Imani's marriage to Karson was a gilded cage, built on a foundation of his infidelity she'd discovered years ago. Her resentment was a chasm between them, growing with every passing day.
In a defiant moment, she found a dangerous freedom in the arms of a stranger. He was everything her husband was not-raw, direct, and completely without pretense. Their forbidden night was a wild escape, a collision of passion that left her breathless and liberated. It was the best sex of her life, better than with any man she'd ever been with, a phantom touch she couldn't forget. She walked away, believing she could bury the secret and return to the lies she was forced to live.
The invitation to Karson's family reunion felt like a formality, an obligation she couldn't escape. She had tried to get out of it, citing a headache, but her husband had simply smiled that perfect, practiced smile and insisted. She never thought she would see him again. The world, it seemed, had other plans.
As she and Karson arrived, she locked eyes with a man across the crowded yard. Her heart stopped and a deep, electric tremor went through her body, making her legs weak and her core clench. He was leaning against a sprawling oak tree, a private smirk playing on his lips as he watched her. She recognized his dangerous eyes, the knowing glint that told her he remembered everything. He was the stranger from that night. The man with whom she had a connection so profound it eclipsed every intimate moment she had ever had with her husband.
Now, she is a prisoner in a loveless marriage, held captive by a memory and a man who holds her most intoxicating secret. He moves through Noah's world with a knowing smirk, a private game she never agreed to play. The unsaid truth between them is a high-wire act, a terrifying reunion with a secret past that could destroy her. The question isn't if the lie will unravel, but when.
WARNING STORY CONTAINS: SEXUAL SCENES , READ AT YOUR OWN RISK (18+)