Semua Bab HIS TO LOSE: Bab 1 - Bab 10

Arielle's POVWe dished the food together and headed to his bedroom to eat. A few bites in, I felt his left hand slip between my thighs, fingers trailing dangerously high.My fork froze mid-air. I couldn’t concentrate on eating anymore…couldn’t think about anything except his touch.By the time we finished eating, I was ready to crawl out of my skin. “Take off your clothes,” he growled, his voice thick with desire. “We’re taking a bath.”The fire in my veins ignited as I stood up. We began kissing, slow at first, then more passionate and desperate. It was the sort of kiss that screamed I need you now.We stumbled towards the bathroom, our mouths still locked in a kiss. His hand slid inside my panties, his fingers tracing through my dampness, and I moaned into his mouth.“Fuck, you’re so wet already,” he groaned, his fingers tracing slow circles around my clit as I ground against his hand.I could feel his bulge pressing hard against my hip, thick and straining against his pants. I mo

Arielle’s POVI managed to get to my car before the tremors started.Hands gripping the steering wheel. Knuckles white. Breathing as if Id just run a marathon instead of walking calmly—professionally, goddammit—out of his building.His building.Dominic had a building now. Glass and steel and his name in sleek letters across the lobby. HaleAI Technologies. A billion, dollar company hed built from nothing.From the man who used to stress about making rent.I still couldnt start the car. I couldnt risk it. I was not capable of driving.Because if I closed my eyes, I was there again. In his kitchen. His hands on my hips. His mouth on my neck. The way hed whisper youre so fucking beautiful like it was a prayer and a curse at the same time.Stop.I pressed my palms against my eyes, trying to get rid of the memory.It didnt help. It never helped.* * *Three years earlierThe playlist was ours. Usher bleeding into Alicia Keys bleeding into something that made him pull me close and sway even

Dominic’s POV“My brother just overdosed. I’m at the hospital. I can’t think about this right now.”I stared at the text.Read it three times.My thumb was already pulling up her contact before my brain caught up.Which hospital?She didn’t answer.Fuck.I stood from my desk, grabbing my keys. My jacket. Monica looked up, startled, as I strode past her.“Mr. Hale? Your three o’clock—”“Cancel it. Cancel everything for the rest of the day.”“But the investors—”“I don’t care.” I was already at the elevator, jabbing the button. “Handle it.”The doors slid open. I stepped in.My phone buzzed.Arielle: “Dominic, don’t—”She didn’t finish the text.It didn't matter.I was already halfway to the parking garage.There were four major hospitals in the city. I called the first one from my car.“I’m looking for a patient. Marcus Moore. Brought in for an overdose.”“I’m sorry, sir, I can’t give out patient information—”I hung up. Called the second.The third time was the charm.“Yes, we have a M

Arielle's POV I stared at his text for twenty minutes before I finally put my phone down.I minimized the messages and switched to Instagram, but I couldn’t focus. I paced around my room, Dominic’s text disrupting every thought.“Stop being so understanding.”Why did I even say that? Jeez.I was drowning in shame like a twelve-year-old girl who’d just blurted out the lamest thing to her eighth-grade crush.“Good.”What did that even mean?I was officially intrigued and sleep-deprived—exactly how he’d wanted his text to make me feel. I tried to respond, but what do you even say to “Good”?Maybe I should just play it cool.But that kiss wouldn’t leave my head.I dropped my phone and lay in bed, replaying the moment over and over. The way his lips felt on mine. How his hands gripped my waist. Heat rose through me as memories flooded back—how he used to touch me, how he made me feel things no one else had since.God, I craved it.Was it just proximity? Seeing him every day now? Or was I

Arielle's POVI barely got three steps out of Dominic’s office before I heard the elevator ding. The sound really should not have triggered me to look up. I should have kept on walking, kept my head down, and maintained the professional mask I had worn all the time of that dreadful meeting. However, something made me look towards the lobby. And that was the moment I saw her. She walked out of the elevator with the air of someone who was not simply the owner of the place, but she had been the owner way before I even entered those doors. Tall, elegant, and radiating the kind of self-assurance that comes from absolute knowledge of one’s position in someone’s life. Her stiletto heels made a sharp click against the marble floor ticking out a sound that was pure luxury. She was in a form-fitting red dress that revealed all of her body, a designer bag hanging on the crook of her arm, hair in perfect waves that surely cost more than my monthly rent. Gorgeous in that clear, overly-made-up way t