Noah came to Chicago for one thing: to save his brother. Otherwise, the child waiting for him at the rehabilitation center would be sent into a foster system thousands of miles away.
He walked through the doors of Ashford House and saved Grant's show-stopping coat with a single stitch. Grant Ashford—an openly gay, cold, and ruthless power broker—was being squeezed from both sides: his old partner poaching his VIP clientele, and his core supplier choking his access to rare iris root extract and custom hardware. Grant's offer was brutally simple: become his resident muse and personal assistant, surrender his body proportions, scent memory, and emotional responses to fuel the new collection—and the money would be wired upfront.
Noah signed. He thought he was just a tool that had been bought.
Until he saw Grant shield him from humiliation in front of everyone. Until he realized everyone in that lavish mansion was fighting for the same thing—the collection credit, the supply contract, the salon invitations, and the only spot beside Grant. The needle in his hand began to stitch more than just gowns.
When the ex-partner's jealousy and the supplier's blackmail escalated together, Noah tore through the lies with his own hands—taking back his work, and taking back the man who saw him as a person, not just data.
Those who walk on the edge of a needle know best how to protect what matters.
