Chapter 4: Maren Pov

I woke up feeling like shit. Depression rolled off my body in waves. I stared at the ceiling fan for a solid ten minutes before my phone buzzed on the nightstand.

Mom.

Of course.

I considered ignoring it, but my soft heart won me over.

“Hey, Mom.”

“Maren, sweetheart! How’s the house? Is everything okay? Have you been watering my ferns?”

I dragged a hand down my face. “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“And the garden? I saw your text about starting the beds—”

“It’s handled.”

“Good. That’s good.” She paused. I hoped she wasn’t going to spew any bullshit that would make me angry. “So… how are things with Cal?”

Just when I thought I’d get lucky.

“We broke up.”

Silence.

Then, “Oh, Maren. What happened?”

“Does it matter?”

“Of course, it matters. Cal’s a good man. He has a stable job, a nice apartment—”

“He’s an asshole, Mom.”

“Don’t be dramatic.”

I stood up from my bed.

The room spun for a second, but I pushed through it.

“I’m not being dramatic. He’s controlling. He made me feel like crap every single day. I left him, and I’m not going back.”

“Maren.” Her voice went higher. “You’re not getting any younger. A man like Cal, he’s successful, established—you should feel lucky he’s interested in you at all.”

Thhe sheer, white-hot, furious indignation that flooded through me was so potent that I felt like shutting down every rational thought in my brain.

“Fuck you, Mom.”

I hung up. My hands were shaking.

I tossed the phone onto the bed and stood there for a second, breathing hard, trying to calm myself down.

Lucky.

Like I should be grateful some rich guy wanted to control my life. My mum needed to learn how to deal with her internalized misogyny.

Screw her.

I walked to the bathroom on autopilot. Brushed my teeth. Splashed cold water on my face.

The mirror stared back at me.

I looked tired, angry. I looked…My gaze dropped to my thighs. And then I felt it. A low, simmering heat I’d been ignoring for days now.

It had been building. Ever since I got here. Ever since Rhys showed up with that stupid lasagna and Calder revved his bike and looked at me like I was a piece of meat.

I pressed my thighs together, trying to elicit a little wave of pleasure from my body.

I walked back into the bedroom and dug through my nightstand drawer until I found it.

My rose toy. “Today you’re going to be my man,” I told it.

I lay back on the bed and closed my eyes.

I just needed to take the edge off.

I pictured Rhys. Climbing toward me on the bed, his hands spreading my legs wide open, his mouth delving into my thighs, his tongue sinking into my clit. The toy hummed as I wound my legs tighter in pleasure.

The Image shifted. Rhys blurred. And suddenly it was Calder.

Calder’s hands on my thighs. Calder’s mouth between my legs. Devouring my pussy ravenously.

Calder’s voice, rough and husky, telling me what he wanted to do to me. To tie me down, bend me over, and fuck the hell out of me.

No.

I tried to pull the image back.

Tried to focus on Rhys—sweet, safe Rhys—but the image kept slipping, morphing into his twin.

Calder’s smirk. Calder’s piercing eyes. Calder’s—

Fuck it.

I stopped fighting. Let the fantasy take over. I imagined his muscular body on top of me, pressing his full weight on me as he plowed into my vagina.

And when I came, it was hard and fast and so intense I forgot how to breathe for a second.

I lay there afterward, staring at the ceiling, my pulse still racing.

“What the hell was that?”

I grabbed my phone and called Chloe.

She answered on the second ring. “Babe, please tell me you seduced Rhys already.”

“I just masturbated to Calder.”

Silence.

Then, “What the hell did you just say?”

“I was thinking about Rhys. I imagined making love to him. But then it just—it turned into Calder, and I couldn’t stop it, and now I’m having a full-blown crisis.”

Chloe laughed.

“It’s not funny.”

“It is babe, tell me how did it feel.”

“Chloe.”

“Okay, okay.” She took a breath. “It’s just hormones. You’re stressed. You’re horny. Your brain’s all scrambled. The solution is obvious.”

“Which is?”

“Go fuck Rhys. Get Calder out of your system.”

I groaned. “Do you think that’ll work, because—”

“It works, trust me.” She paused. “Do you have sexy lingerie?”

I glanced at my suitcase. I scurried over, rifling through the bag. I didn’t see anything piece I liked.

“No.”

“Then go shopping. Take the day off. Treat yourself. Get something that makes you feel hot, and then tomorrow night, you go over to Rhys, wear the lingerie and a trench coat. Then open it up. When his eyes widen, obviously from seeing your incredibly perfect body, tell him you want his hard pole fucking you, taking you from behind.”

I bit my lip. I could feel my inner lip throbbing again just from Chloe’s words. “I don’t know if I can just—”

“Maren. You literally just came thinking about his twin brother. You need to do something before your brain fully short-circuits.”

She’s not wrong.

“Fine. I’ll go shopping.”

“Good. Text me pictures of what you buy.”

“Okay, consider it done.”

She laughed again, and we hung up.

I showered.

Got dressed.

The boutique downtown was small but well-stocked.

I was halfway to the lingerie section when I heard my name.

“Maren?”

I turned around to see a face I hadn’t seen in a long time: Kendall Pierce.

She had dyed her hair red. Matching with her tall and, curvy build; her bust looked noticeably fuller than it had in high school.

“Kendall. Hi.”

“Oh my God, it is you!” She pulled me into a hug, her strong perfume nearly shutting my nose down. “What are you doing here?”

“Just… shopping.”

Her gaze flicked past me, toward the lingerie racks.

She grinned. “Were you about to head over there?”

My face heated. “What? No. I was just—”

“It’s okay.” She waved a hand. “We all want to look sexy. No shame in that.”

I forced a smile. “Right.”

“So what brings you back to Ridgeway Oaks?”

“I’m doing some work for my mom. Nothing serious.”

“That sounds amazing. This might be a coincidence, but throughout this week, I’ve been bumping into former classmates.” Kendall laughed. “Are you staying the whole summer?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Perfect.” She pulled out her phone. “Give me your number. I’m having a little get-together next weekend for alumni. You should come.”

I hesitated. I didn’t want to socialize much, but I couldn’t turn down an opportunity to go see my friends back in school, especially Duke and Allison. I hoped they would be there.

What was the worst that could happen?

“Great!” She beamed. “I’ll text you the details. It’ll be fun.”

“Sounds good.”

We exchanged a few more pleasantries before she headed to the checkout, and I finally made my way to the lingerie section.

After browsing through the entire section, I settled on a black lace set that was almost entirely sheer, held together only by thin, delicate straps.

I paid for the purchase and grabbed an iced coffee on the way out.

I tried on the lingerie in my bedroom, standing in front of the mirror.

I looked hot. My body oozed with sex appeal. I ran my hand over my curves. Damn, I was the embodiment of lust. I could get anybody I wanted. Rhys should be honored to behold me.

I adjusted the straps. Tilt my head. And smiled.

“Rhys Thorn,” I said to my reflection. “I’m coming for you.”