Morning arrived like a slow tide of regret and confusion.
The air in the estate was thick with what had transpired the night before. Maddie lay tangled in warm silk sheets, Vanessa to her left, Celeste to her right—both of them bare, breath soft, lashes casting shadows across flushed cheeks. A queen flanked by former rivals now turned obedient lovers.
But Maddie?
Maddie wasn’t asleep.
She lay staring at the ceiling, lips parted, skin still humming, but something… tightened in her chest.
Because desire was no longer enough.
And as she slipped out of bed, wrapped in nothing but a silk robe, she felt something else stir.
Not guilt.
Not shame.
But a tug.
The rain had passed, but the driveway was still glistening when the black sedan pulled up around noon.
Maddie had just emerged from the greenhouse, cheeks flushed from the sun, hair wild, a deep olive bralette barely visible beneath an unbuttoned linen shirt and cutoff shorts.
She paused when she saw the car door open.
Out stepped a woman.
Tall. Lean. Long red hair. No makeup. Denim jacket, black tank top, jeans that clung to her thighs like a second skin.
She pulled her sunglasses down.
And Maddie stopped breathing.
“Skylar.”
They hadn’t spoken in over two years.
Skylar was the first.
The one who’d taken Maddie—back in college—by the hand and into a hotel room and changed everything.
She didn’t flirt with Maddie. She studied her.
Undressed her with a look.
And made her fall in love just long enough to ruin every boy who came after.
Maddie approached slowly, trying to swallow the rush of heat between her legs. This was different. This was cell-deep.
Skylar took her time smiling.
“You still know how to wear nothing like it’s everything.”
Maddie crossed her arms, her breath already shallow.
“What are you doing here?”
“Your mother invited me to brunch.” Skylar smirked. “What do you think?”
Maddie stared at her.
“You came to haunt me.”
Skylar stepped closer.
“I came to see if you still tasted like I remember.”
And Maddie’s knees nearly buckled.
That night, Maddie couldn’t resist.
She told the house she was tired.
That she needed space.
She locked her door.
And then—
She opened the balcony curtain.
Skylar was waiting below.
Back turned.
Leaning on the wrought iron rail.
Moonlight kissed her skin.
Maddie padded barefoot down the stone stairs.
Their eyes met.
And just like before, Skylar didn’t move.
She let Maddie come to her.
“I hated you for leaving.”
“You loved it.”
Maddie swallowed.
“You taught me how to want.”
Skylar stepped close.
Their bodies brushed.
“And now look at you. This house. These people. They orbit you.”
She kissed Maddie’s cheek.
Then whispered:
“But who created you?”
The kiss was slow.
Molten.
Maddie shuddered.
It wasn’t like the others.
Skylar didn’t conquer her.
She rewrote her.
Their hands tangled in hair.
Their mouths pressed, parted, devoured.
And then—Skylar lifted Maddie up with a roughness that made her moan and carried her back inside, laying her on the bed like a ritual.
“No teasing,” Maddie whispered.
Skylar smiled.
“No. Just remembrance.”
They undressed each other slowly.
Skylar traced her fingers down Maddie’s sides, across her ribs, over her navel.
Kissed every freckle like a liturgy.
“Still soft.”
“Still yours.”
And then—
She went down on her.
Not with desperation.
With precision.
Like someone who knew the map by heart.
Maddie writhed.
Clutched at the sheets.
Her eyes fluttered as she whispered Skylar’s name like a prayer, over and over, until she was sobbing through her release.
But Skylar wasn’t done.
She pulled Maddie up.
Kissed her hard.
Then rolled onto her back.
“Now remind me what I created.”
Maddie grinned.
“You asked for it.”
She took control.
Maddie rode her slow, grinding her hips, circling, teasing.
Until Skylar was biting her own knuckles.
Begging.
Maddie leaned forward, mouth at her ear.
“Still taste the same?”
Skylar whimpered.
And came with a cry that echoed through the balcony doors.
Later, they lay naked, tangled in the sheets, their bodies still trembling.
Maddie ran her fingers through Skylar’s red hair.
“I didn’t know I missed you.”
“You didn’t.” Skylar kissed her shoulder. “You missed how I made you feel.”
A pause.
“Like you were becoming.”
Outside the bedroom, the house was quiet.
But for how long?
Because Vanessa still wanted her.
Celeste was still bound by heat.
Graham had tasted her and wasn’t done.
And now Skylar was here.
Not to steal Maddie back.
But to prove—
No matter how far she’s come… she still remembers who unlocked her in the first place.
XOXO
Maddie’s Page