LOGINRILEY…*****Damn, mornings were the worst. I trudged down the stairs, hair a mess, one eye half-closed, yawning like a zombie. My stomach grumbled in complaint.“Did I miss breakfast?” I muttered, leaning against the banister.Soren didn’t look up from the table, eyes glued to his laptop, scrolling through maps and trail reviews. “Yeah, but Khloe will bring you some,” he said still without looking up.I huffed. “Of course. Because food has to be chauffeured to me now.”I made my way closer, pretending I wasn’t dying to look at what he was doing. But, of course, I was. He was hunched over the table, hair messy from sleep, sleeves rolled up just enough to show off his forearms, brows furrowed in that perfect frustrated concentration that made my chest do stupid things.I plopped onto the chair across from him, leaning my chin on my fist. “What’s got you so engrossed this early in the morning? Stock prices? Corporate doom predictions?”He shot me a glance, a half-smile tugging at his li
RILEY…“It’s nothing, Mom,” Soren said, running a hand through his hair. He subtly kicked something under the bench with his foot.Fuck..it was the vibrator, I realized with a fresh wave of heat in my cheeks. “Just… married stuff. You know how it is.”“I do,” she sighed, taking another step into the room. Her eyes scanned the space, and I held my breath, pressing myself harder against the wall. Could she see me? “It’s just… I heard more than just a weight drop. It sounded like… voices.”Soren’s back was to me, but I saw his shoulders tense. “Probably just the TV. Or the pipes. This old house makes all sorts of noises.”Jeanne was quiet for a moment, her gaze drifting over the weight bench. She took another step closer to it, and to the closet where I was hiding. My blood ran cold.“It’s just…” she began, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. “It sounded like a woman… moaning.”My face reddened. My entire body went rigid. What the hell?Then Jeanne’s lips curved into a teasin
RILEY…A shuddering breath escaped my lips as Soren’s seed cooled on my skin, a stark, sticky contrast to the heat still radiating from my core. His question hung in the air. More?I just nodded, my cheek pressed against the cool vinyl of the bench, my entire body humming with the aftershocks. Yes. Always more. I'm not a sev freak, but when it comes to Soren, I just couldn't resist. He moved then, his hands gentle for the first time that night, smoothing over the curve of my hip. He helped me turn over onto my back. My spent body felt heavy, pliant in his hands. The look in his dark eyes was different now.The frantic edge of anger and lust was replaced by a smoldering, calculated intensity that made my stomach flip.“You’re mine to play with now, Riley,” he murmured, his voice a low rumble that vibrated through the bench and into my bones. His fingers traced the damp waistband of the stolen briefs, still tangled around my thighs. “And I think you’ve been a very bad thief.”He reac
RILEY… The message came through just as I tucked Whitney’s blanket tighter around her legs. > Gym. Now. No emojis. Nothing romantic or sweet. Just this brusque command to which I know I'm undoubtedly going to obey. My heart skipped as l left the room.The corridor was dim and quiet, the only sound the muffled thump of weights hitting the floor below. When I pushed open the glass door, I froze. God. Soren stood at the far end of the private gym, shirt clinging to his chest, veins flexing down his arms as he pushed the barbell up with effortless strength. Sweat slicked his skin, glinting under the low lights. Every movement was precision, anger, and exhaustion woven into one. He didn’t see me at first, but I saw him. All of him. And for a heartbeat, I forgot how to breathe. Damn, he was so hot — even when he was angry. Especially when he was angry. I finally found my voice. “You looked so in love tonight,” I teased lightly, crossing my arms to mask the ache in my chest. “Pret
...SOREN...Dinner was over, but the tension still sat on my tongue like iron. Dad’s “offer” kept replaying in my head, the words tempting yet dangerous. Give me one of his divisions… partnership… family again.Fuck.For years, I’d told myself I didn’t need him. That everything I built—every cent, every sleepless night—was mine. My sweat. My grit. But tonight, hearing that offer…God help me, a part of me felt something I didn’t want to admit.Relief.Maybe this was the break I needed. A fresh start. I mean, once I got back on my feet, I could pull away again. Right? Dad was smiling when we all rose from the table, like a man pleased with his own cleverness. “We’ll talk tomorrow, yeah?”“Yeah,” I said quietly, forcing a polite nod. “Tomorrow.”Cassidy looped her arm through mine before I could take another step. “You see? I told you everything would work out,” she said softly, leaning close like we were still that happy couple everyone believed in. “You just needed to be patient.”I
.…RILEY…*****His father droned on about profit margins and disloyal executives. I flexed my foot, sliding my bare sole up the fine wool of his slacks, tracing the hard muscle of his calf. I felt him shudder. A quiet, almost imperceptible reaction. But I saw it. I felt it.His leg twitched, but he didn’t pull away. He couldn’t.I pushed higher, my instep rubbing along his shin. The fabric was smooth, expensive. I imagined the heat of his skin just beneath it. His grip on his fork tightened until I thought the metal might bend.Cassidy prattled on about the wine, as the rest of the family continued their conversations, completely oblivious to the war—and the seduction—being waged beneath their noses.My heart hammered against my ribs. This was even more dangerous than the fitting room. This was a minefield, and every second we didn’t get caught was a victory.I let my toes wander higher, creeping up his inner thigh. His breath hitched, a tiny, choked sound he covered with a cough int







