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Twenty-Five
Last Updated:
2024-12-09 23:53:46
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His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Twenty-Six
“Tristan” Was the only word I could manage after gawking for what felt like eternity. I was really playing it smooth.Tristan stood up to his full height. He had been standing before, but it felt like he’d made himself smaller somewhat, just so he could enter the office and speak with me.All at once, I was both angry and amused.I wondered if he did this every time, with everyone—showing off.“I’ve been expecting you in since morning.” He said.I looked at him flatly and the documents in my hand. “I didn’t come in today. I just wanted to grab some more files and see how much more work I could get done.”“Forever industrious,” said Tristan, slinging an arm casually around my neck. “See, this is why I love you, William. You just go full steam ahead without needing directions or validation from anyone.”Gingerly, I took his hand away from my shoulders, trying not to focus on the fact that he had just said he loved me. Again.I chucked it up to casual talk. Endearment in modern context w
Last Updated : 2024-12-10His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Twenty- seven
William's POV“Caleb.” I repeated the words, because the first time, it had sounded like something that life could still be given to. This time, I squeezed the words out as if I could also wring the neck of the owner of that name.“How did the hell—?”“You keep pushing me away, William. I told you I love you. I’m going to keep on doing everything in my power to make this work. Won’t you give me another chan—”I cut the call and slammed on the steering so that the car honked.I groaned and held the wheel with both hands, eyes closed tightly. When was I going to wake up from this nightmare?I had blocked Caleb. I had blocked his number because that had been the last straw. I had long since unfollowed and then blocked him on all of my social media accounts, and even gotten him removed from my mailing list.And he’d gone right ahead to call me with a different line. Somehow, he seemed to have stocked himself up with a small arsenal of phones, mobile devices…My phone was ringing again. I
Last Updated : 2024-12-11His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Twenty-Eight
William's POV I stared wide until I was vcertain that my eyes were going to rupture. What the fuck was going on?I could not give myself an answer or a reason that would justify anything. I knew that Tristan was gay; I’d caught him and Adrian once having oral sex, in his office, and then he’d proposed love to me. I had not once seen with him any woman, so I was completely sure of his sexual orientation. And yet, seeing him now…I wanted to scream out my lungs and tell him to be careful. To send him back up the stairs so that no one would see him or how beautiful he looked.But Tristan was walking down the stairs with determined steps. Him, and the man beside him. His date for the evening.Uncontrollably, I began to shiver. My hand clenched into a fist around the stem of the glass that I held… I didn’t care about anything in that moment. I wasn’t seeing anyone—not Adrian who was just next to me, similarly locked in frozen spectacle—or anything right now.My gaze was entirely fixated o
Last Updated : 2024-12-12His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Twenty-Nine
Fire exploded across my lips and all I wanted to do was put it out. But it was such a sweet, delicious fire, and I didn’t want it to ever go out.His lips were just on mine. Tristan was still gauging my reaction, but I didn’t care. I was willing to abandon myself and everything that I had felt before, right up to that moment if it meant that I could luxuriate in this moment, stretch it out across infinity…But that would have been a dream. No sooner had I thought it did Tristan’s lips peel away from mine, and I was standing there, eyes closed, waiting… wishing that his lips would come back to mine.A cool wind passed by, reminding me of the absence of the heat of Tristan’s lips.I opened my eyes slowly. He was staring at me with all the grace of a predator.“You’re alive,” he said.I tried to speak but could not get any sound to come out. There was no breath in me… I felt like I was going to fall over the next second.I gulped guiltily and stared back at him.“You kissed me,” I accuse
Last Updated : 2024-12-13His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Thirty
The words were like a trigger in my mind, tripping off every alarm that I might have prepared for.I found myself transfixed, tongue heavy and mind lulled into a state of submission and obedience. I fought to bring my head up from those murky waters.“Make me,” I said darkly.The door behind Tristan had closed and we were in his room now, enveloped in total silence.I could see the glitter on his face. I could see the perfection he had for cheekbones… could feel the heat that rolled off him in waves as he moved with animal grace.“I’m not going to ask you again, William,” he growled at me, the vibration shaking my core. My cock twitched, straining against the fabric of my clothes. I needed to maintain order… I needed to regain control, but the only thing I could think about was how hard and hot Tristan’s body had been when he’d pressed me against him.I could still taste him on my lips. I wanted to taste him again. I wanted to go to war with his tongue. I wanted to see what it would b
Last Updated : 2024-12-14His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Thirty-One
Tristan’s chest rises and falls, a perfect sight in the slice of golden morning light that’s on his face. I could stay here forever, just watch his chest, tight and flat like the skin of drum as it rises and falls with his soft breaths…“You’re staring,” Tristan murmured, eyes still closed so that he looked like an angel in sleep.I sighed happily and allowed myself to sink lower.“Of course I’m staring.”“You should cut it out. It’s creepy.”“Maybe you should open your eyes and stare too.”Tristan makes a sound in his throat but turns in my direction and opens his eyes. There’s a little bit of gold dust on his face and when he opens his eyes, that perfect hazel colour that taints his pupil reflects back at me so that I gasp in breath.This man is fucking beautiful, and he knows it.“Well,” Tristan says. “I’m staring now.”I cocked an eyebrow and reached for his hand, guiding it down my chest. “Good, that’s one part down.”Tristan didn’t once leave my eyes as my hand guided his lower
Last Updated : 2024-12-15His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Thirty-Two
“How do you keep getting my number, Caleb?” I shouted. “What is wrong with you?”To my surprise, Caleb’s voice was calm when he responded, “There’s nothing wrong with me, William, I’ve told you before. If there’s anything that’s the problem with me at all, it’s you, William. You’re refusing to hear me out. You’re refusing to see what’s in front of you. I love you, William. Why won’t you—”I ended the call and squeezed the phone in my hand. I unlocked it and went straight to number, blocking and then deleting it, but not before a text message from Caleb had come in:STOP FIGHTING THIS, WILLIAM. I’M STILL HERE FOR YOU. LET ME LOVE YOU. RETHINK OUR RELATIONSHIP.I deleted the text message and blocked the number.It occurred to me that every person that I probably knew was seeing this news, unless they were not online or like to keep abreast of current topics.My father had already called. Now I understood what he had meant when he said I had killed him. He had read the news already. He h
Last Updated : 2024-12-16His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Thirty-Three
I explained everything to Ellie, starting with why she had been unable to reach me, up till the point where Tristan had left this morning and for a while, both her and her husband just stared, speechless.I took a drink of the tea that they had served me and moved back in the chair. I would be silent too if someone just unloaded everything that had happened so far onto me.It seemed like everything had happened all at once, had been fast-forwarded and then the hot looping mess had been poured into my lap. I brought the cup of tea to my lips again.“You mean to tell me…” Ellie started. She’d risen up from her chair and had started pacing round the room. “Let me get this straight. You and Tristan had sex.”“Yes.”“You and Tristan had actual sex.”I frowned at her. “Is there a point you’re trying to make, Ellie?”“What? No, I’m just…” she paced and spun. “And then he left you just like that? All alone in his house? That was kind of harsh.”I sighed. “Honestly, it’s what I would do too. I
Last Updated : 2024-12-17
Latest chapter
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire EPILOGUE
My breath misted out in front of me as I moved, booted heels clopping against the cold interlocked streets of Paris. It was beautiful this time of year, and impossibly cold, too. I shivered slightly against the cold wind that blew again, hugging my tan trench coat around myself even tighter.I thought I heard someone—something familiar, and turned around, my breaths exhaling into the air with a cold imprecise clarity that frosted the air just in front of me. A picturesque view met my eyes.Pale-faced, fast-speaking French people who moved about, twisting and bowing their heads, nodding in conversation, shivering in the cold and folding their arms and stuffing them in their armpits, others cuddling and pretending they were in some cinematic effect, the tall hazy outline of the Eiffel tower in the background and the occasional honk of a car.I exhaled again and brought my gloved hands to my lips.“They don’t talk about how cold it is in Paris,” a voice said behind
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty-Five
I had thought so many times about what it would be like to meet my father again—to confront him about his homophobia and how many things I wanted to say. I had thought about apologizing, for my insensitive remarks and how I had hurt both him and Gran, and I had thought more recently about how he had been the person that Caleb had called… he had been the one to save me.My words choked in my throat, saliva and a thousand unsaid things bulging.“Dad—”“Shh,” he shook his head and stepped back. He motioned for me to come inside. I was shivering. I couldn’t tell if Tristan was right behind me or if I was walking alone. I just knew that I had to follow my father right now, and in we went, past the grand foyer and the waiting room, and then we were in the expansive hall where everyone was standing around in, their eyes swiveling to fix on me the minute I stepped in.Once again, I felt my throat clam up with emotion and the one thing I wanted to do was sink into the floor.There, the person
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty-Four
My head felt like a miniature sun was going off in it, imploding, exploding… way too loud and bright. All I could think of was the sound of meat crunching down a staircase and the sharp, clean break of bone… the strong metal scent of blood, and Tristan’s voice drilling into my ears as he crushed my bones in a hug.“You’re going to be alright, William. It’s alright. You’re going to be alright…”My eyes couldn’t leave the sight on the floor, Caleb on the floor, head bashed in terribly and bleeding, a woman that looked familiar to me, in cuffs, crying, “Caleb! Caleb, no!”Adam stepped into view, cutting off my vision.“Tristan,” he rushed to slip an arm under his boss. “You’re hurt?”“I’m fine,” Tristan brushed him away. He was still trying to keep me straight and hold me up. “William’s hurt bad. Can you get paramedic? Damn it, Adam, I’m fine. I’ll survive. It’s just a shoulder wound. Get the medics.”I zoned everything out. The million swarming cop cars and the cacophony of their wailin
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty-Three
My body felt like I’d been run over by a train. Everything hurt, and when I tried to grimace, the pain was worse.“Arggh,” I groaned in an attempt to stifle the pain. My face was instantly lit up by a scarring network of white-hot firing pain all over. Slowly, I brought my hand to my face. My nose was horribly disfigured and blood had crusted all over, making crunching noises as I tried to move my mouth.I spat something to the white floor, turning it a bloody mess. It seemed so surreal. I was here in this contained place with all of the white lights and sterile looking white floors, and everything bathed in white, and I was the one thing that was broken and bleeding.I touched a loose tooth in my mouth with my tongue. Caleb hadn’t even bothered to administer any anesthetics. No pain-killers, no meds, nothing.I looked up and there he was, staring bloodily at me. At the very least, I had done some serious damage to his face, too. His eye was still bruised and when he cocked a crooked
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty-Two
TRISTAN“What’s going to happen now?” Eric asked, his eyes puffy. He’d been rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms and groaning into his palms until a few seconds ago. He looked utterly disheveled. How a man could become so reduced in a manner of moments, simply because the one he loved had been taken away…I understood it. But I didn’t want to allow myself to go down that path. All I could do right now was see how I could get to William. And Caleb. FAST.I couldn’t say that I knew much of my brother—I’d abandoned almost every single thing that tied me so that I could focus on running the company. Losing my father had not been easy—but if there was one thing I knew about Caleb, it was that he needed help. He was much too unstable to left alone by himself for too long.I was sad, and broken, but I was angry and that was good. Right now, I channeled that anger into a small stream that had me flexing my wrist in small movements. I was not going to lose focus of what needed to be d
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty-One
TRISTAN“Damnit.”I echoed, not for the umpteenth time that day. My thoughts were fixed solely on William. I still could not believe what had happened. All I could remember was the look on his face and how confused he had looked about everything, and the anger that I felt.To think that he’d taken that picture of me…I groaned and rubbed my hands over my face again. I could still feel the weight of Adelstein’s hand on my shoulder, patting me as he led me away from William.“It’s alright, my boy.” He’d said. “You did the right thing.”But it didn’t feel like the right thing at all. Not when I knew that William was being carted away to the police station where I knew that he would definitely spend some time sitting in that cell before bail could be made. If nothing else happened to him, then he would forever bear the guilt on his face, just how I betrayed him.No, I reprimanded myself. It had to be done.I was the CEO of Terra corporations. I was the man who made all of the difficult an
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Eighty
“You look good—” Caleb said one day as he watched me eat. “—Better.”I frowned at him. At this point in time, I figured that I had been locked up here for at least five days. There was still no way for me to tell the time, and the white bulb was always turned on here, even when I slept. But I had been eating whatever Caleb brought, devouring it ravenously, and after some time, he no longer hit me. Only stopped and watched me eat.He was doing it right now.I said nothing. Ignoring him was the only way I could keep out the madness from encroaching and devouring my mind. So I ate in silence.“That’s chicken biryani and some lamb curry,” he pointed out rather stupidly. I already knew what I was eating. Did he think I lived at the bottom of a well? I just wasn’t especially fond of Indian cuisine because they were rather spicy. Now, seeing as I had no choice, I ate every single morsel of the well-seasoned food, taking my time and hoping that he would leave me alone.
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Seventy-Nine
I didn’t know how much time had passed but I was tired and sitting at the foot of the bed by the time that Caleb came back to the small white room.“Wakey wakey,” he said as he poked his head up from the opening in the floor. He looked at me and frowned. Then he sighed and came fully into the room. The door shut behind him with an almost metallic sound.“William, you poor baby.” He made to touch me, but I shoved his hands away, breathing fire from my flaring nostrils. He looked at me with something akin to pity, then looked at the tray still on the bed, the untouched bowl of soup there.“You’re not doing either of us any favors by not eating, William.”I continued staring at him.“You have to eat something sometime. You think I want to be looking at you all stick-thin and undesirable? You’ve got to eat something. At the very least. Maybe you don’t want soup. Maybe you can tell me what you want to eat.”He drew closer, eyes shining, “If I remember correctly, you’ve never said no to a f
His Sworn Enemy; His Deepest Desire Seventy-Eight
I tumbled through unconsciousness.It was so different from sleeping. This time, it felt more real, more potent, more… I don’t know what else I could have used to describe it except for the fact that it felt like swimming in a black and oily soup.I couldn’t make heads or tails of where I was or where I was moving.Caleb had hit me. Or something had. I don’t know. But I could remember the distinct feeling of something hard making contact with the back of my head. It was a miracle I was alive—I knew I was alive because twice, I had floated in and out of consciousness, and the two times, I could barely open my eyes, but noise filtered into my hearing.I felt my body moving. Breath rushed into my lungs and the pain had bloomed at the back of my head each time I woke, burning red behind my eyes.I closed my eyes again, finally summoning enough strength to scrunch my eyes open. Blearily, I tried to look around and almost lost consciousness again from the pain that flooded my senses.“Fuuuc
