All Chapters of FORBIDDEN DESIRES : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

CHAPTER FIVESunlight spilled through the curtains, casting pale gold across the floor. The house was too quiet, every creak sharper, every silence heavier.Amara stood by her bedroom window, staring at the backyard without seeing it. Her fingers grazed her lips, where Jace’s kiss still burned, vivid and relentless. Last night replayed in her head — his hands, his breath, the way her heart had raced despite every reason it shouldn’t. Guilt churned in her stomach, but so did something else, something that made her chest ache.Downstairs, her mother’s laugh cut through the stillness, followed by her stepfather’s low voice. They sounded normal, untouched by what she’d done. What *they’d* done.She forced herself to move. She pulled on a sweater, brushed her hair, and avoided the mirror. Her reflection felt wrong, like it belonged to someone else. By the time she reached the hallway, Jace’s voice drifted up from the kitchen, low and steady, like nothing had changed.Her pulse quickened. S

CHAPTER SEVENThe first thing Amara felt was warmth.Not sunlight—this came from skin, from breath, from the steady rise and fall of the chest pressed against her back.For a few seconds she drifted, caught between sleep and memory, until the night before came rushing back—his hands, his voice, the sound of her own breathing breaking in the dark.Her pulse stumbled.She opened her eyes and stared at the wall.Jace’s arm rested around her waist; his face was buried in her hair, his breath soft against her neck. The morning light filtered through the curtains, drawing faint silver lines across the tangled sheets.For a long while she lay still. The air smelled of him, faintly warm and sharp, his cologne caught on her skin.Jace stirred. His hand moved slightly on her waist.“Morning,” he murmured, voice still rough with sleep.“Morning.” Her voice trembled.He lifted his head, hair a mess, eyes heavy. “You okay?”“I don’t know.” She turned toward him, twisting the blanket between her fi

CHAPTER NINE The afternoon light had turned soft and golden, slipping through the half-closed curtains and painting warm stripes across the bed. Amara lay on her back, one arm flung above her head, the other resting on Jace’s chest. Their breathing had finally slowed, matching the lazy rhythm of his fingers tracing circles along her bare shoulder. The sheets were twisted around their legs, the air still thick with the smell of them.Jace shifted, propping himself on one elbow so he could look down at her. A slow smile tugged at his mouth.“What?” Amara asked, her voice low and sleepy.“You look good like this,” he said, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “All messy and mine.”She rolled her eyes, but a laugh slipped out, a soft and surprised laugh she hadn't expected.“Shut up.”He didn’t. Instead, he leaned down and kissed her, slow at first, just a press of lips, tasting her like he had all the time in the world. She sighed into it, her hand sliding up to the back of his ne

CHAPTER ONELana had known him forever. Or at least, that’s what she told herself. Ever since she was a shy twelve-year-old with pigtails and a heart full of puppy love, he had been there. Her best friend’s dad.The silver fox who moved through the room like he owned it, with those piercing eyes and that dangerous smile that made her stomach flip every time.Even now, years later, as she sat on the edge of the guest bed in the dimly lit house, the memory of him was vivid, too vivid. He was in his late forties, maybe early fifties, with salt-and-pepper hair that gleamed silver in the moonlight streaming through the window.His jaw was sharp, dusted with a few days’ stubble, giving him that rugged, “don’t mess with me” vibe that Lana found impossible to resist.Lana’s best friend, Mia, had invited her over for a weekend sleepover, like old times, before Mia left for college next month. The house felt both familiar and strange, empty yet full of unspoken promises.Lana hadn’t meant to co

CHAPTER THREESunlight sliced through the gap in the curtains and landed straight across Lana’s face. She woke with a jolt because her body screamed in places it had never screamed before. Every muscle between her thighs felt bruised in the sweetest way possible. Her neck throbbed where his teeth had sunk deep into her skin. She reached up instinctively and brushed the tender spot with trembling fingers, then yanked her hand away when the memory slammed into her like a tidal wave.She was still in his bed.Completely naked.Wrapped tight in his sheets that carried the heavy scent of sex and cedar and everything that was him.The other side of the mattress still felt warm under her palm. A perfect dent in the pillow showed exactly where his head had rested only minutes ago. The digital clock on the nightstand glowed a harsh 6:42 AM. Mia never dragged herself out of bed before eight on weekends. That gave them barely an hour to pretend the entire night had never happened.Lana pushe