INICIAR SESIÓNEMBER'S POVFor a long moment, neither of us moves. He's still buried inside me, softening but making no move to withdraw, and I can feel his heart slamming against mine through our chests."Fuck," he breathes finally."Yeah," I agree."We should probably get back.""Probably."Neither of us moves."Queenie is going to be insufferable," I say."Queenie can go fuck herself."I laugh, a real laugh, surprised out of me by his grumpiness. He pulls back to look at my face, and something soft crosses his expression."You're beautiful when you laugh," he says quietly.The words hit somewhere soft and unguarded."Knox...""I mean it." His thumb traces my cheekbone. "Tonight was... I liked seeing you like that. Free. Happy. Not carrying the weight of everything.""It felt good," I admit. "Dancing without worrying. Doing things I've never done before. Being someone I've nev
EMBER'S POVThe thought should scandalize me. Should make me pull away, find somewhere private, behave like the proper omega I was raised to be.Instead, it makes me burn."I don't care," I gasp. "I just need you. Need—"He pulls his hand away.I actually whine at the loss, the sound embarrassingly desperate."Bathroom," he says, and it's not a question. "Now."He grabs my hand and starts pulling me through the crowd. I stumble after him, my legs shaky, my body screaming for release that keeps getting denied.The club is a maze of bodies and lights and I have no idea where we're going, but Knox navigates like he's done this a thousand times before. Maybe he has. I don't care. I just care about getting somewhere private so he can finish what he started.We burst through a door marked PRIVATE—probably VIP bathrooms, because of course—and then I'm against the wall, his mouth crushing mine, his hands shoving my dress up around my waist."Been thinking about this all night," he growls bet
EMBER'S POVI turn my back to the VIP section, let my hips sway in slow, sensual circles. Let my hands trail down my own body—over my breasts, my stomach, my thighs. Let my head fall back like I'm lost in the music, in the pleasure of my own movement.When I glance over my shoulder, his jaw is tight and his knuckles are white around his glass.Good."Oh my god," Queenie cackles. "You're trying to kill him.""I'm just dancing.""You're performing a mating call and you know it."Maybe I am. Maybe I want him to want me so badly he can't stand it. Maybe I want to drive him crazy the way he's been driving me crazy since this whole thing started.The song changes to something heavier, dirtier. The crowd responds with increased intensity—bodies pressing closer, movements becoming more explicit. Near us, a couple has given up any pretense of dancing and is straight up dry-humping against a speak
EMBER'S POVThe club is called Naughty or Nice.The club is called Naughty or Nice.And based on what I'm seeing through the entrance, "nice" was never really an option.The venue has been transformed into some kind of Christmas fever dream designed by someone with a very, very dirty imagination. Red and white lights pulse through artificial snow that falls from the ceiling, catching the strobe lights and making everything sparkle. Giant candy canes frame the VIP sections, wrapped in red rope. The bar is staffed by men dressed as—I'm not making this up—sexy Christmas elves, complete with pointed ears, tiny green shorts, and abs that could grate cheese.And that's just the entrance."Holy shit," I breathe."Told you," Queenie grabs my arm, practically vibrating with excitement. "One Night Only is legendary. They go all out."All out is an understatement.The dance floor is packed with bodies mo
EMBER'S POV I hate how close I am to him—close enough to taste his breath, close enough to count his eyelashes—yet how far away he seems. How far away we'd always be.I want to scream in his face that I don't care if he destroys me alongside himself. That I'd rather be infected with whatever madness runs in his veins than not have him at all. But I also know how close that comes to losing myself to another man—right after Gale. Right after escaping the curse of loving the wrong person.So despite the rupturing of my heart and my lungs and the very thing that attaches me to my soul, I drag in a deep breath, choking back my sob."Do you at least care about me?""Fuck, of course I do." His voice cracks on the words. "I care so much about you, baby. I care so much that I might have committed treason in that court today if they'd moved forward with dragging you back to Gale."I swallow—failing to reconcile how he could say that and not want more than just thirty days."Please let's not f
EMBER'S POVWe return to the penthouse in a daze.The space feels different now. Lighter, maybe.Like the weight of everything that's been pressing down on us has lifted slightly, leaving room for something that might be hope.Knox disappears into the bedroom to change, and I drift to the window, looking out at the mountain vista that's become so familiar over the past few days.We have one day left, or is it two? What does the new 30-days probation mean for us? For me.The snow is falling gently, coating everything in white, making the world look clean and fresh and full of possibility.I'm free.The words still don't feel real.I'm free and Gale is in custody and my mother's schemes have collapsed and the council has cleared Knox's name and—And none of it matters if I can't figure out what happens next."Hey."Knox's voice pulls me back. He's changed into something casual—dark jeans, a henley that stretches across his shoulders in ways that are probably illegal—and he's looking at







