All Chapters of DEADLY SEDUCTION : Chapter 31 - Chapter 40

The morning sun cut through the curtains. Elena lay still, eyes open, watching light crawl acrossthe ceiling.Alex shifted beside her, stretching lazily. He brushed a hand across her hip like he always did, asif last night hadn’t happened. As if he hadn’t crept out of bed, buried himself in another woman,then crawled back to her sheets.She didn’t flinch. Didn’t pull away. She only turned her face toward him and smiled.“Morning,” she whispered, voice soft.He kissed her shoulder, lips lingering. “You were knocked out last night. Didn’t even move whenI came back.”Her stomach clenched, but her smile didn’t falter. “Guess I was more tired than I thought.”He chuckled, pressing himself against her back. “I’ll make it up to you tonight.”Elena let her eyes flutter shut, feigning ease. Inside, her thoughts were sharp, cutting throughher like glass. You already made it up to someone else.She played her role. She moved through breakfast with elegance, her robe tied neatly, hairbrushe

The room still smelled of sex when sunlight pushed through the curtains. Sheets tangled aroundtheir bodies, damp from sweat, the air heavy with what they had done.Elena stirred first, her body sore in every place Alex had touched. Between her thighs was thedull ache of being used until she could barely breathe. She should’ve been furious. Sheshould’ve shoved him away again, made him stew longer in his guilt.But when she shifted, his arm clamped tighter around her waist, pulling her against the hardlength pressing into her back. Already hard. Already throbbing.“Elena…” His voice was gravel, low, almost a growl. He pressed his face into her neck, inhalingdeep like he couldn’t get enough of her scent. “I need you again.”She froze. He didn’t ask. He didn’t beg this time. His hips rolled against her ass, the blunt headof his cock sliding against her, leaving a smear of pre-cum on her skin.“Alex—” she started, but he didn’t wait for permission. He hooked her leg up and over his t

The room still smelled of him.Of sex. Of sweat. Of every word they didn’t say.Elena lay still for a long time after Alex finally drifted off beside her. His arm was heavy acrossher waist, his breath slow, uneven, like someone sleeping through guilt. The sheets weretwisted between their legs, the imprint of what had just happened burned into the bed, into herskin.She stared at the ceiling — blank, quiet, unmoving — her body still trembling, not from what he’ddone, but from what she’d allowed.Her phone buzzed against the nightstand. Once. Then again.She turned her head slowly, careful not to wake him, and reached for it.Unknown number.She frowned, slid the screen open.A woman’s voice came through, smooth and urgent. “Mrs. Alex? This is Anna from the executiveboard. There’s been a sudden change in the LA summit schedule. We need you here tomorrowmorning. The partners are expecting you to present in person.”Elena blinked. “Tomorrow?”“Yes, ma’am. We’ve moved your session up

That night, when Alex finally called, he sounded tired. Distant.Like a stranger trying to remember how to speak to someone he used to love.“Hey,” his voice rasped, soft but cold.Elena closed her eyes. Just the sound of him did something to her chest — not warmth, notlonging — something heavier. “Hey,” she whispered back.There was a long pause. She could hear faint music in the background, laughter too. Nothospital air. Not silence.“You’re awake?” he asked finally.“I am. The doctor says I can leave tomorrow.”“That’s good.” Another silence. “You should rest, Lena.”That name — Lena — used to make her heart flutter. Now it just stung.“Alex,” she said quietly, “do you even care that I was in the hospital?”He didn’t answer immediately. She imagined him running a hand through his hair, maybe lookingat someone else while speaking to her.“Elena, don’t start. Please. I’m just… tired.”“Tired,” she repeated. “You’re always tired when it comes to me.”Something shifted in her tone.

Ryan’s mother.The live-in maid.The woman who always smiled too easily. Who always had a key to every locked door.The pieces didn’t fit yet — but they were starting to move.Claudia reached forward, her hand brushing Elena’s arm. “Be careful. I shouldn’t have broughtthis here, but something about all this doesn’t feel right.”Elena looked up at her, voice barely a whisper. “Why are you helping me?”Claudia’s lips parted, but she didn’t answer right away. Then she said softly, “Because I knowwhat it’s like to love someone who hides everything.”Their eyes met — two women who had both been burned by the same flame.When Claudia left, Elena sat in silence, the photos spread across her blanket.Her mind raced — fragments of conversations, odd details, things she had ignored.Ask Ryan’s mother who really owns the house.She picked up her phone.The contact list blurred under her trembling thumb.For the first time in months, Elena felt something fierce inside her — not heartbreak. Not