Tous les chapitres de : Chapitre 1 - Chapitre 5

Nessa stepped into the red light like she owned the whole damn floor. Music hit hard, bass thumping through the soles of her heels, and every head in the club turned. She moved slow at first, hips rolling, hands sliding down her own sides, letting them look. That was the job. Make them want it bad enough to open their wallets.The stage was small, sticky under her feet from spilled drinks and sweat, but she worked it like it was bigger. Turned, dropped low until her knees almost touched the floor, then came back up with a sharp roll of her shoulders that made the little top she wore shift just enough. Cash started flying. Bills landed near her feet, some crisp, some crumpled. She barely glanced at them. Looking hungry made the money slower. She kept her face neutral, eyes half-lidded, body doing all the talking.VIP section sat up higher, darker, separated by a short railing and a couple of bouncers who only moved when someone got too loud. One man there stayed still while the others

Nessa woke to the sound of a shower running and the low murmur of a one-sided phone conversation from the next room.For a few seconds she didn’t move. The sheets were too soft, cool against her bare skin. The air smelled like expensive soap, clean linen, and the sex from last night. Her body ached in places that still felt marked. She sat up slowly, pulling the sheet with her, and looked around the unfamiliar bedroom. Floor-to-ceiling glass. City still half-asleep beyond it. No thin walls. No stack of crumpled bills on a nightstand. No distant bass from a club that never really closed.Her bag sat neatly on a chair near the door. Someone had placed it there.She reached for her phone.Three messages from Victor, time-stamped across the night.*Hey, you never called back last night. Everything okay?**Miss you. Feels like it’s been forever since we actually talked.**I’m looking at flights. Might be able to come home for a long weekend next month. Would that work?*Nessa’s thumb hover

Victor arrived twelve minutes early.Nessa opened the door to find him standing there with a suitcase and a tired, hopeful smile that hit her like a physical blow. He dropped the bag without looking at it, pulled her into a tight hug, and buried his face in her hair like he had been waiting months for exactly this moment.“I couldn’t wait another three weeks,” he murmured against her neck. “I changed the ticket at the last minute. Surprised?”“Yeah,” she managed. “Surprised.”He kissed her. The kiss was warm and familiar and completely wrong in the apartment that still carried the faint scent of Roman’s cologne. When Victor finally stepped back and looked around the open living space, his smile dimmed a little.“Whose place is this?”“A friend’s,” Nessa said quickly. “I’m housesitting. Long story. The timing just worked out.”Victor accepted the explanation with a tired nod. He was too happy to see her, too worn out from the flight, to push harder. He wheeled his suitcase further insi