For a moment, silence stretched between them, thick and heavy with unspoken meaning. Neither man spoke, but both understood the stakes—they each felt the truth simmering just beneath the surface, an unspoken acknowledgment that everything was about to change. Neither was willing to back down.
Damien broke the silence, his voice low and deliberate. "What are you talking about?"
Jacob's eyes flickered, a dark intensity behind them. "I felt it," he replied simply. "The surge. The pull. I felt that you felt about her. I was in New York. You were in Raleigh. And I felt you—falling for her. I must have slept with—an indefinite number of women these past few years. Have you felt the surge coming from New York?"
He paused, studying Damien's changing expression—watching the flicker of realizatio
