Sydney\u2019s narrow waist was trapped in Julian\u2019s hand, toyed with at will. It was a sensation unlike anything she had ever felt. Her entire body, down to her toes, stiffened under his touch.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His words struck her ears, leaving her dazed. She blinked at him. \u201cHuh?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her clear eyes, wide with confusion, glistened like water and ignited a desire in him to press further.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He patted her hip lightly. \u201cI said, kiss me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
This time she heard him. Instantly, her cheeks flamed, like a shrimp dropped into boiling water.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian was dressed in a suit and tie, immaculate, composed, the very picture of cold restraint. No one would imagine those hands capable of such teasing.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She remembered the agreement they had made the night before. There was no room for coyness. Steeling herself, she looped her arms around his shoulders and leaned toward his thin lips. The closer she came, the hotter her ears burned.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He remained still, sovereign and unyielding, watching her submission. Just as her lips were about to meet his, he lifted his hand at her waist and pulled her higher against him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His dark eyes narrowed. He bent slightly and pressed a restrained, almost measured kiss to her chin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Summoning the courage to kiss him was one thing. Actually being kissed was another.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A spark shot through Sydney, from chin to toes. She froze, eyes squeezed shut. His mouth pressed harder, then teased her with a playful bite.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s lips brushed her ear, his voice hoarse, heavy with restraint. \u201cWhen you begged me last night, this wasn\u2019t the attitude you had.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
The house was soundproofed. In the silence, all Sydney could hear was her own pounding heartbeat, each breath sharp and uneven.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Suddenly, the doorbell shattered the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian\u2019s brow creased in irritation. In his arms, Sydney seized the chance to escape, shoving him and blurting, \u2018 It must be Tiff. She must be done talking with Mr. Hutton.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Julian caught her hastily tied ponytail and tugged her back. \u201cWait.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d she asked, startled.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He held out his hand, palm open. \u201cPhone.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney pressed her lips together but handed it over obediently. His long, knuckled fingers tapped through her WhatsApp, doing something quickly before returning it. His tone was cool, like issuing a command. \u201cGo on.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
She barely glanced, snatched her phone back, and bolted for the door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As expected, Tiffany waited outside.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
1\/2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Guilty as a thief, Sydney dragged her across the hall into her apartment, slammed the door, and finally exhaled. Only then did she glance at her phone.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Her WhatsApp now had a new friend. Julian had removed himself from her blacklist and pinned his name as her only top chat.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy\u2019s your face so red?\u201d Tiffany, feverish but sharp\u2013eyed, noticed immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney tugged her to the sofa, checked her wrist for a pulse, and lied without hesitation. \u201cIt\u2019s too hot. Julian had the heat on too high.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cA man like him?\u201d Even sick, Tiffany\u2019s voice was tinged with mischief. \u201cDon\u2019t tell me he\u2019s compensating?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d The denial slipped out too quickly. The next second, Sydney realized her mistake.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tiffany\u2019s eyes lit with gossip. \u201cThen how would you know he\u2019s not?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sydney couldn\u2019t answer, because she had felt it. She had known it just moments ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flustered, Sydney stood and busied herself in the kitchen, heating muffins and boiling medicine. She fed Tiffany, gave her the dose, then shoved her straight into bed before she could ask another question.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland\u2019s breathtaking cold.<\/p>\n
When The Ocean Learned My Name and Whispered It Back to You by Aurelia Novel 166 Sydney\u2019s narrow waist was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-when-love-is-gone-novel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22148"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22284,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22148\/revisions\/22284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kezpres.xyz\/novelreading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}