KNOWING YOU

ILLEANA

What holds more power, lust or love? In my experience, lust seems to be the dominant force. Tyler Grey is the kind of man exuding an aura of desire and intoxication—someone I shouldn't desire, let alone be intimate with, yet he's gradually dismantling every belief I ever held about love.

What happens when the person who once humiliated you becomes the one you can't stop thinking about, even in the intimacy of your bed?
The boundary between love and lust is razor-thin, sometimes thinner than we dare to acknowledge.


TYLER

25 and fed up with the same routine – school, work, parties, and easy encounters with girls. But then there's Illeana Knowles, the first girl I hooked up with after returning from my business trip, a girl who inexplicably loathes me, yet her disdain excites me.

I find myself relentlessly chasing her, even though she doesn't want to be found. Every time I see her with someone else, a twinge of jealousy consumes me.
This one-night stand might just be the thing that either destroys me or sets me free.”


CHAPTER ONE


ILLEANA'S P. O. V

This has to be the last time I visit a bar with Michael. He never pays attention to me because, well... girls.

Damian. Damn. This guy never leaves my mind. I have to stop thinking about him, yet somehow everything I think about is either related to him or tied to him. It's irritating how everything I say or do triggers some sort of connection to him. Funny how he's in my head so much because, well... he rejected me when I told him how I felt. Dumb, right?

The beer keeps coming, and every sip just numbs my mind more. My eyes wander around the place looking for a distraction, and I end up locking eyes with Tyler Grey.

Can't this night get any worse? This guy embarrassed me when I started my job as a chauffeur and a laundry delivery girl. The worst part is he acts like he doesn't remember it or that he knows me.

"Hey, Michael, you wanna get outta here?" I ask while looking at my watch.

"Uhm... No?" Michael replies while ogling some girl. "It's just half past 11, Illeana. Relax, alright? I'm going to grab us some more drinks." He continues, with his eyes still fixed on the girl.

I roll my eyes, knowing all too well he's not coming back anytime soon... or at all, even.

"Hey," I look back, and Tyler is behind me. What does he want?

"Hey," I reply, then I look away from him. Why are all the hot guys jerks, I shrug while sipping on my drink.

"You look familiar," Tyler says while trying to sit with me. "Have we met before, or..."

I put my bag on the seat and look at him. "No, I don't think so."

He looks at me and smirks. "Is the seat taken?" he asks with his right eyebrow raised questioningly.

"Yeah."

He looks around and points at Michael, who was all over the girl he was eyeing before. "By that guy?" he asks, taking a sip of whatever he had in his glass.

"Yeah," I reply, feeling a little embarrassed.

He comes behind me and leans on my back, and I feel how tense he is.

Is Tyler turned on by me? I wonder.

He whispers in my ear, "I'm sure he won't mind." That makes me fidget a little bit.

"You're not my type," I force the words out. Tyler lets out a sigh, "I'm not?"

I shift to my left, finding him whispering in my ear, his face uncomfortably close to mine ; our lips brush against each other, and our eyes are locked.

"No," I reply, trying to breathe. "I'd appreciate it if you left me alone." I continue, then I turn away from him and resume my drink.

"I'm sure I can change your mind..."

"No, I don't want to have sex with you for any amount of money. You'll still have the STI, even if you offered me a million dollars, I'd still say no!" I shout. I don't know why I did what I did, but it felt good. A lot of heads turned and looked at us. Tyler stiffly looks around and smirks.

"Dick move," he says and leaves me alone. I'm definitely going to regret that if he doesn't forget me again, but it felt good embarrassing him like that.






TYLER'S P.O.V

Un-Fucking-believable. Why am I still watching her after what she did? I mean clearly she's not into me so what's wrong with me?... Or what's wrong with her? Every girl I approach wants me, some even throw themselves at me... Literally.

" She turned you down?" Sebastian jokes as he steps beside me. " you look... Shocked."

"No , it's exactly the opposite." I reply with my eyes still watching her.

" O-Kay... So I finally found a group of girls who aren't total prudes. Are you coming?"

I look at the table full of sexy women that keep looking at us but my eyes involuntary... Shamelessly... Gravitate towards the girl who has the whole club thinking I have some STI... And she's now with a guy? I choke on my drink, seriously? Him? That's her type?

"Bro you're okay?... You look like you've seen a ghost or something. You're tweaking."

I look at Sebastian and realize that I'm not acting like myself.

"Whiskey" I say waving to the bartender. I can still feel Sebastian's eyes on me.

"Dude you coming or...?"

"No, I'm good." I say, my eyes finding their way back to the girl.

Sebastian shrugs, "More options for me." he says as he grabs another drink.

But seriously, that's her type? He's nothing compared to me... Nothing, I don't even know this girl but I feel insulted and a little... Jealous?

"you've got to be kidding me," I say to myself as I watch the guy slide his hand up her thigh. I wave to the bartender "More whiskey, just keep them coming "

The more I drink the more pissed I feel as I keep watching this joke of a guy make advances on my girl.

I pause and take a shot, my girl? I'm really tweaking.

Before I look away from her, she pulls her leg away and says something that seems to piss off the guy. He grabs her hand and boom... My silver lining.

Without realizing what I am doing, I walk over to them and look at the guy.

"Any problem babe? I ask as I turn my eyes to her. She doesn't say anything for a while and looks back at the guy.

" Is there a problem? "she asks him.

The guy looked at me and let go of her.

" No, I was just leaving." He says.

" I leave you for a minute and the dogs come rolling in. " I say while leaning in for a Kiss.

She's too stunned to respond but she doesn't push me away till the guy is like 10 feet away from us.

I take his seat and look at her," that's your type?" I ask, trying to sound the least bit insulted and interested.

" He didn't look like a jerk." she replies while waving at the bartender for a drink.

"And I look like a jerk to you?"

"If the shoe fits..." she replies while taking a sip from her drink. "Was the Kiss necessary?" she asks as she looks back at me.

"No, I just wanted to do it... The shoe fits." That sounded cooler in my head.

"Very funny." She replies while rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, you liked it, that's why you didn't pull away."

"No, I didn't push you away because I wanted him to leave me alone and those guys in that corner to stop looking at me like sex driven teens who just lost their Virginity and mostly because I didn't want to embarrass you.... Again." she says with a grin.

"You know, for someone who doesn't know me, you sure act like you hate me," I casually remark.

She pauses and looks at me, "You really don't remember anything, do you?" she asks with a hint of disappointment in her voice.

"Well, I don't know because I believe this is my first time meeting you. I'm certain I wouldn't forget someone like you."

I don't know if I said anything offensive or inappropriate, but she gets up and grabs her purse.

"I'm leaving."

"Hey, wait, we only just started talking."

"I didn't plan on talking to you, Tyler."

Okay, now I have said a lot of stuff today but not my name.

"You know me?"

"No," she says and starts walking away. A few guys watch her leave and start following her.

She's been nothing but a dork to me, so I shouldn't care, but I unwillingly follow her outside and hold her as she's about to fall.

"Let me go," she says, trying to stand up straight.

"You're drunk... I'm just trying to help."

"You're drunk too," she retorts.

"Okay, I think I've had it with your attitude. Either you let me help you or you figure it out yourself."

She looks at me and smiles, "And the true colors start showing."

"What's your deal?"

Some guys look at us and follow us, "You okay, lady? Is he bothering you?"

"No, we're good. She's my girlfriend, just a lovers' quarrel," I butt in.

The guys ignore me and look at her, "Are you okay?" they ask.

The girl looks at me and slowly runs her hand up my chest. "We're good," she says, locking her eyes on mine. "Just a lovers' quarrel like my boyfriend said."

Before I know what's happening, her lips suddenly meet mine, and her hand tightly clasps my neck.
Her Kiss is fervent. The hand around my neck tightens, and her nails graze my skin, while the hand on my chest skillfully unbuttoned my shirt.

Despite the realization that I should stop this, I find myself oddly captivated.

A subtle arousal builds as I get hard and my hand instinctively encircles her waist. She responds with a soft moan when I Kiss her back and press her against me, deepening the intensity of the moment.
"I want you." she whispers in between the kisses.
Next thing I know I'm calling an uber to take us to the nearest motel.

The ride from the bar to the motel felt unusually extended, yet her presence made every moment worthwhile.

Upon opening the door to our room, a groan escapes me as I pull her in for a kiss and the ability to refrain myself leaves the moment the door closes.

I lift her dress while kissing her, desire and need intensify as she bites my lower lip. Cupping her breast, I pause.
No-fucking-bra.

My hands slide down and push her pants down. She wraps her legs around my waist as I lift her, sitting her on the table.

"Take them off," she says while struggling with my pants. I smirk and help her as she pulls me into another hungry yet passionate kiss.

She moans as she feels every inch of me slowly making its way inside her, her jaw clenches and her muscles contract, tangling her fingers through my hair as she flings her shoes to the ground.

With each rhythmic thrust, the fragile thread of my sanity unravels, mortality giving way to a pliant surrender. Lifting her into the air, I press her firmly against the wall.

"Tonight, I'm yours." she whispers with sincerity, and my hand instinctively finds its place around her neck.


***

Reaching out to pull her close to me, I sensed an absence. Opening my eyes, she was nowhere on the bed and her clothes were missing. I shifted my gaze to my side of the bed, discovering a note that read "thanks for last night"
I chuckled ; kinda makes me sound like some hooker.

I raise the blinds and grab a cigarette from my pants. A knock on the door interrupts me.

"Room service," a lady announces. "Do you need anything?"

Opening the door in just my boxers, I notice her surprise, which amuses me. "No, I'm good," I reply with a smirk.
"I'll be leaving in the next ten minutes. Can you send me the bill?"

"That's already been covered."

I pause, intrigued. "By a woman?" I inquire. "Around 5.6, blonde, attractive, perfect body, and two distinctive features..."

"Yes," she interjects. "She paid for everything about 15 minutes ago."

"Did she happen to mention her name?"

"She told me not to tell you if you asked."

Well, she's certainly keeping things mysterious. "Well... Thank you.”



© Ms stark700