All Chapters of Painful Pleasures(Short Steamy Collections): Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

The backyard barbecue was loud and chaotic, the way it always got when Tyler threw one of his famous summer parties. Music thumped from the speakers, smoke rose from the grill, and half the neighborhood had shown up with coolers and bad decisions. I was nursing a lukewarm margarita, trying to stay out of the way, when I spotted him. Noah. Tyler’s older brother. The one who used to ignore me when I was just his little brother’s awkward best friend tagging along. He’d come home from the city for the weekend, something about helping their dad with the garage. At twenty-eight, he looked even better than I remembered. Tall, broad shoulders under a worn black t-shirt, stubble shadowing his jaw, and those dark eyes that always seemed to see straight through whatever bullshit I was selling. I’d had a crush on him since I was sixteen. Pathetic, really. But tonight I was twenty-four, freshly single, and a little buzzed. The rules felt bendable. He caught me staring from across the yard and

The fence between our yards had always been more suggestion than barrier. Low enough to lean on. High enough to hide what we didn’t want the rest of the street to see. For six months I’d been watching her from my kitchen window while I worked from home, Lydia, the quiet brunette who moved in next door with her husband right after I bought the place. Her husband, Greg, was gone more than he was home. Some big corporate job that kept him in hotels across the country. I knew the schedule by now. Tuesdays and Thursdays he left before dawn. Fridays he usually got back late. It was a sticky Thursday evening in August when everything finally snapped. I was out back watering the pathetic tomato plants I kept killing when I heard her back door open. Lydia stepped out in a thin blue sundress, the kind that clung to her body in the humidity. No bra. The outline of her nipples was clear as day. She looked tired. Beautiful. Like someone who hadn’t been touched the way she needed in a long ti

The cabin was Marcus’s idea, and it was perfect. He’d found it online—a little A-frame tucked away in the Vermont woods, two hours north of Boston. Real wood-burning fireplace, no Wi-Fi worth a damn, and enough snow in the forecast to keep the rest of the world out. “Just us,” he’d texted. “No schedules. No flights. I need you all to myself for once.” Sophia had packed in ten minutes flat: jeans, boots, the oversized cream sweater he loved seeing her in, and three sets of lingerie she fully intended to have him rip off. He picked her up Friday evening right after work. The second she slid into his rental SUV he leaned across the console, cupped the back of her neck, and kissed her like he’d been starving for weeks. His hand was already sliding up her thigh before they even left the parking lot. They made it about forty minutes before the tension got unbearable. A quiet back road, snow-dusted pines on both sides. Marcus pulled over, killed the engine, and pushed the seat back.

Detroit in January was colder than Sophia expected, but Marcus’s apartment was warm. Detroit in January was colder than Sophia expected, but Marcus’s apartment was warm He’d picked her up from the airport with snow in his hair and that same hungry look in his eyes. They barely made it through his front door before he had her pressed against the wall, duffel bag forgotten on the floor. His dog, a big, goofy mutt named Ranger, watched from the couch like he’d seen this before. “Missed you,” Marcus growled between kisses, hands already shoving her sweater up. “Show me.” He did. Right there in the hallway. Dropped to his knees, yanked her jeans and panties down, and licked her until her knees buckled. Then he stood, spun her around, and fucked her hard from behind while she braced her hands on the wall. No condom, just raw, deep thrusts and his fingers rubbing her clit until she came with a sharp cry. He followed fast, groaning her name as he filled her. After, he gave her t

The office cleared out early because of the holiday weekend. Most people had bolted by three, but I still had that stupid Q3 report to finish. By seven-thirty the whole floor was dead quiet except for the hum of the vending machine down the hall and the rain tapping against the windows. I was the last one left in our department. Or so I thought. I heard heels clicking on the tile before I saw her. Lena. She worked in marketing, two cubicles over from mine. Dark hair, sharp cheekbones, and a mouth that always looked like it was holding back a secret. We’d flirted for months—harmless stuff at first. Compliments on each other’s coffee orders, inside jokes during boring meetings, the occasional lingering look when no one was paying attention. Nothing ever crossed the line. Until tonight. She stopped at my desk, leaning against the edge with her arms crossed. Her white blouse was unbuttoned one more than office policy allowed, and the way the rain made the city lights blur behind