Chapter 1

"Oh, god!"

Her eyes rolled in ecstasy, her body convulsing as her core tightened before letting go. The restraints on both of her wrists clasped tighter when she tugged helplessly. He pulled out with a strangled groan, and she bit her lip when he climbed on top of her,

"That was-"

He cut off the rest of her sentence by placing his mouth on hers, their lips interlocked in a passionate kiss. She moaned into his mouth when his tongue slipped into her mouth, arching her back from the bed as his slick fingers parted her wet folds,

"Ryan-" She mewled pressing her body against him, he sunk his fingers into her and she gasped softly. "Oh, my-"

A loud ringing disrupted the atmosphere, the phone buzzing on top of the bedside table. Aurora pushed him off of her, and he rolled to the side, she grabbed her phone and when she saw the caller ID, a slight frown contorted her features,

"Hello?" She said as she picked up the call, her eyes flickering over to Ryan who had begun to stand from the bed. The rope-like material around her hands was restricting her movements, so she began untying them, placing the phone between her ear and shoulder,

"Oh! Miss Rochester, where are you? Your father's party is about to start and your mother is looking for you everywhere." 

Her breathing hitched and she almost collapsed at the news. Her mother was looking for her.

That was not good.

"Shit! What's the time?" The ropes came loose and she jumped out of bed, the furniture creaking as a result,

"It's almost seven," Rosa answered, she heard some murmurings and plates clattering in the background, "What should I tell her? She's starting to get furious."

Aurora zipped up her jeans, removing the phone from her ear to wriggle into her top, "Just stall her for a while, I'll be there soon."

Her eyes darted around the dimly lit room, searching for her shoes. Where had she kept them? She really couldn't remember.

"Alright, but hurry. I can only do so much." With that, Rosa hung up the phone and she was left staring grimly at the screen.

"Looking for these?" A dark voice piped up and she swivelled in that direction. Ryan was sitting casually against a worn-out leather chair, her Calvin Klein sneaker dangling from a finger.

"Yeah, thanks." He threw the shoe in her direction and then the other pair. She made quick work of wriggling into them then snatched her bag from the mat before standing.

When she turned to face him again, he had an impassive look on his face. Their eyes were locked on one another as he brought the cigarette to his lips, inhaling largely and then exhaling, huge puffs of smoke escaping from his nose,

She sighed, "Look, I have to go-"

He barked out a laugh, throwing his head bed, "Let me guess, you have a tea party to hold? Or, wait is it a soiree this time or whatever fancy shit you rich people like to waste money on?"

She made a strangled noise at the back of her throat, her chest burning with anger. However, she answered calmly, "No, it's my dad's birthday party tonight. I have to be home early."

He didn't say anything, instead, he rose the paper to his mouth and took in another large smoke. Her nose wrinkled, both at the sight and the smell. She had always hated the smell of cigarettes but somehow couldn't find it in herself to leave Ryan, no matter how much he smoked.

"Well, I'll be leaving now." 

He still didn't reply, she blew out an angry breath, then grabbed her hat from the coffee table, and turned to leave,

"You know I keep thinking you like coming up with these cheap excuses so that you won't get to stay after we fuck," She veered around immediately, her brows furrowed,

"What?"

He chuckled darkly, he wasn't looking at her though. No, his eyes were set on the mismatched walls across from them, "It's true, isn't it? Why would a girl like you want to stay in an apartment like this after rolling in the sheets? You'd prefer it if we maybe did it in an expensive hotel or perhaps if I was the son of a fucking senator, you wouldn't be so goddamn embarrassed of me." His head turned in her direction then, cloudy dark eyes piercing into her, "Am I wrong, flower?"

Aurora's face burned with anger and she sputtered furiously in an attempt to explain but her mouth couldn't quite form the words, causing him to laugh further. 

Darn him.

And darn his stupidly beautiful face.

She glared at him then, muttering something incomprehensible under her breath before stalking off, slamming the door behind her. 

Once she was outside, she took a deep breath, urging her racing heart to calm down. When she was finally settled, she began the climb down. Ryan's apartment complex was unlike anything she'd ever seen, it was dingy, dark and extremely dirty. The building was so dilapidated, she wondered how the structure was even holding till now.

Not to mention, the people living in it were absolute creeps. She tugged down the large hat on her head to conceal her face, rushing down the steps. Once she was finally out of the building, her chest lessened a bit. She moved to walk but stopped,  

Involuntarily, her eyes flitted to the greyish-coloured building, falling on his apartment window in particular. They were closed, of course, they always were. Something she complained about all the time but he never actually listened,

Her teeth sunk into her bottom lip the longer she stared, she felt bad for leaving like that but he couldn't expect her to stay longer than normal. That wasn't their agreement,

With a shake of her head, Aurora turned towards the road and began searching for a taxi. The ride back home was nerve-wracking, to say the least, 

When the cab stopped in front of the path leading to her house, she gulped down a deep breath. The driver wolf whistled suddenly, grabbing her attention. He twisted so that he was facing her,

"This your house?"

Aurora resisted the urge to roll her eyes, she was already used to this reaction from people. So, rather than answering him, she dipped her hand into her purse and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill,

"Here, keep the change," His face was star-struck, and she offered him a kind smile before coming down from the cab, shutting the door gently.

Her father's mansion had always been a hot topic among the people. The soft yellow and vibrant orange of approaching twilight bathed the Greek Renaissance hilltop in light. Nestled in the pricey Rosedale neighbourhood of Downtown Toronto, it was among the most expensive pieces of real estate in the city, probably in the country. The Rochester estate.

Aurora gently shut the front door to their house, eyes scanning the empty area. When she was assured that it was safe, she darted towards the stairs,

"Aurora?"

Fear splintered through her skin and into her system. Aurora's hand gripped the bannister tightly, her shaky legs glued to the floor.

"Aurora, is that you?"

Ever so slowly, she spun around. Her timid gaze connected with that of the harsh glare her mother wore. 

"Hey, mom." She waved shakily, trying to conceal the terror that she was currently feeling.

Her mother arched an eyebrow, studying her with a level gaze, "Where were you?"

She took a step forward. Aurora took a shaky one back.

Her mother stalked towards her gracefully, heels clicking against the marble tiles. When she was just a foot away from Aurora, she grabbed her face in her hands,

Aurora winced as the metal of her rings dug into her cheeks but her mother was unconcerned, instead turning her face from side to side as she inspected, 

Stern grey eyes met hers and she gulped,

"Answer me, Aurora!" She squeezed gently, her rings diggin

g into Aurora's skin even further, "Where were you and why in the world are you dressed like this?"