Page 136 of Divine Obsession

He was simply coaching her –had beenfor years. Teaching her everything he knew and turning her into a beast in the ring – just like him. I hated that it was he who helped her learn to protect herself, but glad nonetheless. It was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders.

Natalia and I were left alone in the hallway. She leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, her head tilted slightly as she studied me. The corners of her mouth twitched upward in what might’ve been a smile – or a smirk.

“I don’t remember inviting you,” She said lightly, her tone teasing but laced with just enough edge to make it clear she hadn’t entirely let her guard down.

I stepped closer, hands in my suit trousers’ pockets. “Must’ve been an oversight.” I shrugged.

Her gaze lingered on me for a moment, searching for something I wasn’t about to give her. Finally, she turned around, stepping into her apartment. “Well, you’re here now. Try not to make me regret it.”

My gaze unwillingly dropped, landing on her perfect, round ass in that tight pink dress as she walked down the hallway. Theway her hips swayed, from left to right…Slow and smooth… It hypnotized me.

I hated myself for having to look away because I couldn’t handle not being able to touch her.

Locking the front door behind me, I followed, a smirk tugging at my lips. “No promises.”

She laughed softly, throwing me an incredulous look over her shoulder, and her caramel hair flowed aside from the movement, exposing her naked back, along with something I hadn’t seen before.

Black cursive tatted along her spine, though I wasn’t close enough to read the quote.

Dragging my tongue up, between the valley of her back, I bit her neck and pushed back inside her, earning a tortured moan.

“I need to get up early,” Natalia groaned, pushing her ass back into my six-pack and rotating her hips, her hands clawing at the sheets above.

“That so?” I murmured, snaking my arm around her neck until I had her in a headlock, and pulled her into me, fucking her slowly.

“Yeah,” She whimpered, one hand coming up to the back of my neck, while the other dug into my bicep.

“Too bad. Haven’t had enough of you yet, amai.”

Clearing my throat, the memory evaporated from my brain, as we entered the open kitchen-living space, conversation and music already flowing.

I took a seat at the island, hiding the hard-on in my pants.

This was going to be a long night.

The dinner party unfolded naturally, but beneath the surface, tension simmered. My eyes kept drifting to Natalia, even when I told myself not to. She moved with that effortless softness of hers, smiling and talking with everyoneexcept me, pretending not to notice the way I kept stealing glances.

That was a lie.

She had talked to me. Quite a lot, actually.

It was still not enough.

What did I have to do for her to want to sit next to me instead of listening to her friends debate?

Across the table, the tension between Maria and Zach was suffocating. Even with the distance of sitting at opposite ends, the pull between them was obvious to everyone.

Tony, ever the comedian, kept the atmosphere light with his quick jokes and funny, exaggerated stories – drawing laughs even from Maria, who wasn’t the easiest to make laugh.

Francesca and Kali, meanwhile, bounced between topics like they’d rehearsed it, keeping everyone engaged.

It was the kind of night where everything seemed perfect on the surface – but for those of us with deeper stakes, reality was impossible to ignore.

Chapter 36

Present

The elevator doors slid open to a sea of red. Francesca had gone all out for her birthday – red balloons tied in clusters floated along the high ceilings, the light casting a crimson glow on the polished floors. The bass from the music boomed through the air as I stepped into the chaos. The crowd was massive, a mix of her family, friends, and a few faces I recognized from the business.

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