LOGINAbsolutely.
NOELLE'S POV
He kissed me back.
That was the part I wasn't ready for. Not the kissing. I started that. But the way he kissed me back. Slowly and yet urgently. He kissed me like he had all night and intended to use every second of it.
His hand came to my waist. Warm through the thin fabric of my dress.
I pulled back and looked at him.
His eyes were dark.
"Come up," I said.
It was not a question.
He looked at me for one long second. Making sure I meant it.
I meant it.
"Okay," he said.
I fumbled with the key card twice before the lock clicked. Roman's chest is already against my back, his breath hot on my neck. When the door swings open he walks me inside without letting go.
The room is dark except for the moon cutting white shapes across the bed. He kicks the door shut. Then I feel his hands, his palms sliding under my dress, pulling the fabric up and off in one move. Cool air hits my skin everywhere the cotton leaves bare.
"Turn," he says.
I turn.
He looks at me like he is deciding where to start. His shirt drops. Then his belt. The metal clink makes my stomach flip. I reach for his zipper but he catches my wrist.
"Me first."
He unhooks my bra with one hand. The straps fall down my arms. Cool air, then his mouth, warm and slow, licking a circle around my nipple before he sucks. I gasped as he took the hard nub in his mouth. I am already wet and he has not even touched my pussy yet.
He drops to his knees. Hooks his fingers into my underwear and drags it down my thighs. I step out. Fully naked. My heart pounding in my ears.
He stays on his knees and looks up at me.
"Perfect," he says quietly.
Then he stands and strips. His shorts come off first, then his boxers
His cock springs free. Thick, curved slightly upward, the head shiny and pierced with a silver barbell. I stare. I have seen pictures. Never the real thing. The metal catches the moonlight like a warning.
He notices me looking.
"Problem?" he asks.
"Absolutely not," I said, entranced.
I reach out without thinking. I trace the piercing with my thumb. A small bead of wet gathers at the tip. I spread it slowly, my whole body already shaking a little.
Roman's eyes darkened. "Lie on the bed."
I lie down. The sheets are cool. He spreads my knees and settles between them, pushing my thighs wider until I feel completely open.
His first lick is slow. Flat tongue from bottom to top. My back lifts off the bed. He hums and the vibration shoots straight through me. The second lick circles my clit, soft and teasing. The third, he sucks it between his lips and flicks his tongue against it.
I cry out.
My fingers twist in his hair. He doesn't stop. He licks and sucks and owns every part of me like he has done this a hundred times and plans to do it a hundred more. Two fingers push inside slowly. Curling up to press the spot that makes my legs shake. In and out. Wet sounds filling the quiet room.
The first wave builds fast.
I come hard. My hips jerking. His name breaking apart in my mouth. My pussy squeezes his fingers again and again and he keeps licking until the last shudder leaves me and I drop back limp.
He wipes his mouth on my inner thigh and kisses the skin there.
"One," he says. Voice rough.
I am still floating when he climbs up and pins my wrists above my head with one hand. His cock nudges my entrance, the pierced head sliding slow through my wetness. Every time the metal grazes my clit I jerk, I was too sensitive but wanted more anyway.
"Look at me," he says.
Our eyes lock.
He pushes in slowly. It feels so good I whimper. The piercing drags inside, hitting places I did not know could feel like that. When he is all the way in he stops. Jaw tight. Breathing through his nose.
"Okay?" he asks.
I roll my hips.
He takes that as the answer it is.
He pulls back and drives forward. Slow at first. Then faster. Then harder. The bed creaks. The headboard taps the wall. I wrap my legs around him and meet every thrust. The silver bar hits the same spot over and over. My eyes rolled, pleasure shooting up my spine and I stop thinking in words entirely.
The second one builds faster than the first.
I feel it coil tightly and then snaps.
I come louder this time. My nails dragging down his back. My whole body shaking under him.
Roman groans and loses his rhythm. He drives in once, twice, then buries himself deep and stays there. I feel him pulse inside me, his cock jerking, the piercing pressing against walls so sensitive I shake through the whole thing with him.
We collapse together. Breathing hard.
The room is quiet.
The sea comes in through the cracked balcony door.
After a while Roman gets up. Uses the bathroom. When he comes back he dresses in silence, eyes on me the whole time. I should say something. Stay. Go. Thank you. The words feel too heavy.
At the door he stops.
"Tomorrow?" he asks.
I nod. I don't trust my voice.
He leaves without another sound.
The room goes dark again. I lie there, ceiling fan turning slowly above me. The sheets smell like sweat and sea salt.
I press my hand between my thighs. Still swollen. Still wet with him. A shiver moves through me. Then something heavier behind it.
This was supposed to be fun. A holiday story. Something to laugh about later in a drawer somewhere.
But the ache inside me is not soreness.
It is something else entirely. Something I desperately want.
LUNCH BREAKNOELLE'S POVI stood in front of the tall glass building and looked up.This was the main company building. The one Roman had returned to after the investigation ended. I had not been here in a long time. For a moment I almost turned around. Then I fixed my bag on my shoulder and walked inside.The lobby was bright and quiet. People in suits moved across the shiny floor. I went to the front desk and smiled at the receptionist.“Hi. I’m here to see Roman Ashford.”She typed something on her computer and then pointed me toward the elevators.“Top floor. His secretary will meet you.”“Thank you.”The elevator ride felt long. My stomach was a little nervous, but not in a bad way. I just wanted to see him. I wanted to surprise him and maybe steal him away for lunch.When the doors opened, a woman was already waiting. She was tall, with perfect hair and a polite smile that did not fully reach her eyes.“You must be Noelle,” she said. “Mr. Ashford is in a meeting right now. You c
GOOD NEWS IN THE KITCHENNOELLE'S POVRoman left for work early that morning, after I had repeatedly pushed him away from me.He kissed me goodbye at the door, told me to rest, and reminded me that food was already in the fridge if I got hungry. After the door closed, the penthouse felt quiet. Milo walked around my legs and then jumped onto the couch like he owned the place. I was happy he was here with me. Bria had called me earlier saying she was coming.I was still in my pajamas when the doorbell rang.I opened it and found Bria standing there with two big grocery bags and a bright smile.“I came to cook,” she said. “Move out of the way.”I laughed and stepped aside. “You always say that.”“Because it’s always true. Rowan doesn't feed you properly.” she said, shaking her head.She walked straight to the kitchen and started unpacking the bags. Chicken, vegetables, rice, spices, and a bottle of juice. She looked comfortable in Roman’s kitchen now, like she had cooked there many times
THE FAMILY TABLEROMAN'S POVI stood in front of the mirror and fixed my shirt for the third time.Noelle sat on the edge of the bed watching me. Milo was curled up beside her. The penthouse felt quiet and warm.“Are you sure you don’t want me to come?” she asked gently.I turned and looked at her.“Not tonight,” I said. “I need to do this alone. Just the family. If things go well, there will be other dinners. You will be there for those.”She nodded. She did not look hurt. She understood.“Okay. Just Call me if you need anything.”I walked over and kissed her forehead.“I will. Don’t wait up if it gets late.” She smiled a little.“I’ll wait up anyway.”I left the penthouse with a strange feeling in my chest. Part of me wanted to turn around and stay home with her. The other part knew this dinner had been waiting for years.The drive to my mother’s house felt longer than usual. The old gates opened slowly. The driveway was lined with the same trees I remembered from childhood. The big
APOLOGETIC CALLROMAN'S POVI was sitting in the living room when my phone started ringing.Noelle was in the kitchen making tea. Milo was asleep on the couch beside me, his small body warm against my leg. That still felt like a miracle. The penthouse was quiet and calm. For the first time in a long while, things felt steady. No danger. No rushing. Just a normal evening.I looked at the screen.Derek.I stared at the name for a few seconds. We had not spoken properly in a long time. Most of our conversations had been cold or angry. Some had ended with one of us hanging up. I almost let the call go to voicemail. My thumb hovered over the red button. Then I answered.“Derek.”There was a short silence on the other end before he spoke.“Roman. Are you free to talk?”His voice sounded different. Not mocking. Just tired and serious. It made me sit up a little straighter.“I’m listening,” I said.Derek took a breath. I could hear it through the phone.“You need to come back to the company.”
WEIGHT OF COMPARISONDEREK'S POVMy father sat behind his big desk like a judge. The city lights behind him made his face look harder than usual. A single folder lay closed in front of him. I already knew what was inside. The contract we had just lost.I stood on the other side of the desk.Richard looked at me for a long time before he spoke.“You lost it,” he said. His voice was low and controlled. That was worse than shouting.“I know,” I answered.“Do you?” He opened the folder and turned it so I could see the papers. “This was not a small deal, Derek. This was a long-term contract. The kind that keeps people employed. The kind that builds trust with partners. And you lost it.”I clenched my jaw. My hands stayed at my sides so he would not see them tighten.“The client changed their terms at the last minute. They wanted guarantees we could not give without putting the company at risk.”“Roman would have found a way,” my father said.The words landed exactly where he meant them to.
THE CAT PROBLEMROMAN'S POVI knew something was wrong the moment Bria walked through the door.She was carrying a plastic pet carrier. Inside it, something moved. Then I heard a low, angry sound. It was not a normal meow.Noelle sat up on the couch right away. Her face lit up.“Milo!”Bria laughed and set the carrier on the floor.“Someone missed a certain human, ” she said. “So I brought him. You’re welcome.”Noelle was already on her knees opening the carrier. The moment the door opened, a fluffy grey cat stepped out, looked around the penthouse, and then locked eyes with me.I swear the cat’s eyes narrowed.“Hey, buddy,” I said carefully.Milo’s ears went flat.Noelle picked him up and hugged him. The cat purred for her right away. He rubbed his head under her chin like she was his favorite person in the world. Then he looked at me again over her shoulder.The purring stopped.Bria crossed her arms and grinned.“Oh, this is going to be good.”“What?” I asked.“He hates men,” Bria
FRIENDS AND FRACTURESNOELLE'S POVI couldn’t stay in my apartment any longer.The walls felt like they were closing in, the silence too loud, the memories of Roman’s broken voice on the phone repeating in my head like a curse. “It’s over. I choose Liana.”I grabbed Milo’s carrier, packed a small b
GENTLE LIESNOELLE'S POVThe city lights blurred past the car window as Derek drove in comfortable silence.I leaned my head against the cool glass, tears still slipping silently down my cheeks. I didn’t bother wiping them away anymore. My body felt heavy, drained, like someone had sucked all the s
TOUCH DOWNLIANA'S POVThe moment the plane touched down at JFK Airport, Liana felt alive again.She stepped off the aircraft with her designer suitcase rolling behind her, wearing a soft cream coat and the perfume Roman had once told her he loved. Her heart was racing with pure, electric excitemen
NOT MINEROMAN'S POVMy phone rang at eight thirteen p.m. while I was sitting on the balcony of my penthouse, a glass of whiskey in hand, watching the city lights flicker below like distant stars.The name on the screen made my stomach drop.MotherI answered on the sixth ring, my voice carefully n







