In this book within a book, plunge into the escapades of Satine Fontaine, who's on the run from her tumultuous past. The vibrant streets of New York beckon her, and fate conspires as she stumbles into Brooklyn's dingiest bar, encountering the enigma...
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STAR: I'LL KEEP YOU AROUND
Friends. How stupid was he to believe they were just going to be friends?
That afternoon, Satine and Mingyu lay in bed together, out of breath and sniggering uncontrollably after their third round of particularly frenzied sex. He found her company in between the sheets invigorating for lack of a better word. It was as if she'd flicked on a switch in his rather tedious brain - he'd never been so lively.
She would let him do anything. He had her in all sorts of positions; bent over every which way screaming for him to go faster. His favourite part was not complying. He fucked her on his terms.
Mingyu had been with girls who liked to take control, as much as they could with a guy like him, and he allowed them to. It was practice... but we'll get into that later.
He supposed he was so lenient with them because they were boring and the type of girls you see for twenty minutes before you're out the door, looking for another easy fuck.
Satine was no easy fuck.
He'd seen it in her - the fire, the flare and although he loved her sharp tongue and the way she could have him running laps, he was eager to control it. She was the foreign chemical, and he was the scientist. He didn't want to discard her... no way. He wanted to manage her, experiment with her so he knew she wasn't deadly.
From the beginning, he had this strong desire to put her in her place. No one that beautiful carries that kind of confidence, at least not in his experience. Beauty like Satine's was a blessing and a curse and it would always end up in the wrong hands.
Yet Satine glowed despite everything she'd been through.
She'd asked him about ten times if he wanted her to leave and every time he would reply so simply with a, "I think I'll keep you around for a bit longer." He didn't know what to do at first whilst she laid so comfortably in his arms, only because he liked it. She looked good resting on his chest.
Laughing, she would reply with something stupid like, "I'm a human being, not a dog." She had this way of delivering amusing lines with a straight face and it actually made him laugh. An honest laugh that he'd only ever shared with friends.
He would never admit it, but he was destined to fall first.
A simple morning coffee turned into a breakfast date, their breakfast date turned into an invitation back to his, chilling at his developed into multiple rounds of sex and little to no sleep. Lack of sleep means no real concept of time.
It was day three and they were yet to go outside. It is true what people say, good company and lively conversation fill the mind with great pleasure. Mingyu's loft, while small, was a great place to generate just that.
His open-plan kitchen was where Satine spent a lot of her time. His cupboards were always stocked full of junk food, particularly Lucky Charms. It's like he knew they were her favourite snack, and she couldn't possibly leave until she'd gotten through at least five more boxes. The rest of the space was simply his living area and Mingyu had done a great job at making it feel homely. He'd thrifted everything, of course, but his worn leather couch was still comfortable and fit the whole "who cares" vibe well enough. Satine claimed the spot with the best view of the TV pretty early on and Mingyu just let her. He wasn't going to be watching the screen anymore - he had a new favourite view.
