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Chapter 9 : Mutually Beneficial Negotiations
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2024-09-11 14:04:40Bab terkait
Empire of Dominance Chapter 10 : Maintaining Professionalism
Raven found herself singing to herself—actually singing—as she moved around her kitchen making dinner for one. When she realized what she was doing, she laughed aloud. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d found herself singing just for the pure, stupid joy of it. And granted, she wasn’t great at singing.Making dinner for one used to depress her, especially after she’d moved to the city alone for the job at Sinclair and Associates.And she had a pretty good idea of what changed things around. She still felt the shadow of Kade’s hands pressed to her hips, still felt the thrill of cold stone against her stomach as he pressed her into the marble wall of the penthouse bathroom. She could still taste him, the depth of his kiss opening her wide as he split her with each powerful thrust.The pasta water was boiling over. She came back to herself, turning down the heat. She felt the blood rushing to her face and her groin. All this delicious bliss… She wished he wasn’t busy tonight.
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 11 : One Eventful Night
The bar Andre chose turned out to be one of those slick-but-still-homey sorts of places that Raven didn’t think still existed in the financial district. With a worn wooden bar and scuffed floors, it had the sense of someplace people had been coming to drink and unwind after high-pressure days in high-stakes businesses. There was a sense of comfort here, of settled energy. Raven felt herself exhaling deeply, letting the tension of the day out of her body.It had been a long time since she’d been in a space like this: where pints were being poured and conversations were climbing to a shouting pitch. There was a football game on the big TV above the bar, and people kept cheering wildly after each play.Andre ordered cosmos for all three of them and raised them in a cheers. “Happy after-hours!”“Cheers!” Raven and Sharon chorused, laughing.The radio was playing a vapid pop song, and the bartender slid a cup of pretzels toward the three of them. Besides, Raven had hours to kill bef
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 12 : Contrasting Partners
The next morning, Raven gulped down painkillers and a strong cup of coffee before heading into work. The day was a thin, hazy kind of summer heat that felt as if it clung to her skin as she walked. She cursed the heat and the early hour for the weight of the hangover pounding in her head. That was partly what the painkillers were for. The rest of the reason was the deep, distracting ache on her inner thighs where she knew bruises were forming.It wasn’t the first time, and it wasn’t necessarily the discomfort she was trying to dull. No, it was the fact that each step she took, the soreness reminded her of the sweet, brutal pain of the night before, as Kade bent her over the back of the sofa and tore every thought from her head with each ramming thrust.Andre and Sharon were at the elevator as usual. Sharon had a very welcome cup of coffee in hand that Raven accepted gratefully.“Bless you,” she said, sipping at it greedily.“Careful, it’s hot,” Sharon cautioned.“As hot as th
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 13 : Falling for You
On Monday morning, along with a folder with the day’s assignment, Megan delivered Raven a summons.“Mr. Sinclair would like to see you upstairs, at your earliest convenience.”Raven could translate that into plain English: right away. Kade didn’t give a shit about anyone’s convenience, including hers.She resisted the urge to crack a joke during the awkwardly silent elevator ride with Megan to the C-suite. Megan didn’t seem the type for casual office humor.But there was something in how Megan looked at her, as the secretary took her place behind her desk and watched Raven head for the CEO’s door, that gave Raven pause. Behind her iron facade, Megan’s face gave just a hint of… What? Nervousness? Concern? She couldn’t read Megan at all, as usual. She was probably just imagining things.Stepping into the office, though, Raven felt the atmosphere change in a heartbeat. Kade was standing in front of his desk, arms folded, his cold, handsome face set in an expression of unmistaka
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 14 : Assets
The long, dark limo glided up in front of her, and Raven swore silently to herself. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind who this would be. He’d been sitting here, watching, waiting for her to be on her own. He’d definitely seen the kiss—the warm, tender kiss she could still taste lingering on her lips.The bottle of wine she’d split with Brandon was making her head fuzzier than it should be at this moment. She should be walking away, pretending she somehow didn’t see the massive limo in front of her. Instead, she stood rooted, hoping against hope her rideshare would magically materialise and whisk her away before…The back door of the limo opened. Inside the cool blue glow of the running lights illuminated the coldly beautiful face of her CEO.Kade Sinclair had that same, icy anger in his eyes that she’d seen that morning. That had cornered her against the door, thrilled her as she knew she should be resisting…“Get in,” he said sharply. A command with the weight of glaci
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 15 : King of the Castle
Raven was shocked at herself. She didn’t want to admit to herself that she knew what she’d just said, and she knew it was true. She imagined herself at graduation, getting her diploma, suddenly being able to see all those months down the line when she’d be sitting in this limo, with her shirt torn open, with the kind of bargain she was agreeing to fresh on her lips. An “asset.” College Raven would know what that meant, just as well as the Raven of the present moment. Coldly defined, laid out in the open. She was confused. With the situation, with herself, with this enigma of a man in front of her.The man who was still talking to her, saying these vastly important things she’d forgotten to listen to.She tuned back in with an effort, dragging her mind back into gear.“As long as you retain your value for me, in both categories—as an analyst and as a lover—you will have whatever you want. As long as, per your conditions, those two categories don’t impact each other.”“W
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 16 : Only a Little While
Kade’s POV Kade Sinclair sat at his desk as the day was winding to an end and the sunset majestically shone outside his massive office window. He watched each small light flick on along the city’s long avenues, in the office buildings and the apartments and the townhouses. All of it was part of the vast mechanism of the machine, and he knew every beating inch of it, especially the pieces in the light and the darkness, too.His city. His power. Rivals had come and gone, challenged and fallen. They would keep coming and keep falling. And he would still be here.In part, he knew this, thanks to the papers on his desk now in front of him. They were Raven’s findings from the previous Monday, just before the debacle in the limo. The night everything had nearly gone to pieces.Kade ran his eyes over the data again and again. He knew she knew what she’d uncovered, that she didn’t have to spell it out. But he also couldn’t admit that she was running circles around him, numbers-wise
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11Empire of Dominance Chapter 17 : Not On Your Life
Raven’s POV Raven couldn’t wait until bright and early to look inside the folder. She ordered a car to drive her home, conscious of mitigating any risks of walking openly or riding the subway. Risk? What was she thinking? She was slipping into Kade’s paranoia. She shook her head.Getting into the file would be good for another reason. She’d barely managed to say no tonight. Even though she knew it was the right choice, her body was still buzzing in the aftermath. She held her key steady with an effort as she opened the door to her apartment.She stood shivering out the last of the tremulous, dangerous energy in the dark quiet of her apartment. She gathered herself with an effort, letting the air conditioning chill her skin.But right now, she could still be in that office, getting wrecked on the carpet of Kade’s office, testing the limits of pleasure all over again…She shook her head, hard.“Get it together, girl,” she whispered.Kade was not a good man. He wasn’t ki
Terakhir Diperbarui : 2024-09-11
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Empire of Dominance Chapter 50 : What's Mine Is Mine
Raven reclined in the back room office of one of the most exclusive fashion designers in the city, watching her sketch out another vision of a gown for next week’s gala dinner.“This is your debut among the elite as a serious player,” said the designer, lazer-focused. “I want you to look fucking dangerous.”“I like how you think,” grinned Raven, admiring the sketches upside down. “I look forward to seeing what you come up with. And then terrifying some pampered nepo babies into selling shares in their daddies’ companies.”“I like the way YOU think,” laughed the designer. “I’ll have five options ready for you by Friday.”“Excellent. Then I’ll run—I have a lot of appointments this afternoon.”The black-tie doormen showed her out to her waiting limo. HER limo. She slid into the cool interior, catching the curious glances of ordinary passersby—people who hadn’t even been aware of the massive transformation in the financial world last week, or if they had been, hadn’t been overly
Empire of Dominance Chapter 49 : Contract Signing
They were back at the restaurant on the ground floor of Kade’s apartment building only a few hours later for lunch—or for whatever indeterminate meal marked this strange, endless, wonderful day.Raven gratefully accepted a large pour of Kade’s favorite vintage of wine, allowing herself to breathe out at last. Kade had booked them a table by the window: a very visible table, almost like a stage onto the sidewalk. Kade kept his phone on the table, watching push notifications roll in minute by minute as he sipped at his own wine.“So. The Jackal.” She spoke tentatively, reluctant to broach a topic that would bring the whole mood of this victorious moment down. “How did that happen?”“Easily. I reached out to him and told him I had a job.”“Just like that?” She couldn’t help staring. It seemed too easy.“I have my underworld contacts. As you well know.” He didn’t seem at all phased to be discussing this openly and in public. Well, at least in his own restaurant. But then again
Empire of Dominance Chapter 48 : New Arrangements
They didn’t sleep. Raven felt too full of excitement—the lingering, brutal thrill of mindblowing sex and the impending victory made her feel like she’d had five coffees in a row. She showered instead of vainly trying to catch a few minutes of sleep, emerging in a wave of scented steam and contentment. She dug out the gala-night cosmetics from where she’d stowed them in the bathroom drawers and set about making herself immaculately made up.In the mirror, as she made a perfect, subtle cat eye with a careful flick of the eyeliner, she saw a polished, pristine businesswoman. Elegant and keen, like a big cat in a predatory mode. Christina Lu had this dangerous elegance, Raven thought. And now she did too. She was a part of this world. For the first time, she felt secure in that knowledge. She felt equal to it.Nobody was going to be able to take this away from her, she knew. She was what she was–and she very much liked the feeling of being dangerous, she’d come to realize.Kade ap
Empire of Dominance Chapter 47 : Repairing Relationships
The lawyers shuffled out after about half an hour of celebratory drinking and self-congratulations. Raven was left alone in the dining room, the last of the drug’s aftereffects fading into the light champagne buzz.Raven hoisted herself onto the table, where all the monitors and laptops had been set up only a little while before.But Kade didn’t come back in. She linked her ankles and swung them back and forth. If he didn’t show up soon, she decided, she was going to get at least a few hours of sleep before they met up with Christina Lu. But what was keeping Kade?Then she caught the flow of low, low voices. Hushed, coming from the kitchen. Kade and Seymore.She hopped off the table and moved tentatively toward the conversation. She told herself that she wanted to defend Seymore, if it came down to it. To tell Kade she understood what it would be to be dominated. To be taken. But she also knew she was just intensely curious.Kade and Seymore were poised, facing off from oppos
Empire of Dominance Chapter 46 : The Reckoning
Raven’s POVRaven felt the shivering motion of a car motor running. Her head was in someone’s lap, resting against a man’s strong thigh. She recognized the pressure of the palm cupping her head. The motion of a thumb stroking her hair. For a moment, she was floating in the heavy, sweet tenderness of that touch—of Kade’s hands, treasuring her with each touch.And then she remembered.She shouldn’t be awake. She shouldn’t be alive.She tried experimentally to wiggle her fingers. They responded—distantly, clumsily. But she could move. She could think. Granted, through an enormous headache and what felt like a boulder lodged in her stomach.Raven didn’t dare to believe it for a few long seconds.“Seymore, hurry.” Kade’s voice was close, cold, and tight. Urgent. “I think her hands are seizing—”She opened her eyes.There was a clear, split second when she saw Kade’s face looking down at her with open concern… and open affection.She felt herself smile. The soft, senseless
Empire of Dominance Chapter 45 : Conquering Oriri
Kade’s POVKade Sinclair did not get frantic. But he was very, very worried.He sat around the corner from Oriri, parked in the borrowed getaway car with the lights off on the cross street. Raven knew where to find him. She’d gone in nearly fifteen minutes ago, and she wasn’t back out. Seymore hadn’t reemerged either, but that was less concerning. Seymore would be pretending to negotiate, he thought, driving up the price for his loyalty before accepting it, to all appearances. Raven should have taken no more than ten minutes.He couldn’t wait any longer.If Oriri got Raven too… That would be too much. That would be it.He wouldn’t—couldn’t—admit that to himself. But that would break him. How they would send her body to him? All those years ago, the Oriri operative had described how a thirteen-year-old Kade would be left on his father’s desk. An ending to a legacy. To a dynasty. The tactics had never changed. Only now, it was the horror show of the Oriri heirs who were pull
Empire of Dominance Chapter 44 : A Glass of Whiskey
Raven’s POVThe automatic lights flashed on in the server room as Raven moved inside, flash drive in hand. She felt as if she were walking into a gunfight carrying a knife—or not even a knife. Maybe a walking stick. But there was no time to get fidgety or hesitant. She was in this now. Five minutes, she thought. Just let me make it five minutes, and I can do this.She plugged in, setting up at one of the maintenance consoles perched at intervals along the huge servers, with their rows and rows of blinking lights and whirring computer fans. Goosebumps prickled Raven’s bare legs and arms as she watched Oriri’s proprietary software kick into gear. Its format was unfamiliar but intuitive. Just get to the data, she thought firmly. Get to the data, and the rest is cake.And… it was.File after file opened at a tap. UI windows opened in a flash and vanished again as automatic approvals were granted by the certificate permissions Jane and Peter had loaded the flash drive with.The da
Empire of Dominance Chapter 43 : Bring Her In
Seymore’s POV A few minutes earlier, Seymore strode into the vast Oriri lobby, all slick marble and tasteful gilding along angular edges. They might be evil, murderous assholes, he thought, but they could decorate. Or at least hire good decorators.Seymore’s cheer was his armor, and he kept it up around himself. Nobody could crack good cheer. It was something he’d learned after long struggles. Even Kade didn’t know what Seymore had gone through in the years since school…What he’d struggled with. How he’d nearly broke.But now, he had his armor.He smiled at Charles Lu, as the second-youngest Lu sibling came toward him in the lobby. Seymore grinned cheerfully as he shook the hand of the man who had helped arrange the murder of his best friend’s parents.“Good evening, Mr. Lewis. Thank you for coming.”“Please, call me Seymore.” Seymore knew Charles Lu by reputation, and he was pleased to see his instincts were correct: the surviving Lu brother appeared to be about as
Empire of Dominance Chapter 42 : The Server Room
“It’s almost time.” Kade checked his high-end watch for the the fifth time in five minutes.“I know,” Raven smiled, trying to cool down his nerves and vicariously her own as well. “You said that a minute ago.”“I’ll follow a minute after you. In the car that you’ll be looking for when it’s time to get out. A blue hatchback.”“Yes, you showed me the picture.” Raven rubbed his arm. They were still in the penthouse elevator, standing ready for the taxi that should be appearing in precisely two minutes. Inside would be Seymore, diverting the taxi driver by—untraceable, unhackable—verbal direction to the penthouse. Nothing about tonight could begin with or leave a trail. No rideshare with a saved history and user associated program. It would all be done in cash and borrowed cars. Top secret, she thought. She was beyond finding it funny, though. Nothing about tonight felt funny.When she let her mind wander, she found herself floating back to Garth Lu. His face close to hers
