Chapter 1 The Stranger's Rule 1

"Don't stop..."

The words escaped from her lips as she breathed heavily and shaky as fingers gripped her thighs. It was firm and filled with desire as his mouth made way down to her neck. His body was almost into hers as the scent of him filled with a powerful odor, clean, unfamiliarly filled in the air. Her back curved as his lips made way for the center of his breast, his hands want down to her silk as he tried to pull it.

She gasped as she lifted her hips to meet his body. Everything about him was unknown. He was faceless, nameless but filled with desires, the short hair on his face which was on her skin, the weight of his palm on her thighs, the slow movement he made when he shifted her panties aside, his hands brushing on her desire filled body.

"Do you like that?"

His voice was velvet and smoke, a whisper behind the mask.

Her moan answered for her.Slow at first, then deep. She rubbed her fingers in his hair as her breath came out shallow amidst gasping, her body trembled as he grabbed her closer to the edge, his grip tightened and connected her to that moment. She was falling. Spinning. Almost...

Buzz, Buzz.

Nina's eyes opened immediately as her chest was rising and falling fast accompanied with her deep breath. The room was dark but the lighting up of her phone glow made it babies for her to see where it was. The air was still and filled with the desires from her dream. The sheets were rumpled around her legs, twisted from the way her body had twisted in her sleep.

She blinked as she rubbed her eye with the back of her hand almost amidst waking up from her dream but in reality, it was so quiet and lonely.

She breathed shakily as she sat up slowly and brushed her messy curly hair from her face with her fingers.

This was Nina.

Thirty-two and alone. It's not because she didn't want love, but because she always seemed to chase after the wrong kind of men. She wasn't the type who fell for sweet words or a surprise candlelight dinner. That had been years ago, when she was younger, more hopeful and more innocent. Back when she thought love came with guarantees. Now, she lived with a cautious heart, one that had been cracked too many times to count.

By day, she was a marketing consultant, sitting in video calls with men in suits who didn't know her name and clients who thought "urgent" meant "drop your life now." By night, she was a ghost in her own apartment, moving from fridge to couch to bed like a loop on repeat. Same wine. Same playlist. Same ache under her skin.

She wasn't ugly, far from it. Nina had a quiet beauty of a smooth brown skin that glowed under the sunlight, large cheekbones which people complimented on, and a perfect set of brown eyes that always looked like they were sparkling but beauty hadn't gotten her far, not with the kind of men who treated women like checkpoints on a game board.

She had loved deeply once. Gave her heart to a man who said forever and then left before spring even came. After that, she learned to keep things light. Casual. Safe. Men came and went. Some didn't even stay the night. And that was fine. Or so she told herself.

But truth be told, Nina was tired.

Tired of pretending hookups didn't leave her hollow. Tired of forcing laughs at bad dates with men who talked only about themselves. Tired of scrolling through messages that started with "hey sexy" and ended with "u up?"

She missed feeling something real. Something reckless. Something that made her breath catch and her skin come alive.

And maybe that's why the dream had felt so vivid because her body, her soul, was starving for more. For fire, for danger, for a man who didn't put rules for unfulfilled desire.

Her eyes went to her phone again, still glowing in the dark as a soft buzz and a single notification popped up.

She picked it up, her thumb waited for some moments before unlocking the screen.

A message from Zee:

"There's a place tonight, a secret masquerade ball and I don't certainly know the host. Masks, mystery, no names. You in?"

Zee is Nina's closest friend, not necessarily the kind of best friend who shows up for consolation after any heartbreak but the one who makes her believe that they are more guys outside who want her for who she is without painting words. She's the fire to Nina's quiet storm who is so bent in taking risk and breaking rules and she grows in any state of disorder and never apologises for her attitude.

They met years ago at a mutual friend's birthday party, Nina, in her moderate work blouse and uncomfortable smile, and Zee, in red leather and boldness, opposites at first glance, but something clicked. Zee had this attractive presence that drew Nina to her, not because she wanted to be her, but because she wanted to feel that kind of freedom.

As time goes on, Zee became Nina's unofficial guide into the world of what-ifs free choice road trips, rooftop wine nights, whispered conversations about imaginations and frustrations. Zee was the one who encouraged Nina to dye her hair that one summer, to leave the cheating boyfriend without looking back, to flirt without shame and to feel sexy without apology.

But Zee wasn't that perfect, far from it, she had her own scars and secrets. Men who hurt her. A family she rarely talked about. A past that made her guarded of attachment but unlike Nina, she didn't hide her wounds, she showed it to everyone and dared them to to say something about it.

Their friendship is honest, deep, sometimes disorderly but real. Zee pushes Nina in ways others don't. She doesn't sugarcoat. She doesn't baby her. She challenges her, calls her out and reminds her of the desire she's been suffocating in for years.

So when Zee sends that message about the masquerade ball, it felt normal. She knows Nina. She sees the way her friend has been weak: buried in routine,always alone and longing for something she won't name.

The invitation is Zee's way of arousing her longing desire.

She knows this night might change everything for Nina and maybe, just maybe, that's the point.

Nina stared at the words for a long moment. It felt like an echo. Like the universe had heard her silent hunger and dropped an answer in her lap.

She licked her lips slowly, heart still racing. She didn't know what she expected from tonight. Maybe nothing. Maybe everything.

She texted back: "Tell me more."

Zee responded almost instantly: "No names. No questions. Just come. Wear something dark, and a mask. You'll find me."

Nina's breath caught.

The pain between her legs still beat softly from the dream refusing to loosen its grip. And now this? A place where no one knew your name. Where masks meant freedom. Where rules were left at the door.

Maybe it was crazy and maybe it was exactly what she needed.

Nina rose slowly from the bed, her legs still weak, her skin tingling with unseen touches. The room felt hotter than before, like her body hadn't forgotten of the dream. She stood in silence for a some time, listening to her own heartbeat which beat quietly in the still air.

She walked toward the bathroom, removing the tank top and lace panties that she was putting on. The mirror caught her reflection: red cheeks, parted lips, and a faint light in her eyes she hadn't seen in a long time. That dream had stirred something. No, it had opened something.