WALANG balak si Cifi magtagal sa Isla Fortejo. Her original planwas to only stay there for three days. Uunahan na sana niyaangbagyong paparating nang bigla iyong mag-landfall sa arawngalisniya. The rain had not stopped pouring down since then. Now, she'sstuck in the island and she didn't know what else to do. Mabuti nalang din at may generators at internet. Iyon nga lang, hindi kalakasan ang signal. Although mayroon namang wifi, maytimesna nawawala at nagno-no service ang phone niya.

Katatapos lang nila ni Dominic mag-dinner, so nasakani-kaniya silang kuwarto at nagtatrabaho. Mabuti na lang at kahitsaan siya magpunta, dala-dala niya ang kaniyang laptop.

"Bear with me, guys, lumalakas na naman ang ulanditosaisla, nawawala-wala na naman ako," naiirita nang sabi ni Cifi samga ka-meeting nang mag-join ulit siya ng call for the nth time.

"I-off mo na muna kaya video mo," suggested Mauve.

"Oo nga, para hindi ka ma-disconnect nang ma-disconnect. Ang importante, naririnig ka namin," ani naman ng katabi nitongsi Eyah. Magkasama kasi ang mga ito sa office ngayon.

Cifi turned off her video. "Ayan. Anyway, let's continue. Saanna nga ulit tayo kanina?"

"Nag-message na ako sa mga sikat na author. I askedthemifthey're also interested to write for Lure," replied Ruby, Legacy'smanager. "All of them said yes, excited pa nga sila."

Lure was the newest imprint of the publishing houseCifi owned—Legacy. It used to be a family business. Unfortunately, herparents died eight years ago, kaya si Cifi na ang nag-takeover

niyon completely. Iba naman kasi ang gusto ng iba niyangmgakapatid.

"You know I'm really happy that we decided to openourdoors to these genres. See, bumabaha ng submission ngayon,"

Sexy and erotic romance kasi ang genres na ike-cater ngLure. Sa ilang dekada ng Legacy, ni minsan ay wala pa silangnailalathalang ganoon. Medyo taboo pa kasi sa kaniya iyonnoon. Cifi couldn't call herself conservative because she's really not. Butdespite having a sex freak best friend, she remained old-fashioned. Puro wholesome romance stories lang ang kadalasang nilalabas nilasa Legacy.

However, literature is continuously evolving. Unti-unti nangnaglipana ang sexy romance at erotic romance na mga nobela. Asareader herself, she had witnessed how the whole readingcommunity learned to embrace deep level of intimacy betweenfictional characters, and surprisingly, they'd grown to love thesekinds of reads as well.

So, Cifi realized, why not give it a go?

"By the way, kumuha na ako ng iba sa mga nag-submit twoweeks ago. Do you want me to e-mail them to you, Cifi, so youcancheck them?" Si Eyah.

"Yeah, sure. Send them now. I'll go over themafter ourmeeting," said Cifi.

"Knock, knock."

Napalingon si Cifi sa pintuan. Nakatayo roon si Dominic. Mayroon itong hawak na tray na may kape at mga biscuit.

He wiggled his brows. "May I come in?"

Tumango si Cifi. "I thought you're working?"

"I am, pero bumaba lang ako saglit para ipagtimpla kangkape." He strode across the room towards her. Nilapag nitoang

transparent na tasa sa lamesa niya. "Brought you biscuits, too, paramay kutkutin ka."

Everyone in the meeting giggled and mumbled, "Aww." Something warm touched Cifi's chest. "Thank you."

"Sana may naghahatid din ng coffee sa akin," Hera, oneofLegacy's senior editors, whined. Nasa separate windowangbabaedahil naka-permanent work from home ito. Althoughkapagkailangan na kailangan ang presensya nito sa office, pumupuntanaman ito roon.

Dominic bent down and looked at her screen. "Hi, everyone."Kakaway sana ito sa camera nang mapansing hindi naka-onangvideo niya. "O, ba't naka-off 'yan. Paano nila makikita ang kapogianko niyan?"

"Napuputol ako nang napuputol, e. So far, dito sa audio, walaakong problema," sagot ni Cifi.

"I see. O, iwan ko na kayo," wika ni Dominic kapagkuwan. "Bye, guys. Sana hindi kayo mabugahan ng apoy ni Cifi. Badtrip'yan kasi hindi siya makaalis dito. She's stuck with me forever!"'Tapos ay humalakhak ito.

"Hoy!" Hinampas niya ito't itinulak. "Doon ka nanga! Iniistorbo mo kami!"

Tatawa-tawang lumabas na ang binata ng kuwarto niya.

Ibinalik ni Cifi ang tingin sa mga kausap. "Sorry about theinterruption."

"It's fine, hindi naman na bago ang pangungulit sa iyoni Dominic kapag nagtatrabaho ka," Eyah responded, laughing.

"At saka kung gano'n lang din naman kaguwapoangmangungulit nang mangungulit sa akin, ay, magpasawaykahangga't gusto mo," tila kinikilig na usal ni Monica, isa ringsenioreditor.

Cifi chortled. Sanay naman na ang mga empleyado niyasalalaki. Madalas kasing ginagawang tambayan ni Dominic angopisina nila. Hindi raw kasi ganoon ka-friendly ang mga taosaopisina nito.

She took a sip of her coffee and cleared her throat. "Enoughof Dom. Going back . . ."

Tumagal pa ang meeting nila nang halos dalawang oras dahil pinag-usapan din nila ang mga posisyong bubuksan pati naangpaparating na book fair, ang MIBF. Tina-target nilang doonilabasang mga librong under Lure. By the time they were finished, herbum already felt numb from sitting down for too long.

Nagpasya siyang humiga na ng kama at sa cellphone nalangbasahin ang manuscript na s-in-end ni Eyah. Because she alsolovedreading, she was hooked by it. Maganda rin kasi ang pagkakasulatat pag-build ng chemistry sa characters. Tungkol ito sa isangbabaena in-offer-an ng boss nito ng indecent proposal. Marami na siyangnabasang ganoong trope, pero ngayon pa lang siya makakabasangmay graphic bed scenes. Intriguing. She was already halfwaychapter four when she stopped. Mainit na ang eksenang binabasaniya.

Napalunok si Cifi at napabuga ng hangin. Tumayo siyaatsinigurong naka-lock ang pinto. Ayaw niya namang maulit sakaniya iyong nangyari noong isang araw na naabutanniyasi Dominic na nanonood ng porn at nagma-masturbate. For sureshewouldn't touch herself because she didn't know howto properlydothat, but it would be too embarrassing for her in case he decidedtoalso barge in her room unannounced while she's in the middleofreading a very explicit scene.

Muli siyang humiga at nagpatuloy sa pagbabasa. Pabiling-biling siya habang nilalabanan ang init na nabuhay at dumaloysakaniyang katawan. Iyon na iyon ang naramdaman niyananghumarap sa kaniya si Dominic nang walang pang-ibaba.

"I moaned when his hot mouth sucked my clit. Hindi pasiyanakuntento at ipinasok din ang mga daliri sa aking lagusan. Mywhole body quivered. I wanted more, so I reached for his cockandtwirled my finger around its moistened tip."

The way it was written was so vivid the whole scenewasplaying in her head like a movie. Napapalunok siya't napapakagatng ibabang labi. She was also squirming in her bed. As it unfolded, nagkakamukha na ang lalaking rumuromansa sa babae . . . hanggang sa nai-imagine na niyang sila ni Dominic ang gumagawaniyon.

Marahas siyang napabangon. She slammed her phone againstthe soft mattress of the bed and clutched her head until her nailsbegan to painfully dig into her skin.

"No. Pacifica, stop. Stop imagining him . . . doing things withyou," she admonished herself.

Tumayo siya at nakapamaywang na naglakad-lakadsakuwarto. Tumalon pa siya para tuluyang maalis ang init nanararamdaman, pero parang hindi nagwo-work.

Narinig siguro ni Dominic ang paulit-ulit niyang pagtalonkaya kumatok ito sa pinto. Cifi started panicking. When she lookedat herself in the mirror, her face and neck were all flushed! Hereyes also looked hazy. She heard the doorknob turn. Nang hindi itomabuksan ay muli itong kumatok.

"Cifi, are you okay? Ba't naka-lock ang pinto mo?" rinigniyang tanong ni Dominic sa labas. "Open this, will you?I'mworried."

Hindi agad siya sumagot. Paano'y naghihilamos siya. Umaasang maalis ng tubig ang pagkapula ng kaniyang mukha.

"I'll fucking slam this door open, Pacifica!" Galit na angbosesnito.

"Coming!" Makailang ulit siyang bumuga ng hanginbagoitopinagbuksan. "A-ano ba 'yon? Ba't mo ba ako iniistorbo? Nasabanyo ako."

Shemay, ba't wala naman siyang pang-itaas ngayon?

Although seeing Dominic's bare chest was a usual occurrence, Cifi's situation now was different. As much as she hated to admit it, she's currently horny, and seeing the guy she had just imaginedmaking love to her was bringing her to the edge.

"Ba't may kumakalabog dito kanina? Ano 'yon?" Salubongnasalubong ang mga kilay nito.

"Nagdya-jumping jack ako," sagot niya, pero hindi niyaitomagawang tingnan nang deretso sa mga mata.

He crossed his arms in front of his chest. "Dis-oras nggabi?At saka nang naka-pajama?"

"Bakit, may specific time lang ba na puwedeng mag-workout?Ano naman din kung nakapantulog ako? Mas presko kayamag-exercise nang nakaganito," Cifi countered.

But Dominic didn't seem a bit convinced. He slid his handsinto the pockets of his khaki shorts as if flexing his well-built chestand torso, then leaned down so his face leveled with hers.

Napalunok si Cifi. Her heart was beating erraticallyforamoment she got scared that Dominic might hear it. Ilang pulgadana lang kasi ang layo ng mga mukha nila sa isa't isa.

"You look like a tomato," he said as he continued to studyherface.

"E, kasi nga nag-workout ako. You know, mestiza things. Sigena, matutulog na rin ako maya-maya. Bye, good night." Umurongsiya para pagsarhan na ito, ngunit mabilis nitong itinukodangpalad sa pinto. "What do you want?"

Pumasok ito ng kuwarto niya at saka luminga-linga sa paligid. He was really inspecting the whole room as if she was hidingsomething suspicious. Ano bang akala nitong ginagawa niya? Hindi pa nakuntento si Dominic at lumapit pa sa kama niya't walangkaabog-abog na dinampot ang cellphone niya.

Cifi's mouth fell open. Nakabukas pa ang screen niyon. Sheforgot to close the novel! "Don't!"

Pero huli na ang lahat. Tumambad na rito ang kaninangbinabasa niya. Hiyang-hiyang itinakip ng dalaga ang mga kamaysalalong namulang mukha. Nakakahiya!

"Ahh," Dominic's voice drawled. May ngisi sa mga labi natumingin ito sa kaniya. "Nagbabasa ka ng porn, ah."

Cifi stomped her feet and snatched her phone fromDominic. "You're invading my privacy."

"I should tell you the same thing."

"Drop it, Dominic." Ang lakas-lakas ng kabog ng dibdibniya.

Hindi pa rin napapagkit ang ngising tumango-tangoito. "Interesting. I didn't know you read those kind of books."

"I don't—well, technically, I am reading it now, but that'sbecause I am required to. Eyah collated it." Embarrassmentsharpened her tone.

"Why? Maglalabas na kayo ng ganitong books?"

"Obviously." She turned off her phone and placed it onhertable. "Okay ka na?"

"Hmm, mukhang finally magugustuhan ko nang magbasa, ah," he stated. "Can you send me that? Parang maganda ngangpampatulog 'yan."

Muli siyang pinamulahan ng mukha. "Will you leavemealone?"

"That's not a bad thing, you know. I'm glad somehowyou'reexploring the beautiful world of sex and pleasure. I've alwaysassumed you're frigid. It's time for you to understand that sexisnormal," he said ever so casually.

Cifi bit the inside of her cheek. Now, he's lecturing her aboutsex.

"I'll leave you to it," Dominic added as he begantowalktowards the door. "Enjoy!"

Pagkalabas nito, kumuha siya ng unan para ipantakipsamukha, at doon sumigaw-sigaw. Nahihiya siya, oo, but shewasmore embarrassed by the fact that she was imagining himdoinglewd things with her . . . and that it hadn't stopped playinginherhead until now. At kahit pa kinakausap siya nito kanina, the imageof Dominic's head right between her legs kept interfering.

Sinamaan niya ng tingin ang kaniyang phone. She shouldn'thave read that novel. Saka niya na lang iyon babasahin ulit kapagwala na siya sa poder ni Dominic.

Groaning, Cifi went back to her bed and forced herself tosleep. But the cat in her was curious and it demanded to be sated, so she locked the door again, took her phone, and continuedreading.