Page 39 of The Sterling Acquisition
“Good,” Dante replied with dark satisfaction. The hatred was perfect—it meant Orion understood exactly what had just happened, how his body betrayed his mind. No confusion, no grateful submission. Just pure, crystalline fury at being made to feel something he didn’t want to feel. “Use it. Channel all that fury into something productive.”
“I want to kill you.”
“Even better. Hold onto that feeling.” Dante stepped back, releasing Orion’s wrists but staying close enough to catch him if his legs gave out. Watching him process what had just happened was almost as satisfying as making it happen in the first place. “Anger will keep you sharp for what’s coming.”
Orion slumped against the wall, his chest still heaving. “What’s coming?”
“Leo’s timeline is accelerating. His supervisors—specifically Dr. Morrison—are pressuring him for results, both professionally and personally,” Dante said, his voice dropping to a clinical precision that contrasted sharply with his earlier heat. “You know how these corporate exchange programs work, so you know I’m not just here for vaccine scaling. I’m here for Project Tether.”
He stepped back, allowing space for the information to land. “Project Tether is designed specifically for cases like yours, so you need to decide if you want to come with me when I take it. Because if you stay, the worst case scenario is they use it on you before I can get to it, best case is I leave, but you are still trapped here and Leo finds a way to break you anyway.”
Orion’s eyes narrowed as he processed the information. “How soon?”
“That depends on your heat, though I know SVI has a patent they’ve never used on a heat accelerant that can take that factor out of the equation.” Dante watched Orion’s expression shift from humiliation to calculation in seconds—confirmation of exactly why he found him so fascinating. “I can give you more suppressants, but those clearly aren’t working. Which means you need to give Leo something convincing. Some sign that his methods are working without surrendering anything meaningful.”
Orion studied him with renewed intensity, looking for deception. “Why should I believe you? You’re Gensyn. Different corporation, same methods.”
“Because if I wanted a mindless Omega, I wouldn’t be interested in you.” The admission came out more honest than Dante intended. “Your defiance isn’t a flaw to correct. It’s...” He gestured between them, at the electricity still crackling in the air. “That’s the whole point.”
Orion’s eyes narrowed, weighing options and probabilities. “What do you need me to do?”
“Be strategically compliant with Leo. Basic instructions followed without warfare. Small gestures he can report as progress.” Dante’s voice softened. “I’m not asking you to break. I’m asking you to play a role—something you’re clearly capable of—just long enough for me to arrange extraction.”
“Extraction to where? Your corporate masters?” The skepticism in Orion’s voice was justified.
“One problem at a time,” Dante said. “First priority is keeping you away from Morrison’s department.”
Orion was quiet for a long moment, the tactical calculations almost visible behind his eyes. Finally, he spoke, “This doesn’t make us allies.”
“No,” Dante agreed. “But it doesn’t make us enemies either.”
Chapter twelve
Calculated Risks
Orion
OrionheardLeo’skeyat the apartment door and forced himself to stay seated on the bed instead of automatically tensing for a fight. The sound that had meant incoming harassment and humiliation for the past year now carried a different weight—calculation instead of dread.
Play the game, Dante said. Give Leo something he can view as progress.
The memory of Dante’s hands on him, of being pinned against the wall and falling apart despite every instinct screaming at him to resist, sent heat crawling up his neck. Hours later, he could still feel the phantom pressure of that thigh between his legs, still hear the rough promise in Dante’s voice when he whispered about taking hisvirginity.
Fuck. He was getting hard again just thinking about it, and Leo was about to walk through that door expecting to see a more manageable version of his expensive acquisition.
The apartment door opened, and Leo’s voice drifted through the walls with uncharacteristic lightness. “Orion? I’m home.”
Home. Like this was some domestic arrangement instead of a cage with better furniture.
When Leo unlocked his door, Orion looked up from the bed and managed something that might have passed for a pleasant expression instead of his usual hostility.
“Evening,” he said simply.
Leo stopped in the doorway, startled by the lack of immediate confrontation. “Good evening. How are you feeling?”
“Better.” Which wasn’t entirely a lie. The pre-heat symptoms had calmed somewhat, leaving him clearheaded enough to think strategically for the first time in days.
“That’s wonderful to hear.” Leo stepped into the room, his usual nervous energy tempered by cautious optimism. The scent of antiseptic clung to his clothes—the standard-issue SVI laboratory disinfectant that always left a chemical aftertaste in the air. “Dante said you two had a very productive session.”
