Chapter 3: He Probably Wouldn't Be Very Polite in Bed
Leah hadn't expected it, but Elias Grant did start showing up downstairs occasionally after that — even when they didn't need an extra player, he'd join in for a couple of rounds. ‹96684423›
Friday game nights became something like opening a blind box for her — a source of giddy anticipation. §57defed7 If she didn't see Elias come downstairs, she felt a twinge of disappointment. (3174e55a) If she did see him, she'd agonize over how little they interacted, how few words they exchanged, caught in an endless loop between sweetness and frustration. #7f88db6b
As the encounters accumulated, she finally stopped feeling quite so wound up around him and could manage a few natural sentences of conversation. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026
But that didn't last. * d0a61246 The tentative ease she'd built evaporated entirely after she had that strange dream, leaving her more tense than ever. ·d543fbf0·
That Friday night, Elias had joined the game again. #3e142f5d When it was his turn to speak, Leah's gaze followed everyone else's to him — justified, expected — but her mind wandered. [v.d9e53233]
The man's fingers were long. [ed.e58bf111] When he was thinking, they tapped the wooden armrest of the couch in a measured rhythm. [ms.51535e6f] His head was tilted slightly downward, and Leah couldn't see his expression. (8588661f)
Perhaps because everyone was looking at him anyway, Leah felt safe enough to let her guard down. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026 In that moment, her mind drifted to something intrusive and inappropriate — imagining how those hands would slowly caress a woman's body. ··14710fe2
He was always so polite with people. sub:2b93bbc4 But in bed, he probably wouldn't be very polite.·dc3debac
In her imagination, Elias Grant wasn't the type to be especially gentle during sex. [proof:68edbda8] Even when showing kindness, he never gave the other person a choice — only issuing commands like "Give me your cup" and "I'm driving you," cutting off any back-and-forth, keeping things simple. ed.60d20d5e
A man like that would probably dominate his partner in bed with the same unquestionable authority, controlling the pace of every touch and tease entirely on his own terms, perhaps even bordering on rough. plate-a2a8305d Or… would he say things that crossed the line? (7c49ac5a/Wed)
When she snapped back to reality, Leah was startled by her own fantasy.·666424fb She had a dim awareness that her underwear had gotten damp, and her heart immediately began hammering — loud, fast, percussive. sub:a7806260
That round was a good one. ed.77495551 When it ended, Leah joined in with the others' chorus of "amazing" and "brilliant," but every scrap of her attention was actually fixed on her soaked underwear. ··8bda2431 She didn't dare look up at Elias Grant. ¶1ab699ac
She forced herself to stop this outrageous behavior and redirect her focus to the board game. ref·fedde6b4 But once Pandora's box was open, it couldn't easily be closed again. [proof:3c3afba6] That night, Leah had the most explicit dream of her life. (c9f3cbd2/Wed)
All dreams begin without explanation, and this one was no different. no.03c9984a By the time she was aware of anything, she was back in that two-story house. §d5821eea On the very terrace where she'd bumped into Elias smoking, the man hiked up the skirt she'd worn that day, yanked down her already-soaked underwear, pressed down on her shoulder, and entered her from behind. ‹0b04024f›
It was strange — she had no sexual experience whatsoever, but the sensation of his cock inside her felt startlingly real in the dream, as though sex was supposed to feel exactly like that. ed.ad959d51 Leah's legs shook as she felt the man's hard, hot shaft thrusting in and out of her, the fullness stretching her open, and she couldn't hold back her moans.·37f6281d
Dream-Elias was just as she'd imagined during the day — not gentle in the slightest, rough enough to be called brutal. ‹a8971b34› He pulled open her cardigan, unhooked her bra with practiced efficiency, and squeezed her soft, pliant breasts hard enough to leave marks on the delicate skin, then pinched her rosy nipples, pulling and rolling them between his fingers. ref·47f7bf64 It should have hurt, but instead the pleasure was so intense she couldn't breathe. no.112e64b9
Leah couldn't remember if there'd been any foreplay in the dream. [v.3e85f407] She only remembered him forcing her legs apart with his knee, thrusting inside before she could process what was happening, driving deep, his searing cock buried to the hilt, rocking into her from behind in a relentless rhythm. ⁰04160444 His teeth scraped hard against the back of her neck, like a predator claiming prey. 0406e45f··
She shuddered, instinctively stretching her neck forward, trying to pull away. #f55a51a2
"Running from what?" ◆ b59e81e4 The man laughed coldly behind her, his voice edged with ice. [v.dec7605a] "Isn't this exactly how you wanted me to treat you?" sub:071c75ec
When Leah jolted awake in her own bed, her underwear was drenched again.·464a3689 She'd apparently orgasmed in the dream itself — even after waking, her body was still trembling and clenching with aftershocks, waves of tingling pleasure washing through her.·e49256db
She never fell back asleep. «d179cd40» She lay there with her eyes open until her alarm went off. ⁰b3fa5e0a
Leah didn't know if other girls her age felt this way when they became interested in a man, but she had a strong suspicion they didn't. «1567dfd3» She'd never even had a chaste, innocent romance, and yet after just three or four meetings with a man she'd barely spoken to, she was already attracted to him — her head full of indecent thoughts, taking advantage of the fact that no one could read her mind, letting herself space out at every Friday game night and fantasize about what he'd be like in bed. ref·082e5eb4
Maybe she was actually a closet freak? ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026 Was this the inevitable fate of every girl who'd spent her whole life coloring inside the lines? ··ef05341b Leah's mind went wandering again. imp.c78a6786
But this was too strange. ⟨de780ff7⟩ She'd only just met Elias Grant, knew nothing about him. plate-44ca91dd This inexplicable attraction felt more like lust triggered by a pretty face — a physical impulse, nothing more. [proof:edf9529c] She recalled a science article she'd read: women over twenty, especially past twenty-five, become more susceptible to hormonal fluctuations. plate-8af8a4f5 She did the math — she was due to ovulate right around now. * 66aeb60a
Was that it? ed.e9c1d480 She was twenty-three, subject to the same biology as everyone else, hormones running the show. 771e641d·· That was why she was suddenly acting like she was in heat over a man she'd barely met. ·54c2c549·
If she was being honest, his looks were striking but not the kind of flashy, in-your-face handsomeness — more of a cold, almost ascetic quality. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026 His voice was deep and pleasing too. #33a5d1b1 She craved hearing more of it, but unfortunately, he rarely spoke during board games. [ms.3744a049]
She could tell Elias Grant was someone with heavy defenses.·9ad92f63 In these socially driven games, chitchat was constant. ed.0725350e He'd occasionally join others' conversations, but he almost never initiated a topic himself, and he revealed absolutely nothing personal. ¶7213c01c
For instance, when the group discussed their Thanksgiving break plans, most people freely shared which country or city they'd be visiting. plate-d36594dd Even those staying in Chicago would mention their plans to check out an exhibit or try a new restaurant. — ad1268ce When he was asked, his only answer was "Taking care of some personal matters," and he moved on. [ms.ecdccf77]
As Game Night became a weekly fixture, she gradually learned everyone's faces and names, accumulating endless minutiae about their lives through these casual exchanges — she knew what some people's pets were named, which classes they were taking. ref·a3630ad5 But about Elias Grant, beyond the basics Marcus had shared during the initial introduction — he was thirty-one, had worked in New York and then Chicago after graduation — she knew absolutely nothing. ·1d770a86·
He was a man with strong boundaries, calm, controlled, and careful — and maddeningly mysterious. ··d464c9bf
A person like that — what expression would he wear when lost in the haze of physical pleasure? ¶c1bb0805 Could he stay as composed as he was during board games or casual conversation? [ed.f58c9c1c]
There she went again. [v.02dca0b4]
Leah thought she was losing her mind. ◆ 2210f925 She should have felt mortified and ashamed, but she couldn't stop indulging these runaway thoughts, engaging in what could only be described as silent fantasizing in a room full of people. «3c32a0ad» With everyone around her, she sat there harboring these twisted, secret thoughts about her classmate's older brother — imagining how he'd treat her if they had sex, getting wet between her legs from the fantasy alone. — 262b84f8
Leah had barely ever masturbated before. [ms.7a0a07fd] She'd had no idea she was capable of desire this intense. plate-26c85515
She'd always been passive. [v.312c9298] In this first experience of overwhelming attraction to someone, she was even more so. sub:39e925ee
During those late-night whisper sessions in her college dorm, one outgoing roommate had once joked that she only had two strategies for dealing with a crush: one was "talk to literally everyone except him," and the other was "work desperately hard to be impressive whenever he's watching." ··77f9b034 The first was self-explanatory — withdrawing out of shyness only pushed the person further away. * 3402fe47 The second sounded almost inspirational, but beyond achieving personal growth, if the goal was actually landing the guy, it was equally useless. #2f9e1b15
Leah had laughed along with the other girls at the time. [proof:fdd0f0a8] Only now did she understand that when her own turn came, she was even more clueless. no.28a2ac8b She had no idea how to flirt or drop hints — it was simply beyond her. [proof:a7756199] And whenever she pictured Elias Grant's aloof expression, she was terrified of being rejected. [ed.da4a7847]