17

The air outside was cooler than I expected.

It wrapped around my bare shoulders like a silk scarf dipped in relief. I leaned against the stone railing just beside the entryway, staring at the city lights like they held all the answers I didn’t have.

Inside, the music still pulsed faintly—just enough to remind me that I didn’t belong in that world of clinking glasses and rehearsed smiles.

I needed to breathe.

Just a second.

Just… quiet.

Then came the footsteps. Slow. Intentional.

I didn’t turn until I heard his voice.

“You always disappear when the party starts getting interesting.”

Brian.

I looked at him briefly and gave a soft smile, unsure of what to say. He didn’t wait for a reply.

He walked to my side, close enough that I could smell his cologne,a smooth blend of cedar and confidence.

He stayed silent for a moment, then his voice dropped, softer now. “What happens after you divorce my brother?”

My breath hitched slightly. “That’s… direct.”

“I mean it,” he said, tilting his head toward me. “What’s your plan, Ivy?”

I hesitated. Not because I didn’t have one. But because no one had actually asked me that. Not once.

Not even Nathan.

Not even in the quiet moments when we pretended to play house.

“I want to open a salon,” I said slowly, eyes still ahead. “That was the plan… before all this. Before the contract. I was saving up from working at the hotel. It wasn’t much, but it was mine.”

Brian didn’t interrupt. Just listened.

And for the first time in months, someone saw me. Not Ivy, the contract wife. Not Nathan Blake’s plus-one. Just a woman with dreams.

Something tugged at my chest—something soft and confusing.

“I’m willing to wait,” he said after a long pause.

I looked at him. “Wait for what?”

“For you,” he replied. “Until the contract is over. I’m not asking you to break any rules. But once it ends… I want a chance.”

I should’ve smiled. Should’ve been flattered.

After all, this was Brian. My celebrity crush. The man who filled my walls and playlists and silly fantasies.

But all I could think about… was Nathan.

His silence. His stormy stares. The way he kissed me like he owned every part of me, yet never spoke a word about how he felt.

“I… I need to go,” I whispered, already stepping back.

I didn’t wait for Brian to follow.

Inside the hall, I scanned the crowd until I found him.

Nathan.

Standing a little apart from the circle, listening to some executive drone on, with Amy still glued to his arm like she came as part of the outfit.

I didn’t care.

I walked up to him, touched his hand without a word, and tugged.

He raised a brow.

“I’m not feeling so good,” I said softly. “Can we go home?”

His eyes searched mine maybe looking for the truth behind the words but he nodded.

“Yeah,” he said simply.

We left without another word. No goodbyes. No fake smiles. Just silence.

And then we were outside.

By the car.

The driver stepped forward, but I stopped.

I turned to Nathan.

Looked at him properly.

And then… I kissed him.

I reached for his face, pulled him in, and kissed him.

Not soft,not tentative.

It was messy. Desperate. Like I needed to test something.

Like I needed to know if the electricity was real or just a trick my heart had been playing on me.

His lips didn’t move at first.

He was frozen.

Caught.

But then,he kissed me back.

And for a moment, I lost track of the lines. Of what was pretend and what was bleeding into something real.

I pulled back, breathless. His hand lingered on my waist, his eyes dark, questioning.

I couldn’t say anything. I just got in the car.

Because I didn’t know what scared me more:

Brian’s promise…

Or what I just felt in Nathan’s kiss.

The car was silent. But not the kind of silence that felt empty.

It was heavy.

Thick with everything I couldn’t say,and everything he didn’t want to admit.

The tinted divider between us and the driver made it feel like a different world in the back seat. Like we were sealed inside a capsule where nothing else existed but the sound of our breathing.

Nathan’s hand reached out first.

He didn’t speak. He just took my hand in his like it was the most natural thing in the world. Like he was allowed to do that.

And the scariest part?

I let him.

His fingers were warm. Firm. Confident. They wrapped around mine like they knew exactly how to hold me together when I couldn’t do it myself.

I looked at him.

Not because I meant to. Not because I wanted to.

But because I couldn’t not.

And he was already staring back.

Something passed between us,something wild and fragile all at once. My eyes burned, not with tears, but with a thousand unanswered questions.

What am I doing?

Am I falling for him?

Or am I just craving comfort in the arms of the man I should hate?

I didn’t know anymore.

But I wanted him.

Not just physically. Not just to erase Brian’s words from my head or Amy’s hand on his arm.

I wanted to feel something that made sense.

Even if it was wrong.

He noticed the way I was looking at him.

Of course he did.

Nathan Blake was many things arrogant, cold, frustratingly unreadable but oblivious wasn’t one of them.

His grip on my hand tightened ever so slightly, and then his voice, low and dangerous, filled the car.

“If you keep looking at me like that,” he said, “I’m going to forget this car has doors.”

My breath caught.

His eyes didn’t blink. Didn’t shift. Just locked onto mine like he could see right through me.

“I’ll put you on my lap,” he murmured, leaning in a little. “Right here. Right now.”

My pulse jumped.

“I’ll spread your legs,” he continued, his voice a sinful whisper, “and remind you who you belong to. Contract or not.”

My throat was dry. My heart was a mess. My legs… forget it.

But I didn’t stop looking.

I didn’t pull away.

And that, maybe, was the most dangerous part.

Because in that moment, I wasn’t thinking about Brian.

Or Amy.

Or the deal.

All I could think about was how his voice made me feel like the most wanted woman on earth.

And how his hand, still holding mine, was the only thing keeping me from falling apart completely.

“Fuck it.”

The words came out in a breathless rush, low and desperate.

And before I could stop myself before I even wanted to I grabbed Nathan by the collar and yanked him into me.

I kissed him like I was dying. Like I needed him to breathe.

Because maybe… I did.

It had been months. Months since I felt anything close to this. Months since I let anyone touch me. Before this contract, I could get sex when I wanted it. No strings. No shame. Just heat, sweat, and release.

But since this deal with Nathan, everything had changed.

And now?

Now I was sex-starved and dangerously close to unraveling. I didn’t know what I was feeling ,jealousy, confusion, maybe even guilt—but I did know I wanted him.

Right now.

Right here.

His mouth moved against mine with a sharp growl, deep and possessive. One hand gripped my waist while the other tangled in my hair, anchoring me like he didn’t trust me not to disappear.

I climbed onto his lap without thinking, straddling him, needing to feel his body under mine. I grind on him harder as I felt his cock getting hard underneath me.

“Are you sure about this",he asked. I answered by grinding in him harder. “I need you inside me, Nate." I really did.

I removed my panties aside and let him in. Our moans filled the car. He was fucking good.

Nate thrusted hard,he covered my mouth when my moan became too loud.

Months of tension and denial collided all at once, and I couldn’t get close enough. My body pressed into his. My hips rolled against his in a slow, aching grind, and he groaned like he was seconds from losing control.

“Ivy…” he breathed, voice wrecked.

“Don’t stop,” I whispered, lips brushing against his. “Please… don’t stop.”

His grip tightened.

I just needed to feel something that wasn’t confusion or pain.

And he gave it to me.

Over and over again,with just his mouth, his hands, his breath on my skin.

He made me forget everything else.