Evening in the courtyard.String lights cast golden pools across the patio. The soothing thrum of the surf drifted uphill. A breeze stirred as Maddie slipped from the guest suite, hair still slightly damp from a late-afternoon swim, wearing a black…

The sun was dipping low, casting amber streaks across the horizon, when Maddie received the invitation. She was reclined on a striped lounge chair beside the inn’s saltwater pool, legs glistening from tanning oil, sunglasses perched high, lost in the…

Maddie returned that evening to the seaside suite. Wine glasses were chilled, rose petals scattered across the bedspread, soft music vibrating through the walls. Liana and Mark looked different now—expectant, a tiny tremor of anticipation in their stance. She chose…

The crowd was electric in the dimly lit main room of the Velvet Whip sex club. Men and women, clad in leather, lace, and latex, eagerly awaited the night’s main event. Hushed whispers and excited murmurs filled the air as…

It was late afternoon when the heat broke. The thick clouds that had been sitting heavy over the treetops all morning finally gave way, letting shafts of golden sunlight pierce through. Jack stood at the open doors of his workshop,…