The Regent Hotel was exactly the kind of place Ethan could never afford. Marble floors in the lobby.
Crystal chandeliers hanging from high ceilings. Doormen in fancy uniforms opening doors for guests. Everything about it screamed money and class.
Ethan walked through the revolving door like he belonged there, the system's confidence boost still humming through his veins.
A few guests glanced at him, his cheap work clothes probably stood out among all the designer suits and dresses, but nobody stopped him.
The elevator was empty. Ethan stepped inside and pressed the button for the eighth floor, watching the numbers climb as he rose higher and higher.
His phone buzzed. A text from Victoria.
Victoria: Room 847. Door's unlocked. Come in when you get here.
Ethan's heart rate picked up slightly. This was really happening. He was really about to sleep with a married woman he'd met less than two hours ago.
The old Ethan, the loyal, faithful Ethan, would have turned around and left. Would have felt guilty and wrong and terrible about what he was doing.
But that Ethan was dead. He died the moment he saw Maya with Jared.
The elevator dinged softly as it reached the eighth floor, and the doors slid open.
Ethan stepped out into a long hallway with plush carpet and expensive artwork on the walls. Room numbers marked each door in polished gold. 841. 843. 845.
847.
He stopped in front of the door and took a breath. His hand reached for the handle, turned it slowly.
Unlocked, just like she had said.
Ethan pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The room was huge, way bigger than his entire apartment. King-size bed with white sheets.
Floor-to-ceiling windows showing the city lights below. A sitting area with a couch and chairs. A minibar. A flat-screen TV mounted on the wall.
And standing by the window, silhouetted against the glowing skyline, was Victoria.
She had taken off her heels. Her dark hair was down now, falling past her shoulders. She still wore the black dress, but she had poured herself another drink, something amber-colored in a crystal glass.
"You came," Victoria said quietly, not turning around.
"You asked me to," Ethan replied, closing the door behind him. The lock clicked softly.
[MISSION STATUS: 97% COMPLETE]
[FINAL STAGE: INITIATE PHYSICAL CONTACT]
Victoria finally turned to face him. Her eyes were conflicted, desire and guilt warring on her face. "I shouldn't be doing this. I'm married. This is wrong."
Ethan crossed the room slowly, closing the distance between them. "Then tell me to leave."
Victoria opened her mouth like she was going to say exactly that. But no words came out.
Ethan stopped right in front of her, close enough to touch but not touching yet. "Tell me to leave, Victoria. Say the words and I'll walk out that door right now."
She stared up at him, her breathing getting faster. Her free hand came up to touch the wedding ring on her finger, spinning it nervously.
"I..." she started. "I can't."
"Can't what?"
"Can't tell you to leave." Her voice dropped to barely a whisper. "I don't want you to leave."
[TARGET COMMITTED]
[PROCEED]
Ethan reached out and took the glass from her hand, setting it down on the windowsill. Then his hand came back to cup her face gently, tilting her chin up.
"Then stop thinking about what you should do," Ethan said softly. "And do what you want to do."
Victoria's resolve crumbled completely. She grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him into a kiss.
It was even more desperate than the one at the club. Her lips crashed against his hungrily, her hands pulling him closer like she was afraid he might disappear. Ethan kissed her back just as hard, his hands sliding down to her waist and pulling her body flush against his.
Victoria moaned softly into his mouth, her fingers moving up to tangle in his hair. The kiss deepened, tongues meeting, all pretense of restraint gone now.
Ethan's hands roamed over her dress, feeling the curves underneath. Victoria arched into his touch, pressing herself against him shamelessly. Her wedding ring was cold against the back of his neck where her hand rested.
She broke the kiss just long enough to gasp, "Bedroom. Now."
They stumbled toward the bed, still kissing, hands grabbing at each other frantically.
Victoria's back hit the mattress and she pulled Ethan down on top of her. His weight pressed her into the expensive white sheets as they kept kissing like they were drowning and each other was air.
Ethan's hand found the zipper on the back of her dress and pulled it down slowly. Victoria lifted herself up just enough for him to slide the dress off her shoulders, revealing black lace lingerie underneath that probably cost more than his entire wardrobe.
"Damn," Ethan muttered, taking in the sight of her.
Victoria's cheeks flushed. "My husband hasn't looked at me like that in two years."
"Your husband's a fucking idiot."
She laughed breathlessly, then reached up and started unbuttoning Ethan's shirt. Her fingers were shaking slightly as she worked through each button, pushing the fabric off his shoulders once it was open.
Her hands ran over his chest, exploring. "You're younger than me."
"Does that bother you?"
"No." Victoria pulled him back down into another kiss. "It makes this hotter."
Ethan's mouth moved from her lips to her jaw, then down to her neck. Victoria tilted her head back, giving him better access, soft moans escaping her throat as he kissed and sucked at her skin.
His hand slid up her side, fingers tracing over the lace of her bra before cupping her breast through the fabric. Victoria gasped, arching into his touch.
"More," she breathed. "Please, I need more."
Ethan reached behind her and unhooked her bra with one hand, sliding it off and tossing it aside. Her breasts were perfect, full and soft, nipples already hard with arousal. He lowered his head and took one into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the sensitive peak.
"Oh my," Victoria moaned loudly, her hands gripping his hair. "Yes, just like that."
Ethan's other hand massaged her other breast while his mouth worked the first one, sucking and licking and biting gently. Victoria was writhing beneath him now, her hips grinding up against his, desperate for friction.
His hand slid down her stomach, fingers hooking into the waistband of her panties. He looked up at her face, silently asking permission.
Victoria nodded frantically. "Take them off. Please."
Ethan pulled her panties down her legs and dropped them on the floor with the rest of her clothes. Then he took a moment to just look at her, completely naked except for that gold wedding band on her finger, laid out on the hotel bed, flushed and desperate and wanting him.
[+15 CHARM]
[SKILL UNLOCKED: BEDROOM MASTERY LV.1]
New knowledge flooded into Ethan's mind suddenly. Techniques. Angles. Pressure points. Things he had never known before but now understood instinctively. The system was literally teaching him how to please a woman.
"Why are you smiling?" Victoria asked, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Because I'm about to ruin you for your husband," Ethan said.