Chapter 5 THE DEVIL DRINKS IN SILENCE.

The city bled gold beneath the night sky.

Xavier stepped out of the black car without a word, his coat catching the light of the club's neon sign - CHIMERA - sleek, underground, and built for the elite who wanted to be seen, and the devils who didn't.

Inside, music throbbed like a pulse. Low. Dark. Designed to get under your skin.

The lights were soft but rich - amber and obsidian glass everywhere. Women in silk, men in power suits, cigars and secrets perfuming the air.

But none of it touched him.

He moved through it like a shadow. Untouchable. Untouching.

"X."

Cody was already seated at their usual table, tucked into a private corner with a full view of the room.

Tall, broad-shouldered, eyes sharp behind a lowball glass. His shirt was half-unbuttoned, tie abandoned, hair slicked back like sin.

"You look like hell," Cody said.

Xavier didn't respond. He sat, signaled for the usual.

Whiskey. No ice.

"You drink more when you're not talking," Cody added. "So let's just skip to the part where you tell me what crawled under your skin and ripped it from the inside out."

Xavier's fingers tapped the side of his glass.

"Is this your idea of therapy?" he said coolly.

"No," Cody said, leaning back. "It's my idea of damage control. Because I've known you long enough to recognize the signs."

Xavier took a slow drink. Burned it down his throat.

"You get colder when you're losing control."

"Funny," Xavier said dryly. "I feel fine."

"Liar."

Xavier said nothing.

A waitress came. Tight dress. Dark lips. She leaned in, smiling too much.

Xavier didn't look at her.

Cody did.

"Don't waste your time," he told her. "He's not in the mood for anything warm tonight."

The woman left, flustered.

Cody turned back. "Alright. I'll bite. Blonde or brunette?"

Xavier didn't answer.

"...Redhead?"

Silence.

Cody raised a brow. "You're serious? You? Silent? About a woman?"

Still, Xavier said nothing.

But his jaw clenched.

And Cody finally smiled.

"Oh, shit. This one's different."

"She's nothing," Xavier said, voice like steel.

Cody grinned. "She's something."

"She's not mine."

"But you want her?"

Xavier downed the rest of his drink.

His silence was answer enough.

Cody leaned in. "Let me guess... someone else noticed her too?"

Xavier's eyes darkened.

"Thought so."

The music shifted - something slow, sensual. The kind of beat that pulsed through skin.

Xavier stood suddenly, adjusting his cufflinks.

"I need air."

"You need a cage," Cody muttered.

Xavier paused, looking down at his friend. "And you need to shut up."

Cody raised his glass. "Glad you're still charming."

Xavier walked toward the balcony, away from the noise, away from the heat.

But no matter how far he stepped into the night air, her moan still echoed in his mind.

Her softness against his hands.

The way she didn't pull away.

The way she didn't look away.

He closed his eyes.

Sasha Hart was a problem.

And he didn't do problems.

The balcony was silent except for the distant hum of the city.

Xavier leaned over the railing, sleeves rolled, whiskey glass in hand - but untouched.

Behind him, the sliding door hissed open.

Cody stepped out, dragging the scent of cigar smoke and liquor with him.

"You disappeared like a ghost," he said, lighting another cigarette. "I figured you'd be halfway through a bottle by now."

Xavier didn't answer.

He never did - not when something was wrong.

Cody leaned beside him, elbows on the railing.

"You're quieter than usual. That's not good."

Still, Xavier stayed silent.

Until finally-

"I did something... stupid."

Cody blinked. "You?"

Xavier's fingers curled tighter around the glass. "In my office. Earlier."

He didn't look at Cody. Just kept his eyes locked on the lights of the city below, like if he stared long enough, the guilt would burn away.

"She came in. I was angry. And I-I lost it."

"'She' who?" Cody asked.

Xavier hesitated.

Then finally muttered:

"My secretary."

Cody froze.

"...The timid one?"

Xavier's jaw flexed. "Yeah."

"The one who stutters when you breathe too loud?"

"Yeah."

Cody turned slowly to look at him, eyes wide with something between awe and disbelief. "What the hell did you do?"

Xavier dragged a hand down his face.

"I kissed her."

Cody blinked.

"On the cheek?"

"No."

"...The hand?"

Xavier gave him a look that could kill.

"I kissed her, Cody. On the mouth. Rough. Desperate. I put her on my desk and I grabbed her-"

He stopped, running a hand through his hair.

"She moaned," he muttered, more to himself than anyone.

Cody exhaled, long and low. "Holy shit."

Xavier took a sip, finally. Bitter.

"I didn't plan it. I wasn't thinking."

"Bullshit," Cody said immediately. "You've been thinking about her. This just proves it."

"She's just a girl."

"But not just any girl."

Xavier didn't reply.

"You want her."

"I want to forget her."

Cody scoffed. "Then do it the way you do everything else - fuck her, be done with it."

Xavier was quiet.

Too quiet.

Cody turned. "Wait-don't tell me... you can't."

Xavier's silence said everything.

"You've really lost it," Cody muttered. "She's just a girl, X. A soft, sweet distraction you can take once and toss aside. You've done it before."

"I know," Xavier said. But it sounded more like a curse than an agreement.

"So what's stopping you now?"

Xavier's stare was hard. Cold. Still distant.

"...I don't know."

Cody took another drag, flicking ash off the edge of the railing.

"You're getting soft."

"Don't push me."

"Then do something about it," Cody said. "Take her. Use her. Get her out of your system. That's the only way this ends."

Xavier looked down at the city, jaw clenched tight.

But even with all that darkness behind his eyes, the truth remained:

He didn't want to use her.

He wanted to own her.

And that scared the hell out of him.