BREAKING POINT

SERA

For the next couple of days, I did everything I could to push Knox out of my mind, bury him under routine, under Jared’s kisses, under forced smiles and half-hearted laughter.

I stayed busy, I stayed bright. I stayed away, and it nearly drove me insane because it’s like I got hornier than I ever have.

It was as if Knox knew because he didn’t seek me out, even though I could feel his gaze on me every time we were in a room together with the rest of the family.

Hot. Possessive. Knowing.

I never met his gaze, but I always felt him.

That smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth anytime I tried to act like I was the perfect girlfriend to Jared, that indulgent shake of his head like he was watching a child throw a tantrum.

He wasn’t just unaffected, he was entertained. My entire act, my carefully constructed performance, amused him.

And that infuriated me.

Because somehow, in a matter of days, Knox had seen through me, deep enough to know what was real and what was deflection. That every kiss I gave Jared was a denial of what my body still remembered in vivid, tormenting detail.

It wasn’t fair.

I have spent years building this life with Jared, learning how to be the perfect fiancée, the perfect partner.

And Knox?

All it took was a couple of stolen moments and he had me unraveling with just a look.

Later that night, after everyone had said goodnight and disappeared into their separate corners of the house, Jared and I returned to our room.

I slipped into my silk nightdress, thin, black, barely-there, and sat in front of the vanity mirror, gently applying my serums and creams in slow, familiar motions.

I didn’t even hear Jared come out of the bathroom until I caught his reflection behind me, damp curls tousled, chest still glistening from the shower, white briefs clinging to narrow hips.

My hot fiancé

My eyes flicked up, catching the soft smile he wore as he watched me.

“You always look so beautiful like this,” he murmured, coming up behind me.

I smiled faintly, cheeks warming.

“Like what?” I asked, voice light.

“Soft,” He leaned down, lips brushing the shell of my ear. “Glowing. Mine.”

That made me giggle, heat rushing through my skin. I looked down, biting my lip, but he wasn’t done.

His lips trailed to my neck, pressing tender, open-mouthed kisses along the curve until I tilted my head to give him more access.

His hands slipped down, one trailing over my collarbone, the other gliding beneath the fabric of my nightdress until it cupped my breast, fingers gently circling the hardened peak.

I let out a soft sigh, leaning back against him. For the first time in days, this felt easy. Familiar. Safe.

This was what I needed.

Jared. The man I loved. The man I chose.

He kissed the side of my mouth, and I turned toward him, our lips meeting in a slow, searching kiss that deepened quickly. His tongue brushed mine, tasting, teasing, and I responded with an urgency I hadn’t shown in a while.

I needed this. I needed him.

I needed to get Knox out of my system with this.

He pulled me up effortlessly from the chair, wrapping his arms around my thighs as I let out a surprised laugh and instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist.

Our mouths never parted.

He carried me to the bed, lowering me onto the mattress and following me down until his body pressed into mine.

I could feel him. Hard. Hot. Resting right between my legs, against my naked wet core, separated by only the thinnest fabric of his briefs.

And it thrilled me.

I arched my hips into him, craving more friction, more heat. My hands slid down his back, gripping him tighter, encouraging.

Jared groaned low in his throat, dragging his mouth from mine to kiss along my jaw, my neck, his hand slipping under my nightdress again.

I breathed his name, clung to the moment, to him.

This is it. This is all I need. I told myself.

If I just focused hard enough… maybe I could drown out everything else..

Just when things were getting more heated, just when his hands were sliding lower to find my soaking pussy, his mouth finding that spot just beneath my ear—

His phone rang.

He paused.

I reached for him, breathless.

“Ignore it,” I whispered, tugging at his shoulder. “Please.”

But he was already pulling back.

“I can’t, baby,” he said gently, brushing a kiss to my forehead. “It might be important.”

I let my head fall back onto the pillows, chest rising and falling in quick, uneven breaths as I watched him walk over to the nightstand and grab his phone.

He looked at the screen, frowned, and then without another word, stepped out of the room to take the call.

The door clicked softly shut.

And I was left there, half-naked, throbbing, confused. Frustrated.

Angry

What the hell?

He just left me here, hot, bothered, and extremely horny to answer a call that couldn’t wait.

And the longer he stayed gone, the more that tight, angry knot twisted inside me.

The door opened softly.

Jared stepped back in, phone still in his hand, expression unreadable. He set it down on the nightstand and gave me a small, tired smile.

“Sorry,” he said, rubbing a hand over his face. “It was work. One of the regional reps messed something up again. It took longer than I thought.”

I let out a breath, trying to swallow the disappointment, trying to stay understanding.

This is what a good partner does. I reminded myself.

So I stood, walked toward him, wrapped my arms around his waist from behind and pressed a soft kiss to the slope of his shoulder.

“It’s okay,” I murmured, letting my hands trail over his chest. “I know work gets crazy. But maybe I can help you unwind…”

He turned slightly, just enough for me to rise on my toes and kiss his jaw, then his neck, my lips grazing the skin I knew he liked.

“Let me take care of you,” I whispered, slipping my fingers just under the waistband of his briefs. “Let me help you forget it all…”

But instead of melting into me, he gently pulled my hands away.

“Honestly, babe… I’m exhausted,” he said, looking at me apologetically. “That call drained me. Can we just… sleep?”

Sleep.

After leaving me wet and wanting, then disappearing for over twenty minutes? He wants to sleep?

Something snapped.

“You’re tired?” I echoed, eyebrows rising. “You leave me here, in the middle of us almost having sex, to take a call, and then come back and say you’re tired?”

He blinked, caught off guard by my tone.

“Sera, it wasn’t personal. I didn’t plan for the call. It just happened, and I said I was sorry.”

I blinked, stunned into silence.

He pressed a kiss to my cheek, then my temple.

“I love you,” he said. “You know that.”

Then he pulled back, peeled the covers back on his side of the bed, and climbed in.

“I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?” Jared murmured, already half-asleep, pulling the sheets over himself like it was the end of the conversation.

“Promise,” he added, barely audible.

And just like that, he was out.

His soft snores started within minutes. Just lying there, peaceful and oblivious, while I burned inches away from him. My body was on fire, throbbing with a need that had nowhere to go.

Again.

My hand clenched the edge of the bed, holding in the scream I wanted to let out.

I got up.

Pacing the room would’ve been a waste of time, so I left. No shoes, just my silk robe sliding over bare skin as I walked down the quiet hall to the back of the villa.

The night air hit me like a slap, cool, sharp, but it didn’t do a damn thing to cool me down. I went to the pool, letting the silence press in.

I saw a leftover bottle of red wine and a glass and poured for myself, drinking it at a go, body still buzzing with heat, the ache between my legs almost maddening.

Hell, I have tried everything with Jared yet he always had an excuse. Tired. Stressed. Not now, and this time that he had been the one to initiate it, it was the same thing.

For fuck’s sake I had needs too.

I took another sip of wine, and then saw movement from the corner of my eye.

Knox’s room.

His wing of the villa sat just across from the pool, and his massive floor-to-ceiling window was wide open, dimly lit from within. I turned my head instinctively, and instantly regretted it.

Or maybe not.

He was walking around shirtless, his back to me at first. The muscles in his shoulders and back flexed as he moved. Then he turned, casually, without noticing me and tugged off his shorts.

No underwear.

My breath caught.

He was hard. Not semi, not maybe fully.

I spun around so fast I almost lost my footing, but the damage was done.

My heart pounded, my breath quickened, and that sharp pulse between my thighs grew deeper, more insistent.

The image had already seared itself into her mind, long, thick, unmistakably aroused.

Then the sound of running water. The shower.

My mind screamed to go back to my room.

Be a good girl. Pretend none of this happened.

But my body had other plans.

Each step toward his wing felt slow and deliberate, like I was moving through honey. I couldn’t even blame the wine, I was stone-cold sober.

This was raw. This was hunger, and I was done starving.

My hand grazed the wall as I walked, pulse hammering in my throat.

I wasn’t supposed to be here.

But I kept going.