Edwina smiled up at me, her eyes shining with pleasure at my praise. She licked her lips, chasing the last remnants of my cum, eager for every last taste of me.
I stared down at her, my heart swelling with a dark, primal sense of possession. She was mine, now and always. And I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I would never let her go. She belonged to me, body and soul, and I would cherish her forever.As I gazed down at Edwina, I noticed her teary-faced expression. A surge of tenderness mixed with the dark desire in my chest, and I gently helped her to stand before pulling her close.
I kissed her deeply, tasting myself on her tongue, the salty flavor of my seed mixing with the sweetness that was uniquely Edwina. She responded with equal fervor, her body molding against mine as if she sought to merge our very essences.
Our tongues tangled, sliding against each other in an erotic dance that left us both breathless. I could feel the racing of her heart against my chest, echoing the thundering beat of my own. In that moment, everything else faded away until all that remained was the two of us, lost in the haze of our shared passion.
I couldn't get enough of her taste, the filthy mix of her sweet mouth and my salty cum. “You're so fucking delicious,” I growled against her lips.
My hands roamed her body, greedy for the feel of her soft skin. I squeezed her ass, my fingers digging into the lush curves as I ground my still-hard cock against her stomach. “Feel how hard you make me,” I whispered roughly. “I'm going to fuck you until you can't walk straight.”
Whatever waited beyond that door could wait a little longer. For now, there was only this, heat, breath, and the dangerous truth that we had already gone too far to turn back.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Edwina
Themessagecamewithoutwords, only a pin on the map, a silent summons that filled me with a rush of warmth I couldn’t contain. My lips curved before I even realized, my chest tightening not with fear but with something brighter, stronger, something I no longer wanted to deny. I stared at the location glowing on the screen, the steady pulse of it echoing in me, not as a warning but as a promise.
I didn’t hesitate. There was no second-guessing, no weight of guilt pressing against my ribs. For once, my heart and my body moved as one, driven by a quiet certainty, a calm that left no room for fear. My fingers didn’t shake as I slipped the phone into my hand, and when I crossed the room to open my wardrobe, it wasn’t betrayal I felt, it was anticipation, sharp and sweet, a happiness I hadn’t allowed myself in too long.
The decision was simple. Not long ago, I would have sworn I despised him, that I could never forgive the way he made me feel small and unsteady. But something had changed, quietly, dangerously. The edges of hate had blurred into something I couldn’t name, something that pulled me toward him no matter how hard I tried to resist. I wanted to see him. I wanted to be where he was. And the part of me that once fought against it had fallen utterly silent.
The green dress caught my eye first. It was simple, not extravagant, the fabric falling softly at my knees. Yet something about its color held me still. It seemed to breathe with its own pulse, caught somewhere between daring and restraint, between what I wanted and what I shouldn’t. I pulled it over my head, smoothing the fabric down in slow, careful motions, hoping it might quiet the ache twisting inside me.
In the mirror, my reflection stared back at me, both foreign and familiar. My face looked pale beneath the harsh light, so I reached for makeup, soft strokes across my lashes, the faintest touch of gloss on my lips. Nothing heavy. Just enough to look alive, as though I hadn’t spent hours wondering what it would mean to answer him.
I ran my fingers through my hair until it fell in loose waves, the strands framing my face with a softness that felt unearned. The girl looking back at me was prepared for something she couldn’t name, someone she wasn’t supposed to want, someone she had promised herself to resist. My stomach tightened, my throat ached, but still I reached for my phone and slipped it into my pocket, the location glowing against the darkness of the screen.
I stepped out of the cab, the city air still damp from the earlier rain, the streets shining under the glow of streetlamps. The location on my phone blinked its confirmation, leading me toward the narrow storefront in front of me—a bookstore. Itswindows were dark except for a single lamp glowing faintly near the back, as though the place had been left half-asleep.
I pushed the door open, the bell above it chiming softly, the sound far too loud in the silence that followed. The air smelled faintly of paper and dust, warm and familiar, yet the emptiness unsettled me. Every aisle stretched quiet and hollow, every shelf standing in stillness, no one in sight.
“Hello?” My voice broke the hush, uncertain, tentative. I waited, straining for the sound of footsteps, for any answer at all. Nothing came.
I took a step deeper inside, my heels clicking softly against the worn floorboards, the weight of the silence pressing heavier with every breath. I pulled my phone from my pocket, checked the location again, as if it might shift, as if the glowing dot would tell me more than it had before. It didn’t. Only that I was exactly where I was meant to be.
And then—
Fingers slid around my waist, firm and unyielding. My body stiffened, my heart surging into my throat. A sharp cry tore from my lips as I twisted, panic flashing through me.
But then I turned and saw him, saw Hayden, his frame shadowed by the dim light, his eyes burning with that same impossible intensity that had undone me again and again, the cry withered in my throat. Surprise flooded me, sharp and undeniable, leaving me breathless.
“Hayden,” I whispered, the name slipping out before I could stop it, before I could gather myself.
And he only smiled, the curve of his mouth dark, knowing, his hand still holding me fast at the waist as though I might vanish if he let go.
“You came,” he murmured, his voice low, his breath brushing the shell of my ear. “Part of me thought you wouldn’t. But I should’ve known you can’t stay away.”
My protest faltered before it even formed, lost to the heat of his gaze, to the certainty in his grip. I should have pushed him back, demanded answers, insisted on boundaries. Instead, my body betrayed me, leaning into his hold, trembling with the recognition that I was exactly where I had wanted to be.
“Hayden…” His name broke on my lips, a plea disguised as defiance, a tremor that carried the weight of surrender I could no longer hide.
He caught my chin between his fingers, tilting my face up to his. His eyes were molten in the dim glow, unreadable yet devastating, and when he spoke, it was with the quiet authority of someone who knew exactly how undone I already was.
“I don’t want to talk tonight, my Flare.” His thumb brushed over my lower lip. “I want to taste what’s mine.”
Before I could breathe, his mouth was on mine. His lips claimed me with a hunger that stole every thought, every ounce of air, every piece of control I still clung to. He kissed me like a man starved, as if the world could collapse around us and he would still hold me pinned, devouring me until there was nothing left but him.
