Tonight, I'm craving something I can't ignore. I need intimacy the way the ocean needs the tide—unstoppable, desperate. I refuse to suffocate in the stillness of my own desires.

Enter Lucas.

Until now, I'd never seen him as anything more than a colleague. But tonight, something shifts. I glance at my watch—midnight is nearing, and the bar is nearly empty. My eyes fall on the one man still lingering: Lucas.

I'm not leaving here alone.

I raise my dress, revealing a hint more skin, and casually drop my room key onto the table. I don't need to look back to know he'll follow.

When the door clicks open behind me, I feel the power of the moment. This is about one thing, and one thing only—pleasure. After tonight, I'll send him on his way, no strings, no promises. I can convince him this was just a fleeting need.

But as he crosses the threshold, I feel the weight of something deeper. I can't shake the feeling that the rules I've set up in my head are about to shatter.

Lucas doesn't want just a one-night stand—he wants to save me. But I've built a prison around myself, one I've locked myself inside, and some things... some things, I don't think I can forgive.