Venom's Alliance: Loyalty's Fracture

Chapter 12

Jay's POV

I rummaged through the dresser, but nothing seemed right. I hated everything I tried on; no suit felt good. It wasn't really about the suits, though, and I knew that deep down. The image of her, radiant and unattainable, danced before my eyes, a constant reminder of what I could never have. Not then and not now.

Two days earlier, I had found myself trapped by her presence near Easton's office, drawn by the siren call of her soft footsteps. She moved with such grace, a vision in a silk red nightgown that showed off her stunning hourglass figure. Even the simplest tasks looked elegant when she did them.

In a moment of uncontrolled desire, I had called out her name, unable to resist the pull she had on me. When she turned, our eyes locked, and I was trapped by the depths of her captivating gaze. I reached out, my hands trembling as they touched her hips, feeling the warmth of her skin. Her floral scent surrounded me, intoxicating my senses, as I struggled to contain the storm of emotions raging inside me.

We stood mere inches apart, on the edge of a forbidden intimacy I had longed for yet feared. If only she knew the depths of my obsession, the lengths I would go to possess her entirely. Her innocent question, spoken in that sweet, raspy voice, sparked a wildfire of longing within me. And when she playfully suggested I might tie her to the bed until she gave in to my obsession, she unknowingly voiced the very desire that consumed my every thought. But even as temptation pulled, I steeled myself against its attraction.

"You look like you're going to a funeral," Xander, my good friend, remarked. He's a striking guy, tall with brown skin, a freshly shaved square jawline, and high cheekbones. His dark, jet-black hair frames his unique pair of eyes—one green, one blue. We've been close since I was 16, and there's a bond between us that I couldn't replicate with anyone else. Even though James and Jake introduced me to him, Xander and I had formed a connection that went beyond our initial meeting through them. And, as always, he understood me all too well.

It was a funeral.

Every part of me ached for her, yearned to make her mine. Deep inside, I fought against the rush of emotions threatening to take over. How could I reconcile the raw hunger that surged within me with the fact that she had chosen someone else? Her eyes, so familiar and haunting, were a constant reminder of the forbidden desires stirring in my heart.

I scolded myself, calling my dreams foolish. She wasn't mine to claim; her heart belonged to another. But despite knowing this, my intense hunger for her refused to fade.

Standing on the edge of her wedding day, I braced myself for the emotional burial ahead. It felt like a solemn march, burying my deepest desires and hopes under the weight of unrequited love. Even though my body screamed for her to be mine, I knew that reality existed only in my imagination.

She was taken, and I, resigned to my fate, forever killed the flicker of hope that burned within me. Bringing someone I cared about into the underworld was simply too risky, too dangerous. Almost three years ago, I chose to protect her from the dangers of my world, to keep her safe from the darkness within me.

Now, I was forced to watch Easton marry the woman I still craved, the woman I had hungered for in silence, even after almost three years. An unspoken obsession weighed down on me with suffocating force.

Maybe if I had killed him that day, none of this would be happening. What if I had acted differently? I had denied myself the chance to be with her, shielding her from my dangerous world. I thought I had succeeded, even if my obsession never waned; at least she was safe from it all. Until now. Until Easton did what I couldn't: date her and bring her into the underworld.

I remembered why I kept my distance from everyone—to protect them. But he didn't care about the risks; if he wanted something, nothing would stand in his way, no matter the cost. Even now, with Kalia in danger, he remains undeterred, consumed by his desire for her. His motives were unclear to me. I didn't buy the love story he spun. She had stolen from him and run away with his money, yet when he caught her, he claimed his love for her only grew stronger. What kind of love was that?