Chapter 2 The offer

Lucien didn't speak again for nearly a minute. He simply studied her. Measured her. And Eira, for once in her life, felt stripped bare without even being touched.

"You're not afraid of me," he said.

"No," she replied, though her pulse betrayed her.

"You should be."

He turned away, walking to the window as the light framed him like a painting-one rendered in shadow and smoke. She watched the play of muscle beneath his shirt, the restraint in every step. He was a man used to being obeyed, not questioned.

"I'm not offering you a job," he said, still facing the glass. "Not a real one."

Her fingers tightened on the armrest. "Then why am I here?"

"Because you want to be owned."

The words sliced through her, cold and exact. Shame twisted in her gut-but it wasn't shame that made her thighs clench.

"I-" she started, but stopped.

He turned to face her again. "Let's not play games. You've had...how many jobs in the past two years?"

"Eight," she said flatly.

"You've left every one. Or been dismissed for 'inappropriate' behavior." He lifted a paper from his desk, reading aloud. "'Repeated boundary violations. Explicit texts. Seduction of supervisors.'"

She flinched, even though she'd heard it before. Spoken by HR reps and counselors and friends who tried to help. But none of them had seen her. Not really.

"You came here because something in you recognized something in me," Lucien said. "Didn't you?"

She didn't answer.

"You're not sick," he continued. "You're cursed. Just like I am."

Eira's eyes snapped up. "What did you say?"

Lucien stepped closer, and the air around him changed. Charged. Dangerous.

"I've been searching for someone like you. For months. My company-Vale Industries-is a front. My real work is older. Darker. Binding." He reached into his desk and slid a thick folder toward her. "Inside this is a contract."

She stared at it. "For what?"

"For your body. Your time. Your addiction."

Eira's breath caught.

"It's a mutual arrangement," Lucien said. "You submit to me completely. I feed what you crave. In exchange...I use you."

Her mouth was dry. "Use me how?"

His voice dropped. "To survive."

Silence fell. Her heartbeat was thunder now. A part of her screamed to run.

Another part-the deeper, filthier part-wanted to kneel.

"You can leave," Lucien said softly. "No one will stop you."

Eira reached for the folder.

And opened it.