Lahat ng Kabanata ng 100 NIGHTS OF SECRETS: Kabanata 91 - Kabanata 98





I spent the next day in a state of anticipation.


Every time I saw Mateo around the resort, my body remembered. The way he’d fucked me on the massage table. Against the rock by the waterfall. How his mouth had felt between my legs.


He’d smile at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking.


By the time sunset rolled around, I was already wet.


I wore a simple black dress, easy to take off. Left my hair down. No underwear this time.


The dock was empty when I arrived. A small boat was tied up, gently rocking with the waves.


Mateo appeared from below deck, looking unfairly good in board shorts and a tank top.


“Right on time,” he said, helping me onto the boat.


“Where are we going?”


“You’ll see.” He started the engine, guided us away from shore.


We skimmed across the water as the sun painted the sky orange and pink. The resort grew smaller behind us until it disappeared completely.


After about twenty minutes, a small island came into view. Private, uninhabited, just





I’d been avoiding him for three days.


Well, trying to. Hard to do when we lived across the hall from each other. I’d see him in the morning leaving for work, catch glimpses of him in the hallway. We’d nod, say polite hellos, pretend that almost-kiss hadn’t happened.


Pretend I didn’t go to bed every night thinking about his hand on my face, his breath on my mouth.


By day four, I was restless and frustrated and needed to burn off energy. The building gym was open twenty-four hours. At midnight, it would be empty.


I changed into leggings and a sports bra, grabbed my water bottle, and headed down.


The gym was on the second floor. Small but well-equipped. Weights, machines, a treadmill, floor mats. And mirrors. Everywhere.


I was alone. Perfect.


I started with the treadmill, running hard, trying to exhaust myself. Trying to stop thinking about Cameron. About what might have happened if he hadn’t pulled away.


After thirty minutes, I moved to the weights. Lay back on the b





The knife makes a clean sound against the cutting board. Carrot. Onion. Celery. I keep my eyes down and my breathing even and I do not think about this morning, about the coffee pot I almost dropped, about the way Michael looked at me over his newspaper when he said it.


My brother’s staying with us a bit. Needs a place to crash.


How long?


That look. The warning folded inside it like a blade inside a hand.


However long he needs. He’s family.


Of course, I’d said. Carefully. The way I say everything now.


I hear the motorcycle before it turns onto our street. That low, rolling growl, unhurried, like it owns the road and knows it. My hands still on the cutting board. I know that sound. I have hated that sound for years, through three Christmases and two funerals and one wedding where he sat in the third row and looked at me the entire ceremony like I was doing something he found privately amusing. The engine cuts in the driveway and my jaw tightens before I can stop it.


D

I woke up in Dante’s bed.For a moment, I didn’t remember where I was. Then I felt his arm heavy across my waist, his chest warm against my back, and everything came rushing back.We’d had sex.I’d cheated on my husband with his brother.I should feel guilty. Should feel sick with shame.Instead, I felt the ghost of his hands on my skin and wanted more.“You’re thinking too loud,” Dante murmured against my neck.“What time is it?”“Almost six.”Michael would be home soon.I sat up, started looking for my clothes. “I need to go. I need to—”Dante’s hand closed around my wrist. Gentle. “Look at me.”I turned.His hair was messy from my hands. His eyes were still dark with sleep and something else.“Don’t regret this,” he said.“I have to. He’s your brother—”“I don’t give a fuck about that right now.” He pulled me back down. “Do you regret it?”“I should.”“That’s not what I asked.”I looked at him. Really looked at him. “No. I don’t regret it.”“Good.” He kissed me. Soft. Sweet. “Then