LOGINI know this chapter was supposed to be serious- father collapsing, hospital‑level tension, mascara tears but Aiden said “absolutely not” and chose violence. Violent insults, that is. Because tell me why this man turned Shawn into a full‑time gym‑fail meme??? I laughed and had so much fun writing this chapter. I hope you all enjoy it.
The problem wasn’t the kiss. It was well within the rules–it was public The problem was that I enjoyed it far too much. There I said it. I lied. I lied when I told Kenneth it was just a performance. Lord knows how much it took not to kiss him right there with the way he held me, with the way he looked at me, with how sexy he looked……I shouldn’t be reminiscing.My eyes kept darting to Kenneth at the party while he spoke to my dad. I had to leave the party without him for fear that I would drag him away but this time, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to resist. When I got back home, Kenneth wasn’t around. I didn’t care. The thought of where he could be lingered anyway.I shut the door harder than necessary and leaned my back against it, breathing out slowly, deliberately, like I was calming a misbehaving child.Get it together.My lips still felt strange.I pressed them together once, then again, like I could erase the sensation through friction. It didn’t work. The memory stayed, warm
People thought killing was loud and always required spilling blood. It didn’t .If you knew how the body worked, all you needed was timing, pressure, and the right conversation.And I was about to initiate the right conversation. Raina’s dad leaned right beside me at the edge of the terrace, one hand resting on the railing, the other wrapped around a glass he hadn’t finished. His breathing was steady—for now.“You don’t look like you enjoy crowds,” he said.“I don’t,” I replied.He smiled. “Raina gets that from me.”“She’s been carrying a lot,” he continued. “The wedding. The media. Investors who forget she’s human.”“She hides it well,” I said.“She always has.” He chuckled softly. “Funny thing about stress,” I said casually. “It never feels dangerous until it is.”Raina was watching us. I felt it before my eyes caught hers. He hummed in agreement. “That’s what the cardiologist said too.”I let the silence stretch, just long enough for his shoulders to settle.He raised his brows l
It took her three seconds.Three heartbeats from the moment my mouth touched hers to the moment she opened for meShe resisted first. I felt it in the stiffness of her lips, the way her breath hitched. Pride always delayed the fall. Women like her need that pause, the pause to gaslight themselves into believing they’re choosing it.Then her fingers curled into my jacket.And her lips softened, opening up, not kissing me back just yet. Just enough to receive mine, to let me inHer lips were warm, so warm and so responsive, not hesitant anymore. The faintest tremor passed through them before she kissed me back, and it sent a sharp, unwelcome awareness straight through my chest.I deepened it deliberately.Her breath slipped against my mouth, uneven now, and her body leaned in before her mind could catch up. I felt it in the way her weight shifted toward me, the way she didn’t pull away even though she should have.Look at her.Falling apart already.Her fingers clutched onto my shirt, gr
Every part of my body felt like they had a mind of their own—a mind being controlled by Kenneth. We had agreed to dress up separately so I got ready in the bathroom while he got ready in the room. The minute I came out of the bathroom, my eyes involuntarily scanned for him—I don’t know why—and I found him by the window, his back to me. Look away Raina, look away. My resistance dissolved as I traced his body with my eyes. His broad shoulders tapered into a narrow waist, his left arm, ink black up until the side of his neck. The ridges along his spine dipped and rose when he leaned forward, each movement pulling my attention lower than it had any right to go. I could tell exactly where my palms would fit if I ever lost my mind enough to touch him. My fingers immediately itched as he was about to cover up his body with his shirt. He rolled the sleeves just high enough to expose his forearms which had faint scars I didn’t ask about and veins that caught the light when he fle
Give her a show? Simple words but terrifying meaning I was still in Kenneth’s arms, my palms on his chest, looking up at him. The urge to move my hands on his chest down to his abs to feel what my eyes have been seeing“Sweetheart, Kate is fine now.” He said it like I wasn’t aware. I watched him slam the door on her face. I raised a brow and he continued. “Someone is definitely obsessed.” Kenneth whispered, his eyes looking at my hands that were still on his chest. Realization dawned on me and I quickly withdrew my palm from his chest, pulling away from his arms. “I’m starting to think you’ve got a god complex.” I inhaled, immediately trying to cover up. “I’m starting to think you’ve got a god complex.”Kenneth smiled slowly, like he enjoyed the accusation.“Careful,” he said. “You sound obsessed.”That did it.“I was just distracted.” I responded quickly not even giving myself time to fully comprehend the fact that I had been pushed against the wall by him and secretly wished
I opened my eyes and got a face full of Raina’s hair. There were a lot of ways I planned to start my morning. Raina wrapped around me wasn’t one of themShe didn’t just cross the imaginary line SHE set, she was practically using my body as a pillow.Her hair was out of her bonnet and I tried to clear the coily strands from my face, pushing it behind her earsHer cheek was pressed over my heart, her leg thrown across mine.Her mouth was slightly open, a streak of dried saliva plastered at the corner.I had wanted to share a room with her. Separate rooms would’ve made this mission harder.The same room meant I could watch her, learn her habits, see when she left, when she slept…watched her every moment and know when to strike.And have a little fun while breaking her, watching her try not to fall apart around me. But I wasn't prepared for the warmth and softness of her body.I should push her off. My hands moved to shove her away but somehow ended up on her waist instead.She stirred a l







