The sun peeked through the linen curtains of her friend's apartment, brushing Kirah's face with soft light. Her eyes fluttered open, but her body refused to move. Everything felt different. Not just physically but emotionally, spiritually.
Last night hadn't just been a moment. It had been a shift.
Kirah pulled the blanket tighter around her, heat creeping up her neck. Her thoughts spiraled back to the way Dominic had touched her like she was both fire and fragile glass. The way he'd looked at her like she belonged to him. And when he took her…
She swallowed hard, cheeks burning.
She had never let a man that close. Never allowed anyone past her walls. At 24, she had held tightly to her virginity—not because she was waiting for the perfect man, but because none had ever deserved it. Not until Dominic. Not until that night.
But now…
"I knew it!" her best friend squealed from the kitchen doorway, holding two mugs of coffee with a sly grin. "You're glowing like a goddess. Spill. Every. Detail."
Kirah sighed and sat up slowly, letting the blanket pool around her waist. "It happened."
"Oh my God. Wait ....with Dominic?"
Kirah nodded.
"You let Dominic freaking Vierra pop your cherry?" her friend yelped, plopping onto the bed beside her and handing over a cup.
Kirah buried her face in her hands. "Don't say it like that…"
"I'm sorry," her friend said between laughter. "But you just gave your V-card to a billionaire CEO who looks like a sin in a suit. Girl, you hit the jackpot!"
"It wasn't like that. It wasn't planned," Kirah mumbled, staring into her coffee. "It just happened. And now… I don't know."
Her friend's excitement softened into genuine curiosity. "Okay, okay. But you're okay, right? Did he… was he gentle?"
Kirah hesitated. "He was… intense. Rough. But not in a bad way. Just… overwhelming. He didn't know it was my first time."
Her friend blinked. "You didn't tell him?"
"No. I didn't want to seem inexperienced. And honestly, I didn't even think it would go that far…"
"Well, damn," her friend muttered. "Now I get why you didn't show up at work today."
Kirah laughed dryly. "I couldn't face him. I don't even know if it meant anything to him. He probably does this all the time."
"Oh, please." Her friend rolled her eyes. "You think that man takes his employees to private corners of a party, nearly tears off their dress, and then accidentally makes them feel things they never thought possible?"
Kirah gave a half-shrug. "People are already whispering that I'm trying to sleep my way up the ladder."
"So what?" her friend said firmly. "You're beautiful, intelligent, and working your ass off for your family. Anyone calling you a gold-digger is just jealous. Let them talk. At the end of the day, you know the truth."
Kirah looked up. "But what if he regrets it? What if he thinks I used him?"
"Then he's a damn fool. But trust me, he won't."
At Vierra Holdings, the energy buzzed through the halls, just like any other day.
Except for Dominic Vierra, who sat behind his massive glass desk, his eyes locked on the elevator doors for the fifth time in ten minutes.
Still no Kirah.
He clenched his jaw, tried to bury himself in numbers and projections, but nothing worked. Her absence echoed louder than the morning board meeting. He didn't want to admit it... not even to himself but he was... restless.
He hadn't even meant to go that far last night. But something about the way she looked at him, the way her lips trembled but never backed down—it had flipped a switch in him.
And once the first button came undone on her dress, there was no turning back.
But then he remembered something else. The way she had tensed under him at first. The unbearable tightness. The small gasp that wasn't just from desire—but hesitation.
He'd had to push his way in—and though she hadn't stopped him, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.
Could she have been a virgin???
He swore under his breath "Holyshit"! and reached for the intercom. "Ava," he said to his secretary.
"Yes, sir?"
"Has Miss Kirah reported in today?"
There was a pause. "No, sir. She called in sick."
His fist curled against the desk. Sick? Or avoiding him?
He leaned back in his chair, his gaze unfocused as it drifted to the skyline outside. "Don't overthink this," she'd said as she straightened her dress, lips swollen, breath still ragged.
But how the hell was he not supposed to overthink it?
Dominic Vierra did not lose control. He did not get obsessed. And he sure as hell didn't let women distract him from work.
Until now. Until Kirah came to his life and his world.
Back at her friend's apartment, Kirah was pacing.
"He's probably already moved on," she muttered. "He probably thinks I was just… easy."
"Girl, shut up," her friend snapped. "You're not easy. You're a queen. And don't forget—you gave him something priceless. Your first time. You didn't even let your ex-boyfriend have that."
Kirah nodded slowly, her mind racing.
"I just… I need to clear my head. Maybe I'll go back to work tomorrow. Pretend like nothing happened."
Her friend smirked. "Good luck with that! That man's gonna look at you like you're his favorite sin."
Kirah bit her bottom lip, unsure whether she was terrified or thrilled by that thought and at the same time can't wait for the next day