Taming the Beast: 6. Breaking Point

Elodie told herself she wouldn’t go. She repeated it over and over, pacing the length of her suite until her reflection in the glass doors looked like a stranger. Her hair was still mussed from restless hands, her blouse wrinkled from clutching it against her chest as if that could quiet the pounding ache beneath.

And then the phone lit up. It was from him - Ciaran. "Gym. Now!" the message splashed on my screen read. 

No request. No explanation. Just command.

Her thumb hovered, trembling with refusal, but her body betrayed her. Five minutes later, she was descending the steel staircase into the belly of his private wing.

The gym smelled of leather, iron, sweat. Harsh lights gleamed off polished floors, catching on heavy bags, free weights, racks of weapons mounted like trophies. Ciaran stood at the center, bare-chested, muscles coiled with restless fury. His fists were wrapped, stained with fresh cuts from relentless strikes against the bag.

He didn’t tur