A young womanâs bedroom is usually a sanctuary, off-limits to anyone but her boyfriend.
Erin Xavier had only ever paused briefly at the doorway, never stepping inside.
The night was dark, the wind and rain raging outside.
A nudge of his knee was all it took to shove the partially closed door wide open.
Against the beige sheets, her dark green dress was a stark contrast.
Zoe Pierce struggled weakly, a final protest. "This isnât right... Erin Xavier... Stop..."
Her resolve was crumbling, but she was met with a pair of predatory eyes.
Erin Xavierâs fingers traced lightly in her palm as he made a hypocritical promise. "Zoe, I promise I wonât go all the way."
But Zoe Pierce didnât believe him. She had just experienced his methods.
She scrambled back a few steps on the bed. "Erin Xavier, thatâs enough..."
What he had already done was nearly the same as what Chase Shaw had.
The room was dark and dim, not a single light turned on. The only illumination came from the moonlight filtering through the clouds outside the window.
Hazy and faint.
The man advanced relentlessly, just as he had downstairs, conquering and plundering.
There was little room for her to escape, especially in this confined space, and he easily cornered her against the headboard.
"Zoe..." Erin Xavier murmured. "I just want to kiss you."
His fingers brushed over the fruit he had just bitten, and his lips landed by her ear. "Zoe, can I kiss you?"
His words were low and seductive, accompanied by a gentle hand caressing her earlobe.
Zoe Pierce was utterly defeated. "I donât know..."
âMy heart is in turmoil.â
And so, she couldnât make a choice.
She wanted to scream, but her pride forced her to endure it in silence.
"Donât be afraid," Erin Xavier said in a low voice. "I just want you to feel good, too."
This shouldnât be just his pleasure.
It should be hers, too.
Amidst his incessant, sweet coaxing, the dark silk ribbon fell over her long, dark hair, blindfolding her.
Her eyelashes fluttered constantly beneath the silk, her breathing tense.
Her hands, slick with sweat, nervously gripped Erin Xavierâs hair.
The air was cool, but their breaths were scorching.
The night surged like a tempestuous sea...
Outside, the rain gradually subsided. It now took longer for the droplets on the windowpane to gather and streak down.
Zoe Pierce felt like one of those water stains, meandering down the glass.
The sliding droplets kept coalescing on the window.
Finally pooling at the bottom of the frame.
A man drenched by the rain should have been a wet, sorry sight. After all, the rain had soaked his face, his lips.
But he seemed completely oblivious, wiping the moisture from his face with the back of his hand, endlessly calling her name.
He even felt this rain was sweet.
Wanting to devour it all for himself, he wouldnât allow the rain to stop, forcing the heavens to continuously shed their sweet dew.
And then, the goddess shattered, trembling.
Suddenly, the downpour became a deluge.
&
At her choked sob, he instantly froze, stopping all movement.
Zoe Pierceâs foot pressed against his shoulder in resistance, her body trembling as she cried. "Donât..."
All amorous thoughts vanished.
Erin Xavier immediately reached for the dark green silk ribbon. The moment his fingers touched it, he felt its dampness.
When he pulled the ribbon away, he saw a pair of tear-brimmed eyes.
The corners of her eyes were flushed red, tears welling up and streaming down as Zoe Pierce sobbed brokenly.
Erin Xavierâs heart clenched.
He immediately pulled Zoe Pierceâs head to his chest. "Weâll stop, weâll stop."
"Donât cry, donât cry."
In an instant, Zoe Pierceâs tears soaked the front of Erin Xavierâs shirt. Her hands rested on him as she said hoarsely, "Iâm scared..."
"Itâs too weird..."
Erin Xavier pulled the nearby blanket over her, gently patting her back. "I just wanted to make you feel good. If youâre scared, weâll stop."
Zoe Pierce still found it hard to accept. She thought Erin Xavier was too perverse.
From his fingers to...
âHow can he kiss and suck on... that... without any hesitation?â
Zoe Pierce couldnât do it herself, so she had never even considered it.
Once the blindfold covered her eyes, all her other senses were magnified. His actions had stimulated her to the point where her mind had gone blank for several minutes.
Fear, nervousness, terror...
The pressure of the entire evening finally overwhelmed Zoe Pierce, and she couldnât help but cry.
She was completely at a loss.
She didnât know what she would have done if he had continued. Thankfully, the moment she cried, he heard her.
Zoe Pierce sobbed cathartically in Erin Xavierâs arms.
His aggressive tactics were still too much for her.
Erin Xavierâs lips repeatedly pressed gentle kisses on her forehead. "Zoe, Iâm sorry. Donât cry anymore, okay?"
Although it had been a bit intense, Erin Xavier was sure he had achieved his goal.
She was now fully aware that he was a man who had plenty of intentions for her.
Zoe Pierce finally managed to stop crying. Getting injured couldnât make her shed a tear, but now, Erin Xavier had.
Still under the blanket, Zoe Pierce clutched a corner of the fabric, her voice slightly hoarse from crying. "I want to take a shower."
She felt sticky all over.
The mere thought of the unexpected turns this evening had taken made it impossible for Zoe Pierce to just stay like this.
She raised her eyes to meet Erin Xavierâs face, the question coming out with difficulty. "Donât you think itâs... dirty?"
She could even see the wetness on his face, but she looked away a second later.
Erin Xavier paused. "Itâs not dirty."
"Not dirty at all."
Zoe Pierce gave him a little push. "Donât look at me... Iâm going to the bathroom..."
Erin Xavier rolled over and sat on the edge of the bed with his back to Zoe Pierce.
With a complicated expression, Zoe Pierce threw off the covers, her bare feet hitting the floor as she went into the bathroom.
Hot water cascaded over her head. She bit her lip, scrubbing at the places he had kissed and licked today, then tilted her face up to feel the warmth of the spray.
âThis canât go on.â
âI have to draw a line with Erin Xavier.â
If this continued, Zoe Pierce felt she wasnât far from crossing her final line.
This feeling was too strangeâone moment consumed by one man, the next, by another.
The stimulation, both emotional and physical, had reached its peak.
She exhaled the stale air from her lungs. After a while, feeling she was finally clean enough, she dried herself off and took a conservative, loose-fitting dress from the Space Button stored in the bathroom.
She opened the door. The bedside lamp was now on.
She glanced around but didnât see Erin Xavier. Then she looked down and saw a pair of slippers placed at the bathroom door.
He didnât know that the Space Button in the bathroom held several sets of clothes and shoes.
But he remembered that when he carried Zoe Pierce up earlier, her shoes had been left in the living room.
Zoe Pierce gazed down at the slippers. In the blink of an eye, she took off the new shoes she had just gotten out, slipped her feet into the slippers Erin Xavier had brought her, and put the new shoes back into the Space Button.
A robot had already changed the bedsheets completely.
While Zoe Pierce was in the shower, Erin Xavier had been busy.