BOUND BY HER DESIRE

CHPATER THREE

JULIAN'S POV

The ringing of my phone cut through the room like a gunshot. I froze, my jaw tightening as I stared at the screen. The name flashing there wasn't one I could ignore. A meeting. Not just any meeting, a mandatory meeting. The kind of meeting that determined who lived long enough to attend the next one. I closed my eyes for a second. Important. The word echoed in my head. The meeting is important. I repeated it as I rose from my knees in between the entrance of the world's sweetest meal. I had told Clara to wait for me at home and I knew she would obey me. Such obedience was hard to come by. I wanted to give her the power to bring me to my knees through her submission.

Important.

Because every instinct he possessed was telling him to turn around. To stay. To forget the meeting. To lock the door and lose the rest of the evening to her. Instead, I grabbed my jacket and headed for the door. The meeting is important. By the time I reached my car, I was practically chanting it.

The meeting is important. The meeting is important. The meeting is important.

Anything to stop myself from driving straight back. Anything to stop myself from walking through that front door and going back to her side once more. Power was not measured by how loudly a man spoke. It was measured by how quickly everyone else stopped talking when he entered a room. Crystal chandeliers cast warm light across polished mahogany, illuminating faces that had built fortunes through extortion, political favors, and carefully negotiated bloodshed. Tailored suits replaced uniforms, but every man at the table understood the same language. Everywhere became quiet as I stepped into the private dining hall. I took my seat without acknowledging the silence. A few men frowned. One wrinkled his nose. "You came straight here?" One of the oldest men in the room asked. "Obviously." I growled back, challenging him to ask another question. The older man opened his mouth, then thought better of it. Only then did I realize the problem. In my rush, I'd left exactly as I was. No time to clean up. No time to compose myself. No time to erase the evidence of where I'd been. And judging by the amused looks spreading around the table, everyone else had realized too, that I had been in-between the thighs of a woman. There was only one person they could think of. Clara. I clenched my jaw.

“Let's begin.”

I sat at the head of a steel table that had seen more blood than business, flaked by Marco on my left and silence on my right, the kind of silence I have cultivated. That makes men reconsider their next sentence before they finish their first one. Dominic Grey sits across from me, flanked by his own men, smiling the way men do when they think a room belongs to them. Emotion was expensive while control generated profit. I signed the final document and slipped it across the table. “Our agreement stands,” I said. “No disruptions. No unnecessary attention.” Most nodded. One man smiled. Dominic Grey. “ I disagree. I have heard about your household and I do not accept or consider this agreement,” he said. He leaned back in his chair, swirling amber whiskey in an expensive crystal glass. No one moved at his declaration. “I do not entertain gossip.” “It is not gossip.” His smile widened.

“People notice when a man with your reputation suddenly becomes protective and obsessive.” His eyes lingered on me. “They say your young ward has become your greatest weakness.” The room fell silent, as everyone sat stiffly in their seats and held their breaths against my next action. Experienced men recognize danger long before violence arrives. My eyes clashed with Dominic’s.

“My ward and my private life are not up for discussion,” I growled. It was at this point I was aware people watched me more attentively than I thought, and I would burn the world down before I let anything happen to my sweet kitten. “Of course, of course.” He waved a hand. “But in our world, everything is business.” “I merely wondered if she is as fragile as people claim.” He chuckled. He delivered the statement so politely and casually that my belly twisted in knots, not because I was afraid of Dominic Grey but because the person he was setting his eyes on was a ‘NO TOUCH’ topic. The mere thought of anything happening to her sent my heart racing in my chest. I will protect her from the likes of Dominic and take out anyone that may stand in my way no matter what. But he didn't need to know that the mere mention of her name was a deadly crime, and it affected me so much. Again, emotion is too expensive in this world. I rose from my chair. Every head in the room followed. “You have mistaken restraint for permission,” I said quietly. “I asked a question.” Dominic’s smile faded. “No,” I adjusted the cuff of my jacket. “You tested a boundary.” I announced and was met with cold silence. “Listen carefully.” I thundered looking around the table. “My affairs remain my own, if anyone around here believes my household is an acceptable topic for negotiation, speculation, or leverage, they are making the worst decision of their career.” I growled, meeting every eye in the room. The words settled over the room like cold rain. Not a threat, but a certainty. The meeting was over, so I walked toward the exit. Behind me, no one spoke until the doors closed. “You left early.” He said, walking beside the car. “I have heard enough.” He studied my expression. “ What happened?” “Someone forgot where the line was.” “And now?” he replied. I looked through the rain-streaked windows towards the skyline. “Now everyone will remember.” He did not ask for details. He never did.

Later that night, Vittorio and I drove to the Grey Empire. The streets were quiet, the air cold, everything was already in place for what was about to happen. “Bring him out,” I ordered. Without hesitation, Vittorio obeyed. A few moments later, we arrived at our destination. I have always enjoyed watching people pay the price for forgetting boundaries of power. Men who mistake arrogance for immunity deserve to learn otherwise.

Vittorio forced him onto his knees before me. I wanted him to see my face before the end. I picked a thin metal rod, small enough to inflict unbearable pain without granting a quick death, and drove it into his p***s. His scream tore through the silence as blood soaked his clothes. “No one mocks me,” I said coldly. “And no one dares speak about my ward. My little kitten.” His cries grew louder, echoing through the empty night.

“Shoot him,” I ordered.

Vittorio raised his weapon and carried out the command, leaving the man lifeless on the ground. By morning, the rumor had already begun spreading through every boardroom, nightclub, and backroom. No names. No dramatic stories. Just a simple understanding. Julian Vance tolerated competition. He tolerated insults directed at himself. But the moment any attempt to use his private life as leverage, negotiations ended. It was past 10pm when I returned to the security monitors in my penthouse office. Every screen flickered to life, each one displaying a different corner of the city under my control. I ordered an emergency meeting. At the same time, I had a message spread across the underworld. There would be no confusion. No room for interpretation.

TOUCH HER. SPEAK ABOUT HER. LOOK AT HER THE WRONG WAY AND DIE.

By the time every family boss gathered, the room had fallen silent. “I trust you all have heard the new policy regarding my ward,” I said, my voice calm but carrying enough weight to freeze the room. “Consider this your only warning. Anyone who violates it will suffer.” My face swept across every screen. “Dominic Grey learned it secondhand.”

A faint smile tugged at the corner of my lips.

“I would prefer the rest to learn in the same way.”