Alex's rage boiled over the moment he stepped outside Victoria's mansion. His fists clenched as he walked through the perfectly manicured garden, every curse word he'd ever learned spilling from his lips in a venomous whisper.
"That fucking bitch Sophia," he snarled under his breath. "Ruining everything with her perfect timing. I was so close, so goddamn close."
The system countdown blinked mercilessly in his peripheral vision:
5 DAYS REMAINING...
Two days already gone, and tonight had been his best chance yet. Victoria had been ready, trembling in his arms, her defenses completely shattered.
But now? Now she'd have time to think, to rebuild her walls, to convince herself it was wrong.
Alex stopped walking, his mind racing. He couldn't risk waiting until tomorrow. What if Victoria changed her mind? What if she avoided him? What if this perfect opportunity slipped away because of Sophia's selfish drama?
"I can't take that chance," he muttered, turning back toward the house. "Not after being this close. If I lose her, I'll lose the system, I'll lose the chance of taking revenge. I'll lose everything."
Then the idea hit him....devilish, risky, but absolutely necessary.
A sly grin appeared on his face.
___
Victoria opened the front door with practiced composure, though her heart was still racing from Alex's touch.
"Sophia, sweetheart. You we're not coming?"
Sophia stormed past her mother, still fuming from whatever fight she'd had with Marcus. "Don't want to talk about it, Mom. I already ate, I'm exhausted, and I just want to go to my room."
"But darling, it's too late. You shouldn't travel this hour? "
"Whatever." Sophia's voice was sharp, cutting. "I'm going upstairs. Please, don't disturb me."
Victoria watched her daughter climb the marble staircase, feeling a familiar pang of disappointment. When was the last time Sophia had actually wanted to spend time with her? To talk about anything beyond money or favors?
'Alex was right,' Victoria realized with startling clarity. 'She treats me like an ATM, not a mother.'
Shaking her head, Victoria locked the front door and made her way back to her private wing. The house felt enormous and empty, just like it had every night for the past five years.
But tonight felt different. Tonight, she could still feel the phantom warmth of Alex's hands on her shoulders, still taste the promise of his almost-kiss.
"You're being ridiculous," she whispered to herself as she entered her bedroom suite. "He's twenty-two. He's dating your daughter. This is insane."
But even as she said the words, her body betrayed her. Her skin tingled where he'd touched her, and she found herself already planning excuses to see him tomorrow.
Victoria closed her bedroom door behind her and stepped into the softly lit sanctuary that was hers alone. James hadn't set foot in this room in over a year, preferring his own space down the hall when he was actually home.
She moved toward her vanity, beginning to unpin her hair from its careful arrangement, when strong arms suddenly wrapped around her from behind.
Victoria's scream caught in her throat as lips pressed against hers, firm and demanding. Panic flooded her system as she struggled against her attacker, her hands pushing frantically at his chest.
But then he pulled back just enough to let her breathe, and in the soft lamplight, she saw familiar dark eyes gazing down at her with intense hunger.
"Alex?" she gasped, her heart hammering. "How did you....?, what are you doing here?"
His smile was pure predator. "I couldn't leave. Not when we were so close. Not when you were looking at me like you wanted to devour me."
"You can't be here!" Victoria's voice was barely a whisper, torn between terror at the risk and electric excitement at his boldness. "Sophia is right upstairs! If she finds you...."
"She won't," Alex murmured, his hands framing her face exactly as they had in her study. "She's locked in her room. And you..." his thumb traced her lower lip, "you've been thinking about this moment since I left, haven't you?"
Victoria's breath hitched. She had been. Every second since he'd walked out that door, she'd been replaying their almost-kiss, imagining what would have happened if Sophia hadn't called.
"This is insane," she whispered, but her body was already betraying her, leaning into his touch.
"What's insane," Alex said, his voice hypnotic, "is denying what we both want. What we both need."
His enhanced voice carried undertones that made her want to keep listening, to surrender to whatever he was offering. The Golden Hands ability was already activating, sending warm pulses of pleasure through every point of contact.
"Alex, we can't... not here, not with her in the house..."
"Then tell me to leave," he challenged, his hands sliding to her shoulders, thumbs brushing along her collarbones. "Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want this."
Victoria opened her mouth to say the words, to be responsible, to protect them both from the consequences. But what came out instead was a breathless confession:
"I can't. God help me, I can't tell you to leave."
Alex's smile was triumphant. "Then don't."
Their eyes locked, just for a second...but it was enough. Enough to strip away every pretense, every wall she'd built. The desire in her gaze wasn't soft or delicate. It was sharp, restless. Starving.
Her lips parted like she wanted to say something...maybe a warning, maybe a plea. But nothing came. Just the flicker of a war she was losing inside.
She looked wrecked. Not by him, by herself. By everything she was feeling but didn't want to admit.
He didn't give her time to think.
His lips crashed into hers, no hesitation, no gentleness...just need. Pure, aching, hungry need. He kissed her like he was claiming something that had been denied too long. And when she kissed back, it was with a kind of desperation that made his pulse spike.
"I can't..." she breathed, but it was barely a protest. "This is wrong. I shouldn't want you like this."
Her hands were on his chest, trembling, unsure, but she wasn't pulling away. She was leaning in, like her body had made the choice before her mind could catch up.
"What are you doing to me?" she asked.
But they both knew the answer.
And neither of them was stopping.
Victoria's knees went weak. Her husband's kisses had been perfunctory for years...quick, obligatory, mechanical. But Alex kissed her like she was oxygen and he was drowning, like she was the most desirable woman on earth.
"Oh God," she gasped when they broke apart, tears spilling down her cheeks. "I didn't know... I didn't know it could feel like this."
"You're not broken, Victoria," Alex murmured against her lips. "You just needed someone who could see what an incredible woman you are."
His hands were moving now, tracing the curves of her body through the emerald silk blouse she'd chosen so carefully. When his palms glided down her waist to rest on her hips, Victoria felt fire shoot through her veins.
"This is my bedroom," she whispered, as if just realizing where they were.
"I know." Alex's dark eyes held hers. "Is that a problem?"
Victoria looked around her private sanctuary, the soft lighting, the silk sheets on her emperor bed, the intimate space that was hers alone. Even James rarely entered this room anymore.
"No," she breathed, surprising herself with the certainty in her voice. "No, it's not a problem."
Alex's hands found the silk buttons of her blouse, moving with deliberate slowness. "Tell me what you want, Victoria."
That question… it caught her off guard.
Tell me what you want.
It reminded her how achingly lonely she'd been. For years, no one had asked her anything like that...not truly. James would ask out of routine, never waiting for the real answer. Everyone else just assumed: power, respect, control.
But Alex's voice wasn't demanding...it was inviting. It cracked something open inside her.
And in that moment, something changed. She wasn't going to hide behind silence anymore. Not tonight. Not with him.
"I want..." she started, then stopped, color flooding her cheeks.
___
Yes, Victoria… what do you want?
Guess we'll find out in the next chapter.
Haha. Hah. 😈
Thought you were finally getting the scene you've been waiting for, huh?
Tsk. Amateurs.
Right when it gets good, chapter ends.
You're left staring at the screen, blinking like, "No way he just stopped there..."
Well. I did. 😏
Now sit with that tension. Or scream in the comments....I'll be sipping tea either way.
See you next chapter, if you're still breathing. 😉
—Your very cruel (and slightly smug) Author.