LOGININDY The steam still clung to my skin as I stepped out of the shower. A low growl rumbled behind me, and then Rome’s arms were around my waist, pulling me back against his hard chest. “Mmm, you smell good enough to eat, my baby.” His lips found the sensitive curve of my neck, sending a shiver through me.“Rome, I just washed,” I murmured, a weak protest that died in my throat as his fingers traced the damp line of my spine.“I’ll clean you up again, don’t worry.” His hand slipped lower, cupping me, and a soft gasp escaped my lips. “Ah, Rome,” I moaned, unable to stop myself. I turned in his embrace, my hands finding the wet skin of his chest. Our lips met in a heated kiss. We stumbled out, leaving a trail of damp footprints, our clothes discarded in a mess. The bed in his bedroom swallowed us as he pinned me beneath him. “Wild thing,” he breathed against my mouth, and just like that, he made love to me until I was lost in pleasure. Later, I found him in his office, brow furrow
POPPY One moment, we were making out on the couch of his mansion, then, before I knew it, we were in his room—his scent filling my senses. Jude sat on the edge of my bed, his broad shoulders hunched slightly, a nervous energy radiating off him that contrasted the confident glint in his eyes. Moonlight highlights the lean muscle beneath his t-shirt. My heart hammered a frantic rhythm against my ribs. We’d been circling this moment for weeks, and finally, we were here. “You know,” he began, “I’ve actually been… preparing for this.” He swallowed, a visible bob in his throat.I laughed, a shaky, breathy sound. “Preparing? What, did you read a manual, Jude?” I was trying to lighten the mood, but a spark of genuine curiosity flickered within me. Jude, for all his quiet intensity, had always struck me as someone who took things seriously, perhaps too seriously.He grinned. “Something like that. And a little practice, I guess.” His eyes held mine, a mischievous glint dancing in their dep
POPPY There had been many moments—too many, actually. Moments where we were close to the point that I could feel Jude’s breath brushing against my lips, where the space between us was so thin that it almost felt meaningless. Moments where I thought, " This is it. And yet, it never happened. At least, not completely. Something always stopped us. Most of the time, it was his work. Sometimes, it was me. Sometimes, it was just… the overwhelming awareness that neither of us knew what we were doing. I lay on my bed one afternoon, a book resting open against my chest, my eyes scanning the same line over and over again without actually absorbing a single word. My mind was somewhere else, specifically, on my mate. I let out a soft groan and dropped the book over my face. “This is so embarrassing,” I muttered into the pages. The books I had been reading lately were not helpful at all. They were bold and wild—detailed in ways that made my face heat up just thinking about the
INDY When we returned from Firefell, I felt so much better. The world hadn’t changed, but I had. The car ride back to the mansion was quiet and comfortable. Rome sat beside me, his arm draped behind me, his fingers occasionally brushing against my waist. His hand slipped lower, bold and entirely unashamed, and squeezed my waist. “Rome,” I said sternly. He did it again with a cheeky smile. I turned to glare at him, but he only smirked, appearing unrepentant.“What?” he asked innocently.“You need to stop,” I said, lowering my voice. “We’re almost home.”“Exactly,” I shot back. “We are almost home.”He leaned closer, his breath warm against my ear.“I’ll see you later in the bedroom, hmm?” he murmured.My heart skipped a beat, and I shook my head. “Haven’t you had enough in Firefell?” He turned to me with a smirk. “I will never have enough.” The car came to a stop, and before I could say anything else, he was already stepping out excitedly. I took it, but I knew that look in
INDY The flight back to Firefell was supposed to feel like the beginning of something new.It was our honeymoon. And yet, as I sat beside Rome, staring out the small oval window of the plane at the endless stretch of clouds below, my thoughts refused to calm down.They had not settled since the night of our wedding, most especially since that moment in the bathroom where I heard the two maids talking about our capability to have an heir. I swallowed softly, my fingers tapping against my lap.“Indy.”I turned my head and found Rome watching me. His gaze looked worried, as though he had been observing me for far longer than I realized.“Are you okay?” he asked.I could hear the genuine concern in his voice, and it made me more apprehensive. I forced a small smile.“Yeah,” I said. “Everything’s good.”The lie slipped out too easily, but he did not call me out on it.Instead, he studied me for a moment longer before nodding slowly.“Alright.”He reached over, his hand finding mine, hi
INDY The wedding ceremony itself had already ended.It had been intimate in a way I never expected a wedding to be, especially one involving an Alpha like Rome. There were no overwhelming crowds pressing in close, no roaring cheers echoing off grand halls during the vows. Instead, it had been held quietly inside the mansion, within walls that had seen years of royalty long before I ever stepped into them.Only a select few had been present during the ceremony itself.I could still feel the lingering warmth of Rome’s hand in mine as we stood before them earlier, his gaze never once leaving mine as though the entire world had narrowed down to just the two of us.Now, the doors to the gardens stood just ahead.Beyond them, everyone else waited. The moment we would step out not just as two individuals, but as one. “Let’s go,” Rome said softly.I turned to him.He looked composed, as always, but there was something softer in his expression, somehow. I nodded.Together, we stepped forw
INDY I held myself back.That was the wrong question to ask. The wrong thing to want and hope for. “Sorry,” I said quickly, forcing my body to move away from him even though I wanted to stay. However, before I could put some distance between us, his hand came up, firm but not rough, fingers slid
INDY The forest swallowed me whole the moment I crossed beyond the last boundary marker of the palace lands. Algard, being the capital of Algard—creative, I know—was the biggest in landmass and most developed out of all the cities. Going through the city was a journey all alone.Now, it felt like
INDY He stood there, completely dumbfounded. He didn’t move at all, just staring at me, appearing to be deciding whether I was serious or mocking him. Then, he shook his head slowly. “I can’t believe this,” he muttered.“I’m just telling the truth,” I said quickly, crossing my arms in front of my
INDY Rome was a force of nature. Each thrust was a bruising declaration, a hundredth, a thousandth time, driving me deeper into the plush mattress. The headboard hammered softly against the wall. My fingers dug into his shoulders, leaving red marks, but he didn’t seem to mind. “Mmm-hmm,” I humme







