SEVERANCE CLAUSE

Chapter 11: "The Compass Rose"

POV: Dual

Maya:

"I was going to get a compass rose and just keep walking," he said "I didn't."

Morning light filtered through the cracks between the boarded windows. The only sounds were the distant crash of waves and the soft rhythm of their breathing.

Maya lay beside Julian in the master bedroom. His arm was under her head while her hand was on his chest. The white sheet was tangled around their legs.

She traced her fingers down his ribs. The tattoo was small and black—a compass rose, each point precise and deliberate.

"When did you get this?" she asked.

"Nineteen. New Orleans."

"New Orleans?"

"I was supposed to be recording music,it was a gap year thing. My father hated the idea, but my mother convinced him to let me go."

She propped herself up on her elbow. Her dark hair fell across her shoulder. The small scar on her left eyebrow caught the light.

"What happened?"

Julian was quiet for a moment ,His eyes stared at the ceiling. His long fingers traced patterns on her bare back.

"I recorded the music," he said. "Four songs trust me they were terrible."

"I doubt that."

"They were terrible, I was just a nineteen year old that didn't know anything about it."

Julian:

"But the tattoo," she said as her finger traced the compass rose again. "Why this?"

He turned his head to look at her and she looked curious with her face open. No mask or professionalism, just Maya.

"I was going to keep walking," he said. "Get the tattoo and just keep going west away from New York and my father."

"Why didn't you?"

"He called. The night after I got it he said my mother got sick and I needed to come home ."

"Was she sick?"

"No. She was fine he just wanted me back under his control."

Maya's hand stilled on his chest. Her fingers pressed against his heart.

"That's cruel," she said.

"That's my father."

"What did you do?"

"I went home and I had to stay”

"And the tattoo?"

"I kept it. To remind myself that I almost left."

She looked at him so softly. Her thumb traced the compass rose again.

"You're not there anymore," she said.

"Where?"

"Under his control you left maybe not physically but you left."

Julian reached up. His hand cupped her face and brushed her cheekbone.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"Because you're here with me in a villa that almost blew away and you're not checking your phone."

He almost smiled. "The phone is dead."

"The generator is dead but the phone still has battery."

He stared at her. "You checked?"

"I'm an executive assistant. I check everything."

Maya:

He turned toward her.

His eyes were dark and his hair was messy.

"You're very observant," he said.

"I know."

"It's unsettling."

"I know that too."

He kissed her.

Not like before, it wasn't urgent or desperate but Slow and Tender. His lips moved against hers like he was learning her and had all the time in the world.

She kissed him back. Her hand moved from his chest to his jaw. Her fingers traced the stubble she had never seen before yesterday.

"Julian," she said against his mouth.

"Maya."

"I want—"

"I know."

He rolled her onto her back. His body covered hers with weight that pressed her into the mattress. His mouth found her neck.

She gasped while hands gripped his shoulders and her nails pressed into his skin.

"The tattoo," she said.

"What about it?"

"Show me again."

He pulled back just enough for her to see the compass rose on his ribs tatted with Black ink ,small and precise.

She touched it with her fingertips.

"Where were you going to walk to?" she asked.

"Away."

"Where, specifically?"

"I didn't have a destination. Just... away."

"Are you still walking?"

He looked at her. His eyes moved over her face—her dark eyes, her lips, the scar on her eyebrow.

"No," he said. "I think I found where I was going."

Julian:

He kissed her collarbone,her sternum and the space between her breasts.

She arched beneath him. Her hands moved to his hair, fingers tangled in the dark blond strands.

"Tell me what you want," he said.

"You."

"You have me."

"I want all of you."

He looked up at her. Her eyes were bright with her lips parted and chest was rising and falling fast.

"You've had all of me since the first morning you brought me coffee," he said.

"That was three years ago."

"I know."

"You've wanted me for three years?"

"I've wanted you every single day."

She pulled him up, Her mouth found his and Her legs wrapped around his hips. He could feel her—warm,ready and desperate.

"Then stop talking," she said.

He entered her slowly.

Tender,urgent and unhurried all at once. Her hands gripped his shoulders. Her head fell back against the pillow.

"Look at me," he said.

She looked.

There eyes met each other. Her mouth opened then her breath became fast.

"Like that," she said. "Just like that."

He moved and she met him. Her hips rose to meet his same with her hands that pulled at his hair. Her mouth found his shoulder.

He could feel her getting close. The way her body tightened , her breathing changed and her nails pressed into his back.

"Julian—"

"I've got you."

She came apart beneath him. Her body arched and mouth opened. His name fell from her lips.

He followed with his body tense and face pressed into her neck.

They lay there in the post-storm stillness.

Maya:

The morning light was brighter now. The cracks between the boards let in more light. She could see his face clearly—the sharp jaw, the grey eyes, the small lines at the corners of his mouth.

She touched his cheek.

"What is this?" she asked.

Julian was quiet for a moment. His hand found hers. His fingers intertwined with hers.

"I don't know yet," he said.

"That's not an answer."

"It's the only one I have."

She looked at him. His eyes were steady. His face was open which neither had a mask nor control just Julian.

"But I know I'm not letting it be nothing," he said.

Julian:

She stared at him.

Her eyes searched his face. Looking for the lie , for the catch or a reason she shouldn't believe him.

He didn't look away.

"Three years," she said. "You could have said something."

"So could you."

"I was your assistant."

"You're not my assistant anymore."

"No," she said quietly. "I'm not."

She looked down at their intertwined hands. His Omega watch glinted on his wrist. Her bare legs were tangled with his.

"This is dangerous," she said.

"I know."

"I'm scared."

"I know that too."

She looked up at him. Her eyes were wet.

"But I believe you," she said.

Maya:

She believed him.

That was the most dangerous thing she had done in years.

---

END OF CHAPTER 11