Nathan Callis was still in a foul mood when his private jet landed in Miami, a fact that didn’t escape the paparazzi loitering in the airport. They surged towards the former model, snapping photos and shouting offensive questions in hopes of provoking a reaction from the grim-faced Greek.

“Have you and Alyx Marshall broken up yet?”

“Does Alyx ever treat you as the dumber one in the relationship?”

“What does your girlfriend say about your modeling career?”

“Do you think you’ll last?”

Yes, Nathan thought savagely to the last question even as he remained tight-lipped in the presence of the swarming paparazzi. She might not know it, but she and Nathan were kindred souls, with the way they had been cursed to fall for people who were in love with someone else.

Alyx’s mobile remained out of reach throughout the ride back to her apartment. It was empty when he arrived, Nathan having exchanged keys with Alyx before leaving for Hong Kong. She had protested a bit at first, but when he had pretended to take his apartment key away from her, she had clutched it to her chest like a lifeline.

He paced back and forth for over half an hour, swiftly and furiously at first, mostly to work out a rage that had no real target. He worked hard to keep his mind from dwelling on the past, but it was no use.

Faded images of a younger Rima drifted into his vision, carefree and gay, unlike anyone he had ever known. There was no darkness in her, and she had been like a butterfly that seemed too colorful, too vibrant and vivacious for his father.

For a few months, he had done his best to bury his attraction for her. He had thought that by denying its existence, it would go away. But he was wrong. The attraction festered like an angry deep wound that in the end, it had completely taken over him.

On one of the many days they had been alone at the house, with his father away at work, Nathan had forced Rima into his arms and kissed her. The more she struggled, the harder he kissed her, the more he did everything to seduce her---

Even now, he could still remember the triumph that swept over him when he finally felt Rima respond, her body molding against his and her mouth slowly softening, her tongue moving in to mate with his.

So many damn kisses had been exchanged that day, he had lost count of them. It was only out of respect for his father that he hadn’t attempted to make love to Rima, but when they heard his father’s car coming up the driveway and she had panicked, trying to get away from him, he had instead held on to her tightly.

Do you want me to speak to him?

No! She had whirled around, a frightened look on her beautiful face. Let me speak to him. Please.

When? And his arms had tightened around her even more, Nathan unwilling to release her until she gave him a promise.

Tonight. I’ll speak with him tonight, I promise.

And he had believed her.

At first, he had done his best not to fall asleep, believing that Rima would come knocking on his door any moment. But the hours went by, and there was still no sign of Rima. When he could no longer bear to wait, Nathan had gone straight to his father’s bedroom, not bothering to knock as he turned the knob.

But the room was empty, and later on, he found out that the couple had taken a cab to the airport at Rima’s insistence. They had flown straight to Nevada and got hitched in Las Vegas.

He had packed his bags and moved in with his godfather, and the next time he met Rima, she had become Mrs. Callis, his stepmother. They had never spoken of that day ever again, never talked about anything related to it---

Until tonight.

Nathan raked a hand through his hair. Why the fuck had he even brought it up? What the hell was he thinking---

“Nathan?”

Whirling around, Nathan was stunned to find Alyx frozen by the doorway, gaping at his presence. She was in another one of her provocative LBDs again, and this one was even more provocative than usual, with the way it scooped daringly over her breasts and was completely backless.

“What are you doing here? Have you been here for long?”

Shoving all thoughts of the past out of the way, he strode towards her with a smile, murmuring, “Welcome back.” Alyx was in the process of taking her heels off when he reached her, and he murmured, “Let me.”

“You don’t have---” But with Nathan already going down on one knee, she could only finish in a slightly perplexed voice, “Umm, okay.”

She balanced herself with one hand clutching her shoulder as he carefully took her heels off one at a time. He could feel her staring down at him all the while, her bewilderment palpable, and he heard himself say, “I missed you.”

And he had.

In the week he had spent in Hong Kong, he had thought about her a lot, and even with Alyx half a world away, she had still managed to make him smile with her little quips over the phone, her adorably argumentative text messages that had one too many swear words in it.

There hadn’t been a night that he had gone to bed without talking to her, and in his last night in Hong Kong, he had even persuaded Alyx to share with him the ways she pleasured herself while he was away.

“But it’s not the same,” she had admitted reluctantly in the end, her voice muffled by the pillow he had imagined Alyx hugging tightly to her. “It’s different when you’re the one…” Her voice trailed off, but the aching note in her voice was more than enough to fill the rest and Nathan had to swallow back a groan of hunger.

“When I come back,” he had promised thickly, “I’ll fuck you.”

Silence.

“I don’t give a damn if you’ve changed your mind. I’ll change it back for you because the moment I step back in Miami – you’re mine. I’ll make you fucking mine.”

And just when he thought she would let their call end without her saying a thing, Nathan had heard her say very softly, “I’m looking forward to it.”

“Nathan.” Alyx’s soft voice brought him back to the present, and when he slowly looked up at her, she asked quietly, “Is anything wrong?”

He shook his head. “Nothing’s wrong.” And that was the thing, wasn’t it? Nothing was wrong between them. He wanted her more than ever, needed her more than ever, so why the hell had he even said such a thing to Rima?

As he set her heels aside, he heard her say, “You may look like your usual Mr. Posh self---”

Nathan choked as he straightened. “What the hell does that even mean?”

She smirked. “It’s the new thing they’ve been calling you. Because you don’t usually like to smile in photos.”

“Ah.” Nathan shrugged dismissively, saying, “Since Victoria Beckham already has a husband, I’d rather not be called that.” His gaze turned contemplative, and he suggested, “Maybe you should stop smiling, too.”

“Huh?”

“So you can be known as Mrs. Nathan.”

She choked in response, and the look of surprise on her face was so comical he couldn’t help it. He hauled her into his arms, and she tumbled against him with a gasp, his arms banded around her in a tight embrace.

“I really did miss you, sweetheart.”

“Me, too.” But her voice was gloomy, and when she felt his shoulders rock in ill-suppressed mirth, she said defensively, “You don’t understand. It’s been really horrible.”

“Missing me?”

She nodded against his chest. “I hear voices in my head.” This time, he couldn’t help it, his laughter coming out even as he bent down to scoop her up, and she threw her arms around him, gasping, “Nathan!”

“Is that your roundabout way of saying I drove you crazy?” he asked mildly as he strode towards the room.

“You think I’m joking, but I’m not.” As he laid her on the bed, Nathan was surprised when she immediately pushed herself up and reached for –

A pillbox?

“What do you see?” she asked abruptly.

“A pillbox.”

“Exactly!” She set the pillbox back on the bedside table with a glare, muttering, “When I see it, I don’t just see a pillbox.”

“You don’t?” He slipped the straps of her dress down her shoulders as he spoke.

“A pillbox is a lot like love---”

Nathan choked in the middle of pulling her dress down her thighs.

“It’s what gives you the strength and energy to see each day through, but most of the time we take it for granted.” Her tone became dark.

He tossed her dress away and reached for her panties, his lips compressing all the while to suppress his grin.

“We misplace it. We forget where it is.”

His fingers stilled on her lace panties, Nathan doing his best not to laugh out loud. How surprisingly romantic of Alyx to think of such things, Nathan thought, and the realization had him working harder to suppress his mirth.

She looked up at him. “Crazy, right?”

“Just a bit,” he said politely.

“It gets even crazier,” she told him dourly. “Because that pillbox?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “I look at it, and I think it all depends on what’s inside. On how much you need it, on how much you want to keep on living.” Her voice became small. “And I keep thinking if it’s you inside it, I would never forget where it is. I’d never take my daily doses for granted---” She broke off.

A moment later, Nathan started laughing just as Alyx started gagging at the same time.

“I hate this,” Alyx wailed.

She tried crawling away from him, but he hauled her back. “Not so fast.” He flipped her on her back and ripped her panties away.

Her eyes flashed. “No!”

“Yes.”

He smirked, and she went wild, struggling as hard as she could this time, kicking and shoving him off her but Nathan’s strength easily overpowered hers, and he managed to trap her underneath him while locking her arms over her head.

When Alyx tried kneeing him in the groin, he retaliated by pushing her legs wide apart and forcing his body between them. “I’m going to fuck you, sweetheart.”

“Not now, you won’t,” Alyx snarled.

Nathan laughed. “I will, and…” His head started to lower. “You’ll enjoy it.” And then he crushed her mouth under his. She tried to keep her lips pursed, but she was still no match for Nathan, his mouth moving so expertly over hers that in the end, she couldn’t help moaning in despair---

His tongue stroked in the moment her lips parted, and she fell deeper in the web of his seduction as Nathan began to rub his engorged cock over her pussy, which was already silky wet and throbbing powerfully against his groin.

“Nathan…” It was a moan of surrender, and they both knew it.

Releasing her hands, he muttered against her lips, “Help me get rid of my clothes.”

She could only whimper in response, the sound cut halfway as he kissed her again, harder and deeper, deliberately fanning the already scorching passion between them. She kissed him back just as hard, and he growled into their kiss.

His hands moved down, squeezing her large breasts hard, and she jerked against his body. A second later, her hands began to move as well, wildly, feverishly tearing his clothes off. He helped her with the job, their movements punctuated by pants and groans as they tried to steal kisses and bites of each other.

Her teeth sinking into his shoulder the moment he shrugged his shirt off---

His mouth capturing her nipple as she wrestled with his belt---

Their fingers twining and unclasping as their hands bumped into each other while they worked his pants off his legs---

Finally, he was able to kick the last piece of his clothing off the bed, and when he returned to her, his naked body weighing down on hers, she shuddered powerfully just as he stiffened against her. It was their first time to feel each other’s naked bodies, and it felt too damn good.

“I don’t think I’m going to last long,” he said hoarsely.

“I don’t think I need you to,” she muttered.

He laughed as she grimaced, and then they were kissing again, and this time they knew there was no turning back. He had promised, and he would keep it. He would fuck her, and she would enjoy it.

Alyx clutched his hair tightly as he sucked on her nipple hungrily, one at a time, and her body arched off the bed when he bit one nipple. She moaned in protest as his head moved down, and her legs tensed for just a moment before relaxing and parting willingly as he breathed over her pussy.

He began to lick her, and she moaned again, her hands falling from his head. He began to eat her pussy, his tongue thrusting in and out of her, and she screamed. He watched her break apart, her head tossing and turning over the pillow while her fists helplessly clutched at the sheets.

He raised his head, and with his fingers replacing his tongue to keep her pussy busy, he moved his attention to her clit. He flicked his tongue against it, and the sensitive nub swelled and shook just as Alyx moaned.

“Oh God, Nathan…”

Bending his head back down, he sucked on her clit, and she screamed.

As she started to come, he moved back up and locking his gaze with her, he said hoarsely, “I’m going to take you now, sweetheart.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply, knowing that the surprise would help lessen the pain. His cock slid into her in one firm, seamless movement, tearing past her hymen in one stroke.

“Nathan!” Her arms went around him, her nails digging into his back.

He held her tightly to him, doing his best not to move as he felt her body struggling to accommodate him. His harsh breathing filled the room while Alyx’s eyes remained squeezed shut.

And then slowly they opened---

“Move.”

He grinned. Her voice was a little softer and weaker than usual, but she was also still bossy as ever, and damn if he didn’t want her more for it. “As you command, sweetheart.” His hands slid under her, and as he squeezed the cheeks of her ass, he pulled out---

She gasped.

His cock thrust back in, and Nathan saw her eyes roll back.

He fucked her slowly and leisurely at first, but when her hips began to move and meet his thrusts, he let go of himself completely, allowing animal instincts to take over and sweep both of them away.

He rammed into her, harder and faster, and Alyx’s fists began pounding his back, his name tumbling out of her mouth with every thrust. “Nathan. Nathan. Oh God, Nathan.”

She made him feel like a damn sex god with the way she breathed, moaned, and whimpered his name, and he shuddered as he felt his balls tightening.

Her legs suddenly wrapped around his waist, and she arched against him like she was trying to reach heaven. “Nathaaaaaaaan, please----”

Fuck. His control snapped, and he kissed her hard just as he shoved his cock into her one last time, as deep as he could go---

She came again, screaming his name, and this time he came with her, his cock unloading a massive amount of cum inside her. But still he didn’t stop hammering into her, Nathan wanting to prolong the sweet agony. It was like dying, and it felt so damn good---

Alyx held on to him helplessly as he hammered into her, over and over until she was full of his cum and it began to leak down her thighs.

He reversed their positions with a roll over the bed, this time Nathan lying on his back while Alyx rested atop him, his half-erect cock still lodged firmly inside of her. The euphoria of sex took a while to fade, and throughout it Nathan kept Alyx close, gently stroking her back.

She snuggled closer to him, mumbling drowsily.

Nathan’s lips compressed again. Those words sounded awfully close to “my pillbox.”

The next time she stirred, it was because Nathan lowered both of them into her tub, which was already filled with deliciously hot water. It was a tight squeeze, but Nathan managed to make it work, with Alyx half-lying on his lap.

He began to soap her clean, and she mumbled in protest but appeared too tired to push his hand away. All he really did mean to do was clean her, but by the time he was done, he knew it was impossible. He turned her around on his lap to face him, and as their eyes met he pulled her down, impaling her with his cock.

She gasped, her eyes flying open.

He smiled at her lazily, murmuring, “Get to it, sweetheart.”

“Asshole.” She splashed water on him, and the infectious sound of her giggle had him chuckling. But then her hands settled on his shoulders---

The sound of their mirth faded as she began to move.

Ah, the way she moved.

She was like a goddess, her movements naturally sinuous, and he leaned back against the tub with a groan, letting her do her best to drive him wild. She rode him slow, rode him fast, tempted him with the sway of her breasts, but just as he tried drawing one sweet nipple into his mouth she let out a low, husky laugh before pushing him away.

“Not yet.”

She drew him deeper and deeper into her, getting Nathan to move his hips so he could thrust up into her all the way to her womb. Their sounds of pleasure rebounded all over her bathroom, and she leaned towards him, her jiggling breasts practically smashing against his face---

He cupped her breasts this time, squeezing them hard, and she didn’t stop him. He sucked on one nipple, devouring it with his mouth, and she moaned, pushing her nipple deeper into his mouth even as she continued riding him.

When he released her nipple, their mouths fused automatically. At the same time, he reached between their bodies, stroking her clit---

She gasped, but he didn’t let go, didn’t stop---

They came at the same time, Alyx gasping his name while he growled hers out.

When he finally got them back to bed, he still wanted her like hell but Nathan managed to keep his passion in check, knowing how much Alyx’s body would be hurting the next day. Pulling her close to him under the covers, her back against his chest, he kissed her hair, murmuring, “Thank you, sweetheart.”

Several beats passed before Alyx said in a low, grudging voice, “Thanks, too.”

Militant as ever, Nathan thought in amusement, and he had a feeling she would always be so between them.

Moments later, he heard her murmur his name, startling him. “I thought you were asleep, sweetheart.”

She turned to him in the circle of his arms. “I can’t sleep.”

Ah. He smiled down at her, murmuring soothingly, “It’s okay. That’s normal.”

“It is?”

“You just had sex with me. I’ve heard it’s a mind-blowing experience---”

“Jerk!” She punched his shoulder, and as always, it was more than hard enough to have him grunting.

“Tell me about your day,” she whispered.

“Nothing much happened.” He didn’t even have to think about it, the lie slipping past his lips without a moment’s hesitation.

She made a face. “Is this another one of your ploys to stay mysterious?”

“Ah, sweetheart. I knew you weren’t just a beautiful, dumb bimbo---” She tried punching him in the face this time, and he laughed, managing to catch her fist before it could break his nose.

“Are you hiding something from me?” she demanded. “Is that why you’re insisting on all this ‘Mr. Mysterious’ crap?”

“I’m neither married nor divorced, and I don’t have a mistress hidden in any part of the world.” He paused then asked wickedly, “That is what you’re worried about, aren’t you?”

“Fuck you.”

Nathan only chuckled, but when she tried leaving the bed, he hauled her back to him, saying, “Forgive me, sweetheart. It’s just been so long since I last saw you mad.” He kissed her hair, murmuring, “You know how much it turns me on.”

“Ha.” But she wasn’t trying to move away now.

Hoping to keep her in a good mood this time, he changed the subject and asked her about her day.

“Ah. Well.”

His brows pleated. Alyx at a loss for words was unusual, and he made her face him, murmuring, “Perhaps you’re the one trying to hide something, sweetheart.”

“Huh? No!”

He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not,” she insisted. “I’m just not breaking my neck to tell you stuff either.”

He simply stayed silent, knowing she would get to it sooner or later.

“I went to Nik,” she blurted out.

Nathan stiffened.

“Say something,” she urged at the face of his continued silence.

He would…if he could figure out what to say. Right now, the only thing Nathan was certain of was that he despised the sound of the other man’s name on her lips. Even knowing that the man had done nothing to deserve his wrath, even knowing that the man was happily married to someone else and hadn’t done anything to seduce Alyx---

Nathan didn’t give a damn about any of those.

All he knew was that he only wanted Alyx to say one man’s name, and that was his.

“Nathan?”

“Why did you go to him?” he finally made himself ask.

“Because…I wanted to say sorry.” Her voice was jerky. “I wanted to let him know it’s okay now.”

Nathan stilled.

“And he forgave me. He didn’t even make it hard, and if he had chosen not to forgive me, I would’ve understood because---” Alyx swallowed. “He never asked for it. He never wanted me to feel that way about him.”

She looked up at him. “Before I left, I saw them together. I saw Nik and Daria together, Nathan and---” Her voice caught. “It didn’t hurt.”

Ah.

“It didn’t hurt, Nathan.”

He pulled her to him without answering.

It didn’t hurt.

And he remembered what she had asked of him---

I just want the pain to go away, okay? So you either fuck me or make me fall for you.

But she had stopped hurting before he had even made love to her.