She rises. I smile as I reach for the back of her neck and pull her toward me. The second our mouths meet, it’s a fucking detonation. My lips move over hers with slow intent, and then I’m consuming her—biting, tasting, owning. Her mouth parts, and the groan that slips from her throat rattles straight through me. I kiss her deeper, harder, until there’s no air between us, no space for doubt or fear. Just this heat, this ache, this unrelenting pull. She tries to raise her arms—twice. I feel the twitch in her shoulders, the lift of her elbows. But each time, the metal of the cuffs catches her wrists, holding her back. And fuck, the sound she makes—a whimper dipped in frustration and need—makes my cock twitch. She’s so eager. So ready. So mine. When I finally pull away, we’re both breathing like we’ve sprinted into each other at full force. Her lips are red, kiss-bruised, and her eyes—those eyes—look up at me lustfully. “I want to touch you,” she whispers, breathless. And I almost
*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** I've been in love with my best friend, Finn Hartley, since we met in college ten years ago. It's not like I'll ever tell him I have feelings for him. I know he doesn't see me that way. He probably won't ever see me that way. Right now, we’re in his living room, and I’m holding him to my chest, listening to him sob. That damn girlfriend of his has broken his heart again, the third time this year. "I can't believe she did this to me, Sloane," Finn says. I run my fingers through his hair, trying to ignore how good it feels. "What exactly did she do?" I ask. "You still haven't told me." "I don't know how to say it." "Well, start from somewhere." My patience is wearing thin. I've been here for hours, sacrificing my Saturday to watch him disintegrate. I don't know why he bothers crying when he'll be back in her bed by next week anyway. They do this every damn time. I should be more sympathetic, I know. But ten years of watching him chase after the same to
I feel my face flame. Who does this girl think she is?"I'm not," Finn replies, not even pausing to think."Bummer." Amber pouts. "I do want to see her naked, though."What's her problem? Is she mocking me? Making fun of the plain, awkward friend? Or is there something genuine in her interest? Either way, I don't want to stick around to find out.I turn and push my way through the crowd, heading for the restroom, needing space, air, silence.Stupid, stupid, stupid, I chant silently. What did I expect would happen tonight?In the bathroom, I lean against the sink, staring at my reflection in the smudged mirror. "Get your shit together," I mutter. "This was your idea."My brilliant plan to cheer up Finn has backfired spectacularly. Instead of distracting him from Delilah, I've pushed him into the arms of Amber. And now I'm hiding in a bathroom while they're probably exchanging saliva and phone numbers.I splash some cold water on my wrists, reapply my lipstick, and steel myself to go
I drag Finn by his jacket all the way to my company's parking lot, ignoring his protests.The moment we're in front of his car, I whirl around to face him.“What is wrong with you?” I ask. “You seriously want to crash your ex’s wedding? Have you completely lost your mind?”Finn runs a hand through his hair. “I need closure, Sloane.”“No, Finn. You need professional help. Therapy.”“I can’t just sit still and watch the woman I love marry someone else.”God. I want to punch him in the face. I want to kiss him until he forgets Delilah Crestfield ever existed. I want to scream until I shake the stars loose from the sky.“So what’s the plan, huh? You gonna storm the aisle? Ruin her big day? Shove the groom off the altar and declare your undying love like some cliché rom-com protagonist? Jesus, Finn, you’re better than this.”“I don’t want to destroy the wedding,” he mutters. “I just… I need her to look me in the eyes and tell me it’s over.”My breath catches.I hate him. I hate how stupidl
So this is the infamous Knox.I’ve heard stories. Finn talks about him the way you'd talk about a stray wolf that occasionally shows up to your campfire, steals your food, and disappears back into the woods. Wild. Unpredictable. Maybe even a little unhinged.Now that I think about it, he does resemble Finn—same sharp bone structure, same annoyingly perfect mouth. But where Finn is sunshine and charm, Knox looks like he crawled out of a lifestyle magazine for sophisticated gangsters.“How do I know you’re not a kidnapper?” I ask, tilting my chin up. “You’ll have to provide proof that you’re who you say you are.”“Like an ID card?”“That would work.”“I don’t have any.”“See? Kidnapper vibes,” I say.“Why don't you call Finn and confirm?”I cross my arms. “He’s not answering. Why do you think I’ve been standing here for an hour like an abandoned dog?” I glance at the car. “And you showing up in an aggressive-looking muscle car that screams ‘mafia boss’ isn’t exactly helping your case.”
*** ~~KNOX~~ *** I must say, I did not expect Finn’s best friend to be this charming. Finn’s always painted her as some awkward nerd. But this? This sharp-tongued, darkly dressed woman standing in the middle of the sex shop, casually discussing electrocution and BDSM gear with the sales rep, is not what I signed up for. And yet… I can’t look away. Her leather pants are sinfully tight. Her dark boots are heavy against the polished floor. Her blouse clings to her like a second skin, and those blunt bangs and glasses? They remind me of the dominatrixes in my club. All she's missing is a riding crop and a stern command on those full lips. I watch as she lifts a violet wand, a device used to deliver electrical sensations such as shocks. “How dangerous is this?” she asks the sales rep. “In what sense?” “Like… would the highest voltage be enough to cause, I don’t know… electrocution? Just enough to zap someone’s soul out of their body.” I nearly choke fighting a laugh. “Th
***~~SLOANE~~***I can’t believe this.Three hours on a plane. An hour stuck in that miserable Asheville airport. All to find Finn tongue-deep in Delilah Crestfield?Finn has the audacity to look guilty.“Sloane, I’m so sorry you had to see this—”“Sorry?” I cut him off, my voice trembling with rage. “I expect you to have a modicum of self-respect, Finn. That woman is getting married in two days, and you're making out with her?”“Would you rather he make out with you instead?” Delilah asks. “Don’t do that,” Finn snaps at her.“Why not? She’s miserable because no one wants her. That’s why she spends her life trying to control yours. You’re old enough to do whatever you want.”"Old enough? You both are acting like children," I say. “What’s the plan here, Finn? Sneak around behind her fiancé’s back? Screw her in the honeymoon suite while poor Hunter’s passed out?”Delilah laughs like this is all some kind of twisted joke. Her engagement ring flashes in the light, something obviously e
I feel something break inside me. How does loving Finn make me miserable?“Let me go, Knox,” I say, my voice trembling. “You might not be a good brother, but I’m a good friend. I’m not going to sit around and watch my friend be deceived again. I’m going out there.”Knox doesn’t budge. His grip on my waist remains firm, his body immovable. In a voice so calm it only fuels my rage, he says, “I can’t let you go out there, Kitten. I will physically restrain you if I have to.”“Who the hell do you think you are?” I snap. “You don’t get to control me, Knox. Let. Me. Go.”“I’m not controlling you. I’m preventing you from making a fool of yourself—again.”If my hands were free, I probably would have slapped him by now. “I’m beginning to see why Finn almost never mentioned you in the ten years I’ve known him. You're such an arrogant, infuriating douchebag who cares about nothing else but himself. You'd rather watch your own brother get his heart ripped out than actually do something about it.
She rises. I smile as I reach for the back of her neck and pull her toward me. The second our mouths meet, it’s a fucking detonation. My lips move over hers with slow intent, and then I’m consuming her—biting, tasting, owning. Her mouth parts, and the groan that slips from her throat rattles straight through me. I kiss her deeper, harder, until there’s no air between us, no space for doubt or fear. Just this heat, this ache, this unrelenting pull. She tries to raise her arms—twice. I feel the twitch in her shoulders, the lift of her elbows. But each time, the metal of the cuffs catches her wrists, holding her back. And fuck, the sound she makes—a whimper dipped in frustration and need—makes my cock twitch. She’s so eager. So ready. So mine. When I finally pull away, we’re both breathing like we’ve sprinted into each other at full force. Her lips are red, kiss-bruised, and her eyes—those eyes—look up at me lustfully. “I want to touch you,” she whispers, breathless. And I almost
AUTHOR’S NOTE: A Warning Before We Continue. The last two chapters mark the beginning of a shift. As stated in the synopsis, these characters are morally complex—and we’re about to start peeling back the layers. Things are about to get messy. Unhinged. Darker than before. Every character is stepping into their truest form, from which they can either grow better or worse. Choices will be made. Lines will be crossed. And not everyone will come out clean. If you’re here for the ride, buckle up. You’ve been warned. — E. S. *** ~~KNOX~~ *** Years of patrolling enemy lines in the kind of places where men disappear without a trace taught me how to listen. Really listen. To the crack of a branch that means you’re not alone. I can tell the make of a gun just from the way someone cocks it in the dark. I can count how many people are in a room by the rhythm of their breath. And the faint scuff I just heard inside Sloane’s closet? That was a leather-heeled dress shoe. Office-worn. Mal
Her voice scrapes something sharp in me. Of course she’s thrilled. Sloane and Serena couldn’t be more different. Although they're both opinionated, Sloane thinks before she speaks. She's often secretive about her deepest feelings; this I know all too well. But Serena says whatever the hell crosses her mind. No filter. No hesitation. It’s like she’s allergic to silence. Every thought becomes a soundbite. It’s no wonder we’ve never gotten along. Especially back when they lived together. That apartment was a minefield. Sloane would be in the kitchen quietly stirring tea, trying to decompress from a long day, and Serena would burst in like a storm, unloading whatever drama she’d dragged home. I remember those nights all too well. Me sitting on the couch. Serena ranting from across the room. Sloane giving me that silent look—equal parts exhausted and apologetic—like she wished she could disappear. I never told her this, but sometimes I wished we both could. “Look,” I say, lowering my
*** ~~FINN~~ *** Delilah is panting and bouncing on top of me, her manicured hands braced on my chest. She throws her head back like she’s in the middle of some kind of religious experience, but all I feel is the weight of her—skin against skin, motion without meaning. My mind is elsewhere. I’m not even in the room. I’m in Asheville. Still in that damn house. Still stuck in the moment Sloane slammed the car door and refused to look back at me. I try to focus—on Delilah’s hands on my chest, on the way she gasps my name—but every time I close my eyes, I see Sloane. Her expression blank, her silence louder than any goodbye she could’ve given me. She’s not answering my texts. Not my calls. It’s been over forty-eight hours, and all I’ve gotten is radio silence. My father had practically chased me out of his house, red-faced and yelling, threatening to set everything on fire if Delilah didn’t leave immediately. I hadn’t even argued. I packed up in a hurry and caught the first flig
Almost an hour later, I’m in Knox's car, staring at the imposing building of his parents’ house. I’m supposed to walk in and end what’s left of my friendship with Finn. But I don’t move. Back at the hotel, I’d been so comfortable enjoying the back and forth between me and Knox. It had been easy to pretend the world didn’t exist when it was just us, tangled in bedsheets and breathless moans—Knox, it seems, only needs a few minutes to regain his erection after blowing a load, which had been exhaustingly pleasurable. But at some point, he announced that his chartered jet was leaving for New York in two hours. And just like that, reality sank in. No more denial. No more playful distractions. The time had come. I haven’t been able to say much since the beginning of the drive here. Not since he turned the key and started the engine. My mind’s been a mess of noise and silence, one crashing against the other until all I could do was stare out the window. I have to do this. End things
I climb up after him, swing a leg over his face, and plant my knees on either side of his head. Then I go down a little. “When I say sit, you fucking smother me. Do you understand?” “Yes,” I whisper. I start to lower myself again, hesitating just enough that my center brushes his nose. “You’re not listening,” he growls. Then he grips my hips and pulls me all the way down. The first swipe of his tongue makes my thighs tremble. I grind against him without thinking, moaning as his mouth devours me. He doesn’t lick. He feasts. Tongue flat and firm, then pointed and teasing. My hips start moving on their own, rubbing me deeper into his face. He groans into me, and I nearly collapse. Lifting me up a little, he says, “Put my dick in your mouth, Sloane.” I lean forward, reach between us, and take him back in my mouth. And just like that, I’m riding his tongue while sucking him, pleasure coursing through me in every direction. He starts fucking me with his tongue, deep and slow, the
I stare at him. Knox is sitting at the edge of the bed, his dick hard and glistening, his eyes fixed on me. I know what he wants me to do. I know what I want too—my body still aches with the emptiness he left in me, a slow, smoldering burn where his fingers and length had been. “Can we talk about this afterwards?” I ask, trying to bargain the only way my faltering senses allow. He smiles. “No.” Then he bends and starts peeling his shoes off, letting each fall with a dull thud against the hardwood floor. His socks follow. His fingers go to his pants next, sliding them down, taking his boxers with them, never once standing. For the first time, I catch a glimpse of his thighs. Muscular, with veins mapping their way down to his calves. Once the pants and boxers are on the floor, he pinches the condom, takes it off, ties it, and tosses it to the floor beside the heap of clothes. I don't once look away. My eyes are stuck to the thick length between his legs, the way it twitches. The v
His hand moves quickly to my shorts, unzipping them and pushing his hand inside through my pants until he finds my heat. He draws moisture from there to my clit and begins circling. I'm panting and moaning now, my body moving to the rhythm of his touch. "Our bet?" I manage to gasp out. "Have you forgotten so soon? We made a bet. Wedding doesn't happen, you become mine." I shake my head, trying to clear the fog of lust that's clouding my thoughts. "Those were not the terms. You said you'd chase me." "Same difference.” “I have to go talk to him. To Hunter. He can't stop the wedding." "I think you've done enough talking today, Kitten," he says, his fingers no longer torturing my clit but pushing inside me. I can feel my body responding, my hips pressing back against him, seeking more of his touch. "You came here to call me a terrible person for wanting to destroy my friend's wedding, a wedding with a woman who doesn't deserve him. But you're insisting the wedding must happen,
*** ~~SLOANE~~ *** I don't think I can see beyond the cloud of rage in front of my eyes. I stand still, arms folded over my chest, watching the two of them—Knox and Hunter—staring each other down like opponents in a ring. Knox’s face, as always, is unreadable. Hunter, on the other hand, looks… tired and confused. Today isn't turning out as I expected it to. It's coming with a lot of anger. It started the moment I opened my eyes to find someone beneath me. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest. But when I turned, ready to fight, ready to scream or hit or run, I saw Finn. Lying on my bed like he belonged there. Said he couldn’t sleep. Said he needed to talk. That was when he told me. That Knox had asked him to end our friendship. Because Knox wanted me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. Just grabbed whatever clothes I could find, yanked them on, and demanded one thing: tell me where Hunter is staying. Finn knew. Delilah had mentioned it while her tongue was apparently halfwa