All Chapters of Burning Desires (An Open Marriage With The Billionaire): Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

120 Chapters

11: Nothing Left

SOPHIA LANCASTER The only sound in the dining room was the aggressive scraping of Daniel's knife against his china plate. He wasn't eating his eggs; he was massacring them.It was the morning after the gala, and the air in the house was thick enough to choke on. Daniel hadn't spoken since I walked away from him in the driveway last night, leaving him alone with the knowledge of the mark on my thigh.I sipped my black coffee, watching him over the rim of the cup. His eyes were bloodshot, and there was a tightness around his jaw that suggested he hadn't slept. Finally, he dropped his fork with a clatter."Are you seeing him again today?"I set my cup down slowly, "Good morning to you too, Daniel."His head snapped up, his eyes burning. "Don't play games with me, Sophia. Are you seeing him?""Who?" I asked innocently."Whoever the hell put his teeth on my wife," he snarled, slamming a hand on the table. I looked at him with mild boredom. "Look at you," I murmured. "So possessive all of

12: Playing Your Part

SOPHIA LANCASTER It was past midnight when the black town car Ethan had arranged dropped me off at the front gates. My body felt heavy, but it was a good heaviness. I could still smell Ethan on my skin and the musk of sex. I hadn't showered before leaving his sanctuary. The house was blazing with light. I sighed, tightening my grip on my purse. I unlocked the front door and stepped into the foyer. "Where the hell have you been?"The voice boomed from the living room, I closed the door slowly, taking my time to lock it. I walked into the living room, and Daniel was pacing in front of the fireplace. His tie was undone, hanging loose around his neck. His sleeves were rolled up, his hair was a disaster, and there was a half-empty bottle of whiskey on the coffee table. Scattered across the floor were papers the Yamamoto contract I had refused to touch that morning.He stopped pacing when he saw me, his eyes wild and bloodshot. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" he shouted."I have a

13: Helix Ventures

SOPHIA LANCASTER I blinked my eyes open, staring at the ceiling. For a moment, I expected to be alone but when I rolled over, Daniel was there.He was dressed in his suit trousers and a white shirt, cuffs unbuttoned, looking like the picture of a devoted husband. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, a steaming mug in his hand."Morning," he said. I sat up, pulling the duvet higher around my chest, instantly wary. "What is this?""Peace offering," he said, extending the mug. "Black, two sugars. Just how you like it."I looked at the mug, then at him. He hadn't made me coffee in three years. "I don't want your coffee, Daniel," I said, my voice raspy with sleep. "And I'm not interested in whatever performance this is."He sighed, setting the mug down on the nightstand, he clasped his hands together, looking down at the floor, "Look, about last night... about what I said regarding your mother. I was out of line, I was stressed about the Yamamoto deal, and I drank too much."I studied

14: Eyes For You

SOPHIA LANCASTER I felt stupid, I felt used. I felt like a hollowed-out husk of a woman.Knock. Knock.The sudden sound against the driver's side window made me scream. I jolted upright, my heart hammering against my ribs, wiping at my wet face. I expected a security guard but when I looked through the tinted glass, I saw Ethan.He was standing there, his hand pressed against the glass, I fumbled with the lock, my hands trembling so badly I missed the button twice. Finally, the lock clicked.Ethan ripped the door open.He didn't say a word. He didn't ask if I was okay he could clearly see I wasn't. He reached in, unbuckled my seatbelt, and pulled me out of the car."Ethan," I choked out, my voice broken. "I... I can't...""Hush," he commanded against my ear.He wrapped his arms around me, holding me up because my legs refused to work. He walked me over to his car and opened the passenger door."Get in," he said gently."My car," I sniffled, looking back at the Mercedes. "My purse..."

15: Replaced

SOPHIA LANCASTER The morning sun hit the silk duvet, casting a blinding shade of white over the room. I lay still, listening to the rhythm of Daniel's breathing beside me. It was deep, even, and untroubled—the sleep of a man with no conscience.I stared at the ceiling, the events of the last twenty-four hours playing on a loop in my mind. The discovery of the Helix Ventures files, the realization that he was framing me, and the promise Ethan had made to me in the safe house.Trust me.I closed my eyes, summoning the memory of Ethan's voice, I needed it because in a few minutes, Daniel would wake up, and I would have to perform a lifetime.The shrill ring of Daniel's phone on the nightstand shattered the silence. Daniel groaned, shifting beside me. He fumbled blindly for the phone, squinting against the light. He cleared his throat, swiping the screen without checking the ID."Hello?" he answered, his voice thick with sleep.There was a pause, and Daniel sat bolt upright. The sleep va

16: Command The Room

SOPHIA LANCASTERI adjusted my navy blazer," Mrs. Hawthorne?" I turned to see Greg, one of Lancaster's senior project managers, and Maya, a junior systems architect."We're ready," Greg said, clutching his tablet nervously. "Do you think Mr. Calder will be present? Usually, CEOs don't sit in on the initial integration briefs.""He'll be there," I said, "Let's go."We were escorted to the top floor, to a conference room that overlooked the entire city. Ethan was sitting at the head table flanked by three of his own engineers.He didn't stand when we entered. He watched us. His grey eyes swept over Greg and Maya before landing on me.For a heartbeat, the air left the room.I remembered the feel of his hands on my waist, the sound of his voice in the dark but his face gave away absolutely nothing."Mrs. Hawthorne," he said, nodding once. "Thank you for coming.""Mr. Calder," I replied, I took the seat directly opposite him. "This is my team. We've prepared the architectural breakdown for

17: Starving Man

SOPHIA LANCASTER The door to the penthouse clicked shut, before the latch even settled, Ethan was on me, he didn't give me time to breathe. He spun me around, pressing me back against the door, his mouth crashing down on mine with a hunger that bordered on desperation. His hands were everywhere tangling in my hair, gripping my waist, sliding down to cup my backside through my skirt."Ethan," I gasped, the sound swallowed by his kiss.He groaned low in his throat, his thigh pressing between my legs, pinning me. The size of him, the heat radiating off his body, was overwhelming. "I have been wanting to do this since you walked into the conference room," he growled against my lips, his hands fumbling with the buttons of my blazer. "Watching you talk about encryption protocols... watching you destroy that engineer... I thought I was going to lose my mind."He kissed my jaw, his teeth grazing the sensitive skin of my neck. "You have no idea how hard I was under that table."I let my hea

18: Golden Goose

SOPHIA LANCASTER "Let's see if your ghost is haunting the machine," Ethan murmured, his voice rough with sleep and sex.I sat up, pulling the sheet against my chest, watching him."Did you upload the hold?" I asked, leaning my chin on his shoulder."Connection established," Ethan confirmed. "The UDP tunnel you built is stable. We have a direct mirror of her terminal."He angled the tablet so I could see a live feed of a computer desktop. Specifically, Elena Vance's desktop at the Lancaster Innovations home office. It was strange, seeing the digital workspace I used to manage now controlled by someone else. She had rearranged my folders and changed the background."She's working late," I whispered, checking the timestamp, it was past 9:00 PM."Money doesn't sleep," Ethan said grimly. "And neither do thieves."On the screen, a secure messaging app was open.User: D_HawthorneUser: E_VanceMy stomach tightened. "Open it," I said. Ethan tapped the screen and the chat history unspooled.E_

19: Celebratory Dinner

SOPHIA LANCASTER The dress lying on the bed was backless, tight, and screamed "trophy wife." Daniel had brought it in ten minutes ago, hanging it up with a smile. "Wear this," he had said, not asking. "We have the Board members coming, and Ethan. I want you to look expensive tonight."I put it on, and it fit perfectly, clinging to every curve. I walked out of the bedroom and headed toward the stairs. I could already hear the clinking of glasses and the murmur of voices from the ground floor. The catering staff was setting up for the "Celebratory Dinner" Daniel had insisted on throwing to mark the Calder deal.As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I stopped.Elena Vance was in my dining room holding a wine glass up to the light, inspecting it with a critical eye. She turned to the head waiter. "No," she said, her voice commanding. "These glasses are wrong. We need the crystal stems for the red wine and move this centerpiece. It's too cluttered. Mr. Hawthorne likes a clean aesthetic

20: Mini Vacation

SOPHIA LANCASTER The house was quiet, Daniel left early leaving me alone to have some peace and it is the best kind of feeling ever. I was in the library, curled up in one of the wingback chairs near the window, reviewing the thermal logs from the Calder integration on my tablet, i hummed sounds while I was engrossed in my work. The door was slightly ajar, and I heard footsteps and immediately knew Daniel was home early.I froze, my finger hovering over the screen. I instinctively dimmed the brightness, though he wouldn't understand the raw code even if he saw it."Yes, yes, I know," Daniel's voice drifted in from the hallway. He was on his phone, "I'm handling it, she's upstairs."I held my breath."Don't worry about the rule," Daniel said, a scoffing laugh escaping him. "It's my house, Elena, and besides, I've found a way around it. I'm sending her away."My blood ran cold. I sat perfectly still, "There's a Tech Summit in Napa this weekend," Daniel continued, his voice dropping to

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