Mag-log ini did promise.
NIKOLAI He bends over the armrest and I can see him trembling slightly. Not from fear. From anticipation.“You’re already shaking,” I observe. “And I haven’t even touched you properly yet.”“I’m not shaking—”“Liar.” I run my hand down his spine. “You’ve been thinking about this all day haven’t you? While you were getting ready. While you were practicing your speech. You were thinking about me fucking you.”“Maybe.”“Maybe isn’t an answer.”“Fine. Yes. I was thinking about it.” His voice has gone rough. “Happy?”“Very.” I undo his belt and push his pants and underwear down just enough. “Because I’ve been thinking about it too. About getting you alone. About making you fall apart before you have to be perfect for everyone else.”“I hate how much I need this.”“No you don’t. You love it.” I slick up my fingers quickly. “Love that I can take you apart. Love that you can let go with me.”I slide one finger inside him and he bites back a groan.“Already so tight,” I murmur. “When’s the l
NIKOLAIMy phone has buzzed seventeen times in the past hour.All from Alexei.I’m in the middle of post-op rounds when the eighteenth text comes through.Alexei: This is a mistake. I shouldn’t have agreed to this.Me: You’re getting an award for your research. Stop panicking.Alexei: I’m not panicking. I’m being realistic. Half the medical community will be there judging me.Me: They’re giving you an award. That’s the opposite of judgment.Alexei: You don’t understand. My father will be there. The board. Everyone who matters.Me: I matter and I’ll be there.Alexei: That’s different.Me: How?Alexei: Because you’ve seen me fall apart. They haven’t.I smile at my phone. Two years together and he still gets nervous before major events. Still texts me obsessively when he needs reassurance.Me: You’re going to be perfect. Like always.Alexei: I need you here.Me: I will be. Finishing rounds now. Be there in an hour.Alexei: An hour is too long.Me: Then you’ll wait.Alexei: Bastard.Me: Y
ELENA I lead him down the hallway to the monitor room. It’s small and cramped and filled with screens showing patient vitals. There’s barely enough space for two people but it’s private. I close the door behind us and he immediately crowds me against it. “Five minutes,” I remind him. “I can do a lot in five minutes.” His mouth is on my neck. “Do you have any idea how hard it’s been knowing you’re here working and I can’t touch you?” “You saw me this morning.” “That was before work. That doesn’t count.” His hands slide up my sides. “I’ve been thinking about you all day. About what you look like under these scrubs. About the sounds you make when I’m inside you.” Heat floods through me. “We can’t do this here.” “Why not?” “Because I’m working. Because people will notice. Because this is completely inappropriate.” “You say that like it’s going to stop me.” His hand slides down to cup me through my scrubs. “Tell me you’re not wet right now and I’ll stop.” I am wet. Have been si
ELENAThree months of dating Rook Castellan and I’ve learned several things.One: he’s terrible at following rules. Mine specifically. Every time I tell him to rest he pushes too hard. Every time I tell him to ice an injury he decides he’s fine. Every time I tell him not to show up at the hospital during my shift he shows up anyway.Two: I’ve stopped caring about the rules.Three: I’m completely gone on him in a way that should terrify me but doesn’t.It’s Thursday night and I’m six hours into a twelve-hour shift. Standard chaos. Multiple traumas from a pile-up on the highway. Chest pain. Broken bones. The usual.I’m updating charts in the monitor room when my phone buzzes.Rook: You on break yet?Me: Not for another hour.Rook: That’s too long. I miss you.Me: You saw me this morning.Rook: That was eight hours ago. That’s basically forever.I smile at my phone like an idiot.Me: I’m working. Go do something productive.Rook: I am doing something productive. I’m coming to see you.Me
ELENA. I stand and he pulls me onto the bed, flipping us so I’m underneath him.“My turn,” he says. His hands unhook my bra and pull it away. His mouth goes to my breast immediately and I arch into the sensation.“You have perfect tits,” he says between licks and sucks. “I’ve been wanting to put my mouth on them since the first time I saw you.”“When was that?”“When you were examining my shoulder. You leaned over me and I could see down your scrubs and all I could think about was how badly I wanted to touch you.”“That’s very inappropriate.”“I know. I felt terrible about it.” His mouth moves to my other breast. “Didn’t stop me from thinking about it though.”His hand slides down my stomach to the waistband of my underwear. “Can I?”“Please.”He pulls them down and tosses them aside. Then his hands are on my thighs spreading them wide.“I need to taste you,” he says. “I’ve been thinking about this since I walked into your apartment. About getting my mouth on your pussy. About findi
ELENAThe restaurant is nice. More formal than I expected. White tablecloths and candles and an intimacy that makes everything feel charged.We order and talk and the conversation flows easily but there’s an undercurrent of tension that wasn’t there at breakfast. Every time his hand brushes mine. Every time he looks at me with those dark eyes. Every time he smiles like he knows exactly what I’m thinking.“Can I ask you something?” he says halfway through dinner.“Sure.”“What were you thinking about in the shower this morning?”I nearly choke on my wine. “What?”“You texted me at nine AM. You got off shift at seven. That means you were home for two hours before texting. I’m guessing you showered. And I’m wondering what you were thinking about.”My face is burning. “That’s a very presumptuous question.”“Is it wrong though?”“I’m not answering that.”“So I’m right.” He leans back with a satisfied smile. “Were you thinking about me?”“You’re very confident.”“That’s not a no.”“We sh
TALIA. I spent three days packing, filling out paperwork, and waking up with my hand between my legs after dreams so explicit I could barely look at myself in the mirror. Now I’m standing in front of the neutral manor with two trunks of belongings and a magically binding contract that says I bel
TALIA. The contract sits between us like a challenge. Thirty pages of legal language, binding clauses, and blank spaces waiting to be filled. I’m flipping through it while they watch me from opposite sides of the table, and the silence has weight to it. Anticipation. “First question,” I say,
TALIA. I write everything down, and the scratch of pen on paper is the only sound for a long moment.“Now,” I say, setting down the pen. “Before we go any further with specifics, I think we need to address something.”“What’s that?” Thane asks.“You’ve both just spent two hundred thousand marks co
JAXON.We’re lying in bed, sweaty and satisfied, when Harper spots the balcony.“Is that a jacuzzi?”I follow her gaze through the floor-to-ceiling windows. “Yeah. Penthouse suite perk.”“It’s freezing outside.”“That’s what makes it good. Hot water, cold air.” I’m already getting up, grabbing robe







