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CIARA
If I had walked away the first time, none of this would be happening. But I don't. And now I'm standing here, trapped in something I no longer want. "You petty, pretentious bastard. You don't get to do this to me," I snarl. "I'm done. We're done. Marry her for all I care, but I'm moving on with my life." He laughs softly, the sound low and mocking, his eyes meeting mine through the mirror. My back is pressed against his chest, his grip firm on my waist. "It's way too late now to think of walking away, little Ciara..." he murmurs against my ear. "You had years to walk away but the moment my cock got inside you, your fate was sealed. You don't ever get to walk away from us in this lifetime or the one afterwards. I've tasted you, and I'm never letting you go." My stomach twists. I try to remove his hands from my waist as it feels like some hot scorch burning through the fabric I'm wearing. "Dream on Mathew, I snap, my chest rising and falling sharply. "I made a lapse in judgement but it is not too late...I want out." "There's never an out between us Ciara, the earlier you get used to it, the better for you." I try to come up with an argument, but my phone rings. I check the caller, and it's his sister Calista. I pick up. "Hello?" "Where are you Ciara? I've looked everywhere for you but I can't find you." I clear my throat. "Just in the bathroom, I'll be right outside." "Bathroom? Good.. Tony's on his way to you, he's been very worried about you. You picked a good one, honey. I totally support you choosing him. You should see him now." Before I'm able to come up with a response, she hangs up giggling. Then I heard him call my name outside the ladies room "Ciara? Babe are you good?" I go completely still as Mathew suddenly pulls me even closer to himself and palms my right breast. I struggle to stifle a moan but he refuses to have it as I look up at the mirror in fright to see him smirking. Mathew is a jerk. And when he smirks it's because he's about to start shit up. I quickly answer Tony. "Hey Tony...I'm in the ladies I'd be out soon..." Mathew being the devil he is at that moment tweaks my nipple bud and a moan slips out of my mouth. "Are you okay Ciara?" I try to answer Tony but I can't even manage a coherent thought as he slips his hands through the slit of my dress and presses into my clit while clamping and tweaking on my nipple bud harshly as pleasure takes over my senses completely This is not fair, he shouldn't get to do this when he's practically getting engaged to another woman. I try to bring myself back from the brink of pleasure to snap out of it and push him away but no...my body fails me as I find myself nudging at the bulge in his pant suit, moving my hips in hopes of getting a friction around him. He grunts. Tony is saying something yet I hear nothing as I feel Matthew unzip himself and slam into me. I cover my mouth quickly to avoid moaning, then I exhale. "Stop Mathew...I'm not on the pill and you have no protection." He thrusts back in and out sharply. "Having your stomach swell with my child will do me such pleasure," he whisper. He licks my ear while I stare at him through the mirror. "This is wrong Mathew." He bruises my waist with his fingers. "What's wrong Ciara is you thinking I'd let you walk off into the sunset with some punkass after loving you for three years." His thrusts becomes even more urgent as I become a complete mess. He continued. "What's wrong is you ever even imagining that I'd let you go." I try so hard to stop him, Lord knows I tried yet it yields to nothing as he ignores me completely and simply hastens his thrusts. "Your body is mine, your kisses are mine, everything about you is mine absolutely mine," he grunts. My entire body suddenly pulses with electric urgency as I feel an orgasm coming up. Every protest in me at the moment dies out as he continues fucking my senses out of me as tears of frustration and pleasure attacks me. I clamp my mouth shut to avoid screaming out in pleasure so Tony doesn't hear me. "Fuck...you feel so good and tight Ciara. I was your first and I'd be your last." His hand remained on my waist as he completely ignores my cautions, getting vocal about the pleasures he feels "The world be damned Ciara...you are never leaving me." He grunts as he cums at the same time I do, riding out his orgasm high, totally disregarding poor Tony at the other side of the door. I push him away. Without hesitation, I slap him hard. But he simply smiles. I look away, trying to fix and make myself presentable. "Hey Tony...I'd be right outside." Before I can make an attempt to leave, he moves closer to me, staring at me with a look of regret. "I love you Ciara...I'd never marry her," he says. "But there's so much going on that you have no idea of so, please stop allowing any man into your space. It drives me completely crazy." He kisses my forehead. I scoff as I fix my appearance, disentangling myself from him. He tries to go out but I push him backwards and made my way outside. I find a very concerned looking Tony who has stayed outside no less than thirty minutes worried about me. I walk toward him, enveloped in guilt. "Hey, Tony. " He quickly checks me over. "Are you okay?" I exhale shakily and smile. Together, we join the engagement party. Throughout the night, Matthew's eyes remain on me irrespective of his fiancée beside him.CIARA I sat by the edge of the bed in the dark, the silk of my robe pooled around my knees. The safehouse had settled into that strange silence that only comes after everything that went down last night.It was just after three in the morning when the door turned on its hinges.Mathew stepped into the room. He had thrown on a pair of dark trousers after leaving our bed, but his chest remained bare, his skin catching the faint amber glow from the hallway. There was no white medical tape on his knuckles. He looked massive, a towering silhouette against the frame, but the rigid, unyielding armor he usually carried after an interrogation had vanished.He didn't look like an enforcer locking down a perimeter. He looked like a man who had just been wrecked by a train.He walked toward the bed, his bare feet making almost no sound against the polished pine floorboards. He didn't crowd my space. He didn't drop his weight onto the mattress with that familiar, aggressive possessiveness. He si
MATHEWThe storm had finally started to lose its fight.I could still hear the distant growl of thunder somewhere beyond the trees surrounding the estate, and every now and then a gust of wind rattled the windows hard enough to remind everyone that nature wasn't finished making its point but the worst of it had passed.The safehouse had settled into that strange silence that only comes after chaos.I walked through the eastern corridor alone.It was just after three in the morning.Most of the house was asleep.My bare feet made almost no sound against the polished pine floorboards as I headed toward Carlista's private wing. I had thrown on a pair of dark trousers after leaving Ciara's room, but my chest remained uncovered.I exhaled heavily.The amber light spilling from beneath Carlista's office door told me she was still awake.Some people drank coffee when they couldn't sleep; Carlista audited entire security networks.I pushed the door open.She was exactly where I'd expected her
CIARAThe storm off the North Shore was relentless, throwing sheets of heavy rain against the glass of the master suite until the view of the driveway completely dissolved. From the window, I watched the twin beams of Mathew's headlights finally cut through the dark, washing over the front portico before the engine cut out, plunging the yard back into a shadow broken only by the outdoor security floods.I had left the lamps on downstairs, a quiet trail of warm amber light to guide him inside after a day that had left everyone in this house wired tight and utterly restless.When the bedroom door finally opened, he looked massive against the doorframe, his broad shoulders slightly damp from the quick sprint through the downpour. He had a look in his eyes I hadn't seen in weeks a dark, freezing focus that told me he had just crossed paths with a ghost on the drive up. He didn't say a word as he closed the door behind him. His hands were bare, the white medical tape he usually kept wrappe
MATHEW Rain hammered against the windshield as I drove up the long road leading to the estate.The storm had settled over the North Shore for hours now, turning the night into a blur of water and headlights. The wipers worked overtime, sweeping back and forth in a steady rhythm that barely kept the glass clear.My left hand rested on the steering wheel, the skin beneath the medical tape still sore from the gym.The dashboard glowed softly in the darkness.Security reports scrolled across the onboard terminal.Perimeter secure.Motion sensors clear.No unusual activity.Ciara's car was already parked beneath the front portico. Even from a distance, I recognized it instantly.She was home.That should have been enough to settle the restlessness sitting in my chest.It wasn't.The terminal suddenly flashed red.I frowned.A restricted communication request appeared on the screen.The encryption signature was one I hadn't seen in months.Maybe longer.Only one person still used it.I exh
CIARAI sat at the long table in the private conference suite of Horizon Holdings, thirty-four floors above the rain-slicked pavement of Wall Street. The glass walls of the room gave a panoramic view of the gray Manhattan skyline, but inside, the only light came from the soft, blue glow of my terminal screens and a single brass desk lamp.My right hand was resting on the polished wood, the heavy white medical tape Mary had wrapped around my knuckles yesterday feeling tight and unyielding every time I flexed my fingers. It looked barbaric against the sleeve of my cream silk blouse, but I hadn’t taken it off. It was a reminder. A physical ledger of the price I had paid on Forty-Second Street."The London vaults are entirely dry, Miss Sterling," my chief analyst said, his voice coming through the encrypted speakerphone on the console. "We completed the secondary clearance codes at 0400 hours. Every asset Reinhardt’s proxies were trying to flag has been rerouted through our maritime shell
MATHEW The gym smelled like iron, sweat, and old concrete.It wasn't one of those luxury fitness clubs with mirrored walls and spa music playing through hidden speakers. This place sat near the docks, tucked away where nobody asked questions. The fluorescent lights buzzed overhead, casting everything in a pale glow that made the steel plates look colder than they really were.I lay flat on the bench, my hands wrapped around the bar.Three hundred and fifteen pounds.Normally it felt manageable.Today it felt personal.I unracked the weight and lowered it slowly to my chest.Then pushed.The bar rose smoothly."You're rushing the lockout."James's voice echoed through the room.I ignored him.The weight came down again.Up.Two.James stood behind the bench with his arms folded across his chest. He looked completely out of place down here.His workout clothes were spotless.His sneakers looked brand new.Even his hair somehow looked professionally styled.James Vance belonged in confe
MATHEW I stood in the centre of the ring, my knuckles wrapped in tape, looking at the guy opposite me. Tony. The same guy who had been buying drinks for Ciara at the university bar for months. The same guy who looked at her with those smarmy, possessive eyes and the same idiot who came with her to
CIARAMaggie's eyes narrowed as she took in our dishevelled state-mud-caked shoes, rain-soaked clothes, and the undeniable scent of sex clinging to us like a second skin. I instinctively stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest as if that could hide the evidence of our encounter."Well, isn't t
CIARAMaggie's eyes narrowed as she took in our dishevelled state-mud-caked shoes, rain-soaked clothes, and the undeniable scent of sex clinging to us like a second skin. I instinctively stepped back, crossing my arms over my chest as if that could hide the evidence of our encounter."Well, isn't t
I began pacing around. "Go check out Ciara's movement, and if she's recently made new friends. "Damn .. I need to fix this fast." What did you find?""She's just recently started seeing Tony. She's not made new friends, and she just got out of the hospital."I still go very still at the word hosp







