RUM I watched my assistant as she scurried away like a mouse. Goddamn it! I don’t know why. But every time I look at her, her eyes are on some guy, as though seeking their attention. What the fuck is wrong with her? Why say that you aren’t interested and then keep giving them eye signals? Is she an idiot or what? “... Rum, darling? Are you still with me?” I stared at another one of those perfect faces of smouldering eyes, doll-like lashes, sparkling cheeks and luscious, glossy lips. Who’s this again? Sissy? Meg? Roxy? Amelia? “It’s Faye! We did a commercial together, remember?” She leaned in and purred into my ear, “Wanna find some place quiet and I’ll help you with that memory?” I glanced at Ambrose and the girl that Faye brought along—Sissy was it?—had already thrown herself onto him and was sliding her breasts up and down the man’s chest. With a smirk, I turned to the girl in my arms and saw Rose’s face smiling back at me. WHAT THE FUCK. I blinked and it was Faye
ROSE “W-Who was that?” I asked, my eyes closed to fight off the remaining anxiety from the terrifying experience of almost being raped by three drugged models, my face buried in Rum’s chest to hide my embarrassment and shame, my arms hugging his neck like a security blanket as he carried me away from the pool. “Ambrose.” Rum’s silky voice vibrated from his chest to my forehead. Silence fell between us. But I heard the gentle crushing of loose stones under his feet as he padded across the concrete… the sounds of the crazed and dazed crowd muffling to silence… I felt the lights coming on…the droplets of pool water dripping off Rum... the warmth from the bare skin of his chest… the protection from his shirt covering me… and the soft thudding of his heart. His heart was beating fast…. “Are you mad?” I asked. I felt the bobbing in his throat and got my answer: he is mad—and I better shut the fuck up. The rumbling of a car engine seeped into my ears, getting louder with each
ROSE My mouth felt dry. My throat felt stuck. W-What was that? Is he on drugs? No. It can’t be. Ambrose said that he felt dizzy for a while so even if Rum did take any, it would’ve already worn off. But why did he say all those… things? Ah… he’s upset. Sex night is ruined and he’s upset. He’s frustrated. I blinked at the dark curls swirling from the heaving flat plane of his chest. “Rum….” My voice sounded like the breeze from the air conditioning. He exhaled in irritation. “What now?” “Are you… sexually frustrated?” “Jesus Christ….” I felt him slap a palm on his forehead and then a groan vibrated from his chest. I lifted myself off him and faced him. “I’m sorry.” His hand jerked down and his eyes flew open—they were in rage. What the fuck are you apologising for? They seemed to ask. “I ruined sex night for you.” I hoped I sounded sincere. It felt weird apologising with the word ‘sex’. But this seems important for Rum, so I gotta respect that. Those bright blue
ROSE As the van sped through the expressway, silence continued to separate us, keeping us to ourselves—me to my thoughts about my unrequited love for a man who belongs to the people and my dilemma to have a fling with him; him… to his nap? Rum hasn’t moved since he flung me aside. Perhaps, he’s fallen asleep. After exiting the expressway, meandering through the maze of city streets, the van finally turned into the luxury apartment building of Rum’s penthouse. I jolted forward in my seat. “David, I think you should send me home first—.” “Rum said to come straight here,” David reported like an army soldier as he turned the steering wheel, and the van swerved into the parking lot. As soon as it stopped, Rum sprung alive, grabbed my wrist and yanked me along with him as he got out. The trip up to the highest floor was quiet at first. Then, I turned to Rum and whispered, “Rum….” “I don’t want to hear anymore of your nonsense talk, Rose. Just stop talking.” “Then why am I h
ROSE Suddenly, Rum stiffened. Then, he whispered in my ear, “Bite if it hurts.” Hugging my shoulders, he nudged my face onto his shoulder and kept it there…. Huh? I pressed my nose into his warm skin. … and then he thrust forward with great strength. And something inside me snapped with the sharp pain of a thousand needles jabbing into me at the same time, sinking my teeth into his shoulder. Tears squeezed through the corner of my eyes and a sob slipped from me. SHIT, THAT HURTS! For a seemingly long while, he didn’t move, as though he was letting the pain subside—or perhaps, letting me adjust to his sheer size. But I wanted him to do something. Move. Anything. “Rum…,” I sniffed. He kissed my earlobe. “How’s this?” Carefully, he slid in further—. The rubbing against the walls inside me and stretching them—surprisingly—sent an electrifying bliss up my spine, arching my body against his, grinding my breasts on his muscular chest. A moan slipped through my lips—a so
ROSE I gasped, “Rum! What’re you doing? Put me down!” The fear of falling jerked my arms around his neck. And he chuckled lightly. “We’re going to sleep now. Seven a.m., remember?” Heat torched my cheeks. “Sleep?” So he’s carrying me to the couch? But I can walk on my own, Jesus Christ…. In a swift motion, he unlocked the door and pulled it open, and stepped out… and continued on forward. Wait, his bedroom? I panicked. “Rum, my bed’s over there. The living room’s there.” “Who says you’re sleeping alone?” he whispered. Hands flew up to my face, covering it. He wants to go for another round? But that’s not sleeping—. And his chuckle chimed softly in the darkness of his room. Then, I heard the duvet being cast aside and I was placed on the soft mattress. Before I reacted, he got in next to me and pulled the duvet up to my chin. His arm slipped around my waist, pulling me into his embrace, hugging me tightly. And I found myself staring at the swell in his throat as he exh
RUM "Cintilar?" The reporter wrinkled her nose as though she heard something disgusting. She kept a polite smile to hide her honest opinion. “Never heard of him.” “Her.” I returned an even smile. “Cintilar, Rose is a girl. And I’m glad you don’t know her.” You’d probably fall in line to mess her up—just as Annie and her gang did. And me. Fuck… That feeling returned. The feeling that I wasn’t good enough for anything. I had messed up a werewolf’s life, and I didn’t learn my lesson at all. “Mr. Rum?” The reporter flashed her white pearlies, her brows knitting with concern. “Hmm?” “I asked if you have a type.” I scoffed inside. Outside, I was giving my best smile—the one I reserved for the papzz. “Everyone has a type, don’t they?” What kind of a question is that? Isn’t this an interview for the people attending the style awards? Aren’t we supposed to be talking about style and fashion? She rested her chin on her palm and spread her lips into a sultry smile. “Of course,
RUM The queen of all spoilers of mood and bad timing struck again. Seriously, how the fuck did she survive her teenage years? I pulled back to shoot her a deadpan glare then shoved her aside. I need a cold drink. "Rum!" She chased after me. "You said I can have anything!" Ha! I yanked open the fridge door and grabbed a bottle of EVIAN. I never said that. She stood beside me, waiting patiently as I downed the cold, freezing water, momentarily numbing my raging desires. I pulled down the bottle with a loud gasp of satisfaction, and she continued in a weak voice, "Is that too demanding?" I jerked my face to her, sending her the violent frustrations in my chest with my eyes. "It is, isn't it?" Her face swivelled down with disappointment. Fuck…. Fuck, fuck, fuck….. Do something, Keithen Hook! "It's not demanding, goddamn it!" I gritted my teeth. Her face was back up, now filled with curiosity. "Then what is it—?" "You just caught me offguard!" I took another swig of
ROSECarefully, I picked up my iPad and the impatient phone and turned towards the exit of the office. I thought to answer the call once I’m outside, but it stopped buzzing. So I moved cautiously towards the elevator, when it arrived just as I halted to push the button for it. The doors opened and my handsome Alpha King appeared, worried as hell. ‘Why didn’t you answer my call?’ he demanded.I rolled my eyes. ‘Because I’m getting through a door with this.’ I pointed at my huge belly. He was about to carry me like a bride when I slapped his hands away. ‘Stop it!’ I hissed. ‘You want everyone to know?!’ ‘Wheelchair. If you ever missed my call again.’ He stepped aside for me to enter the metal carrier. ‘Alright, alright…’ I chuckled. ‘So how was it?’ He asked, glancing at my iPad. ‘Did she approve it?’ ‘No.’ I sighed. ‘It’s too extravagant. The actress specifically asked for more grounded styles. She wants people to relate more to acting than her beauty.’ And Keithen scoffed. ‘Goo
ROSEI rolled myself onto him, loving the way my skin rubbed against his, feeling his warmth and heartbeat against mine, as well as the vibrations of his chuckle. He swept the sticky damp strands off my face, hooking some around my ears, then combed the rest to the back of my head with his fingers, and all the time, I had my eyes closed, savouring the moment. And he chuckled some more. ‘You want another round?’ he whispered. My eyes burst open, and his arms squeezed my bare waist as he laughed. ‘I’m hurt, cub. You look like a car was about to hit you.’ I shifted closer to his face—my breasts scraping his hard chest, and he grunted a little—and kissed him on the mouth hard, delivering all my passion, all my apologies. Immediately, his mouth opened and he shifted to push me forward, so that his tongue could dive in a little more, consuming me breathless. Just as the familiar desires stirred inside me, I pulled back, tore my lips from his and captured his face with both hands, tryi
ROSEI’m a werewolf, aren’t I? Okay, not entirely. Just half wolf, half human. But that still counts, right? There’s still some wolf inside me to make this work! This has to work! Concentrate. Focus, Rose. Think of the gate. I could be at the beach, or the back alley. Does it relocate to the same place twice? Or does it choose a new place each time? ‘Rose, are you having a headache?’ asked Joy. I opened my eyes and evaluated my best friend for a while. Then, I made up my mind. ‘Joy.’ I grabbed her shoulders. ‘I’m about to tell you something that nothing in Science can ever explain.’ ‘O…kay?’ I could see the wheels of her mind churning to come up with the plausible reason for my sudden strange behaviour. ‘Is it Harry Potter kinda something?’ I nodded firmly. And she mouthed ‘O’, with a knowing gaze. But behind that gaze, I still caught her disbelief. ‘It’s alright to not believe me. Just promise me that you won’t tell a living soul.’ I was staring at her so hard, I could almost
RICHARDA video showing Richard in his midnight blue shirt with his arm stretched across the desk. The files shifted and a sketch of a female figurine in a puffed up flowy gown with petals in her hair and on her lashes and lips. Richard was flabbergasted. He turned back to the CEO, his mind churning furiously to come up with the best excuse to save his ass. ‘When Rose brought me that design, I thought to myself: this is something that ambitious Annie would use. It’s extravagant and flamboyant. Wouldn’t it be nice to distract her with this, so my precious gem can focus on levelling up her skills? She can’t be stuck in the B.A.D. crap all the time.’ Richard felt deflated. His world was crashing down into dust. ‘Y-You set me up.’ The CEO laughed heartily. ‘You flatter yourself too much, Richard. Set ups are for my equals. This is just a test. But you scored full marks.’ The young rising star slammed his palms on the desk and glared at the CEO—the woman who had previously doted on hi
ROSE‘... the winner of this styling face off is—.’ The emcee’s eyes rolled left to right repeatedly as he read the card. His brows knitted as a mutter of disbelief spilled from his mouth, ‘Annie from B.A.D.’ My insides sank to the deepest parts of my spirit. ‘YES!’ Annie shrieked out victoriously. With a smugful grin, she cast a look of condemnation in my way. ‘I told you she’s a fake! She can’t style at all! Extraordinary—ha!’ That was… … unexpected. I thought I had a good chance. I really did read Miss Jewel’s comments wrongly. ‘Oh! The main judge has something to say!’ The emcee shoved Annie aside to make way for the retired supermodel, Jinda Avengelistford, who gracefully took the centrestage at an astounding height of six feet. ‘Based on the styling standards, Miss Annie has met every single one.’ She turned to the head of B.A.D.’s styling team and flashed a warm smile. ‘It was exciting—your unexpected. There is still a difference between professional and personal styling.
KEITHEN ’CUT!’ The director’s frown was as clear as the blue sky outside. I could tell that he’s been trying to hold it in. But the shit’s about to explode. ‘Rum.’ He forced a smile. ‘Are you sure you’re not unwell?’ I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve said this: ‘I’m fine.’ ‘Then what’s the problem?!’ The older guy grabbed his hair, about to go crazy. I stared at the line of the script that was shoved into my view. Instantly, the clog in my throat grew real. As real as the reality I’m about to face in an hour’s time. ‘Maybe Rum’s upset that this is all going to end for him soon.’ I looked up and a pair of kind eyes smiled back at me. Sherry patted my shoulder as that sweet smile turned into a sympathetic one. ‘I bet he misses all this. Don’t you, boss?’ I chuckled dryly and looked down again. ‘I’m not your boss, Sher. I’ve said it many times.’ That’s it. No matter how hard you try. You can’t fight reality. You just can’t. You can stay hidden around her. It won’t ma
RICHARDA day before the styling competition… ‘Go right in. She’s wrapping up the conference call,’ said the lovely PA of Miss Jewel. The young man in his stylist’s midnight blue shirt and grey bubble pants grinned sweetly and nodded. ‘Thank you, Celia. You look lovely today.’ And the PA gave her usual polite smile. Richard entered the glasshouse of an office and settled himself in the same chair he’d always been in whenever he’s here. A minute turned to three… and then it felt like ten. Richard’s fingers began to tap with impatience. He thought of checking his phone for an update from the private investigator he’d sent to tail Rose. The thought of Rose brought a grin to his glossed lips. Miss Jewel must have called him in to talk about Rose’s resignation, and he was prepared to sacrifice his precious time and help the agency convince Rose to retract it. There is no way the CEO wouldn’t agree to his one and only condition: that Rose stays as his stylist for as long as he’s wi
ROSEBANG, BANG, BANG!I stared at the door, unable to breathe. Unable to stop the tears. Unable to shut him out. ‘OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, ROSE!’ thundered the Alpha King. ‘YOU BETTER GIVE ME AN EXPLANATION RIGHT NOW!’ Hands clamped my ears. My head kept shaking in disagreement. My chest screaming: go away! Please, go away! ‘I know you’re in there! Open the fucking door!’ The banging continued. The same hands now clamped my mouth. To stop me from telling him to stop. Stop the noise, or someone will report him to the police. You’re a fucking celebrity! Stop it, Keithen!‘I’m counting to three. No open door, and I’ll fucking shift right here! Hear that, Rose? Footsteps! People are coming out. They’ll see me—.’ The hands were back on my ears. Shutting out his voice. My feet shuffled back, away from that enraged door. Hide. Go and hide, my mind told me. And I did. I scampered back to my room and slammed the door shut. Locked it. Then backed away, towards my bed. The second my calves bum
RICHARD‘I told you it’s not going to happen!’ the young man hissed into his phone. The female voice at the other end of the line screamed curses. ‘Everyone’s been talking about your peach silver outfit—more than mine! What happened to the black jacket! You said you’d wear it.’ Richard Black rolled his eyes at his reflection in his bedroom mirror. ‘She wanted to change it. What else can I do? Say no? Has your precious Rum ever said no to you regarding his outfit?’ ‘I can’t let her win that competition,’ chanted Annie. ‘Dan’ll have my head!’ ‘I’ll get you a chopping board then.’ ‘You lying son of a bitch! You didn’t keep your end of the deal—have you any idea the sacrifice I made for that article?’‘Sleeping with a reporter instead of some big shot? You call that a sacrifice?’ Richard scoffed. ‘You’re a whore, Annie. Everyone who knows you knows that. The models—they talk. A hell lot.’‘And you think your Rose is a virgin?’ ‘SHUT UP!’ Richard shouted back, and the ugly chuckle r