrist in an unbreakable grip.

Her eyes widened, shock rippling through her.

"CEO Black?" Chinny’s voice cracked, her gaze darting between Orion and Freya’s pale, slender arm trapped in his grasp.

Orion’s smirk deepened. "What better collateral," he mused, "than the Winters heiress herself?"

Without another word, he turned, dragging a stunned Freya behind him—leaving the room in stunned silence.

****TBC****