Chapter 15

~ LENA ~

Nathan.

I didn’t need to turn around. I knew it was him the moment he appeared behind me in the mirror.

Breath caught in my chest, I watched him as he took off his jacket first, dropping it onto the nearby couch. Then his tie followed next. He loosened it with one slow pull and slid it from around his neck.

The air in the room felt heavier now. Charged. Filled with his scent, his presence. It was overwhelming. Every part of me wanted to run, but there was no escaping this.

For a second, he just stood there, watching as my unsteady fingers fumbled with the zipper of my dress. Then he stepped closer.

“Allow me,” he said quietly. His fingers replaced mine before I could say a word. They were warm and steady.

The zipper slid down slowly, the soft sound slicing through the silence. I felt every inch of it as the tension in the dress loosened, as the corset gave way, and air touched my bare skin.

His knuckles brushed lightly against my spine. The contact was like electricity flooding through my already charged body.

A tiny shudder escaped my lips before I could stop it. I looked up at his face in the mirror and found him watching me, studying me, his eyes darker now, heavy with a hunger he was no longer trying to hide.

His gaze moved to my hair, still pinned up, and without saying a word, he reached up. His deft fingers found the hidden pins securing the intricate bridal bun in place and pulled them out, one after the other. Each metal pin slipped free, the sound of them falling to the floor heightening the tension in the room.

His eyes roved over my face in the mirror as my hair tumbled down now, spilling over my shoulders in loose waves. Slowly, his fingers slid into my hair, combing through gently. So gently, it felt as if he were studying it, studying each strand.

“You’re beautiful, Kim.”

He said it quietly, honestly, like he was seeing me for the first time. Like he was almost in awe of the body that stood in front of him.

That name—Kim. It brought reality crashing back into me like iced water slapping my face.

I wasn’t Kim. I was a substitute meant to fill in, to deceive. A stand-in taking over another woman’s life.

The guilt returned in full force. I was so sure he would see it in my eyes this time—the fear, the shame, the truth trying to claw its way out.

But he didn’t. He was too focused on me—on my body, on the woman he believed was his wife.

Slowly, I watched through the mirror as his head dipped to the valley between my neck and shoulder. I felt his breath first, hot and slow as he breathed me in, lingering as though he were savoring my scent, as though he couldn’t get enough. Trembling, I closed my eyes.

“You smell so good, baby,” he whispered, kissing my shoulder. His mouth burned a slow trail of kisses up my neck to the sensitive spot behind my ear.

A soft gasp escaped me before I could stop it. I saw the flicker of satisfaction in his eyes through the mirror as he heard it. He was enjoying this, enjoying every little sound I made as he gently nibbled my earlobe and his hands slowly glided up my body from my waist.

My reflection blurred as my pulse thundered in my ears. I couldn’t move.

The corset loosened further under his touch. The dress, already undone, clung weakly to me as his hands slid higher, pulling the dress down. The fabric whispered as it slipped down my body, pooling at my feet.

I swallowed, cool air rushing over my exposed skin as I stood in front of him now, almost totally bare.

The mirror reflected everything—the flush spreading across my skin, the uneven rise and fall of my chest, the way the hunger in his eyes deepened as nothing but the flimsy lace of my underwear stood between us.

Before I could steady myself, he turned me around, gently but firmly. Suddenly, I wasn’t watching through the glass anymore. I was facing him, looking directly into his eyes.

They moved over me slowly, in a way that heightened my nervousness. Fear climbed up my spine, settled in my throat. I felt exposed under his gaze, completely naked, as though he could see straight through my underwear, through my skin, through the lie stitched beneath it.

 I wanted to reach for my dress and pull it up to cover my body, but I resisted the urge.

“You’re so beautiful.” He said it again, shaking his head, as though wondering. “You have no idea what you do to me.”

Gently, he guided me out of the gown pooled around my feet, then pulled me into his arms as his mouth came down on mine.

His lips moved against mine with passion, with hunger, with possession…but also with a gentleness that surprised me.

He kissed me like I was something fragile he didn’t want to break. Like he knew I was new to this and was willing to move at my own pace, even when his own desire burned beneath the surface.

His hands, warm and experienced, moved over my body, exploring, learning, igniting a trail of fire along the way. I gasped softly into his mouth. The sensations he evoked were so new and powerful.

When his lips left mine, they didn’t go far. They moved along the curve of my jaw, then down my neck. Slow kisses that made my breath stutter. His fingers traced along my spine, around my hips, drawing me closer until there was no space left between us.

And just like that, the guilt began to blur. The fear began to disappear. As his mouth found its way back to mine and the kiss deepened, I found myself responding without thinking. My fingers clutched his shirt, my breath catching as warmth spread through me in waves I didn’t know how to control.

Then suddenly, his hands moved higher. They slid up from my waist, slow and deliberate, until they curved over my breasts.

The touch was firm, possessive, but still, gentle.

“Nate…”

A violent shudder ripped through my body before I could stop it. My back arched slightly into him, his name escaping my lips in a breathless whisper as the sensation shot straight through me.

I hadn’t expected it to feel like that. So intense, so overwhelming. My body betrayed me completely, reacting to him in ways that surprised me.

He pulled back slightly, just enough to see my face. His hands didn’t leave me, though. They remained where they were, steady, feeling my body tremble against him.

“Yes, baby?” he murmured, a faint smile tugging at his lips as he studied me. He was well aware of what he was doing to me. “You want me to stop?” he asked softly.

“No,” I whispered. I didn’t even know where the answer came from. It just slipped out of me before fear could catch it, before guilt could drag it back.

Something inside me shamelessly wanted him to continue.

His smile deepened, slow and satisfied. “That’s what I thought.”

One of his hands eased slightly, his thumb brushing over sensitive skin in a slow, teasing stroke. My breath hitched again.

“Then don’t just stand there trembling,” he said quietly. “Touch me.”