جميع فصول : الفصل -الفصل 40

SERAPHINAI reach for the tie on my robe with shaking hands.“Slowly.” He sits back down on the couch, picking up the whiskey bottle again. “I want to watch.”I undo the knot and let the robe slide off my shoulders, pooling at my feet. The nightgown underneath is thin silk, barely covering me, and his eyes track over every inch like he’s cataloging me.“All of it.”I pull the nightgown over my head, standing completely naked under his gaze. The air is cool against my skin, my nipples hardening, and I resist the urge to cover myself.He takes a long drink from the bottle, then sets it aside and stands again.“Do you know why you’re here, Seraphina?” He approaches slowly, like a predator who knows his prey can’t escape. “Do you know what this room is for?”I want to say yes, want to say I understand, but I remember the rules. Don’t speak unless told to.“Answer me.”“To—” My voice cracks. “To use me. However you want.”“Close.” He stops in front of me, one finger trailing dow

DominicI wake to the feeling of fingers trailing down my chest.For a moment, I’m disoriented, the bed is wrong, the light coming through the windows is wrong, the scent on the pillows is wrong. Then reality crashes in with the weight of a guillotine.I’m in my bedroom. The bedroom I share with Elena. And the woman beside me, her hand sliding lower over my stomach, is not my wife.Seraphina is awake, propped up on one elbow, watching me with eyes that are dark and hungry and completely unrepentant. Her hair is a mess from sleep and sex, the sheet barely covering her breasts, and in the morning light streaming through Elena’s curtains, she looks like every sin I’ve ever committed made flesh.“Good morning,” she murmurs, and her hand slides lower still.I should stop her. Should get her out of this bed, out of this room, back to where she belongs before Elena wakes up and finds us like this. This is the last sacred space in this house or it should be. The bed where I sleep with my wif

SeraphinaThe drive to the hospital is quiet for the first twenty minutes. Elena sits in the passenger seat, staring out the window, and I’m grateful for the silence. Playing the attentive sister is exhausting, especially when every fiber of my being would rather be anywhere else.I had plans today. Dominic and I were supposed to meet at lunch while Elena was at her appointment. Quick, stolen hour in his office. But then he texted this morning: Can you take Elena to her appointment? Something came up at work.Something came up. Always something.So here I am, driving my sister to get poked and prodded while the man I’m sleeping with conducts meetings in the same office where he fucked me on his desk three days ago.“Thank you for doing this,” Elena says suddenly, breaking the silence.“Of course.” I keep my eyes on the road. “That’s what family is for.”“Still. I know you have your own life. Your own plans.” She shifts in her seat. “Have you thought about what you want to do? A

SeraphinaWe move from the fireplace to the sofa, then to the kitchen counter where he lifts me up and kisses me breathless, then back to the windows overlooking the lake. Each surface a new discovery, each touch more urgent than the last.But then he pulls back, his forehead resting against mine, both of us breathing hard.“Come with me,” he says. “I want to show you something.”He takes my hand and leads me through the cabin to a set of glass doors that open onto a deck. The night air is cool against my heated skin, and I shiver slightly as we step outside.The lake spreads before us, impossibly still, reflecting the full moon like a mirror. Stars scatter across the sky in a way you never see in the city, and the only sounds are crickets and the gentle lap of water against the private dock that extends into the darkness.“It’s beautiful,” I breathe.“I used to come here when I needed to think,” he says, his arm sliding around my waist. “Before everything got complicated. Befo

SeraphinaI wake to an empty bed and sunlight streaming through the windows.For a moment, I don’t remember where I am. Then it all comes flooding back—the lake, the moonlight, Dominic’s hands gentle on my skin, the way he looked at me like I was something precious.I stretch languidly, feeling deliciously sore in all the right places, and reach for something to wear. My dress from last night is somewhere on the floor by the fireplace, too far and too formal for a lazy morning. Instead, I grab Dominic’s shirt from where it’s draped over a chair.It’s soft, expensive, and smells like him. I slip it on, the fabric falling to mid-thigh, and pad barefoot toward the smell of coffee.The kitchen is bathed in morning light, and I can see Dominic through the windows, standing on the deck with his phone to his ear. He’s already dressed—dark jeans and a white t-shirt that stretches across his shoulders in a way that makes my mouth water.I’m about to go to him when I notice I’m not alone.