ROSE As the van sped through the expressway, silence continued to separate us, keeping us to ourselves—me to my thoughts about my unrequited love for a man who belongs to the people and my dilemma to have a fling with him; him… to his nap? Rum hasn’t moved since he flung me aside. Perhaps, he’s fallen asleep. After exiting the expressway, meandering through the maze of city streets, the van finally turned into the luxury apartment building of Rum’s penthouse. I jolted forward in my seat. “David, I think you should send me home first—.” “Rum said to come straight here,” David reported like an army soldier as he turned the steering wheel, and the van swerved into the parking lot. As soon as it stopped, Rum sprung alive, grabbed my wrist and yanked me along with him as he got out. The trip up to the highest floor was quiet at first. Then, I turned to Rum and whispered, “Rum….” “I don’t want to hear anymore of your nonsense talk, Rose. Just stop talking.” “Then why am I h
ROSE Suddenly, Rum stiffened. Then, he whispered in my ear, “Bite if it hurts.” Hugging my shoulders, he nudged my face onto his shoulder and kept it there…. Huh? I pressed my nose into his warm skin. … and then he thrust forward with great strength. And something inside me snapped with the sharp pain of a thousand needles jabbing into me at the same time, sinking my teeth into his shoulder. Tears squeezed through the corner of my eyes and a sob slipped from me. SHIT, THAT HURTS! For a seemingly long while, he didn’t move, as though he was letting the pain subside—or perhaps, letting me adjust to his sheer size. But I wanted him to do something. Move. Anything. “Rum…,” I sniffed. He kissed my earlobe. “How’s this?” Carefully, he slid in further—. The rubbing against the walls inside me and stretching them—surprisingly—sent an electrifying bliss up my spine, arching my body against his, grinding my breasts on his muscular chest. A moan slipped through my lips—a so
ROSE I gasped, “Rum! What’re you doing? Put me down!” The fear of falling jerked my arms around his neck. And he chuckled lightly. “We’re going to sleep now. Seven a.m., remember?” Heat torched my cheeks. “Sleep?” So he’s carrying me to the couch? But I can walk on my own, Jesus Christ…. In a swift motion, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, and stepped out… and continued on forward. Wait, his bedroom? I panicked. “Rum, my bed’s over there. The living room’s there.” “Who says you’re sleeping alone?” he whispered. Hands flew up to my face, covering it. He wants to go for another round? But that’s not sleeping—. And his chuckle chimed softly in the darkness of his room. Then, I heard the duvet being cast aside and I was placed on the soft mattress. Before I reacted, he got in next to me and pulled the duvet up to my chin. His arm slipped around my waist, pulling me into his embrace, hugging me tightly. And I found myself staring at the swell in his throat as he exh
RUM "Cintilar?" The reporter wrinkled her nose as though she heard something disgusting. She kept a polite smile to hide her honest opinion. “Never heard of him.” “Her.” I returned an even smile. “Cintilar, Rose is a girl. And I’m glad you don’t know her.” You’d probably fall in line to mess her up—just as Annie and her gang did. And me. Fuck… That feeling returned. The feeling that I wasn’t good enough for anything. I had messed up a werewolf’s life, and I didn’t learn my lesson at all. “Mr. Rum?” The reporter flashed her white pearlies, her brows knitting with concern. “Hmm?” “I asked if you have a type.” I scoffed inside. Outside, I was giving my best smile—the one I reserved for the papzz. “Everyone has a type, don’t they?” What kind of a question is that? Isn’t this an interview for the people attending the style awards? Aren’t we supposed to be talking about style and fashion? She rested her chin on her palm and spread her lips into a sultry smile. “Of course,
RUM The queen of all spoilers of mood and bad timing struck again. Seriously, how the fuck did she survive her teenage years? I pulled back to shoot her a deadpan glare then shoved her aside. I need a cold drink. "Rum!" She chased after me. "You said I can have anything!" Ha! I yanked open the fridge door and grabbed a bottle of EVIAN. I never said that. She stood beside me, waiting patiently as I downed the cold, freezing water, momentarily numbing my raging desires. I pulled down the bottle with a loud gasp of satisfaction, and she continued in a weak voice, "Is that too demanding?" I jerked my face to her, sending her the violent frustrations in my chest with my eyes. "It is, isn't it?" Her face swivelled down with disappointment. Fuck…. Fuck, fuck, fuck….. Do something, Keithen Hook! "It's not demanding, goddamn it!" I gritted my teeth. Her face was back up, now filled with curiosity. "Then what is it—?" "You just caught me offguard!" I took another swig of
*WARNING: This chapter contains imagery and description that may cause distress. ROSE A sense of justice overcame me. “But he’s a werewolf! Werewolves have super healing abilities right?” “Scars and wounds heal, Rose. Not missing limbs… or eyes.” He turned further away, his back facing mine, then he added, “One of the branches caught his eye during the fall and… you can imagine the rest.” “So he… lost an eye?” I couldn’t believe my ears. A chill streak shot up my spine. I jerked up a hand to cover my eye. How does it feel… to have a part of you stabbed… and then torn from you like it didn’t matter? I can imagine the excruciating pain. But do werewolves feel the same? Do they feel the pain even though they heal faster than us? I stared at the strong back crouching in remorse. And then, all of a sudden, my parents’ car crash slammed into my mind. When the car flew off its rail, were Mum and Dad petrified? Did they know that the end was near and gave up? Or did they try to es
ROSE "What kind of date?" I heard myself asking. Rum was on his way to his bedroom in his laid back manner—one hand in his pants pockets, one hand holding his phone for his eyes to read, and his feet in a leisurely drag—when he halted and slowly turned. His face asked, what kind of a question is that?, before his silky voice did. “Are you for real?” he asked. Then, he turned to face me. “I’m taking a woman to dinner—what kind of date do you think that is?” I stepped forward. “But isn’t she your sponsor? People don’t discuss business over dates, right?” Those blue eyes darkened with rage. “What are you trying to say?” His tone was telling me: I was out of line. He’s right. Who am I to tell him what to do and what not to do? Even Dan gave him the green light. So who am I to say he can’t date a woman to move ahead in his career? It’s not that I don’t know this part of his life. I do! I know that he's done favours for sex; he's slept with many women. And he even bluntly told
ROSE “Rum…? Err, we’re not done yet,” squealed the flustered assistant producer. “Sorry, Grace. I need a three,” Rum replied solemnly as he rushed past the lady who smiled back sheepishly. "Three minutes!" Someone shouted in the background as I continued to be tugged forward. When we were out of earshot, I tried to wrench myself out of that stinging grasp. “Let go of me!” I hissed. “Oh, now you’re whispering? You’re finally aware that everyone’s looking?” he muttered sarcastically. The second we entered the dressing room, Rum slammed the door shut, locked it and caged me against the wall with his hands on each side of my head and his angry face in mine. "I don't care what the fuck is your problem…." Those blue eyes held my gaze. "But you better get your shit together. You got a problem working for me, then FUCKING LEAVE." I stared at him. Fear was slowly seeping from his glare into my veins. So he brought me here to cool off. But he made it abundantly clear: he wants no