Novels by Yukiwrites

Rosa's POVThe third session was harder than the first two and he knew it was going to be before we started.I could tell by the way he was already on the mat when I came in, no warmup, no small talk, just standing there in a grey shirt with his arms loose at his sides watching me walk through the door like he'd been thinking about this all day. Maybe he had. I'd stopped pretending I knew what went on in his head."You've been favoring your right side," he said, before I'd even finished wrapping my hands."Hello to you too.""It's a problem. If Morales at regionals clocks it she'll take your ribs apart in the second round."I pulled the wrap tight and didn't answer because he was right and I knew he was right and telling him so wasn't something I was prepared to do at eight in the evening after a full day of trying not to think about him.We started with footwork drills, which sounds boring and isn't, not the way he runs them. He sets the pace and changes it without warning and you ha

Raffaele’s POVWhen my father called, he didn’t ask.“Dinner,” he said, his voice steady and unhurried over the line. “Tonight.”That was it. No explanation, no room to refuse. There never was.“I’ll be there,” I replied.He ended the call without another word.I stood there for a moment, phone still in my hand, already knowing what this was about. My father didn’t come into the city unless something needed his direct attention, and he didn’t summon me unless he had already decided the conversation was necessary. Whatever he wanted to say, he had been thinking about it for a while.I got ready without rushing, but I didn’t waste time either. By the time I stepped out, everything was in place the way it needed to be. I didn’t tell Rosa where I was going. There was no reason to, and no part of me wanted to bring her into this before I had to.The restaurant was one of my father’s usual choices when he was in the city—private, quiet, and controlled. The kind of place where no one asked q

Rosa’s POVBy the second sparring session, I told myself I had everything under control.That was a lie, but it was one I was willing to believe as long as I could still step onto the mat and move the way I was supposed to.When I walked into the gym that evening, Raffaele was already there. He wasn’t doing anything dramatic, just standing near the mat with that same quiet, watchful look he always had, like he had been there long enough to settle into the space completely. His eyes lifted to me the moment I entered, and something about the way his gaze held mine for a second longer than necessary made me instantly aware of myself—my clothes, my posture, the way I was standing.“You’re late,” he said.“I’m not,” I replied, dropping my bag by the wall. “You’re just early.”There was a faint hint of amusement in his expression, but he didn’t argue. He simply nodded toward the mat. “Warm up.”I moved without another word, letting routine take over. Stretching came first, then footwork dri

Rosa’s POVMy competition was eight weeks away, and the university gym was still off-limits. Eight weeks was nothing in fight time—skills dulled faster than people realized, timing slipped, reflexes slowed—and I wasn’t about to let that happen while I sat in a penthouse like something pretty and contained, waiting for a man to decide when I could step outside. That wasn’t me, and it never would be.I found Raffaele in the living room that afternoon, exactly where I expected him to be—on the couch, laptop open, posture relaxed like he owned not just the space but the air in it. Sunlight filtered in through the floor-to-ceiling windows, catching the sharp edges of his face and the calm focus in his eyes. For a brief second, I watched him, taking in the quiet authority he carried so effortlessly, before reminding myself why I was there.“I need to train.”He didn’t react immediately. He simply lifted his gaze from the screen, steady and unreadable as always. “You can train here. The gym

Rosa’s POVI took longer than usual getting ready the next morning, not because I didn’t know what to wear, but because I couldn’t decide what version of myself I was supposed to walk out there as. The one from yesterday felt too distant, too unaffected. The one from last night— I refused to linger on that. By the time I stepped out of my room, I had already made the decision. I would be composed. I would be clear. Whatever happened last night would stay exactly where I put it.I walked into his office without knocking.Raffaele was at his desk, sleeves rolled, expression calm in a way that immediately irritated me. He looked up as I entered, his gaze settling on me with quiet awareness, like he already knew what I had come to say and was simply waiting to hear how I would phrase it.I didn’t give him time to speak. I crossed the room and sat down across from him, back straight, chin lifted just enough to feel like control.“Last night was physical,” I said, my voice even, measured. “

Rosa’s POVI couldn’t sleep.I lay in his bed, in his blanket, in his building, staring at the ceiling while the kiss from earlier played over and over in my head. His mouth on mine. Firm. Sure. No hesitation. I kept feeling the way my body had responded, the way I had kissed him back before my brain caught up. I hated myself for it. I hated how much I kept replaying it. I hated how warm my skin still felt hours later.At 1am I gave up.I got out of bed, pulled on the robe he had left for me, and walked to the kitchen for water. The lights were low, just the glow from the city outside the windows. I stopped when I saw him.Raffaele was already there, leaning against the counter, shirt untucked, a glass of whiskey in his hand. He looked like he couldn’t sleep either. I told myself it didn’t satisfy something in me. I told myself I didn’t care.We stood on opposite sides of the kitchen for a long moment, neither of us speaking. The silence stretched, thick and heavy.Then I said his nam

Liora's POVA year had passed in a blur of waiting tables, scrubbing floors at the local diner, and stacking shelves at the corner store until my hands cracked and my back screamed. Anything to scrape together enough for tuition.Mom had tried…God, she’d tried, picking up extra shifts at the nursing home, but it wasn’t enough. So I hustled. Applied for every scholarship under the sun, begged for extensions on bills, and finally, finally pieced together a fragile path to Blackthorn College. Environmental Science major. It fit…studying ecosystems, conservation, the wild things that lurked just beyond the civilized world. Felt poetic somehow, like I was chasing shadows in the forest.And Blackthorn? Prestigious enough to change my life, remote enough to feel like an escape.I zipped my duffel bag shut, the zipper catching on a frayed edge like it didn’t want me to go. Mom stood in the doorway of our tiny apartment, arms crossed over her faded floral dress, eyes misty but proud.“You sure

Liora's POV He took me again and again, through the long, hazy stretch of the night, until the line between pain and pleasure blurred into something I couldn’t name. Every time I thought I’d reached my limit, muscles trembling, breath ragged, body slick with sweat, he slowed down just enough to pull me back from the edge, only to push me over it again. His hands were everywhere, bruising my hips, tangling in my hair, pinning my wrists above my head while he drove into me with a rhythm that felt both punishing and reverent. I lost count of how many times I came undone beneath him, how many times his name tore from my throat like a prayer.By the last round, I was shaking, oversensitive, every thrust sending sharp sparks of too-much through me. My thighs burned, my core ached, but I still arched into him, greedy for the way he filled me, claimed me. When he finally spilled inside me one final time, a low, broken groan rumbling from his chest, I collapsed against the sheets, boneless a

Liora's POVMy body was a live wire, humming with need as Ronan hovered over me, his eyes burning into mine like he could see every secret I’d ever hidden. The air in the room felt thick, heavy with the scent of chlorine from outside and something muskier—us, tangled in this reckless moment. His belt was undone, jeans pushed low on his hips, and I could feel the heat of him pressing close, the tension between us like a storm about to break. My heart hammered so loud I swore he could hear it, feel it against his chest where my hands still clutched at himHe didn’t rush with me. Instead, he dipped his head, capturing my mouth in a kiss that was slower this time, deeper, his tongue sliding against mine in lazy strokes that made my toes curl. I sighed into him, my fingers tracing down his back, feeling the ridges of muscle shift under my touch. He tasted like forbidden things—smoke and sin and the kind of danger that made my pulse raceHis hand trailed down my side, fingers brushing the

Liora's POVMy breath hitchedHe was so close, closer than anyone had ever been.The air between us felt charged, like the moment before a storm breaks. His eyes, dark and unreadable, locked onto mine, and I couldn’t look away. My skin prickled under his gaze, the alcohol buzzing in my veins making everything sharper, hotter. I should’ve bolted, pushed past him and run back to the chaos downstairs, but my feet stayed rooted, my body betraying me with a heat I didn’t recognize“What are the odds,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the room, “of her walking into this room right now”I blinked. “Her?”“You.” He stepped closer again, closing the gap until I could feel the warmth radiating off his chest. “You seem frightened.” His lips curved into something that wasn’t quite a smile, more like a predator spotting easy prey. “I’m obsessed with frightened”The words sent a shiver down my spine, but it wasn’t fear, not entirely. My hands were shaking now, visibly, and

Liora's POV It was a bad idea to be at a pool party. I mean, I wasn’t built for this. The music thumped so hard the glass doors rattled, bass crawling under my skin like it wanted to live there. End-of-year graduation. Everyone was screaming about college next fall like the world was handing out golden tickets. Normally I’d be home with my nose in a textbook or pretending my phone was more interesting than people. But Lisa, my best friend, the queen bee who could make a room full of strangers feel like they’d known her forever—had decided the entire senior class deserved to drown in her parents’ infinity pool.So here I was. Liora Vance. The charity-case shadow. The girl who got invited because Lisa refused to leave me behind.All around me, bodies glistened under string lights. Girls in barely-there bikinis laughing too loud, boys in board shorts flexing like they were auditioning for a thirst trap. Boobs bounced everywhere. Dicks got talked about like they were the main event. “G