LOGINRACHEL“Shorty…” he whispered.His hand moved slowly. His fingers sliding up to mine, warm and electrifying. My eyes dropped to where our hands touched and then lifted back to his again.“Why not?” I asked softly.My eyes caught the tightness in his jaw when he shook his head, as if trying to fight himself from admitting something his body had already decided.We both wanted this, but he had no idea I wasn't letting him run away from this feeling again. I didn’t care if Noah and T were just two rooms away from us right now.He said nothing, and that silence only made me more frustrated in a way that didn’t make me mad at him but mad at myself for looking like I was the one desperate. It made me feel…Before I could finish that thought, his face broke into a sudden nervous laugh.“Shit.”He licked his lips, and leaned forward, his forehead rested against mine as we breathed the same air.“What’s funny?” I asked, confused and nervous at the same time.“This dude just embarrassed me…” Hi
RACHELThe word oxygen is English, not Spanish, but for some reason it sounded like Thane had suddenly started speaking Spanish. I was sure he said oxygen, yet my brain scrambled trying to figure out what it meant… or how I was even supposed to react to it.“Have you…” he studied my face carefully, like he was reading a complicated textbook written across it. “Have you taken a shower yet?”A response was already forming on my tongue when an embarrassing hiccup suddenly burst out of me.I froze.I couldn’t even remember the last time I hiccupped, and I absolutely hated that it happened right in front of him.Thane sighed, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. He walked to the table, grabbed the bottle of water sitting there, and handed it to me. “Drink.”My hand moved like a thunder bolt, grabbing it and gulped the water down quickly. It wasn’t just the hiccup that disappeared. The cool water seemed to wash through my whole body, calming the rush of blood pounding in my vei
RACHELI thought I was angry at Thane a second ago… but the moment I heard his voice on the phone, the anger faded like a dying flame.To be honest, I wasn’t really mad at him. I was worried. I kept wondering what had happened between him and Simon after the whole thing with Noah’s case. The way he sounded earlier didn’t sit right with me. Right… Thinking about those two actually reminded me of something else. I honestly thought Tiara and Noah were somewhere having a serious conversation about everything that happened. Instead, I walked into my room and found them making out on my damn bed.I shook my head. What could I say? Maybe I should learn from them. Have sex now, deal with the disaster later.I grabbed my phone from the chair and turned the screen on. Surprisingly, Han Jae Hyun’s message popped up. It was damn wrong but I think I needed a real distraction from hooking my mind with Thane’s thoughts. I stared at Jae’s message.Jae: Hi, Rach… Figured you didn’t want to call me af
THANE“We…” I stopped myself, forcing the words back down as I tried to choose them carefully. “He quit that a long time ago. Joe took his damn car and they got into a fight. All I did was get him out on bail as his lawyer. That’s all.”His palm slammed hard against the desk, making both of us flinch.“Go tell that to the fucking cops, boy!” His voice rose, loud enough that a few heads outside the glass office turned to look at us. “I have no goddamn business with it. And for God’s sake, go get yourself ready. The flight’s at eleven. We don’t want to be late meeting our client.”Frustration burned through me. Why the hell didn’t he care about anything except himself and whatever benefited him?This was about Noah. And he talked about him like he was just another criminal.Before I even realized it, I was already standing right in front of his desk. My teeth ground together as I forced my gaze to stay steady on his.He didn’t flinch. Not even a little. Instead, he sat there calmly, his
THANEThe whole drive back felt suffocating.Of all the damn times for this to happen, it had to be today, right when I had finally started something real with Rachel. Something that took me growing some damn balls and actually admitting how I felt.And now this had to happen?I barely survived that fucking embarrasement at the convenience store, but the call that came in next had my blood boiling and my mind spinning with worst-case scenarios. I knew I’d been a total dick back there, cutting her off like that when she was only trying to help. Hell, I shouldn’t have done that. But the anger and fear crawling through my veins made it impossible to think straight.I didn’t even know if she hated me now ‘cause she stayed quiet the entire ride, staring out the window like she couldn’t wait to get away from me. The silence stretched between us until I finally pulled into the driveway.I unbuckled my seatbelt slowly, trying to chug down the rage crawling through my veins. Right now all I wa
RACHELThis was one of the rare moments I wished I were taller. If I were, Thane wouldn’t have to bend so much just to reach me. It was bad enough when he leaned down to kiss my forehead, but now he was aiming for my lips. And I was practically standing on my toes.He noticed.A low chuckle slipped from him as he watched me struggle to keep my balance while trying to hold on to his waist.“Don’t laugh,” I muttered, frowning as I tried to pull away.But he only pulled me tighter against his chest, his laughter filling the room.“Dammit,” I grumbled. “Do you have to ruin the mood?”His smile widened. “It’s not that hard, shorty,” he said lazily. “I could turn you on in a minute again.”He leaned forward suddenly, making me stagger into him. “But looks like you don’t need my help with that… do you?”His gaze slid down my body, lingering between my thighs. Heat rushed through me so fast my legs melted.Shit. He knew. Of course he did. This was Thane Adams, for God’s sake. The only guy I k
RACHELMy head felt heavy and hazy as I slowly stirred awake.I wasn’t fully conscious yet, but something inside me didn’t want to wake up at all.Maybe I was too terrified to. Or maybe it was just the pounding headache from whatever knocked me out yester—Wait.Oh my God.My eyes snapped open.I h
THANEI ran for my car just as Joe’s car burst out of the lot. The tyres screeched so violently that it scared the hell out of me.All I could think about was Rachel.If she was in that car, the speed alone might make her sick. That was if he hadn’t already tied her up… or worse, gagged her with so
THANEMy shoes echoed against the tiles as I marched through the parking lot. The whole place was packed with cars, making it difficult to spot anywhere someone could be hiding.Just as I moved further in, my phone rang again. My hand shoved into my pocket instantly to grab it.I didn’t even bother
RACHELIf I’m being honest with myself, I’d admit the source of all the messed-up emotions I’m feeling right now has everything to do with my dad popping out of nowhere after disappearing for two whole years.Two years without even a shadow of him.I was mad. No. Furious sounds more accurate.And t







