Thank you for reading this chapter :) Seems like Josh has new enemies now!
During the entire ride back home, Elena couldn’t hide her annoyance—or maybe that was intended. She wanted Josh to know that whatever happened that night at the Pestovs’ was NOT normal. She did not favor it; in fact, she was offended that he would bring her to a place where she did not feel safe.But, of course, that was not her only concern. There were so many other things to be mad about. For instance, he should have been more cautious when it came to his life. Caleb had already suffered enough during Josh’s months of absence; there was simply no need to take such a risk. Not when he knew that now he was the only parent Caleb had.“You can stop grumbling now,” Josh said to her, noticing how tightly she sat in the corner of the backseat. “Everything is fine.”“Everything is NOT fine, Josh!” she snapped, glaring up at him. “Are you blind? Did you not see what happened tonight? We could have gotten hurt!”“But we didn’t,” he tried to counter, but all she had for him was another hard gl
Derek rolled off the woman beneath him, panting hard as he tried to get his breathing under control. The woman sighed, feeling boneless after one hell of a fuck. It was only after he started to get ready that the woman forced herself to sit up, clutching sheets to her chest.“You’re leaving already?” she asked, unable to hide her surprise at his sudden departure.“When have I ever stayed the night?” he asked instead, annoyance evident in his voice. He didn’t even spare her a glance, and once he was ready, he grabbed his purse and took out some cash, tossing it on the nightstand.The woman pounced on the money like someone hungry for food. She counted it in desperation and frowned when she found it to be less than she had expected.“That’s it?” she exclaimed.Derek rolled his eyes, fixing his shirt. “It’s more than enough.”“You must be kidding me. After everything I do for you, you dare to treat me like charity? What the hell, Derek? This is not what I signed up for.”He snorted as he
By the time the next morning arrived, Elena had everything packed up. She came downstairs and, as always, found her brother already at the dining table, his tablet in one hand and black coffee in the other.She greeted him first. “Morning.”Josh looked up briefly, nodding at her with a small twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Morning.”Elena grabbed a chair and sat facing him. “We need to talk.”He nodded without peeling his gaze from the screen. “Sure. What is it?”“I’m leaving for Sydney, and I’m taking Caleb with me, if that’s okay with you.”That seemed to get his attention. He looked up, frowning. “Let me guess. Simon invited you to spend the weekend with him.”Elena’s eyes widened, never expecting him to know the real reason without her saying anything at all. “Wait. How did you know?”Josh sighed, guiding his gaze back to the screen and taking a sip of his coffee. “The mention of Sydney gave it away. Simon has a project going on there. It’s practically all over the news.”Well,
The flight to Sydney was a long one—almost 20 hours. During the initial hours, Elena kept busy with Caleb. However, when the boy grew tired and she left him to sleep in a small cabin at the back, she finally stretched her arms over her head and let out a heavy sigh.God, handling kids was tiresome. But at least she now had a few minutes, maybe hours, to herself. Her nephew had exhausted himself and would sleep soundly unless something woke him up.Elena returned to the bar section of the plane and ordered herself a fresh lemonade. While drinking it, her eyes scanned the rest of the cabin until they finally rested on Simon, who appeared busy talking on the phone. Papers and his laptop were in front of him, alongside his assistant whom she had seen on many occasions. And of course, there was the strange man she knew she had seen before—the detective. The one who had brought her solid proof of Richard’s infidelity on the night of Denika’s movie premiere.Elena could never forget his face.
The moment his breath touched her skin, a strange, burning sensation spread through her, leaving her unable to move. He was doing all the moves and all she could do was close her eyes and hold in her breath.This man had the kind of power to turn her into mush in his hands, and she knew it. But, she was not ready to admit to that, not just yet.She waited for his next move. She waited to see if he would bring his lips closer to her ear and do something… anything. But it was as if the world froze in that exact moment. The movie had no sound, his breathing was the only thing that mattered, and his finger the only thing she felt as he continued stroking the skin along her neck, teasing.It was such a strange, overwhelming feeling. The desire she felt inside her…A tiny voice in her head told her this was wrong. That they couldn’t be doing this on an airplane in front of anyone. That this was all too fast, too sudden, and they weren’t alone. But that voice was drowned out by her racing hea
The dining room was much like the rest of the house: large and luxurious, and filled with the delicious smells of freshly cooked food that made her stomach rumble in anticipation.“It’s like a palace, Aunt Elena!” Caleb squealed excitedly as he took a seat at one of the chairs around a large round table.“We’ve prepared a little feast for you tonight since this is your first night here at Paradise,” Diana announced, standing in the middle of the table with her hands behind her back. She glanced towards Caleb and then back at Elena. “Are you hungry?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.“Oh, yes. Very,” Caleb answered with an excited smile, practically jumping in his seat.Diana laughed and nodded. “Well, dig in, then.”With that, a long queue of staff came into the dining room and started preparing their plates. They brought them bowls of warm water to wash their hands and cloth napkins to place on their laps, then served them all the delicious food and drinks they could possibly imagine.B
“Easy on the sound, darling,” Simon chuckled, smirking. “We wouldn’t want anyone to barge into this room and find you naked, would we?”Elena blushed, embarrassed for being so careless. She grabbed her bathrobe and held it tightly around her body, not caring that her wet hair was dripping on it.“What are you doing here?” she asked, flustered. “Weren’t you supposed to be working? I thought you’d be gone for a long time.”Simon nodded, thoughtful. “Yes, that was the original plan. But unfortunately, I had to leave earlier than I anticipated because some things didn’t go the way they should.”He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before looking at her again with a slight grin on his lips. “I guess it just couldn’t be helped,” he added with a shrug of his broad shoulders. “And now that I am back, I thought I could pay a visit to you and check up on you.”“And?” she questioned, curious to know the answer.He hummed as if considering his response. “And it appears I’m glad I made the de
She pulled away, blinking up at him. “Then give it to me. Give me everything.”She reached out, grabbing his face between her hands, her fingers running through his hair, holding him still. “Including yourself.”Then without giving him time to answer, she pressed their lips together and kissed him hungrily, tasting every bit of him as they clung together.Their lips were hot on each other and it only made things worse. Soon enough, they were making out and her hands started roaming all over his body. She couldn’t stop touching him as their tongues fought for dominance.Simon pulled away suddenly, staring into her eyes. His gaze was burning with lust. She could see that he was struggling with control and wanted her more than anything. “Tell me, what is it that you desire from me, my darling?” he breathed out heavily, his voice strained as he spoke.Elena leaned into him and kissed him once more, giving him a slow and deep kiss before answering, “Everything.”With a soft growl, he picke