《A Game Of Temptation》


 01

    **Mature Content, ONLY 18+**


    **Mature Content, ONLY 18+**


    *****


    No, no, no.


    Please no.


    I jumped back to avoid the bouquet falling in my direction, but it still ended up right at my feet. My heart mmed against my ribcage as I stared at the bouquet lying by my feet like it was a ticking time bomb, ready to go off any second.


    This could not be happening to me right now.


    Why couldn¡¯t it havended next to one of the other bridesmaids who looked more than happy to catch it? Why did it have tond on me out of all of them?


    Maybe because my best friend, the bride of the day, had thrown it right at me and even though I¡¯d stepped out of the way, it still somehow managed to hit its target.


    Shit.


    My eyes darted around and I took in the number of eyes on me, watching me strangely, probably wondering what the hell was wrong with me. Well, they could judge me if they wanted. They weren¡¯t the ones that had gotten their fates sealed by a fucking bouquet of all things.


    Grudgingly, just to get their eyes off me, I bent and picked it up, holding it stiffly and far away from my body like it could bite, and walked away without a particr destination in mind.


    I ended up stopping at a table of pastries, the flower still sped in a death-grip in my fist. With my free hand, I snagged a drink off the tray of a passing waiter and downed the whole thing in one go, mming the empty ss on the table I was leaning on.


    ¡°This is a sign, Laura. You¡¯re next.¡±Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    The words were whispered into my ear.


    I turned and red at my best friend, Balery, aka the bride of the day.


    ¡°Fuck you.¡± I whispered harshly. ¡°You did that on purpose.¡±


    ¡°I did no such thing,¡± She argued, a yful grin on her lips that contradicted her words. ¡°You caught it because you were destined to.¡±


    ¡°What? You¡¯re a soothsayer now on top of everything else?¡±


    Sheughed, happy and melodious, and I couldn¡¯t even stay mad at her anymore. I wasn¡¯t really mad at her to begin with. It was just the situation I was angry at, and that was the crazy part.


    Catching the flower didn¡¯t necessarily mean that I was up next on the marriage list, but that was what a lot of people believed and a tiny part of me might have believed it too, at least before today.


    And that was what terrified me.


    Balery¡¯s eyesnded on a spot over my shoulder, but I didn¡¯t turn to see what she was looking at. I still didn¡¯t turn even when she walked away, telling me that she¡¯d be back shortly.


    Today had turned out to be a really great day-asides from the whole bouquet thing. Her husband, Jack Summend, CEO of Summend and Co Enterprises, a multi-million dorpany, had been unable to keep his eyes off her all through the ceremony-and every other day, to be honest. He waspletely smitten with her, and I couldn¡¯t be happier that my best friend had found a man who worshipped the ground she walked on.


    She¡¯d worked for him as his assistant for two years, and interest had sparked between them over time. Since hispany didn¡¯t have a no-fraternisation policy, there had been no reason for them to not hit things off. It turned out to get pretty serious, they dated for a year before they got engaged and now, they were married.


    Speak of the devil. I caught her a few feet away, talking to a man. I could only see his body in profile, so I couldn¡¯t tell what he looked like, but he was tall and dark-haired, that much I could tell.


    As if she¡¯d somehow known that I was looking at her, her eyes snapped to mine and I saw a small smile touch her lips. Her eyes stayed on mine even as she said something to the man and it didn¡¯t take a genius to put two and two together.


    She was about to y match-maker.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± I mumbled to no one in particr as I hurried through the crowd, abandoning the flowers on the table. Deliberately.


    I hatedmitment more than I hated waxing.


    A body blocked my path, stopping my progress, and I attempted to side-step, but they only followed, standing in front of me. Annoyed, I looked up and saw that the obstruction was a fairly good-looking man with a head full of curly brown hair and bright blue eyes.


    I took a subtle step back. ¡°You¡¯re standing in my way.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± He said simply, ¡°You look like you need saving, and I think I can help.¡±


    When youe to think of it, I really did need saving, didn¡¯t I?


    Sighing, I said, ¡°Yeah, I do actually.¡± I found myself admitting. ¡°My best friend¡¯s about to y match-maker and I hate when she does that. What do you have in mind? We pretend we¡¯re locked in serious conversation? Marriage ns?¡± I joked.


    ¡°How about you give me your number instead?¡±


    Iughed, thinking that he was joking too. When I realised that I was the only oneughing, I stopped. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ serious?¡±


    ¡°Giving me your number is a good start, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Wow. Guys were such assholes.


    And here I¡¯d thought he¡¯d simply decided to help he out of the goodness of his heart. I should have known better.


    ¡°Your idea of helping me is to ask for my number?¡±


    ¡°Well,¡± He grinned, sleazy and so fucking disgusting, I took another step back. ¡°Yes. You¡¯re a pretty thing. You loo-¡±


    ¡°Get out of my way.¡±


    When he didn¡¯t budge, I thought; You know what? Screw this.


    I walked around him and stormed through the crowd, intent on getting the hell out of here. I just needed to go up to my room, change out of my gown and have a long sleep.


    I fished out my phone from my purse and shot Balery a text, letting her know that I was leaving early. She wouldn¡¯t see it right now because she was busy, but she would see itter. I just didn¡¯t want her to worry.


    I was keeping my phone back in my purse when I mmed into a rock hard body and suddenly, felt cold liquid running down the front of my dress.


    ¡°What the hell is your problem?¡± I snapped, totally fed up and too pissed to look at the person, so instead, I stared at the mess they¡¯d made of my dress.


    The wet spot wasn¡¯t that visible, but I felt it anyway.


    I didn¡¯t wait for an apology-not that it looked like I was getting one-before I hurried over to the elevator. The moment I got in, I pushed the button for my floor and leaned back on the wall, exhausted.


    My eyes flicked to the elevator panel, to the numbers increasing as it went up. It felt like the ride was going on forever and the fact that I had ustrophobia wasn¡¯t helping at all.


    Think of something else, Laura.


    But what?


    My eyesnded on the numbers again.


    25.


    Just as I was about to give a sigh of relief that I was finally nearing my floor-I was on floor 15-the elevator stopped moving and the doors slid open, revealing the most beautiful man I had ever seen in all my life.

 02

    Well, one thing was for sure; my night just got better.


    He nced at me, took one step into the elevator, then did a double take almost as if he couldn¡¯t help himself. After a second, he seemed to realise that he was staring and that he was holding back the elevators, stopping it from moving.


    Giving his head a sharp shake, he stepped in and the doors finally slid shut. Not only was I d that I wasn¡¯t alone in here anymore, but I was also d that the person who joined me, had to be the most gorgeous man I had ever met in my life. And here, I thought Balery¡¯s husband was the most handsome man in existence. This man gave him a run for his looks-and money, judging by the expensive as hell tux he wore and the Rolex watch on his hand.


    As the doors slid shut, his presence filled the room, making it seem smaller in size, but somehow not cranking my ustrophobia, and his scent filled my nostrils. He smelled of pure male and something expensive. His cologne.


    I allowed myself to check him out since he was obviously doing the same to me. He was tall, a whole foot taller than me, with a big frame. He was big without being bulky, just as I liked them, and the tux he wore moulded to his body, promising deliciousness under the pieces of clothing he wore. He had jet ck hair, cut close to his head on both sides and longer on the top. It flopped to one side of his head messily, as if he had been running his hands through it all day.


    I fisted my hand, fighting the urge to run my hands through them as well.


    He had light green eyes, a straight nose, full pouty lips that begged to be kissed, and a square jaw. Right now, that jaw was clenched, looking as though it could crunch granite.


    I met his eyes and was staggered by the desire that zed in those mesmerising green depths. I wasn¡¯t surprised, but I was ttered because unlike the other guys that had tried to get my number back at the party, I was actually attracted to this one. How could I not be? He was drop dead gorgeous.


    ¡°What floor are you going to?¡± He asked me. Was it pathetic to say that I almost came just from the sound of his voice?


    It was deep and low and it boomed across the small ce, making all mydy bits stand at attention. How could only his voice do that to me? I had never been so attracted to a person in all my life.


    ¡°Fifteen.¡± My voice came out all breathy and horny. There was no hiding the fact that I was horny and from the way his eyes red, he picked up on that.


    He took one step towards me, gave a pause, then took another, and another. He was crossing the small space towards me. Slowly, but surely. In some part of my mind-the part that was still functioning-I realised that he was onlying towards me in such a slow pace so as to give me the chance to tell him to back off. So why wasn¡¯t I asking him to stay away?


    Simple; Because I wanted him.


    When he finally crossed the small space to me, he didn¡¯t stop a few feet away from me, no, he walked right into my personal space, staring at me all the while he closed the distance between us, those green eyes of his burning in their intensity. I felt like they could see into my soul. Like they could see the lust I was trying to hide. Like they could see everything that I wanted to do to him. Everything that I wanted him to do to me.


    The force of the lust in his eyes was too much, and it had me taking an involuntary step back until my back was t against the wall of the elevator. His eyes sparked, and he took thatst step, following me, caging me in by bracing his right hand on the wall beside my head.


    Like this, with him standing so close to me, I had to tilt my head up to look at him, while he looked down at me. I felt incredibly small and fragile and the image of him looking so big and powerful, had my arousal surging. My breaths came in small pants, my heart, mming against my ribcage. What was happening to me? Was I about to have a heart attack?


    His extended hand made his tux pull tighter, clinging to the muscles in his body. I was eye-level with his chest and right now, I wished his tux was gone. I wished everything he was wearing, was gone so that I could devour him with my eyes.


    I looked up at him again, and almost wished that I hadn¡¯t.


    ¡°Whats your name, beautiful?¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    My heart skipped.


    ¡°Laura.¡± The word came out on a whisper.


    His eyes glinted and he lifted his free hand, bringing it to touch my face. I jolted when his fingers made contact with my skin and I was too horny to feel embarrassed about my reaction to him merely touching me. Seriously, what was up with me? Why was I reacting this was towards a guy?


    Usually, I had the upper hand with guys, not the other way round. So, I was ashamed to say that this man had me fumbling all over the ce. My panties were a mess, my heart was racing itself into a heart attack. I had found it hard to remember my own name, for fucks sake.


    I needed to get my control back. This wasn¡¯t me.


    Yet then he said, ¡°Do you want to get fucked, Laura?¡±


    And the remainder of my dignity, shame, and self control melted. First of all, the way my name rolled out of his lips was nothing short of erotic, and then him asking me if I wanted to get fucked?


    Hell, I was a sucker for confident men. Throw dirty talkers into the mix? I was a goner. This man was both.


    I wasn¡¯t even ashamed when I moaned the word, ¡°Yes.¡±

 03

    His teeth shed white on a grin-that almost had meing-and his head fell forward. Before I knew it, he had sealed his lips over mine in a kiss.


    A kiss that topped all other kisses.


    His mouth moved against mine, his hand sliding down from my face to grip my waist, his fingers, digging into my flesh. He nted his mouth over mine and his other hand left the wall to angle my head exactly how he wanted it. Just the way he needed it.


    I moaned into his mouth and met the ferociousness of his kiss, a kiss filled with hunger, passion and unequaled lust. I dragged my tongue along the roof of his mouth-it drove guys crazy whenever I did that-and he groaned long and low, the sound echoing through my body and then settling on my core. It clenched painfully, hungrily and I shamelessly grounded my hip onto him, trying to alleviate that emptiness.


    Since he was far taller than me, I ended up humping his leg and he groaned again, his hands sliding from my waist to my hips to grip me, forcing me to stop moving.


    I almost protested out loud. In fact, I was pretty sure I made a sound, except that it was drowned out by the kiss. What was wrong with him? Why was he stopping me?


    And why hell was I so out of control?


    He ate at my mouth for a few more minutes, not even giving me the chance toe up for air then he broke the kiss, moving to nibble on the side of my mouth, ying with my bottom lip, then the upper one.


    The elevator dinged, causing us to pull back. Reluctantly, of course.


    His hand was still on my hip, and although he wasn¡¯t digging his fingers into me anymore, he had span them out to reach my ass. From the look in his eyes, he was not ready to remove them anytime soon.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    A pin had fallen out of my hair, so stray hair now settled in front of my face. He lifted his hand and pushed them softly behind my ears.


    I swallowed. How could one man be so ferocious one moment and then gentle the next?


    ¡°Will youe with me to my room?¡± He asked, still ying with the lock of hair.


    Did I want to go with him to his room? Hell yes.


    Should I?


    I didn¡¯t know him. Didn¡¯t know where he hade from. He had only stepped into the elevator with me and I felt an attraction to him that I had never before felt in my entire life.


    But didn¡¯t I prefer sex with strangers? The lesser they knew about me, and I, them, the better it was for me. Why not just embrace tonight with this sexy stranger and then forget all about him tomorrow?


    I didn¡¯t even live in this part of the city, had onlye here because it was the location of the wedding. So if he lived here, the chances of us seeing each other again was slim as hell.


    ¡°Laura?¡± He asked again, dragging my eyes to his molten green ones. The heat in his eyes was so palpable, it had me shivering. And when he saw it, his eyes darkened anew.


    I had never wanted a man as much as I wanted him. Was I seriously thinking about it? Who knew when I would be able to dig a man as much as I did him?


    So with a nod, I said, ¡°Yes.¡±


    He led the way out of the elevator with his hand on my waist. His room was on the same floor as mine. Looking at the oue of things now, I shouldn¡¯t have booked the hotel room. But it was not like I had any way of knowing that I was going to meet the hottest man in existence and that he was going to ask me to spend the night with him.


    Plus, if I hadn¡¯te to the hotel in the first ce, then I wouldn¡¯t have seen him. So, no regrets were allowed. Just that the room wouldn¡¯t be upied.


    We walked down the corridor, then he stopped when we reached a room, number 56, on the left side of the hallway. Mine was number 60, which meant that it was still down the hallway, not that far from his. What would have been the odds of us seeing each other?


    If I had actually slept in my room, then I wouldn¡¯t havee out until tomorrow when I wanted to leave. I usually ordered food and everything I needed up to my room, unless it was a necessity that I had to go down. I didn¡¯t have one for the night, which meant that there was no chance that I would have run into him.


    Oddly, I was d that I had used the elevator at the time that I did.


    He swiped his keycard and the door opened. He gestured for me to go in before he did. When I stepped in, the first thing I noticed was that it wasn¡¯t a room-it was a suite. And right now, we were in the living area.


    Everything about the suite screamed luxury and it called to the girl inside me that loved luxurious things. The rich draperies, the chandelier, the beautiful kitchen area, and the virtual fire ce. Everything was lovely.


    The more I took everything in, the more the reality of what I was about to do solidified in my mind. I was about to have sex on my best friends wedding night, at a hotel I was only supposed to be innocently spending the night at. Definitely not hooking up with a stranger.


    ¡°Having second thoughts?¡± The aforementioned stranger called from behind me, in his sexy as sin voice.


    In the elevator, I had given him power. I didn¡¯t usually react like that to a man. Granted, this one was extremely hot and pushed my buttons in a way no man ever had, but it didn¡¯t mean that I was going to let myself be someone else with him.


    I was going to get my control back. I was going to push some of his buttons too.


    Cocking a brow at him, I shoved the thin hands of my dress off my shoulders and the garment gave way, pooling at my feet. I stepped out of them.


    His reaction was almostical. He abruptly held on to the stool beside him, gripping it with so much force that his knuckles turned white. ¡°Fuck.¡±

 04

    LAURA


    My spine tingled, feminine power filling me.


    Since the gown was an off-shoulder, I had decided not to wear a bra at all. My breasts stood out high and free, and as for underwear, I wore garters that ended on my mid-thigh, just where the slit of the dress had started. All in all, I actually knew how I looked. I had full breasts, even though they weren¡¯t that big, and my waist cinched in and red out into my hips dramatically.


    The whole assemble of my garters, without a bra, was designed to do damage. Just like how it was doing damage on this man right now.


    I was still in my heels as I walked slowly over to him. He still had not been able to take his eyes off my body. Hie eyes tracked my movement, rising to his full height. He ran his hand over his mouth, his eyes eating me whole. There was no other way to describe the way he was looking at me.


    Standing in front of him with only a hairsbreadth between us, I unbuttoned his tux. He watched me, unable to do anything but stare at my body. He didn¡¯t even seem to know what I was doing.


    Yes, this was what I wanted. This was what I had been aiming for. The power. I now had it back.


    I pushed the tux off his shoulders, went to quick work on unbuttoning the white long sleeved shirt he wore inside, then also pushed it off him. When his body became bared before me, I felt my control slipping away.


    If I had thought he was hot before, now that I was presented with this muscle packed body, I thought that he was impossible. How could a guy look like this?Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    bs upon bs of muscle was what his body was made of. He had a six pack and the indentations were so well defined, something that I knew had only been achieved due to intense hard work. So, not only was he rich as hell, he also worked out.


    And whaddya know?


    He had tattoos. One ran down the length of his right arm, stopping just where the sleeve of his shirt would stop, which was why I had not seen them initially.


    I couldn¡¯t make out what they were, but from the mes fanning out, I thought that maybe it could be a dragon. There was another tattoo on his chest that spanned the entire width, but his torso was clean, and I liked that.


    Unable to stop myself, I leaned forward and dragged my tongue across the tattoo. His body shuddered and I ced my hand on him, smoothening my palm along every inch of rich golden skin that I could touch.


    His handsnded on my waist, and with one on both sides, they covered my waistpletely, the tips of his fingers touching. I found that hot as hell.


    ¡°You¡¯re fucking killing me, Laura.¡± He groaned. His hands found their way to my breasts, giving them a squeeze before circling the distended peaks.


    He pinched them, then gave them a tug and it was like he had tugged straight at my clit because that was where I felt it. My eyes rolled back in my head and I had to grip onto his shoulders to keep my bnce. Else, my knees would have given out and I would have copsed to the ground.


    He lifted me and I quickly wrapped my legs around him, holding onto his shoulders as he carried me into what I assumed was the room. His mouth didn¡¯t leave my body all though the journey. He kept dipping his head to drag his mouth across my shoulder, leave kisses on my neck, and even bite marks on top of my breasts.


    He was like a beast, unable to control himself.


    And what was I doing?


    I gave myself overpletely to him.


    Dimly, some part of my brain registered that I was supposed to be in control. That he was the one supposed to be losing his mind and not me, yet, when he treated my body in this way, how was I supposed to fight the control he had over me?


    In fact, I wasn¡¯t sure that I wanted my control back right now.


    He dropped me a few feet away from bed, and although my knees were weak as jelly, I fought to stand upright. He took some steps backwards, so that he could look his fill of me, I assumed.


    The low lighting in the room cast a glow on him, making him seem formidable, like a god. His chest and abdomen rippled with the force of his breathing, his eyes leaving a trail of fire in their wake as they trailed down my body, from the crown of my head to the toe of my feet. His eyes lingered on my breasts and then when they reached my garters, they seemed to shut downpletely.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± He breathed again, sounding like he was in awe. ¡°You¡¯re so fucking beautiful.¡± He closed the distance between us hurriedly, like he couldn¡¯t bear to be away from me anymore. ¡°And this bloody thing,¡±-he fingered the garters-¡°You don¡¯t know what it does to me.¡±


    I made a mental note to ce an advert for this particr set of garters I was wearing. It was new. I had only had them designed and made a week ago and I hadn¡¯t nned on wearing them today. It was ast minute thing that I decided, ¡®Hell, it¡¯s my best friends birthday. I should wear this.¡¯ And I did.


    When the design came to me, I had to draw it out immediately and asked that it be made. I knew that it was bomb and sexy as hell. I just didn¡¯t know that it was potent enough to bring a man to his knees. Especially one like him.


    He pulled on one of the straps holding the garter up, and it snapped against my skin. A cross between a hiss and a moan came out of my mouth, and then he, in time, groaned and wrapped his hand around my waist, pulling me in for a kiss.


    This kiss was different, not like the one in the elevator that had been rough, filled with urgency and hunger. This was was slow and so fucking sensual that goosebumps broke out along my skin. He pulled my hips into his, grounding on me ever so slowly and I melted when I felt the long imprint of his erection digging into my stomach. Even through his pants, it felt so hot.


    He dragged his lips to my neck, leaving a trail of wet kisses down my body as he kept sliding down, and down, and down, until he squatted and had my leg in his grip.


    ¡°Can I take your shoes off?¡± He asked me. From this position, with him looking up at me like that with green eyes full of desire, I was pretty convinced that I would do anything he asked.


    ¡°Yes.¡± I nodded, then decided that I was tired of referring to him by his pronouns in my head.


    ¡°Whats your name?¡±


    ¡°Alex.¡± He waspletely focused on getting those shoes off of me.


    Alex. A hot name for an equally hot man. When I squinted, I saw that he had another tattoo on his back. There was no chance of me telling what it was tonight, so I left it.


    Tonight? Did I have ns of seeing him again?


    Swiftly, he took my heels off and I was officially standing before him in nothing but sexy as sin garters.

 05

    Now that my heels were gone, the height difference between us became even more pronounced.


    He gripped my shoulders and turned me around until we were facing a huge mirror on the wall. One that I hadn¡¯t known was there before, until now. Staring into the mirror, I took in our differences.


    Jesus. He was so tall and big, and I was so small and short inparison. He was standing behind me, his hands on my shoulders as he, too, stared at us in the mirror.


    ¡°Look at yourself.¡± Hemanded, his voice caressing my hair and senses.


    And I did. Which, again, took me by surprise, because I didn¡¯t react well to being ordered.


    The image we produced in the mirror was nothing short of erotic and it didn¡¯t do anything to help the wetness that had pooled between my legs. If anything, it made it worse.


    Some of the pins holding my hair had given out, but a few still held strong. It gave my hair a somewhat disheveled and arranged look that was sexy. My nipples pointed skyward, demanding attention, and the ck garters were stark against my tan skin.


    Seduction.


    It was the only word that came to mind. I might as well have been the goddess of Seduction.


    His eyes zed when I looked up at him. ¡°Do you see what you do to me?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know what you do to me either.¡± I told him.


    ¡°Could it possibly be anything near what the sight of your body does to me?¡± He murmured, and it didn¡¯t seem like he was asking me, more like he was talking to himself.


    This was starting to feel less like a hook-up and a lot like something more intimate. But before I could dwell on that, his hands slid down my shoulders, circling my boobs idly before taking firm grip of my nipples. I shuddered, arching my back and pushing my boobs into his hands more. He tugged on them, drew circles on them, twisted them and rolled them between his thumbs, until I thought I was going to lose my mind.


    ¡°In all my life,¡± he lowered his head, his voice drifting into my ears like smoke, ¡°I have never ever seen nipples like yours.¡±


    If I could, I would roll my eyes. But right now, I couldn¡¯t because my eyes were fighting to stay open and watch us in the mirror. So instead, I settled for a sarcastic, ¡°What? Are they smaller than the ones you usually see?¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°No, smart-ass. The colour.¡±


    My eyes popped open as I tried to make sense of what he was saying. Lowering my head, I looked down at my nipples suffering between his fingers, at the dark buds, peeking up at me.


    ¡°They¡¯re brown.¡± He rified.


    Oh.


    Oh.


    Yeah, that was true. I didn¡¯t have the regr pink nipples every other girl seemed to have. Mine were a dark brown that I had always found sexy and unique. I never questioned it. Down in my ancestry, one of my great grand mothers had been mixed. I probably got it from her.


    ¡°And so fucking sexy.¡± He grunted, tugging on them.


    I moaned. I was leaning back on him, fully resting on him at this point and I wasn¡¯t even ashamed that my legs couldn¡¯t hold me up anymore.  I might hate the fact that I was losing my grip on control, but I couldn¡¯t deny that I didn¡¯t like what he was doing to my body. How he made me feel. It was divine.


    He turned me around and picked me up, and I happily wrapped my legs around his waist. He deposited me on the foot of the bed, and I quickly spread my legs, providing space for him to settle. He lowered himself to a squat before me, his muscles flexing, and the tattoos on his body rippling gloriously as he did.


    My mouth watered.


    ¡°How do I get you out of these?¡± He asked, fingering my garters again. Instead of answering, I lifted my ass off the bed, unclipped the garters, then dragged them off, before sitting back down. His eyes didn¡¯t leave me the whole time, watching every movement intently.


    I could almost drown in them.


    Okay, Atticus, time to tone down the poetic talk. I had to remind myself that I was here to have sex with him, not marry the man. Although it was all his fault that I was having time to think like this. His forey game was strong as hell. If only we had gotten to the sex part, then I wouldn¡¯t find the time to think about how great-or not he was.


    Impatience fuelled me as I grabbed his face and pulled it to mine for a kiss. That was a wrong move and I quickly regretted it.


    His kisses were like a drug, it was impossible to stop and one could easily be an addict. So, to urge him, I slid my hands downward, searching for the fastening of his pants. I undid them, pausing to run my palm along the outline of his cock through his pants, before running his zipper down and freeing it.


    He groaned when his cock fell heavily into my hand, his head falling back as his eyes slid shut. It was so fucking hot. I bit my lip as I stroked the long, hard length. I leaned my upper body backwards so that I could have a better view of what I was doing to him, and my eyes almost popped out of my head.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    I knew that he was big-it would be impossible not to, considering how long it took my hand to glide up and down his length, and how my fingers couldn¡¯t wrap around it. There was about half an inch of space between my fingers.


    I didnt realise I had been staring for a long time until he said, ¡°You¡¯re looking at it.¡±


    I still couldn¡¯t pull my eyes away. I waspletely, and utterly fascinated. Already, he was the biggest that I had ever been with, and I had been with quite a lot. I doubted he would easily be topped.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯re just so¡­ big.¡± I squeezed his dick on the final word and he groaned again, thrusting subtly into my hand. He was long and hard and thick and the veins that ran along his length called to me. I wanted to run my tongue along them.

 06

    He groaned long and low, his head falling forward to rest on my neck, and his tongue flicked out, ying with my skin, setting me on fire. ¡°You¡¯re going to fucking kill me. I won¡¯tst long in your mouth.¡±


    Oops. Had I said that out loud? Apparently, he had taken me to a whole new point of horny where the filter between my mouth and brain was obliterated.


    He continued thrusting into my hands, slowly and unhurriedly, while still assaulting my neck. All of a sudden, he drew his hips back, sliding out of my handpletely then pushing on my shoulders until Iy t on the bed, my feet on the ground, on either sides of him. Spread out almost naked before him like this, I should have probably felt self-conscious, but I didnt. I waspletely confident in my own skin.


    ¡°Look at you,¡± He murmured, his eyes roving over me. ¡°So fucking beautiful.¡±


    I squeezed my eyes shut as I moaned. His voice did such crazy things to me. My thong was now sticking into my folds ufortably, and almost as if he could read my thoughts, his fingers wedged into both sides of mt thong on my hips and rolled them down my legs, leaving mepletely bare to his hungry eyes.


    ¡°Have to taste you.¡± He grunted, his eyes fixated on the flesh between my legs, and that was the only warning I got before he dove in.


    I jerked from the impact of his tongue on my centre, and his hands flew to my hips, holding me steady. My mouth fell open in shock, pleasure and agony. He shoved his tongue into me, fucking me with it with at a shockingly fast pace that pushed my already torteured body swiftly towards release. He yed with my clit for a bit, sucking on it hard and that was when an orgasm hit me. Hard, and fast and so bloody intense that my eyes fell shut and I screamed loud enough to wake the people in the rooms closest to us.


    He didnt even give me time topose myself. I was still semi-unconscious when I heard the unmistakeble sound of a condom wrapper being torn open, and I instantly knew that he was sheating himself. I didnt want to miss the image so I struggled to open buy eyes and watch him, just in time as he rolled the rubber down his length. It had to be an extra extrarge and yet, it still looked like it didnt fit.


    He stroked the long length of him. Once. Twice. I couldn¡¯t exin what it did to me. Him standing there, with his legs nted wide apart and his long, hard dick, rigid between his thighs, jutting and curving upwards towards his belly button as he stroked the length, had me squeezing my thighs together and my core, p[ulsing, grasping on emptiness.


    He walked towards me with a predatory gait, never relenting in the stroking of his dick, almost as if he knew what the sight did to me.


    ¡°Show off.¡± I scoffed, the wordsing out airy.


    He grinned, finally reaching the bed. I backed away until I was fully on the bed and my legs weren¡¯t on the ground anymore. He wasted no time in climbing in after me and then settling between my thighs.


    Missionary? He didnt look like the type.


    He leaned down and captured my mouth, my nipples brushing against his chest. He ate at my mouth, our tongues dancing together in an easy rhythm. It wasnt rushed like thest time, it was anguid, tender kiss and it was a little much for me. I wrenched my lips away, just as he lifted my legs, holding them up and together with one hand. With the other hand, he lined up his dick at my entrance and shoved inside me.


    A scream ripped out from my throat, and he swiftly pulled back and mmed in again, not even allowing me too grow ustomed to his size. He was bigger than every other guy I had been with and I could feel every delicious inch of him. The wide mushroom head, the veins running along his length-the same ones that I had wanted to tongue-and every throb. I felt everything inside of me.


    I was so full to the point that I couldnt think about anything else but the throbbing inside of me and it would have been ufortable if not for the shockwaves of pleasure that coursed inside of me with every thrust he made. I looked up at him and saw that he was watching my face for reactions. I found that oddly arousing and he could tell because I grew wetter, his thrusts bing easier.


    He leaned down, pressing my legs to my shoulder on either sides of my face. ¡°You feel so good.¡± He grunted against my lips before kissing me. I moaned into his mouth as he picked up the pace, his thrustsing harder and faster, his dick wrecking havoc on my insides.


    He pressed my knees into my shoulders more and my ass almost came off the bed. From this angle, it was different. On one particr thrust, he hit my g-spot and I threw my head back on the bed, moaning.


    ¡°Oh, fuck.¡±


    He did it again, and again, and on the fourth time, my orgasm hit me. It started with tingles spreading across my body and down my spine. When it hit me, I shrieked, my legs iling all over the ce as I shook uncontrobly.


    ¡°Shit. I¡¯ming.¡± I found the strength to moan.


    ¡°I can feel you mping around me.¡± He ground out, his jaw clenched tight.


    He rode it out, even as my walls contracted around him. He rode every blissful wave and by the time I finally came down from my high-which felt like years-my vision was blurry. I whimpered when he pulled out of me, but then he simply flipped me onto my stomach and shoved into me again, propping me up by my hips.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    He was insatiable. Licking, fucking, biting, kissing, it seemed like he wanted to leave as much marks on my skin as he could. By tomorrow, I was pretty sure there were going to be more than enough. As if what he was doing to my body wasnt enough to remember him by, he was also leaving marks on my skin. Ugh.


    ¡°I¡¯ming.¡± I announced weakly again, and this time, when I went under, he came with me. He mmed into me several times, his balls pping against my ass  like a man possessed. I felt him swell inside me, making me impossibly fuller, then I felt his cock jerk as he reached his release. He seemed toe forever, and groaned long and low.


    He kissed my shoulder before he pulled out of me, my pussy grasping him as iff reluctant to let go, and he groaned again. I was left feeling empty as he withdrew, getting up from the bed to dispose off the filled condom.


    I was too weak to get up, so Iid exactly where I was, in that same position, trying to catch my breath. My head was turned to the side, so I saw him as he walked-no, staggered-back to the bed, wondering what the ghell he was doing.


    He climbed up onto the bed andid down on it, pulling me towards him. I pped his hand away.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Sleeping, of course.¡± He said like I was the most oblivious person on earth.


    ¡°Not on this bed, you¡¯re not.¡±


    He cocked a brow at that, but he didnt say anything. Instead, infuriatingly, he closed his eyes and proceeded to go to sleep. Which just wasnt happening. I tapped his shoulder. When those alluring green eyes popped open, I said, ¡°get off.¡±


    ¡°Give me one reason.¡±


    ¡°I dont share a bed.¡±


    He stared at me for a bit, probably realising that I wasnt joking around, then, surprisingly, he got up and walked towards the wardrobe, presenting me with a lovely view of his ass, where he fished out a nket and walked out into the living room


    Thank fuck he didnt try to argue. I didnt have the strength in me for it. Dragging the covers over me, my lids slid shut and I drifted into sleep right away.

 07

    Sunlight from the window trickled into the room, resting directly on my face. I dragged the covers over my face, deciding to ignore it, then after a while, it clicked in my head that sunlight meant it was morning. Morning, which meant that I had to get to work.


    Groaning, I pushed the sheets off and sat up on the bed, which sent a sharp ache up my centre. If I needed any reminder of what happened yesterday night, then that was it.


    I was naked. I needed to have my bath and change into clothes suitable for work. A quick search in the room told me that my bag wasn¡¯t in here. Then, I remembered that I had dropped it in the living room, along with my gown from yesterday night.


    Sighing, I got up and walked out into the living room, dreading seeing the man that put my body in this state. What was his name again? Right, Alex.


    I always hated the morning after a one night stand. It was ufortable and could easily be avoided if one person between the both of us had just left immediately after the sex. Last night, I had been in no condition to walk out of this room, and that was the only reason I had slept here, in his room, else I would have hightailed it to my room. It was just down the hall anyway.


    And it wasn¡¯t like I could have asked him to leave his own room. Sleeping in the living room alone, just because I had asked, was enough.


    There was a huge man lump on one of the long couches in the living room. Alex. Drifting closer to him, I saw that he was still asleep. Enviably long ckshes rested on top of his cheekbone, his lips, full and pillowy in their state of rest. I fought the urge to bend down and kiss them.


    Shaking my head hard to rid it of the insane thoughts that were suddenly bombarding it, I located my back on the ground not far from his leg and made to walk over and pick it up, when my eyes caught on the sparkling white kitchen ind and the equally clean utensils. There was a coffee machine.


    My eyes snagged on the coffee machine then trailed to Alex.


    I really, really needed to get out of here. At least to avoid that morning after awkwardness, but I was already going to bete for work as it was. It wouldn¡¯t hurt to just get myself a cup of coffee before I left.


    Usually, if I couldn¡¯t make a cup of coffee back at home, I stopped by at a store not far from my ce of work to get one. So, really, this was a brilliant idea. Killing two birds with one stone.


    I dropped my bag back down, walked around the ind into the kitchen and straight to the coffee machine. I fixed myself two cups. One to-go, and the other, I proceeded to drink.


    Leaning on the kitchen ind, I crossed my legs at the ankles and took a sip. I groaned. It was almost as good as the sex I hadst night. Okay, that might be pushing it a bit too far. Nothing came close tost night.


    The man knew how to work my body, it was almost frightening. All through the night-because we went on for hours-he studied my expressions, watching to know what I liked and what I didn¡¯t, not that there had been need for it anyway, because every single thing he did to my body, I loved it.


    Before I could stop them, memories ofst night assaulted me, shing in my mind like a video slide. His head between my legs, how he ate me up ravenously like he needed more, how he felt throbbing inside me, his groans when he was nearing his release. My thighs clenched and suddenly, I was horny as hell. I was going to have to rub one out before leaving.


    I sighed, resigning myself to my fate as I ced the cup back on the ind, turning to leave. Big, warm hands stopped me, holding me in ce. A full body shiver went through me. I didn¡¯t even know that he had woken up. Howe I didn¡¯t hear hime into the kitchen?


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Stay just like that.¡± He said, his sexy morning voice causing me to grow wetter. ¡°The view is unmatched.¡±


    I was equal parts excited and frustrated. Excited that he had woken up before I left and that we were going to have sex again at least. I mean,e on, I was just going to get myself off in the bathroom when there was a prime piece of male specimen here that was more than capable of the task. But I was also frustrated because I had hoped to leave before he woke up. Now, it was going to be awkward.


    He trailed kisses all over my shoulders, down my back, then pushed my hair over one shoulder and dropped wet kisses on my now exposed skin. Goosebumps broke out across my skin. They tended to do that when his mouth was anywhere near my body.


    What was his infatuation with my neck and shoulders anyway?


    Hating that I loved what he was doing to my body too much and that it was obvious to both him and me, I turned in his arms to face him(I might also have wanted to see his ridiculously good-looking face).Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Staring into his face was like a sucker punch to the gut. It didn¡¯t matter that I had looked at it a good number of timesst night, it still made me feel breathless just like it did before. Maybe even worse now that I knew what it was like to feel his dick inside of me.


    A hint of stubble was visible on his jaw, and involuntarily, I wondered what it would be like to feel them scratching on my thighs. They were going to leave marks, but only in the most delicious way.


    Speaking of, I looked down, catching the marks that now adorned my breasts. Well, I had known that they were inevitable, hadn¡¯t I?

 08

    ¡°Good morning.¡± He spoke, his green eyes zing, ¡°Did you sleep okay?¡±


    I didn¡¯t answer him. That felt like a question couples would ask each other, not two strangers who were just hooking up. Twice.


    I grabbed his cock, which had been prodding my stomach, and gave it a long, slow stroke. A gust of breath escaped his lips and his eyes slid shut, only to open again, filled with determination and something that looked a lot like suspicion. Thetter confused me. Why would he be suspicious?


    Before I knew it, he hoisted me up onto the kitchen ind and wedged his body into the space between my legs. His head dipped, leaving kisses on a straight line down my body-one that undoubtedly would lead to my core-and just as I predicted, his mouthtched onto my pussy lips.


    A moan escaped my lips, so embarrassingly loud, but there was nothing I could do to stop it. This man had one incredibly talented mouth. Thank fuck that I had washed up over the night when I got up to pee, else I would have been grossed out that he was eating me out.


    Just likest night, when the orgasm hit me, it was full-bodied and earth shattering. It felt like I had absolutely no control over my body, like I didn¡¯t know who I was anymore. Like I was on the outside, watching what was happening to my body, but was incapable of doing anything, but watch.


    Sex was good, but I was never so abandoned, the way that I was now, when I had it. It was just so different with him. Maybe because I was actually attracted to him. That had to be it.


    My orgasm didn¡¯t subside before he straightened and shoved into me. Fully. Every hot, hard, steely inch of him was inside me.


    We both groaned in unison. God, the pleasure, the fullness, it was unlike anything that I had ever experienced, and the fact that my walls were still contracting from the orgasm, increased the pressure. Last night, he had seemed big. Now, he was enormous. How that was possible, I wasn¡¯t sure.


    He pulled me to the edge of the ind and with a concentrated, yet blissful look on his face, he began thrusting. His cock dragged along my walls with every thrust, my pussy seeming to wrap around him like a glove. Pleasure skittered up my spine, swallowing me whole until I couldn¡¯t take it anymore and my head fell back, my eyes sliding shut.


    ¡°Look at me.¡± Hemanded and instantly, but with great effort, my eyes flew to his. They were two green orbs filled with heat, threatening to drown me if I didn¡¯t look away. But I couldn¡¯t, because for some weird reason, I wanted to do as he asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re so fucking tight.¡± The words fell out of him on a stutter, ¡°Every single time I pull out, it¡¯s like you¡¯re dragging me back in, begging me for more.¡±


    I moaned, his dirty words pushing me towards an orgasm.


    ¡°I can feel you squeezing me.¡± He groaned, his eyes never leaving mine, ¡°You like it when I talk dirty?¡±


    He was figuring me out fast, and I didn¡¯t like that. ¡°Harder.¡± I demanded.


    ¡°No.¡± He shook his head like he knew what I was trying to do. But he couldn¡¯t, could he?


    ¡°Harder.¡± I urged again, mping down on him at the same time I locked my legs around his waist, urging him on. That seemed to do it, because his eyes squeezed shut as he groaned my name and then he was thrusting into me like a madman.


    Yes! This was what I wanted. This wild abandon, this shallow act. They were just two strangers having sex, why was he trying to act like it was something more?


    His thrusts bordered on the edge of pain. He hit my g-spot just then and I tumbled over the cliff. A few minutester, he was following me. It was when we were both trying to catch our breaths, and he started to pull away, that I realised that we hadn¡¯t used a condom.


    Shit. No wonder the sex felt different.


    ¡°Fuuuck.¡± He groaned, dropping his head in his hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t use a condom.¡±


    ¡°Wepletely forgot.¡±


    ¡°Its all my fault. I am so sorry, I didn¡¯t think. I¡¯m clean. I¡¯ll provide my test results if you want.¡± It looked like he was panicking. ¡°I am so sorry that I got carried away like that.¡±


    His eyes were dark and somber with regret. He was so genuinely sorry, that I found myself reassuring him. ¡°It¡¯s okay, really. I¡¯m on the pill.¡±


    Besides, I didn¡¯t want him apologising for one of the most phenomenal sex I had ever had.


    His shoulders dropped in relief. ¡°Thank fuck.¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I nodded, hopping down from the ind. I walked around him, intent on getting to the living room and taking my bag with me to the room where I would wash up, change and go to work. ¡°I¡¯ll go have my bath now.¡±


    I didn¡¯t look at him as I passed. Not even once. I was too exposed. Too raw. He could do things to my body that nobody else could. And I had been so caught up in what he was doing to m body, that I had not even realised he wasn¡¯t wearing a condom.


    Again, that had never happened before. He could have an STD for fuck¡¯s sake. Not that he looked like the kind of guy that would, but I didn¡¯t take any chances.


    Yet, I had thrown caution to the wind the moment he touched my body.


    Hastily, I took my bath, changed and folded the gown I had wornst night carefully into my bag. Opportunity to leave, presented itself when he told her he was going to have his bath. The minute he went into the bathroom, she grabbed her bag and got the hell out of there as if her ass was on fire.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    Last night till this morning had felt like a dream-although the sweet ache between my legs assured me that it wasn¡¯t-and now, it was time to go back to reality.


    Little did I know it wasn¡¯t thest time I would be seeing him.

 09

    It had been exactly a week since Balery got married.


    Exactly a week into their honeymoon.


    A week since I had sex with Alex.


    Thatst bit wasn¡¯t important. I don¡¯t know why I added it. I mean, it sort of was because it was the best sex I¡¯d ever had in my entire life. Plus, it was the truth-it had been exactly a week and even though it killed me to admit it, I hadn¡¯t been able to stop thinking about him since.


    Sometimes, I still thought about the things he did to my body and got wet. It didn¡¯t matter if I was in public or alone on my bed. The reaction was always the same.


    It was insane.


    Like now, I was at work, sitting in my office chair, holding a pen and staring nkly at the sketchbook in front of me. Thirty minutes ago, a really great idea for a two piece had popped into my head and in a hurry to put it down, I dove for my sketchbook. I¡¯d sketched it halfway but now, I couldn¡¯t focus well enough toplete the drawing.


    And it was all because of him.


    My phone rang, loud and shrill in the silent room and because I was so strung tight and caught up in my thoughts, I almost jumped out of my chair. I picked it up, nced at the screen and saw that it was Balery. Swiping, I answered the call and brought the phone to my ear.


    ¡°Hey, girl. What¡¯s up?¡±


    She yawned. ¡°I¡¯m good. Tired, actually. You?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re tired?¡± I cried. ¡°I know its your honeymoon, but you and Jack have been having sex for a long time now. Can you tell him to get off you?¡±


    ¡°I-¡± She sputtered. ¡°Laura! Thats not what I meant!¡±


    Already, I could picture her blushing and I couldn¡¯t hold back theughter that bubbled up my throat. It was almost too easy to ruffle Balery¡¯s feathers. Her innocence was so cute, but I couldn¡¯t help scandalising her with my words. Seeing the red stain on her cheeks was a plus for me.


    ¡°Seriously, why are you tired though?¡± I asked, genuinely concerned. It was her honeymoon for fuck¡¯s sake. She was supposed to be resting and spending as much time with Jack as she could. At least before they returned back to work.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She sighed. ¡°Maybe I just miss you.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure whether she just wanted to change the subject because she wasn¡¯tfortable with it or if she was really being honest about missing me, so I just decided to go with thetter.


    ¡°I miss you too, Bales. How long has it been? Weeks? Months?¡±


    Sheughed and the sound filled my chest with warmth. ¡°We saw each other at my weddingst week.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, dropping my pen on the table and leaning back on my chair. As if I didn¡¯t know that. ¡°Right. Feels like ages.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± She sighed, then perked up. ¡°Listen, I wanna tell you something.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°So, Jack is thinking about extending the honeymoon into a vacation. He says he doesn¡¯t want to go back to work just yet, that he wants us to spend more time together away from work and everything.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡±


    ¡°And he¡¯s thinking about us going to his beach house in Miami.¡± She sucked in a breath as if she was preparing for something. ¡°I asked him if you coulde with and he said yes. But I wanted to ask you first. Would youe on vacation with us?¡±


    Of course Jack would say yes to her. He loved her. He would do anything she asked. Plus, I was his wife¡¯s best friend. He definitely wasn¡¯t going to say no to her even if he wanted to.


    ¡°Bales, are you inviting me on your honeymoon-turned-vacation to live in the same house with you and your husband where I¡¯m going to be hearing you guys have sex all day and start to feel really lonely?¡±


    That gave her pause. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t think about it like that, but if it makes you feel any better, it¡¯s a really huge house with lots of rooms, so you¡¯re not, really uh¡­¡± She hesitated. ¡°We¡¯re not going to be in your way and you¡¯re not going to hear¡­ anything.¡±


    I bit my lip so that I wouldn¡¯tugh. I was only ying with her, but she was just so adorable.


    ¡°Even at that, I¡¯m really not keen on being a third wheel.¡± I sighed, kicking my shoes off and lifting my legs onto my desk, crossing them at the ankles. I stared at the purple nail polish on my nails. ¡°Does Jack really think it¡¯s okay??¡±


    ¡°Actually, two of his friends areing on the vacation too.¡±


    That one surprised me. But then again, it shouldn¡¯t. Jack was an outgoing guy and he had a good number of friends. He was definitely the type to take a few of them with him on a vacation like this and yet, would still somehow find the energy to focus on Balery and not make all his friends feel unwanted at the same time.


    I didn¡¯t know how he did it. It was like a super power.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s settled then, I guess.¡± I ran a finger down my thigh, my mind involuntarily filling with images of Alex running his open mouth along the inside of my thigh in the same slow manner, like he had all the time in the world before finally, kissing me right there. My voice was husky when I spoken again. ¡°When is this vacation?¡±


    ¡°We were thinking next week.¡±


    I was thoroughly distracted. ¡°Enough time for me to pack.¡±


    And Balery surprised me by saying, ¡°Pack sexy, Laura.¡± Then she dropped her voice and whispered. ¡°I¡¯ve seen his friends, Laura and they are sexy as hell. Hopefully, you¡¯ll find one of them attractive. Or both. Then the vacation would be even more fun for you.¡±


    I heard Jack growl her name in warning and I instantly knew that he had heard thement she made of his friends being sexy.


    ¡°You know I only have eyes for you, darling.¡± She reassured him.


    Chuckling, I said. ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two now.¡± Then I added, ¡°Plus, you know I always pack sexy.¡±


    I tossed my phone on the table. Ever since the fling with Alex, I had been in a constant state of arousal. Cory, my vibrator, didn¡¯t do it for me anymore. But now that Balery had mentioned Jack¡¯s friends, I was hoping that at least one of them turned out to be my type.


    I had not met a lot of Jack¡¯s friends, but at the party, I¡¯d seen a few. They were fairly attractive but they didn¡¯t make me want to get naked then and there the way Alex did.


    And what the hell was that anyway?


    His name didn¡¯t have to pop into my head anytime I thought about hooking up with someone. I seriously needed to stop thinking about him.


    Bailey, my assistant, knocked on my office door beforeing in and cing a cup of coffee in front of me. Whenever she came back from lunch, she always returned with a cup of coffee for me.


    She was the best, really.


    ¡°Guess who¡¯s going to Miami.¡±


    First, her brows lifted in surprise, then she grinned wide and shrugged. ¡°Good thing you have the world¡¯s best assistant then.¡±


    In all honesty, I did.

 10

    I dragged my bag behind me as I walked towards the jet waiting on the terrace.


    Could it even be called a bag? With how huge and heavy it was, one would think I had stuffed a dead body in there.


    When Balery told me that the vacation was going tost a month, I¡¯d been left with no choice but to roll out my biggest box and shove in as much clothes as I could. Suffice to say, I was regretting that decision now that my hand was starting to feel like it was two seconds away from pulling out of my body.


    As I drew closer to the jet, two men dressed in uniform spotted me and hastily dove for the two bags I carried. One of them carried the heavy bag-even though he tried to hide it well, I could see that he was definitely surprised by the weight-and the other reached for the bag containing my cosmetics that was slung over my shoulder but I stepped back before he could swipe it.


    ¡°I¡¯m good with this one. Thanks.¡± I beamed at them. I wasn¡¯t going to allow the extra time I had spent arranging everything in this bag carefully ago to waste.


    They nodded and stepped aside for me to pass.


    When I stepped onto the private jet, Jack and Balery were sitting on one of the first seats, her head resting on his shoulder while Jack seemed to be busy doing something on his phone. Hear head lifted when she saw me and she dashed out of her seat to engulf me in a suffocating hug. I hugged her back just as tight.


    ¡°It feels so good to see you.¡± She murmured into my neck.


    ¡°I know. I know.¡± I sighed, ¡°But mind the bag, will you?¡±


    She pulled away and smacked me on the arm. Iughed, then mock frowned. ¡°I thought you missed me.¡±


    ¡°I do, but that¡¯s no reason for you to act like an ass.¡± She rolled her eyed.


    I looked at Jack over her shoulder. ¡°Jack, your wife just called me an ass and frankly, I am quite surprised and so impressed that she actually used the term. So impressed that I am going to take that as apliment.¡±


    Jackughed while Balery rolled her eyes with a smile on her face. ¡°How is being called an ass apliment?¡±


    ¡°Well, I am going to take it that you mean I have a great ass.¡± I wiggled my brows at her and walked away before she could swat me again. ¡°Christ, you are getting real aggressive.¡±


    Jack rose to give me a hug when I reached him. ¡°Hows it been, Laura?¡±


    ¡°Pretty good.¡± I returned his hug, giving him a once over. ¡°Marriage looks good on you.¡± I turned to Balery with a grin, taking in the rosy hue of her cheeks. ¡°The both of you.¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    And that was the truth. They both looked so happy, my heart hurt seeing them. Before I could get all emotional and God forbid, shed a tear, I walked over to the third seat in the row and dropped my ass on the one closest to the window.  One of the reasons I got to an airport earlier, was so that I could get a window seat before it got snagged.


    I dropped my bag on the seat beside me, nning to remove it whenever anyone decided to upy it, but I highly doubted that. The jet had lots of empty seats vacant and ording to Balery, only three of Jack¡¯s friends wereing with us. There were more than enough seats for them.


    I looked up when Balery picked up my bag, took the seat and ced my bag on herp.


    I cocked a brow at her. ¡°I doubt your husband would let you stay here for the duration of the flight.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just here to talk to you.¡± Sheughed. ¡°I¡¯ll go back soon.¡±


    ¡°Knew it.¡± I grinned.


    She ced her elbows on her legs, linked her hands and dropped her face on it. ¡°How was your journey here?¡±


    I sighed, leaning my head back. ¡°Had to leave extra early just incase traffic is a bitch today and as usual, it was.¡±


    Balery shrugged. ¡°We live in New York.¡±


    That was true. It was just like living in a ss house thenining that people could see in. It¡¯s the same with New York. You get used to the traffic. The same way a person got used to the cost of living here.


    My eyes roved over her. She looked happy and healthy, a far cry from the person she had been before she met her husband. ¡°You look really good, Balery. You¡¯re so happy. Seeing you happy makes me happy and I am so fucking happy right now.¡±


    She blushed, her eyes darting to Jack before looking back at me. ¡°I¡¯ve never been so happy. Truly. He is like, the perfect person for me.¡± Her eyes shone with love. ¡°Sometimes, I don¡¯t even have to say the words out loud and he already knows what I¡¯m thinking.¡±


    I lowered my voice. ¡°And he is great in the sack too. He can¡¯t be real. Do they still make them like that anymore?¡±


    She blushed furiously but a giggle escaped her lips. ¡°We¡¯ll be taking off shortly. We¡¯re just waiting for Jack¡¯s friends to get here.¡±


    Just as she uttered thest word, I caught movement at the front of the jet and I lifted my head in time to see three men walk into the jet. One by one, they filed in. All of them broad-shouldered, big and hot enough to make me forget about what the hell Balery and I had been talking about in the first ce.


    ¡°I was just starting to think that you guys had bailed on me.¡± Jack said as he got up and hugged his friends one by one, pping them on the back.


    ¡°You¡¯re starting to look a little less like shit.¡± One of the men grinned. He had blonde hair that was parted at the side and fell across one side of his face. ¡°Balery¡¯s treating you good, huh?¡±


    When Jack replied, there weren¡¯t any heat in his words either. ¡°You ass, you know she¡¯s the best.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of,¡± The other friend said, ¡°Where is she?¡±


    Jack pointed at Balery sitting beside me and she stood up immediately, walking over to the men and I watched as they all took turns hugging her. One of them, the one that had made a joke about Jack¡¯s looks, kissed Balery on the cheek. A move that almost cost him his front teeth.


    Meanwhile, I was still sitting on my seat like a sore loser.


    I watched Balery aim a beam at the men-who were still standing, mind you. ¡°I¡¯m d you all arrived safely. Let me introduce me to my best friend, who would also be vacationing with us.¡±


    On hearing those words, I shot to my feet. Well, I tried to do it as gracefully as possible. Four heads whipped in my direction. One belonging to Balery, another belonging to the man that teased Jack, another to the man that asked of Balery and thest¡­


    Before today, I had never had reason to question the performance of my eyes, but now, I did. Because it was either I had suddenly developed an eye problem within thest two minutes and I was seeing things that weren¡¯t real, or I was staring at the man that I had sex with on Balery¡¯s wedding.


    Seeing as before today my vision had worked quite perfectly, I had reason to believe that it was thetter. Alex-I didn¡¯t know hisst name-was standing five feet away from me and he looked so bloody handsome and surprised, and very much real.


    Someone whistled but I didn¡¯t know who it was and it felt like I was hearing it from a distance. Blood woodshed in my ears and even though I wanted to look away-and I very much wanted to-I couldn¡¯t.


    If I thought that he looked good that night, then I hadnt even gotten a good look at him. Or maybe it was the fact that he was dressed in jeans and a hoodie. Sure, he had looked hot as hell in his tux, but the casual clothes did things to his body that ought to be illegal.


    Shit. I was getting turned on. In front of them.


    In front of him.


    And from the way his nostrils red, he knew it.


    I barely paid attention as Jack¡¯s friends shook my hand, barely took note of the interest that sparked in their eyes, barely took note of the way they ogled me.


    All I focused on, was Alex and the way he seemed to eat me up with his eyes.


    He was thest person to shake my hand and even as formal as that action was, he made it seem sensual. He turned it into something more than two people holding hands. I couldn¡¯t believe that just the roughness of his hand, had my nipples standing at attention, poking through my shirt.


    Fuck me, but I couldn¡¯t stop staring at him.


    What were the odds that the one man who had given me the best sex of my life, the one man I thought I was not going to see anymore, was one of Jack¡¯s pals?


    ¡°This is,¡± He spoke, his voice sending goosebumps scattering across my skin. ¡°Without a doubt going to be my favourite vacation.¡±


    Then he proceeded to ce theptop back he was carrying on the table in front of us, then dropped down on the seat beside mine.


    With absolutely no intention of leaving.


    Fuck my life.

 11

    LAURA


    ¡°Sit.¡± He said when I just continued to stand there.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what to do.¡± I snapped. I was having a hard timeing to terms with the fact that this man-Alex-was Jack¡¯s close friend which didn¡¯t bode well for me at all.


    For one, I was Balery¡¯s best friend. We were bound to have dinners or hang-outs where mutual friends would be invited and it was a given that Alex would be invited along too. I would have to be seeing him from time to time and would have to endure the heat from the memories that would bombard me every damn time he opened that sinful mouth.


    Then there was the vacation. I had nned on having the best time of my life on this trip. There was no way I could do that with him here now.


    Or was there?


    We would have to see each other everyday, but I could pretend that I didn¡¯t think about what happened between us anymore. I could pretend that I wasn¡¯t attracted to him.


    In fact, I would make it hard for me.


    Suddenly, I was d for the way that I had packed. Every single sexy thing I owned was in that bag and now that Alex wasing along, even better.


    If it ended up being too hard to pretend that I wasn¡¯t attracted to him, then I would make sure that I wasn¡¯t the only one that it was hard for.


    Settled, I dropped down my seat, ncing at my bag that he held. When he saw me looking, ced it on the table in front of me, just beside his own bag.


    Rolling my eyes, I grabbed it and shoved it under my seat. I would be eating soon. I didn¡¯t want my toiletries sharing my meal with me.


    ¡°So, you know Balery.¡± Alex noted, turning slightly in his seat to face me.


    I didn¡¯t know if anyone had ever told him but it was a heady feeling to be given all his attention. I felt the full force of those intense green eyes filled that had heat lurking in their depths. Distinctly, I thought about how those same eyes had squeezed closed in agony when I¡¯d tightened around him and I involuntarily clenched around air.


    Clearing my throat, I looked away from him and shifted slightly in my seat, hoping to God that he hadn¡¯t caught that tiny movement. When I looked back up at him, the heat ring in his eyes told me that he had not missed it. My cheeks turned hot.


    I was blushing. What the hell?


    ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s my best friend. And you know Jack.¡± It wasn¡¯t a question.


    Jacks other friends-I couldn¡¯t remember their names because I hadn¡¯t been paying attention when they introduced themselves-settled into their seats and the hostess let us know that the jet would be taking off soon.


    Alex nodded, his eyes dipping to chest. ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you were at the hotel?¡± I asked, everything suddenly clicking in my head. ¡°Did you attend the wedding?¡±


    ¡°Yes and yes.¡± He confirmed. ¡°I saw you at the reception but you had your back to me. It was out of sheer luck that I met you in the elevator.¡±


    Oh wow. I had not seen him once. To think that that night, he had known that I attended the party, but I didn¡¯t know that he had too. Now that I thought about it, I was probably foolish to not have figured it out because he had been wearing a tux. Why would he dress that way if he hadn¡¯t just attended a formal event?


    ¡°Hmm.¡± I said nomittally and turned away to stare out the window. We were finally in the air and I was turned on. By the man sitting to my right. I could bet that he was too. It was a mutual thing and we could probably just have sex and get each other out of our systems finicky, but it wasn¡¯t a good idea.


    I didn¡¯t have sex with the same person twice. It was tacky and most often led to ufortable situations that could have easily been avoided if we had both parted after the firsty.


    Plus, having sex again with a man like Alex, who was friends with my best friends husband-and knew just how to work my body, was an incredibly bad idea.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not been able to stop thinking about that night, Laura.¡±


    I almost choked on saliva. Those words,bined with his voice, fried my brain. No. Seriously, I was pretty sure the low purr I heard was the sound of my brain frying.


    ¡°Try.¡± I croaked.


    ¡°Impossible.¡± He said evenly. ¡°I can tell you¡¯ve been thinking about it too.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°Wrong. It hasn¡¯t even crossed my mind.¡±


    The chances of me going to hell were increasing by the day and if that rumour I started about Matt in seventh grade that he had two penises, hadn¡¯t already solidified that-he yanked out a piece of my hair without warning and it had hurt like a bitch-then this did.


    If there was one thing that I hadn¡¯t been able to stop thinking about over the past week, it was the night that I spent with Alex and while it might sound like an exaggeration, it really really wasn¡¯t.


    Maybe it was because no man had ever really been able to give me orgasms that easily. Most times, the sex was so disappointing that I wasn¡¯t able to look at a man until at least a week had passed. I had gotten used to giving myself an orgasm with my vibrator, because-hell, that was the truth-my vibrator was better than a lot of those men.


    My vibrator had nothing on Alex. Fuck that. My vibrator was a six and Alex was a thousand and ten-off the fucking charts.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    The man just knew my body so well.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let you get away with away with a lot of things, Laura, but not lies.¡±


    The look I gave him screamed, ¡®what the fuck?¡¯. Who the hell did he think he was?


    ¡°I would tell you lies if I damn well please.¡± I snapped. Then my eyes widened when I realised that I had just indirectly agreed that I had actually been thinking about him. ¡°Not that I am lying because I really didn¡¯t think about you even once, but if I want to, I will and you wouldn¡¯t be able to do a damn thing about it.¡±


    When I was done with my long rant, he just stared at me with an annoying, arrogant, hot as hell smirk on his lips.


    God. I was positive that I hated him. But that hate didn¡¯t stop lust from tightening my nipples into two hard points nor did it stop the wetness that pooled in my centre.


    I wasn¡¯t going to survive this flight.


    Or rather, I wasn¡¯t going to be able to stay sane through this flight if I remained beside him.


    ¡°Laura-¡±


    I stood up abruptly, my eyes anywhere but on him. ¡°I need to use the restroom.¡±


    He could have just stood up so that I could pass, but instead, he leaned back in his seat and stared at me expectantly, waiting for me to pass.


    The asshole.


    I squeezed past him, knowing that his eyes were on my ass and not giving a single fuck. Let him look his fill.


    Hurrying into the restroom, I gave a small wave to Jack¡¯s friends seated beside each other. They were both very good-looking men. On this trip, I was going to make effort to get to know them. Alex be damned.


    When I got to the restroom, I stared in the mirror. I was blushing despite my tan. I pressed my hands to my cheeks, not surprised when I felt how hot they were and as if that wasn¡¯t enough, my eyes were slightly dted.


    All these just from an interaction with a man.


    I sshed water on my face, pausing when I heard the door to the restroom fall open.


    I met Balery¡¯s eyes in the mirror. From the look on her face, she had probably figured out that Alex and I knew each other.


    ¡°You already know, don¡¯t you?¡± I asked, watching her as she closed the door behind her before turning to me fully.


    ¡°I suspected.¡± She leaned back on the door. ¡°When you introduced, there was a way you stared at each other. I thought maybe it was attraction, but then the other men were just as hot as he was so¡­¡± She shrugged, letting the sentence hang.


    I nodded, turning around to face her. I was starting to get tired of watching her from the mirror. Besides, we had to have this conversation facing each other.


    ¡°We¡¯ve met before.¡±


    ¡°I figured. Where?¡±


    ¡°The night of your wedding.¡±


    Her mouth fell. ¡°Tell. Me. Everything.¡±


    And I did.

 12

    LAURA


    Balery¡¯s eyes were wide as saucers by the time I was done. ¡°Oh my God.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I sighed, leaning back on the sink.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry.¡± She whispered, her eyes sad and filled with remorse.


    I frowned, confused. ¡°Why would you be?¡±-because seriously, why would she be?-¡°It¡¯s not like I told you. You had absolutely no way of knowing what happened and even if you did, stopping Jack¡¯s friend froming just because of me wouldn¡¯t be fair.¡±


    Her shoulders dropped and she puffed out a breath, causing a tendril of hair that had fallen out of her ponytail to float around. ¡°So what are you going to do now?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know.¡±


    Honestly, the situation was kind of funny. How could I not have guessed that he¡¯d attended the party? I mean, there had been so many clues. For one, he¡¯d been dressed in a tux, which hinted that he¡¯d just attended a formal event. Then, he¡¯d gotten a room at the exact same hotel.


    Really, how could I not have known?


    Maybe because all I¡¯d been thinking about at the time was the quickest way to get his clothes off him so that I could find out what he looked like under them.


    I wish I could say that I regretted it.


    Blinking, I turned back to Balery. ¡°There¡¯s nothing I can do. I mean, he¡¯s already here and¡­¡± I shrugged, giving off a nonchnt vibe that I didn¡¯t feel. ¡°Like you said, it¡¯s a big house. Maybe we won¡¯t bump into each other that much-¡± At Balery¡¯s resigned sigh, I said, ¡°Or even if we do, it¡¯s not a big deal, right?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t. He was simply the besty I¡¯d ever had.


    I snorted. The fact that he was the besty I¡¯d ever had, was a big deal and it was only going to make ignoring him that much harder. Forgetting about him wasn¡¯t even an option at this point-I couldn¡¯t. Not couldn¡¯t like it was up to me and I just wasn¡¯t going to let myself forget him. I meant couldn¡¯t like how my knees couldn¡¯t bend backwards. It just wasn¡¯t possible.


    Fuck.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Oh, Laura,¡± Balery sighed, pushing away from the door and walking over to me. She gripped my hands in hers and stared into my eyes. ¡°What are we going to do?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you.¡± I paused. ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s obviously making you ufortable, having him here. I-¡±


    ¡°Bales,¡± I cut her off, chuckling. ¡°Stop acting like this is a big deal. It¡¯s not.¡±


    From the look in her eyes, it was ringly obvious that she didn¡¯t believe me. And why would she when she¡¯d clearly seen how freaked out I was when I ran out of there like my ass was on fire?


    ¡°Trust me,¡± I pressed, keeping my eyes level on hers, unblinking. If I wanted to convince her that it really wasn¡¯t a big deal, then she had to see it for herself.


    I could see the moment when the fight left her body and she decided to trust me. Thank fuck. I loved Bailey, but I didn¡¯t want to keep talking about Alex be because it only meant that I was thinking about him and I didn¡¯t like that.


    ¡°Okay.¡± She blew out a breath. ¡°Okay. So we¡¯ll just¡­ Can we go back out now or do you need a moment?¡±


    I rolled my eyes. Okay, Balery really was taking it a bit far now.


    ¡°Now. Else, it¡¯s going to be suspicious.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± She nodded and held onto my hand as we walked out of the restroom, only letting it go when we reached them.


    Despite how confident I¡¯d sounded, I didn¡¯t really feel that confident inside. It was going to be hard sitting beside him all through the flight and even going to be harder not to think about that night/morning. It truly had been the best night of my life and he¡¯d ticked all my boxes.


    It really really wasn¡¯t going to be an easy task to ignore him.


    Putting my big girl pants on, I squared my shoulders and marched right to him like a woman headed for war. ¡°Please let me through.¡±


    Yeah, that was right. I was going to be as polite with him as I could-just like I was going to be with Jack¡¯s other friends that were sitting right beside us on the other side of the aisle. I didn¡¯t have to do anything that would give away the fact that we¡¯d met before. Such as, making small talk.


    Which was why when he scooted back in his chair to enable me pass-but not before roving those two balls of heat over my form hungrily-and I dropped in my seat, I angled my body away from him as much as the seat would allow and fished for my phone in my bag, intent on pretending he wasn¡¯t there.


    I could feel the heat of his eyes on me as I brought my phone and headphones out, plugging them in.


    ¡°Do you n on ignoring me?¡± His voice drifted over my ears like smoke, eliciting an involuntary shiver from my body.


    I cursed silently, knowing that he must have seen that. But I still didn¡¯t answer him, which was an answer to his question in itself.


    ¡°I see.¡± He sounded a touch amused this time, ¡°Laura, I-¡±


    I jammed the headphones into my ears so violently, I was surprised that they didn¡¯t meet halfway somewhere in my head-or whatever the hell the space between my ears was called.


    His resigned sigh was thest thing I heard before I started ying my music. I amped up the volume just incase he tried to talk to me and I managed to hear it over the music. Childish, I know, but right now, my options were limited and I would do anything I could to not have the conversation he obviously wanted us to have right now.


    When it was time to get off the jet, I waited until they¡¯d all left before walking out. Alex stayed back and insisted on helping me with my bag, but I was not done ignoring him, so I gripped my bag tighter and walked out. He was thest person to leave.


    The house really was huge. It was a beautiful white two-storey building that directly faced the beach. By the time we reached, the sun was just starting to go down and the view was so beautiful, it took my breath away.


    I found myself wanting to know what the view would be like when the sun was just setting.


    My ts sank into the sand with every step I took as we made our way to the house, Balery and I walking in front with Jack and his friends following behind us.


    ¡°Oh my God, Bales,¡± I gasped. ¡°It¡¯s so beautiful.¡±


    ¡°I know, right?¡± She turned to me with a smile. ¡°When we came herest summer, I almost didn¡¯t want to leave. Almost. But then I remembered that I had to go back to work.¡±


    I coughed out augh. I¡¯d almost forgotten that Balery was a workaholic.


    ¡°I can see why.¡± I told her, then I turned to holler at Jack, ¡°Jack, this ce is fire!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m d you think so!¡± He hollered back, a grin stamped on his face. ¡°Please convince your friend to let use here more often.¡±


    A smile stayed on my lips as I turned back around, catching Alex¡¯s intense gaze focused solely on me even though his friend was talking to him. Ignoring the weird flip my stomach made, I faced the house and continued walking, with Balery chattering happily beside me.


    We¡¯d all been shown our rooms on the second floor-mine was the second door on the left-and I was just about to go in when a strong hand wrapped around mine, stopping me.


    My breath hitched when I followed the thick hand, corded with veins, up until my eyesnded on piercing green ones.

 13

    LAURA


    My eyes bounced between his face and his hand on mine.


    Honestly, I wasn¡¯t even mad that he was putting his hands on me. I was just surprised that he¡¯d taken such a bold move especially considering the fact that we didn¡¯t know each other.


    Well, we did know each other-just not in the ways that mattered.


    And maybe I was a little bit rmed that he was holding my arm right there in the hallway where everyone could see and specte about all the ways we knew each other. I mean, I didn¡¯t particrly give a fuck if they found out that I¡¯d slept with him-even though it still didn¡¯t mean that I was going to put it out there-I just didn¡¯t want them to think we were something more.


    And with the way he sat beside me on the jet, stared at me and was now holding my hand, anyone that came up here was going to start thinking that we did know each other far more than on that level.


    Which wasn¡¯t true. And I didn¡¯t want them getting the wrong idea.


    He must have seen the rmed expression on my face because he suddenly jerked his hand off mine, cursing as his eyes darted away for a second, beforeing back to rest on mine.


    ¡°Shit, I didn¡¯t mean-¡± He cursed again, running his free hand through his hair as the other one was crying his duffel. ¡°I had no right to stop you like that. I just wanted to talk to you.¡±


    That got my back up and the alien feeling that was just starting to form in my chest at the sight of his obvious distress, disintegrated into dust.


    Poof. Just like that.


    And probably for the better because what the hell was that anyway? Had I pulled a muscle?


    ¡°About what?¡± The words probably came out more forcefully than I¡¯d intended them to and from the way his eyes dimmed warily, I could tell that he was already  starting to realise that ¡®talking¡¯ to me was a terrible idea.


    ¡°About us-¡±


    ¡°Us?¡± I cried, eyes wide and rmed as I involuntarily took a step back, which brought my back up against the wall. Literally. ¡°There is no us.¡±


    He sighed, raking his hand through his hair again and causing the jet ck locks to scatter even more than they already were. They stood up in all directions on his head, giving him a sexily messy look.


    He ran his hand through his hair a lot. Was that simply my effect on him or was it a thing he did whenever he was agitated?


    Clear as day, I remembered that when he¡¯d stepped into the elevator that night, his hair had looked exactly the same way. Then I¡¯d made it all the messier by running my fingers through the soft, full, silky mane when he¡¯d gone down on me.


    Goosebumps broke out on my skin at the memory and it was all I could do not to shiver or give any more outward reaction to what was happening to me.


    ¡°Okay. There¡¯s no us,¡± he agreed quickly, surprising me. ¡°What about this?¡± He waved his hand between us. ¡°This thing between us.¡±


    I pressed more against the door. If it were possible for me to disappear through it and appear on the other side, I was sure that I would already be safely on the other side by now, breathing better.


    ¡°What thing?¡± I croaked.


    Swiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I was appalled when it came back with sweat on it.


    Sweat. I was sweating.


    Why on earth was I sweating?


    Alex¡¯s eyes suddenly grew intense and, unable to do anything about it, I watched like a deer caught in headlights-albeit a horny one-as he took a step closer to me. A step that had him standing toe-to-toe with me, his chest a few inches away from mine.


    When he spoke, his voice drifted into my ears like smoke. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend, Laura,¡± he whispered softly, bracing his hand on the door and bending his head until I could feel his every exhale and inhale, ¡°If you¡¯re going to lie about everything else, don¡¯t lie about this. At least admit that you still think about that night.¡± He wasn¡¯t touching me, far from it actually, but somehow, it felt like he was. ¡°Admit that you still think about my cock and how good it felt inside you.¡±


    My brain nked right then and there. Right fucking there and my usual sassy and snarky responses were nowhere to be found. They¡¯d bailed on me. Along with the strength in my bones-because suddenly, my knees were too weak to hold me up-and maybe even my spine, because why the fuck was I not taking control of the situation?


    Opening my mouth, I attempted to speak. ¡°I-¡±


    ¡°I remember how you felt around me.¡± He admitted brokenly, his eyes, two balls of fire and lust, ¡°I remember every single fucking thing. How you mped around me every time I pulled out, sucking me back in like a greedy little thing, begging for more.¡±


    Okay, I was pretty sure I had a mini orgasm at that point because my panties suddenly felt sticky. I might have even moaned, I wasn¡¯t so sure.


    ¡°Now, tell me the truth, Laura,¡± Alex ducked his head until he was staring straight into my eyes, his own green ones not letting up in their intensity. ¡°Do you still think about that night?¡±


    Hell yes, I did. I still got myself off to thoughts of that night. It had gotten even worsetely because Cory didn¡¯t do it for me anymore.


    But that wasn¡¯t the answer I gave him. I might be horny, but it hadn¡¯t gotten to the point where my brain stopped working.


    I hardened my voice as much as I could before saying, ¡°No.¡±


    The frustrated expression on his face told me that my answer hadn¡¯t been the one he¡¯d been hoping for and if I could do anything about it, he wasn¡¯t ever going to get the answer that he so wanted.


    What game was he ying anyway?


    Okay, say he¡¯d gotten me to admit that I still thought about that night, what next? We still weren¡¯t going to have a repeat-I would make sure of that. Which was why I thought that it really made no sense why he was trying to get me to admit that I still thought about him.


    ¡°Why are you so bloody stubborn?¡± He snapped, sounding a touch frustrated now.


    Cocking a brow, I said, ¡°Really? I¡¯m stubborn?¡± When he simply stared at me as if I was talking out of my ass, I snapped, ¡°You¡¯re the one who wouldn¡¯t take a hint.¡±


    ¡°What hint?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been telling you to leave me alone since you sat down with me on the jet.¡± I flung my hands, exasperated.


    His mouth formed a t line and he stared at me through slitted eyes. ¡°You never told me to leave you alone.¡±


    I scoffed. ¡°I might not have used those exact words, but you must have known that was what I meant.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Besides, I¡¯m telling you right now. Leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t mean that,¡± He said through gritted teeth.


    I fought the urge to roll my eyes. ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    What was I even still doing out here anyway?


    I was supposed to be in my room unpacking-or at least trying to-and doing every other thing but talk to him, really, so why was I indulging him? Most importantly, what was his deal?


    He was drop dead gorgeous and could probably get any girl he wanted just by blinking his eyes. He didn¡¯t even have to talk if that would be too much work for him-although with all the talking he was doing, I doubted that he¡¯d mind-but seriously, the man had walked into an elevator I was in and I¡¯d started melting.


    Why was he so adamant on having sex with me again?Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    Totally fed up with this conversation, I shoved the key I¡¯d been holding this entire time into the lock, a bit surprised that it hadn¡¯t fallen out of my hand, and twisted it, unlocking the door. ¡°Look, I¡¯m really tired and I need to unpack.¡± I didn¡¯t wait for him to reply before saying, ¡°I¡¯ll see you around.¡± and mming the door closed behind me.


    As I¡¯d suspected, the oxygen on this other side of the door came quicker.

 14

    LAURA


    If there were two things that could make me wake up early, it was work and food. I was on vacation, so it defiantly wasn¡¯t work, which left us with only one option-food.


    And that was exactly why I found myself in the kitchen at 6am.


    The kitchen was stocked full and it was quite easy to find my way around it. I fixed myself a cup of coffee and some toast, before parking my ass on one of the stools by the ind. cing my breakfast in front of me, I dove into it.


    I was so caught up in eating that I didn¡¯t notice when another person walked into the kitchen. It wasn¡¯t until they were pulling a chair out on the other side of the ind that I took note of the presence.


    My head flew up, the piece of toast pausing mid-way to my mouth.


    When my eyes locked on striking blue ones, I blinked. ¡°Hello.¡±


    ¡°Hello,¡± he parroted, his eyes lighting up even more than they already were-if that was even possible. His blue eyes were so humour filled, one would think I was putting on a show. A clown show.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Good morning?¡±


    I was still holding the piece of toast half-way to my mouth. Actually, my mouth was still one gaping hole. I was probably a sight with my messy bun, rumpled tank and super short shorts-not that he could see it because I was sitting opposite him-and he was over there looking incredible in a blue T-shirt and whatever the hell he was wearing. I¡¯d bet my bottom dor it was sweats.


    I recognised him as the blonde man from the jet yesterday. I¡¯d been so taken aback by Alex¡¯s presence that I hadn¡¯t been able to actually take a look at Jack¡¯s two other friends.


    This man was drop dead gorgeous. Dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, a square jaw and a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. From theugh lines on the sides of his eyes and mouth, I could tell that heughed a lot and it was a very good look on him.


    I blinked again, and was taken aback by his abruptughter.


    ¡°Clown Laura at your service,¡± I told him, deciding to make a joke out of my current situation. ¡°And you are?¡±


    I mean, I had reasons to believe I was a clown. I¡¯d barely said three words and he was alreadyughing his ass off like I¡¯d put on an entire show for him. I didn¡¯t know whether to be d I was making aplete strangerugh, or feel bad.


    ¡°I¡¯m Drew, nice to meet you.¡± He¡¯d stoppedughing at this point, but he was still smiling as he extended his hand to mine across the ind.


    I ced my hand in his and felt absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada.


    Well, then.


    Withdrawing my hand, I went back to eating, polishing thest bit of my toast, before washing it down with coffee. All the while, I could feel his eyes on me.


    ¡°Are you usually up the early?¡±


    I looked up at the abrupt question. cing my coffee in front of me, I said, ¡°Not really. Just when I have to get to work.¡±


    He cocked his brow at that, then he rose from his stool and walked over to the cabs, rummaging in it for a bit before fishing out a cereal and pouring a hefty dose into a bowl. Over his shoulder, he said, ¡°What¡¯s your excuse now?¡±


    I shrugged even though he couldn¡¯t see me. ¡°I was hungry.¡±


    ¡°Okay. I¡¯ll take that.¡± He threw a grin over his shoulder, and I found myself oddly fighting back a grin.


    I guess it was just an effect he had on people, making them smile without even realising that they were doing it.


    ¡°Do you usually wake up early?¡± I asked, taking a sip of my coffee as I watched his back as he moved around, pouring milk and a tiny amount of sugar into his cereal bowl.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    He was big, maybe just as big as Alex or close, but slightly taller. And he wasn¡¯t as reserved or as intense as Alex was-actually, he was theplete opposite- but that worked for him. Now that I¡¯d seen him smiling, it was hard to picture him all calm and reserved.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Drew sighed, turning. ¡°It¡¯s a curse.¡±


    He walked back to his stool across from hers, straddled it and dove into his meal with gusto. He was obviously hungry, probably the kind of hunger that had driven me to wake up.


    My sudden appetite was probably due to myck of yesterday. I¡¯d barely eaten anything before leaving my t and on the jet, I¡¯d barely taken in anything. When we¡¯d arrived at the house, I¡¯d unpacked, drank some water, and went to bed. So, really, I¡¯d barely eaten anything yesterday.


    I was alternating between staring out the window and watching Drew eat when someone else walked into the kitchen.


    My eyes followed the other man from the jet as he dragged his feet past us. He mumbled a ¡®morning¡¯ to both Drew and I, before walking over to the fridge in the corner. We watched him as he grabbed a bottle of water, closed the fridge, then turned around to walk back out of the kitchen.


    Huh.


    ¡°Zombie Jake, is that you?¡± Drew teased.


    The man really did look like a zombie though. Bags under his eyes that were barely open, his baggy sleep wear and the way he was dragging hie feet on the floor.


    ¡°Fuck you, man.¡± He muttered without looking at his friend. ¡°I just want to sleep.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Are you okay?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Jetg.¡± was all I got as answer before he dragged his feet back out of the kitchen.


    I turned confused eyes on Drew, and he must have known what I was about to ask because he was already speaking. ¡°He hates flying.¡±


    Frowning, I nodded.


    It was still too early to ask what the n was for today, seeing as everyone wasn¡¯t awake yet. It was probably smart to go back up to my room, finish unpacking, have my bath, beforeing back down. Everyone would probably be awake by then.


    I¡¯d just polished off the remainder of my coffee and was about to hop down from my stool when Drew decided to speak up. ¡°I know you definitely don¡¯t work for Jack or I¡¯d have seen you. What do you do?¡±


    Okay, Drew was the furthest thing from subtle. And very unpredictable.


    ¡°I own a lingeriepany.¡± I told him.


    His eyes lit up like a kid presented with candy. ¡°Really? Have I heard of it?¡±


    ¡°Eh.¡± I shrugged. ¡°Since you don¡¯t shop for lingeries, I don¡¯t think so.¡±


    He grinned wide. ¡°Tell me the name anyway.¡±


    When I did, recognition lit up his eyes and his grin spread so wide, I was worried his face would split in two.


    ¡°I know it.¡±


    ¡°You do?¡± I asked, curiosity making me brace my hands on the counter and lean forward without knowing that I was actually doing it.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± He nodded. ¡°I bought a few lingeries for my ex on her birthday one time.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help the grin that spread across my lips. So he had heard of mypany. ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she loved your designs.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m so d to hear that.¡± I told him honestly.


    Anyone that loved my designs, was a real gee and I was almost tempted to ask him why he wasn¡¯t with her anymore. But it wasn¡¯t my business, so I left it.


    That was how Alex walked into the kitchen.


    With me leaning heavily on the ind, a grin on my lips as I stared at Drew and an equally wide grin on Drew¡¯s lips as he stared at me.


    His eyes ping-ponged between us, his face carefully nk and so fucking beautiful, it was almost impossible for her to focus on anything else. His dark hair was messy and his pink lips were slightly puffy with sleep. As if that wasn¡¯t enough, he was wearing a white T-shirt and grey pants that did nothing to hide his morning wood.


    Fuck me.


    No, really. I needed him to fuck me now. Right there on the kitchen counter. I wouldn¡¯t mind our audience of one.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± I muttered to him, mainly because I remembered my decision to treat him the way I treated the others.


    The other reason was because I needed to speak up in order to take their attention away from the drool that was probably pooling at the side of my mouth.


    ¡°Morning,¡± he grunted in that sexy-as-hell morning voice.


    Sliding off my stool, I hurried over to the sink to rinse my mug, feeling Alex¡¯s eyes on me the entire time. I heard them talking behind me, but I was too hyper-aware of Alex¡¯s eyes on me to actually pay attention to what they were saying.


    Keeping the mug back, I made my way out of the kitchen with a throwaway, ¡°See y¡¯allter.¡± To which Drew replied, although I wasn¡¯t quite sure Alex did.


    However, the fact that he didn¡¯t reply, didn¡¯t mean that his eyes didn¡¯t stay with me as I walked out of the kitchen in my short shorts.

 15

    LAURA


    I was hanging a gown in the closet when my phone rang from the bed.


    My mom¡¯s name shed across the screen when I picked it up and that was when I remembered that I was actually supposed to call her yesterday to let her know that I¡¯d arrived safely.


    Answering the call, I ced the phone against my ear.


    ¡°Hey, Mom.¡±


    ¡°Hey, munchkin,¡± Her raspy voice drifted across the speakers, ¡°How are you, love?¡±


    I sighed as I dropped down on the foot of my bed, the sound of her voice causing a sense of calm to wash over me. ¡°I¡¯m good. I was so tired yesterday, I forgot to call you like I said I would.¡± I told her, ¡°I was just unpacking when you called.¡±


    She hummed and I heard a steady tap on a table top. I immediately knew that she was drumming with her fingers on the table. Mom had a lot of¡­ habits.


    ¡°I¡¯m d to hear that you arrived safe.¡± She coughed. ¡°How¡¯s Balery?¡±


    Pretending that I hadn¡¯t heard her cough, I said, ¡°She¡¯s doing really good. I swear, she and Jack look ten times better than they did when they were dating. Is that like a glow thates with marriage or something?¡±


    Momughed, deep and rusty. ¡°Yes, sort of. When you¡¯re in a marriage with someone you love, it¡¯s a package deal.¡±


    A small smile touched my lips at the sound of herughter. ¡°Now, you have me considering getting married just so that I can glow up like that.¡±


    Sheughed even more, the soundsing out like barks. Deep, and sounding a lot like it was being pulled reluctantly out of her.


    ¡°Just saying. Don¡¯t be surprised if you get an invite to my¡­¡± I trailed off when I heard her coughing again.


    This time, it was worse because she didn¡¯t stop coughing. She hacked and hacked until I had to pull the phone away from my ear, tears welling in my eyes. Even with the phone being so far from my ear, I could still hear her coughing.


    Everyday, the coughing got worse and I hated it because the coughing always left her weak and tired. Leaving her by herself had started to prove difficult each time I visited her, until I¡¯d had to reach out to the teenager in the house next to my mom¡¯s and ask to pay her if she could check on my mom from time to time since mom wouldn¡¯t let me hire someone for her.


    I¡¯d been so d when the teenager had taken checking up on my mom seriously, because apparently, the two had developed a connection. She¡¯d rejected my money, and instead, she¡¯d be my mom¡¯s friend.


    When the coughing still didn¡¯t stop, I brought the phone back to my ear and said, ¡°Mom, drink some water.¡±


    The sound of her coughing grew distant and I imagined she was fetching herself a ss of water. I could almost picture her with her hand shaking as she filled a ss with water from the tap.


    I sighed, dropping my head in my hand as I patiently waited for her to get back on the phone, all the while trying to convince myself that she was okay. That the only reason I couldn¡¯t hear her anymore, was because she¡¯d gone to get water. Nothing more.


    She was safe. She was fine.


    Why was she taking so long then?


    My palm started shaking and my hands started sweating. Please, Mom, please be okay.


    I almost face-nted on the floor with relief when I heard the sound of her ragged breathing on the line.


    ¡°Mom? Did you drink water?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± She coughed again, but it sounded more like she was trying to clear her throat. ¡°What were you saying?¡±


    I ignored her. ¡°Where¡¯s Jo?¡±


    ¡°She left about an hour ago.¡± She said hurriedly, ¡°Now, what¡¯s that you were saying?¡±


    ¡°Did she tell you where she was going?¡±


    Jo was the teenager that lived next door and I knew that she had her own life and didn¡¯t have to ask for permission from my mom before going wherever she wanted to. Actually, she did a lot for me than any other person had ever done, and I was grateful for that. I was just trying to figure something out.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Probably school stuff.¡± Mom said just as hurriedly, punctuating the statement with a small cough.


    That told me what I wanted to know.


    For one, it was Sunday. No teenager wanted to be doing school stuff on a Sunday when they knew that they were going to be going to school the next day. Secondly, it was quite obvious now that my mom was lying. And I knew why.


    She¡¯d sent Jo away because she knew that there was no way she was going to be able to do what she wanted to do when the teenager was there. Jo would definitely report to me.


    She¡¯d sent Jo out because she¡¯d wanted to smoke.


    ¡°Mom, how could you?¡± My voice broke on thest word. I felt betrayed and hurt. So hurt. ¡°You promised to quit.¡±


    Her heavy sigh sent a crackle across the line. ¡°I had to.¡±


    ¡°No, you didn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t understand, Laura. It¡¯s not that simple.¡± She hesitated, before saying, ¡°It helps.¡±


    The thing was I did understand. I did. But it still didn¡¯t make it any better.


    A tear slid down my cheek as an overwhelming feeling of helplessness weighed down on my shoulders. Another tear followed, then another one, and another, until before I knew it, I was crying, although no sound came out.


    I didn¡¯t want her to know that I was crying. Mom was a proud woman, and a strong one too. She hated when I fussed over and when I ¡®cared too much¡¯. But how fair was it that she was the one doing the physical damage and I was the one left to deal with the emotional one?


    I cleared my throat. ¡°Did you book that doctor¡¯s appointment?¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    She was silent for a while before saying, ¡°Yeah. I have it on Tuesday.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± I was scared to hear what the doctor would say, but at the same time, I wanted to know too. ¡°Take care of yourself, mom. I¡¯ll call you.¡±


    ¡°Take care, my love.¡± She rasped, then I heard the beep that told me she¡¯d ended the call.


    Fuck.


    I hated this. Hated that almost every conversation with my mom left me scared and my emotions, all over the ce. She was the only one that could get to me like this. I hated this soft, emotional version of myself that I was when I spoke to her, and what I hated even more was the fact that I wasn¡¯t able to do anything about it.


    I hated that I loved her. And I hated that she couldn¡¯t love me enough to quit smoking when she obviously saw what it did to the both of us. At least if not for herself, for me.


    That might make me selfish, but I didn¡¯t care. At least one of us was thinking about her health.


    I wiped at the tears on my face quickly and stered on a smile when I heard a knock on the door.


    A short momentter, Bales poked her head in, a small smile on her face. I¡¯d thought that I did a good job at hiding the fact that I¡¯d just been crying, but from the way her smile turned hesitant and her eyes ran down my face, I knew that I¡¯d done a terrible job.


    ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I said quickly. ¡°Whats up?¡±


    She hesitated before saying, ¡°I was going to ask if you wanna lie out under the sun with me for a while.¡±


    I nodded before she could even finish speaking. ¡°Yeah, sure. I¡¯ll be down in a minute. Just give me some time to finish unpacking.¡± I gestured blindly to my open box.


    She nodded, still staring at me. She opened her mouth like she wanted to say something, but then seemed to think better of it and left.


    I cursed again when the door slid shut, then went over to finish unpacking.


    When I was done, I put on a two piece, grabbed a cover up, and went downstairs. I heard the sound of voicesing from the kitchen and guessed that the guys were probably in there.


    I dropped on the bench next to Balery¡¯s, applied sunscreen, andid back, content to forget about thest hour and just enjoy my surroundings.


    ¡°Laura?¡±


    I peeked one eye open at the sound of my name. ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°I know that it¡¯s not my business and you can totally decide not to answer, but do you want to talk about what I walked in on?¡± Balery asked softly.


    That one was a hard no.


    ¡°Not really.¡± I gave her a small smile. ¡°Thanks for asking though.¡±


    She returned my smile and squeezed my hand reassuringly before turning away.


    Balery was a helper, I knew that. But not every situation could be helped.

 16

    LAURA


    ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I invited to this party?¡±


    I turned my head and found Jack strolling towards us, a bright smile on his face. He was wearing khaki shorts and a button down shirt, the whole beach look. Balery quickly created space for him and he dropped down on the bench next to her leg.


    ¡°It¡¯s a girls only party,¡± I told him. ¡°You¡¯re only getting away with it because you¡¯re the best friend¡¯s husband.¡±


    ¡°That, I am.¡± He grinned, then leaned down and kissed his wife.


    Letting out a sigh of content, I closed my eyes andid my head back on the bed. Those two were going to be kissing for a long time. Might as well give them sone privacy by showing them that I wasn¡¯t watching.


    Balery wasn¡¯t a big fan of PDA, but Jack was. He could barely keep his hands off of her and she, in turn, loved every bit of his affection. She¡¯d probably decided to suck it up when she finally realised that she couldn¡¯t eat her cake and have it.


    ¡°You lovebirds are going to make us singles start feeling like shit.¡± A voice hollered and from the sound of it, they wereing in this direction.


    My eyes popped open and the sight that weed me sent my fragile heart racing.


    Alex and Drew wereing towards us, both dressed in sweats and polo shirts, but my hungry eyes were solely fixed on Alex. He was still wearing his clothes from this morning. Sexy grey sweatpants that hinted at, more than covered his bulge, and that muscle hugging white shirt. The short sleeves bared his hands and had his tattoos standing out proud under the sunlight.


    He stalked towards us, all hard angles, golden skin, and an amazing physique. The man looked like a greek god. Like a beautifully sculpted statuee to life.


    There was an empty bed next to mine, and that was the one he decided to sit on. He didn¡¯t look at me once as he plopped down on the bed and for a moment, I thought that he was ignoring me, but the minute he finished speaking to either Drew or Jack-I wasn¡¯t sure, I didn¡¯t look-he turned to me.


    He eyes did a slow perusal of my body, taking his time.


    Green eyes dragged down my body, stopping and ring slightly when they reached my boobs. He ran his hands down the valley between my breasts-he could see it because the piece had a dip in the middle-and then finally, his eyes continued on their journey. He took one more stop at my hips, probably imagining getting the panties off me, before he reached my legs.


    When his eyes climbed back up to mine, they were zing with barely restrained lust.


    I squirmed under the heat of his gaze, wanting to climb him so much in that moment that it was all I could think about. He barely took his eyes off me even when he engaged in conversations with his friends and I was pretty sure he did it on purpose because his eyes on me, made it unable for me to think about anything else and if that had been his aim, then he¡¯d seeded.


    ¡°¡­it¡¯s so crazy.¡± The end of a statement reached my ears.


    ¡°Wow. Small world,¡± Bales smiled and turned to me. ¡°Is that true, Laura?¡±


    I blinked. What the hell were they talking about?


    My nk expression clearly showed that I hadn¡¯t been paying attention to them even if I was sitting right there, and they knew it. It was all Alex¡¯s fault for distracting me so thoroughly with his eyes. He wasn¡¯t even trying to be discreet about staring at me.


    Was this my curse for wishing that the men who approached me were more confident?


    ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry, I zoned off for a minute there.¡± I murmured, shame making it hard for me to lie properly. ¡°What were you talking about?¡±


    The look Balery gave me had me wishing for the ground to open up and swallow me. She knew. She knew what had me distracted.


    Shit.


    My cheeks med and I pressed farther down on the bed, wanting nothing more than to disappear.


    ¡°Drew here was telling us that he got gifts for his ex from your shop one time.¡± Balery informed me.


    I shifted sightly as if that could help my situation, then cleared my throat just to make sure that my voice didn¡¯te out all breathy. ¡°Oh, yeah. I didnt know him at the time though.¡±


    Jesus. What was that?


    Of course I hadn¡¯t known him at the time. We¡¯d met just yesterday. Why on earth did I say that?


    I groaned silently when Balery wiggled her brows at me knowingly and it was all I could do to not flip her off. I settled for doing it internally. However, when I looked back at Alex and saw the smug smirk on his lips, I didn¡¯t hesitate to flip him off.


    Thankfully, Drew and Jack were locked in a conversation, so they didn¡¯t see it.


    Sitting beside him was torture. He was just so big and handsome and so fucking sexy with that slight scowl and all I wanted to do was to climb on top of him and ride him until we both physically couldn¡¯t anymore, but I never broke my one-night only rule, and I wasnt nning on starting with him.


    Rising up from the bed, I said, ¡°I¡¯m retiring early. Y¡¯all enjoy the sun.¡±


    ¡°Now that¡¯s just mean.¡± Drew jerked his thumb over his shoulder. ¡°Sun¡¯s starting to go down.¡±


    I grinned at him as I tied my cover up over my panties, giving Bales a small wave before walking away. I might have put an extra sway in my hips simply because I knew that Alex was most defly watching me.


    If he was going to make my decision to not have sex with him anymore so hard for me, then I was going to make it equally hard for him.


    I didn¡¯t ck.


    Colour me surprised when I heard heavy footsteps following behind me as I climbed up the stairs. When i turned and saw it was Alex, I turned back around and resumed by ascent, not stopping for a bit even when I was in front of my door.


    ¡°Stop avoiding me.¡±


    I swivelled around, so fast and unexpected, his eyes red a little. He probably hadn¡¯t expected me to acknowledge him and to be honest, I had not wanted to. Maybe it was the pent up lust or the embarrassment he¡¯d caused me outside, but I was suddenly in the mood to argue.


    ¡°Is leaving me alone too much to ask?¡± I snapped, my boobs rising and falling fast with my quick breaths. His eyes fell to them and my nipples puckered into two sharp points right in front of him.


    I was turned on. So?


    That didn¡¯t mean anything. The fact that my body wanted him didn¡¯t mean that I did.


    ¡°I would if you actually meant it.¡± He said in that same calm voice, not even the least bit riled up by my obvious disy of anger.


    I wanted to piss him off. I wanted him to lose his cool and snap back at me so that I¡¯d yell at him more.


    ¡°I do mean it, you stubborn ass,¡± I seethed, angry all of a sudden. Why couldn¡¯t he just leave me the fuck alone? ¡°What the hell is your-¡±


    He closed the space between us in two quick steps that I didnt seeing and before I knew it, he had my back to the wall and his lips on my neck.


    Asshole move.


    Total asshole move.


    My neck was my weak spot. There was no way I could fight him off when he had his lips on my neck and he probably knew that, which was why he¡¯d targeted it.


    Shit.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    I fought still, trying to hold on to my already weak grip on control even as it slipped farther out of my grasp with every second that passed. It slipped even more when he opened his mouth and left wet kisses on my neck, swirling his tongue in a circle on each spot he kissed.


    ¡°Tell me you dont want this, Laura.¡± He said intro my neck as he continued his assault. ¡°Say it again and maybe I¡¯ll believe you this time.¡±


    ¡°I-¡±


    I hissed in both pain and pleasure when he bit softly on my pulse point, and then moaned in pleasure when he licked on the spot, kissing it and soothing the pain.


    God, he was such an asshole.


    How could she resist him when he fought so dirty?


    ¡°Invite me into your room, Laura.¡± He whispered, the words soft and full of temptation. He sounded a lot like the devil in that moment, she wanted to open her eyes just to see if he¡¯d developed horns.


    ¡°No,¡± she forced out no matter how hard it was to say it.


    It hurt me to deny him-her nipples ached from theck of attention-but I had no other choice. It was either deny him or fuck him for the second time and there was no way that was happening.


    A rule was a rule.


    ¡°Please,¡± He begged as he dragged his lips from my neck to my chest, leaving open mouthed kisses as he went, and my legs almost gave out at the sound of him begging.


    Did he really want me that bad?


    Well, I wanted him too, but it couldn¡¯t happen.


    It just couldnt happen.


    I shoved my fingers into his hair and tried to use the grip to pull his head down to my breasts since he was being so slow, but he deliberately fought against it, focusing on kissing my chest instead.


    ¡°Suck on my nipples, Alex,¡± I was embarrassingly close to begging.


    A shudder moved through his body. ¡°I will when you let me in.¡±


    Frustrated, I stomped my feet, and the movement caused his lips to dislodge from my chest.


    He rose to his full height, eyes zing as he ran his knuckles down my face, caressing my cheeks softly, before grazing the side of my lips with his thumb. They parted for him. ¡°Just let me in, Laura. I¡¯ll make it so good for you, you know that.¡±


    I did. I did know that.


    And that was the only reason I was considering letting him into my room right now, but we werent going to have sex. Of course, I wasnt going to tell him that. He could give me an orgasm without getting in me-maybe even more.


    I wasnt happy over the fact that he was breaking me, but knowing that I was going to get an orgasm-or two-out of it, was enough to improve my mood.


    Since Alex had decided to fight dirty, then I was going to do the same.


    Just as he was about to turn and walk away, probably mistaking my dy for denial, I caught his arm. He stopped and turned to me with a brow raised, waiting for me to speak.


    I rolled my eyes and tugged him into the room with me. ¡°Come on.¡±

 17

    LAURA


    He closed the door quietly and leaned back on it, his eyes tracking me from where I stood a few feet away from him. ¡°Get on the bed.¡±


    I folded my arms across my chest. ¡°Why don¡¯t you get on the bed?¡±


    ¡°Do you want my mouth on you or not?¡±


    That had me hurrying to the bed so fast, I tripped over my own feet and almostnded on the ground. Luckily, I caught myself and stood in front of the bed, my hands going to the bands of my panties to drag them down.


    ¡°No,¡± Alex¡¯s voice stopped me. ¡°Don¡¯t take them off.¡±


    Confused, my hands dropped and I sat down on the bed, staring at him expectantly. When he just continued to stand there and eat me up with his eyes, I scowled. And scowled even more when a grin broke out across his face and heughed, transforming from gorgeous to devastating in a split second.


    ¡°You¡¯re one impatient little thing, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m here and you¡¯re all the way over there.¡± I lifted a brow, ¡°Care to exin why that is?¡±


    He pushed off the wall and took slow, predatory strides towards me, his eyes never leaving mine for a second. ¡°Forgive me, you¡¯re just so¡­ fucking beautiful, it¡¯s so hard to believe that you¡¯re real.¡±


    My breath caught at the rawness of his voice, at how his words sent a truckload of need mming into me. Heat pooled low in my stomach, making me so dizzy with desire that my head spinned for a moment and my thoughts went into disarray.


    God, what was he doing to me?


    As he walked closer to me, his masculine scent filled my nostrils, heightening my senses even more. My legs widened to create space for him when he stood in front of me, and immediately he stepped in, I locked my legs around him to prevent him from leaving-although from the look on his face, that was thest thing on his mind.


    He caressed my cheeks reverently as he stared down at me, ¡°But you¡¯re here and I¡¯m touching you and I-¡± He shook his head hard, swallowing. ¡°You¡¯re just-I¡¯m finding it hard to ept that you¡¯re real.¡±


    I-


    Okay, was it possible that oxygen had evacuated the room?


    His words were beautiful. So beautiful, they started a tingle at the base of my neck that eventually travelled down my spine and ended in a pool of wetness on my panties.


    But then his words were also¡­ intimate. And it had me swallowing with equal parts fear and want for more, because I¡¯d loved the way the words made me feel, but I wasn¡¯tpletely sure if I wanted to keep hearing him say things like that to me.


    They left me ten between wanting to kiss him and running in the other direction.


    It was crazy.


    ¡°Less talking, more touching,¡± I told him as I unlocked my legs around him and scooted backwards on the bed until I was sitting smack in the middle.


    A small smile touched his lips, even if it looked like it didn¡¯t quite reach his eyes, as he put his knee on the bed and crawled towards me. The sight was so hot, I didn¡¯t want to blink or look away for a second and miss it.


    The moment he reached me, I pulled him down and kissed him.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t know why I was kissing him because kissing was an intimate act and it connected people. I didn¡¯t want that, but then he was a really great kisser. When he kissed me, it felt like he was fucking my mouth the way he would my body, and I¡¯d never met any man who did that.


    Any man other than him.


    He groaned, shoving his tongue against the seam of my lips, and I opened, letting him in. His tongue found mine instantly, and the two tangled in a sensual dance. He did that thing with his tongue where it felt like he was fucking my mouth and my eyes rolled into the back of my head.


    Swear to God, if someone had asked me my name at that point, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to tell them.


    He stopped the little movements I was making my gripping my waist and pinning me down. I wrenched my lips away from his to protest, but stopped immediately when his lips travelled down my neck until he was sucking on the parts of my breasts that weren¡¯t covered by my bra.


    I was pretty sure I had an orgasm when he pulled the straps of my bra down-with his teeth. He dragged one side down, then the other, and continued that way until the material was hanging around my waist.


    He put some distance between us so that he could feast his eyes on my bared flesh. ¡°Christ, you¡¯re so fucking sexy.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ve got good genes.¡±


    The words came out weak and breathy as hell, but he heard them anyway and his teeth shed white on a grin that made my breath catch.


    He bent and sucked one nipple into his mouth, circling his tongue around it until my back shot up off the bed, and I was begging him. For mercy, or more, I wasn¡¯t sure, but I knew that I¡¯d begged.


    I was too far gone to care.


    He let the nipple slide out of his mouth with a pop and wasted no time invishing the same attention on the other one.


    When he¡¯d finished wrecking havoc on my breasts, he slid down my body, swirled his tongue around my belly button, before dragging my panties down my legs with his teeth. He left them tangled around one leg, beforeing back up and shoving his face into my core, breathing me in.


    God, that was so fucking hot.


    In less than five minutes of him eating me out, I wasing. The orgasm hit me like a freight train. I screamed, my legs shook, and my limbs flew all over the ce. I almost clocked Alex in the face, but he caught my leg and pinned me down.


    I was mumbling iprehensible things by the time the orgasm ended.


    He climbed up my body and covered his lips with mine, eating at my mouth with a ferociousness that I met. I tasted my essence on his lips and somehow, that made the kiss ten times hotter.


    I dragged my tongue across the roof of his mouth-a move I loved-and he groaned long and low. He pressed onest kiss to the side of my lips before sliding back down.


    I rose on my elbows, slurring, ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Eating you.¡±


    No. I was going to pass out if he went down on me again.


    ¡°No. I can¡¯t take it anymore, Alex.¡±


    ¡°You will,¡± his voice brooked no argument. ¡°I think I just found my new favourite meal.¡±


    With thosest words that sent my head spinning, he dove down and proceeded to eat me out again. When I felt my second orgasm building, I thought I was going to pass out.


    I¡¯d been right after all, about him giving me more than one orgasm.


    Somehow, the second orgasm was even more intense than the first one and by the time the wave died, I was numb andx on the bed, barely able to recognise my surroundings.


    I was in a pleasure heaven. And I would happily die here.


    It was about two minutester, when I heard the sound of a condom wrapper tearing, that I was jerked back to the present and I found the strength to sit up on the bed and scoot away from Alex.


    His brows furrowed and the lust in his eyes cleared somewhat at the movement. ¡°Whats wrong?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not having sex.¡±


    He blinked once. Twice. ¡°Come again?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not having sex, Alex.¡± I tried not to cringe as I repeated the words.


    ¡°What the actual fuck?¡±

 18

    LAURA


    With the look he gave me, you¡¯d think I had sprouted a second head. ¡°What do you mean we¡¯re not having sex?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we¡¯re not.¡±


    I actually was sorry. I could see how hard he was, how badly he wanted this and it also wasn¡¯t fair that I¡¯d gotten him to this point only to stomp on the brakes. I mean, I wanted this too. I wanted it so much that my core pulsed and clenched around emptiness, aching to be filled with his length, but at least I¡¯d gotten two orgasms.  He¡¯d gotten zero.


    But it just couldn¡¯t happen no matter how bad we both wanted it.


    ¡°Why?¡± He ran his eyes over my body, heat filling his eyes anew at the sight of my nakedness. ¡°Are you okay? Is something wrong?¡±


    ¡°I-¡± I shook my head, dragging the sheets over me and letting them pool on my thigh. It felt hypocritical to be telling him we weren¡¯t going to have sex when I was still naked in front of him, but I still needed him distracted which was why I left my breasts bare. ¡°I¡¯m fine. There¡¯s nothing wrong.¡±


    He nodded slowly. ¡°Okay. Then what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    What¡¯s wrong is that I want you so bad, I can¡¯t even think about having sex with anyone else. What¡¯s wrong is that I want you right now even though you just gave me two orgasms. What¡¯s wrong is that I want you, but it just can¡¯t happen.


    I shook my head, more to myself than him. ¡°We can¡¯t have sex, Alex.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I got that part.¡± The condom was still clutched in his fist in a loose grip. ¡°What I¡¯m asking is why.¡±


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t have sex with the same person twice.¡± I delivered tly.


    His head whipped back as if he¡¯d been pped, and he shot off the bed so fast, you¡¯d think the thing was on fire. ¡°You used me?¡±


    I winced, guilt suffusing me instantly, but I couldn¡¯t bring myself to deny it. I wanted to say something, to tell him that I hadn¡¯t used him, or rather, that I hadn¡¯t intended to, but I couldn¡¯t because that was exactly what I¡¯d done.


    I¡¯d used him. I¡¯d done so in my bid to fight dirty back.


    ¡°You fucking used me?¡± He asked again, unable to believe it.


    Fuck, no number of orgasms was worth the amount of guilt I was feeling right now.


    I should have just told him no in the hallway and gotten myself off. He¡¯d even been about to walk away, I should have just let him. Sure, my hands couldn¡¯tpare to what he did to my body, but I should¡¯ve suffered instead of using him.


    Panicked, I rose up on my knees, my hand outstretched. ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± When he cut a re my way, I swallowed and rephrased. ¡°I-I mean, I didn¡¯t mean to. I just wanted you to-¡±


    ¡°Give you an orgasm,¡± he cut in. ¡°That was all you cared about. Did you even think about me once?¡±


    I pursed my lips, chewing on the lower one.


    ¡°As I¡¯d suspected.¡± He shook his head, angry eyes looking me over. ¡°You¡¯re so unbelievably selfish.¡±


    ¡°Alex¡­¡± I sighed, but I wasn¡¯t getting through to him.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you used me.¡± He spat out the words like they offended him, and they probably did.


    I tried to put myself in his shoes. How would I react if a man got me to get him off then called it off when it was my turn?


    Well, the question shouldn¡¯t be how I¡¯d react. It should be, what would I do? Because I¡¯d punch him so hard in the dick, he¡¯d forget all about the pleasure and all he¡¯d feel was pain.


    God, I really was an ass.


    I blinked myself back to the present and found him leaning on my dresser, tall, dark, pissed off and so fucking handsome, it was almost annoying. He stared down his nose at me, that stubborn chin set, jaws clenched and eyes tapered into dangerous slits.


    My eyes fell to the huge bulge in his sweats that hadn¡¯t gone down once during all this time, and my poor core spasmed, begging for it to fill me. My nipples tightened to a point of pain and it was all I could do to not cup them and massage some of the ache away.


    What was wrong with me?


    How could I be getting turned on even now?


    ¡°Alex, please understand.¡±


    A thick brow lifted and even that innocent movement turned into something sexual in my head. I swallowed.


    ¡°I¡¯m trying to.¡±


    I shifted to the edge of the bed and sat back on my knees. I didn¡¯t miss his eyes taking a quick dip to my breasts, then back up. His throat bobbed.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°I can¡¯t have sex with the same person twice.¡±


    He shook his head, staring at me as if I was crazy. Well, that was his problem. It didn¡¯t have to make sense to him as long as it made sense to me.


    ¡°Why?¡± He asked again.


    ¡°Because it¡¯s necessary.¡± I told him, thinking back to how intimate his words had felt, how intimate that kiss had been. ¡°Twice could turn into thrice, and so on. It breeds intimacy. Ufortable conversations and situations.¡±


    He stared at me as if I was a strange creature he¡¯d encountered and didn¡¯t know what to do with me. He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. ¡°Have you ever been in a rtionship?¡±


    Ew.


    ¡°No,¡± I told him with a scrunch of my nose.


    I could tell that he was surprised by that piece of information. Very surprised in fact, but he hid it well and nodded.


    ¡°Okay.¡± He pinned me with intense green eyes. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make what you did eptable though.¡±


    I nodded quickly, d that he understood. I might fight ditty when the situation called for it, but I wasn¡¯t a bad person. ¡°I know it doesn¡¯t. I¡¯m sorry for not telling you.¡±


    He stared at me for a whole minute before pushing away from the dresser, heading in the direction of the door.


    Wait. Where the hell was he going?


    ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Leaving,¡± He said without turning.


    ¡°You¡¯re leaving like that?¡± I asked, confused.


    He didn¡¯t have to ask what I meant. He was still hard, and unless he was leaving to go do something about it in his room-which was totally hot, by the way-then he was going to suffer from blue balls.


    I couldn¡¯t imagine how painful that had to be considering how turned on he¡¯d been.


    ¡°What other choice do I have?¡±


    ¡°I could get you off.¡±


    That got him to stop walking. He turned around so fast, I almost missed the movement, and the look on his face had me shrinking back on the bed.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask you to get me off like some fucking whore.¡± He thundered.


    ¡°It¡¯s not asking if it was my idea.¡±


    ¡°And that makes it better.¡± He sneered sarcastically.


    I shrugged.


    He stalked back towards the bed to where I was kneeling, ran a finger down my cheek and I rose on my knees, willing him to kiss me. ¡°You¡¯ll learn, Laura,¡± he breathed, hot green eyes on mine. ¡°That just because you used me, doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m going to return the favour.¡±


    Hisst words were like whish, and when I blinked, he wasn¡¯t standing in front of me anymore.


    The sound of my door mming shut reverberated through the room.

 19

    LAURA


    The week had gone by peacefully forck of a better word.


    In that space of time, I¡¯d learnt that my mom¡¯s organs weren¡¯t getting worse, but they weren¡¯t improving either. It wasn¡¯t really something to celebrate, but I was d to hear that her situation wasn¡¯t getting worse.


    I¡¯d also gotten in touch with Bailey and she¡¯d told me that business was doing really well. I was so happy to hear that my absence hadn¡¯t affected things at all. I¡¯d always known that she was a good assistant, but I was starting to think it was time to give her a raise. She deserved it.


    It was a particrly hot day today and I¡¯d decided to go for a swim. I mean, what was the point in staying at a beach house when you never actually swam at the beach?


    I wore jean shorts over my panties, grabbed a small towel, my phone, and went outside. I swam for a bit, sticking to the shallows because even though I loved swimming, I loved my life more, and then swam some more.


    Swimming made me horny and the longer I stayed in the water, the hornier I got. Frankly, it was quite stupid of me to deliberately do something that would make me horny when I knew that there was no way I would be able to do anything about it.


    As of two days ago, I¡¯de to the heartbreaking conclusion that my hands were useless. It was like my state of horniness multiplied everytime I got myself off, and I hadn¡¯t packed my vibrator with me either.


    Trantion, I was screwed.


    I turned in the water, swimming back the way I¡¯de, as images of Alex filled my mind. My nipples puckered when I remembered the sight of his dark head between my thighs, how erotic the sight had been, seeing his dark hair against my tan skin.


    Shit. This was torture.


    He didn¡¯t watch me the way he usually did, didn¡¯t give me this dark, heated looks that made my thighs clench anymore. It was almost like he was trying to act like I wasn¡¯t there. Sure, a few times our eyes met over the kitchen ind or in the living room, sometimes in the hallway, but he always looked away.


    At first, I¡¯d pretended that I didn¡¯t care but eventually, it started getting to me. I¡¯d packed sexy and most of the things I wore in the house were skimpy. They got a lot of attention, mostly from Drew and Balery-Jake sometimes-but with Alex, it was almost like he didn¡¯t see below my neck.


    It was frustrating.


    What was even more frustrating was the fact that it was like our roles had been reversed and I was the one now staring at him, watching him, waiting for him to acknowledge me, to do anything at all that hinted that he was seeing me.


    Sighing, I stepped out of the water, drying off with my towel before shoving my legs into my shorts and padding into the house, my mind focused on one thing.


    I passed Jake in the living room, hunched over with aptop on his thighs as he stared engrossed at whatever it was on the screen. His eyes shot up quickly the moment I entered the living room, then dropped back to his screen.


    ¡°Hi, Laura.¡±


    ¡°Hey, Jake.¡± I gave a small wave.


    There was something about Jake that gave me chills. It was probably his eyes. They were normal dark brown eyes, a shade that almost matched his hair, but there was something about them that made a person want to tread carefully when he stared at them.


    He wasn¡¯t like Jack or Drew, sort of as reserved as Alex, but reserved wasn¡¯t really the word I would use to describe him. There was a certain darkness lurking beneath all that shiny exterior, a darkness that he was not doing a good job of hiding.


    Or maybe he wasn¡¯t trying to hide it at all.


    I went straight to the fridge in the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of cold water and sat on one of the stools by the ind, uncapping it and taking a long swallow. The water cooled me off a bit, but it still didn¡¯t take my mind off my mission.


    I¡¯d decided that since Alex was keen on not putting his hands on me anymore, then I was going to put my hands on him. I also still felt bad over what happened thest time and I¡¯d been trying to talk myself into doing something for him.


    While swimming, I¡¯d made up my mind.


    I¡¯d never seen a body like his. I derived pleasure from touching him and merely kissing him pushed me right towards the edge of an orgasm. But I wasn¡¯t going to do it with the idea that I was doing it for him; I was simply going to do it for him.


    I just needed to find the right time.


    I went through my emails one more time just to make sure that I¡¯d responded to all of them, then just to cross check, I went through my spams and saw that I¡¯d received a new email.


    The subject alone was enough to inform me on who the sender was. I usually ignored them, so I didn¡¯t hesitate to do the same this time.


    I never opened them for my sanity.


    Getting emails from stalkers had be a norm over the past few years. Most of them were men propositioning me, trying to get a night or two from me. But then I¡¯d thought carefully about the pros and cons before deciding not only to be the CEO of the littlepany, but also one of the models and I had to bear the consequences.


    I didn¡¯t care what people thought. I loved wearing and advertising some of the designs, and even though my face was cropped off in most of the pictures, my followers probably already knew my body well enough to know which of the pictures was me.


    I barely responded to private messages especially when they were not about business and since my email was linked to my Instagram ount, I got a lot of mails from horny teenagers, disgusting old men, and even crazy people, begging me for a night with them. Some even wanted to pay.


    It was crazy.


    The messages had stoppeding recently though, probably when they realised that I was never going to respond to them, so I was a bit surprised when I saw this new one. Seemed like there was an overly optimistic one amongst them.


    I looked up and ced my phone face down on the counter when Drew walked into the kitchen.


    ¡°Hey,¡± I grinned, noticing that he was all dressed up. ¡°What¡¯s the asion?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going into town.¡± He announced, going over to the sink to wash his hands. I noticed that he did that a lot.


    I braced my elbows on the edge of the kitchen ind, dropping my face on my hands. ¡°Going to get anything?¡±


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m going to getid. Wannae with?¡±


    At least someone was gettingid.


    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m abstaining.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± he drawled sarcastically, wiggling his brows and Iughed, shaking my head.


    Myugh stopped abruptly when Alex walked into the kitchen, his eyes sweeping over me and Drew quickly, before pulling the fridge open and grabbing a bottle of water. He mmed the fridge shut before walking back out without another look at us.


    That show of anger was nothing short of refreshing.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be rooting for you,¡± I called after Drew as he exited the kitchen.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± he yelled back.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    That was my cue to go after Alex.


    Snatching my phone off the kitchen counter, I hurried after him. I took the stairs two at a time just to make sure that he didn¡¯t lock his door before I could reach him, and thankfully, when I reached thending, he was just steeping inside his room.


    I quickly shoved my foot into the space between the door and the frame before he could close the door.


    ¡°You should be d I didn¡¯t smash your foot.¡± He stated cooly, eyes roving over me. ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    I shoved him into the room before he could change his mind and actually smash my foot. ¡°Returning the favour.¡±

 20

    LAURA


    I kicked the door shut and turned, my eyes making a quick sweep of his room.


    It was exactly like mine. Same design, same light blue painted walls, same queen-sized bed. The only difference was probably the view from our windows since they were on opposite sides of the house.


    I walked over to the dresser to ce my phone on it and draped my towel over the back of a chair. When I turned back around, I caught him watching me with calctive eyes. My presence was probably throwing him. Good.


    Putting an extra say in my hips, I walked slowly over to him. I ran a finger down the valley between my boobs and his eyes followed the movement, ring with heat.


    ¡°When you walk, it¡¯s like a revtion.¡± He rasped, throat bobbing as I came closer to him. Even though his eyes were filled with heat, he stepped back. ¡°I¡¯m not up for one of your games, Laura.¡±


    I cocked a brow. ¡°Who said it¡¯s a game?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all games with you.¡± He sighed, shook his head and pushed off the door, moving to side-step me, but I pushed him back with the tip of my index finger and he fell right back against the door.


    He could deny all he wanted that he didn¡¯t want any part in what I wanted to do, but I could see the look in his eyes and I could tell that he¡¯d missed me. I hadn¡¯t even touched him and he was hard already.


    ¡°Rx.¡± I rolled my eyes, a small smirk on my lips. ¡°I¡¯m not asking you to do anything-at least not yet.¡±


    He tilted his head, curious. ¡°What are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Like I said, returning the favour.¡± With those words, I ced my hand on his chest and slid down his body slowly, pausing when my hand reached the hem of his shirt and I lifted it, tugging it over his head. Since he was much taller than me, he took it from me and helped me take it off.


    Fuck, I hadn¡¯t realised how much I missed his body until now.


    ¡°God, you¡¯re so fucking hot,¡± I breathed, ¡°I wanna lick your tattoos.¡± He inhaled raggedly, his head falling back to the door with a thud. ¡°Every single one of them.¡±


    Heughed on a groan. ¡°You won¡¯t find meining.¡±


    I did just that.


    The difference in our heights was an advantage to me now and I didn¡¯t have to stretch to get my mouth on his chest. It was right in front of me at eye-level.


    I kissed all the tattoos on his chest, licking the ones that I couldn¡¯t kiss and biting  the ones that I couldn¡¯t lick. I took my precious timevishing attention on his defined muscles, on that mouth-watering six-pack and the sexy V that led to the treasure in his pants.


    I was pretty sure that he wasn¡¯t on the same as me anymore because he¡¯d started breathing raggedly, his chest rising and falling quickly, and the door was supporting most of his weight at this point. Seeing the power I had over him filled me with a heady feeling.


    Dropping to my knees, I went to work on his jeans, undoing the button and sliding the zipper down. I was dragging the jeans down his hips when he gripped my hand, stopping me.


    I shot him a confused look.


    He swallowed, shaking his head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do this.¡±


    My head was so clouded with lust that it took a while before the words could prate into my skull and even when it did, it took me several attempts before I could understand their meaning.


    ¡°I know that I don¡¯t have to.¡± I snapped, angry that he was dying me. ¡°I¡¯m doing this because I want to.¡±


    ¡°Are you-¡±


    I forced my hands out of his and yanked the jeans down his legs. ¡°Shut up, Alex. Just shut the hell up.¡±


    Miraculously, he did.


    Alex was a briefs man.


    I appreciated that. A lot.


    The material was terribly bent out of shape as it clung to his hard-on and my mouth watered as I pulled the briefs down and his erection sprang out, hard and long and beautiful.


    Pre-cum coated the tip and I swiped my thumb across it, collecting it and bringing it to my lips. I looked up and found him watching me. Holding his eyes, I ced my thumb in my mouth and sucked it clean.


    His eyes fell shut on a groan and a tremor ran down his legs.


    I wrapped my fingers around his length and he shuddered, his hips bucking and thrusting into my hands without meaning to, and fuck, the sight of his huge dick thrusting into my small hand was too much for me to bear. I spread my legs and moved, wanting to grind down on something, anything, but my core just pulsed in emptiness.


    My head came forward and I wrapped my lips around his length. The minute my mouth made contact with his erection, he grunted and shoved his hand into my hair, running his fingers through the damp mane.


    I moaned at the salty taste of him. He was soft and hard at the same time, the skin covering him pulled taut with his desire. I ran my tongue over the length, loving how he felt like velvet in my mouth, how my jaws were hurting from being forced open and how my lips stretched wide with his girth.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    He started thrusting slowly, one hand in my hair to guide my mouth and another hand running down my cheek lovingly, in praise. ¡°Christ, that mouth,¡± He rasped as he watched me take his entire length into my mouth. ¡°It¡¯s going to be the end of me.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t that much of a fan of blowjobs, mainly because I didn¡¯t make it a habit of going down on men I was seeing for the first time. I couldn¡¯t remember thest time I¡¯d given anyone a blowjob-maybe during high school-but there was just something about Alex that made me throw all caution to the wind and do the things that I wouldn¡¯t usually do.


    Closing my eyes, I deep-throated him, taking him into the back of my throat. Tears pricked the back of my eyes and I fought down the urge to gag. He swelled, hardening even more, until his weight was like steel in my mouth.


    His legs trembled and he shot forward, before quickly catching himself. ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m close.¡±


    I moaned, terribly turned on. With my free hand, I struggled to unbutton my shorts and rolled down the zipper, my hand shaking the entire time. I shoved my hand into my shorts and shoved a finger inside myself to relieve the feeling of emptiness, grinding down on my finger every time I sucked on the hard dick in my mouth.


    I never thought it was possible to be so turned on from blowing someone, but apparently it was. Was this how Alex had felt when he¡¯d gone down on me? If so, then I understood why he¡¯d insisted on doing it again.


    I felt like I could have him in my mouth forever and not get tired of it. The only issue would be my lips that already ached from the sheer size of him. And even that little bite of pain heightened the pleasure.


    ¡°Laura, love, unless you want me shooting my load down your throat, I¡¯d strongly advise you to let me out of your mouth now,¡± Alex warned raggedly.


    The image those words produced in my head was so erotic, I got wetter and the movement of my finger increased. My release was close, I could feel it.


    ¡°Laura¡­¡± he warned again, but instead of letting him out, I did the exact opposite.


    I tightened my lips just under the head and hollowed my cheeks as I sucked harder. He groaned loudly, staggering a little as he shot his load into my mouth. His release went on and on and he threw his head back, eyes clenched shut as he seemed toe buckets.


    Seeing the look of utter pleasure on his face, the way his length pulsed on my tongue as he emptied his load, was enough to push me over the edge and before I knew it, I wasing right along with him.


    I trembled and moaned as I rode out my orgasm, swallowing as much of him as I could, but in the end, some escaped down the sides of my lips. He slipped out of my mouth, a string of saliva still connecting us, and that little sight had my core spasming onest time.


    Spent, I dropped back on my knees andid my head against his legs, breathing harshly.


    There was probably a huge wet spot on my shorts right now and I should have been worried about how I would walk back out there without anyone seeing me, but for the life of me, I couldn¡¯t care about any of those things right now.


    Suddenly, strong hands hooked under my arms and hauled me up. I forced my eyes open and found satisfied green eyes staring back at me.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± he murmured, before shoving his fingers into my hair, hauling me forward and crashing his lips on mine.

 21

    LAURA


    He nted his lips over mine, dominating the kiss and I sighed, stretching on my toes to keep my lips on his.


    He bent his knees so that he could kiss me better, seeing that I was struggling, and cupped my ass through my shorts, squeezing.


    I moaned into his mouth, leaning fully into him because my legs were like jelly from my orgasm, unable to carry my weight anymore. His dick that hadn¡¯t really gone down even after his release, dug into my bare stomach, already growing hard at a fast pace.


    Out of nowhere, I remembered that I¡¯d done what I came here for. So what was I still doing here?


    Pulling away from him, I blinkedzily, trying to clear the fog of lust I was currently immersed in.


    He was staring at me with an odd look on his face, the lines of his shoulders rxed now that I¡¯d helped him take the edge off. His jaw was rxed, his lips pink and swollen from the kiss and his eyes bright and lively.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Fuck, he was so beautiful. His hair was still perfect, not a strand out of ce, so I reached up and shoved my fingers into it, tousling the strands until they stood up in every direction, giving him that sexily messy look.


    Now that was better.


    Taking a step back from him, I said, ¡°I should go.¡±


    He blinked, and the rxed look vanished. His shoulders tensed and the happy look in his eyes have way to an exasperated one.


    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± he said, catching my arm and pulling me back into him.


    I pped his hand away and he sighed. ¡°I¡¯ve done what I came here for. I should leave now.¡±


    ¡°But I can¡¯t let you leave like that.¡± He argued, ¡°I owe you an orgasm now. Isn¡¯t that how this works?¡±


    I lifted a brow. Oh, so he wanted to y that card. ¡°I thought you weren¡¯t up for one of my games?¡±


    He shrugged, his muscles-and tattoos-flexing. He obviously had no issue with standing naked in front of me when we were having a conversation and I was beginning to realise that I liked that very much. It meant that I could feed my eyes even while I argued with him. Of course it also meant that I¡¯d be distracted by all that sexiness, but then I¡¯d always been good at multitasking.


    ¡°Whatever,¡± his shoulders went up, eyes darting away. ¡°Way I see it, I owe you now.¡±


    Lifting my left hand, I wiggled my fingers in his face. ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡±


    He looked at my hand, wondering what I was talking about and I wiggled my fingers again, but he still didn¡¯t get it.


    I sighed. ¡°You might have been too far gone to see, but I got myself off too.¡±


    His nostrils red and heat filled his eyes, along with a hefty dose of shock and surprise. ¡°When?¡± He asked, and I didn¡¯t know if it was doubt I detected in his voice, but it sounded a lot like it.


    ¡°When I was sucking you off.¡±


    He choked on air. Yep, I had a dirty mouth and I never hesitated to use it.


    ¡°You mean you were touching yourself while you got me off.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question, but I nodded anyway just for rity. He seemed to be having a hard time processing that. With a brows drawn look of lust, he gripped my hand and brought it to his face, asking, ¡°Which fingers?¡±


    ¡°Index.¡±


    I watched with bated breath as he brought my index finger to his nose, his eyes growing dark when he inhaled it, then putting it inside his mouth and licking it clean. He held my eyes and gave it a final suck that I felt right at my core.


    I could only watch weakly as he kissed my finger before letting it go.


    No, that was what he wanted.


    He was trying to distract me.


    Giving myself a firm shake, I side-stepped him and reached for the door handle, but he quickly stood in my way before I could turn it, that sexy body of his distracting me and pissing me off.


    ¡°Get out of my way, Alex,¡± I snapped at him, ¡°And put some clothes on.¡±


    ¡°Look at you. You can¡¯t leave like this.¡± He started again, sweeping his eyes over my messy hair, swollen lips and the wet spot on my shorts. ¡°You don¡¯t even want to change? I could get you something from my-¡±


    ¡°We live in the same house, Alex.¡± I rolled my eyes, fed up with his games. ¡°It¡¯s not a fucking hotel. My room is right across the hallway, and Drew¡¯s not even in, so who¡¯s going to see us?¡±


    I tightened my hand on the doorknob, prepared to let the door hit him if he wasn¡¯t going to step out of the way.


    ¡°You¡¯re right,¡± Alex surprised me by agreeing. ¡°I just-fuck.¡± He ran his hand down his face, looking so tired all of a sudden. ¡°I just hate that you¡¯re leaving right after.¡±


    That was the issue? I didn¡¯t see the problem with that.


    ¡°I think you don¡¯t understand.¡± I narrowed my eyes on him. ¡°I came in here to do this for you. For you,¡± I enunciated incase he still wasn¡¯t getting it. ¡°You don¡¯t have to do anything for me in turn. I did this because I wanted to, and that¡¯s all.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± He asked suddenly.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°Why did you decide to do this for me?¡±


    ¡°Why do people do anything?¡± I shrugged, hating that he was reading too much into this when there really wasn¡¯t. ¡°Because I wanted to.¡±


    He nodded and looked away, his eyes distant. When they rested back on me, they were earnest. When he spoke, his voice was raw. ¡°It¡¯s just that we never talk, and I guess I wanted you to maybe stay for a bit.¡± He raked a hand through his hair, his eyes darting away. ¡°But, I mean, if you want to leave then that¡¯s okay.¡±


    Maybeter I would me it on his eyes, or the rawness of his voice then, or maybe I would me myself because maybe a teensy little part of me wanted it too.


    I cursed myself as I watched, like an out of body experience, as my hand slipped from the doorknob and I turned fully to face Alex, my shoulders trembling with the decision I was about to make.


    Stilling my voice, I said, ¡°Okay.¡±


    He might have seen a ghost.


    In fact, I was positive he¡¯d seen a ghost. So positive that I looked behind me just to check if one was standing behind me and I could see them too. But there were none.


    ¡°Okay?¡± He parroted.


    ¡°Okay,¡± I shrugged like it wasn¡¯t a big deal, putting on a strong face. ¡°You wanted to talk right? So let¡¯s talk.¡±


    His eyes darted to the door. ¡°You¡¯re¡­ sure?¡±


    No.


    ¡°Positive.¡±


    The word was barely out of my mouth before he slipped his hand around my waist and pulled me into him, sealing his lips over mine in a wet kiss.


    I rose on my tiptoes and shoved my hand into his hair as I kissed him back. He dropped his head to my neck andvished kisses all over, while I turned my head to the side to give him more ess.


    Just when I was about topletely turn into a whimpering mess in his arms, he moved away from my neck and kissed my nipples through the material of my bra, then he lifted his head and I saw that a grin was stamped on his face.


    He¡¯d lit up in an instant over my decision to stay for a while. That scared me a bit, but I made a mental decision to freak outter. No way was I going into full overthinking mode in front of him.


    I blinked when I realised he¡¯d asked me a question. ¡°Come again?¡±


    His grin widened and he suddenly looked ages younger than he usually did. Seriously, this man¡¯s smile could start a world war.


    ¡°Will you shower with me?¡±


    Well, I¡¯d already said I was going to stay, right? I¡¯d be a total buzzkill if I just sat on his bed and waited for him to have a shower ande back out. Not to mention, my panties were sticky and my shorts had a huge wet spot on it.


    I was starting to get irritated.


    Plus, I was so not going to miss an opportunity to see Alex with soap and water running down his body while he washed himself.


    So, like I wasn¡¯t excited or anything, I shrugged and said, ¡°Sure.¡±

 22

    LAURA


    He stripped me.


    And I let him.


    I stood there motionless as he dragged the shorts down my legs. I had to ce my hands on his shoulders for bnce as he took them off one leg, then the other.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    When he was done getting the shorts-and my panties-off, he stood and motioned for me to lift my hands as he took my bra top off.


    The look on his face as he undressed me was priceless. He was very excited and didn¡¯t even try to hide it, his eyes lighting up everytime he got a piece of clothing off me.


    In that, I could understand because I¡¯d been just as excited to get his clothes off him. I just hoped that I hadn¡¯t looked the way he did now.


    Done taking my clothes off, he tried to hold my hand and walk into the bathroom, but I hid both my hands behind my back. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly capable of walking on my own.¡±


    He gave me an exasperated look, then turned and walked through the door that led to the bathroom while my eyes stayed glued to his tight ass, flexing as he walked away. With a sigh, I went into the bathroom and found him already turning the shower on, stepping away from the water. He waited until it was hot before stepping in and grabbing his body wash.


    Had he forgotten I was there?


    ¡°You just gonna keep standing there?¡±


    The words had been uttered by him, directed to me. So he hadn¡¯t forgotten about me after all.


    I knew I was stubborn, but couldn¡¯t he just let me get away with it sometimes?


    Muttering under my breath and hoping that he didn¡¯t hear me because they were not-so-nice words about him, I stepped under the spray. Even though my skin was a bit pruny from my swim, the hot water felt good and I tossed my head back, letting the spray hit my face.


    I was about to reach for Alex¡¯s body wash when I saw that he was already standing close to me, his eyes hot as he stared at me. His hard dick poked me in my stomach, and just the sight of his arousal had my blood pumping and my skin flushing hot.


    ¡°Let me,¡± he volunteered when I tried to collect the wash from him, and because I wanted his hands on my body-even though a tiny part of me wasn¡¯t keen on him washing me because that would only be another first-I let him.


    He took his precious time washing me up, lingering when he reached my breasts and paid special attention to the flesh between my legs. Needless to say, I was an aroused mess by the time he was done washing me up and all I could think about was returning the favour so that we were both two piles of sweating, horny bodies.


    I loved washing Alex more than I¡¯d like to admit.


    Loved running my hands down the soap slicked muscles, loved the way his golden tattooed skin glistened with the soap and the bathroom light, loved the way he trembled and watched me with molten green eyes that filled me in on what he¡¯d very much rather be doing to me.


    Holding his gaze, I ran my soapy hands along his hard length, not wanting to miss any reaction.


    ¡°Laura,¡± my name fell from his lips like a prayer and he yanked me to him. The next thing I felt was his finger brushing across my entrance from behind and I jumped slightly from both shock and pleasure.


    His big finger found its way inside me while I jerked him off, teasing my insides and going in deep. After a while, another finger joined in and the fit was so tight, I thought I was going to pass out.


    I moaned, lifting to my toes and searching for his lips with mine. He immediately knew what I wanted and he brought his head down and kissed me, effectively swallowing all my moans as he drove me towards orgasm.


    He jerked in my palm and groaned into my mouth when I squeezed his length on a particr stroke. When I saw how much he liked it, I did it again and his legs shook.


    We stopped kissing when we started breathing through our mouths, and the moment he let my mouth go, I sucked at the droplets of water on his chest, going over to suck on his nipples and flick my tongue against it.


    That did it.


    He swelled in my hand and his cum shot out of him, each strandnding on my stomach and sliding down. The sight pushed me over the edge and before I knew it, I wasing too, grinding down on his fingers.


    ¡°Wow,¡± I breathed, staring at his spend on my stomach being washed off by the water.


    ¡°I know,¡± he agreed. ¡°That was the best shower I ever had.¡± Then he turned surprisingly yful eyes on me, ¡°What do you say about being my shower partner henceforth?¡±


    A giggle slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and to cover it up, I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the shower, reaching for his towel on the rack and drying myself off with it. I waited for him to dry himself off before following him out, where he threw a big T-shirt at me from his closet.


    My eyes darted to my dirty clothes sitting on his chair and I knew that there was no way I could wear them. I didn¡¯t have to worry about wearing his shirt out into the hallway. I could just time it right and hurry into my room before anyone saw me.


    Plus, Drew was out and Jake was busy downstairs. Balery and Jack were never on this floor, except for when Balery wanted us to hang and she¡¯d barelye out of her room in the past three days, so the chances of that happening all of a sudden were unlikely.


    I wore the T-shirt, seeing that it fell half-way to my thigh.


    Another first.


    God, I was just stomping all over my rules with Alex. I was just contemting whether I should be rmed when I was suddenly lifted off the ground and I blinked when I realised that Alex was carrying me bridal style. He deposited me in the middle of the bed and sat next to me.


    I took in his outfit. He was wearing grey sweatpants again, but with a ck shirt.


    ¡°How many of those do you have?¡± I asked, unable to pull my eyes off them.


    ¡°A lot.¡± He watched me with curious eyes. ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°They make you look naked.¡±


    He threw his head back on augh, and I watched with an odd, light feeling in my chest on having made himugh.


    Here I wasining about my mom seeing her doctor when it was actually me who needed to see a doctor. These urrences were starting to be more frequent and I needed to speak to someone about them before they got too serious.


    But why did they only happen when I was around him?


    That probably just meant he had something to do with them.


    ¡°You¡¯re odd.¡± He stated when he¡¯d finally managed to get a hold of himself.


    ¡°Thanks?¡±


    His eyes raked over my features and his lips quirked up at the side. ¡°Which of your parent was Chinese?¡±


    ¡°My grandma.¡± I told him, a bit surprised by the change of question, but then again it wasn¡¯t anywhere near the whish I got from Drew¡¯s topic-hopping. ¡°My mom says I take after her in looks, personality, almost everything. I never met her though.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°She must have been the real deal.¡±


    Wait, was he trying to say that I was the real deal?


    Before I could dwell on that, he asked a different question. And that was how it went for a while, him asking me questions. I wanted to ask him a few questions too, but I held myself back. I didn¡¯t want to feed my curiosity which would only make it grow and then I¡¯d want to know more about him.


    This was another first for me. I never talked to the guys I¡¯d had sex with. I barely even saw them after that.


    It was starting to get dark and I¡¯d ended up lying on the bed when I¡¯d grown tired of sitting and magically, his fingers had ended up in my hair, sifting rough the strands and freeing all the knots that had found their way in.


    I blinked when I realised we¡¯d been quiet for a while and I was staring to get sleepy-mostly from the feeling of his hand running through my hair, but I¡¯d probably die before admitting that out loud. I lifted to a sitting position and he hurriedly removed his fingers from my hair before it could hurt me.


    ¡°I should get going,¡± I told him without looking at him as I threw my legs over the side of the bed and climbed down.


    He seemed at a loss for words, sputtering for a moment before saying, ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll uh-see youter?¡±


    I didn¡¯t say anything as I grabbed my clothes from his chair and crept out of the room, closing the door quietly behind me.

 23

    LAURA


    ¡°Not that one.¡±


    I looked away from the gown I was holding in front of me, to Balery who was sitting on my bed with her legs folded underneath her. She was referring to the gown and after taking another look at it, I nodded, agreeing with her.


    I dropped that gown back on the bed and picked another one, lifting it up high. I turned it and stared at the back-or rather, the fact that there was none to speak of.


    I¡¯d already decided that I wasn¡¯t going to wear it long before Balery shook her head.


    ¡°Definitely not that one,¡± she said with a small smile. ¡°You can wear it when we go to the club.¡±


    I tossed it on the bed, watching it join the scattered pile of clothes that had taken up most of the bed.


    We¡¯d all decided to go to a bar in town today and over the past hour, I¡¯d been with Balery in my room, the both of us trying to decide on something for me to wear. Well, I¡¯d tried to make a decision myself, and failed-terribly-then I¡¯d gone downstairs and dragged her up here with me. It was starting to be an impossible chore, and I was really beginning to get frustrated.


    Absently, I fished out a red long-sleeved gown that stopped mid-thigh and ced it against my body, turning and showing it to Balery. She lifted a brow andpressed her lips, but she said nothing.


    It didn¡¯t take a genius to trante that.


    Huge no.


    With a huff, I stormed over to the bed and at down on it, dropping the gown next to me. ¡°At this point, I think I¡¯m just going to go in a bra and panties.¡±


    Baleryughed. ¡°I¡¯m very sure Alex is going to like that.¡±


    Ugh. She just had to go and say his name, didn¡¯t she?


    I red at her and she wiggled her brows, making me re at her even more. When she just kept doing it like a grade A clown, my re cracked and a smile broke through.


    ¡°Aha!¡± She eximed, grinning wide. ¡°I knew I could get you to smile.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and flopped back on the bed next to her, my face mere inches from her thigh. I loved curling up next to her. It was the most I allowed myself with anyone at all and I¡¯d realised that after a few times of lying down next to Balery while we talked, I liked it.


    The warmth that seeped from her body was¡­ different. Comfortable.


    Sleeping on the same bed as Balery would probably be divine if just a few seconds of lying next to her was this good, but I¡¯d never do it. My not sharing a bed extended to females too.


    ¡°Why did you have to bring up Alex?¡±


    She peered at me through curious eyes. ¡°Was I not supposed to?¡±


    Was she not supposed to?


    Actually, she was allowed to talk about Alex if she wanted to. She didn¡¯t need permission from me in order to talk about him. What she shouldn¡¯t have done was bring him up in reference to me, but I hadn¡¯t told her not to do that either.


    I shrugged. ¡°I mean¡­ yeah, you can. But,¡± I shrugged again, avoiding her eyes. ¡°You said it like there¡¯s something between us.¡±


    ¡°But there is something between you guys.¡± She looked confused. ¡°Isn¡¯t there?¡±


    That had me sitting up on the bed so fast, Balery had to yank her head out of the way so that I didn¡¯t head-butt her. ¡°Of course there isn¡¯t. Why would you say that?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve been seeing the way you guys look at each other,¡± She started and I scowled so hard, she had to rephrase, ¡°I mean, I¡¯ve been seeing the way he looks at you.¡±


    If she was hoping that those words would help, they didn¡¯t because that only meant that if Balery had noticed, then she wasn¡¯t the only one who had, and the others had probablye to the same conclusion as her.


    When she saw that my scowl had deepened, she swallowed down augh. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not,¡± I managed to say before she dissolved into fits ofughter.


    She doubled over, gripping her stomach as she cracked up even harder. When she¡¯d finally gotten herself under control, she wiped the tears that escaped her eyes and coughed. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, but it¡¯s just so funny.¡± Sheughed onest time before she stopped again. ¡°For real though, I honestly thought there was something going on with you guys what with the way he keeps staring at you whenever you¡¯re in the same room.¡± She paused, then. ¡°If I remember correctly, I also saw you stare at him a few times too.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t!¡± I eximed, shooting up from the bed to a stand. ¡°I don¡¯t get involved, you know that. So why would you just assume that we have something going on?¡±


    She sighed, shaking her head. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t even know.¡± She chewed on the inside of her cheek. ¡°I just thought maybe with the way you guys kept staring at each other-¡± I red at her. ¡°With the way he kept staring at you, add that to your history, I thought¡­ you know.¡±


    ¡°It was just one night, Bales,¡± I snapped, frustrated, more at myself than at her. ¡°Nothing more.¡±


    ¡°Okay, okay.¡±


    ¡°And I¡¯ve never looked at him in any type of way. I¡¯m sure you got it wrong.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°And if he looks at me in any way, then that¡¯s his fucking problem.¡± I yanked some clothes out of my closet without even ncing at them, and stomping over to the bed to drop them. ¡°I don¡¯t want anything to do with him.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°And nothing, absolutely nothing is going to happen between us.¡± I marched back to my closet, yanked some things out and marched back to the bed. ¡°If he thinks that something can-which I don¡¯t think he does, by the way. Still think you interpreted that wrong-then he¡¯s got something elseing.¡±


    ¡°He wouldn¡¯t dare.¡±


    ¡°Come to think of it, why would you even think-¡±


    ¡°Laura?¡±


    ¡°-that we have-¡± I stopped abruptly and turned to her, brows raised. ¡°What?¡± I barked.


    Her eyes were wide and unblinking, and she stared at me as though I was finally going crazy. ¡°Why are you bringing out everything from your closet?¡±


    ¡°I-What?¡± I nced around.


    True to her words, I was bringing out everything from my closet and dumping them on the bed, right next to her. My closet was almost empty now, save for a few clothes on hangers, and if she hadn¡¯t stopped me, I would have probably emptied the entire thing.


    ¡°Laura?¡± Balery asked slowly. ¡°Are you okay?¡±


    If she¡¯d asked me that question an hour ago, I would have said yes. But now, I wasn¡¯t so sure anymore.


    Before I could answer, someone knocked on my door.


    I turned sharply and told whoever it was toe in.


    Drew poked his head in a few secondster and his wide eyes swept over the clothes strewn on the floor, along with the heap on my bed.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± He blinked. ¡°Jack said to remind you guys that we¡¯re leaving in thirty minutes. He would havee up here himself, but he doesn¡¯t want to intrude on your¡­¡±-his eyes darted to the bed-¡°girl time.¡±


    I nodded, muttering a ¡®thanks¡¯ and waited until his head disappeared before turning narrowed eyes on Balery. ¡°Not a word of this.¡±


    ¡°Whatever her majesty says,¡± Balery replied in a fake British ent, grinning like the cat that caught the canary, and I wanted nothing more than to p that grin off her beautiful face.

 24

    LAURA


    The bar was packed full when we arrived. Jack and Jake had wanted to go to one of the posh bars, but Balery, Drew and I had insisted on getting the full Miami experience and we¡¯d wanted to go to a regr bar downtown.


    Alex had agreed with us and naturally, majority had won the vote.


    We had to fight our way through the throng of bodies to get in, which was why I thought we were incredibly lucky to find an empty booth. We quickly filled it up before anyone else could take it. Alex, Jake and Jack on one side and me, Balery and Drew on the other side.


    The booths weren¡¯t that wide, so it was a tight fit-on the opposite side anyway, but they made it work.


    Jake sat at the end of the booth, Jack in the middle, and Alex at the edge, directly in front of me. I briefly wondered whether he did that on purpose, but then wrote the thought off.


    I didn¡¯t have to link everything he did back to me.


    Drew volunteered to go get our drinks and we all gave him our orders. As he sauntered away, my eyes stayed glued to his frame, appreciating the view. He was wearing dark jeans and a faded blue T-shirt with a jacket over it. His wide shoulders filled the jacket nicely and he walked with easy strides, an air of nonchnce around him.


    Why couldn¡¯t I just be attracted to him?


    Instead, I was attracted to certain big, green-eyed, tattooed man that stared at me like he¡¯d rather not do anything else.


    Speaking of, I turned to him and found him watching Drew go, then as if feeling my eyes on him, he turned his head and his eyes caught mine. I couldn¡¯t look away now without it looking like I had been caught doing something that I shouldn¡¯t, so I held his gaze for all of five seconds before looking away.


    ¡°Why¡¯s Drew taking your ce?¡± Jake asked suddenly and my eyes jumped to him, seeing that he was talking to Jack.


    Balery¡¯s eyes bounced between Jack and Drew, wondering if Jack understood what thetter meant. ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    ¡°I mean why is Jack here and you¡¯re over there?¡± The quiet man exined.


    Oh. That.


    I¡¯d almost asked the same thing too when we¡¯d been filing into the seats but then I¡¯d taken one look at Balery and Jack¡¯s slightly sad expressions, and I¡¯d understood why.


    They were giving each other the exact same look right now, their eyes glued to each other and filled with longing. In their heads, they probably saw the table sitting between them as a whole ocean.


    ¡°That¡¯s why,¡± I pointed at the couple in question.


    Jake followed my hand and saw the looks on the couple¡¯s faces. Alex did too and a small smile touched his lips. My eyes stayed glued to his lips, and it took Jake speaking again before I was able to force myself to look away.


    ¡°Yeah, but I mean, why did he let him?¡± The quiet man asked for reasons I couldn¡¯t possibly fathom.


    Did he mean why did Jack let Drew sit next to Balery?


    Was he supposed to pull the man out of the seat by his ears?


    ¡°Because I don¡¯t want you guys teasing me about it,¡± Jack admitted with a wide grin that made his eyes sparkle, looking a lot like Drew in that moment. ¡°When Drew starts, it never ends. It¡¯s almost impossible to get that man to shut up.¡±


    We allughed at that andughed even more when we saw Drew standing close to us carrying drinks, a wounded look on his face to show that he¡¯d heard what Jack said.


    ¡°Wrong,¡± he corrected Jack, the look on his face so straight and honest, we never expected what came next. ¡°It¡¯s quite easy to get me to shut up, actually. Just get a girl to sit on my face and I promise you, you¡¯ll never see a man shut up so fast.¡± He delivered as he brushed past Balery and I, taking his seat.


    Balery blushed from the roots of her hair to the soles of her feet, Jack choked on air, a private smile touched Jake¡¯s face, and me¡­


    Well, as for me, my eyes unconsciously searched for Alex¡¯s green ones because I was imagining us doing that and I found him already staring at me, his eyes hot. My nipples budded in the confines of my bra, tightening to the point of pain as images bombarded me.


    I imagined him lying face up on the bed shirtless, those hot tattoos bared for my hungry eyes. But he¡¯d be wearing his grey sweats-they were fast starting to be my favourite outfit on him. He would be so starved for the taste of me that he would pull me down on him and the moment I¡¯d sit on his face, his hot wet tongue would shove into my aching sheath.


    I heaved a shaky sigh.


    For fucks sake, why did I keep doing this to myself?


    As if having fantasies about him wasn¡¯t bad enough, I was now having them in public.


    And directly in front of him.


    He wasn¡¯t better off either, from the looks of it. His lids had fallen over his eyes and he was now giving me that look. The one where he watched me through hooded eyes, channeling an incredible amount of intensity into one look and making it impossible for me to think about anything else but him.


    Making it impossible for me to think about anything but his lips on mine, his mouth trailing wet kisses down my naked body, his hot mouth on my core, eating me out like I was dessert. Like I was his favourite meal.


    He¡¯d said so, hadn¡¯t he?


    ¡°I think I just found my new favourite meal.¡±


    My thighs clenched under the table and my nipples scratched against my bra ufortably. Alex¡¯s hooded eyes fell to them, and with the way they red, I knew that he could probably see the outline of my nipples. If he could, it meant that anyone who saw me could too.


    A quick nce down confirmed that my nipples weren¡¯t making an appearance. It would be quite hard for them to because I¡¯d ended up going for tight jeans and a short sleeved T-shirt paired with a jacket to ward off the cold.


    Needing something to distract myself, I grabbed my drink and lifted the ss to my lips, taking a sip from the straw as, thankfully, easy conversation flowed around the table.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you just get her number?¡±


    I¡¯d been in my own thoughts for the better part of the conversation, but hearing Alex¡¯s voice had me paying attention so fast, it was like I¡¯d been summoned.


    Drew frowned. ¡°Who?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t act dumb,¡± Alex jerked his head in the direction of the bar. ¡°The bartender you¡¯ve been staring at.¡±


    From this booth, we had a direct line of sight to the bar so it was easy for me to see who they were talking about. A blonde woman stood behind the bar, attending to a customer. As she pushed the drink over to the person, her eyes darted in our direction.


    I turned to Drew and caught a small stain on his cheeks. It was both surprising and adorable at the same time. ¡°I¡¯m not interested.¡±


    ¡°Is that why you keep watching her?¡± Jack piped in, a good-natured grin on his lips.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t watching her, I was just-¡± Drew sputtered, trying to find his words. ¡°Looking. I¡¯m not interested in her like that, really.¡±


    ¡°Sureeee,¡± Alex drawled sarcastically. ¡°That¡¯s definitely not how a man looks when he¡¯s interested.¡±


    ¡°Oh,e on,¡± Balery groaned,ughing, ¡°Can you guys leave the poor man alone?¡±


    Alex grinned and, as if in slow motion, lifted his drink to his lips and I watched as his lips closed around the straw, sucking, then his throat worked as he swallowed down the drink.


    Heat pooled low in my stomach at the erotic sight.


    Suddenly, I shot up from my seat, desperate for an escape. ¡°I need to use the restroom. I¡¯ll be back shortly.¡±


    I was on my way to the restroom-well, I was going to walk around for a bit until I found the restroom then go in there and recouple-when my eyesnded in the direction of the bar and I saw that there were a few empty stools there.


    Making up my mind, I changed course and walked over, hopping onto a stool.


    When I sat there for a while without ordering anything, a male bartender came over and parked his elbow on the counter, giving me azy once-over. Usually, I¡¯d be pissed by his brazen perusal of me, but he was cute and I needed a distraction.


    I needed to get myself back. And maybe flirting with this stranger would do that.


    ¡°What¡¯s a pretty girl like you doing all alone in a bar?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not alone. I¡¯m here with my friends actually.¡± I jerked my thumb over my shoulder in the direction of our booth.


    He looked over my shoulder, his lips rolling and I realised that he had a toothpick in the corner of his mouth. ¡°Just friends?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I frowned. ¡°Why?¡±


    His eyes were still trained over my shoulder, a small smile on his lips. I would turn around and see what he was looking at, but I didn¡¯t want to incase the guys from the booth were watching us.


    ¡°You¡¯re not attached to any of them?¡±


    Attached?


    I was terribly confused.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    His eyes finallynded on mine. ¡°What I mean is that there¡¯s a big man storming over here, looking like he very much wants to kill me, and I think you might have something to do with that.¡±


    The words had barely left his mouth when I felt a presence beside me, then a big hand came over my shoulder. When I looked up, I found Alex giving the bartender a death re.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 25

    LAURA


    The look on the bartender¡¯s face was priceless.


    His eyes were amused as they darted between me and Alex, his amusement growing even more when he took in the tense lines of my shoulder and the tight scowl on Alex¡¯s face.


    He wasn¡¯t even bothered that this man was about to kill him. Probably because he already knew that he wasn¡¯t the one going to get killed. Alex was.


    I didn¡¯t know what the expression on my face was since I couldn¡¯t see myself, but I was very sure that I was wearing a look equally as murderous as the one the man beside me wore.


    And it wasn¡¯t because I wanted to kill the bartender, no, how could it be?


    It was because I wanted to kill the man who had decided to casually throw his hand over my shoulder as though we were long time friends. Or more.


    ¡°What the hell are you doing?¡± I hissed under my breath quietly, but loud enough for him to hear him.


    Alex turned to me, levelling me with a confused look. The death re on his face lessened into something far more bearable, which was why I was able to hold his gaze without flinching.


    ¡°Get your hand off me.¡± I whispered when he just kept looking at me, confused. ¡°People are watching!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the problem?¡± He asked incredulously, throwing a pointed look at the bartender-who had probably decided he had way better things to do than idly watch two people attempt to kill each other with their eyes and walked away-then another to me.


    ¡°Yes!¡± I snapped, drawing a couple of eyes our way.


    Great, now people were watching us.


    Cursing under my breath, I took Alex¡¯s arm and dragged him with me, muttering, ¡°Not here,¡± under my breath.


    My intentions were to get us somewhere private, away from the curious eyes of our friends and talk some sense into him. I was hoping that they hadn¡¯t already seen us at this point and if they hadn¡¯t, then it was nothing short of a miracle, because all they had to do was turn their heads and they¡¯d have seen us.


    An open door stood at the rear end on the other side of the bar and I walked through it, Alex following closely behind me.


    There were a lot of people hanging outside, a few making out. I walked over to a spot that wasn¡¯t as crowded and let his arm go, folding my arms across my chest as I faced him with a re.


    ¡°What was that in there?¡±


    He angled his head. ¡°What was what?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try to act like you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about,¡± I snapped. ¡°Youing over to the bar and putting your arm around me. What did you do that for?¡±


    He mirrored my stance, folding his arms. ¡°That bartender was hitting on you-at least he was going to-and I decided to step in before it could go any further.¡± He shrugged as if I was supposed to understand why he did what he did.


    I blinked at him. Then blinked again just to make sure that he was actually standing right there and he¡¯d just uttered those words to me, because what the actual fuck?


    ¡°You decided to step in because you thought he was hitting on me?¡±


    He levelled me with a re. ¡°He was hitting on you.¡±


    ¡°And you decided to step in?¡± I flung my hands in the air, ¡°Why would you even do that? What right do you have?¡±


    His brows furrowed and he looked so confused, I wanted to bite him. ¡°Is there something I¡¯m missing?¡±


    I started pacing in front of him, the thought that the guys could have seen us and now assumed that there was something between us, making me anxious. ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have done that, Alex, you shouldn¡¯t. You had no right.¡± And he didn¡¯t. ¡°If any man decides to hit on me-if I decide to flirt with any man-you have no right to do anything about it. I¡¯m not a child-¡±


    He stepped forward and tried to catch my eyes, but I was still pacing with my head down and he had to physically stop me by gripping my arms and holding me still. ¡°It¡¯s not about you being a child, Laura. Believe me, I¡¯ve noticed,¡± he gave me a slow once-over that had my nipples standing at attention and waving at him enthusiastically. I tamped them down. ¡°It¡¯s about us being exclusive with each other until¡­¡± He trailed off when he saw the look on my face. ¡°We have something going on, don¡¯t we?¡±


    My heart dropped to my stomach as all the blood drained from my face.


    Blood frozen in horror, I whispered, ¡°We have something going on?¡±


    Oh God.


    Oh my God.


    This was exactly what I¡¯d been trying to avoid, but it¡¯d happened anyway.


    I¡¯d thought about this the moment I saw him on the jet, thought about how he might start to want more from me, and that was exactly why I¡¯d made it very clear to him that there couldn¡¯t and would not be a repeat.


    It¡¯d happened just once.


    Sure, we¡¯d kissed and done¡­ almost every other thing other than sex, and I med it all on the close proximity. We were forced to live in the same house and see each other every day. We were bound to remember that night and the increased sexual tension would make us wish for a repeat.


    It didn¡¯t mean that we were actually going to give in. And I¡¯d thought that we both knew that.


    Apparently, I was wrong.


    Alex¡¯s face darkened and he repeated the words slowly, ¡°We have something going on, don¡¯t we?¡±


    Blinking quickly, I stepped out of his hold, putting space between us. ¡°No. Why would you think that?¡±


    ¡°Laura, love,¡± he took one step and closed the distance I¡¯d put between us, his voice dropping low. ¡°I¡¯ve eaten you out more times than I can count and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t just blow any guy you see, else Drew and Jake would have gotten the same treatment. Plus, I don¡¯t see you wearing their T-shirts and hanging out on their beds, so I apologise for assuming there was something going on between us when there axially wasn¡¯t.¡± He sneered, his chest flying up and down with the force of hisboured breaths.


    My cheeks med hot at his words.


    Okay, I see how I might have led him to believe that there was something between us. But still¡­


    ¡°You asked me to stay and shower with you!¡±


    ¡°Because you did something nice for me and I couldn¡¯t just let you leave.¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure, make it all my fault.¡± I scoffed, tossing my hair over my shoulder. ¡°Forcing me into spending time with you was your way of thanking me.¡± Then, I added, ¡°Not that I¡¯d asked you to, mind you.¡±


    ¡°If you really didn¡¯t want to, then you wouldn¡¯t have and you know that.¡±


    That gave me pause.


    Deep down, I knew that he was right. If I really didn¡¯t want to, then I wouldn¡¯t have stayed that day. I¡¯d never been a person that could be made to do something that I didn¡¯t want to, and if I hadn¡¯t really wanted to stay that day, if I really really wanted to leave, then I would have left.


    The whole thing wasn¡¯t entirely Alex¡¯s fault. I¡¯d actively participated in making him think that there was more between us.


    Shit.


    I was a lot of things, but I wasn¡¯t a hypocrite.


    And I knew when to admit that I¡¯d fucked up.


    Sighing, I pushed my hair out of my face and stared at the ground, kicking a stone. ¡°You¡¯re right; I would have left if I really wanted to, but I didn¡¯t think you would take my staying to mean something else.¡± I told him, still staring at the ground, unable to meet his eyes. ¡°I¡­ apologise for that. However, my rule still stands.¡±


    There was silence and the only thing I could hear was the people around us talking and the music from the bar.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    After a while, he said, ¡°No sex.¡±


    I forced myself to look in his eyes so that he would see just how serious I was about this. ¡°Yes.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t ce the look in his eyes, and he was wearing a carefully nk expression that made it impossible for me to know what he was thinking.


    ¡°How about everything else?¡± He asked.


    My palms started to sweat. ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°Are you putting an end to them too?¡±


    Honestly, I didn¡¯t want to. And I didn¡¯t necessarily have to, right?


    I mean, we were going to be living in the same house for a while and I was insanely attracted to him. The attraction wasn¡¯t going to go away anytime soon from the looks of it, and since he seemed to know my body far better than any other man, why not enjoy it until we left?


    ¡°No.¡±


    His brows lifted. ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± I breathed.


    An evil smirk that sent my heart into overdrive touched his lips. ¡°Good to know.¡±


    He stalked back inside before I could say anything else, and a strange, hot sensation took root in my chest as I watched a couple of high schoolers huddled together, ogle him and giggle as he walked past them.


    Gah.


    First thing when Inded in New York, I was going to book that doctor¡¯s appointment.

 26

    I was going to go crazy.


    I was very positive that I was going to go crazy.


    Alex had made it his life¡¯s mission to push me over the edge and right into the ever wee hands of insanity by seducing me mercilessly.


    Because that was what this was. Seduction. There was no other word for it.


    I wasn¡¯t even sure if I was just making it up in my head or if it was real, but everything he did recently was with an extra level of sensuality. The way he walked, talked and even ate.


    He didn¡¯t just turn me on and then do nothing about it; he t out ignored me, doing a damn good job of pretending like he didn¡¯t see me.


    It. Pissed. Me. The. Fuck. Off.


    After the little incident at the bar and specifically after our talk, I¡¯d expected him to be all over me. I mean, he¡¯d tried to stake his im when he¡¯d caught the bartender flirting with me. That had to mean that he had been getting attached, right?


    Naturally, I¡¯d expected him to be a little pissed off. I¡¯d expected him to make it obvious that he was mad at me in hopes that it would make me acknowledge him. What I hadn¡¯t expected him to do, was ignore me so thoroughly that I had to pinch myself once just to make sure that I was actually flesh and blood and not a ghost.


    One time, I¡¯d walked out to sit on the deck for a bit and I¡¯d found him swimming. I must have walked out at the exact same moment he¡¯d been about to leave the water-or maybe he¡¯d done that on purpose-because no sooner had I stepped onto the deck when he rose out of the water.


    Unable to look away, I¡¯d watched the droplets of water running down his body, wishing that I could lick them off him and maybe also a bit jealous of them that they could touch him while I couldn¡¯t.


    Well, I could if I wanted to, but¡­ well, you get the point.


    A few days ago, he¡¯d walked into the kitchen shirtless-apparently, he was an early riser just like me-and leaned against the kitchen counter while be made his coffee. I¡¯d been sitting on one of the ind stools and I¡¯d thought that he was going to make small talk, but after the ¡®Good morning¡¯ which I¡¯d responded to, he¡¯d said nothing else.


    Balery had picked up on the strain between us and she¡¯d asked me what was up, but I¡¯d brushed it off, saying that there was nothing wrong. She didn¡¯t believe me, that much had been obvious.


    She¡¯d also asked me what happened at the bar, but I¡¯d told her the truth.


    Well, some of it.


    I¡¯d told her that the only reason Alex put his hand around me was because he thought the bartender had been trying to make a move on me. Balery refused to believe that he was ¡®just trying to help¡¯, but I shrugged and told her that was it.


    Honestly, I couldn¡¯t me her for not believing me. The whole thing had ¡°Lies¡¯ stamped on it in caps.


    Alex might have been ignoring me, but he was seducing me. And, damn it, he was doing a damn good job of it.


    Right now, he had the entire length of his body stered to mine under the pretence that he was helping me get the box of cereal I was reaching for in the kitchen cabs.


    ¡°Here,¡± he offered the box to me as he finally, after what had seemed like a million years, took a step back.


    I gulped in a huge breath and epted the box with shaking hands that I hoped he didn¡¯t see. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    He gave me a nod and turned to walk out of the kitchen, but I stopped him.


    ¡°I know what you¡¯re doing,¡± I said to his back, leaning casually against the counter. To him, it was what it looked like-a casual stance. What he didn¡¯t know was that my legs were weak from his presence next to me and I needed something to lean on.


    He turned to me with a raised brow. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°You know what.¡±


    He feigned a look of surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t but apparently, you do. Care to enlighten me?¡±


    I wanted to snap at him, pour out all the frustration that had mounted over the past few days on him. But I was tired. I was horny and I was tired and I wasn¡¯t in the mood to fight at all.


    I could hardly believe it, but I was considering waving the white g. As long as it meant that he would touch me, put his hands on me, and make mee in all the possible ways that he could.


    I would be more than willing to reciprocate, of course.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been ignoring me,¡± I started and before he could interrupt, I continued. ¡°You haven¡¯t even spoken to me once ever since that night we all went out. At first, I thought you were just trying to make everyone see that there¡¯s nothing between us, but you do it even when we¡¯re alone. You do it on purpose.¡± Weakly, I said, ¡°You want me toe to you.¡±


    His eyes burned with an emotion I wasn¡¯t very sure I wanted to put a name to, and his lips parted on a breath. I steeled my spine as he closed the distance between us, those long legs eating up the space until we were standing toe-to-toe and I had to crane my neck to look at him.


    Dark green eyes roamed my face, searching for what? I didn¡¯t know.


    ¡°I thought we already agreed that we were going toe to each other when we feel those urges.¡± He murmured, his breaths ruffling my hair.


    He pressed further into me, making me feel the hard ridge of his erection as it dug into my stomach and an ache settled inside me at the feel of him. Long and hard and so very ready.


    Fuck, I wanted him inside me so bad.


    He lifted his hand and ran the back of his palm down my face, causing my breath to stutter. I told myself that the only reason I was allowing this to happen was because Drew and Jake were out and Balery and Jack were huddled up in their room with zero ns ofing out anytime soon.


    ¡°Yes, but¡­¡± I trailed off, losing my train of thought when Alex cupped my nape and sifted his fingers through my hair softly.


    The feeling was divine.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    ¡°But what?¡±


    ¡°I-Nothing.¡± I shook my head, staring up at him with parted lips. ¡°I assumed you were going toe to me.¡±


    His expression softened. ¡°I¡¯m always here, love.¡±


    There was that endearment again. And why did that sound like a promise?


    ¡°Stop calling me that.¡± Despite my best efforts, the words came out all breathy. Embarrassing.


    A deep from settled on his brows. ¡°Stop calling you what?¡±


    ¡°Love. That.¡± Thankfully, the words came out strong, and I shifted to the side, stepping away from him. ¡°I hate it.¡±


    Endearments were for people in rtionships-or at least people that gave a fuck about each other. Endearments weren¡¯t for people like us.


    His eyes hardened and he nodded sharply. ¡°Sure.¡± He pushed away from the counter. ¡°If you need me, you know where to find me.¡±


    He¡¯d sounded professional. Like we were talking about a business deal and mot making out.


    That was exactly what I wanted, right?


    But as he walked away with tense shoulders, I wasn¡¯t exactly sure what the answer to that question was.

 27

    ¡°Pass me the pepper.¡±


    I picked the can of pepper sitting on the counter and handed it over to Balery. She was cooking and I was just¡­ helping her reach the things she couldn¡¯t.


    Nevertheless, it was honest work-a very important one-and deserved to be treated as such.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she poured an amount into the pot on the stove, covered it, then leaned against the counter, bracing her hands on it. ¡°So what did you say happened?¡±


    I red at her. ¡°I already told you what happened.¡±


    She blinked, pulled her lips into her mouth, then let them out with a pop. ¡°Wait, yes, that¡¯s true. What I meant to ask was, what are you going to do now?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡± I shrugged, hopping onto the ind before tearing the pack of gummy bears I was holding open, and shoving some into my mouth.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    We were talking about-you guessed it-Alex. Actually, to be precise, we were talking about the fact that we had both stopped talking to each otherpletely, apart from the forced ¡®good mornings¡¯ and ¡®excuse mes¡¯ of course. It wasn¡¯t easy, I had to admit.


    Ever since that day in the kitchen when I¡¯d told him to stop calling me ¡®love¡¯, he¡¯d stopped talking to me altogether and since he was going to act like an ass and pretend like he didn¡¯t see me-like I didn¡¯t live in the same house with him-then I was going to pretend like I didn¡¯t see him either and that was how the both of us had embarked on this journey of ignoring each other.


    Petty, I know. But naturally, I took pettiness to a whole other level so it was nothing new. Can¡¯t shame the shameless.


    Balery lifted a brow. ¡°By nothing you mean staring at him all day when he¡¯s not looking at you?¡±


    Honestly, I would rather not talk about it with Balery because I knew that she would only end up telling me what I didn¡¯t want to hear-even though it was what I really should hear-and then I wouldn¡¯t be able to stop thinking about it and me not being able to stop thinking about something only meant one thing-action. I would end up doing it.


    And, that, was precisely what I wanted to avoid.


    Well, tried to. Because Balery had ckmailed me with the best friend¡¯s code or something like that and I¡¯d literally had no other choice but to tell her.


    She thought that we were cute-Alex and I-and that I was being a bitch. Which isn¡¯t news at all.


    ¡°Must have me confused with someone else because I sure as hell don¡¯t stare at him.¡± I did.


    I stared at him a whole lot. The only lie in Balery¡¯s statement, was her saying ¡®when he isn¡¯t looking at you¡¯ because he sure as hell didn¡¯t look at me. I would know, I¡¯d checked.


    Countless times, I wore skimpier clothes than I usually wore and since we didn¡¯t really go out alot, I didn¡¯t have to worry about shing anyone, but he never looked.


    I hadn¡¯t even caught him once. He really was taking our pretend game seriously. Too seriously, if I might add. It wasn¡¯t like there was a prize for the winner.


    Worse thing was, I was horny. As hell. Bringing myself off with my hand constantly was starting to get depressing and the severely underwhelming orgasms made me want to cry.


    When had it gotten this bad?


    I just needed a man to fuck me, was that too much to ask?


    What made it hurt even more was the fact that the one man that I wanted-actually wanted-to fuck me six ways to Sunday, was making it his life¡¯s mission to ignore me.


    Seriously, Laura, is this your life?


    I¡¯d thought this vacation was going to be fun. I mean, if you excluded the part where I wasn¡¯t getting some, then it was a pretty enjoyable vacation. But that part was important and, well, it made me surly and grumpy as hell all day, everyday.


    Too bad that Balery had to be on the receiving end of my bad mood.


    ¡°You do,¡± she rolled her eyes. ¡°You¡¯re even thinking about him right now, I can tell.¡±


    My ¡°ew¡± did not sound convincing enough, but I wasn¡¯t going to force it. I simply shoved more gummy bears into my mouth and chewed away.


    I slid my phone closer to me on the counter and unlocked it, going through my mails, while Balery sighed and went back to the stove.


    A frown settled on my face when I saw that I had not one, but three new emails from the stalker and this time, he hadn¡¯t bothered to use different email addresses. He¡¯d used one he used before and sent a fuck-ton of threats and very stomach-turning vile words.


    His emails usually didn¡¯t get to me, but then again, he¡¯d never really brought up rape. And that was what he¡¯d done now.


    Deleting the messages-because I wouldn¡¯t like toe back to my spam folder next time and see something like that-I sent a quick text to xxxxx telling her to fix a time and day for a video call, then dropped my phone facedown next to me.


    ¡°But he¡¯s such a really great guy,¡± Balery announced out of nowhere, and with my mouth full with gummy bears, I lifted my head, the look in my eyes, one of both confusion and warning. ¡°I don¡¯t understand why you just can¡¯t be nice to him.¡±


    I chewed quickly and swallowed, opening my mouth to tell her exactly why I couldn¡¯t be nice to Alex when a voice piped in.


    ¡°Who are we talking about right now?¡±


    Balery¡¯s eyes widened and she turned around to look at the person that just spoke. Drew.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep saying this; there is nothing on my body I love more thandies¡¯ eyes on me.¡± He wiggled his brows to punctuate his statement as he came over to lean on the ind next to me.


    A snicker escaped my lips and I shook my head, shoving my hand into the pack and throwing more gummy bears into my mouth.


    ¡°Hi, Drew.¡±


    ¡°Hi, Bales.¡± Drew gave a small cheeky wave. ¡°Now, back to the question. Who were you guys talking about?¡±


    ¡°Just a guy from work,¡± Balery said at the same time I said, ¡°Alex.¡±


    She turned to me with a shocked expression. Wide eyes, gaping mouth and the rest. The look on her face was soical, I considered telling her to stay just like that so that I could take a picture.


    ¡°Rx,¡± I calmed her, because even though surprised Balery is funny, I also didn¡¯t want my best friend to get a heart attack. ¡°He knows.¡±


    Her eyes grew even wider, if that was possible. ¡°He does?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I told him.¡±


    She looked between me and Drew for a bit, before crossing her arms across her chest and cocking a hip. ¡°Really, Laura? You could tell him but you wouldn¡¯t talk to me about it?¡±


    I gasped, stering a hand to my chest in mock hurt. ¡°It¡¯s only stuff you already know, I swear. Plus,¡± I added. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell him. He just kind of like knew. I¡¯m guessing guy instinct or whatever. But, I swear, it¡¯s only stuff you already know.¡±


    That¡¯s the truth. One time when Drew and I were making coffee in the kitchen-we woke earlier than the others-Alex came in, greeted us in no more than four words, and left the kitchen as silently as he¡¯d entered.


    Then Drew had casually asked me, ¡°There¡¯s something going on between the both of you, isn¡¯t there?¡±


    And coffee must really loosen my lips a lot because I hadn¡¯t bothered to lie. I¡¯d simply told him the truth.


    XXX scoffed from beside me. ¡°Stop the lies, Laura.¡± Then he threw his arm across my shoulder and smooched his face against mine. ¡°Laura and I are bff¡¯s now.¡±


    I shoved him away with a hand on his face,ughing, while Balery threw a dishrag at him, which he dodged before slinking away from me-but not before stealing some of my gummy bears, which earns him a pinch from me.


    ¡°Ow,¡± He rubbed at the spot, then fished a phone out of his back pocket and dropped it next to me. ¡°Hey, could you help me give this back to Alex? He identally left it in my room and it¡¯s been blowing up ever since. I think whoever¡¯s trying to reach him had an important message.¡±


    Nice try.


    ¡°You came from upstairs,¡± I rolled my eyes. ¡°You could have just given it to him before you came down here.¡±


    He sighed dramatically, eyes anywhere but on me because he¡¯s a lying shit. ¡°I know. I totally forgot.¡±


    ¡°Now you remember.¡± I lifted a shoulder. ¡°Go back upstairs and give it to him.¡±


    Drew rocked on his heels and shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. ¡°I would, but I have to be out and I¡¯m runningte already.¡± Then he hurried out of the kitchen, yelling, ¡°Love you.¡± But I didn¡¯t miss the grin on his face.


    What the fuck just happened?


    I turned panicked eyes on Balery. ¡°Bales, what the hell was that?¡±


    ¡°That,¡± she started. ¡°Was XXX telling you to return Alex¡¯s phone.¡±


    ¡°Bitch,¡± I muttered, but she caught it because she grinned a little, stirring the pot. ¡°Please, Bales, help me?¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t, Laura.¡± She sighed like she really wanted to help which I knew was all an act. ¡°I¡¯m cooking.¡±


    I stared at the phone like it was a ticking time bomb. I still hadn¡¯t touched it, as though if I did, it would go off.


    Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.


    How could Drew do me so dirty?


    But wait, why was I freaking out?


    I was simply going to give a man-albeit a very annoying and sexy one-his phone right? I was helping him. He should be thankful.


    He would be thankful.


    ¡°Fuck this shit,¡± I muttered and hopped down from the ind, grabbed the phone, before stomping up the stairs, marching to his room.


    When I stood in front of the door, I blew out a breath and knocked, ignoring the way my heart was racing in my chest as though I¡¯d justpleted a marathon.


    ¡°Come in.¡±


    That sexy voice, oh my God. I swear, my knees buckled and threatened to give out under me, but I stood strong.


    I¡¯m Laura.


    I have an excellent poker face. I can do this.


    Holding my breath, I turned the knob and pushed the door open.

 28

    I really didn¡¯t understand how it was possible that I had seen this man countless times and yet every single time I saw him, my heart mmed against my ribcage. At first, it stopped beating, then started all over again with a vengeance, racing so fast in my chest, that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it just ran itself into a heart attack.


    It was like I was seeing him for the first time all over again. Was that even normal?


    I would ask Balery if it was, but she would only see that as an opportunity to blow things out of proportions and, God forbid, tell me that I had feelings for him.


    He was lying on his bed with his back to the headboard, aptop on his thighs, and eyes narrowed in concentration as he typed away. When I closed the door, his head lifted and his eyesnded on me. My breath caught when they lingered for all but three seconds, then I exhaled when he looked away, going back to what he was doing.


    That little action hurt more than it should have and I hated it.


    Squaring my shoulders and shrugging off the hurt, I took a few steps forward and stopped again, unsure.


    Should I just go to him, drop the phone on his bed and leave?


    I med him for my dilemma. I wouldn¡¯t be going through this if he¡¯d simply acknowledged me instead of looking at me like that then going back to hisptop like I wasn¡¯t standing right fucking there in front of him.


    He was really starting to piss me the fuck off.


    And that anger right there, was exactly what I needed to find my voice.


    ¡°Drew gave me your phone.¡± I paused, waiting for him to look at me. My lips pursed when he still didn¡¯t. ¡°He said you left it in his room and asked me to help him return it.¡± I paused again, pissed. ¡°He can¡¯t return it himself because he has somewhere to be.¡±


    ¡°Of course he does,¡± Alex said cryptically, the corners of his lips lifting in something that looked a lot like a smile. ¡°You can keep it on the dresser.¡±


    Bristling because he still wouldn¡¯t look at me, I stomped over to the dresser and ced the phone on it. Then I hesitated.


    Was I just going to walk out of here?


    Was he just going to keep ignoring me?


    Frankly, with the way he was treating me, I really wanted to do nothing more than to walk out of here with my head held high and with an extra sway in my hips just so that he would think about-and regret-what he was missing.


    I didn¡¯t want to say anything. I really didn¡¯t.


    But my big mouth still opened anyway and I went and said, ¡°That all?¡± Like I was his fucking maid or something and I was happily waiting on him to give me my next chore.


    His eyes flicked up to my face and a confused frown settled on his. He blinked. ¡°Oh, sorry. Thank you.¡±


    Then he freaking went back to staring at hisptop.


    I was not hurt. I refused to believe I was hurt.


    I was just angry.


    And even my anger wasnt justifiable.


    I was angry because he was not giving me any attention and honestly, I had no right to be. I¡¯d avoided him as much as I could when we newly came to the house, telling him that he wouldn¡¯t take a hint, right?


    I¡¯d told him that I wanted nothing to do with him, hadn¡¯t I?


    But that was before we started¡­fooling around again. And what the hell was that anyway? Was I not too old to be fooling around with a guy?


    Anyway, the point was that he was now giving me the space that I¡¯d been telling him to give me, except that now, I wasn¡¯t sure space was what I wanted anymore. I wanted him. Alex.


    Just, minus sex.


    And he¡¯d been okay with it before, but in ssic Laura fashion, I¡¯d found a way to push him away still.


    ¡°It¡¯s getting kind of old, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    He didn¡¯t look up from hisptop. ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°Ignoring me.¡± This time, his head lifted and he pinned me with piercing green eyes. There was a catch in my voice when I said, ¡°Pretending like you don¡¯t see me.¡±


    ¡°Am I?¡± He asked cooly.


    What the fuck kind of question was that?


    ¡°You know what I¡¯m talking about.¡±


    A thick brow lifted. ¡°I¡¯m looking at you right now, aren¡¯t I?¡±


    I gritted my teeth, angry that he wanted me to spell it out for him because that was what he wanted. He knew what I was talking about and he wasn¡¯t going to give me an answer until I exined what I meant, which would mean admitting that I¡¯d been paying attention to him, waiting for crumbs of his attention.


    God, I hated him.


    ¡°Can you just stop acting like you don¡¯t know what I¡¯m talking about?¡± I snapped. ¡°You avoid me even when we¡¯re in the same room like I¡¯m the fucking gue and everyone¡¯s starting to ask me questions about us.¡± By everyone, I meant Drew and Balery-even though Balery didn¡¯t really count because she already knew about us before-but he didn¡¯t need to know that, of course.


    Alex¡¯s eyes narrowed into dangerous slits and I would have taken a step back if I was scared of him, but I wasn¡¯t. ¡°You¡¯ve made it abundantly clear that you want me to leave you alone and that¡¯s what I¡¯ve been doing.¡±


    ¡°I never asked you to leave me alone.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I very much remember you telling me to leave you alone the day we arrived here.¡±


    ¡°I don-¡± My eyes darted. ¡°I don¡¯t remember.¡±


    ¡­except that I did.


    I remembered him following me up the stairs and backing me up against my door. I remembered telling at him to leave me alone and that he was too stubborn to take a hint. I remembered everything.


    Shit.


    But still.


    I¡¯d said and done a lot of things that I regretted, and what he was talking about was from two weeks ago. We¡¯d moved on from that long ago, so why was he bringing it up now?


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean that.¡± When he gave a disbelieving huff ofughter, shame burned a path down my chest and I hurried to rephrase. ¡°I-I mean, I did at the time. But that was before.¡±Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    ¡°Oh, Laura,¡± Alex smiled wistfully, shaking his head, but I knew that was far from what he was feeling.


    My mouth went dry as he carried theptop off his thighs and ced it on the bed beside him, flinging the sheets off his legs and sliding them over the side of the bed, pushing to his feet. I watched, mesmerised, as he walked towards me in that predator¡¯s gait, his steps slow and sure, sensual and mesmerising.


    He was big and tall, his shoulders ridiculously wide and thick legs covered in the lounge pants he was wearing. Fuck, I missed his sweats.


    His eyes narrowed in both warning and lust when he saw that I was checking him out, and a bolt of desire shot straight to my core. I swear, my vagina lit up right fucking there and then, waving at him.


    Can¡¯t me her. Poor thing was in heat, and was probably remembering just how good he made her feel.


    By the time he was finally standing in front of me, I was a hot mess and I got even worse when he gripped my neck. No, he didn¡¯t grip it. He just ced his hand there, his fingers brushing my neck while his palm rested on my corbone. Since he was so very much taller than me, he could see straight down and probably didn¡¯t miss the way my nipples budded in my tank top-I wasn¡¯t wearing a bra.


    Lust red in his eyes asI leaned up, rising on my toes, probably to kiss him or whatever, but he pressed me back down with his hand on my corbone.


    I looked up at him, confused. Why the hell was he stopping me?


    He was pissed. And horny.


    Oh my fuck, I would marry him right now if he gave me one bout of angry sex.


    You¡¯re not fucking him again, remember?


    Right. Right.


    When Alex spoke, his voice was like a whip. ¡°I¡¯m not your sex toy, Laura. I¡¯m not something you cane to when you¡¯re horny, then discard right after.¡± My face copsed and I stepped out of his hold, a chill settling on the spot where his hand had just been. ¡°You don¡¯t know what you want and I¡¯m not going to indulge you while you decide. When you do, you know where to find me.¡±


    Then he turned, dismissing me as he went back to the bed, slipped under the covers and easily went back to working on hisptop like I wasn¡¯t melting on his floor, confused as hell.


    I hurried out of there as fast as I could.

 29

    Over the past few days, I hadunched an operation.


    OPERATION SEDUCE ALEX


    Aim: To get him to open his eyes, pull his head out of his ass-or whichever idiom best suited the situation-and face the truth that he still wanted me. I was right there for the taking; all he had to do was take.


    I¡¯ll tell you how it¡¯s been so far.


    Day 1: Short sundress with nothing underneath.


    Alex spent a huge part of his day in the kitchen-it wasn¡¯t news that he ate alot-and a lot of people might find it weird that I had already showered as early as 6am-believe me, I did too-but I have never found it in me to give a quarter of a fuck about what people had to say, which was exactly why I was bold enough to walk into the kitchen in my short sundress, making it very obvious that I¡¯d had my bath, and sat at the ind to have my breakfast.


    I didn¡¯t need to have eyes at the back of my head to know that Alex did a double-take when he saw me, eyes lingering on specific areas of my body. And by specific areas, I meant my tits-I wasn¡¯t wearing a bra which meant the outline of my nipples could be seen through the gown, oops-and my almost bare thighs.


    After very obviously eye-fucking me, he¡¯d looked away like I hadn¡¯t caught him, poured himself coffee and walked out of there like all was right in the world. His world, at least, because mine was burning in anger that I hadn¡¯t gotten more than that reaction out of him.


    But I wasn¡¯t bothered, nope. It wasn¡¯t the end.


    I¡¯d made sure to pretend to reach for things that were far higher than my hand could reach in the kitchen that day, but only when I saw him around. I didn¡¯t want to identally sh any of the other guys.


    Now, that would be awkward.


    Wait, why would that be awkward?


    Hadn¡¯t I nned to flirt with his friends when we got here simply to piss him off? So was the idea to flirt with them now suddenly wrong when I thought about it?


    ¡­And the scariest thing was that it wast just his friends. The idea to flirt with any other man apart from him didn¡¯t seem so appealing anymore. What the fuck was that?


    Maybe it was just because I hadn¡¯t been in the position to flirt with anyone elsetely, so I decided to push it out of my mind.


    Now, back to the operation.


    Day 2: Short skin-tight long-sleeved gown.


    The green gown ended mid-thigh and the colourplimented my newly acquired tan beautifully. I looked hot. I knew-I¡¯d looked in the mirror.


    We¡¯d gone to the club that night and can you guess what happened? No? Okay, I¡¯ll tell you.


    I¡¯d been innocently dancing with Balery, of course, when a guy hade from behind me and slipped his hand around my waist. At first, I¡¯d been about three seconds away from telling him to back-off but then I remembered that I had a n and that was just harmless dancing, right? It wouldn¡¯t lead anywhere.


    So I¡¯d danced with him, keeping my eyes locked on Alex-who, I could tell from the distance, was very very pissed as he watched us-as I grinded on him. A muscle kept ticking in his clenched jaw as he watched the guy spin me around and dip his hand to my ass. I¡¯d put a bit of space between me and the guy then, but Alex hadn¡¯t know that.


    Alex watched us for all of ten minutes before whatever control he¡¯d had left had snapped and he¡¯d stormed towards us, ripped me out of the guy¡¯s arms and pulled me along with him to thedies¡¯ restroom without a single care that he was a man standing in a women¡¯s restroom. I hadn¡¯t cared either but then again I didn¡¯t care about most things.


    This was how our argument had gone:


    ¡°Care to tell me why the hell you¡¯re dancing with a random guy out there?¡±


    ¡°Care to tell me why the hell you dragged me in here to question me about something that¡¯s absolutely none of your business?¡±


    ¡°One-you have no idea how wrong you are. It is my fucking business. Two-you wouldn¡¯t have let me ¡®drag¡¯ you in here if you didn¡¯t really want to follow.¡±


    I¡¯d sputtered for a moment, conceding that he was right, damnit. If I really hadn¡¯t want to go with him, I¡¯d have forced my hand out of his and Alex would have let me go without a moment¡¯s hesitation.


    Taking advantage of my very obvious confusion, he¡¯d crowded me, backing me up against the wall until he had been the only thing I could think of. His scent had been the only thing I could inhale and I had never wanted him to kiss me more in my entire life.


    Then he¡¯d dipped his head and whispered into my ear, ¡°If you let another man touch you tonight, Laura¡­¡± he¡¯d trailed off, leaving the threat hanging. ¡°If I so much as see another man put his hands on you, I¡¯ll break it. And you wouldn¡¯t be able to sleep with a clear conscience because you would know that its your fucking fault that the man can no longer use his hands.¡±


    When we¡¯d moved back outside to meet the others, I¡¯d stuck to my drinks, unable to help myself as I¡¯d stolen nces at him from time to time.


    Day 3: Bikini-Two-piece.


    We had all decided to sit out under the sun, have azy day in the water and under my cover-up, my two piece had been sexy. Alex had stolen nces at me and I, too, had stolen nces at him. He¡¯d been wearing shorts and a white T-shirt that just made him look all shades of sexy.


    One time when everyone had gone into the water-well, except me and Alex-I¡¯d struck a pose that would pushed my boobs out and made my hips pop. He¡¯d been staring at me the entire time so he didn¡¯t miss that little action.


    Taking that as my cue to push him more over the edge, I¡¯d grabbed the material of my top and dragged it to the slide slowly. An inch of skin bared, then another, and another, and another, until my nipple slid free and made an appearance under the afternoon sun.


    Alex had been unable to hold back his groan and when I¡¯d heard it, I¡¯d taken that as victory and happily slid my top back in ce, smiling up at the sun.


    I¡¯d decided to go back inside earlier than the others and when I¡¯d seen Alex stand up along with me, I knew that the others would probably assume that we were going to fuck-I didn¡¯t care.


    Knowing that he was beside me, I¡¯d put an extra sway in my hips just to make my ass jiggle faster but I¡¯d also forgotten that I¡¯d just stepped out of the water and that my feet were wet, and before I knew it, my foot slipped on the floor and my hand shot out to catch myself but there was nothing to hold on to. My face had frozen into a mask of terror as I proceeded to face-nt on the floor but by some miracle, before I could reach, something snagged around my waist.


    Not something-an arm.


    A strong arm snagged around my waist and pulled me back up and suddenly, I had not been face-nting anymore.


    I¡¯d stared at him. He¡¯d stared at me.


    We¡¯d stared at each other as I¡¯d reyed the whole thing in my head, and you would probably expect me to be embarrassed-I¡¯d thought so too-but the only sound that hade out of my mouth had beenughter. A full bodiedughter that had me doubting over and gripping my stomach.


    After a few seconds, Alex had joined me inughter and that was thest day I¡¯d tried to seduce him.


    It didn¡¯t seem to be working anyway and naturally, I hated wasting my time.


    It sucked, but putting effort into something only for it toe out futile was exhausting.


    Back to the present now, I was sitting cross legged on my bed, my bottom lip pulled into my mouth and my teeth digging into it as I typed back a response to an email I¡¯d gotten of a fellow lingeriepany wanting to do a cob with mine.


    I knew them. They were very popr, and if they were interested in running a cob with me, then I would ept them with open arms and that was what I was rying to them in the email right now. They had more social media following than I did which would mean more exposure for my brand.


    To be honest, I was excited.


    My fingers didn¡¯t stop moving even when I heard a knock on the door. Knowing that it had to be none other than Balery, I told her toe in.


    ¡°Hey, are you busy?¡± Came a deep voice.


    I paused and looked up, surprised to see a body that was far bigger and taller than Balery¡¯s, and a face that was definitely not her¡¯s. No, this body was bigger, taller, sexier-no offence to Balery-and made my heart quicken faster than Balery¡¯s had ever made it-and also for another reason.


    Covering myptop a bit, I said, ¡°No, what¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°I was¡­¡± Alex¡¯s eyes darted to the side for a second beforeing back to rest on mine. Was he nervous? ¡°I was wondering if¡­fuck. Would you have dinner with me tomorrow night?¡±


    I-What?


    ¡°Why would you¡­¡± Now it was my turn to fidget and push my hair away from my face with slightly shaky hands. ¡°Why dinner?¡±


    He shrugged and smiled sheepishly. ¡°It would be ourst night in Miami. You really don¡¯t want to spend it in the house.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t a question.


    It was a statement because it was the truth.


    Tomorrow was ourst night in Miami and I would really like to experience night life in the city onest time before I left.


    How thoughtful of Alex.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I shrugged as if it was no big deal, when in truth it was.


    He nodded, already taking a step towards the door. ¡°Okay. Be ready by eight.¡± Shooting a smile my way-a smile that had me sighing out because of its sexiness-he backed out of the room.


    Oh, God. Oh, God. I was going out with-


    Wait. It wasn¡¯t a date, right?Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.

 30

    It was a date.


    And he¡¯d gone all out.


    I couldn¡¯t exin my reaction when I stepped out of the house and saw a limousine waiting for us. First thing I did was was give Alex a long look. I mean, there was no mistaking it-the limo was there for us. The driver had tipped his hat in a salute when we came out, a smile on his face and, hell, who else would have a limo waiting outside for them other than this magnificent man who apparently went all out when he took his women out?


    A frown settled on my face at that.


    His women.


    I didn¡¯t like the sound of it.


    Saying that the little clench my heart gave at the image that apanied those words was uncalled for and so bloody stupid, would be a huge fucking understatement. I¡¯d literally told him that there could be nothing between us, in other words, telling him that it was okay for him to do whatever he wanted with other women, and it was a given that he would take me up on that offer. He was a man.


    A gorgeous, out-of-this-world, hot-as-hell man. Hell, he wouldn¡¯t even have to go out looking for women. They flocked around him readily.


    My frown deepened as I stared at the limo, lost in thought. I could not get him out of my head. Actually, I wanted him in me. Did that mean I was one of those women?


    Was I?


    Was I not?


    Fuck this fucking shit-


    ¡°Please tell me the limo isn¡¯t why you¡¯re frowning.¡± I turned to Alex-I¡¯d forgotten that he was right beside me for a second there-and saw him sweeping his eyes over me. There was heat in his gaze, but there was also wariness. I could only chalk thetter up to the fact that he was nervous about the date and why would he be?


    He¡¯d done this before, hadn¡¯t he? Countless times, I was sure.


    Giving him a shark-like smile, I said, ¡°Nope.¡± Okay, maybe I should not have said that so quickly. And maybe I should not have put so much emphasis on the¡¯p¡¯. ¡°Are we getting in or what?¡± Also, what the hell was that question?


    Jesus.


    Fuck my life.


    He gave me a funny look, probably wondering if a screw had gone loose in my head and trying to decide if it was toote to cancel on the date and run for the hills while he still could, but being the Mr Nice Guy that he was, he believed had no choice but to suck it up and see the date through. At least that was the only reason I coulde up with as to why we were walking towards the car and not away from it.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    The ride to our destination was short but made longer because of the tension that filled the car. I kept my eyes firmly on the window and he¡­well, I felt his eyes on me.


    On the bare skin of my thighs where my gown had ridden up-it was a short dress so you can imagine just how much of my thighs were exposed-my breasts, my face, and even my hair. It was almost like he couldn¡¯t not look at me. Like he couldn¡¯t look away from me even if he tried, and it filled me with an intoxicating feeling-and also made me horny as hell.


    Subtly as I could, I pressed my legs together. He might have seen, but I didn¡¯t look at him to confirm.


    What was that saying? What you don¡¯t know doesn¡¯t kill you?


    Yes. Exactly. Not looking at him was better than doing it and facing the shame. My emotions were already very vtile as they were. Adding shame to the mix would be disastrous.


    Why were my feelings vtile, you might wonder.


    Well, for one, I was going out on a date. What the actual fuck was I doing? Did people still do that? Go on dates?


    Okay, fine. Maybe they did. But I didn¡¯t. And the fact that I was willingly going on one right now was freaking me the hell out. It would have been a different thing if he¡¯d bound my arms and my legs and flung me into the car, but no, I was going willingly.


    Again, what the fuck was that?


    Second reason my thoughts were in a jumble, was the fact that I was not just going on a date with any man, but one who knew my body better than anyone else-maybe even me included because do you know what this man does to my body?-and one I¡¯d lived with in the same house for the past month. A man so dangerous to my health that he made me feel things I¡¯d never felt before.


    For the third time, what the actual fuck was that?


    My raging thoughts screeched to a halt when the car stopped moving. Alex must have told the man to stay put because he got out of the car, hurried around to my side, and pulled the door open for me. I was positive my heart gave a little flip at that.


    With his big, warm hand on the exposed skin of my back, we walked into the glitzy, fancy-as-hell restaurant. His fingers flexed on my back, restless and seeking, brushing against the skin that was now beginning to grow hot even in the chill evening air, and withdrawing from it the next second.


    I knew what was happening. He wasn¡¯t sure whether he could touch me or not.


    Touch me, I wanted to yell at him but before I knew it, we were sitting and a waiter wasing over. I almost screamed with frustration because now I was a horny mess shifting on my seat and he was on the other side of the table, those hot green eyes alternating between the menu and my face.


    Would it be terribly razz of me if I pulled him into the restroom and asked him to bring me off?


    I looked around at the few other couples, speaking quietly as they ate.


    Yeah, probably.


    Dropping my eyes back to the menu, I focused on cing my order.


    ***


    His eyes on me was the most exciting part of our date.


    He barely took them off me, and even during the short time when he wasn¡¯t looking at me, he was stroking my palm, his fingers lingering when they got to the underside of my wrist before going back to the tips of my fingers.


    He was everywhere. I was feeling him, seeing him and breathing him.


    It was crazy. It was amazing. It was insane.


    ¡°Was it everything you thought it would be?¡± Alex asked softly, his expression unguarded.


    ¡°It was more.¡±


    My voice came out even softer than his had been. I sounded vulnerable. So freaking vulnerable and something else that I couldn¡¯t name, and it freaked the fuck out of me.


    And yet I didn¡¯t stop it.


    I couldn¡¯t stop it.


    He was stroking his thumb back and forth on my palm and I didn¡¯t try to pull away even when it felt like I was going tobust from everything I was feeling. Tenderness, strangeness, lust, confusion, and a truckload of other emotions I couldn¡¯t begin to name right now.


    Something was happening to me but I didn¡¯t know what it was, and that terrified me.


    Oh God, what have I done? I should have never agreed toe on this date-


    ¡°Laura.¡± My name, spoken in that soft but firm tone, pulled me out of my thoughts and had me looking up into my date¡¯s face. My dilemma must have shown on my face because he looked worried. ¡°Don¡¯t overthink things. Stay with me, love.¡±


    It wasn¡¯t the order that had me goingx in his arms and melting back into my seat. No, it was the emotion in his eyes. The vulnerability and wariness and want and longing. God, so much fucking longing, he was vibrating with it, his fingers starting to shake on mine.


    I wanted to say something sharp and sassy that the usual Laura would say, but the only thing that came out of my mouth was, ¡°Okay.¡±


    He visibly rxed, the tension leaving his shoulders. He ordered champagne, and two sses in, I was already starting to feel like myself again.


    ¡°Alex, do you tan in the nude?¡± I asked after we had been quiet for a while.


    His eyes jumped to mine in surprise, whether because I was initiating conversation for the first time tonight or because of my question, I wasn¡¯t sure.


    ¡°Where the hell did that questione from?¡±


    I shrugged, bringing my ss to my lips to take a sip. ¡°I¡¯ve noticed you don¡¯t have tan lines.¡±


    His brows shot up. ¡°You¡¯ve noticed?¡±


    I shrugged again, hiding my smile behind the rim of my ss.


    Who just upped and asked such a question out of nowhere? I had been obsessing over it and he knew. Of course he did.


    ¡°I do, actually,¡± he supplied.


    ¡°Hmm,¡± I said nomittally. ¡°Where?¡±


    Amusement danced in his eyes. ¡°My house. Why? You thinking of paying me a visit?¡±


    I wish.


    Slipping my foot out of my heels, I asked, ¡°Do you have fun, Alex?¡±


    If he was surprised by the change of topic, he didn¡¯t show it. ¡°I¡­¡± He frowned. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I suppose it depends on your definition of f-¡± He stopped abruptly when he realised what I was doing. Felt, rather.


    My bare foot was ascending up his thigh, slow but steady in its journey.


    I leaned back in my seat and hiked my foot higher. The position of our table meant that no-one would be able to see what I was doing, but even if they could, I wasn¡¯t sure that I cared.


    All I could think about was making him lose his mind. I wanted to see his perfect control snap. But to what end? I wasn¡¯t sure yet.


    ¡°Laura,¡± Alex warned, his toneced with danger that ignited me. He had probably been expecting me to stop, but all it did was make me want to tease him even more. I wanted to push him over the edge.


    I wanted to watch him break.


    A purr escaped my lips when my foot made contact with his groin and I felt how hard he was. How deliciously thick and long and steel-like he was in his pants already, the length of him going running down his right thigh. How had he gotten that hard just from a little footie?


    I held his gaze as I massaged him with the arch of my foot, watching and loving as he squirmed in his seat, his eyes dark and full of promise of all the things he would do to me. Of the way he would take his revenge.


    Of the way he would make me pay.


    My hands shook and some of the drink sloshed over the rim of my ss just as Alex stood all of a sudden, adjusting his tux to hide the bulge of his erection. It didn¡¯t do much-and I couldn¡¯t stop staring.


    ¡°We¡¯re leaving,¡± he informed me, and I rose on slightly wobbly legs, moving over to him.


    He watched me like a predator watching its prey and I knew-I knew that the moment we got into the limo, he was going to descend on me.

 31

    Ironically, I was the one that descended on him the minute we got into the car.


    I couldn¡¯t climb him fast enough.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    His back had barely touched the seat before I turned towards him and caught his lips with my mine. He was quite surprised by that, I could tell, and he just held himself stiffly, shocked, for all of three seconds before his brain caught up with what was happening-that this was real-then he wrapped his fingers around my waist and pulled me into him.


    The move was rough and I ended up stumbling into him, my chest pressed to his. He shoved his other hand into my hair, gripping my head and holding it in ce so that he could angle it the way that he wanted. Tilting my head to the right, he pushed his tongue against the seam of my lips and I opened up for him, at the same time, gulping in much needed air.


    His tongue slipped into my mouth, hot and wet, and a moan escaped my lips when it flicked against mine. His hand on my waist made it impossible for me to move back and away from him, and his firm grip on my head wouldn¡¯t let me pull back. Which meant that I was just there, pinned in ce-even though I was kneeling-while he ate at my mouth like a man who had been long starved for a taste. Like he was a dying man in the desert and I was thest drop of water in his canteen. He was savouring me.


    He licked, sucked and fucked my mouth until I was a quivering mess. His tongue made slow love to mine, pulling away for a bit to flick against the roof of my mouth-a move he¡¯d obviously learnt from me-and I smiled against his lips, only for it to meet mine again and the two met in a slow, sensual tango, not quite fighting to dominate, just touching, feeling, rubbing. I shivered and goose bumps broke out across my skin. His short groan into my mouth told me that he¡¯d felt it.


    My thoughts were all over the ce and I was positive that if someone were to ask me what my name was right now, I wouldn¡¯t be able to tell them. I was going crazy, damn near close to orgasming just from a kiss with this man, but that was what he did to me, wasn¡¯t it?


    He took my body and made it his, making me feel things that I¡¯d never thought were possible to feel. Showing me just how to work my body right in ways I never thought I would like.


    I usually led during sex but it was blindingly obvious right now that I was not leading this kiss. It was Alex. He was steering this ship the way he wanted it to go and I was loving ever single second of it.


    It was strange, and in a bid to get the upper hand, I threw a leg over his, my dress now pushed up to my hips, and settled on him, right on top of his erection. But I couldn¡¯t resist moving, grinding back and forth on him, my eyes rolling back in my head every time that hard ridge rubbed against the ce where I was aching and empty, begging to be filled.


    ¡°Laura¡­¡± Alex warned, his fingers tightening around my waist and gigging in hard enough to leave a mark. I found that hot as hell, knowing that he hadn¡¯t meant to hurt me, but was a ve to his passion for me, was a ve to this moment right here between us as much as I was to it. ¡°Don¡¯t do that unless you want to see a man spontaneouslybust.¡±


    Still, because the thought of himing just from me grinding against him made me hot as all fucks, I moved once-at least as much as his hold allowed me-and a mewl escaped my lips when his grip tightened to the point of bruising.


    I shot forward and caught his lips again, my hands slipping into his thick, luxurious hair that I¡¯d missed running my fingers through. ying with those small, curly hairs at the base of his neck, I dragged my tongue slowly along the roof of his mouth. We both froze, me waiting with bated breath for the reaction I knew was toe, and him stick straight, like the slightest movement might cause him to break and shatter into a million pieces.


    Then, as if we¡¯d both been under a spell and hade out of it at the same time, we moved. His whole body shook as a prolonged groan fell from his lips, so loud that I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the driver heard it. I sat back on his bunched thighs and watched him through hooded eyes, whatever remained of my rational thoughts flying the moment I saw the look of absolute bliss on his gorgeous face. His eyes remained closed for a while, and when they finally opened, there was pure heat and wicked intent in them.


    ¡°How is that ten times hotter when you do it?¡± His voice was husky and filled with so much heat, my pussy clenched around nothing. I tried to squeeze my legs together but they were on either sides of his so that wasn¡¯t possible. I ended up rocking against him, and his eyes dropped, those molten greens watching me as I used him to try to get myself off.


    ¡°Maybe because I do it better?¡± I gasped, failing to go for the cocky look I¡¯d been aiming, because being cocky was thest thing on my mind right now. I just wanted an orgasm.


    A glint entered his eyes and a perfectly arched brow lifted. ¡°Let¡¯s see if you do this better too.¡±


    With those words-words that I knew held a lot of challenge and the promise of pleasure in them-he lifted me and dropped me onto my back on the seat, rising above me until he had one knee on the seat and his other leg on the floor of the limo.


    My breaths turned into short little pants as he rolled my dress up until it gathered around my waist and it was then that I realised his intent. With my dress gone, my panties were the only thing standing in his way and I expected him to drag them off and get right down to work, but he just stayed there, hovering above and staring at me.


    His intense gaze on the most private part of my body made me feel a whole lot exposed, which was saying a lot considering that I wasn¡¯t a shy person.


    He stared until I was a squirming mess, then he shot me a quick look-a quick look filled with heat-before his hands went to the waistband of my panties and he dragged them down my legs, stowing them into his pocket. The look he sent me this time dared me to ask him why he was keeping them, and why would I when I already knew what he nned on using them to do?


    When more wetness was already pooling in my core at the knowledge of the use my panties were going to serve himter?


    A tremor racked through his frame when his eyes locked on my bare pussy. ¡°God, you¡¯re so fucking beautiful,¡± he said raggedly before he lowered and swiped his tongue over me.


    ¡°Oh fuck,¡± I moaned, my head falling back to the seat as a bolt of pleasure speared into me, then spreading out to every aspect of my being.


    ¡°We¡¯ll get to that.¡± Heughed and his breaths puffing against my pussy lips like that was too much for me to bear.


    My hips lifted from the seat in restlessness, chasing his mouth, and he held me down quickly. I opened my mouth to-I don¡¯t know-beg him to put his mouth back on me when he, thankfully, put me out of my torment.


    After giving me two long swipes from my hole to my clit, he shoved his tongue in and really began to eat me out. It was so simr to the way he¡¯d been kissing me earlier-his tongue swirling around me from the inside, rubbing along my walls, and my walls in turn tried to tighten around him and suck him deeper. My hips shot off the bed again when he started ying with my clit, and I swear, I could see my orgasm right then, waving me along with an extra-wide smile on her face when she saw that Alex was the one delivering it.


    She was hopelessly in love with him, that one.


    The wordsing out of my mouth were a jumbled mess and a five-year-old probably made more sense than I did in that moment, but I didn¡¯t care. I was finally going to have an orgasm. A real one.


    I didn¡¯t know how where or how I managed to find the strength, but I somehow managed to push myself up on my elbows so that I could watch Alex, and the sight of his dark head between my tan thighs would probably stay locked in my memory forever.


    Who was I kidding? This whole limo incident would stay in my memory forever.


    He must have felt me rising because his head lifted and eyes, dark with lust, met mine and our gazes held. I watched, unable to look away as he wrapped his lips around my clit and sucked. And. That. Did. It.


    My limbs lost strength and I fell back on the seat, my eyes squeezed shut as my orgasm crashed into me. ¡°Oh God. Oh fuck, fuck-¡± I lost track of what I was saying then and proceeded to spew a bunch of gibberish that I definitely wouldn¡¯t agree to sayingter when I¡¯dnded back on earth.


    Because right now, I wasn¡¯t on earth anymore. I was in heaven. Okay, maybe I was in heaven on earth.


    My legs iled, going every which way and I would have gotten him in the head with my heel had he not held my legs firmly in his grip and put a stop to their mission to destroy everything in their vicinity.


    Hepped me up until I could see again, and when I finally opened my eyes, I saw that he was still licking me up, his face contorted in painful pleasure, like he couldn¡¯t get enough of me.


    ¡°Can you do this better?¡± He asked, and the slight amusement in his voice told me that he was mocking me.


    It was then that I remembered what I¡¯d said about me pulling that tongue move better.


    Jesus, this man.


    My hands were shaky and shockwaves still travelled down my body, but I lifted off the seat with great effort and kissed him. There was still very much lust in the kiss but there was also something else¡­gratitude?


    The orgasm he gave me had been earth shattering but my core still clenched in emptiness, begging to be filled by therge cock in his pants and the only thing I could think about right now was getting it out.


    I fumbled with his zipper, struggling to drag it down with shaky fingers when his hands came down on top of mine and stopped me. I looked up at him in confusion.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± He asked, breathless with his face flushed.


    ¡°I-¡± I stopped suddenly and looked down at my hands resting on his crotch.


    What was I doing?

 32

    I blinked at him. ¡°We¡¯re making out, aren¡¯t we?¡±


    ¡°Yes, but what are you doing?¡±


    Almost like he couldn¡¯t help himself, he flicked my nipple with his thumb through my dress. My lips parted as pleasure shot through me, and his eyes locked on them before he leaned forward with a groan and sucked my bottom lip into his mouth. When he pulled away, I followed, cupping his jaws and kissing him.


    His big body shuddered under mine and I thought maybe it had to do with our kiss. It was a slow, drugging kiss, and if I could think properly, I would be concerned that I was kissing him like that, but I wasn¡¯t and that was why I pushed my hands under thepels of his tux, seeking more contact. I wanted to feel his skin on mine with nothing between us.


    He wrenched his lips away from mine, his chest flying up and down with his harsh breathing. Removing my hands from his face, he dropped them on my thigh and held them there, pinning me in ce with just his hands-and the intensity of his too-green eyes.


    ¡°What are you doing, Laura?¡±


    Why the hell did he keep asking me that question?


    ¡°What do you mean what am I doing?¡± The words came out harsh with my frustration, but he didn¡¯t react to them. Just kept watching me cooly. ¡°I need you inside me. Do you need me to spell it out for you?¡±


    ¡°Do you even realise what you just said?¡±


    I frowned at him and repeated the words in my head just to make sure that I had actually said them in English and not Chinese-not that I knew how to speak it, mind you-and that was when it hit me.


    Oh.


    I¡¯d just told him that I wanted him inside me.


    As in to have sex with me.


    When I¡¯d already told him that I didn¡¯t have sex with the same person twice. When I knew that. What was wrong with me? And, Jesus, how was he so good?


    A selfish man would have let me continue and wouldn¡¯t have said anything until he¡¯d gotten an orgasm or two. Only then would he haveughed at me when I was still on my back and called me the kiest woman in existence-which I sort of was because I should have gotten off of him already.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I should have returned back to my seat with what little dignity I had left, apologised to him, then cursed myself for the remainder of the ride back to the house, but for the life of me, I couldn¡¯t leave. My pussy was still clenching around air and I was still very much horny and I still wanted him.


    Maybe too much.


    And then, I got a fantastic idea.


    Why not just have this night then when morning came, we would both go on our merry ways? Maybe I would finally seed in getting him out of my system permanently, and maybe he would too.


    I knew that I¡¯d said before that having sex with the same person twice puts the both of us at risk, but we¡¯d both be safe because we wouldn¡¯t have to see each other anymore. And even if we did see once in a while-because Alex was friends with Jack and by extension, friends with Balery-it wasn¡¯t going to be a frequent thing, and maybe I wouldn¡¯t be so attracted to him anymore. I firmly believed that living under the same roof had heightened¡­everything, and it was why I was still so crazed over him.


    ¡°We can have sex,¡± I told Alex, watching him carefully.


    I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d been expecting, maybe not for him to fall to his knees and worship me like I¡¯d gotten the cure for cancer. No, that would be too dramatic. But I¡¯d at least expected him to be happy about this, but there were no signs of happiness on him. If anything, his gaze drew darker and his thighs bunched under me with tension.


    ¡°I thought you didn¡¯t have sex with the same person twice?¡± He asked cooly and somehow, I knew that was not what he was feeling. He was just hiding-or rather, controlling-his feelings perfectly.


    Oh God. Why was he making this so hard for me? Couldn¡¯t he just ept it and move on?


    ¡°Thats true. But I want it.¡± I started grinding on his thigh to distract him but he held my hip and stopped my movements. I frowned. ¡°I¡¯m willing to break my own rule for you.¡±


    Heughed, and it was a harsh, ugly sound that made my frown deepen. ¡°I suppose I should be grateful.¡± He shook his head like he couldn¡¯t believe it. Like he couldn¡¯t believe me. ¡°Is that really what this is or did you just decide to have sex with me because you know thate tomorrow, you wouldn¡¯t have to see me anymore?¡± Shame. Hot shame scalded me and my cheeks turned red, but he wasn¡¯t done. ¡°Onest tumble between the sheets before you go back to New York, right? I see how you must have thought that was the perfect n.¡±


    With hands on the underside of my thighs, he carried me off of him and dropped me on my side of the seat.


    I was an ass. Felt like one too. I was just d that I didn¡¯t smell like one.


    The n had been perfect in my head. I¡¯d believed that I was giving us what we both wanted. Except that when he said it, it sounded like an borate scheme that I¡¯d taken my time to cook up.


    Maybe I really had been selfish and I¡¯d failed to see it that way until he pointed it out, but it wasn¡¯t like we¡¯d nned on seeing each other when we both went back to New York, right? We¡¯d never talked about anything like that-not that I¡¯d given him a chance to-so what if I just wanted sex here and now, period? What if I hadn¡¯t thought as far as tomorrow?


    But I had. And it was what made everything wrong.

 33

    ¡°Alex¡­¡± He was staring out the window, a muscle ticking in his jaw, but the moment I called him, he turned to me and red at me through narrowed eyes that were still filled with heat. My lust had dulled to a low tempo but seeing his, reignited mine. It was like there was a string attached to us on both ends, pulling us together. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    His reaction to those two words was almostical. His eyes widened and his brows dove to his hairline. His lips parted, and the expression of absolute shock and disbelief on his face had me wondering if he¡¯d heard me correctly. Had I identally said the L word and not what I thought I¡¯d said?


    ¡°You¡¯re sorry?¡± The words wereced with disbelief.


    So he had heard me after all.


    I nodded.


    He turned from the window and faced me, letting me know that I was hisplete focus now. That I held all his attention. It made me want to run for the hills-or at least turn the other way-because Alex was intense and having him focus on me like that was doing things to me that I wasn¡¯t a hundred percent sure that I liked.


    My nipples tightened into painful little points inside my dress and when I moved, the material brushed against them, heightening the sensation. I was also suddenly very conscious of the fact that I wasn¡¯t wearing panties anymore, and I felt so empty, dying for any form of attention at all. It was also a bit hard for me to breathe due to the fact that I felt a pressure on my chest, which I knew was guilt, and it was threatening to suffocate me.


    I blinked, realising that I had been staring at him all this while. When he simply cocked a brow, I blushed.


    I. Freaking. Blushed.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    My cheeks went up in mes and I knew that if I looked in the mirror right now, there would be two huge spots of red colour on my face. It was so bloody confusing because, Jesus Christ, the man hadn¡¯t even said anything. He¡¯d simply given me a look and my entire world had felt it.


    Shit. I couldn¡¯t remember what I¡¯d been saying before.


    Right, I was apologising for acting like a giant ass.


    ¡°Yeah, so, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I didn¡¯t dare look up and meet his gaze. He was definitely watching me; I could feel the heat of his eyes on my body. ¡°It was wrong and selfish of me to have¡­wanted to do something like that without the slightest consideration about your feelings, and I¡¯m sorry.¡± The silence was deafening, and if I didn¡¯t know that the car was moving, I would have thought that we were frozen in time. The silence was too much for me, and I wanted to fill it up with anything. ¡°Alex, I get why you¡¯re mad at me, I swear. I would be too if the situations were reversed, but you have to understand that I want you so much and I thought that it would be a win-win for the both-¡±


    I was cut off rather abruptly-albeit thankfully-as Alex yanked me into him and kissed the ever-loving fuck out of me. It was a quick, hard kiss that ended entirely too quickly for my liking, then he dropped me back on my seat which wouldn¡¯t do at all.


    I wanted to be on him.


    But he held my chin between his thumb and forefinger and made me look up at him. ¡°You¡¯re precious, do you know that?¡±


    My heart gave that odd little clench it liked to give when I was around him but it wasn¡¯t enough to make me pull away from him this time. It didn¡¯t make me want to run like it usually did.


    His hand fell away from my chin and I thought that he was going to go back to ignoring me, so I mbered onto his thighs, giving him a sheepish smile when he grinned wide. Laughter shone in his eyes. He wasughing at me.


    Ask me if I cared. I liked that he wasn¡¯t angry anymore and if that meant he wasughing at me, then so be it. I¡¯d dly act a clown just to get him to give me one of his sexy smiles.


    He dragged a finger down my cheek and I shivered. ¡°I want to see you when we go back.¡±


    Now, that killed my mood instantly. ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Then no sex.¡± He shrugged and made to lift me off him but I batted his hands away.


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to have sex with me until I agree to see you when we get back?¡±


    ¡°Sharp as a de, Laura.¡±


    I red at him but he just stared at me nkly. Was he serious right now?


    When he just kept staring at me and I saw that there wasn¡¯t a single thread of amusement in his expression, I knew that he wasn¡¯t joking. He was serious as a heart attack. What the actual fuck?


    ¡°Do you realise how crazy that sounds?¡± I asked, appalled and rightfully angry. ¡°You¡¯re turning what should be us merely enjoying ourselves into a transaction.¡±


    Something flickered across his eyes then. ¡°Yeah, I know, and I¡¯m sorry.¡± I sensed a ¡®but¡¯ing. ¡°But you¡¯ve reduced me to this person that has to be cunning every single fucking second they spend with you, and if that is what I have to do to get you where I want you, then I don¡¯t care if it makes me a bad person.¡±


    My hand flew to my cor bone and I started fiddling with the ne I¡¯d worn earlier. ¡°And where do you want me?¡±


    His eyes shed. ¡°In New York with me.¡±


    Okay, that was incredibly specific.


    And why the hell did those words turn me on so much? I should have been insulted by them and running the other way. But I wasn¡¯t. Actually, I was pretty sure I was going to leave a wet spot on his pants.


    Should I agree to this? Should I not?


    I decided to weigh my options. If I agreed to see him, then that would mean spending more time with him and which would further mean putting one of us in danger. But it definitely wouldn¡¯t be me, that was for sure. And it wasn¡¯t like he could force me to feel anything-or stay-so I was safe.


    I could do it.


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    He blinked. ¡°Okay you¡¯re agreeing to the deal?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll see you in New York.¡±


    To say that he was surprised that I was agreeing would be the understatement of the century. Yet then his face split in a cheeky grin, full of excitement and heat, and it was then that I realised that the car had stopped moving because he opened the door.


    ¡°Great choice,¡± he said before stealing a quick kiss and stepping down from the car with my legs wrapped around him.

 34

    I could¡¯ve bet myst dor that I heard the sound of a door closing in hurry-and a huge part of me believed that it was Balery who must have been spying on us since the moment we arrived-but thankfully, as Alex walked up the stairs with me in his arms, we didn¡¯t run into anyone. Not even Drew or Jake.


    At least I didn¡¯t have to worry about exining to anyone why I had my limbs wrapped around him like a fucking octopus.


    ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    I looked up and saw that Alex had his eyes straight ahead as he climbed up the stairs, as they had been since we entered the house, so how was it possible that he¡¯d managed to know that I was thinking?


    ¡°I¡¯m not,¡± I lied.


    ¡°You are,¡± he countered, and I could see us going on like this if I didn¡¯t do something about it.


    Plus, were we even supposed to be talking when we should be fucking instead?


    ¡°How do you know that I¡¯m thinking?¡±


    ¡°I can literally hear you,¡± he purred and an involuntary shiver swept through me. His voice was deep and husky, and when he was turned on, it dropped octaves lower and became even more sexier. With the way he held me, my head was resting on his shoulder and whenever he spoke, his voice drifted across me like smoke. It kept me in a constant state of arousal and I couldn¡¯t wait for us to get to the room. His or mine, I didn¡¯t particrly care.


    ¡°Laura?¡± He pressed when I still didn¡¯t say anything.


    The walk up to the room was beginning to turn into a very long and boring one, so to take his mind off questioning me and back where it should be, I snaked one arm around his head, shoved it into his hair and kissed him.


    He groaned into my mouth, the sound a cross between surprise and annoyance, but he kissed me back and his hands dropped to my ass to hold me more firmly against him. Like this, with my dress hiked up to my hips and little-to-no-space between us, his hard cock pressed against my core deliciously and, God, to know that I was finally going to have him inside me after wanting him for such a long time.


    I didn¡¯t know how he did it but he somehow managed to walk the remaining distance to the room without taking his mouth off mine and before I knew it, I was on a bed, my hair spread out around me. His eyes roved over my body slowly as though he had all the time in the world and he nned on using every second of it until it was up. His eyes didn¡¯t leave my body still as he backed away to the door and locked it.


    When he started undressing, I sat up so that I could watch.


    Okay, I wasn¡¯t even going to pretend. Alex was hands down the hottest man I had ever met. He was big, ripped and just the right amount of muscr without being too bulky, and it was just painfully obvious that he kept his body in shape. Considering that a lot of guys let themselves go when they started to get rich, but he took out time to keep fit still-because a person didn¡¯t get to look the way he did without spending hours at the gym-earned him points in my book.


    ¡°There¡¯s no such thing as your eyes, Laura.¡± Alex jerked off his cufflinks like they had somehow wronged him, then proceeded to drag his inner white shirt off, his eyes hooded and jaws clenched tight. ¡°You have no idea what they do to me. No fucking idea, else you wouldn¡¯t look at me whenever we¡¯re not alone.¡±


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I breathed, leaning back to rest my weight on my hands.


    Finally extricating his hands from the sleeves of his shirt, he tossed it to join his jacket on the couch, then he began working on his belt as he made his way over to me in slow, purposeful strides.


    And me? I couldn¡¯t decide on where to look at on his body.


    His scowling face was flushed with lust and so fucking gorgeous, I wanted to draw him so that I could keep that expression forever, immortalising him. But then my eyes went down his neck and the way his beautifully tanned skin shone, made me want to go over to him and trace the ridges in his abdomen with my tongue.


    Yet, then I dragged my eyes even lower and when I saw the outline of his cock, I decided that was what I wanted my mouth on instead. It was so hard, running down the length of his thigh so obscenely, it brought the dirtiest things to mind. Dragging-yes, dragging because I didn¡¯t want to stop staring at him-my eyes back to his, I saw that the heat had quadrupled in his eyes and he was standing so close to me now.


    I spread my legs automatically to create space for him and he dropped to his haunches between them. He lifted one hand and pushed my hair behind my ear, running his index finger down my face while his thumb traced my lips. My tongue darted out and flicked at his finger, causing him to suck in a surprised breath.


    He shoved his thumb into my mouth just a tad and my panties grew wetter as I wrapped my lips around it and sucked, swirling my tongue around the finger for good measure. His nostrils red and he yanked his thumb out, recing his tongue with it in a searing kiss that had me letting go of the bed to wrap my hands around him.


    Again, he didn¡¯t let the kissst. He nibbled on the sides of my mouth before pulling back and meeting my eyes. ¡°You have the most expressive eyes. When you look at me, I can tell what you¡¯re thinking. With one look into your eyes, I have a good knowledge of what¡¯s going on inside your head and it¡¯s ufortable at times, but it is the only reason I¡¯m still here.¡± His eyes turned distant as they followed his index finger running down my side. ¡°They tell me what your mouth is too scared to say, and they¡¯re why I haven¡¯t given up just yet. Why I¡¯m still here in this room right now.¡±


    His words were a bit cryptic but if I dug deeper, I would find out that they probably weren¡¯t so hard to understand in the first ce. I just didn¡¯t want to try to understand them.


    This should just be what it was. He didn¡¯t have to try to make it into something more with some carefully crafted words.


    Except that I had asked him to tell me what my eyes did to him, hadn¡¯t I?


    Yes.


    Yes, I had. I¡¯d made my bed, but who said I had to lie on it?


    Reaching between us, I worked the button in his pants then pulled the zipper down. The slow hiss of it in the otherwise silent room made my blood boil with the promise of what was toe. Of what we were about to do.


    This was finally going to happen.


    After pulling his zipper down, I dipped my hand in, my head falling back on a moan when I felt him; hard. So bloody hard. I wrapped my fingers around him and stroked him through his briefs. Once, twice, before I decided that it wouldn¡¯t do.


    His ragged breathing in my ears spurred me on and I pushed at his hands digging into the bed on either sides of me. He grumbled in protest before letting me go and when he did, I turned until I was standing behind him and just like I¡¯d known that he would, he turned and sat on the bed to watch me, anticipating my next move.


    Those molten green eyes tracked my every movement, not missing a single thing as I gripped the hem of my gown in both hands, and dragged it up and over my head. Since he pocketed my panties earlier-and since I was not wearing a bra-it meant that I was standing in front of him naked and it was obviously too much for him to bear, yet he still managed to keep his ass on the bed.


    How was this man so controlled?


    At other times, I might find it admirable and hot as hell. I might even envy him of it-but not now. Not when the reins had been snatched out of my hands and I didn¡¯t have control of what happened anymore.


    Not when I was sopletely out of my mind with lust that I felt like I would die if he didn¡¯t put his hands on me this fucking moment.


    If I was lost to pleasure, then it was only fair that he should be too. I didn¡¯t want him holding back.


    I could run in four inch heels and I¡¯d never been scared of falling, but my desire made my legs wobbly and I could barely put one foot in front of the other as I made my way to him in my ck heels.


    His hand darted out to cup my breast when I reached him, giving it a firm squeeze, and even though lust coiled tighter inside me at the touch, I pushed him back on the bed with my index finger and there wasn¡¯t much opposition this time.


    Guess he was more willing to co-operate when I was in my birthday suit.


    ¡°Scoot up.¡±


    His eyes narrowed-probably over the fact that I was giving him orders and the alpha male in him was dying to take charge-and he watched me silently for a long minute before he did as I asked.


    I didn¡¯t waste any time at all.


    Crawling up until I was straddling his thighs, I went to work on getting his pants off. I was so distracted by the delicious swell in his briefs that I let the pants hang around his knees before crawling back to my position.


    ¡°Laura¡­¡± The voice was hoarse, filled with disbelief, hope, doubt. ¡°What are you doing?¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Hooking my hands into the waistband of his underwear, I met his eyes and said, ¡°I want you in my mouth.¡±


    His eyes red and he sucked in a stunned breath, pushing up on his elbows to¡­ what? Stop me?


    It was toote because I¡¯d freed his cock already and my mouth watered at the sight of it. At the thick, prominent veins that ran down the length of him. He felt like steel in my hand and at the same time, he felt velvety smooth.


    ¡°Baby,¡± Alex pulled my eyes to him again and I shuddered-in pleasure?-at the name. ¡°You don¡¯t have to-fuck.¡±


    My head lowered and I took him into my mouth.

 35

    He jerked up from the bed when I took him into my mouth, and I pushed him back down, pressing my palm t against his stomach. It quivered under my hand, a testament to the fact that he loved what I was doing to him. That his grip on control was slipping fast and right through his fingers and there was nothing he could do about it, but watch as I wrecked him.


    Letting him out of my mouth, I dragged my tongue along the side of him, tonguing those thick, prominent veins that ran down his length.


    ¡°Fuck,¡± he breathed as his head fell back on the bed.


    I dragged the hand on his stomach slowly downward, scratching him lightly with my nails and moaning when he shivered. Cupping his sac in my palm, I massaged them, squeezing lightly then releasing as I worked his cock. I bobbed my head up and down on him in quick sessions, then slipped him out until it was remaining just the tip, before I tightened my lips around him and sucked.


    My name was a steady cry on his lips at this point, and sucking him off was making me wet. If I could, I would touch myself and try to relieve myself of this ache, but as it was, my hands were full and my main focus was making Alexe.


    Maybe it was crazy that I so desperately wanted him toe, but I wanted it. I wanted it badly. The desire stemmed from the mere fact that Alex was a man that was always in control and the need to rip it right out of his hands was great. Watching him let go would probably be one of the highlights of my time here and I wanted it-desperately.


    ¡°Laura¡­¡± My hand slid to the base of him just then and I started stroking him with him still in my mouth, and whatever he¡¯d been about to say died on his lips. ¡°Fuck.¡±


    Letting go of his balls, I pushed my hair out of my face and lifted my head to look at him. He was watching me, eyes hooded, face flushed with his lust, and mouth wide open. He looked so fucking beautiful with his desire stark on his face like that, my thighs squeezed together and I felt more wetness pool at my core.


    I was not even joking right now, it ran down the inside of my thigh. That was how horny I was.


    And just from blowing him.


    I was drunk on the power he gave me. The feminine power that came with having a man in your bed,pletely lost to the pleasure that you were giving him to the point that he would do anything at that moment just to make sure that you put him out of his misery.


    The fact that Alex was a mountain of a man-one that usually clung so tightly to his control-only made me hotter.


    ¡°Squeeze me,¡± he told me in a silky voice, dark like smoke and just as weightless. ¡°Tighten your fingers around me-Yes just like that.¡± His voice was ragged and they caught on the words as I fluttered my tongue just under the huge cap of his cock, now purple with his building arousal. ¡°God, you suck me off so good.¡±


    Without warning, his fingers slid into my hair and tightened at the root of the tresses, then he started lifting his hips off the bed as he fucked my mouth. He was gentle, his thighs and abdomen bunched with tension.


    If his gentle thrusts hasn¡¯t been enough to let me know that he was holding back, his other hand fisting the sheets did. The veins on that hand stood out, the white sheets clutched tightly between his fingers as though if he let them go, then he wouldpletely lose control and that was what I wanted.


    Lightly, very lightly in order not to hurt him, I scraped my teeth along the length of him and his response was immediate. Goosebumps broke out across his skin and he gave one quick thrust of abandon into my mouth, groaning loudly, followed quickly by another one that had him hitting the back of my throat before he seemed to remember what he was doing then he forced himself to stop.


    He lifted me off him and I damn near moaned with loss as his erection slipped out of my mouth, still connected with a strand of saliva. Our eyes dropped to it at the same time, and I watched a full body shiver move through him. My pussy clenched around air.


    ¡°Fuck, Laura. I¡¯m so sorry.¡±


    Enthralled-and maybe even addicted-at the sight of his cock, huge and glistening with my saliva, I licked my lips. ¡°No. I want you to fuck my mouth.¡±


    He sucked in a surprised breath. ¡°I don¡¯t want to hurt you.¡±


    The words were airy. Light and low, and I wasn¡¯t sure whether it was me that didn¡¯t hearing him clearly or whether it was him that could barely formte words. My attention was divided as I watched his cock smack against his t stomach. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder how I¡¯d managed to fit him into my mouth, let alone get him to the back of my throat.


    And it was crazy because I was going to do it again.


    Wrapping my fingers around him, I threw him a look. ¡°You won¡¯t.¡±


    This time when I took him into my mouth, Alex didn¡¯t hold back.


    He fucked my mouth with so much abandon that I gagged. Honestly, I was surprised he had it in him, and the whole experience might have feltpletely alien had it not been for the praises he kept showering on me. He called me beautiful and precious and a miracle and how he couldn¡¯t believe that I was real. How I had to be one of the wonders of the world.


    I would never admit this out loud, but those words-words that I usually wouldn¡¯t want to hear and would very much rather be called a whore than receive praises like that-made me wetter and I considered bringing my hips to the bed just so that I could grind against it and relieve the ache I felt.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to make mee,¡± Alex informed me as he swelled inside my mouth, growing so big that my jaws began to hurt. ¡°Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.¡±


    Suddenly, he yanked my mouth off him and I was so bloody confused by the turn of events that it took me a minute to realise that he had lifted me and I was now straddling his narrow hips, his cock hard and purple and angry, positioned at my entrance.


    I stared up at him in confusion.


    ¡°When Ie, I want to be inside you.¡± The words were a harsh admission, the low light in the room casting his face in shadows, making him appear even bigger, more gorgeous, with his hair sweaty and sticking up in every direction on his head, which meant that he had been running his hands through it.


    He looked like a god. A sex god.


    Hell, how was it possible for a person to look this good?


    All of a sudden, I wanted that. Him,ing inside me. I suddenly wanted it more than anything else in the world at that moment.


    Rising up to my knees, I aligned him at my entrance, then I slid down.


    I didn¡¯t know what I had been expecting-maybe that I was going to just slide right down because I¡¯d had him inside me before-but this slight feeling of difort wasn¡¯t it. I felt too full, the veins of him rubbing against my walls and I could feel his pulse inside me. He was familiar, but he was also huge and no matter how wet or ready I was, it was still going to take work to get him fully inside me-and he knew it too.


    ¡°Jesus, you¡¯re so fucking tight,¡± he grunted, eyes squeezed shut in painful pleasure. I grew wetter, taking more of him inside me, but he stopped me with his hand on my hip, eyes flying open. ¡°Wait, you¡¯re going to hurt yourself.¡±


    I wanted to speak, but I couldn¡¯t formte words. Something was happening to me.


    He felt perfect. Right. Full. Amazing. Everything. I¡¯d never felt anything like it before and it knocked me off bnce for a bit.


    Why did he feel like that?


    His thumb ying with my clit pulled me out of my thoughts and, God, this thoughtful man. I forgot all about the pinch of difort and all I could think about was the pleasure of having him inside me again after such a long time. I began rocking on top of him, slowly at first, then faster.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°God, Laura,¡± he drawled out raggedly. ¡°Look at you taking all of me.¡±


    I had?


    Looking down, I saw that I had indeed taken all of him. No wonder I felt so full. So full, I was positive that if I pressed down on my stomach, I would feel him there. But there wasn¡¯t an ounce of difort anymore-just a familiar fullness that was expected with having a person of his size inside me.


    With my knees on either sides of him, I lifted and dropped back down, a loud moan falling from my lips at the sensation of him dragging along my walls. I threw my head back and rode him, eyes squeezed shut.


    I¡¯d already been wired since when I was sucking him so it didn¡¯t take long for my orgasm to start building. Alex let me lead for a while, simply content to hold onto my hips and watch me as I moved on him. Then he gripped my hips tighter and started fucking into me from underneath, topping from the bottom and controlling my movements to match his, moving me faster, hitting deeper.


    The tip of him brushed against my g-spot at the new angle and every thrust, every small movement, brought with it incredible pleasure. He was doing all the work now and all I could do was stay there suspended above him, ying with my nipples because I needed to do something. Anything. I felt like I was going to go crazy with pleasure.


    His movements became more frantic, fucking me harder than he¡¯d been before and on one particr thrust, he mmed deep inside me and held himself there. ¡°Come,¡± he ordered, green eyes shing.


    Maybe my orgasm was already on the precipice waiting to crash into me, or maybe the order did it. Actually, it must have been both because the second he told me toe, I did.


    My orgasm mmed into me like a freight train and I shrieked, the pleasure almost too much for my body to contain. It was by far the most powerful orgasm I¡¯d ever had and by the time thest wave coursed through me, I was weak, my body floating like a rag-doll above his.


    I fell on him, my eyes growing heavy with satiation. Tiredness.


    That was, until I found myself suddenly flipped around, face down. My head was shoved into the sheets and my hips, lifted. Then I felt him slide inside me, hot, hard, and long and I moaned into the pillow.


    He wasn¡¯t done.


    At all.

 36

    I slept in his room that night.


    It wasn¡¯t something that I¡¯s consciously done; By the time he was done with me, the only thing that had been on my mind was sleep and I¡¯d slipped right into it without giving a damn whose bed-or room-it was.


    Then I¡¯d woken up the next morning, sat up on the bed, blinked at the strangeness of the ce, then I¡¯d turned, taken one look at the sexy hunk of a man lying beside me-the same one who¡¯d had his hands firmly around me like he hadn¡¯t wanted to let go even in his sleep-at the tattoos bared with the sheets around his waist, and I hadn¡¯t felt so bad about not waking up in my own room.


    So what had I done?


    I¡¯d woken him up with a blowjob, alternating between sucking his dick and tracing his tattoos with my tongue. Then after quite some time ofzing there like a king, simply enjoying my attentions on him, he¡¯d flipped us around and fucked the shit out of me-with me facing away from him.


    I was shitting all over my rules and it wasn¡¯t half as bad as I¡¯d thought it would be. Actually, I loved it.


    Fast forward to the present. I was sitting on his bed, waiting for him to fish out something from his closet that I could wear-again-because try as I might, I couldn¡¯t walk out of here in the same flimsy gown I¡¯d wornst night without feeling like I¡¯d had a one night stand and gotten kicked out of the room before it even got bright out.


    He came back out with clothes clutched in his hand. I looked anywhere but at him when he produced the blue T-shirt, then Iughed when he showed me the briefs he¡¯d snagged alongside it.


    ¡°What?¡± He grinned. ¡°They¡¯re new.¡±


    Rising from the bed, I wore the shirt, hyper aware of Alex¡¯s eyes on me the entire time. I contemted leaving with just the shirt. I mean, it already hung to my knees and if by chance I miraculously ran into anyone in the hallway, they wouldn¡¯t be able to see a damn thing. I was covered.


    But then I turned and saw the way he was looking at me. Like the mere sight of me in this baggy-as-hell shirt was sexy and he wanted to eat me up, and I knew that it wasn¡¯t entirely about me being covered. He wanted to see his things on me.


    I tried to convince myself that the only reason why I was collecting the briefs from him and wearing it was because I wanted to, and not because he wanted me to. Definitely not to satisfy him. To please him. But even if my mind wanted to lie, my body couldn¡¯t, and it was why dragging the material up my legs was ten times hotter than it should have been.


    It felt like he was watching me undress-when I was doing the actual opposite.


    I felt weird and horny and all kinds of shit.


    Tightening my hands around my dress, I hugged it to my chest. ¡°Okay¡­um¡­see youter, I guess.¡±


    Jesus. Why did that sound more like a question than a statement?


    First thing when I was safely inside my room, I was going to bang my head against the wall repeatedly until whatever had gone wrong in there became right again, because I obviously wasn¡¯t thinking well as it was.


    My hand was already on the doorknob, turning it, when I felt a tug on my hand. My chest collided with Alex¡¯s as he swooped down and kissed me. It was a slow and sensual kiss, and it made my toes curl.


    I didn¡¯t even realise that I¡¯d dropped my gown until he broke the kiss with one final swipe of his tongue against mine, bent to retrieve the gown, shoved it back into my hands, then gave my ass a yful smack.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you.¡±


    He would.


    God help me, I was starting to believe that he really would, and that he wouldn¡¯t have to strong-arm me into going. Hell, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if I picked up the phone the minute I got back home in New York and asked to see him.


    What was happening to me? Was he casting some sort of spell on me?


    That was the only exnation I had as to why I acted the way I did when I was around him.


    With every step I took, I felt the echoes of what didst night. More-than-subtle reminders of the way he had felt inside me. How he¡¯d moved. How he¡¯d worked my body like he was the master of it. And maybe he was.


    It was crazy how freakishly good he was at it. I hadn¡¯t given much thought to it before because I didn¡¯t particrly care-I¡¯d gotten orgasms, he¡¯d gotten his; we were good-but now that I was actually thinking about it, a person didn¡¯t get that good without practice. Lots of it.


    Years and years of it.


    Okay, and?


    He wasn¡¯t the only one that had been-hell, how was I thinking this with a straight face?-practicing. I had too, and I didn¡¯t see him giving me shit about it. Even though I technically wasn¡¯t giving him shit right now. He probably wasn¡¯t thinking about it either.


    Was this me being a hypocrite? And for what reason?


    Why did I suddenly care if he¡¯d had years of practice with other women? Why was it eating me up so badly?


    Shaking my head-and the ufortable thoughts away-I went inside my room and shut the door. I still had time to arrange thest of my stuff before we needed to leave, and I was doing just that when I heard a light knock on my door.


    It was terribly shameful, the way my heart sped up at the prospect that Alex had not been able to stop thinking about me either and that he¡¯de. My steps were measured, forcefully controlled, as I made my way over and pulled the door open.


    I had never felt so disappointed to see Balery¡¯s excited face.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Seriously. What was she even doing in my room at 6:30 on the day we went back home when she should have been screwing her husband¡¯s brains out?


    Stepping out of the way, I made room for her to pass. I could literally feel the excited energy rolling off of her. Knowing Balery, she¡¯d probably been watching us through the curtains as Alex and I went on our date. Maybe she¡¯d even stood there and waited for us until we¡¯de back. I wouldn¡¯t put it past her.


    She was a sweet thing. But she was also crazy.


    Sometimes.


    ¡°So¡­¡± she began, drawing out the word as she perched her bottom on the edge of my bed, steepling her fingers in front of her. Why did she suddenly look like my high school principal? ¡°Is there any particr reason why you¡¯re up so early?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t stop myself from rolling my eyes. ¡°Yes, there is. I¡¯m packing.¡±


    She couldn¡¯t prove that it was a lie because it actually was the truth. I mean, my clothes weren¡¯t why I¡¯d woken up at five-they definitely had nothing to do with where my mouth had been just an hour ago-but I was packing, and she could see that from my open bags.


    A frown settled over her face, and she decided to use another tactic. ¡°I noticed you weren¡¯t in your roomst night.¡±


    Rolling my eyes again, I went back to packing. ¡°Are you trying to ask if I went on a date with Alexst night?¡± I didn¡¯t wait for her to answer. ¡°Because I did. It was divine. Then we came back home and fucked within an inch of our lives.¡± I paused. ¡°That, too, was divine.¡±


    She was silent for a while. Such a long while that I had to stop what I was doing and turn to look at her. Her mouth was hanging open, her cheeks flushed and eyes zed. She looked like I did this morning after Alex had given me two orgasms. I know because I¡¯d caught my expression in the mirror when I¡¯d gone into his bathroom to clean up.


    ¡°Earth to Balery.¡±


    She blinked, shifted on the bed, then cleared her throat loudly. She looked sort of lost for a moment, as though confused by her surroundings. Then the look of confusion gave way to a wide smile. ¡°A date?!¡±


    I blinked. Was that what I¡¯d called it?


    Whatever. I wasn¡¯t in the mood to think about what yesterday was and what it wasn¡¯t because that would only make me think about the man and I was actively trying to avoid that.


    ¡°Mhm.¡± I shrugged like it was no big deal and went back to packing just so that I could have something to do with my hands. So that she wouldn¡¯t have to see the expression on my face and call me out on my lie, the big fat liar that I was now turning into whenever it concerned Alex.


    Ugh.


    ¡°Are you¡­¡± She started. Stopped. ¡°Are you guys going to keep seeing each other?¡±


    I sighed, crushed by the heavy weight of my pretentious facade.


    Wasn¡¯t that the main problem?

 37

    The flight was short and uneventful.


    I admit that it was mostly-okay, entirely-because I spent the time over-thinking my and Alex¡¯s¡­rtionship¡­to death. The fact that he¡¯d been right there hadn¡¯t helped either.


    He¡¯d wanted to sit with me, I could tell, but then he¡¯d taken one look at my face and swivelled right, opting to sit next to Drew instead. Apparently, I didn¡¯t give Drew enough credit for his observatory skills because he¡¯d witnessed the whole thing-the wink he¡¯d given me after was confirmation enough.


    I¡¯d rolled my eyes and looked way.


    Not surprisingly, Drew and I had gotten closer over the month and we had ns of having coffee together when we¡¯d all settled back into our normal daily routines. He knew the status of my rtionship with Alex but he didn¡¯t know that I¡¯d agreed to meet with him when we got back, mainly because he didn¡¯t need to know. Plus, it hadn¡¯te up in any of our conversations.


    That was why he knew that Alex and I were fucking each other¡¯s brains out, and the others didn¡¯t. They only had suspicions that none of them could confirm except we-me and Alex-told them-or they caught us red-handed, which was highly unlikely.


    Now, Alex might be stubborn-as-hell and just as ruthless when he wanted to get his way, but he also knew that he¡¯d technically strong-armed me into agreeing too see him off Miami grounds-which, obviously, I was not happy about-and making a statement by sitting with me would have been pushing it.


    I was a rubber band being stretched, my world and what I was used to, being distorted. There was only so much I could take before I reached my limit and snapped.


    When wended, Balery engulfed me in a hug. ¡°I¡¯ll text you when we get home. Remember we still have to-¡± Whatever she¡¯d been about to say died on her lips as her eyes trailed over my shoulder. A mischievous smile settled on her lips and I knew that whatever was about to happen, it was only going to be fun for one of us. And it wasn¡¯t me.


    Then I felt a presence behind me that caused the hair at my nape to stand on end.


    It would be childish, pretending that I didn¡¯t know someone was there-or who that person was-but I guess along with my Economics degree, I had bagged one in stupidity as well because I kept on standing stiffly with my back to him, pleading with Balery with widened eyes to save me. To not walk away.


    A twinkle in her eyes, she turned and walked away, and I was left staring at her retreating back.


    A throat cleared behind me and I groaned inwardly.


    God, this is going to be so awkward.


    I turned and sucked in a startled breath. Damn, but the man was handsome. More handsome than he¡¯d been when we first met. How was that even possible?


    Maybe he had super powers that made him appear more attractive by the day. Or maybe he was an incubus. That would exin a lot of things. For example, how he was so effing sexy, so good in bed, and how he made mee back to him over and over again even after I¡¯d told myself that I wouldn¡¯t.


    Perhaps he had me under a spell.


    It was then that I realised that we had been staring at each other without saying anything. Two fucking creeps.


    ¡°You look-¡±


    ¡°Do you-¡±


    We stopped. Our eyes met.


    His lips twitched with suppressedughter. ¡°You go first.¡±


    ¡°You look good.¡± I said honestly. ¡°Miami is-was very good for you.¡±


    It was the truth. His tan had grown deeper from the days spent lying under the sun, which made his green eyes just that much more greener-and intense-and his teeth, whiter.


    His lips parted in surprise, whether because he hadn¡¯t needed to force me into having a conversation with him or because I¡¯dplimented him, I didn¡¯t know.


    He blinked, regaining himself. ¡°I-Thank you.¡± I thought I saw faint colour stain his cheekbones, but I couldn¡¯t be sure. ¡°I was going to ask. Do you need a ride?¡±


    Oh.


    He wanted to give me a ride. How very thoughtful of him.


    ¡°I already ordered one. The car should be here any moment from now.¡± At that exact moment, my phone beeped, notifying me that the driver had arrived and was waiting for me. I waved it at him so he would know that I wasn¡¯t just brushing him off, although I wasn¡¯t sure why I suddenly cared what he thought. ¡°Thanks for offering though.¡± I said, forcing a grin.


    There was a brief sh of disappointment in his eyes, then he blinked and it was gone.


    I was all out of sorts. His presence was familiar and oddly soothing, but it also made me edgy and I hated it when I was on edge. It made me feel like everyone was onto me, like they could see through me and read my thoughts the way one read an open book.


    That was how I felt right now. I couldn¡¯t let him know that he made me nervous. Nothing good coulde of it.


    ¡°Of course,¡± was all he said, and I managed to drag my eyes away from his green ones long enough to nce around. All the others had left and it was remaining just me and Alex-and a sleek ck sedan parked several feet away from us.


    My instincts told me that the sedan was his ride. I didn¡¯t know much about cars-I definitely wasn¡¯t a car freak-but if cars could match with people, then this was the perfect one for him. He¡¯d also look hot as hell driving a Range Rover.


    I blinked. When had I suddenly developed a car fetish?


    Tightening my grip on the handle of my luggage, I looked up at him. My breath hitched when I saw that he¡¯d been watching me this entire time. ¡°So, I¡¯ll see you?¡±


    In that moment, I wished I had the ability to fast forward the hands of time to when I was safely in the car, on my way home.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    When he just kept on staring at me, a zed look settling over his eyes that had me wondering if he¡¯d even heard me at all, I hiked my clutch higher on the shoulder of my left hand and turned, prepared to walk away.


    Alex was starting to give me stalker vibes. Okay, maybe stalker was pushing it a bit too far. The word, crazy, was more fitting.


    I didn¡¯t believe in false humility. I knew that I was pretty-I saw myself almost everyday in the mirror and I got a lot ofpliments-but I wasn¡¯t that pretty. Pretty enough to render a man speechless, I mean.


    Before I could slip away, his hand snagged around mine, stopping me. I turned to him with raised brows.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have your number.¡±


    I opened my mouth. Then closed it again because, shit. He didn¡¯t have my number.


    I groaned inwardly, recalling how I¡¯d casually said ¡®I¡¯ll see you¡¯ and turned to walk away. How had I nned on usmunicating? Sending a pigeon back and forth with handwritten letters?


    He pulled out his cell and I rattled off my digits to him. He dialled it immediately so that I¡¯d be able to save his number, and only then did he let me go.


    I made sure to tip the driver and give him five stars for his patience before dragging my luggage into the building and the elevator. Maybe it was because I just saw him less than an hour ago, but standing in an elevator suddenly reminded me of how Alex and I met. It had been lust at first sight, and seeing how the sexual tension between us hadn¡¯t dulled at all, I realised there was no way we would have been able to walk away from each other that night. The pull between us was just too strong. Near impossible to fight.

 38

    Janice, my next door neighbour, was justing out of her apartment by the time I stepped out of the elevator.


    Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw me, her smile warm and weing. ¡°Laura, you¡¯re back!¡± She hurried over to hug me. ¡°I don¡¯t even have to ask how your vacation went because you¡¯re basically glowing. How are the newly wedded couple?¡±


    She knew who Balery was because thetter visited me a lot, and she also knew about the wedding that had taken cest month.


    ¡°They¡¯re great. How¡¯s Will?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s doing great.¡± She tilted her head in the direction of the elevator. ¡°I was just about to go pick him up from school actually.¡±


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t let me keep you then.¡±


    Janice was a single mom, and Will, a chubby cute little thing with his mom¡¯s eyes and a head full of curly hair, was her son.


    She smiled, squeezing me in a hug once more before hurrying down the hallway. ¡°So d you¡¯re back, Laura!¡±


    I dumped my bag in my living room and instantly sighed, breathing in the familiar smell of the ce-and maybe also dust. I was going to have to do a lot of cleaning and unpacking, but I backed out of the house still, locked it and took the elevator down.


    There was somewhere I needed to be first.


    The white and cream coloured bungalow I stood in front of would probably always give me mixed feelings for as long as I lived. At first, it bathed my stomach in warmth, like a ray of sunlight had touched my insides, then the feeling of warmth would disappear and my stomach would twist and turn, like it was filled with acid instead.


    And why wouldn¡¯t the sight of the house make me feel conflicting emotions when I¡¯d seen the only person I loved at their happiest, only for that happiness to be snatched away, taking the victim¡¯s soul and in its ce, the shell of the woman I once knew.


    The shell of Elena Heartfield, also known as my mother.


    Jo was the first to see me.


    She was standing outside, speaking on the phone so she didn¡¯t see me at first because her attention was elsewhere. But as I drew closer to the house, her head lifted and her eyes collided with mine-so did her body, when she¡¯d finally gotten over the shock of seeing me.


    It wasn¡¯t like me to show up unannounced and I hadn¡¯t visited in a while, hence the surprise.


    ¡°Laura! Oh my God, why didn¡¯t you say that you wereing? I would have baked. Maybe enough for you to take some back home.¡± She pulled away from me, looking like she genuinely felt bad, which brought a smile to my face. The first real one I¡¯d had all day.


    She was such a sweet soul.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t nned.¡± I lied to make her feel better. ¡°I arrived not up to an hour ago and I needed to see a friend who lives in the area, so I just decided, since I¡¯m already here, why not check up on you guys?¡±


    She nodded slowly and hiked her thumb over her shoulder. ¡°She¡¯s in the kitchen.¡± Why wasn¡¯t that surprising? ¡°I¡¯ll be in soon. I just need to see this call through.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Take your time.¡± I gave her shoulder a light squeeze as I passed.


    The sight of mom sitting on a stool and staring out the kitchen window sent a sharp pain through my chest. The cause of the pain wasn¡¯t the fact that she was sitting on a stool. It was what she was doing.


    She was drifting.


    From this world into another where she had everything her heart desired. Everything she wished she had everyday, and try as I might to be mad at her that she couldn¡¯t just take what she had and make peace with it, I couldn¡¯t because I, too, wasing to realise that sometimes, no matter what we got, what we thought we had, it would never really be able to fill the absence in our lives that we so desperately wanted to fill.


    ¡°Mom,¡± I croaked.


    No response.


    I drew closer and tried again. ¡°Mom.¡±


    She might as well be in another dimension-which she undoubtedly was-because she didn¡¯t shake or show any signs that she knew there was someone else in the room. She still stared out the window, unmoving.


    A heavy lump formed in my throat as I went over to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. I withdrew my hand quickly when she jerked violently and whipped her head around, confusion and surprise written clearly all over her features.


    ¡°Laura?¡± She asked, surprised. ¡°You¡¯re here?¡±


    I didn¡¯t trust myself to speak so soon, so I simply nodded.


    ¡°How on earth are you here? I didn¡¯t even know you had arrived.¡±


    Bracing my hands on the ind, I leaned back against it. ¡°Came back about an hour ago.¡±


    She nodded and we just stood there, staring at each other.


    I was a mirror image of my mom, with her dark hair, small and curvy frame, grey eyes, lips, and even the shape of her face. From the back, she could easily be mistaken for me, if for the little differences.


    The lines in her face, the dullness of her eyes, the tightness around her mouth, the signs of grey starting to show in her hair, and the overall air of weariness she carried herself with.


    Seeing her in this light terrified me. To know that she had once been like me; young, happy and full of life, only to have everything sucked out of her sopletely in the span of years. In just four years, she had aged more than she had in her entire life.


    It scared me to think that what happened to my mother could happen to me if I wasn¡¯t careful and I would end up being her-soulless and bitter.


    Today was my first seeing her in a very very long time.


    I should be happy to see her.


    But I couldn¡¯t summon an ounce of happiness from inside me. All I felt was anger and hurt. So much hurt.


    There were a lot of things I could say to her right now. That I¡¯d missed her. That I wanted to organise a day for us to spend quality time together. That I fucking loved her. But I couldn¡¯t bring myself to say either of those things. The words stayed trapped inside my throat and the only thing that managed toe out was:


    ¡°How did your visit with the doctor go?¡±


    Her face shuttered. ¡°I told you. It was fine.¡±


    Yes, she did. Buttely, I was beginning to realise that I had better chances trusting a snake than her.


    ¡°Can I see the report?¡±


    She stood up straighter. ¡°What for? I already told you what he said. Do you think I¡¯m lying to you?¡±


    Yes. Maybe.


    I rubbed my eyes, shaking my head. ¡°No, mom, it¡¯s not that. I just want to see-¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s my report. My body.¡± She snapped, eyes narrowing. ¡°You have no right to demand to see it.¡±


    Except that I paid for it.


    Her defensiveness and harsh tone brought an unwee rush of tears to my eyes and I had to keep my eyes open for fear that if I blinked, they would fall.


    I hated this. I hated crying, I hated feeling, and I hated my mom for making me feel like this.


    Wrapping my arms around myself, I said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to fight, mom.¡± I hated the way my voice cracked on thest two words.


    Mom looked away. She¡¯d never been able to stand the sight of tears-or emotions in general. Another thing I got from her.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t,¡± she muttered, but I heard the catch in her voice. The situation was getting to her too.Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    Before I could say anything else, Jo bounded into the kitchen, the ball of light to the darkness that was me and my mother.


    ¡°Laura, you have to tell me all about Miami,¡± Jo fitted her hand through mine. ¡°I want to visit, but until then, I¡¯ll settle for living vicariously through you.¡±


    My throat felt too tight for me to swallow. There were so many feelings bottled up inside me that I just wanted to scream until I felt marginally better, but I couldn¡¯t. Not in front of my mom and definitely not in front of Jo.


    So I swallowed everything back down, no matter how hard it was, and turned to Jo with a forced smile, doing what I did best.


    Pretending.

 39

    Running.


    Between work and my personal life, it wasn¡¯t something that I had the chance to do alot. Frankly, it wasn¡¯t something that I enjoyed doing. I only did it when I was super stressed and needed to clear my head.


    But considering that I hadn¡¯t done it in a very long time¡­ well, it exined why I was panting for air just thirty minutes into the run.


    Slowing to a stop, I leaned against the wall of a tall building, doubling over and bracing my hands on my knees as I struggled to catch my breath. When I heard the sounds of footsteps fast approaching, I straightened and stered on a fake smile as though I gave a fuck whoever this person was.


    As if I wasn¡¯t seconds away from crumbling to the ground in a heap of sweat and messy thoughts.


    The owner of the footsteps I¡¯d heard jogged past. It was a female jogger and she hadn¡¯t even spared me a nce.


    I swiftly went back to bracing my hands on my knees and breathing out through my mouth, my head clouded with worries, thoughts I hadn¡¯t seeded in getting rid of even with my run.


    Mom.


    Alex.


    Thankfully, Jo hadn¡¯t left us alone for the remainder of my visit, else it would have been unbearably awkward and ufortable for the both of us. By us, I meant mom and I. I¡¯d ended up leaving without giving her a hug-which I usually did-and it was Jo that had walked me to the front porch-which mom usually did.


    The poor teenager had probably felt the tension in the air between us, so she¡¯d filled the silence up with talk about Miami. She¡¯d hesitated slightly when she¡¯d walked me to the front porch and I¡¯d known that she wanted to ask what was up, but she never found the courage to-which was good because I hadn¡¯t wanted to talk about it. I still didn¡¯t.


    I really wanted to stop thinking about it. Needed to. But the thoughts just wouldn¡¯t leave me the fuck alone.


    I had my own shit to deal with. I didn¡¯t have to worry about my mother-who obviously didn¡¯t want me to worry about her, mind you- on top of everything else. It was an unwee distraction, and I hadn¡¯t been able to focus on anything else ever since.


    Then there was Alex.


    That subject wasn¡¯t even something I wanted to touch with a ten foot pole, but I¡¯de to realise that it didn¡¯t matter whether I wanted to think about him or not. He was in my head, his presence, huge and powerful and impossible to ignore.


    Between him and mother, I was positive that I was going to go crazy.


    I guess the reason I ran whenever I was stressed was because it made me feel like I was running away from my problems in a sense. During that period of time, my attention was divided, my head was blissfully empty, the morning breeze was nothing short of soothing, and I had my headphones on, listening to therapeutic music.


    Nothing could touch me during that time. But for some reason, it had stopped working-at least right now, it wasn¡¯t.


    I didn¡¯t know how long I stayed there in that position, but it wasn¡¯t until I heard my phone ring that I pushed up, leaning fully against the building as I looked at the caller.


    ¡°Hi, Bales.¡±


    ¡°Laura.¡± Her voice was groggy and sleepy, proving that she¡¯d just woken up, which made sense because it wasn¡¯t even 7am yet. ¡°How are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m good. What¡¯s up?¡±


    The day was starting to get brighter with every minute that passed, and I couldn¡¯t keep standing by the building without looking like a total creep if one of the upants came out and saw me.


    I began walking at a slow pace without a destination in mind, yet knowing that I couldn¡¯t go back home so soon. My head was still clouded and I wouldn¡¯t be able to focus on anything even if I tried.


    There was some shuffling on her end, then I heard the unmistakable sound of spoon nking against a ceramic cup. ¡°I was making coffee and thought about you.¡±


    A rush of warmth apanied her words, and right on its heels, was the answer to my destination problem.


    Coffee.


    I could go get coffee at any shop and stay there for a while. The change of scenery would no doubt clear my head-even if for a little while. And I wouldn¡¯t have to search for long, there was at least one coffee shop in each street.


    ¡°Why are you up so early?¡± Balery asked.


    ¡°The same reason I get up early every other single day, of course.¡± My steps quickened now that I had a destination in mind. ¡°I have to go to work.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not going to work today,¡± she said matter-of-fact.


    ¡°What do you mea-¡±


    Shit.? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    That night in Miami when she¡¯de into my room to plunder me with questions about Alex, I¡¯d told her that I¡¯d take a day off after we arrived to rest before going back to work.


    That I¡¯d rather lie than tell her the truth about something so small just showed the kind of ¡®best friend¡¯ I was. I was ashamed of myself.


    Shaking my head, I said, ¡°Yeah, you caught me. I don¡¯t know why I even lied in the first ce.¡± A coffee shop came into sight and I hurried towards it. ¡°I stepped out for a run.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± There was a pause. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    She asked the question softly. So softly that it caused a lump of emotion to form in my throat.


    I lied.

 40

    There was a reason I hadn¡¯t told her the truth. It was because I knew she would worry.


    Balery knew that I ran whenever I was stressed-we were roommates before she met Jack and moved out-and she would want to know what was wrong and help in any way that she could. She always did.


    But she couldn¡¯t help.


    I stepped to the side to let a woman pass, before entering the shop. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, Bales. It¡¯s been a while since I ran, you know. Plus, I need to lose the extra weight I gained from doing literally nothing in Miami.¡±


    You¡¯d be surprised how easily lies came once you¡¯d already started it. It was like I¡¯d pushed an ¡®ON¡¯ button and now, they wouldn¡¯t stop pouring out of me.


    ¡°Laura-¡±


    ¡°I just entered a coffee shop and the coffee here smells divine.¡± I cut her off. ¡°I think I just found a new spot for us.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    From her tone, she knew what I was doing but but was just trying to go along with it.


    Don¡¯t get me wrong. It wasn¡¯t that I didn¡¯t want to tell Balery about the things that gued me. It definitely wasn¡¯t that I liked keeping secrets. It¡¯s just that there was literally nothing she could do to help me and telling her about it would be pointless.


    It would only cause her to worry for nothing and what would be the point in that? What was the point in bringing something out in the open when nothing would be done about it?


    ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s¡­¡± My eyes travelled the little shop. ¡°Small and cozy. Warm.¡± A small smile touched my lips when I spotted a table by the corner that had a direct view of the street. ¡°It¡¯s actually kind of cute,¡± I told her, entering the queue to ce my order.


    The line wasn¡¯t that long, so it moved pretty quickly. I assumed the good customer service also contributed to that too.


    It got to my turn in no time and I paid, d that I¡¯d shoved some bills into the pocket of my joggers before leaving. I didn¡¯t go anywhere without cash-it was a habit I¡¯d developed after an embarrassing experience in uni.


    As I made my way to the spot I¡¯d marked earlier, I realised that Balery had fallen silent. ¡°Bales, you still there?¡±


    Chair scraped along the floor. ¡°Yes. Yes. You were ordering and I didn¡¯t want to interrupt. Also, I think Jack just woke up.¡±


    ¡°Oh, thetest groom in town. Say hi to him for me.¡± I took a sip of my coffee and ced it on the table. ¡°Also, realistically, how long do you think your honeymoon is going tost?¡±


    She¡¯d said two weeks before, to which I¡¯d responded that there was no way Jack was going to let her go back to work that quickly-which was what actually happened. Two weeks had turned into a month, which was now turning into two and none of them were talking about going back to work yet.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I wasn¡¯t going to lie, it amazed me how they could be with each other 24/7 everyday and not tire of seeing each other¡¯s faces. Sometimes, I wanted to ask her but always held myself back at thest minute because I knew she would go into a long epistle about love and I did not want to hear it.


    ¡°This week is thest.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°Famousst words. You said that a-¡±


    ¡°Is this seat taken?¡± A deep voice interrupted me. I looked up only to find a guy standing there, his hand braced on the second chair at the table.


    ¡°It obviously isn¡¯t,¡± I answered.


    ncing around, I saw that there were a few other empty tables, just like I¡¯d suspected. He¡¯d decided toe here because he wanted to hit on me and for some reason, the thought wasn¡¯t appealing at all.


    Stealing a nce up at him, I catalogued his features.


    He was tall, brown-haired, with brown eyes to match. He was actually drop dead gorgeous, now that I was actually looking at him, and his cheekbones were to die for. He had a runners body, long and lithe, and from the way his cheeks flushed, he¡¯d caught me looking.


    Not in the least bit affected, I grabbed my phone, unlocked it, and started scrolling through Picturegram. I had Balery on headphones so it didn¡¯t affect the call.


    I wasn¡¯t doing anything important-I was liking and responding toments on my posts-I just wanted to discourage him from striking conversation with me.


    Balery was suspiciously quiet and I knew it was because she¡¯d caught on to what was happening.


    The entire thing was painfully awkward-for him, not me. I busied myself on my phone. He tried to make small talk twice and when he eventually got the memo that I wasn¡¯t interested, he slid away with a murmured ¡°Good talk.¡±


    ¡°Oh my God, what was that?¡± Balery guffawed the second he walked away.


    I couldn¡¯t hold back the grin that spread across my face. ¡°I think he was going to ask for my number.¡±


    ¡°Well, why didn¡¯t you encourage him?¡± She couldn¡¯t hide the curiosity in her voice even if she¡¯d tried. ¡°What did he look like?¡±


    ¡°Tall. Very handsome. Had eyes like melted chocte and killer cheekbones.¡± It was after listing his features out loud that I realised with a start that he was the type of guy I usually hooked up with.


    He was handsome, avable and interested in me, all three things that mattered. Why had I pushed him away?


    ¡°He sounds like your type,¡± Balery confirmed what I already knew. ¡°So why weren¡¯t you interested?¡±


    ¡°I just¡­ wasn¡¯t.¡± I saidmely.


    She hesitated before saying, ¡°Do you think Alex has something to do with it?¡±


    I snorted so hard, I was surprised coffee didn¡¯te out from my nose. ¡°Please. He has absolutely nothing to do with this.¡±


    He didn¡¯t.


    He couldn¡¯t.


    I simply wasn¡¯t interested in the brown-eyed man and that was that. It definitely wasn¡¯t because of someone who still hadn¡¯t texted me since we arrived even though he¡¯d undoubtedly had several chances to.


    I mean, how busy could he possibly be?


    Busy or not, he had no influence in myck of interest and that was the truth.


    It was.

 41

    LAURA


    ¡°Damn,¡± someone muttered.


    If I had to guess, my outfit was what prompted the cursing.


    Looking up from my phone, I found Derrick, a guy who lived in my building, standing there. Actually, it looked like he¡¯d abruptly paused mid-stride. His eyes were wide as they dragged down my form, and I was positive that if he kept his mouth open much longer, he¡¯d attract flies.


    I was right after all. It was my outfit.


    ¡°Hi, Derrick.¡± I gave him a small smile and briskly continued walking. I was almost out of the building when he caught up to me, stopping me with a gentle grip on my elbow.


    My smile slipped. I gave him a look, then dropped my eyes to his hand on my elbow pointedly.


    He took the hint, smiling sheepishly as his hand fell back to his side. ¡°Sorry.¡± His eyes darted away as he rubbed his neck, so nervous I could almost taste it. ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ I¡¯ve been trying to reach you.¡± When I simply cocked a brow, he swallowed. ¡°Y-you didn¡¯t respond to my texts or calls, and when I asked about you from your neighbour, she said you¡¯d travelled. I didn¡¯t even know you were back.¡±


    Of course you didn¡¯t know I was back.


    And of course I didn¡¯t respond to your calls.


    When he¡¯d asked for my number, I hadn¡¯t hesitated to give it to him because he¡¯d seemed like a nice guy. I hadn¡¯t known that it was so that he would gue me with calls and annoying texts. He¡¯d asked to hang out one time to which I¡¯d t out told him no. I¡¯d expected him to back away after that-even if not for me, for himself-but it had only made him that much more determined.


    Maybe I needed to stop treating him nicely.


    Pressing the power button on my phone, I checked the time and saw that I only had eight minutes to get to my destination. One minuteter and I would bete.


    ¡°Listen, Derrick,¡± I began and his light blue eyes jumped to mine eagerly. ¡°I actually have to be somewhere right now. Maybe we¡¯ll talk another time.¡±


    His face fell in obvious disappointment but he nodded quickly, rubbing his neck again. ¡°Of course. Some other time.¡±


    Giving him a tight smile, I hurried outside to g down a cab. I didn¡¯t have to turn to know that he was still standing outside the building and that his eyes were still on me. I could me my current outfit for that, but I would only be lying because Derrick had been into me for a while now. I¡¯d thought it was something that would go away-or at least that he would get over it-if I showed him that I wasn¡¯t interested, but he was either the most oblivious man on earth or the most optimistic one.


    Honestly, Icked the patience to deal with him.


    I ended up being twelve minuteste, thanks to traffic.


    And was it a bit pathetic that I¡¯d been staring at my phone while I was stuck in traffic, waiting for at least a single text message, asking why I wasn¡¯t there yet? It probably was.


    Or maybe it wasn¡¯t.


    I mean, if I was to meet up with someone and the other person was runningte, I would text or call them to ask what was up. It was basic etiquette. The normal thing to do. Anything could have happened.


    Anything.


    My jaw dropped when my cab pulled up to the building. What the actual fuck?


    I¡¯d deliberately asked how to dress, and all he¡¯d said was to not wear anything too fancy, which was fucking crazy because this ce was fancy as all fucks.


    I paid the driver and tipped him, my attention already diverted.


    The windows were floor to ceiling and it provided me a fairly good view inside. The restaurant was not packed. Only a few tables were upied actually, but none of the people upying them had familiar faces.


    Pushing my shoulders back, I stepped toward the ss doors and the doorman immediately opened them, greeting me with a warm smile, the words sounding a bit distant because I was still trying to find the person I was supposed to be meeting.


    Did he get pissed and decided to leave after all because of howte I was?


    Had he mistook myteness for me cancelling?


    No. He wouldn¡¯t do that to me.


    Pulling the breaks on my panicked thoughts with deliberate effort, I slid my coat off my shoulders and handed it to the doorman with a smile I hoped was as warm as I wanted it to be.


    I could simply text him right now and ask where he was, but I was a glutton for punishment because I would rather stand there, searching for him from table to table than do the easier thing.


    I turned my head to the side, deciding to start from there. And. There. He. Was.


    He looked right at me, and when our eyes met, I felt the full effect of him all over again just like the first time I saw him. Like we were back in that elevator, except this time, it was different.


    The longing, the lust, the want was magnified by a thousand fold because I¡¯d had him inside me and knew what he felt like. How he wrecked me in the best way possible and built me back from scratch, remoulding my insides until my body grew ustomed to his. Until we were a perfect fit.


    Lust held me captive and lit a raging inferno in the pit of my stomach.


    My pulse started a racing pace, my skin grew hot, and a thick nket settled over my thoughts. Only one eclipsed all others and came to the forefront of my mind, clear and undeniable.


    I had to have him inside me. Now.


    His eyes didn¡¯t leave mine as I made my way over to him, my steps sure and determined, the movement of my hips more defined, sensual. I was prepared to seduce, although from the looks of things, I probably wouldn¡¯t have to try. His eyes grew sharper as I neared and his knees drew up as he pushed to his feet.


    My stride only slowed momentarily so that I could ce my clutch on the table, before I walked past him, whispering, ¡°Meet me in the restroom.¡±? N?velDrama.Org - All rights reserved.


    I didn¡¯t even wait to catch the look on his face.


    The smirk on my lips was probably as wicked as my intentions. Hopefully, no one would figure out what we were about to do. But even if they somehow managed to catch on, I wasn¡¯t sure that I cared.


    At least I couldn¡¯t stop now. I wanted him too much.


    I slipped into the women¡¯s restroom and found all the stalls empty. Entering thest one, I slumped against the door, pressing my fingers against the spot between my neck and my shoulder and trying to calm my racing pulse. Whatever little progress I¡¯d managed to make was lost when I heard the sound of the door sliding open, and the racing horse that was my pulse started back up.


    Three days ago, Alex had finally called. And I wouldn¡¯t even lie and say that my heart hadn¡¯t quickened at the sight of his name on my phone screen. We¡¯d agreed to meet at a location of his choosing, then he¡¯d asked if he could pick me up but I¡¯d refused, telling him that it would be better if we met at the ce instead.


    My reason for not wanting him to pick me up was so that he wouldn¡¯t know my address. I still wanted someyers between us. He was pulling everything away so bloody fast, I could barely do anything but hang on and watch as he obliterated things I¡¯d worked so had to build up over years into dust in the span of mere weeks.


    I hadn¡¯t been nervous about seeing him again-okay, maybe I¡¯d been a bit nervous-because I¡¯d thought that it would be¡­normal. I¡¯d seen him everyday at the house in Miami after all, so I¡¯d expected his face to be¡­normal.


    That word again. It wasn¡¯t the right one.


    I¡¯d just expected to have gotten used to seeing him. At least to the extent that he wouldn¡¯t affect me so much.


    What a fucking joke.


    Here I was, so bloody weak from wanting him, I could barely stand straight.


    Stepping back from the stall door, I watched silently as it fell open and Alex¡¯s scowling face came into view, his big build filling the doorway.


    Wait. Scowling?

 42

    LAURA


    Iunched myself at him.


    Was he obviously pissed? Yes.


    Did I care? No.


    One thing I had to be thankful for was the fact that Alex was big and strong. He caught me easily even though he hadn¡¯t been prepared for it, his hand tightening almost bruisingly on my hips even as he pulled me closer. He opened his mouth to say something and I had a strong feeling that this something wasn¡¯t going to be anything I wanted to hear right now so I dove into action, pressing my mouth against his and effectively stealing his words.


    God, I¡¯d missed this.


    Him.


    I¡¯d missed kissing him.


    How odd.


    He groaned into my mouth, deepening the kiss. His tongue slipped out, pushing against my lips, seeking entrance. I opened up for him immediately, my hand climbing up to his hair and my fingers sifting through the strands as I immersed myself in the kiss.


    The fullness of it. The rightness.


    The promise of what was toe.


    It wasn¡¯t like the usual kisses we shared when one of us fought for dominance over the other. No, this one was different. Our tongues met and danced, telling each other the words that our lips couldn¡¯t form yet.


    When one hand left my hip and cupped my face, lifting my head and angling it so that he could kiss me the way he wanted, his tongue plugging deep, I knew that he was just as lost in the kiss as I was. When he let out a cross between a moan and a groan, I knew that he had missed kissing me just as much as I¡¯d missed kissing him.


    My legs weakened when he started nibbling on the side of my mouth. A rush of desire mmed into me so fast, so hard, I sagged against him, wrecked with desire.


    ¡°What the hell are you wearing?¡± He breathed, peppering kisses all over my face. ¡°I can feel your nipples through your shirt.¡±


    ¡°For you,¡± I muttered, eyes closed and head thrown back as he unleashed hell on my neck with his lips.


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I wore them for you,¡± I rified, my words breathless and slurred. I might as well be drunk. ¡°I wanted you to see.¡±


    Alex¡¯s big body shook with my admission, and he dropped his face into my neck, inhaling deeply. ¡°Laura¡­ I am going to fuck you so hard, you¡¯ll feel me for the next few days.¡±


    That had me squeezing my legs tightly together, my hands tugging urgently on his hair. ¡°Do it.¡± I begged. ¡°Please.¡±


    I began to panic when he started pulling away from me, but when I saw the look on his face-the way his face muscles had drawn tight with lust and how blown his eyes were-I knew that he was definitely game. At least until he opened his mouth. ¡°We can¡¯t.¡± His voice was hoarse, pain and regret starting to creep into his eyes. ¡°Not here, in a restroom.¡±


    What?


    That cleared a bit of the fog of lust I was in.


    ¡°Have you never had sex in a restroom?¡±


    His green eyes darkened dangerously and he straightened to his full height. ¡°No. Have you?¡±


    Huh.


    Evading the question, I let a seductive smile take over my face. ¡°There¡¯s a first time for everything.¡±


    When he just kept standing there staring at me stonily, I took hold of one of his hand and ced it on my breast, sliding my own hand up to his shoulder and smiling victoriously when his hand-the one I¡¯d ced on my breast-didn¡¯t fall back to his side.


    His eyes dropped to my chest. More precisely, to my nipples straining against the material of my top and lust red in those green depths anew. He couldn¡¯t resist giving my breasts a light squeeze.


    His eyes dropped even father down to my hips, heels, then back up to my face. My hair, my eyes, my lips. His own lips parted as he inhaled sharply.


    When he¡¯d told me to not wear anything too fancy, I¡¯d gone through my closet, fished out a white halter top, in blue jeans that left nothing to the imagination and six-inch heels. I¡¯d used a bit of eye-liner and red lipstick that I knew would drive him nuts. It was the type that didn¡¯te off easily, and was the reason why his lips weren¡¯t as red as mine right now.


    After his very long perusal of me, his eyes dropped to half-mast and he muttered, ¡°Fuck.¡±


    He swivelled me around so fast, I only realised he¡¯d done it when I was facing the mirror. He made quick work of my jeans, yanking them to my knees, only stopping to bite my ass cheek softly. I expected him to take my panties off, but he simply dragged them to the side, instead going to work on his zipper and it was so fucking hot, moisture ran down the insides of my thighs.


    I could only brace my hand on the sink and watch him through the mirror, my eyes so hooded, they were almost closed. I couldn¡¯t see what he was doing because he was behind me, but with the lines of concentration that appeared between his brows, I knew that he was taking himself out.


    Soon, I felt a rush of cool air hit me, then I felt him at my entrance. Hot. Hard. Heavy. Like steel.


    He paused, meeting my eyes in the mirror and I almost fucking screamed. ¡°I don¡¯t have a condom.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m on the pill,¡± I said impatiently, without thinking.


    Ack of condom wasn¡¯t going to stop us now. I needed him inside me.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    Then he mmed into me and I lost the ability to speak at all.


    Huge.


    He was huge and it had been a minute and I-fuck.

 43

    LAURA


    My body must have forgotten what it was like to have him inside it because my walls mped down on him like a vise, his length inside me, deep and pulsing. The fit was so tight, I could feel his heartbeat like it was my own.


    He was so big, it was a just on the verge of being painful. I rose on my toes to make the ache bearable, hoping that it would make him slide a few inches out of me at least, but then his grip on my hip tightened and he pulled me back down, at the same time thrusting, and I realised with a startled moan, that I hadn¡¯t taken all of him before.


    Now, he was fully inside me.


    He was so deep, I swear I could feel him in my stomach. And the fact that he hadn¡¯t let me get away-that he¡¯d pinned me down when I tried to run and shoved his remaining inches inside me-was the perfect aphrodisiac as it sent a rush of wetness to my pussy, making it easier for him to move and for me to breathe. I still felt him, big and hard inside me, but it didn¡¯t feel like he was cutting off my air supply anymore.


    ¡°Sweet Christ, Laura, you feel like sin,¡± Alex let out in a strangled voice. ¡°Look like it too,¡± he added. ¡°Open your eyes.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t even aware my eyes were closed until he asked me to open them. I suppose intense pleasure could do that to a person.


    Opening my eyes turned out to be a chore. My lids felt like two lead weights and it took me almost an hour to get them to open. When I did, it was to face the mirror-to face our reflection.


    His eyes were hooded, his pupils dted. His face was flushed, perspiration dotting his upper lip-a dead giveaway that he his hold on control was slipping fast.


    Even in my heels, he was still far taller than me and the fact that we were both still fully clothed-save for my jeans around my ankles-made it even hotter. I mped down on him and he gave a sharp involuntary jerk of his hips, groaning. I moaned.


    ¡°You¡¯re going to make me lose my damn mind.¡±


    With great effort, I lifted my head to meet his eyes in the mirror. ¡°That¡¯s the n.¡±


    A pained look entered his eyes right before he snapped his hips forward, hitting me hard and deep and causing a gasp to fall from my lips. ¡°Well then, I¡¯ve got good news for you; It¡¯s fucking working.¡± Then he gathered my hair in his hand-hair that had taken me close to an hour to get the curls right-fisted it, then pulled my head back so that I wouldn¡¯t have any choice but to watch our reflection as he fucked me.


    I guess the time for talking was over because from then on, only the sound of his hips smacking against my ass could be heard in the otherwise silent room. The sound was so obscene, what we were doing so fucking dirty, it made me wetter.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I wasn¡¯t even sure he¡¯d locked the stall when he came in. Anyone could just walk in right now and catch us and we¡¯d be fucked-no pun intended-but I couldn¡¯t find it in me to give a quarter of a fuck right now.


    I couldn¡¯t find it in me to do anything but grab onto the sink as he mmed into me over and over again. I¡¯d asked him to make it hard, but I hadn¡¯t been prepared for sex this hard. Each thrust had my hipbones hitting the marble sink almost painfully, bringing him inside me so fucking deep.


    But then he bent his knees and thrusted upward, changing the angle, and I swear to God, I saw stars right then.


    ¡°Oh s-s-shit,¡± I stuttered, my eyes crossing and sliding closed. My walls fluttered around him as that familiar build up hit me, the tension growing and coiling tighter until I thought I was going to snap. ¡°I¡¯m going toe,¡± I whispered, my hands, slick with sweat, slipping on the sink. ¡°I¡¯m going toe, Alex, I-¡±


    He yanked my head back with his grip on my hair and my eyes flew open instantly. ¡°Eyes on me when youe.¡±


    Oh, fuck. This bossy side of him turned me on to an insane degree.


    Helplessly, I held his eyes in the mirror despite how hard it was to keep them open. Even though a tiny part of my brain that was still functioning, realised that this was a dangerously intimate thing to do. And, hell, at this new angle, he went in so bloody deep, each thrust came with a truckload of pleasure and a tiny pinch of pain.


    Thatbination-along with the crazed look in his eyes-was what sent me over the edge. That tightly coiled ball snapped and liquid heat spiralled through me.


    Alex had to mp his palm over my mouth to stop me from screaming the bloody roof down, and the orgasm was so intense, I bit on his palm.


    My legs lost what remained of their strength and I had to lean on the sink in order not to copse on the floor.


    Alex punched into me once, twice, thrice then he stilled, and I felt his release, warm and sticky, shoot into me. He thrusted through his release, groaning and leaving a trail of wet kisses at the base of my neck.


    Spent, he sagged forward, dropping his face into my neck and flicking his tongue back and forth over the skin there.


    ¡°You up for round two?¡±


    Shocked, I looked up, only to see that his eyes were light with amusement. ¡°Fiend.¡±


    His breaths tickled my neck as heughed.


    Well, whaddya know?


    The man was even prettier when sated.


    Fuck my life.

 You were late

    LAURA


    ¡°What?¡±


    After what had felt like ages of holding on to each other as if we¡¯d both needed to feel grounded after the earth-shattering sex we¡¯d had, Alex and I had finally managed to drag ourselves out of the restroom. There¡¯d been a knowing look in the waiter¡¯s eyes when she¡¯de to take our order but she¡¯d been very professional. I was straightening my top when I¡¯d felt the heat of eyes on me and had looked up to find Alex staring at me.


    ¡°You werete,¡± he stated, serious as a heart attack.


    ¡°I was stuck in traffic.¡± We¡¯d skipped everything-greetings, talk and food-and gone straight to fucking because I¡¯d been so hot for him, and I¡¯dpletely forgot that I waste. I guess we were going to talk about it now.


    ¡°I offered toe get you.¡±


    Traffic was traffic. What difference would it have made?


    ¡°Would you have preferred it if we¡¯d both been stuck in traffic?¡± I asked sarcastically.


    He blinked. ¡°Yes.¡±


    It was my turn to blink. ¡°I don¡¯t see how-¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d pick sitting with you in my car doing nothing over waiting in this restaurant worrying that something had happened to you or that you¡¯d changed your mind and decided not toe after all-¡± He lifted a finger when I tried to cut him off. ¡°We both know what it took to get you toe here. I couldn¡¯t be too sure.¡±


    I rolled my eyes, conceding silently that he was right while ignoring the weird flutter in my stomach. If he started saying those shitty, could-be-considered-romantic things to me, I was going to flip. I had zero defence against them, especially now that we¡¯d just had mind-blowing sex and my insides were still a gooey mess, my brain pretty much fried.


    Recently, I¡¯d found out that I wasn¡¯t as unaffected by ¡®romantic¡¯ words as I thought I¡¯d been. It had taken little admissions here and there to get me to realise that I was not just affected by the words, I might also like them. And that right there was the problem.


    You¡¯re so beautiful it hurts to look at you sometimes.


    You have no idea what your eyes do to me.


    Being someone that receivedpliments about my eyes a lot, it wasn¡¯t news to me that they were a striking shade of grey-as my mother¡¯s had been before they¡¯d been overtaken by darkness-so I¡¯d never thought it a big deal. It had taken Alex talking about them to get me to pay them more attention, and it would take a gun to the head to get me to admit that I¡¯d applied eye-liner to make them pop more just because of him. I¡¯d already admitted that I picked out this outfit with him in mind-but I¡¯d been in the throes of passion. Now, I had my wits about me.


    I cut a piece of steak and shoved it into my mouth, chewing carefully before swallowing. Had to give it to them; the steak was divine.


    ¡°What have you been up to these past few days?¡±


    When he didn¡¯t answer, I lifted my head and found him watching me with a puzzled look in his eyes, frown lines appearing between his brows.


    ¡°Why do you do that?¡±


    ¡°Eat? It¡¯s something we have to do to stay alive.¡±


    The re he gave me told me that he knew what I was doing-that I was deliberately being obtuse, and he wasn¡¯t buying it. ¡°Why do you try to change the topic whenever the conversation gets too deep for you?¡±


    All humour evaporated from my body and my face shuttered as I leaned back a little, trying to withdraw physically as I had emotionally from this conversation. ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to change the topic.¡±


    ¡°You know how I feel about your lies, Laura,¡± Alex warned, his face tightening into a scowl that told me he was not going to let this go. ¡°Anything but them.¡±


    My fork ttered to my te as I reached for my ss, taking a much needed sip of wine because my throat suddenly felt parched. I could attempt to change the conversation-again-or try to distract him with a little footsie under the table but right now, with that ruthless scowl on his face, my efforts might just  equate trying to lift an elephant with a single finger. Laughably futile.


    I¡¯d never thought Alex capable of violence or anything extreme before. I¡¯d never pictured him as someone dangerous, but I was wrong. I was very wrong.


    Underneath the gorgeous face and amazing build, was a man with a tightly leashed control who could be very dangerous if he wanted to be. I could see it now as I stared into his eyes. His steely gaze met mind head-on and it was right there in that restaurant, that I had a moment of rity.


    Alex had simply been letting me off the hook all this while. It wasn¡¯t like he couldn¡¯t push-he¡¯d just been letting me get away with it. Meanwhile, I¡¯d been apuding myself, thinking I was smart.


    My breaths started growing shallow with anxiety at the thought of having to talk-actually talk-about my feelings. I could lie, I could¡­shit, detach myself from this conversation mentally and just see it through but Alex, damn him, was watching me intently, gauging every single shift in my facial expression like he could see into my soul. Like he could read my thoughts and could tell what I was contemting doing.


    Ugh.


    ¡°You already said it,¡± I said after a while, deciding to be honest after all. ¡°It gets too deep.¡± Then rifying further, I said, ¡°For me.¡±


    His expression didn¡¯t waver but I thought I caught a hint of surprise in his eyes. Like he was surprised I¡¯d actually admitted to it and happy about the fact. But other than that, his face remained a nk, imprable mask. ¡°I know. What I¡¯m asking is why you do it.¡±


    My shoulders rose defensively. ¡°What do you mean why?¡± The words came out snappy. I made deliberate effort to calm myself. ¡°I already told you-¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s no need to get defensive, Laura.¡± Alex cut me off, his tone, calm, patient, unwavering. ¡°I don¡¯t want us to fight. I just want to know why you do it. I don¡¯t promise to understand and it probably might not make sense to me, but I¡¯ll ept and respect it.¡±


    I stared at him, my mouth slightly parted in a mix between awe and surprise. I was floored. Was he real? How could I even be mad at him for forcing this conversation on me when he was being so sweet about it?


    This conversation was frustrating as hell but at the same time, I couldn¡¯t get mad at him. Why did Alex have to make everything so bloody hard?


    My eyes darted to the side. Was I about to tell him why I was so averse to rtionships? Why I couldn¡¯t stand the mere idea ofmitment? Was I about to tell him a story that would change how he saw me?


    Was I about to intentionally make myself miserable?


    Dread pooled in my stomach as I opened my mouth to speak. Nothing came out. I swallowed and tried again. ¡°I-¡± God, was I really going to do this? ¡°I¡¯m scared of co-¡±


    ¡°Alex!¡± A shrill voice rang out, causing me to stop mid-sentence. ¡°I knew it was you!¡±


    Saved from what would have been without a doubt the most ufortable conversation I¡¯d ever had, I exhaled shakily and reached for my ss, damn near downing the entire thing.


    The source of the noise, I realised when I looked up, was a beautiful blonde woman wearing a wide smile-and she was walking over to us. I frowned when I saw that the smile was directed at Alex, who was staring back at her with shock written all over his features. And that was when it dawned on me that it was his name she¡¯d screamed that had distracted me.


    A young man followed closely behind her and when she reached our table, he hung behind her, throwing me a smile smile. I was too confused to return it, but he didn¡¯t seem offended.


    ¡°When I came in and took one look at you, I just knew it had to be you,¡± the blonde said, grinning wide. She was very beautiful, wearing a green sheath gown thatplimented her lightly tan skin. ¡°You haven¡¯t changed much, I must say.¡±


    ¡°Neither have you, ire.¡± Alex¡¯s smile looked forced but I couldn¡¯t be sure because he obviously knew her.


    She looked ecstatic to see him. They must have known each other quite well.


    I suspected how well but decided not to go there for my own sanity.


    ire gestured to the man standing behind her, who now walked up to stand beside her now that he¡¯d been acknowledged. ¡°This is Dave, my fianc¨¦. Dave, this is Alex. Mind if we join you?¡±


    Alex and Dave shook hands. While a part of me was relieved they wanted to join us and that would make it impossible for Alex and I to continue our conversation, another part wanted them to take the furthest table away from us, on the other side of the restaurant.


    I waited for Alex to take the lead because he was the one she¡¯d asked, not me. I even doubted she knew there was someone else at the table. She hadn¡¯t looked my way once. I might as well have been invisible.


    Annoying as it was, I couldn¡¯t me her for not being able to pull her eyes away from him. He¡¯s gorgeous after all.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Green eyes flitted to me briefly and he seemed to wait for something. I stared at him nkly. ¡°Yeah, sure,¡± he said eventually.


    As ire and her fianc¨¦ proceeded to seat, I noticed how she ced her chair a tad closer to Alex than was necessary. Dave sat to my right, his smile pleasant and friendly.


    ¡°Meet Laura, my date,¡± Alex gestured to me when they¡¯d both taken their seats.


    ire finally turned to me for the first time since she¡¯d arrived at the table and assessed me with a cool blue gaze. Done looking her fill, she turned away, but not before I caught something in her eyes. I just wasn¡¯t sure what.


    Was I reading too much into things?


    She gave me a small smile and I returned it with a nod. She didn¡¯t extend her hand to me for a handshake and neither did I. I wasn¡¯t one to bullshit people.


    ¡°Alex,¡± she began again, cing her elbow on the table and dropping her chin on her palm as she turned to give Alex her full attention. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s just absolutely amazing that we meet here after years of not seeing each other? It has to be fate.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t hold back the eye-roll even if I¡¯d tried. Bitch, please.


    ¡°How do you know each other?¡± Her fianc¨¦ asked, that damn pleasant smile still on his face.


    The way ire perked up told me that she¡¯d been waiting for that question. She looked at me-me, not her fianc¨¦ who had asked the question-when she said, ¡°Actually, Alex and I dated in uni.¡±Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    The silence that followed her admission was deafening.


    My eyes would have popped out of their sockets if I didn¡¯t already know that was exactly what she wanted. So I schooled my features into a neutral mask and did the next best thing.


    I grabbed my drink and tossed what remained of it into the back of my throat.


    My reality was shit; I was going to have to endure dinner with Alex¡¯s mean ex who apparently, was out for my blood.


    I needed more wine.

 45

    Who introduced their fiance¨¦ to their ex then in the next moment, told their fianc¨¦e that the man he was seated with, was her boyfriend in uni?


    And why the hell was there a constant smile on said fiancee¡¯s face? It was starting to piss me off.


    ¡°How¡¯s work?¡± ire asked, the tips of her fingers brushing Alex¡¯s. I honed in on that point of contact.


    Alex leaned back into his chair, effectively disconnecting from her touch as his hand slipped to the edge of the table. His smile was all teeth. ¡°Great.¡±


    I felt a glimmer of satisfaction.


    ire nodded, either choosing to pretend she hadn¡¯t seen him pull away, or maybe she was the most oblivious person on earth. ¡°You¡¯ve always been ambitious.¡± I waited for the part I knew wasing and she didn¡¯t disappoint. ¡°Even back in the university.¡±


    She¡¯d basically hijacked the conversation ever since she joined us. I didn¡¯t know why she¡¯d made it her life¡¯s mission to remind everyone seated at the table-herself included-that she¡¯d known Alex for quite a while now every single time she opened her mouth. It was insecure as hell and made me want tough more than it made me want to upend the contents of the table on her thighs.


    Of course, I¡¯d make sure the coloured champagne left stains all over her obviously expensive gown. It was no more than she deserved for what she was doing.


    The game she was ying, I knew all it too well.


    Leave little bits of their past here and there, act like you know him better than his very new, very present date, carelessly initiate contact once in a while, act like you¡¯re so deep into the conversation-which was pretty much non-existent by the way-youpletely forgot about his date.


    As for thest part, I didn¡¯t necessarily think she was pretending. She didn¡¯t just forget I was there, shepletely forgot about her fianc¨¦e too.


    One would think that Alex was telling her about a cure for cancer he¡¯d stumbled upon on his trip to Miami. One would be wrong.


    The man looked about as interested in what she was saying as a teenager watching the news. My guess was that he didn¡¯t know what she was trying to do. Guys were naturally oblivious. He just wanted her to stop talking to him-as was obvious from his facial expression, which she would notice if she actually looked at him-and that only made the urge tough grow stronger.


    She was trying to make me jealous. And I¡¯d rather stab myself with the fork on my te than admit it was working.


    I would admit only that it was pissing me off and for good reason. Why wouldn¡¯t it piss me off?


    Alex and I had been in the middle of a conversation-it wasn¡¯t one that I would like to continue, but still-when she¡¯d rudely interrupted and stolen a chair at our table. Technically, she¡¯d stolen two. One for her fiance¨¦ and one for herself, but I refused to count him as a fully functioning human being and acknowledge that he sat at this table because what kind of person hung back and watched their fianc¨¦ cozy up to a guy she used to date? And with an annoying-as-fuck smile on his face.


    My excuse for not doing anything about ire was because Alex and I weren¡¯t an item. I was simply what he¡¯d told her-his date. I was not allowed to get jealous. Pissed off however, was another thing.


    Grabbing my half-empty ss, I took a long sip, my eyes straying away from the table in search of anything interesting. I could easily slip my phone out of my clutch but I didn¡¯t want to make it that obvious that she was pissing me off.


    ¡°Should I get the waiter to bring another bottle?¡±


    Alex was staring at me. My eyes went to the bottle on the table and I saw that it was empty. When had that happened?


    But then I looked at ire¡¯s ss and found it full to the brim.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I told Alex, wondering how he managed to keep his eyes on me even with his touchy ex angling for his attention.


    It was another thing I¡¯d noticed. Since she came, she hadn¡¯t stopped talking to him once, but still, I would catch his eyes on me after every second. It was like he knew I was pissed but couldn¡¯t do anything about it. Like he was helpless.


    Perhaps he was. It wasn¡¯t like he could refuse withouting off as an asshole when she¡¯d asked to join us. And Alex was the furthest thing from an asshole.


    As though it took Alex speaking to me to get her to remember that there was someone else at the table, ire turned to me. ¡°Laura, is it?¡±


    I didn¡¯t grace her with a response. Mainly because she was just being a bitch and partly because we weren¡¯t in the eighteenth century.


    ¡°I love your hair.¡± She beamed. ¡°It¡¯s so glossy and shiny, I could never get mine to look like that.¡±


    I forced a smile. It was so fake it hurt. ¡°Thanks.¡±


    I hated her.


    ¡°So what do you do?¡± She asked, swirling her drink around in her ss. I saw past the smile she was wearing at the malicious glint in her eyes. She was out for my blood and I had no idea why. I had no idea what her endgame was.


    I mean, she was obviously flirting with Alex, but to what end? She was engaged, for fucks sake. And they hadn¡¯t seen each other in years so there couldn¡¯t be anything there. Or had they kept in touch?


    ¡°I make lingeries.¡± Leaning back in my chair, I gave a small smile to the waiter for refilling my ss.


    Her interest seemed piqued. Alex¡¯s too. He was interested in the conversation and wasn¡¯t even trying to hide it.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    I realised, sadly, that we¡¯d both never talked about work. All we did was have sex and talk about more sex. And when we weren¡¯t talking about sex, he was trying to get me to see him again.


    How sad was it that it took his ex asking for him to find out?

 46

    ¡°As in you work in a lingeriepany?¡± She asked, a small, confused and very fake smile on her face.


    I returned her smile with one equally as stic. ¡°As in I own it.¡± When I spoke again, it was to Alex. ¡°I design and model them. Most of them anyway.¡±


    Alex smiled and something that looked a lot like pride entered his eyes. ¡°That¡¯s amazing. Do you-¡±


    ¡°You mean you model them?¡± ire spat out the word like it was offensive, her expression one of horror.


    ¡°Yep,¡± I said breezily, already knowing where she was going with it. It wasn¡¯t the first time people reacted that way upon hearing that I modelled my designs. Even my mother had reacted the same way when she first found out.


    Her face twisted in disapproval. Good thing I hadn¡¯t been looking for her approval anyway. ¡°Is that morally right?¡± She hesitated. ¡°I mean, you¡¯re obviously in a rtionship. That can¡¯t be good for it, right? Why don¡¯t you hire people to model instead?¡±


    The tension at the table thickened. Even her fiance¨¦ sucked in a breath.


    I speared an already cut steak from my now-very-cold te and shoved it into my mouth. ¡°You mean the same people who also have separate lives from work and who are probably in rtionships too?¡±


    Her face scrunched up. I¡¯d guessed that talking while chewing would rile her up and I was spot on.


    Wiping my mouth with the towel, I dropped it on my te and rose. ¡°Excuse me. I need to use the restroom.¡±


    Alex sat up quickly, tension radiating off of him. I didn¡¯t look at him but I knew that he was trying to catch my eyes and I would rather he didn¡¯t look at me right now. I was angry. So bloody angry that he¡¯d let her intrude on our date that had been going so well.


    ¡°I¡¯lle with you,¡± ire said suddenly, standing up. ¡°I need to use the restroom too.¡±


    I froze, my steps faltering for a second before I continued waking. Heels cking behind me told me that she was really following me. Time to find out what her endgame was.


    The stall where we¡¯d had sex was upied so I took the next one. After doing my business, I came out to wash my hands at the sink. When I was done, I fetched my lipstick from my bag and reapplied it.


    A toilet flushed, then in the next second, ire wasing to stand at the sink next to mine, retouching her lipstick and make-up. She watched me through the mirror-the same way I watched her.


    She faced me when she wad done. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about what I said back there. It was wrong and insensitive. I apologise.¡±


    I shoved my lipstick back into my purse. ¡°Apology epted.¡±


    Her apology was far from epted, but the other option was to ignore her and right now, I was actively trying not to be a bitch-even though she¡¯d acted like one the entire evening.


    ¡°So¡­¡± She hesitated. Intentionally. ¡°How long have you and Alex been in a rtionship?¡±


    It was on the tip of my tongue to correct her that it wasn¡¯t a rtionship but I stopped the words quickly from making their way out of my mouth. What was her angle?


    ¡°Drop the act, ire,¡± I couldn¡¯t pretend anymore. ¡°I see you. I see what you¡¯ve been trying to do all dinner and it makes no sense. What is your endgame?¡±


    She had the audacity to look shocked. ¡°What? I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡±


    I rolled my eyes and pushed away from the sink, a decision solidifying in my mind. ¡°Save the act for someone who¡¯s actually going to buy it. You pretty much forgot all about your fiance¨¦ who you came to dinner with, while vying for attention from Alex.¡± Her cheeks flushed and she opened her mouth to say something but I didn¡¯t let her. ¡°Whatever it is you think you¡¯re doing, its not working, so please stop. It has gone all the way from embarrassing to pathetic and I¡¯m only telling you this because women are supposed to look out for each other.¡± I paused. ¡°Even though you¡¯ve been nothing but a total bitch to me.¡±


    A snicker came from the upied stall. ire¡¯s face waspletely red now.


    She took a step forward. ¡°Listen here you-¡±


    The stall¡¯s door swung open and a stunning brte who looked to be in her early thirties stepped out, a wry smile on her lips. ¡°Ladies,¡± she began, cutting ire off. ¡°You know better than to have a catfight over a man. Come on.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not. I¡¯m out of here.¡± With those words, I turned and walked out of the restroom.


    That was the decision I¡¯d made. I was not going to sit through dinner with this woman, pretending like nothing was wrong. I was positive that I was not going to be able to make it if I spent two more minutes in her presence.


    I was leaving.


    Pulling out my phone, I made to text Alex that I was leaving. Thankfully, he had his back to me so he wouldn¡¯t see me. I wouldn¡¯t have gone through the front but the only other way out of the restaurant was through the kitchen and non-staff weren¡¯t allowed in there.


    But Alex must have been watching, waiting for me because the second I stepped out of the hallway leading to the restroom, his eyestched onto me, intense and piercing.


    Keeping my gaze straight ahead, I walked out of the restaurant, grabbing my coat from the doorman as I did. I was already booking a ride on my phone when Alex caught up to me.


    ¡°Laura.¡± He sounded out of breath, like he¡¯d been running. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Why are you leaving?¡±


    I shook my head, refusing to meet his eyes. ¡°I just¡­ I need to leave, Alex. I can¡¯t stay anymore.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± He said, surprising me with his easy eptance. ¡°We¡¯ll leave together.¡±


    My eyes flew up to his, shock sailing through me. ¡°What?¡± I squeaked. ¡°You can¡¯t just leave. What about ire and her fiance¨¦?¡± It killed me to say it but I had to.Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    His expression didn¡¯t change. ¡°They¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    He was already walking and my feet were already following him without my permission. I was pretty much stammering at this point. ¡°What about the bill and-¡±


    ¡°Paid.¡± He pushed a button on his key fob. ¡°I already knew you wouldn¡¯t want to stay the moment you said you wanted to use the restroom.¡± I stared at him ck-jawed as he pulled the passenger door open and motioned for me to get in.


    My feet remained locked, shock, confusion and a lot of other emotions swirling through me. I was so¡­lost.


    What was happening? What was he doing?


    When it became obvious that my brain had pretty much bailed on me, Alex came over, picked me up and deposited me on the plush leather seat. He was about to close the door when he hesitated, opened it again, pressed a quick kiss to my lips before closing it and rounding the car, leaving me staring at nothing, dazed and reeling.

 47

    LAURA


    The car was pin drop silent.


    I was too tired to ask where he was taking me and was mainly still reeling from how drastically the night had changed. I didnt say anything even when I noticed that we were driving in the opposite direction from the side of town where I lived.


    If it were any other man-literally-I would tell him to stop the car. Maybe I wouldnt have gotten into a car with him in the first ce. But it was Alex, and I felt safe around him.


    Alex could tie a blindfold over my eyes and I would trust him to not let me fall into a pit. Panic followed closely on the heels of that realisation. Since when did I trust men? But I was too wiped to react. Too terribly exhausted.


    But maybe I didnt need to react.


    It was when we were approaching a ck gate that Alex broke the silence. ¡°I probably should have asked you this before now.¡± I turned to him and saw him watching me. ¡°I¡¯m bringing you to my ce. Is that okay?¡±


    A small nod was all I gave him. Even if it wasnt, it wasnt like I could ask him to turn around right now and tale me back to mine. I was starting to care for Alex a little more than I would like and even though it made me feel like I was wearing someone else¡¯s skin, it didnt make me want to run for the hills the way it did at the beginning.


    The gates slid open for him as we neared and I took in the house we were approaching as the car drove down the long pathway.


    It was a duplex,rge and beautiful. It looked like a ce where one came to if they wanted to rest or take a time away from everything. The heat of Alex¡¯s eyes on my body burned as I lifted my head and took in the building.


    In a few strifes, he made his way over to me, bringing hisforting warmth and smell and everything that was him. It was all all I could do to not sag against him and have him bear most of my weight.


    cing his hand on the small of my back, he ushered us towards the entrance of the house. He was treating me like I was fragile. He stopped briefly to punch in a code on a keypad beside the ss doors and only then did the door fall open.


    My eyes immediately scanned the ce and I came to the conclusion that the exterior was just as beautiful as the interior. Alex had spectacr taste and it showed in everything-his clothes, his car, (coughs)me, and now his house. The whole look was eye-catching without being too loud and I loved it. Undestated luxury.


    I met his eyes. ¡°Your house is beautiful.¡±


    He gave me a small smile. ¡°Thanks.¡± Then he led me up the stairs and down a long hallway. From what I could see, there were about three doors but we stopped in front of the second one and he pushed the door open. He went in and flicked the light switch, bathing the room-and himself-in light. God, he was so beautiful.


    He shoved his hands into his from pockets. ¡°The room¡¯s never been used before but the housekeeper cleans it regrly and the sheets are changed regrly.¡± He said, eyes anywhere but on me. ¡°Bathroom¡¯s through here. It¡¯s stocked. But there¡¯s nothing in the closet for you to wear, so I¡¯ll quickly get you something from my room while you¡¯re in the shower.¡±


    It took me a while to understand that he was ranting. Alex. Was. Ranting. And he couldnt meet my eyes.N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.


    As he made to brush past me standing in the doorway, I stopped him with my hand on his arm and realised that the muscles were tense. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    He exhaled before he turned to face me. ¡°This is just very¡­new. I¡¯ve never had anyone here.¡± He removed one hand from his pocket and wrapped his finger around a lock of hair that had fallen to my face. ¡°It¡¯s usually just me in the house and I guess I dont know how to act with someone else here.¡±


    My insides grew soft. I found myself suddenly wanting to hug him and the urge confused me. Since it wasnt something that I¡¯d done before, I simply squeezed his arm and gave him a small smile, searching for the right words to give him but I kepting up nk. He must have seen my struggle because he unwrapped my hair from his finger, gave me a small smile, then walked out of the room.


    I exhaled a pent up breath I hadnt known I¡¯d been holding.


    Dragging a finger absently across the dresser surface, I nced at the bed. Considering how exhausted I felt, I¡¯d thought that the second we came in here, I¡¯d be searching for the nearest surface to pass out on but ironically, I wasnt sleepy. Not in the slightest.


    Desperate for the fresh feeling that came with taking a bath, I dropped my phone and purse on the bedside table then stripped, folding the clothes neatly on the bed before walking into the bathroom. I didnt stay long under the spray from the shower but by the time I came back out, I saw that a white T-shirt and drawstring pants were waiting for me on the bed as promised. My folded clothes, however, were nowhere to be found.


    The shirt was so big, it hung down to my thighs and I really didnt need the pants anymore but since I wasnt wearing any panties, I dragged them up my legs anyway. I had to fold the pants leg up several times so that I wouldnt trip and fall when I tried to walk. All in all, by the time I was done, I was pretty sure I looked like a clown, minus the make-up.


    I padded down the stairs, pausing at the sight of Alex standing in the middle of the living room. It appeared he had taken a bath too because he¡¯d changed into an outfit simr to mine-drawstrings and a shirt. His hair was also damp.


    He messed on the TV for a bit until a movie channel came on. Only then did he drop the remote on the table and turn, stopping abnruptly when he saw me.


    ¡°Hey.¡± His eyes swiped over me and I caught the unmistakable re of heat in those green depths. An answering call rose up inside me, tightening my nipples into two little peaks as I continued down the stairs and rounded the couch to stand on the same side with him.


    To alleviate the overall awkwardness and tension in the room, I dropped down on the couch and said merrily, ¡°So what are we watching?¡±


    ¡°I have no idea what¡¯s on right now,¡± Alex said as he sat next to me, but not too close that I couldnt breathe. When he spoke again, his words were soft and he sounded cautious. ¡°Laura, I want us to talk.¡±


    My heart sped up on my chest and the beginnings of panic began to trickle into my blood, spiking it and making me feel the urge to run. I tried to calm myself. ¡°About what?¡±


    His eyes grew wary as if he could already tell that I was thinking about the best possible way I could avoid this conversation. ¡°Tonight.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s really not much to talk about.¡± I lied, avoiding his eyes.


    Alex sighed audibly. ¡°What have I told you about lying to me, Laura?¡± But I still didnt look at him. I couldnt. ¡°I hate it when you do it. You t out lie to my face even when it¡¯s blindingly obvious that you¡¯re lying. It¡¯s not just hurtful to me, Laura. It¡¯s insulting as well.¡±


    I picked invisible lint off the pants. ¡°Your ex and her fiance¨¦ joined us and she was being a bitch. That¡¯s what happened.¡± The words fell out of my mouth so robotically, it didnt sound right to even my own ears.


    Alex said nothing for a while and because I wasnt looking at him, I couldnt tell what he was thinking or how he was reacting to this.


    ¡°Another question. Why-¡±


    ¡°No, that is not how the game works.¡± I cut him off. ¡°It¡¯s my turn now.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a game, Laura.¡± I rolled my eyes. I¡¯d been joking after all. Mostly.


    He sighed again. ¡°Will you look at me? Please?¡±


    ¡°I can hear you, can¡¯t I?¡±


    No one was more aware of the fact that I was being incredibly childish right now than I was. But I was scared. I had an inkling what his next question was going to be and in all honesty, I didnt want to hear it. I suddenly wanted to hide inside my room, protected by the walls even if that was just an illusion. I didnt care. I¡¯d pick it over this torture right now.


    ¡°Laura¡­¡±


    Jesus. Fine.


    I turned and faced him. His face softened at whatever he saw on mine and he gripped my chin gently but firmly.


    ¡°Listen to me. You can trust me, Laura. You can talk to me about anything and trust me to never use your words against you.¡± My lower lip trembled-from fear or tears, I wasnt sure-and he brushed his thumb across it. ¡°You can talk to me and trust me to understand.¡± His eyes swiped over my face. ¡°Do you? Trust me?¡±


    Hell, I didnt even have to think.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He smiled. A small, genuine, dazzling little thing that made his face light up and my heart squeeze in my chest. It made me want to give him more of my words just so that I¡¯d see him smile like that again. Just so that he¡¯d give me more of those smiles.


    ¡°Good,¡± he said softly. ¡°Now tell me why you¡¯re so averse tor rtionships.¡±


    Panic wrapped its cold, thorny hands around my throat and squeezed until I could barely breathe. ¡°Alex, no-¡±


    Alex¡¯s face tightened and he looked like he was in pain. ¡°Tell me what you¡¯re so afraid of.¡±


    I was already shaking my head, dislodging his hand from my chin. ¡°I¡¯m not-¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me that you¡¯re not afraid of the idea ofmitment, Laura,¡± Alex snapped suddenly and I was so shocked by his outburst, I could do nothing but sit there and stare at him. ¡°Fucking hell, do you know how frightened you look each time I bring the topic up?¡± He stood and began pacing, running his hand through his hair harshly. ¡°Even right now, you look like you¡¯ve seen a fucking ghost and I want nothing more than to let this go and remove that look from your face, but I can¡¯t, Laura. I can¡¯t because I need to know.¡± He was breathing harshly, his face a mask of frustration.


    ¡°Alex, I-¡± I stopped myself because I was just about to say the same thing again. That I wasnt scared ofmitment which was the hugest fucking lie I¡¯d ever told because I was and he didnt deserve me lying to him.


    But why did I do it? Why did I lie to him when it wasnt like he¡¯d ever use my truths against me?


    All he¡¯d ever done was to be amodating. He put up with me and my bullshit. I¡¯d done so many things that I wasnt proud of to him, had said so many hurtful things and had even tried to use him, which he¡¯d called me out on. Yet, he was still here.


    This was Alex.


    He was different.


    ¡°I-¡± I licked my lips. My throat suddenly felt dry. Parched. ¡°I-¡±


    Alex returned to his seat beside me and pulled a leg up between us. ¡°Were you hurt?¡±


    I shook my head, sitting on top of my hands to hide the fact that they were trembling. My voice shook with nerves. ¡°It¡¯s not me that was hurt. It was my mother.¡±

 48

    Alex stared at me quietly, waiting for me to continue. He was confused, I could tell from the from lines between his brows, but he didn¡¯t ask any questions or push me to go on. He just waited patiently and I appreciated it.


    I was about to confess to him something that I¡¯d never told anyone. If I did it under pressure, then I was either going to lie or not do it at all.


    And I needed to do this.


    For him and for me.


    ¡°My father left when I was eight. Or at least so I was told by my mom,¡± I said, swallowing hard. My voice shook and something kept telling me to stop this madness, to turn away and walk upstairs, knowing that Alex wouldn¡¯t force me if I didn¡¯t really want to. I ignored it and continued. ¡°At eight, you¡¯d think I would remember him but I don¡¯t. I have not one single memory of him. The only person I remember when I was that young, was a man who was married to my mother for a long time.¡±


    Memories from the past assaulted me and instead of shutting them out, I let myself go. Allowing the same memories that I¡¯d desperately fought out of my mind once upon a time, memories that I¡¯d done all I could to detach myself from, to flow back into my mind and take the reins over my mouth.


    ¡°He moved in with us some months before the marriage. Mom was happy. He seemed really cool, I liked him so I was happy too.¡± I brushed invisible lint off the couch, my vision going blurry. ¡°I was so happy that I finally had a father figure, someone other than my mom who did nice things for me. I remember sometimes at school, my friends¡¯ dads would pick them up and I¡¯d get so jealous that I didn¡¯t have a dad who would pick me up. I used to feel iplete, like I wascking something.¡±


    A warm, big hand covered mine and squeezed. If anything, the gesture worsened my situation. It broke the dam on the tears I was holding at bay and before I knew it, I was crying, fat drops of tears falling on myp and making wet spots on the drawstrings.


    ¡°When Paul came, I didn¡¯t feel iplete anymore,¡± I told Alex, blinking rapidly to stem the tears. ¡°He would take me to the park and I¡¯d talk to these other kids who were also there with their parents and I-¡± I shook my head. ¡°Sometimes, we¡¯d all go to the movies. Me, him and my mom. Those were the best times, when we were together. I¡¯d never seen my mom so happy.¡± A small, bittersweet smile touched my lips as I remembered my mom¡¯s loud, carefreeughter and happy eyes. ¡°He brought light and life into our home, kick-started my mom¡¯s spirit and made her the best version of herself I¡¯d ever seen. I¡¯d started to imagine Paul as a permanent fixture in our lives, Alex. I never thought he¡¯d leave. Neither did I know he¡¯d take all the light with him when he did.¡±


    There was movement beside me and before I knew it, Alex was rearranging us. He maneuvered until he was sitting behind me, leaning against the arm of the long couch, then he pulled me closer until my back was to his chest, his legs cradling mine on both sides.


    His hand didn¡¯t leave mine and he didn¡¯t say anything. But he didn¡¯t have to. This was enough, and the warm feeling blooming inside my chest right in the middle of all the pain I felt, was a testament to that fact.


    This was all so very new. Strange. But I could get used to it.


    I could.


    Encouraged, I continued, ¡°I still remember that day like it happened just yesterday. I¡¯d juste back from school. One of my friends dropped me off because mom had called beforehand to tell me that she wouldn¡¯t be able to pick me up.¡± Memories-images-from that day shed through my mind. The look on my mother¡¯s face when I¡¯d entered the house, the dried tears, the bleakness in her eyes. ¡°She¡¯d sounded so fine, there was no way I could have known that there was something wrong, but when I saw her¡­ My God, she was devastated. Broken.¡± My throat felt tight, the words stuck. Alex squeezed my hand again, telling me wordlessly that he was there. ¡°Apparently, Paul had a wife and two children. The same man who¡¯d told my mom that he¡¯d never been married and was d he now had a child he could call his own. Me.¡± Pain shed through me, as sharp as it¡¯d been that day, causing a fresh wave of tears to fall. ¡°He lied to my mom, Alex. He lied to me. Without so much as blinking an eye. My mom got a divorce and as for Paul, he probably went back to his family or moved onto the next clueless single mother and child to deceive, but we don¡¯t know for sure.¡±


    Alex sucked in a sharp breath. ¡°Fuck, I¡¯m so sorry, baby.¡±


    The endearment gave me a tingly feeling and I squeezed his hand back, telling him that I appreciated him. That I was grateful.


    I sighed, staring down at my palm in Alex¡¯s with teary eyes. ¡°When Paul left, my mother was heartbroken. Me too, to be honest. I¡¯d started to think of him as my dad and more than that, he was my friend. It was hard to ept that he was truly gone, and even harder to ept that he¡¯d left us without a backward nce. Had we really been that unimportant to him? Had he not cared for us at all?¡± I gave voice to the questions that had gued me for several sleepless nights, wondering if it had all been in my head. If I¡¯d imagined the whole thing. With a shrug, I said, ¡°I guess he didn¡¯t.


    ¡°My mom didn¡¯t date anyone after him. Well, until Cary.¡± Cary, who had to have been the kindest man I¡¯d ever met. ¡°Cary was everything. He was patient with my mother, courting her when she said she didn¡¯t believe in love anymore, even when she seemed to be in love with another man. My God, he was so incredibly patient, he courted my mom for up to a year. Only for him to die in a car ident before they could even spend three together.¡± My voice broke. ¡°How unfair could life get?¡±N?velDrama.Org owns ? this.

 49

    LAURA


    I¡¯d cried with my mother that night. Not because Cary and I had been close-we¡¯d never really clicked, not like Paul and I-but because he¡¯d been a good man who hadn¡¯t deserved to die so young. I¡¯d cried because my mother had lost yet another man she¡¯d loved and probably the one she¡¯d loved the most.


    ¡°When Cary died, my mom¡¯s soul did too.¡± The words left my mouth in a monotonous tone, bitter in their truthfulness. ¡°She lost interest in everything, she stopped talking much and it was a struggle getting up in the morning to go to work. Of course things got worse,¡± Iughed humourlessly. ¡°She resigned, started smoking and drinking. I was pissed at her for letting herself go and things got so awkward between us, we barely talked. She slipped further and further away from me until we became two strangers and I couldn¡¯t even get real mad at her because I knew it wasn¡¯t her fault.¡±


    I turned to face him, uncaring that I was crying. His face was contorted in pain, his eyes tortured as they tracked my tears. ¡°The light died in her eyes, Alex. I watched it deteriorate slowly, chips falling away each day until it gave outpletely.¡± My lower lip trembled as more tears fell down my cheeks, unhindered. ¡°I saw it. All of it. With my own eyes. Men did that to my mother. They destroyed her until only a soulless creature remained, existing and wishing from day to day for things she¡¯s never going to get back. Men did-¡±


    ¡°Shhhh,¡± Alex whispered, wrapping his arms around me and rocking us from side-to-side.


    I let my head fall back against his chest as I stared at the ceiling, allowing the tears roll down my cheeks silently. It should freak me out that I¡¯d unloaded my baggage on Alex-that I¡¯d finally told someone about my mother and had aplete meltdown while at it-but I felt strangely at ease. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders and I felt ten times lighter.


    Most of all, I was d he now understood where my worries stemmed from. Why I was pushing him away-because that was what I was doing, whether I liked to admit it or not.


    Alex rocked us like that for a while until my tears had dried and I started to get sleepy from the slow motion and his sturdy form.


    When he finally spoke, his voice was low but clear. ¡°Paul was an asshole, Laura, and I¡¯m sorry that he hurt you. I hate that you had to experience that. You obviously cared about him.¡± Alex sighed and the movement caused my head to go up and down. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know why he did what he did but I think he genuinely loved you and your mother.¡±


    I said nothing, content to listen to him. I liked his voice, ergo I liked listening to him talk.


    ¡°I think Cary¡¯s death was sad and I wish he and your mother could have had more time together.¡± Alex paused, turned me in his arms to face him, cupped my cheeks and said, ¡°But that¡¯s life, Laura. Your mother had a series of bad luck with men doesn¡¯t mean the same is going to happen to you.¡±Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    Of course it doesn¡¯t. But¡­


    ¡°It could.¡±


    He nodded slowly. ¡°Yes, it could. But what if it doesn¡¯t?¡±


    I leaned away from him. ¡°I¡¯d rather be safe than sorry.¡±


    ¡°Laura¡­¡± Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair. At this rate, he was going to go bald before forty.


    ¡°The light in my mother¡¯s eyes died, Alex,¡± I cried. ¡°She¡¯s just there, freaking existing. Most times she doesn¡¯t even know I¡¯m in the room. I don¡¯t want that to happen to me.¡±


    ¡°It won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that.¡±


    ¡°Laura, I know that just because life was cruel to your mother doesn¡¯t mean it¡¯s it¡¯s going to be cruel to you too.¡±


    Of course I knew that. In fact, there was a possibility the same thing might not happen to me at all, but what if it did? I was my mother¡¯s daughter after all. What if we weren¡¯t so different? What if it was a family curse?


    I scooted away from Alex and sat at the edge of the couch, staring down at the rug. Alex was suddenly making a rule I¡¯d followed my whole life feel ridiculous, which in turn made me feel ridiculous.


    There was a loud voice in my head telling me to throw caution to the wind and dive head first into this, but then there was another one telling me to run away as fast as I could.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯m willing to risk it.¡±


    He got up from the couch and lowered to his haunches in front of me. He tried to meet my eyes but I deliberately looked away, knowing that I¡¯d break if I looked into those beautiful eyes. ¡°All you have to do is try, Laura.¡±


    ¡°You say that like it¡¯s so easy.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not,¡± he admitted quickly. ¡°I¡¯m begging you to.¡±


    There was so much plea and longing in his eyes, it rocked me. Something that felt dangerously close to want made my chest tighten with the urge to keep him. To be with him.


    It was scary.


    ¡°But what if it goes wrong?¡± I voiced out my biggest fear. ¡°I¡¯ve seen firsthand what loss does to a person, Alex. I don¡¯t want that to happen to me.¡±


    Alex swallowed audibly. ¡°It won¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Stop saying that! It could-¡±


    ¡°And what if it does?¡± He snapped, rising to his feet as he began to pace in front of me. ¡°Even Shakespeare said it is better to have loved and lost than to not have loved at all.¡±


    I blinked, torn betweenughing and crying. ¡°You did not just quote Shakespeare to me right now.¡±


    He pursed his lips.


    My heart raced in my chest, beating a fast rhythm. Fear. Hope. ¡°And what does that even mean? That there¡¯s a huge chance this could go south?¡± Then I hastily added, ¡°If I decide to give it a try.¡±


    Alex shook his head. He stopped pacing and stared at me, his eyes sweeping over my face so thoroughly, I could almost feel the strokes. Then he walked over to me again, squatting before me and sending my heart into overdrive. Tenderly, he took my hands. ¡°I love you, Laura.¡±


    My breath caught and my heart stopped beating altogether, positive that I¡¯d misheard him. I blinked. ¡°W-what?¡±


    ¡°I do. Which means even if there¡¯s a tiny chance this could go wrong, I¡¯ll eliminate it.¡± His eyes burned bright with emotion. ¡°If you were mine, Laura baby, I¡¯d never let you go. I¡¯m not like Paul or any other asshole out there. I promise.¡±


    Was it possible that the qords, ¡®I love you¡¯ now tranted to ¡®I hate you¡¯ or something simr in anothernguage?


    If it was, I didn¡¯t know of it. And I¡¯d ask Alex but he looked very serious right now and I wouldn¡¯t want to make him feel a sort of way with the question, which meant¡­


    Which meant he meant what he was saying. That he¡­ Jesus. That he loved me.


    Love.


    I honestly didn¡¯t know what to say. I wanted to tug my hand out of his and run and I wanted to throw my hands around his neck and hug him. I wanted to throw up and I wanted to kiss him. Not in that order and ew.


    In an attempt to lighten the mood, I said, ¡°I thought you were just obsessed with me.¡±


    The intensity of his stare didn¡¯t lessen. ¡°I¡¯m both.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be obsessed and in love with me at the same time.¡±


    ¡°Yes, you can. I¡¯m the expert here so you have to listen to me.¡± The words were fast and clipped, probably because I wasn¡¯t focusing on what I should.


    But I didn¡¯t know how to respond!


    My brows lifted. ¡°You¡¯re the expert, huh?¡±


    His eyes squeezed shut on a groan as he realized what he¡¯d done. ¡°Wait. No. Jesus Christ, I didn¡¯t mean it like that. I just meant-¡± He shook his head hard. ¡°You know what? Forget I said that.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help it. Iughed.


    A full bellyugh that had me throwing my head back and chuckling until tears slid out of my eyes. When I could finally stop, wipe my eyes and look back at Alex, he was staring at me with a soft expression. Like¡­. Like he was in love.


    Oh, God. He really did love me.


    ¡°Alex¡­¡±


    ¡°I love you, Laura,¡± he breathed, cupping my cheek and brushing the pad of his thumb across my skin. ¡°Tell me what I have to do. I¡¯ll do anything. Just please give us a chance.¡±


    My heart gave an odd little clench. I was such a fucking goner.


    ¡°Kiss me.¡± I offered my lips to him and he groaned before covering my lips with his.


    As his lips met mine, something became abundantly clear.


    I was falling.

 50

    LAURA


    Alex¡¯s eyes followed me as I dashed into the bathroom.


    I didn¡¯te with anything since I hadn¡¯t nned on spending the night so I pumped his body wash onto my palm andthered my body.


    Less than seven minutester, I was hurrying out of the shower. As I dried off, I thought about how much time I was going to burn in going to my ce, changing, then finally going to work.


    If only I could go directly from here. It would save time, yes, but then I didn¡¯t have appropriate work attire.


    Again, because I hadn¡¯t known I would be spending the night.


    I wrapped a second towel over my hair and walked out of the bathroom. When I got back into the room, Alex was lying back on the bed like a king, arms under his head with his legs slightly spread. Get this, he was totally naked and wasn¡¯t making any efforts to cover himself.


    And. He. Was. Sporting. Wood.


    Did this man not care for my sanity at all?


    ¡°Cover yourself up,¡± I told him, making deliberate efforts to keep my eyes averted as I dried my hair. ¡°You¡¯re distracting me.¡±


    He grinned. ¡°I like you distracted.¡±


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t. Because then, I¡¯m going to bete and you¡¯re going to be on the recieving end of my wrath and, spoiler alert,¡±-I pointed a finger at him and narrowed my eyes-¡°You¡¯re not going to like it.¡±


    ¡°Well, now I want to be on the recieving end of your wrath. You¡¯re sexy as hell when you¡¯re angry. I can only imagine what your fire would do to me.¡±


    Throwing my head back, I groaned up at the ceiling. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely enjoying yourself, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    ¡°Immensely,¡± he said readily and without hesitation. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever been as happy as I am now.¡±


    Balling up the towel I¡¯d dried my hair with, I chucked it at his head. Heughed as it smacked him on the face, then he tossed it to the side.


    Alex simply lifted a brow and crossed his legs, drawing my disobedient eyes down his tattooed chest, his sexy-as-hell pecs, to his mouth-watering dick, standing tall and proud from the small patch of dark hair.


    Now, I really really wish I didn¡¯t have to work this morning. If only to take him into my mouth, torture him and have him begging for mercy. I ached so badly to do it that I actually stood, unmoving and stared, my breaths quickening.


    My core tightened around nothing, begging to be filled, and an ache that would no doubt be a problem for me today at work, settled there, begging to be eased. To be attended to.


    When he spoke again, his voice was hoarse, the amusement dulled by his more intense need. ¡°If you keep looking at me like that, then I¡¯m not going to be responsible for whatever happens next.¡±


    I blinked.


    Giving him a stink eye, I stopped by the bed, bent over it and dragged the sheets over him up to his waist. It didn¡¯t do anything to reduce his hotness because his tattoos were still bared to me, but at least I wouldn¡¯t have to ogle his dick and wish that I didn¡¯t have to work today.


    ¡°Now, why did you do that?¡± Alex asked in a voice filled with amusement.


    I walked into his closet, answering him over my shoulder. ¡°You were distracting me.¡±


    My eyes roved over the great number of shirts sitting in hangers. I fished out a ck button-down t-shirt that I could easily knot at my waist and sweatpants a few shades lighter than the shirt.


    Alex had very good taste when it came to clothes-everything else, really-and if there was something I discovered from entering his closet, it was that he loved fashion.


    He loved his clothes.


    It was obvious in the way his clothes were arranged, the lights, the mirrors, the space. His closet was bigger than his room and bathroom put together. It was an interesting thing to discover and I really wish I could have stayed longer to feed my eyes but I had somewhere to be.


    Depositing the clothes on the couch in the room, I let my towel fall to the ground and heard a sharp intake of breath, followed by a muttered, ¡°Fuck.¡±Text ? owned by N?velDrama.Org.


    Ah.


    It¡¯s payback time.


    I took my sweet time unbuttoning his shirt and putting my hands through the sleeves, then buttoned it slowly. I didn¡¯t look at him once as I did it, but I heard his heavy breathing that told me he was watching me, alright, and turned on.


    Because I was every bit the seductress, I spun around and bent in half as I dragged the sweatpants up my legs.


    I was surprised-and excited-when a finger trailed up my backside, causing the flesh there to singe as though I¡¯d been burned with a hot iron rod.


    Shooting up to my full height, I made to step away when he stopped me by slipping his hands around my waist and pulling me into him.


    ¡°You¡¯re trying to make me lose my mind, aren¡¯t you?¡± His lips caressed my ear.


    ¡°Only fair since you did the same to me.¡±


    He groaned, pulling my ass more into him. ¡°Can¡¯t be anywhere near what you do to me.¡± In a sh, he spun me around, tipping my chin up. ¡°Your body, Laura¡­¡± His eyes dropped from mine to my neck, my breasts covered in his shirt, and lower. It was like he was tracing me with his eyes. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen anything like it. And as if that¡¯s not enough, there¡¯s the way you move, your eyes, your freaking voice-¡± He shook his head, throat working on a swallow. ¡°You are extra-ordinary.¡±


    I melted in his arms. Like my legs legit turned to goo and if not for his arms supporting me, I was pretty sure I¡¯d have slumped on the floor.


    He lowered his head and kissed me. But before his lips could make contact, I summoned all my willpower and turned away, making his lips meet the side of my mouth instead. ¡°Alex¡­¡± I murmured. ¡°I have to go to work.¡±


    A full bodied sigh left him. ¡°Can I convince you to stay?¡±


    ¡°No. So don¡¯t even bother,¡± I said, even though I was a bit thrilled that he¡¯d asked instead of telling me. Those little things that mattered.


    His tone was resigned when he said, ¡°Fine.¡± But he didn¡¯t stop kissing me, leaving trails of wet kisses across my jaw, the back of my ears, my neck.


    I was too weak to stop him.


    ¡°Alex-¡±


    ¡°Take my car.¡±


    Augh bubbled out of me.


    When I realized that I was the only oneughing, I leaned back to stare at him. ¡°You¡¯re serious?¡±


    ¡°Of course I am.¡±


    I shook my head. ¡°That¡¯s not necessary. I¡¯ll order a ride to my apartment, change then order another one that¡¯ll take me to work.¡±


    Alex scowled. ¡°What¡¯s the point in ordering a ride when you can just take my car?¡±


    ¡°Because¡­¡± I stopped when I realized that I didn¡¯t know what to say. I had no valid reason to not take his car to work. ¡°Because why the hell would I take your car?¡±


    ¡°Because I insist.¡± He said calmly.


    ¡°But how are you going to get to work? You have to go to work right?¡±


    He smiled. ¡°I have three more.¡±


    ¡°But they¡¯re not here, are they?¡± I was grasping at straws at this point but I didn¡¯t care.


    Taking his car to work felt like something people in rtionships did.


    You¡¯re in a rtionship, I reminded myself.


    ¡°I have a garage, Laura.¡± Alex said, exasperated. When I opened my mouth to argue still, he pressed his index finger to my lips. ¡°You¡¯ve said more buts in the past hour than you have in the entire time we¡¯ve known each other.¡± I scowled at him. ¡°Take the car, Laura. It¡¯ll make me feel better if you do.¡±


    Slowly, he dropped his finger from my lips and I muttered, ¡°Fine. But just so you know, I¡¯m not a very good driver so if I ruin it, it¡¯s all your fault.¡±


    His eyes lit up as he grinned, obviously happy he¡¯d gotten his way. ¡°I¡¯ll get another one.¡±


    I rolled my eyes.


    ¡®Course he could. He was rich.


    ¡°Have to get going now.¡± I stepped back but he stopped me by catching my shirt rails.


    ¡°Wait.¡±


    Lifting a brow, I did.


    His gaze turned solemn as he undid thest button on my shirt. I tried to remove his hands, thinking he wanted to undress me, when he smacked my hands away.


    He twisted both sides of the shirt and tied them together. My heart stuttered when it dawned on me that he was knotting it.


    For me.


    Eyes on his task, he said, ¡°I wasn¡¯t joking when I said that I¡¯ve never been as happy as I am right now, you know.¡± The abrupt change of topic threw me, and I could do nothing but watch him and listen. ¡°Being able to hold you in my arms while you slept eased something in me. I don¡¯t know what it is, but now I feel lighter and happier.¡± He shook his head, tying the final knot. He looked up at me and I thought the emotion in his eyes was too much for one person to carry. ¡°It¡¯s you, Laura.¡±


    Emotion clogging my throat, I lifted my hand and brushed his messy bed-hair away from his face. ¡°I¡¯m d.¡±


    ¡°Can youe back tonight?¡± He asked after slight hesitation. ¡°You could pack some clothes.¡±


    I sighed, knowing that it was impossible for me to say no. ¡°Okay.¡±


    What was I? A fucking goner, that¡¯s what.


    It wasn¡¯t until I was standing by the door that I said, ¡°Thank you, Alex.¡±


    We both knew that it wasn¡¯t because of the car I was thanking him. I was thanking him for being my safe cest night and for everything he¡¯d done.


    Emotion zing in his eyes, he said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to thank me for anything, Laura love. I would stop the world from spinning for you.¡±


    My hands trembling around the key, I left.


    It had been a while since I¡¯dst drove but the moment I got into the driver¡¯s seat of the car, muscle memory kicked in.


    I made a quick stop at my ce, toed the sweatpants off with lightning quick speed and dashed into my closet, changing into jeans.


    I decided not to change Alex¡¯s shirt after all. Thankfully, I hadn¡¯t undone the knot. I was feeling oddly sentimental and wanted something of his to be with me at work today.


    Very strange, I know.


    Pulling onto the road, I drove to the twenty-floored building where mypany was. When I drew towards a traffic light, I flicked my eyes up, seeing that it was currently green and was only two seconds before it turned red.


    Deciding to wait it out, I pressed on the brakes but shockingly, the car didn¡¯t stop. Thinking that maybe I hadn¡¯t ced my foot against it hard enough, I did, with my force this time, but the car didn¡¯t stop.


    My heart dropped into my stomach when the car rode past the red light and onto the opposite street where a car was speeding towards me.


    Oh fuck.


    My heart started mming against my ribcage, my eyes darting around as I thought about what to do.


    I couldn¡¯t think.


    The car was too fast and my brain was too slow to interpret my chaotic thoughts right now. But why wasn¡¯t the fucking car slowing down?


    Three seconds.


    Two seconds.


    One second.


    A scream tore from my throat as the car mmed into mine with such unimaginable force that I was thrown backward, then forward, my head mming into something hard.


    Everything went ck.

 51

    Beep.


    Beep.


    Beep.


    That was all I kept hearing. The sound wouldn¡¯t fucking leave my head.


    I tried to open my eyes, but they remained firmly shut. My lids felt like two lead weights and lifting them felt like a herculean task. When I finally did, I must have been looking straight at the sun because it was so bright, I winced and shut them immediately.


    The second time when I opened them, I did so slowly, and that was when I realized that I hadn¡¯t been staring at the sun. The room I was in was bright, painted with white all round, but it shouldn¡¯t have hurt my eyes like that.


    The fact that it had meant only one thing; My eyes had been closed for a very long time.


    Swallowing past a painfully dry throat, I looked around. There were machines connected to my body and the steady beep I¡¯d been hearing was from one of them.


    The room¡­Exclusive ? material by N?(/v)elDrama.Org.


    The machines¡­


    I was in a hospital. What the hell was I doing in a hospital?


    Bracing my hands on the pillow, I made to sit up on the bed, only for me to gasp at the sheer magnitude of pain that coursed through me.


    It felt like there was a sledgehammer mming against my skull from the inside. My entire body hurt in a significant number of ces, the main one being my head.


    What the he-


    The ident!


    That car had been driving towards me at high speed without showing any signs of slowing down and Alex¡¯s car brakes had failed to work.


    A fresh wave of pain and regret shot through me because I knew that I had probably damaged Alex¡¯s car.


    Where was he?


    With great effort, I turned my head to the door and as though I¡¯d summoned him with my thoughts, the door cracked open quietly and he stepped into the room.


    ¡°Alex?¡±


    He had his head bent when he came in so he didn¡¯t see me at first. On hearing the sound of his name, his head flew up and surprised eyesnded on my face. ¡°Laura? You¡¯re awake?¡±


    Pushing the door shut, he hurried towards me, looking for all the world like he wanted to lift me off the hospital bed and crush me to him, but then he clenched and unclenched his hands by his sides. Then he pushed a lock of hair away from my face with shaky hands.


    ¡°How did I get here?¡± I forced out, my voiceing out small and scratchy. ¡°How are you here?¡±


    Alex exhaled shakily.


    He dropped onto the chair beside the bed and took one of my hands in his. ¡°Laura, you¡­¡± He swallowed, looked away, then looked back at me. ¡°You got in an ident, Laura.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I-¡± I coughed.


    In a sh, Alex shot up from the chair and ced a bottle of water against my lips. I drank a little, then drank more, only now realizing just how thirsty I really was.


    Before I could take in any more, Alex took the bottle away. ¡°That¡¯s okay for now.¡±


    He ced the bottle on the table beside the bed and retook his seat, jerking it closer to the bed until he was close enough to brace his elbows on it, right next to my waist.


    Alex¡¯s eyes were blood-shot red and his hair stuck out in every direction like he¡¯d been running his hands through it. Said hands were shaking and he looked so weary and tired, like he¡¯d aged an extra ten years in the past-


    I blinked. ¡°How long have I been sleeping?¡±


    ¡°Sleeping?¡± He asked, incredulous. He got up from the chair again and stabbed his fingers through his hair, pulling on it so roughly that it had to sting. ¡°You¡¯ve been unconscious for five hours, Laura.¡±


    My stomach bottomed out.


    What?


    I searched around for a clock but couldn¡¯t find one. ¡°That¡¯s impossible. You¡¯re telling me I just, like, slept off for five hours in the middle of the day?¡±


    He swiveled around. ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep off. You were unconscious!¡± The st of anger surprised me and I stared at him, eyes wide. ¡°You left the house and I got called less than an hourter that you had been involved in an ident. Laura, I felt fear unlike anything I had ever felt before. I thought I was going to lose my fucking mind!¡± He was breathing hard, his face flushed. ¡°When I got here, you were unconscious, Laura.¡± His voice broke on the word ¡®unconscious¡¯ and I felt my heart breaking right along with it. ¡°You were unconscious and I couldn¡¯t do a damn thing. I felt so fucking-¡±


    ¡°Come here.¡± I cut him off, opening my arms and praying like hell that he woulde to me because, once again, I was being a bitch.


    I¡¯d juste out of an ident where I should be d that I hadn¡¯t lost my life and instead, I was focused on the fact that I¡¯d lost five hours of my day.


    Alex loved me.


    God help him, but he did. And I could only imagine the emotional toll this had to have taken on him.


    I felt a tightness loosen in my chest when he closed the distance between us and dropped onto the chair, cing his head on my stomach. It hurt a little bit, but not very much and besides, having him with me like this made me feel ten times better than I felt before.


    We stayed like that for a while with me running my free hand through his hair, soothing him and apologizing without words for my behaviour, because as it turned out, I wasn¡¯t very good with my words.


    Suddenly, Alex jerked up and I quickly pulled my fingers out of his hair so that I wouldn¡¯t hurt him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I shouldn¡¯t have.¡± He gestured to my stomach. ¡°You¡¯re obviously in pains and I should beforting you. Not the other way round.¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t feel much pain right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because there¡¯s a fuck load of painkillers in your system.¡±


    Of course there were.


    I extended a hand to him. ¡°Can you help me sit up?¡±


    cing a hand on either sides of my waist, Alex lifted me up gingerly until I was sitting up straight and propped up a pillow behind me, which made me feel morefortable.


    ¡°What happened, Laura?¡± He asked when he had taken his seat beside me. He still had my hand in his. It was almost like he didn¡¯t want to stop touching me.


    Like he was scared the moment he let me go, I would disappear into thin air.


    I squeezed his hand. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry that I scared you.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. Just tell me what happened.¡±


    Staring out the window, I thought back to thosest few moments in the car. ¡°I remember seeing a traffic light and wanting to stop, but I couldn¡¯t. The car just kept on moving and there was a caring towards me at high speed and I¡­¡± I exhaled shakily, tremors travelling across my body as I relived the ident again in my head. I turned to Alex, who was staring at me with a pained expression. ¡°The car just kept moving, Alex.¡±


    ¡°Then what happened?¡± He almost looked like he didn¡¯t want to hear the answer to the question.


    I gave it to him anyway. ¡°We mmed into each other.¡±


    He shook his head and looked away, hands trembling in mine. ¡°Thankfully, the other driver stopped just before they could hit you, so you ran into them. And you weren¡¯t at full speed which was why the impact was not very severe.¡±


    My mouth fell. ¡°Oh God.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°If he hadn¡¯t stopped sooner, Laura, then we wouldn¡¯t have been having this conversation. I could have-¡± Alex lost hisposure and he looked up at the ceiling, his throat working.


    Seeing him like thispletely destroyed me.


    He stared at the ceiling for a while before looking back at me when he had finally managed to get himself under control.


    ¡°What did you mean when you said the car wouldn¡¯t stop?¡± He asked suddenly.


    I shrugged as much as my body would allow. ¡°The brakes didn¡¯t respond.¡±


    Alex¡¯s eyes narrowed and he leaned forward. ¡°That could not have been possible. The brakes of that car work just fine.¡±


    I sighed. ¡°I know what I¡¯m saying, Alex. I was the one driving the car.¡± I remembered vividly how I¡¯d stomped on the brakes several times without getting any response. ¡°The brakes failed. They weren¡¯t responding.¡±


    His breathing had picked up now. ¡°Where were you when the ident happened?¡±


    Why was he asking me such odd questions?


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember exactly, but I was on my way to work.¡±


    ¡°Did you notice any issues with the brakes when you were driving from my ce to yours?¡±


    I frowned at him.¡±No, what-¡±


    The door fell open and a doctor walked in, effectively cutting the conversation short.


    He paused when he saw the close proximity of Alex and I, and for no good reason, I blushed.


    Freaking blushed.


    ¡°Ah, I could give you guys a minute.¡± He was already retreating with one leg out the door when Alex stopped him.


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± Alex stood quickly. ¡°Pleasee in.¡±


    The man nodded. He closed the door and walked in, eyes swiping over my form and a small smile settling on his face. ¡°I¡¯m d to see that you¡¯re awake and feeling better.¡±


    I nodded, mustering a small smile.


    ¡°Now, other than a mild concussion and the few cuts that have already been attended to, I¡¯m d to inform you that you have no other injuries.¡±


    ¡°Thank fuck,¡± Alex muttered.


    I shared the same sentiment, but I couldn¡¯t really celebrate yet because I could already see a ¡®but¡¯ing from the doctor. It was written all over his expression.


    ¡°However, when we ran your blood test, we found something.¡±


    My heart literally stopped beating then.


    ¡°What is it?¡± The words came out on a whisper.


    The doctor¡¯s eyes flitted to Alex. ¡°If you could please excuse us-¡±


    ¡°No, it¡¯s fine.¡± I cut the doctor off. ¡°He can stay.¡±


    But the doctor seemed hesitant. ¡°Are you sure you want him to stay?¡±


    ¡°Positive.¡±


    I trusted Alex.


    If it turned out that I had an illness, a condition, or that there was something wrong with me, then he should know. And I trusted him to not do anything with that information, but keep it between the both of us.


    ¡°Very well then.¡± The doctor looked me in the eyes. ¡°You¡¯re pregnant.¡±


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