Disclaimer: The author's imagination and passion are the only sources of inspiration for this novel, which is a work of dedication. Parallels between these pages and the past or present may be apparent to some readers, but they are completely coincidental. You are free to interpret this art anyway you see fit, and it is meant for your enjoyment.
The upscale café in the heart of Makati was a symphony of clinking ceramic and hushed business negotiations. It was the kind of place where reputations were built over espresso, and Architect Kryztal Sydrin—still known to her inner circle as Kryztal—was trying very hard to look like the professional she had become.
Across the marble table, Ria was having none of it. She leaned in, her eyes narrowed with a mischievous glint that Kryztal had learned to fear back in their freshman year at UP.
"Glowing ka ah! I know that look. Masarap? Malaki? Sagad na sagad?" Ria teased, her voice carrying just a bit too much enthusiasm. (You're glowing! Is it good? Is it big? Is it very deep?)
Kryztal's face went from its natural cream to a vivid, burning crimson in a split second. She looked around frantically, certain that the neighboring table of urban planners had heard every word. "Ria! Nasa labas tayo. Baka may makarinig!" (We're outside. Someone might hear!)
"Sus! Who's going to listen to us?" Ria laughed, leaning back and waving a hand dismissively. "But seriously, Bes. That Professor Santillan... even back then, I knew. A man with hands that big and a temper that cold? I knew he'd be a monster in bed. Swerte mo talaga." (You're lucky!)
Kryztal hid her face in her hands, her voice muffled and shaky. "Ria, stop. He's... he's relentless. Last night in the car, I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to walk into this café today. He doesn't know how to do anything halfway. It's always... all of him."
What Kryztal didn't realize was that the "Ice King" was closer than she thought. Alexander had been standing at the pick-up counter, shielded by a large decorative pillar, waiting for his double espresso. He had heard his name. He had heard the word "monster." And he had definitely heard the part about her not being able to walk.
A slow, predatory smirk spread across his face. He didn't look offended; he looked like a man who had just been given a glowing performance review. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his phone, and sent a quick text to the barista he knew by name.
A moment later, he walked toward their table.
Kryztal's heart stopped the moment she saw the polished black oxfords enter her field of vision. She slowly looked up, her breath hitching. Alexander stood there, looking every bit the formidable Professor and world-class Architect in a charcoal suit that cost more than her first car.
"I'm glad to hear my 'structural depth' is still a topic of conversation, Architect Sydrin," he said, his voice a deep, gravelly vibration that made Kryztal's toes curl in her heels.
Ria nearly choked on her americano, her eyes widening as she looked up at the man she had just been discussing in graphic detail. "Professor! I mean... Architect Santillan! Magandang umaga po."
Alexander didn't look at Ria. His gaze was locked onto Kryztal, intense and unblinking. He pulled out the chair next to her and sat down, his thigh brushing against hers under the table. The heat of him was instantaneous.
"It's good to see you, Ria," Alexander said smoothly, though his eyes never left Kryztal's burning face. "I see you're still encouraging my best student to be... vocal."
"Alexander, please," Kryztal whispered, her voice a plea.
Just then, a waiter approached the table carrying a tray. He set down a tall, layered latte topped with whipped cream and two distinct syrups.
"Your special order, sir," the waiter said politely.
Alexander slid the drink toward Kryztal. The scent hit her immediately—a decadent, heavy aroma of dark cocoa and sweet, artificial fruit.
"A Strawberry and Chocolate latte?" Ria asked, her brow furrowing. "I didn't know you liked that, Bes."
Alexander leaned in, his mouth hovering just inches from Kryztal's ear, his voice dropping into that private, guttural register that always preceded him taking her apart.
"You seemed to have a distinct preference for these flavors lately," he whispered, loud enough for Ria to catch the underlying tension. "I thought you'd want a taste of the 'naughty' gifts you bought me before I give you the real thing tonight. After all, you were so... greedy for it in the car."
Kryztal felt like she was going to spontaneously combust. The reference to the condoms was so blatant, so unapologetically dominant, that she couldn't even look Ria in the eye.
"You're a monster," Kryztal hissed, though her hand involuntarily reached for the drink.
"I believe 'monster' was the term Ria used," Alexander replied with a dark, satisfied smirk. He reached out, his thumb grazing her bottom lip, catching a stray bit of foam. He then licked the digit clean, his eyes never leaving hers. "And since I'm a man of my word, I'll make sure to live up to the reputation tonight. Sagad na sagad, was it? I think I can manage even more than that."
Ria sat there, her mouth slightly agape, looking back and forth between the two of them. She had known they were together, but the sheer, raw intensity between the former Professor and his favorite student was overwhelming.
"I... uh... I think I have a meeting," Ria stammered, grabbing her bag. "Bes, I'll call you! Architect Santillan, nice seeing you!"
She fled the café as if the building were on fire.
The moment Ria was gone, Alexander's hand moved from the table to Kryztal's thigh, his fingers digging into the soft flesh of her inner leg, moving upward with a slow, deliberate purpose.
"Now that the audience is gone," he rasped, his eyes darkening to the color of burnt honey. "Tell me, Architect. How delicious was I last night? Was I as 'big' as you told your friend?"
"Alexander, we're in public," she gasped, her hand coming down to try and stop his progress, but she was already weak, her body responding to him with a betrayal of moisture.
"I don't care," he said, his hand reaching the apex of her thighs, his fingers pressing against the silk of her panties. "I want to hear you say it. I want to hear how much you want my big cock back inside you. You were a moaning mess in that car, Kryztal. I can still hear the way you sobbed when I hit your sweet spot."
"You... you make me crazy," she whispered, her head falling back as his fingers found their mark through the fabric.
"Good. I'm into it," he said, echoing the song from the night before. "I want you out of your mind for me. I want you to remember that no matter how many buildings you design, I am the one who designed you. I am the one who knows exactly how to make you leak."
He leaned in, his mouth devouring hers in a searing, possessive kiss that tasted of coffee and chocolate. He was relentless, his tongue lashing against hers, his fingers working a rhythmic, punishing pace beneath the table. Kryztal let out a muffled moan into his mouth, her hands gripping his shoulders as the first tremors of a public climax began to roll through her.
"Tonight," Alexander panted against her lips, his hand finally pulling away as he stood up, looking perfectly composed despite the fire in his eyes. "I won't be the Professor. And you won't be the Architect. You'll just be my greedy girl. And I'm going to fuck you until you can't even remember your own name, let alone Ria's questions."
He dropped a stack of bills on the table and walked away, leaving Kryztal shaking in her chair, the strawberry and chocolate latte sitting between them like a delicious, scandalous promise.