Chapter 1: Introduction
The city lights shone like stars, refracting their multi-hued brilliance off the glass surface of the skyscraper, spearheading the rest of the city below in a cosmic dance. In a top-floor hotel suite, Dimitri stepped into the dimly lit space, hands shoved into his pockets, blue eyes drifting toward the outline of a woman, who stood near the window. The Manhattan cityscape was no match for the body straining against the elegant evening gown the woman wore.
Her silhouette stood like a masterpiece, bathed in the orange-tinted city glow. Amelia. While the dazzling view of the city was one of the suite's main attractions, Dimitri could only focus on the sensual goddess who commanded his attention.
Amelia turned to face him, her smoldering gaze raking over Dimitri's body. She gracefully crossed the room and reached up to brush a finger across his cheek. "You shaved," she observed, her voice barely above a whisper. A seductive smile worked its way across her lips.
"I see you've come to me."
Dimitri nodded, unable to resist the subtle command in her voice. "Yes, Amelia. I couldn't stay away."
She stepped closer, her hips swaying just enough to raise anticipation. "You know what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder."
"The heart grows restless more like," Dimitri responded, closing the gap between them. His hands found Amelia's waist, pulling her body flush against his.
"My heart," he said, lowering his voice, "has not known a day of rest since the moment I met you."
Her fingers trailed up the nape of his neck, knotting in the soft locks of his hair. Amelia's pulse quickened, in time with the thrum of the city they overlooked.
Her lips parted, and Dimitri leaned in, capturing her mouth with a gentle yet passionate kiss, an electric spark leaping between them.
He lifted her and, without breaking the kiss, carried her to the plush, overstuffed sofa nearby. Their bodies tangled together as if desperate for a connection unbroken. Amelia's hands fumbled with the buttons of his shirt. Reveling in the soft, warm skin she exposed, she pressed heated kisses to his collarbone.
The sweet torture ignited a fire low in his belly as one button after the other gave way to her eager fingers. Gently, he laid her back against the sofa, drinking in every inch of bared flesh.
"Dimitri," Amelia whispered, raking her nails along his sides, leaving a trail of warmth behind. "Don't tease me."
His name rolled off her tongue like the sweetest sacrilege, and in that moment, he knew he couldn't resist her plea.
Dimitri slanted his mouth over hers, silencing her sighs and replacing them with moans as he kissed her deeply. He had always adored Amelia's passion, so unrestrained and open compared to his own often-conflicted feelings.
The dangers of his deceit were ever-present in his mind, but as he lost himself in the taste of her lips, the scent of her perfume, and the softness of her body, his wife, Rosaline, felt like a distant memory.