THE STRANGER SHE BECAME

Seduced

“What the hell is wrong with you, Roxanne?” Jace snapped, his voice low but full of rage. “Why are you trying so hard to destroy my marriage?”

Roxanne sat back on the couch, legs crossed, fingers tracing lazy circles on her thigh. She didn’t answer right away. Just smiled—that slow, dangerous kind of smile that always made him feel off balance.

“Destroy your marriage?” she said, tilting her head. “Don’t be dramatic, Jace.”

Her voice was soft, teasing. She still hadn’t looked at him.

“If you don’t stop this,” Jace warned, taking a step closer, “I swear, I won’t hesitate to—”

“Do what?” she cut in smoothly. “Push me away? Disappear again like last time?”

His jaw clenched. “Don’t twist this, Roxanne. You left me. You ended things, and now—”

She rose slowly, every move calculated, seductive. When she finally looked at him, the heat in her eyes was unmistakable.

“You can’t let go,” she whispered, her fingers brushing his chest. “You’re still mine, Jace. You’ve just been pretending.”

“Don’t—”

“Shhh…” Her finger touched his lips. “No more words.”

And then she kissed him.

Soft at first. Then deeper. Her mouth was hungry, her hands undoing the buttons of his shirt like she already knew he wouldn't stop her.

“I want you,” she breathed against his skin. “Right here. Right now.”

Jace froze.

His breath caught.

For one second, he tried to resist. Tried to remember everything that was at stake.

But then her mouth was on his neck. Her hands on his waist. Her top hit the floor.

And he lost control.

He grabbed her by the waist, lips crashing into hers. His hands moved fast, rough, desperate. Like he needed to feel every part of her, remind himself what it used to be like.

She moaned softly, pulling him closer, grinding against him with wicked confidence.

And in that moment…he forgot the consequences.

He just wanted her.

Wanted the fire.

Wanted to feel alive again.

The moment burned with heat the second Roxanne stepped into the room with Jace.

The door clicked shut behind her.

He didn’t move. Couldn’t.

His pulse thundered as she walked in. Hips swaying, eyes dark with desire. There was only one destination in that room.

The bed.

She moved closer. Too close.

With a sultry smile, she dragged one finger down his chest, teasing the skin just beneath his shirt. The trail didn’t stop until she reached his belt. In one fluid motion, she loosened it, letting his pants fall effortlessly to the floor.

Jace stood still, his breath caught somewhere between resistance and surrender.

Then she sank to her knees.

Like a devoted servant, she kissed his thigh. slow, lingering touches that sent fire through his veins. Her lips moving upward until they found his chest, her body brushing against his like silk on fire.

Before he could process the sensation, she pushed him gently onto the bed, climbing over him like a woman who knew every inch of him, every weakness.

Lost in the haze, Jace reached up and unclasped her bra, freeing her breasts into his waiting hands. He cupped them, kneaded them, his mouth grazing her skin as if it were the last thing he'd ever taste.

But he wasn’t done.

With one quick move, he flipped her beneath him, his weight pressing her into the mattress.

Their eyes locked.

And in Jace’s gaze, she saw it. The wild, untamed beast she once knew. The man who used to own her body, her moans, her every late-night craving.

“I’m all yours,” she whispered, biting his ear, her voice soaked in desire.

Jace groaned low in his throat as he slid her pants down, leaving nothing but heat between them.

He f**ked her like it was his last day on earth…

And then, only sounds filled the room.

Moans.

Breathless gasps.

And the rhythm of bodies remembering what it meant to lose control.

Jace’s eyes blinked open slowly, the early light slipping through the curtains. His arm rested around Roxanne’s bare shoulder, her body curled beside him like she belonged there.

His stomach tightened.

Reality came crashing in like a slap. What had he done?

Carefully, he pulled his arm away and sat up on the edge of the bed, his head in his hands. Regret sank deep into his chest, mixing with frustration. How did I let this happen again?

He turned to glance at her.

Roxanne was still asleep, her long lashes resting softly on her cheeks, her lips slightly parted. She looked peaceful. Innocent, even. But Jace knew better.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair, a low groan of self-disgust escaping his throat. This wasn’t supposed to happen. She was supposed to be his past. A closed chapter.

He moved quietly, grabbing his pants from the floor, slipping them on with urgency. His shirt lay crumpled near the foot of the bed. He barely remembered taking it off.

Jace didn’t want her to wake up. Didn’t want to see her smirk. The questions in her eyes. Or worse…her satisfaction.

But just as his hand reached for the door—

“Leaving already, darling?”

He froze.

Shoulders tense, fingers tightening on the doorknob.

He didn’t turn around.

Not yet.

“Why rush off so soon?” she said behind him, her voice husky with sleep and something more dangerou. Satisfaction.

He heard the sheets shift, then the sound of her feet touching the floor.

Still, he didn’t move.

“Come on, Jace…” Roxanne continued, her tone soft but teasing. “We were having a good time. Why stop now?”

He could feel her close behind him. Her presence warm, naked, her intentions clear.

But Jace didn’t turn. Didn’t speak.

Because he knew… if he looked at her again, he might just fall all over again.

“Were you really planning to leave after what just happened?” Roxanne teased, her voice dripping with smug satisfaction as she slid her arms around his waist.

Jace shoved her hands off him, his eyes blazing as he spun to face her. “Don’t touch me.”

Her smirk didn’t falter.

“Don’t get it twisted, Roxanne. That meant nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

She laughed, a slow, mocking sound. “Nothing? I bet your wife wouldn’t say the same.”

“Don’t you dare mention her,” he snapped, his jaw tight and fists clenched at his sides.

Roxanne gave him a cold once-over, then turned on her heel. She walked to the closet with the poise of a woman who had already won, slipped into her robe, and fastened the belt with practiced ease. The tension in her face betrayed a flicker of something else. Pride or pain, it was hard to tell.

Jace dragged a hand through his hair, pacing. His voice dropped, guilt lacing every word. “I shouldn’t have come here… I should’ve never let you get in my head.”

“I made a huge mistake.”

“Cry all you want,” Roxanne said, perching on the edge of the bed with her legs crossed. “But it won’t change the truth—you wanted me. And you still do.”

She didn’t need to gloat. She already had what she came for.

Jace had walked in intending to set boundaries. To protect his marriage. Instead, he crossed a line he could never uncross.

Now, all he could think about was how much worse it would get… if his wife ever found out.