LOGINGIANJess was livid with anger.“I can’t believe it… in all my years here, this is the first time something like this happened here. Nothing like this has ever happened, even to our neighbors. We’ve never even been robbed. What if it had been a person who got hurt? What if it had been Anna?”“Uncle, I don’t think it was someone from around here. I know everyone here. No one local would do this,” Jason said.“And you and Elise were on the beach when you heard Anna scream?” Jess asked me.I nodded with clenched teeth. The nightmare was catching up on me, too. I hadn’t even realized there was someone else around. We could have suffered the same fate as Tootsie, and I couldn’t have done anything to protect Elise.“But you weren’t the target. The intruder went up the balcony and…” There was a slight tremor in Jess’s voice, and he cleared his throat. I was with Elise. For all intents and purposes, Jess was thinking I was capable of protecting her. But Anna was practically alone in the house
IT FELT LIKE a long way to the house. When we finally got there, I was winded. Anna's screams and cries were coming from the porch.“What happened?!” I asked frantically when we finally climbed the stairs and I saw my pale and tearful sister.“Ate, Tootsie…”Then I heard Tootsie's panting and whining. I turned from rushing to Anna because in one look I could see that aside from shock and fear, she was alright physically, towards the corner that wasn’t visible from the stairs because of a set of benches near the porch railing that blocked the view.Tootsie Roll was lying there.On a pool of blood.Oh god… there was so much blood on the tiles.“Oh my God…” I said as I knelt down. But Gian pulled me up again.“Call Aling Celia,” he ordered me while taking his cellphone from his pocket. “I’ll call your mother. Anna, hold yourself together. Can you contact Tootsie’s vet?”I ran to Aling Celia while wiping the tears from my cheeks. I found the old woman coming out, wearing a long skirt that
He claimed my lips again, kissing me hard and deep, and this time it was without the tension of an exciting, unknown discovery. We were past that.I knew now. I saw the fevered look in his eyes. He had decided and he had always owned his decisions when it came to me.Thank God.Talking was over. He focused more attention on my body. He suckled each nipple, taking his time, holding them, gently squeezing as if he couldn’t help himself… making me delirious with pleasure. His hand traveled down my belly straight to the apex of my thighs, and it didn’t even surprise me that he was going to be the first time to touch me there. I couldn’t wait for what he was going to do next. He felt me and rubbed me over the cloth of my shorts. I moaned as I rubbed myself against his palm like I couldn’t control myself. He captured that moan with a kiss. His knees moved and pushed my thighs apart then he raised his head from the kiss to watch me as I opened my eyes, my eyelids so heavy with my desire. Hi
I PUSHED AWAY from him to get up, but I heard him grunt, and then I realized that my elbows were sticking to his ribs. “Oh!” I adjusted my position. “Sorry.” And I started to get up again.But his arms tightened around me. He looked winded—the only reason why he couldn’t laugh. My heart pounded as warmth spread somewhere in the vicinity of my lower abdomen. “Gian…”“You do know that all that stupid play was to get you exactly where you are right now? Minus this small accident.”“Really? You didn’t plan to bump into my head?”He sighed. “I know… I should have just kissed you the moment Anna left,” he said, then reached up and pulled me by the nape of my neck so our lips could meet. As soon as he felt my enthusiastic response, he groaned and kissed me deeper. His mouth opened, and the next moment I tasted the sweetness of the chocolate we had shared in our heated kiss.Warmth permeated my body. His arms released me but his mouth didn’t. He worked his jacket off, kissing me in between a
I looked at him. We had an approval committee in the office. I thought of Tessa Bodet, one of the committee members. Tessa didn’t like me. She was a known critic and strict before she moved to VerraCom, so no one could just say her frequent vetoes on startups I endorsed were not personal. She was my senior as an employee and about a decade older than me—she’s intimidating. It was said that she accepted the appointment at a new company thinking it would lead to the highest position there.I could only imagine what she felt after landing at VerraCom and finding out that Gian himself was already training someone very young with an obscure background for the position she wanted. If she hated me for it, I could understand. But VerraCom was created for me. It was mine. If she wanted to be the CEO of a company, she should create her own. Done. I was tired of bullies.She’d put forward a bunch of cons regarding Kyle’s proposal. She must not be happy a
I GOT UP before Anna completely lost it. She was covering her entire face with her hands, feeling incredibly embarrassed but extremely thrilled. I got her. I really, really did. “It’s Valentine’s Day, so I brought flowers for two single, beautiful ladies I know are here. Here’s for you, Anna.” Anna quickly extended her right hand to take the flowers and chocolates while still covering half her face with the other hand. “Thank you, Gian. Happy Valentine’s Day! Eeeeh!” Still screeching the longest screech ever, she turned and ran back to the beach house. Gian and I laughed while watching her, and Tootsie, who momentarily didn't know whether to follow or stay, eventually ran after her. Tootsie was, for all intents and purposes, really Anna’s dog. Then Gian turned to me. An awkward moment passed as he seemed unsure of what to say. “I thought you don’t do Valentine’s?” I said, trying to help. He handed me a box with a long-stemmed rose and a ribbon-tied







