Loving you Dangerously

Chapter 3

The Andromeda villa was still dark when she arrived. She tiptoed through the silent hallways, her heels dangling in her hands, careful not to wake her parents or the household staff. Her body screamed for rest, but every time she closed her eyes she saw his face-and heard that name.

She made it to her room, shut the door softly, and collapsed against it. Only then did she allow herself to crumble, hugging her knees to her chest.

Her twin's soft breathing could be heard through the thin wall that separated their rooms. Angelica, always perfect, always adored, sleeping peacefully while Alexis bled inside. The thought twisted something ugly in her chest.

"Someday, Ate Angel," she whispered to the dark, her voice trembling but edged with venom. "He'll choose me over you. He has to. Because I won't stop until he does."

She wiped her tears with shaking fingers, dragged herself to the mirror, and forced a smile. Even with puffy eyes, even with swollen lips, Alexis Andromeda could still look untouchably beautiful. That, at least, was hers.

---

**At Regalmont University, Later That Day**

By the time she walked across campus, her mask was perfect again. Long black hair sleek, uniform flawless, lips tinted with gloss. No one would know that she had spent the night sobbing on the cold tiles of her bathroom floor.

Whispers followed her like shadows-boys' gazes lingering, girls sneering in envy-but Alexis ignored them all. Her eyes searched only for one figure.

Trigger.

She spotted him outside the soccer field, speaking with his teammates. He looked tired, hungover maybe, but still devastatingly magnetic. The sight of him, just standing there in his black varsity jacket, made her chest ache and her body remember every bruise he had given her.

He glanced up once. Their eyes met.

Alexis smiled, slow and unreadable, like a predator in disguise. She tilted her head, lips parting just enough to remind him of what those lips had done to him only hours ago.

Trigger's jaw clenched. He looked away.

Inside, Alexis's heart twisted. *You can ignore me all you want... but you'll come back. You always will. Because I'm the only one willing to burn for you.*

Her laugh was soft, almost a hum, as she turned and walked past him like nothing had happened-while inside, her hunger grew sharper, darker.

---

Trigger sat on the bleachers after practice, sweat dripping down his back, the Manila sun beating hard. He had run laps until his legs burned, but no amount of exhaustion could wipe away the images tormenting him.

Alexis-on her knees, lips stretched around him, eyes glazed with hunger.

Alexis-arching under him, clawing his back, screaming his name.

Alexis-begging in that broken whisper, *"Harder, please, Trigger..."*

"f**k," he muttered under his breath, running both hands through his hair. He hated himself for it. He hated the way his c**k twitched just from the memory. She wasn't supposed to matter. She was supposed to be nothing but a mistake, a drunken outlet for his anger and heartbreak.

Yet the scent of her perfume lingered in his mind, the marks of her nails still carved faintly into his skin.

"Bro, you good?" one of his teammates asked, tossing him a bottle of water.

Trigger caught it with one hand, forcing a grin. "Yeah. Just tired."

But inside, his chest was chaos.

He spotted movement at the edge of the field and froze. Alexis. Standing under the shade of a tree, arms crossed, her long black hair cascading like ink down her back. She wasn't even trying to hide that she was watching him. Her lips curved into that same smile she'd worn in the morning-slow, taunting, knowing.

Trigger's stomach twisted. He wanted to snarl at her, to tell her to f**k off, but his throat tightened with another emotion entirely: lust. Raw, gnawing lust that made his body remember how tight she had been, how sweet her mouth had tasted.

"Shit..." he muttered, dropping his gaze. He yanked his bag from the ground, desperate to leave before his teammates noticed his shaking hands.

As he passed her, Alexis leaned just enough for her voice to reach him, soft and teasing:

"See you tonight, Trigger."

His steps faltered. Heat rushed through him-anger, shame, arousal all twisted together. He didn't answer. He couldn't.

But as he walked away, heart pounding, his mind betrayed him again.

Angelica's gentle rejection still cut like a blade... but Alexis's body, Alexis's wildness-it called to him like a curse he couldn't shake.

---

The architecture studio was nearly empty, save for the hum of the air-conditioning and the glow of laptops scattered across the tables. Alexis sat with one leg crossed over the other, her pencil tapping against a thick binder of drafts. Trigger arrived late, the shadows under his eyes betraying the sleepless nights and the alcohol still clinging faintly to his skin.

She didn't comment, but her lips curved into the faintest smile. *So this is what heartbreak looks like on you, Trigger.*

"You're late," she said, her voice even, though her eyes glittered with something sharper.

"Traffic," he muttered, dropping his bag on the table and flipping open his laptop. He didn't look at her, didn't want to, because the memory of her body under him was still too fresh, too dangerous.

They worked in silence at first, Alexis outlining floor plans, Trigger adjusting financial models. But tension coiled in the air like static, every breath charged. Alexis leaned closer than necessary when pointing at the screen, her perfume cutting through the stale studio air.

"See this?" she murmured, her hand brushing his wrist as she indicated the circulation path of their model. "The flow doesn't work unless it bends here."

He jerked his arm back, jaw tight. "I can see it without you touching me."

Her smile widened, slow and dangerous. "Can you?" she whispered, her lips grazing so close to his ear that goosebumps erupted along his skin.

Trigger inhaled sharply, his fist tightening around his pen. "Stop playing games, Alexis. This is work."

"This *is* work," she countered, her tone all silk. "You think I can't focus when you're near? I do. But you-" her gaze slid deliberately down his chest, then back up, "-you can barely breathe when I'm this close."

He pushed his chair back, almost knocking it over. "I said stop."

But Alexis only laughed softly, a sound that slithered into his bones. She stood, circling behind him, her hand ghosting along his shoulder as if testing how far she could push before he snapped. "Why fight so hard, Trigger? You want me."

He caught her wrist in a sudden, bruising grip, his eyes blazing as he finally looked at her. "You don't know what I want."

Her pulse hammered beneath his fingers, but she didn't pull away. "Then show me," she whispered, her lips curving into a dare.

The last thread of his restraint snapped.

He dragged her down onto the table, papers scattering like falling leaves. Her gasp filled the empty studio, sharp and breathless, as his mouth crushed hers. The kiss wasn't tender-it was a clash, a demand. She responded instantly, her arms curling around his neck, pulling him deeper.

"Trigger..." she moaned, breaking into Tagalog, "...gawin mo na, please."

His hands tore her blouse open, buttons flying across the floor. He bent his head, mouth latching onto the swell of her breast, biting and sucking until she cried out, half pain, half pleasure.

"You like this, don't you?" he growled against her skin. "You'll take whatever I give you."

"Yes," she gasped, arching into him, "God, yes, Trigger..."

He dropped to his knees, shoving her skirt higher, yanking her underwear aside with no patience. Alexis had no time to catch her breath before his mouth was on her, tongue plunging deep, rough and merciless. She bucked against his face, her hands flying to his hair.

"s**t-Trigger-oh God-"

He pinned her hips down, devouring her like a man starved, licking, sucking, biting until she was trembling and begging incoherently. Her thighs quivered around his head as she spilled against his mouth, her cries echoing through the empty studio.

Before she could recover, he stood, undoing his belt with a vicious yank. "Open your mouth."

Her eyes widened, chest heaving, but she obeyed instantly. He slid between her lips, forcing her jaw wide, his hand fisting her hair as he drove himself deep into her throat. Alexis gagged, tears pricking her eyes, but she gripped his thighs, swallowing around him with desperate devotion.

"That's it," he snarled, thrusting harder, "take it all. You wanted me-here I am."

When he pulled out, slick and glistening, strings of saliva clung to her lips. She barely had time to breathe before he bent her over the table, shoving into her from behind in one brutal stroke.

Her scream broke into a moan, her nails raking across the wood. "Trigger, yes! God, harder-don't stop!"

He slammed into her again and again, each thrust fueled by anger, by heartbreak, by the ghost of another woman's name clawing at his chest. Alexis thought it was passion, thought it was proof of how much he craved her. She met his pace eagerly, hair whipping with every violent movement.

He yanked her up, chest to her back, one hand wrapped around her throat, forcing her head back so his mouth brushed her ear. "You'll never get enough of me, will you?"

"N-no," she gasped, voice trembling with lust. "I'm yours, Trigger-kahit kailan, kahit saan..."

He spun her around, lifting her onto the table again, spreading her wide. He drove into her with renewed force, kissing her savagely, their teeth clashing. She tasted blood, salt, him. Her legs wrapped around his waist, locking him in, dragging him deeper.

Time blurred-he flipped her onto the cold floor, her back arching as he took her there, sweat dripping onto her skin. Then again against the wall, her cries muffled when he covered her mouth with his hand. He used her body like a weapon against himself, over and over, until both of them were raw, slick, shaking.

Finally, with a growl torn from his chest, he spilled inside her, collapsing against her trembling body.

For a long moment, only their ragged breathing filled the room. Alexis stroked his damp hair, whispering, "See? You can't resist me... You need me, Trigger."

But he didn't answer. His eyes were distant, his jaw tight, already pulling away.

And Alexis, though still humming with the aftershocks of pleasure, felt that familiar sting in her chest. She forced a smile anyway, refusing to let the ache show. One day, she promised herself, you'll whisper my name like you do hers.