Lahat ng Kabanata ng SCANDALOUS SECRETS : Kabanata 131 - Kabanata 140

KOURTNEY "It's nice to make your acquaintance, Mr—" I started, my voice suddenly sounding like it belonged to someone else, someone far more poised than the girl currently burning in a wild, unfamiliar way. "Silas," he interrupted softly, his voice cutting through my formal tone like a hot knife through butter. "Please, Kourtney. Call me Silas. Mister makes me feel like I’m about to give a corporate lecture, and I’m clearly not dressed for it." He gave a small, pointed look down at the towel around his waist, and the memory of what was underneath it flashed in my mind like a strobe light. I felt the heat rush to my face again, a deep, traitorous crimson color. "Right. Silas," I managed to say, the name feeling like lead on my tongue. Tessa didn't notice a thing. She was already in high-gear mode, grabbing my wrist with a hand that smelled like cream and vegetables. "Okay, enough with the polite introductions! Come on, Kourt. I have like, a year’s worth of gossip to dump on

KOURTNEY Tessa came bouncing down the stairs like she hadn't just been unconscious for the better part of the afternoon. She looked fresh, her skin glowing, and she had this wide, innocent grin that made the guilt in my chest feel like it was trying to crush me. I forced a smile, tucking a stray hair behind my ear, trying to look like a girl who hadn't just been tasting her friend’s father’s mouth two minutes ago. "Look who finally decided to join the land of the living," I said, my voice only cracking a tiny bit. I tried for a teasing tone. "I was starting to think you were doing a total marathon with that nap. I was just about to call the Guinness World Records." Tessa laughed, rubbing her eyes as she reached the bottom step. She waved a hand at Silas, who was standing by the kitchen island, looking so composed it was actually infuriating. "Hey, sleepyhead," Silas called out. He really sounded so normal. So dad-ish. I would give it to him, he was good at tucking in his f

KOURTNEY The air in the office had become thick, charged with the kind of electricity that precedes a massive storm. Silas didn't give me time to think, let alone catch my breath. He leaned down slowly, his gaze locked on mine, and when his lips finally met mine, it wasn't a question. It was a takeover. His tongue parted my lips with a practiced, smooth confidence, and I melted straight into him, savoring the fresh, minty taste of his mouth mixed with an intoxicating taste of coffee. His hand wrapped around my waist in a possessive, iron hold, pulling me flush against his suit. He leaned into me, deepening the kiss until our noses bumped and the world outside that door ceased to exist. I reached up, my fingers clawing at his crisp white collar, desperate to pull him closer. That’s when I felt it—the hard, rigid, unmistakable length of him pressing firmly against my lower abdomen. My breath caught somewhere at the back of my throat. I broke the kiss abruptly, breathless

KOURTNEY The drive back to the mansion had been an intense haze of both sexual tension and secret touches. Immediately we pulled out of his firm's underground parking lot, his hand immediately found my silk-cladded thigh in what I first thought was an accidental graze. But then his fingers had lingered just long enough to let me know he was being deliberate and I'd immediately felt a fresh wave of heat through my body. By the time he pulled into the long, winding driveway of his mansion, I was a total nervous wreck, my skin feeling three sizes too small for my body. Then the heavy front door swung open, and the first thing I heard was the sound of a loud laugh. A pure vibrant, nonchalant laughter erupting from her. I suddenly felt conscious and tried as much as I could to regain the control that had long been dismantled by the very man standing right in front of me. Tessa was right in the living room, sprawled out on the sofa, her feet kicked up on the coffee table, clutch

RINAPeople watch the movies and they think being an NYPD officer is all about the glory. They see the polished badge, the crisp, properly fitted uniform, and the hero moments where we swoop in, save the day, and walk off just as heroes in some Marvel studio action movie. They think it’s about being a pillar of the community, law-abiding to a fault, protecting life and property with a stoic smile.They have no idea.They don’t know the soul-crushing tension that becomes your second skin. It’s not just the adrenaline of a foot chase through a crowded alley in Brooklyn, praying to God there isn’t a sniper on a rooftop or a guy with a glock waiting behind a dumpster. It’s the mental exhaustion of seeing the absolute worst of humanity at 3:00 AM and then having to go home and pretend you’re a normal person. Beyond the physical danger, there is also the very tedious part—documenting endless, suffocating mountains of paperwork for a single arrest. And also, there's the constant feeling