5. DREAMS AND DEADLINES

 Ariana

      

      Months had passed since that tense Christmas dinner. 

      

      Autumn was already creeping in…

      

      I’d buried myself in work and the wedding preparations. Of course, it was all a distraction from thinking about Kai. The crescent moon scar on my wrist had faded slightly into a faint silver mark, making it barely noticeable until the light caught it just right. 

      

      Most days I’d try to gaslight myself into thinking that the blizzard, the estate, and the dashing man with silver eyes had all been a fever dream. 

      

      But who was I kidding? 

      

      It was sadly all real and as much as I hated it, it’d been my reality sometime ago even if I’d chosen to stay clear of it. 

      

      Night after night, that fever dream kept coming back anyway. 

      

      Just this midnight, I’d jolted awake drenched in sweat, sheet twisted around my hips with my breath coming in shallow gasps. My skin was very flushed, my thighs pressed tight against each other as my heart pounded loudly against my chest. 

      

      I could feel the persistent ache and wetness between my legs.

      

      The dream felt so real. 

      

      In it, Kai had me backed against a rough stone wall in his estate, the warm fire light burning and dancing over his shoulders. His silver eyes were locked in mine as he dropped to his knees, his strong hands brushing against my thighs and spreading them apart slowly. 

      

      As soon as his mouth lightly stroked against my pussy, I couldn’t help but moan out helplessly; his tongue, hot and teasing sliding in and out of me… filling me in … tasting me like I was something sacred… a forbidden fruit he’d wanted to pluck from a tree for a long time. I threaded my fingers through his hair arching into him as his tongue continued to circle my clit with devastating precision, growling low and hungrily against my skin as I kept crying out his name. 

      

      When I squirted in his face, he smiled with pleasure and with a wicked glint in those silver eyes, took out his wet fingers from my honey pot, and sucked them clean. He hummed softly in approval, his voice sending shivers down my spine as I watched him savor me like I was the sweetest thing he’d ever known. 

      

      Then he rose and lifted me effortlessly, pinning my wrist above my head with just one hand while the other guided his thick huge cock to my entrance.

      

       He slowly thrusted deeply, filling me as his hips rolled in a rhythm that stole my breath. 

      

      I’d longed for this… lusted after this… 

      

      I wanted this. 

      

      

      

      “ You’re mine,” he rasped against my throat, his fangs grazing my pulse as he pounded me harder, then faster, the bond between us flaring up hot until I felt pleasure explode from both of us in cascading waves.

      

      I got up quickly, my cheeks flaming hot from the dream. 

      

      

      I looked down. 

      

      

      I was soaked … embarrassingly but undeniably f**king wet. 

      

      Jake lay next to me, snoring loudly and completely oblivious to the storm raging inside me. 

      

      I felt so horny. Maybe I needed him. 

      

      For now. 

      

      I seductively drew close and started brushing my boobs against him. He didn’t budge. 

      

      Not now. I wasn’t about to give up. I needed it.

      

      Badly.

      

      I let my arm softly caress his body to his chest and then lower to softly grab his dick. He shifted and then stiffened immediately when he felt me stroking it. Good. At least I knew he was up now. 

      

      “ Jake, baby..,” I whispered pressing closer to him. “ I need you now. I’m starving for you.” I bit my lower lip at my lie. It was Kai I needed but then… Jake was here. 

      

      “ Ughh… not now babe. I’m too tired.”

      

      “ But…”

      

      “ Mmm-mm babe, I don’t feel like it.”

      

      His rejection stung deeply but there was nothing else I could do to get him to f**k me. I lay there in frustration, the heat between my legs refusing to cool down. 

      

      That was when I remembered Lena’s gift. 

      

      Tucked behind my wardrobe and hidden under the folds of my clothes was the sleek pink box she’d shoved in my face months ago with a naughty smirk. “ For when that pathetic lying cheat leaves you high and dry,” she teased.“ Trust me. You’ll love it.”

      

      I’d rolled my eyes at her and kept it hidden like a dangerous secret but now…

      

      I slipped out of bed quietly, retrieved the box, and carried it to the bathroom with me. 

      

      The toy was so beautiful… a curved silicone … powerful but whisper-quiet. I took off my clothes and turned on the shower for cover, allowing hot water to cascade down my skin as I switched it to a low, teasing vibration. 

      

      Now leaning against the tiled wall, I closed my eyes and let Kai flood my mind again. 

      

      This time he had me bent over on his massive king-sized bed, his hands gripping my hips as he f**ked me from behind: deep, possessive strokes that made me grunt and whimper with pleasure. His chest pressed to my back, a hand sliding around to circle my clit while the other grabbed at my hair, tugging it enough to arch my neck so he could bite down lightly on my shoulder. “ You’re so f**king tight, baby. And so perfect …with the way you’re taking all my cock. Your pussy was made for me. Only me.”

      

      I eased the toy in, gasping at the stretch as the vibration hummed against the walls. I started slowly but increased my pace matching the rhythm I imagined: Kai’s powerful thrusts, relentless and consuming. 

      

      Water streamed down my body as I pumped the toy deeper, angling it to hit the spot that made me see stars. In my fantasy, he’d proceeded to flip me over and spread me wide, those tempting eyes on mine as he penetrated me sinfully over and over … his wolf fangs bared in pleasure. 

      

      “ Come for me baby,” he commanded, his voice dark and smooth like velvet. “ Let me feel you explode around my cock.”

      

      The pleasure built fast: hot, intense, and unbearable.

      

      I came hard, biting my lip to muffle the moan, my body trembling as I shattered, the toy buried deep while I rode it out.

      

      Panting, I slumped against the wall, water washing over my rosy, flushed skin. 

      

      Guilt slapped me immediately in the face, hot and heavy. 

      

      I was engaged. Planning a wedding. Yet here I was, shamelessly fantasizing about a man I’d met once: a werewolf whose name alone made my pulse race. 

      

      The crescent scar tingled, warmer under the water that sprayed on my body. 

      

      How much longer could I keep pretending this pull would fade?

      

      Because deep down, I knew it was only getting stronger.

      

      *

      

      I sat at my desk as I cradled my favorite oat-milk latte with extra cinnamon telling Lena what happened earlier this morning. 

      

      “… and then I had to finish in the shower with that thing you gave me. Thinking about Kai the entire time. I feel so terrible girl.”

      

      Lena burst out laughing out loud with her head thrown back. “ Stop it!”, I hissed, my face burning from sheer embarrassment. “It’s not funny.”

      

      “ Oh come on babes. It’s freaking hilarious,” she wheezed as she clutched on to her iced Americano as her life depended on it. “ You’re engaged to boring ass Jake and you’re having dreams about fucking some rich guy. The classic Ari denial.”

      

      I glanced around. “ Oh come on now… It’s kinda my fault he wasn’t in the mood. I’ve been denying him sex since the prosposal okay? Maybe he’s a bit frustrated.”

      

      “ Or maybe his cheating, lying ass is getting it from somewhere else… you’re so naïve, Ari. I’m seriously concerned about you now. You turning him down doesn’t give him a free pass to treat you like an annoyance.”

      

      “ Oh shut up Lena!” I snapped, louder than intended.

      

      From outside my office, we could hear the awkward, dead silence as my loud voice had caused a major disruption. Or at least I thought so but then Ms. Harlan had stormed out of her office, her face red. She yelled at one of our coworkers, Sarah from accounting. 

      

      “ You had one job! The feature, the exclusive interview with the CEO … not to talk about the partnership contract. You messed up everything.”

      

      Sarah’s voice trembled as she shook in fear. Poor girl. We all knew the work wasn’t even originally assigned to her. “ But Ma’am. It’s not my project. It’s actually Derrick’s. He dumped it on me at the very last–”

      

      “ Derrick has bigger clients, Sarah. Don’t ever make that an excuse!” 

      

      Seriously? So Derrick gets away with everything just because he was nailing our boss? It wasn’t a secret that they were having an affair.

      

       I couldn’t stay quiet. 

      

      I had to help Sarah out of this.

      

       “ Sarah’s right actually, Ma’am. She’s been cleaning Derrick’s messes and tolerating his incompetence for months. I don’t think that’s fair… honestly.”

      

      My boss’s eyes shot up to me like lasers. 

      

      Oops.

      

       I’ve probably crossed the line by being frank about her lazy lover. 

      

      “ Oh, I see… How perfect. You feel sorry for her?,” she pointed at Sarah whose head was bowed, her eyes searching the ground to avoid eye contact. Ms. Harlan smiled sarcastically. “ Fine then. You think you know better, don’t you? Why don’t you take over the project? It’s all yours.”

      

      I shook my head in disbelief, pretending as if my ears were failing me. “ Ma’am please I don’t… understand.”

      

      “ You’re not supposed to. You could have avoided all this by keeping your nuisance of a nose out of my business with Sarah but since you think you’re better than everyone here, why don’t you cover the entire project?”

      

      My stomach dropped to the floor. 

      

      “ Sarah give her the files,” Ms. Harlan commanded and with a huge sigh of relief and obvious joy, Sarah quickly rushed to her office and returned with a huge heap of files which she quickly handed to me. 

      

      “ Torrence Enterprises,” Ms. Harlan said if she were savoring the words. “ I need you … No, ‘need’ is an understatement. You have to land the exclusive feature, the one-on-one with CEO Torrence himself, and the full partnership contract. Of course, you’ll get a lot of incentives if you bag this, along with promotion to Senior Creative Lead. But if you fail… ”, she paused, letting it sink in. “ You’re out… fired! Or better still, you’ll be demoted to janitorial. Your call, Miss Blake.”

      

      I felt the room spinning around me. What did I just get myself into? The boss turned to walk away and Sarah winked at me in appreciation. “ Good Luck,” she whispered as she went to her desk. 

      

      I stumbled back to my office on autopilot and collapsed into my chair. 

      

      Lena followed, perched on my desk with her America in hand. She’d already finished her workload early – promotion imminent and I was so jealous but still proud of her. 

      

      I flipped the folder open but I felt my breath catch at the sight of the headshot. My heart kept slamming against my ribs. I could feel immediate sweatiness creeping all over my body. 

      

      No, no, no. 

      

      Not him. 

      

      I trembled. “ I’m screwed, Lena.”

      

      “ Sup?”

      

      “ My project. It’s about Kai. Kai Torrence.The guy I can’t get out of my head.”