*
Amber's afternoons were usually spent following Deok-Su to work. Said friend had taken the day off to pamper his wife. This was probably the reason why both of them had yet to reply to her texts. There was no reason for Amber to deny Ezra's request to record her voice now, aside from that one overused excuse.
Studying.
Amber's heart sank at the thought. Her mind was already bored just thinking about the stacks of art history notes she had to read. This was an activity which she should be doing daily, so that was nothing new.
Which was why Amber agreed to his request to record today. Simply because she owed him. Because he had been pretty persuasive, going so far as to give her cute pouty looks when she tried to explain that she should practice.
And because he was her soulmate. Maybe she was being a little too sentimental, but this would be his first request from her and she found it difficult to deny him.
MOANING. Amber slapped a palm to her forehead, rubbing her temples.
The damn act of making a low sound from sexual pleasure. She was pretty sure he was not interested in the kind of groans one made due to mental frustration or pain. He wanted her sexual sounds. Her sounds of ecstasy and pleasure. Sounds that Amber should only be letting a lover listen to, sounds she made because she couldn't help it.
Sounds of absolute sin.
Amber's stomach clenched and flipped at the thought. There was a surge of cold fear through her veins that was coupled with a wash of fiery excitement. The two differing emotions were clashing within her system, fighting for dominance like two hostile animals in a Roman arena.
Good God. Amber nibbled on her bottom lip nervously.
Her need for practice made sense. She'd been muffling her sounds of pleasure her entire life. The walls of her home were too thin to block out sound and the idea of anyone hearing her was too embarrassing for her to fathom.
She'd accidentally let out a soft sigh at home once and her father had overheard. For a while, her mind considered the many ways she could jump out of the window so that she wouldn't have to face him ever again.
She was trained to not make a sound.
Kissing Sieon had been the first time in her life in which she had let those sounds escape her lips. The problem was that she didn't really remember what kind of sounds she had been making. Her mind had stuck more to Sieon's moans. Her brain had memorized his groans dutifully so that they could be reused when she engaged in some self-love.
Her cheeks burned at the thought. The memory of the husky exhales and velvety groans sending a rush of excitement that burned low at her belly. Her mind's eye flashed with the image of Sieon's hooded eyes, glazed and shimmery with lust, pupils dilating as he panted softly. No, no no. Amber frantically dispelled the thought before she ruined her panties with her arousal. That was beside the point.
The point was practice would help her give Ezra better moans.
He had then pointed out to her that he didn't want her to mimic porn stars and shit, because then he might as well google for free sounds online. In his words: Why am I wasting my money on your moans then? Fair point.
She still didn't understand why he wanted her moans.
Ezra didn't bring her to the company, rather she found herself pulled to the group's dormitory of all places. Their dormitory. The one place where all the boys slept.
The one place with the highest probability of seeing MinJae and getting her sorry ass hauled to the police. The one place where she might meet JieMi and face his wrath for using his body like her toy.
Fun times. A wry smile spread across her lips.
She'd been avoiding him at school as if he had contracted a contagious life-threatening disease that she wasn't vaccinated for. The minute she spotted his silhouette in the corners of her eyes she would turn tail and run for the hills with the memory of their rendezvous crystal clear in her mind.
She seriously didn't understand how it was remotely possible to see the guy she least wanted to see so many times in a school meant for thousands.
She hadn't even known that he attended the same university. Hell, she didn't even know if all of her soulmates had graduated from university or not. Were they even attending university? With their hectic schedules, she was pretty sure education was more of a side hobby than an actual concern for most of them.
JieMi did not share a class with her. She had googled and there was a degree in the school that was specific to performers. She was pretty sure he signed up for that degree with classes involving singing, dancing and acting. Nothing related to any of Amber's art classes.
Right? She decided to ignore the niggling feeling of doubt deep within her gut.
Anyway, she didn't realise that it was their dormitory until she was at their doorstep. Simply because it looked nothing like what she associated with the word 'dormitory'. She thought of long hallways and multiple rooms, of stacked beds and shared spaces. Not, this monstrosity.
Their dormitory was located at the heart of the city in one of the most expensive residences in South Korea. The residence had emergency helicopter pads, secret passageways to exit and enter the area, and its own private recreational facilities.
For fans, this complex was like the biggest 'X' on the damn map for treasure. The people who lived here were either billionaires, CEOs or idols, which explained the security, the expensive interior decor and the facilities.
The place was famous for having the heaviest of securities to protect the wealthiest of clients.
She knew about the complex because of the news reports of crazy fans that had tried but failed to trespass. Amber had freaked out a little at the number of buff bodyguards guarding the area and the over the top safety protocol that she had to go through.
The scans mirrored those at the airports. And the way they conducted their security had her wondering if they had just encountered a terrorist to warrant such thorough checks.
They had wanted to run an identity check on her, which she narrowly avoided with Ezra's help. He was getting a little irritated at how long they were taking. So an impatient 'hurry the fuck up' from him gave her the ability to skip a few steps. If they discovered her records for 'stalking' IDOL, this would get really awkward, really fast.
Amber swallowed thickly. The thought of that sent a burst of panic through her system. The idea of Ezra giving her that same look of disgust that MinJae had given her triggered a sinking feeling deep within her gut. The anxiety sat below the smiles that she gave Ezra, like layers of whipped cream that covered a murky sea of black coffee.
She only realised that she was heading right into the lion's den when Ezra had checked his watch.
"I don't think anyone is home." He had murmured, humming out the words in a soft, sexy, rough exhale.
She had glanced at him sharply, fear trickling steadily into her pounding heart, a sudden icy cold chill engulfing her body.
"People stay here?" She asked, her voice sounded soft and far away as if she had been dunked deep into the sea. Oh shit. Her muscles clamped up as dread filled through her system.
"Yeah," his brows furrowed together as he considered what information he could give her.
She paled rapidly, lips parting as she stared at him. Just the thought of opening the door to face the rest of her soulmates, sent a gush of fear through her heart.
"You're not my soulmate"
MinJae's mellifluous voice echoed in her mind, steely, soft and so, so so cold. She flinched, her body losing its strength at the thought. Fear was flowing through her body, consuming her heart and sending her into an automatic fight-or-flight panic mode. She nibbled on her lips, the disgustingly clammy sensation of cold sweat beading in her clenched palms.
Holy shit, what did she sign herself up for?