Ash Leclair wasn’t expecting his life to change when he moved into his best friend’s apartment. It was meant to be temporary, just a quiet few weeks while his place was being renovated. But what he didn’t count on was Celeste Noelle Rivera, the best friend’s little sister, now older, bolder, and breathtaking in ways he wasn’t prepared for.

She walks around the apartment like she owns it, teasing with a smile, speaking with confidence, dressed in clothes that shouldn’t look as dangerous as they do. Ash, ever the polite one, keeps his distance. He’s soft-spoken, reserved, careful with everything he does, especially when it comes to women like her.

But Celeste has always known how to push boundaries, and she’s not afraid of chasing what she wants. And what she wants, more than anything, is him.

At first, it’s playful—flirting, subtle touches, stolen glances across the room. Ash tries to ignore it. He tells himself it’s harmless, that it doesn’t mean anything. But deep down, her presence is starting to unearth something in him he’s buried for years: desire, longing, curiosity, the need to be seen and touched and wanted.

As the days pass, the air between them grows heavier. Their conversations stretch longer. Their silence deepens. One moment, they’re sharing coffee in the kitchen. The next, he’s memorizing the shape of her mouth as she smiles. And soon, she’s kissing him like she’s always known how he’d taste, and he’s kissing her back like he’s afraid to stop.

Ash isn’t the type to chase. He doesn’t take risks. He doesn’t fall easily. But with Celeste, he doesn’t stand a chance. Because the more she touches him, the more he needs her. And the more he resists, the more he aches.

She pulls him into her world with every teasing word and every lingering look. And slowly, he begins to surrender, not just to her body, but to her presence, her boldness, the way she makes him feel seen for the first time in years.

This isn’t just about lust. It’s about emotional seduction, about a quiet man being undone by a woman who never once asked him to change, only to let go. And when he finally gives in, when he lets her see all of him, he discovers that maybe corruption was just another word for being chosen.

And once she has him, Celeste has no intention of letting him go.

Lyka and Liam were in the middle of a weirdly intense debate about which animal would make the best boyfriend.


"Okay but hear me out," Liam said, slurping his soda. "Otters hold hands when they sleep. That's romance."


"Dolphins save people from drowning," Lyka argued. "That's devotion and muscle."


Celeste blinked slowly at them from across the table.


"Our hobby is being emotionally unhinged."


Celeste chuckled, eyes drifting to her phone.


Liam's phone suddenly buzzed—an obnoxious duck-quack alarm.


"Oh snap, next class," he said, jumping to his feet.


Lyka waved him off. "Good luck convincing your professor otters are boyfriend material."


Celeste and Lyka gave him matching lazy waves as he trotted off.


When he disappeared into the crowd, Celeste groaned softly and dropped her head on the table.


"That didn't sound like 'I'm full and satisfied with life.'"


"No fight. No anything. I don't even know if I should call it a something. We were just… whatever we were. And now we're not."


She didn't mention the kiss. Didn't say how it still haunted her like it was burned behind her eyelids.


"And I miss him. Stupidly. Like I'm going insane."


Lyka rested her chin on her hand, expression softening.


"Cel… I love you, but communication goes both ways. Maybe he's thinking the same thing. Or maybe he's trying not to cross a line. Either way—you're not a mind reader."


"If I was, I'd already be in his head yelling 'Kiss me, you coward.'"


Chapter 31 - CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE: “The Space Between Us”