Mom has a guest!!

Rae's POV

I woke up for the 2nd time feeling like my entire body had been rewritten.

I lay there in Zara’s bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying every second. I left there earlier and headed to Zara’s place.

His hands. His mouth.

The way he whispered praise like it was holy. The tongue piercing.

The kiss on my forehead after I came so hard I forgot my name.

I pressed my legs together.

And still - my body tingled.

“Rae?” Zara’s voice broke through the haze. “You alive?”

I turned my head slowly.

She stood at the door with two mugs of coffee and the world’s most annoying smirk.

“Well,” she drawled. “Do I get the post-sin breakdown or what?”

I groaned. “I’m too sore to sit up.”

She squealed, jumping onto the bed like a 5-year-old.

“No way. Was he hot? Like hot hot?”

I blinked. “He had a tongue piercing.”

Zara dropped her mug on the nightstand like she’d just heard God speak.

“You’re joking.”

“Nope.”

“On his tongue?!”

“And tattoos. Everywhere.”

Zara clutched her chest. “Oh, you definitely got picked by one of the Room 40s. That’s where the real men live.”

I nodded slowly. “He… took his time.”

“Girl, you are glowing. I feel like I should applaud.”

I laughed and covered my face with a pillow. “Can we pretend this didn’t happen now?”

“Nope.” She sipped her coffee. “You’ve officially been corrupted. No turning back now.”

She wasn’t wrong.

I wasn’t the same girl who walked into that room.

And I sure as hell wasn’t the same girl walking into my mother’s house that morning.

~~~~~

When I got home, the front door was already open.

We lived in one of those fancy neighborhoods with manicured lawns and annoying birds that chirped too loudly.

I kicked off my heels at the door and padded inside quietly, hoping to sneak into my room and sleep off the heat still buzzing in my veins.

But I heard voices. From the living room.

My mom’s cheerful laugh. And a deeper voice.

Male.

I paused.

There was someone here?

I adjusted my skirt and cleared my throat before stepping in.

“Hey, Mom, I’m-”

My entire body stopped mid-word.

And my soul left my body.

Because standing in the middle of the living room, holding a coffee mug in one hand and smirking like the devil himself…

Was him.

Killian.

In jeans. Black t-shirt hugging his broad chest. Hair wet like he just showered.

And the same blue eyes that had watched me fall apart just hours ago.

My stomach dropped.

My knees nearly buckled.

I gripped the wall for support.

He looked at me.

Calm. Confident.

His tongue piercing glinted for half a second when he sipped from the mug.

He knew.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

“Oh, Rae!” my mom chirped. “Finally! I wanted you to meet our guest.”

I blinked at her.

Guest?

She motioned toward him.

“This is Killian Hale. Your stepfather’s brother.”

No.

No.

No.

I must’ve heard that wrong.

Killian smiled, slow and sharp, like a wolf dressed in Sunday best.

“Nice to meet you… Rae.”

His voice.

The same one that told me to open my legs last night.

The same one that called me kitten while his mouth was on my-

I nearly choked.

My mother kept going, blissfully oblivious to the flames exploding inside me.

“Victor didn’t want me to tell you until he got back from his trip. Killian’s staying in the pool house for a while. Isn’t that lovely?”

I nodded slowly. Or maybe I just swayed.

The room felt sideways.

I couldn’t breathe.

He stepped forward, extending a hand.

Like this was the first time we were meeting.

Like he hadn’t had his tongue inside me just hours ago.

Like he hadn’t said he wanted to ruin me.

I stared at his hand like it was a bomb.

He arched a brow.

Play along, his eyes seemed to say.

I swallowed and reached out - his fingers closed around mine.

Firm. Warm. Familiar.

Too familiar.

The second our skin touched, a rush of heat traveled straight to my core. My cheeks burned.

“Rae,” he said, still holding my hand. “You look… different from how I imagined you.”

My breath caught.

My mom laughed. “She’s shy.”

Killian smiled. “She wasn’t last night.”

Not out loud.

Just with his eyes.

And the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth that told me he was enjoying this.

I yanked my hand back. “I - I need to go lie down.”

“Late night?” he asked casually.

My head snapped toward him.

He knew exactly what he was doing.

My mom nodded. “Zara’s been dragging her out to clubs again, hasn’t she?”

I forced a laugh. “Something like that.”

“Well, Killian’s going to be around for a while,” she said. “Maybe you two can get to know each other better.”

I nearly passed out.

Killian just smiled.

“I’d like that.”

~~~~~

I locked myself in my room and collapsed against the door.

My heart was still trying to claw its way out of my chest.

Of all the men in the club…

Of all the rooms…

I’d given my firsts to my stepdad’s brother.

And now he was sleeping twenty feet away in our pool house.

Sipping coffee with my mom.

Looking at me like he already owned my body.

My phone buzzed.

A text.

Unknown Number:

Your mouth said “yes.”

Your eyes said “please.”

And your body?

It’s still mine, kitten.

I threw my phone onto the bed and buried my face in my hands.

What the hell had I done?

And worse…

Why did I want to do it again?