A quiet woman catches the attention of the dangerous but irresistible man living next door. One secret night changes everything.

Leaning in close, his breath tickling my neck, he whispers, "You don't know what you're asking for, Miss Montgomery."

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Thorne?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

But instead of answering, he simply allows his breath to ghost across the sensitive skin of my neck, eliciting a sharp intake of breath from me. I wait, anticipation building, for him to finally press his lips to my skin, to leave his mark upon me. But the kiss never comes.

Instead, he pulls away, his hand leaving my breast. "Stop seducing me, Miss Montgomery," he says, his eyes burning with a fierce intensity. "There is only so much a man can take."

With that, he turns and strides towards the door, leaving me bereft and aching for his touch. I watch, my heart pounding, as he opens the door and walks out, the tension in the room palpable and the air thick with unspoken desire.

Nikolai can hear the footsteps getting closer, but he’s not worried in the slightest. He keeps grinding against me, his lips against my ear as he murmurs in a soft whisper, “Shhh... be quiet, now. You don’t want her to find out about us now, do you?”

I shake my head to answer him, and I  can see Nikolai seems to be even more excited than terrified.

He bites back a smile as he keeps grinding against me, his touch becoming more desperate, more needy as he whispers in a low, sultry tone. “Good... just be quiet. She will leave soon and we’ll have all the time in the world.”

I look at the door as I see her silhouette walking into the kitchen, and she looks around in the dark. I can see her because my eyes are accustomed to the dark kitchen by now. Nikolai’s too. But the girl doesn’t seem to see us.

“Nik?” she calls out for her husband again.

Nikolai doesn’t stop grinding against me, but he does feign a yawn as he speaks out to her in a bored tone.

“Yes, my wife? Why are you up so late?”

I turn to look at Nikolai in surprise wondering why he would even answer her.

“Why are you in the kitchen, in the dark, at midnight?” Meredith asks.