Hera froze, her fingers hovering over the screen. What was she supposed to say? Admit she liked it, liked it a lot, and risk sounding like so desperate woman thirsting after him?
The thought made her chest tighten. Worse, what would that say about her? She already had six lovers who adored her; if she reacted to Alexandre like a starved woman, wouldn’t that make it seem as though they weren’t enough?
Her temples throbbed as the conflict spiraled inside her. Desire tangled with guilt, excitent clashing with restraint. ’Why am I even thinking like this?’ Hera scolded herself, but her thoughts remained a ssy tangle, pulled deeper into Alexandre’s deliberate teasing.
But Alexandre wasn’t done yet. He sent another set of photos that, on the surface, were ant to showcase his shoes, but his poses told a very different story.
Sitting on a chair in nothing but his Calvin Klein briefs, he spread his legs wide in front of the full-length mirror, striking a pose that looked more like a sultry photoshoot than a casual snap.
His hand rested over his cock, the subtle motion in the reflection making it clear he was stroking himself.
The outline of his length strained against the fabric, the tip and part of the crown slipping free from the edge of his briefs. A faint sheen of precum glistened at the exposed head, the veins beneath standing out just below the crown.
Hera’s breath hitched, her chest tightening, yet her thumb kept scrolling, hungry for more despite the heat flooding her veins.
Or was it simply her frustration from not being touched by her lovers while she was still recovering that made her so easily aroused? After all, here was a pri specin of a man, nearly naked on her phone screen, openly seducing her under the flimsy excuse of "checking his wardrobe choices."
"What are you looking at on your phone that’s got you so worked up?"
Leo’s voice snapped Hera back to her senses. Heat rushed to her face so fast her nose tingled, as though she might start bleeding any second. The suspicion lacing his tone only deepened her guilt, making her feel as though she’d just been caught cheating.
"I... uh... umm..." she stamred, her mind buzzing blank. What could she even say? That Alexandre was blatantly seducing her, and that she hadn’t pushed him away because, shafully, part of her enjoyed it?
That explanation would sound less like honesty and more like a scoundrel’s excuse. Mortified, Hera couldn’t bring herself to et Leo’s eyes, like a wife caught red-handed by her husband.
So instead, Hera quickly picked out the best outfits and shoes from Alexandre’s photos and sent them back to him, pretending to focus only on what suited him best while trying to ignore how flustered his ’nearly’ indecent pictures made her.
When Alexandre received her reply, a smirk tugged at his lips. He noticed the small typos in her ssages, clear signs of her flustered state.
Truthfully, his little "fashion showcase" had been nothing more than an impulsive test. He wanted to see if Hera felt even the slightest attraction toward him, and depending on her reaction, he would decide how to proceed.
If her interest was only mild, he planned to weave himself gradually into her life under the guise of business, building rapport and deepening their connection step by step. But if she was more drawn to him than he anticipated, then he wouldn’t hesitate to take a bolder approach.
After all, Hera already had many lovers. In such a crowded circle, it was easy for soone to fade into the background if they didn’t put in effort. And Alexandre, not yet part of that inner circle, held no real claim or status that would guarantee her attention. That was what unsettled him most, and why he resorted to this reckless little test.
But who would have thought that, despite having so many lovers, Hera could still act so innocent and easily flustered?
Alexandre had personally heard of what she and Xavier did during their stay in Paris’s Imperial Hotel, that they’d spent the entire night together having sex.
He was certain she had already shared such monts with her other lovers as well. That was exactly why he knew he couldn’t hold back. Unless he did everything he could to seduce her, he would remain nothing more than a friend, or worse, just another business partner.
Now that his little experint had yielded such promising results, Alexandre felt more confident about pressing forward with a bolder pursuit. If Hera’s partners objected, so be it; he would at least make the attempt.
As long as they accepted him, Hera’s resistance would be minimal. After all, he could already tell how much weight she placed on their opinions.
Back at the hospital, after replying to Alexandre’s provocative ssages, Hera quickly exited their chat and fumbled through her phone, her nerves on edge as she glanced at Leo. She might be a talented actress, but in monts like this, her composure crumbled; she simply couldn’t hide her nervousness or pretend nothing had happened.
Maybe it was because the one questioning her was Leo; she couldn’t be sure. All she could do was cut her exchange with Alexandre short and try to calm the frantic pounding of her heart.
"I was just chatting with so friends, and their joke left so flustered and speechless that I kind of got lost for a mont..." Hera said, leaving it at that, just vague enough to suggest the joke had been a little risqué.
It was easy to assu it was the sort of talk won sotis shared about their sex lives. After all, n weren’t the only ones who joked and swapped stories; won liked to gossip and learn from each other’s experiences, too.
With that thought, Rafael suddenly understood her behavior. Hera had a friend like Athena who was bold, unfiltered, and was never shy about speaking her mind about such topics.
It wasn’t hard to imagine Athena saying sothing outrageous enough to make Hera this embarrassed.
"Did Athena tease you?!" Rafael smirked, giving Hera a look that said he already had a pretty good idea of what Athena might have been saying. After all, his own sister had told him plenty about Hera’s circle of friends when she joined them, including Athena’s bold personality and love for gossip.
She hadn’t shared the exact details of their conversations, but Rafael didn’t need them; he could easily imagine the kinds of intimate topics Athena would bring up.
Rafael’s misunderstanding handed Hera the perfect excuse, and though her lips twitched, she couldn’t bring herself to correct him. Now, even Leo seed to believe the sa thing. All she could do was apologize to Athena in her heart. ’Athena, I’m sorry, and thank you.’
Of course, she knew she couldn’t hide behind that excuse forever. She just needed the courage to co clean... maybe tomorrow, maybe the next ti she found the right mont. But the longer she kept it a secret, the heavier the guilt weighed on her.
After a long mont, Hera let out a heavy sigh, biting her lip as she wrestled with herself. Lying felt wrong. Keeping secrets from her partners felt wrong, especially when she had already promised herself to always be honest and open with them. That ant even this needed to be laid bare.
"Actually... um..." she began, her voice unsteady. Her heartbeat raced, and it felt as though she were sitting on a hot pan, the pressure scorching her from the inside out.
"I... I was chatting with Alexandre, helping him pick out clothes to wear for Logan’s debut concert tomorrow..." Hera admitted softly, her fingers nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes.
She kept her eyes lowered, too afraid to et their gaze. Guilt gnawed at her chest, making her feel as though she’d done sothing terribly wrong.
As quick-witted as they were, Leo and Rafael imdiately pieced together what kind of photos Hera must have been looking at. Rafael’s nostrils flared with barely restrained anger, while Leo’s fists itched to strike sothing.
They hadn’t realized Alexandre could be this underhanded, and judging from Hera’s flustered reaction, it was clear she felt drawn to him, just as she was to them.
Because of this, the whole room fell into a heavy, suffocating silence. Hera’s heart sank to the pit of her stomach, and she felt tears threaten to spill.
’Ah! What have I done?’ she scread inwardly. She kept her eyes fixed on the unmoving floor, as if it had suddenly beco the most fascinating thing in the world. Then, after what felt like an eternity, she heard both n sigh at the sa ti, a sound heavy with defeat.
"I knew it would co to this the mont I heard about that guy Alexandre from Xavier..." Rafael muttered, lifting his gaze with another sigh. "I won’t stop you from bringing another man into our circle. One more doesn’t make a difference, as long as he’s clean, with no hidden agenda, no intent to use you, and no threat to your safety."
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