LOGIN"Don't stop," I finally choked out, the words torn from some primal part of me I couldn't control.A low, satisfied sound rumbled in his chest. He held me there, on the precipice, for what felt like an eternity, his fingers coaxing, demanding, relentless.There was only the water, the heat, and the devastating intimacy of his touch. I was completely, utterly his, right here, and I had never felt so exposed, or so alive.The deed was done.……Miles from the estate, Vittorio sits across from Mr. Alvarez, the family's lawyer of nearly twenty years, in an office too quiet for the conversation about to happen inside it."There's a document coming through soon," Vittorio says, calm, unhurried. "A partnership offer. Rafael and Adriano will send it to you for review, same as always.""Same as always," Alvarez agrees, cautious now, sensing the shape of something before it's fully spoken."I need you to approve it. Whatever's in it." Vittorio folds his hands, patient. "I don't need you to read
"What do you mean by that?" Valentina asks, voice light, careful, the practiced innocence of a woman who already knows the answer will cost him something to give.Rafael's jaw works, and for a moment I think he won't answer at all. He stares out at the water, at the two shapes cutting slow circles through it, and something in his posture shifts, the easy confidence he wears like a second skin slipping just enough to show the weight underneath it."Years ago," he says finally, quiet, the words dragged out of him rather than offered. "I loved a woman completely. The way I'm terrified I'm starting to feel again." He stops, jaw tightening. "It didn't end well. It ended the way things in this family always end.""What happened to her?""Esa no es una historia que cuento en una playa, Valentina." His voice sharpens, closing the door before she can push it open further. (Trans: That's not a story I tell on a beach.)Valentina studies him a moment, clearly deciding whether to press. Then she
"What is this?"Rafael's voice doesn't rise. It never does, and somehow that's worse than if it had. He stands in the doorway with the kind of stillness that used to feel protective and now just feels like the eye of something about to move.I step back from Adriano fast, putting air between us that should have existed minutes ago. "I couldn't sleep. I came out here for air." My voice comes out steadier than I feel. "Adriano was already out here. That's all this is.""That's all this is," Adriano echoes, flat, controlled, backing the story though his jaw is tight enough to crack. "Coincidence. Nothing more."Rafael studies us both for a long moment, his eyes moving between his brother's face and mine like he's watching every inch of distance, or lack of it, that exists between our bodies. The silence stretches long enough that I start counting my own heartbeat."You two have always had a habit of finding each other," he says finally, something careful in his tone, like he's testing th
"I know." His voice breaks on the words. "Cum for me, Elena. Now."And I do. I shatter around him with a scream that tears my throat raw, and he follows a heartbeat later, burying himself to the hilt with a groan that sounds like it's been ripped from the deepest part of him. His body shudders against mine. His teeth sink into my shoulder, not hard enough to break skin, but enough to mark, enough to claim and I feel the vibration of his growl against my spine.For a long moment neither of us moves. The only sound is our ragged breathing, the distant hum of the city beyond the walls, the slow drip of something—water, probably somewhere in the dark.Then Rafael pulls out slowly, and I whimper at the loss. He turns me around, gentle now, his hands cupping my face like I'm something precious. His thumb traces my swollen lips."You're mine now," he says quietly. It's not a question.I should argue. Should tell him I belong to no one. But my legs are shaking, my body still humming with th
The thought follows me into the shower, and I stand under water too hot for comfort, trying to scald the admission out of my own skin. It doesn't work. It never does.This was supposed to be simple. Get close to Rafael, use the access, walk away clean when it's over. Somewhere between the office and that galley and tonight's table, the lines I built this mission on have gone soft in ways I don't know how to fix.I towel off slow, delaying the moment I have to face myself in the mirror, and when I finally do, I don't recognize the woman looking back at me. Not Elena. Not quite Selene either.Rafael finds me sitting on the edge of the bed when he comes up, still in his dinner clothes, concern written plain across his face."You left in a hurry, Carino," he says, sitting beside me, close but careful, like he's not sure what version of comfort I need. "Everything okay?""Just tired." The lie comes easier than it should. "Long flight. Long week already.""You sure that's all it is?" His ha
"Considering how enthusiastic Rafael's been about this trip," I say, low, keeping one eye on the aisle, "I take it you didn't tell him. About the office." A pause. "Thank you.""Don't." His voice is flat, final. "I didn't do it for you.”Silence settles between us, and I search for something to fill it, anything that isn't what happened last night."There's so much difference between you and your twin," I say finally."Is there," he says, flat, unreadable. "You'll have to be more specific.”"You look at me like you feel something," I say. "So why does everything you say sound like a warning, like I'm a problem you haven't solved yet?”He doesn't answer right away, and something in the silence gives him away more than words would have.Neither of us moves. The space between us has closed without either of us deciding to, and something unguarded slips through his usual blankness, his eyes lingering like a man looking at something he hasn't let himself want."You confuse me," I say, befo







