MasukZuriThe backyard didn't look like the same place I'd walked through flower arrangements in that morning. String lights turned the whole lawn gold, round tables draped in white linen, a live band tuning up near a dance floor someone had built out of nothing in a single afternoon. Caterers moved through the crowd with trays of champagne, and the air smelled like roses and citronella and money.Alexander tapped his glass before the appetizers even finished making the rounds."Thirty years ago I married the most patient woman I've ever met." He pulled Diane in against his side, voice thick. "Patient enough to survive three sons who nearly burned this house down twice, and patient enough to still look at me like I hung the moon every morning since. To Diane.""To Diane," the crowd echoed, glasses lifting, and Diane laughed through actual tears before pulling Alexander into a kiss that had Ethan groaning into his drink beside me."Get a room," he muttered."They own the room," Chris said.
ZuriI heard the car pull up before I actually saw it, gravel crunching under tires, and I was off the terrace and halfway across the front lawn before I'd even fully registered moving."There she is!" My mum's voice carried clear across the driveway the second she stepped out, arms already open.I crashed into her hug, breathing in the familiar scent of her perfume, and she squeezed me so tight I nearly lost my footing."I missed you so much." I pulled back to look at her properly, and that's when I noticed it, the soft, unmistakable curve beneath her sundress that hadn't been there the last time I'd seen her.My mouth fell open. "Mum."She grinned, one hand resting protectively over the bump, glancing toward my dads, who were both grinning like they'd been waiting weeks for exactly this moment."Surprise, baby." Jackson came around the car, pulling me into a hug of his own. "We're having a baby."I looked between all three of them, tears springing up before I could stop them. "Is th
AudricI found Gabriela pacing the length of the guest room, arms crossed so tight it looked like she was trying to hold herself together by force."What are you whining about now?""You think I'm whining?" She spun to face me, eyes flashing. "I'm telling you what's going on and you think I'm whining?""That's usually what it sounds like when someone paces a room muttering to themselves.""Your mother despises me." Her voice cracked on the word, real hurt bleeding through the anger. "And it's all that stupid, dumb Zuri's fault."Something in my chest went tight and hot at that, faster than I expected."Don't." My voice came out sharper than I meant it to. "Don't talk about her like that.""You're defending her." Gabriela's eyes went wide, something close to disbelief crossing her face. "You're actually defending her right now.""I'm telling you to watch how you talk about people in my house.""You don't even see what she's doing, do you." She threw her hands up. "She's turning everyon
ZuriThe kitchen was already in full motion by the time I came down, Diane standing at the center of it all with her phone pressed to one ear, gesturing at Marta and the catering coordinator simultaneously while somehow keeping her voice perfectly level."No, the crostini needs to be ready by five, not six. Guests start arriving at six." She caught my eye and waved me in, mouthing good morning without breaking stride on the call. "I don't care if that means someone comes in earlier. This needs to be perfect."I grabbed an apron off the hook by habit, the same one I'd used a dozen times over the years helping in this exact kitchen, and started portioning bread onto trays without needing to be asked."You're a lifesaver." Diane finally hung up, exhaling hard. "Marta, can you check on the flowers out back? I want to see them before the designers finalize anything.""Right away, Mrs. Cole."Diane turned to me, already reaching for the next item on her mental list, when Gabriela appeared i
Zuri Chris set an easy rhythm at first, testing, and I felt every inch of him with each slow drag, my back arching up off the couch to meet him. The couch cushions gave slightly beneath us with every roll of his hips, and Ethan's hand tightened around mine, grounding me in the middle of everything my body was already spiraling through."You're shaking already." His voice came low, watching my face closely. "Too much tonight?""No." I pulled him down by the collar of his shirt. "Don't you dare stop."That seemed to be all the permission he needed. He caught my knee, pushing it up toward my chest, folding me open until the new position let him bury himself impossibly deeper than before, and the sound that tore out of me was somewhere between a moan and a sob."Fuck, there." My nails raked down his forearm. "Right there.""Yeah?" He held there a beat, grinding slow, watching exactly how I reacted to it before pulling back and driving in again at the same brutal angle. "This spot?""Yes.
ZuriI pressed my legs together the second Chris's words landed, panic spiking fast underneath the want still humming through me from a minute ago."Zu?" Ethan noticed immediately, pausing where he'd started pushing my shirt up, fingers stilling against my ribs. "You okay?""Yeah." My voice came out too fast. "I'm fine."He didn't look fully convinced, but he kept going anyway, mouth trailing down my stomach, lower, and I felt the exact moment his lips brushed against the inside of my thigh, right where Audric had left evidence of himself. His cum was still fresh inside of me. I hadn't even had time to wash up."Stop." The word tore out of me before I could stop it, sharper than I meant.Ethan lifted his head immediately. "Why? You don't want this?""I do, I just—" I stopped, throat closing around the rest of that sentence.I couldn't tell him. I couldn't say Audric had just fucked me against his car twenty minutes ago, couldn't explain the mess still drying on my skin, because if I t
Rhea“Good.” Brandon’s hands slid down my arms, guiding them behind the chair. “Because you’ve earned it, baby. Choosing him this morning. Walking around with his hands on you all day. Lying to us about Camilla.”He picked up a rope from a table. The rope was soft against my wrists as he worked eff
RHEAI stood in front of my closet, staring at rows of clothes that suddenly seemed impossible to navigate. Every movement sent sharp reminders through my body of what had happened last night.My thighs ached. My back stung where the bark had scraped it raw. And between my legs—God, between my legs
RheaAll the air punched out of my lungs in a ragged, guttural scream as Brandon bottomed out inside me. My forehead slammed against the rough bark of the pine tree, the friction of the wood scraping my skin, but I barely felt it over the sheer, agonizing stretch of him.“Ooh no... I’m hot...” It w
RHEAI almost died today.A stupid virgin who’d never broadened her horizons. Who’d never tasted anything real or dangerous or worth remembering.The thought had been circling my mind since the hospital, growing teeth with every pass. Life was fragile. Breakable. And I’d been wasting mine playing i







