Mag-log inThey barely made it to the shower before reaching for each other again.Hot water streamed over them. Grant crowded Ava against the tiled wall, mouth on hers, one hand braced beside her head while the other slid between her thighs. She was still sensitive from the bed; the first stroke of his fingers made her gasp into his mouth. He worked her with the same focused patience as beforeācircling her clit, pushing two fingers inside, curling them until her knees threatened to give out. When she came it was with a sharp, muffled cry against his shoulder, body shaking under the spray.Grant shut the water off before it could go cold. He wrapped a towel around her, then himself, and led her back to the bed without bothering to dry off properly. Damp skin met damp skin as he laid her down again. The afternoon light had shifted; longer shadows stretched across the floor. Leigh would be home in less than two hours. The knowledge only sharpened everything.He rolled on another condom and settled
The guest-room door closed with a soft, final click.Grant turned the lock without looking away from her. Afternoon light filtered through the pale curtains in long gold bars across the bed. Outside, the lake moved quietly against the shore. Inside, the only sound was their breathing and the distant tick of the hallway clock.Ava stood near the foot of the bed in nothing but the black swimsuit bottoms, the top still pulled down around her waist from the kitchen. Her lips felt swollen. Her pulse still hammered between her legs where his fingers had been. Grant pulled his T-shirt over his head and dropped it on the chair. The sight of himābroad chest, the faint trail of dark hair, the hard line of his stomachāmade her mouth go dry all over again.He crossed the room slowly, like he was giving her one last chance to change her mind. When he reached her he cupped her face in both hands and kissed her with a hunger that had nothing careful left in it. Ava rose onto her toes, arms sliding a
The house felt too quiet when they walked back inside.Water still dripped from Avaās hair onto the shoulders of the oversized shirt she had thrown on over her swimsuit. Grant moved through the kitchen with the same calm efficiency he always hadāpulling out bread, cold chicken, a bowl of fruit Leigh had cut that morningālike the charged silence on the boat had never happened. Ava leaned against the counter and watched him, pulse still unsteady.āYou want to change first?ā he asked without looking up.āIām fine.āHe glanced at her then, eyes flicking over the damp shirt clinging to her skin, the bare legs, the way she was holding the edge of the counter a little too tightly. Something dark and careful moved through his expression before he nodded and went back to assembling the plates.They ate at the kitchen island. The only sounds were the soft clink of forks and the distant hum of the air conditioner. Every so often their knees brushed under the overhang. Neither of them shifted awa
Morning light came soft through the guest-room curtains.Ava woke to the smell of coffee and the distant sound of the lake. For a few seconds she lay still, staring at the pale blue ceiling, replaying the way Grant had looked at her on the porch the night before. It suits you. The words had followed her into sleep.She changed into a simple swimsuit under an oversized button-down shirt, pulled her hair into a loose knot, and went downstairs.Leigh was already in the kitchen, bright and put-together, packing a tote bag. Grant stood at the counter pouring coffee into two mugs. He was in a dark T-shirt and swim shorts, hair still slightly damp like heād already been outside. When he glanced up and saw Ava, something brief and unreadable moved through his expression before it settled into an easy smile.āMorning. Coffee?āāPlease.āHe slid a mug toward her. Their fingers brushed again. This time Ava didnāt pull away quite as fast. Leigh kept talking about the book clubāsome novel she hadn
The house looked exactly the same as it had the last time Ava visitedātwo summers ago, right before she left for college.White siding, dark shutters, the wide front porch with the swing that still creaked in the same spot. A neat lawn. The kind of place that looked like nothing complicated ever happened inside it. Ava stood on the driveway with her duffel bag over one shoulder and the late-afternoon sun warm on the back of her neck, and tried to ignore the low twist of nerves in her stomach.One week. That was all.Her mother had pushed the idea for months. Uncle Grant and Aunt Leigh have the pool. You need a break before senior year starts. They already said yes. Ava had finally given in because the alternative was another sticky summer in her childhood bedroom listening to her mother rehash the divorce. A week at the lake house with her step-uncleās family seemed easier.She had not expected to feel this restless the second the front door opened.Grant filled the doorway like he al
On the third night the lamp was already low when Sera entered the study.Vesper stood by the tall window with his back to the door, looking out over the dark grounds. Rain streaked the glass. The fire had burned down to embers. He did not turn when she closed the door, but she felt the moment his attention shifted to herālike a change in air pressure.āYouāre late,ā he said.āIām exactly on time. You just started early.āA quiet huff of amusement. He turned. In the dim light his eyes glowed deeper crimson than usual, and there was a tightness around his mouth that had not been there the night before. Hunger, she realized. Real hunger.Sera stopped a few paces inside the room. āYou didnāt feed.āāObservant.āāYou have donors. The housekeeper mentioned the arrangement.āāI have people who offer their veins the way they offer taxesāout of duty and fear.ā Vesperās gaze moved over the black dress, the silver pin, the steady way she held his eyes. āTonight I found the idea⦠unappealing.āTh
The tension from the office had followed Elena home like a living shadow. For two weeks, stolen moments in the executive suite had become their filthy secret. Quick, desperate fucks bent over the desk, Marcusās hand clamped over her mouth while he pounded her from behind, his cum dripping down
The late afternoon sun slanted through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the executive suite, casting long golden stripes across the polished mahogany desk. The city hummed far below, but up here on the 42nd floor, the only sounds were the low whir of the air conditioning and the occasional click o
The day had started with such promise, a crisp autumn morning where the leaves outside Bellaās family home were everywhere in the compound, birds being their annoying self and the noise jeez. It was supposed to be a simple get-togetherāa casual reunion to celebrate her parentsā wedding anniversar
Weeks had blurred into a torturous haze for Ethan. Every glance at Lila sent his blood boiling, his mind flooded with filthy visions of what he wanted to do to herābend her over the kitchen island and rut into her like an animal, or pin her against the shower wall and make her sob with pleasure







