Anna curled against him, peeking at his phone. “Babe, what are you up to?”
“Just scrolling.”
Under the sheets, her hand slid over his sweatpants.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“Playing,” she murmured, giving him a slow squeeze.
He kept his eyes on the screen, but then she tugged his sweatpants and boxers down and slipped under the sheets.
“Anna,” he flinched, still gripping his phone. Warmth hit him hard. His head dropped back. “A… Anna,” he breathed, most of him fighting it back, but a small part slipping through, a tiny spark that jolted right through him.
The phone slid out of his hand as a single image slammed into him. Black hair. Honey eyes. Strong body. Tattoos. That low voice that lived under his skin. His hand found the top of her head through the sheets, but his mind had already betrayed him. It wasn’t her he felt.
“Ma…” The sound slipped out of him on a low, shaky breath, almost a moan he couldn’t hold back.
She froze and threw the sheet off her head. “Ma?”
Ody’s stomach dropped, but he kept his expression steady. Inside he was spiraling, but on the surface he gave her exactly what she expected to see. “Ma… My baby, I love it when you do this. Keep going,” he blurted, breath shaky.
Suspicion faded from her eyes. She lowered her head again.
Ody pressed a hand to his forehead. The guilt crawled through him, thick and heavy. Anna kept going, and Ody felthis body react, but it wasn’t because of her. It was because the sensation pushed him deeper into the place he had tried so hard to avoid. Every pulse of heat twisted straight into the same thought, the same face, the same man he couldn’t get out of his head.
His breath caught. His fingers dug into the sheets. It wasn’t her touch that turned him on. It was what he wanted but couldn’t have. Desire slid through him, sharp and wrong, dragging Mano’s image with it. He wanted him. He wanted him so much it made him feel sick.
Ody flipped her onto her stomach and stood up. “On all fours.”
She obeyed. He wet his fingers and pushed them inside her, making her moan. He gripped her hips and thrust into her as her voice filled the room.
He shut his eyes. And the second he did, it wasn’t Anna beneath him. It was him.
He kept his eyes shut, chasing the image that wasn’t hers, losing himself in the one he couldn’t stop wanting.
When it was over, he collapsed beside her, chest heaving, sweat cooling on his skin. Only then did the guilt sink in. He turned to the side, unable to look at her. His mind wouldn’t stop replaying the face he had pictured the entire time.
He ended up drifting into a restless sleep, exhaustion pulling him under.
By 6 p.m most of the group had gathered around the pool, buzzing with excitement about the night swim they had planned. They were already stretched out on the loungers, talking and laughing as the sun softened.
Steve glanced around, noticing the empty spot where Ody should’ve been. “Where’s Ody?”
“Sleeping. I let him rest,” Anna said casually.
Ranya arrived a moment later, greeting the group before settling beside them. She looked around too. “Where’s Mano?”
“He’s coming soon,” Antony replied.
“Tell him to wake Ody before he comes,” Steve said.
Ranya pulled out her phone and sent Mano a quick message, asking him to stop by Ody’s room before joining them.
Mano sighed when he read the message. He slipped his phone into his pocket, grabbed his card, and headed out of his room. He wasn’t thrilled about playing alarm clock, but he was already on his way to the pool.
The hallway was quiet. He stopped outside Ody’s door and knocked twice. Nothing. He waited a few seconds, then knocked again, harder this time.
Inside, Ody groaned into the pillow, half-asleep, the sound muffled and irritated. Mano exhaled through his nose and hit the door again, louder, fist thudding against the wood in a steady rhythm. He wasn’t leaving until Ody answered.
