Lila's eyes were daggers. Noah's grin said he thought he'd just scored front row tickets to a scandal."You two look… cozy," Lila said, arms crossed.
Daniel didn't flinch. "She almost slipped, sweetheart. I caught her. Do you want me to let your best friend faceplant into concrete?"
"That's not what it looked like," Noah chimed, sipping his drink slow. "Looked like…" He let it hang, eyes darting between us.
"Looked like you've had one too many beers," Daniel cut him off, voice calm but sharp enough to shut him down. Then, softer, almost playful, "If you're this jealous of me talking to women, Noah, maybe you should try being less forgettable."
Noah blinked, stung. Lila rolled her eyes, but her suspicion stayed glued to me. "Maya? You're awfully quiet."
My throat was sandpaper. Daniel turned his head just enough to meet my gaze. It was like his stare pinned the answer in my chest: say nothing, let me work.
"She's embarrassed," he said smoothly before I could open my mouth. "Being in the spotlight isn't her thing."
It was a checkmate move. Lila's suspicion cracked, her face softening into sympathy instead of interrogation.
Daniel—1. Them—0.
Drinks sloshed, someone was doing a handstand on the shallow end. Suspicion dissolved into the chaos.
Daniel leaned down, his lips brushing just enough for me to feel the shape of the words.
"See? Covered. Like I said, I don't care who's watching when it comes to you."
My body was heat. Static. I hated how easy he made me unravel.
Later, when the others dove into dancing and chaos, I slipped back toward the pool, needing a second to breathe. The water looked calmer than the rooftop, glowing under the skyline.
And then Daniel was there. Always there. He slid into the pool with me, his presence swallowing the space. "Relax," he said, voice low, "just swim."
I tried. I did. Until I felt it....underneath me, a pulse of water from a jet hidden in the tiles. At first it was nothing. Then Daniel's hand casually guided me closer to it, his touch featherlight on my waist.
"You feel that?" he murmured, his mouth grazing my ear though we were chest-deep in water.
The jet surged. Heat coiled in my stomach. My breath caught.
"Daniel—" I tried to move back, but his grip anchored me ,Rough & Teasing.
"Don't fight it," he whispered, words sin "Let it work you. No one here will notice. They're too busy chasing their own highs."
Music thundered behind us. Lila was laughing with friends. Noah was arguing with the bartender. And there I was ...heart racing, body alive , the jet that made me forget rules and boundaries....which I never kept..
He tilted my chin up, eyes burning into me. "I told you," he said softly, "you're mine to ruin."
The jet was already buzzing against me, a pulse I couldn't ignore. I shifted, but Daniel's hand was on my hip, guiding me back, holding me exactly where he wanted me.
"Stay," he said quietly, like a command!!
The jet kicked stronger, a burst of water that dragged a gasp out of me before I could stop it. My hands clutched the pool's edge so tight my knuckles ached.
"Daniel—" My voice cracked. "I… I can't—"
"You can," he cut me off. "You will."
The jet surged again, harder this time. My thighs clenched, my stomach tightening, heat spiraling out of control. I tried to turn my face away, but his hand slid up my side, steady, claiming.
"You're trembling," he murmured, lips brushing my temple. "Don't hide it. Let me see you."
The jet kicked again, and I whimpered before I could bite it back. My body wasn't mine anymore; it was his game, his tempo.
"Daniel—please. I'm—" The words broke. My warning.
He only smiled, the kind of smile that burned . "Good. That's what I want."
And then his fingers...sliding lower, circling me right there under the water with slow, deliberate strokes, syncing with the jet's rhythm. My whole body arched, weightless, caught between the water and his touch.
"Oh my god—" The words slipped out of me, breathless, broken.
"No," he corrected "Say my name when you come undone."
All vanished. It was just the water, his hand, his voice. Daniel pulling me to the verge
And when I finally broke, shuddering under the water, his grip never loosened.
Danielll, I moaned, which only he can hear!!!
"Yess you are mine!! Little doll," he whispered.
And God help me....I let him be right.