TW: some smut

I didn't add too much smut, as I didn't want it to be the main focus of this chapter. A bit more building up on OC Dani and Sam's relationship with a bit more reflection on Dani's emotions and growth from the previous year. Next chapter the action and plot from the game will finally begin!

Thank you Crystal-Wolf-Guardian-967 for the love!


Makati, Philippines

I had finished combing over the research Sam had collected on the Tusk of Ganesh. I had turned on the television for background noise as I organized the piles of paper and books, while Sam got something ready in the kitchen. I checked the clock, determining the distance from Manila and how long it would take for me to get home to my cousin's house.

"I wonder if I should start heading back?" I called over to Sam.

"You sure? It's getting late and the traffic is going to be bad." He replied.

I pondered for a minute, biting my lip as I looked out the condo's window. It's not that I didn't want to spend the night with Sam, it's more because Vera was home and Sam and I been together since the Ikopa hotel in Madagascar.

"You're probably right, hang on, let me text my cousin." I added, taking out my phone to text her.

Me: Hey! Would it be ok if you watched Vera tonight? I think I'm going to spend the night

Sophie: Oooooo (she added the smirking emoji)

Me: Come on Sophie it's not like that

Sophie: watevr u sayyyy & of course I will

I rolled my eyes, pocketing my phone. She loved to tease me about Sam. I glanced over at Sam, who was sticking food in the microwave. I walked over to the kitchen, my hand rubbing his back as he punched in the numbers to the microwave.

"Yeah, I'll spend the night. Sophie's going to watch Vera." I told him.

Sam gave me a smile, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Sooo since we've got more time, what's on the agenda? You want to keep studying?" He hummed.

Sam handed me a beer he had gotten from the fridge earlier. I popped open the top, taking a sip and grimacing at the bitterness of it. The alcohol went down hard, weighting my stomach like stone. He chuckled as he watched me wipe my mouth with my free hand.

"I think we deserve a break, let's watch a movie and just relax." I answered. I studied the label on the beer bottle. "Where did you get this?" I added, making a sour face.

He laughed again, releasing me and making his way to the living room as I put the beer back in the fridge. I swapped the vile drink out for a carbonated water, hoping it would cleanse my palate before we ate dinner. I waited for the food in the microwave to finish as Sam tried to find something on TV to watch, so far he wasn't having any luck. I reached for the food out of the microwave, burning the tips of my fingers on the hot plate as I tried to get the food out. Shaking it off and swearing under my breath, I used a kitchen towel to get it out and transferred the contents to plates that were less of a burn risk. As I entered the living room, Sam made a face at the TV as he flipped through the channels as he sat on the couch.

"You know, I remember television having a lot more options when it came to what was on." He commented.

I chuckled, placing the food down on the coffee table. "Why don't we just log into my cousin's Netflix account? We can choose something on there to stream." I suggested.

Given Sam's hesitation and confusion I couldn't help but crack a smile. He was such a caveman; like how I had teased him about learning to use his smartphone last year (and being obsessed with taking pictures when he got it). I gently took the remote control from him, bringing up the home screen and scrolling through the different app icons.

"It's a SmartTV, so it should have the capability." I added.

"I'm still getting used to this stuff, like I'm still amazed that you can choose what shows you want to watch at any time…" He muttered, observing me as I expertly navigated the television, silently amazed.

I couldn't help but laugh at his expression, trying my best to suppress it by covering my mouth. He playfully glowered over at me, unable to break out into a smile himself. Him asking me 'what' only made me break out into more fits of laughter, unable to contain myself. I fell into him, leaning my body into his shoulder as I continued to practically weep with laughter.

"You're so old-" I managed to wheeze.

"Wow, okay I didn't realize that my age was that amusing to you." He jested, prodding his fingers into my side.

I swear one of the worst things was Sam discovering that I'm ticklish. He saw the way I recoiled and tried to shy away from his hands only made him chase me more. It wasn't long before he was on top of me, but he had stopped, letting me catch my breath as I wiped away tears from laughter. I met his gaze as I opened my eyes, he peered down at me longingly, just like he did at the Ikopa hotel last year.

"What?" I asked softly.

"You're beautiful." He stated, like he was in awe.

I blushed deeply, the heat rushing toward my face and down my neck as I averted my eyes from his. 'Beautiful' wasn't something I had often if ever been called, only Sam had used that word in the past to describe me.

"Damn, Samuel…" I tried to shrug it off with a light dismissal, but he didn't break his gaze.

He cupped my face with his calloused hand, rubbing his thumb across my cheek. Even though it had been a year since we'd been intimate, I hadn't realized how touch-starved I was until this moment. He leaned down, his mouth catching mine. I returned the kiss, albeit awkward and clumsy in my haste. I paused for a moment, turning my head to the side slightly to break the kiss, my fingertips pressing lightly against Sam's lips. He pulled back to study me, curious as to why I had stopped.

"The food is going to get cold," I murmured, my eyes on the coffee table, "I would hate to waste it."

"That's what microwaves are for, sweetheart." He murmured back.

I smiled sheepishly at the nickname, my body hyper aware of his body laying on top of mine. I had told Sophie that Sam and I weren't technically dating, we were taking things slow to see where it would lead - granted we were doing things in a backwards order. With Vera and how traumatizing the whole Libertalia excursion had been for me, it was wise for me to heal and not rush into anything too quickly. But now here I was with Sam, by ourselves in a privately rented condo about to fly off to India the next day, drawn to each other like a moth to a flame. Just like the first time we had spent the night together, everything had felt so natural, so right; it was hard to resist the temptation to just throw caution to the wind and let him take me right here. The more I grappled with the decision to continue at a snail's-pace, the less sense that it made to me at this moment.

I caved, letting my own sensual urges cloud any other judgements or doubts that were present in my mind. I pulled him back down into a kiss, our lips crashing together fiercely. I parted my lips, allowing Sam's tongue access into my mouth. He didn't taste like nicotine this time (he had been using patches to try and quit the past two months), instead the taste was replaced with mint from chewing gum. His natural scent was still earthy, mixed in with a cheap cologne he had put on earlier today. I moaned, my lips working against his. His arms wrapped around my back, gathering me in as much as he possibly could. It was hard to maneuver on the couch; being short I had plenty of wiggle room but Sam was much taller and couldn't move much without slipping off. I suggested moving to the bedroom and he agreed with a grunt, too caught up in the moment to speak.

We stumbled into the bedroom, undressing each other on the way, blindly navigating through the door and toward the bed. We both collapsed on the bed, unorthodox and wrestling against the fabric constraints of our clothes, our lust overpowering everything else.


I'm not sure how much time had passed, but I know we had been at it for a while. We were drenched in sweat, the air in the room had grown thick with the scent of our pheromones, the bed springs seemed to continuously groan in overworked friction. I had only ever had sex in the missionary position with Rafe, it had almost always been joyless and unsatisfying. My lack of experience had made me sheepish in bed at the Ikopa hotel, letting Sam take control.

Now it was a completely different story.

Sam and I were both sitting up, my legs wrapped around his waist, holding each other as I rode his cock. My one hand dug into his shoulder blade as he penetrated deeper into me, my other hand grasped the nape of his neck. I whimpered shrilly, moving up and down as one of Sam's muscled arms enveloped around my back. His free hand held my cheek, brushing my bangs out of my face in such an affectionate gesture it almost made me crumble. I was getting closer to my climax, my head craning back as I quickened my movement. I heard him groan obscenities with Jesus on his breath as it hitched when I clenched around him. It hadn't taken long, I was already stimulated from our rounds of love making earlier; I orgasmed, letting out a cry in pleasure, colors bursting in my vision. My muscles tightened and pulsed in rhythmic intensity until finally relaxing, leaving behind a powerful wave of exhaustion.

Sam flopped down backwards on the bed as I sat on top of him, propping myself up with my hands on his chest. He panted, pushing his hair back from his eyes, stringy and sweaty as it hung in his face. I fought to keep my head held upright, it suddenly felt very heavy as I swayed slightly in fatigue.

"I don't think I can go another round, Dani…" Sam rasped, his chest heaving, "I don't have anything left…"

I grinned, dazed, tracing my fingertip on his star tattoo above his chest. "You really are old," I teased.

Sam scoffed, ogling at me in disbelief. "We've gone four rounds, there's no way you're not tired yet…"

I let out a wheeze, too out of breath to fully laugh. I could feel Sam going soft inside me, his eyelids drooping with weariness. Truth was, I was also beyond my limit, my body lethargic as I shifted myself off of Sam. Pulling out I could feel the sticky aftermath coating my inner thighs, laying myself down beside him.

"I'm just joking, I'm so ready to go to sleep." I cooed.

"Christ, me too. Felt incredible but holy shit I'm ready to pass out." He croaked, weakly pulling me in to cuddle against me.

I chuckled, nuzzling myself under his chin, my eyes fluttering closed soon after. It didn't take long for me to slip into a deep sleep.


Manila, Philippines

I combed through the clothes in my closet, attempting to pack my duffle bag adequately. Sam leaned against my bedroom wall, peering down at his phone. I felt distracted, excited to get to work on a project I'd actually enjoy for once, but torn that I would have to leave my daughter again for an unprecedented amount of time. My eyes snagged on the picture of Vera, Sophie and I sitting on my nightstand. It was taken on the first day of school, her dark brown hair in a high ponytail with a headband, giving a small smile as she posed in her school uniform. Everything from her half-crooked smile to her large gray-hazel eyes reminded me so much of Rafe. As I had been recovering the past year, the constant reminders of Rafe would send me into a deep surge of sorrow and guilt. Part of me didn't understand why, I had nearly a decade to tell him about his daughter but chose to hide her existence from him, not wanting her to experience the same life I had been forced to live with the Adlers. I refused to have my daughter live in a false world of wealth, masked as a puppet of servitude meant to be controlled. My feelings of resentment had morphed when he lay dying from Simmons' bullet; in his last moment he tried to defend me, that had to count for something.

"You almost ready, Dani? We need to leave soon." Sam's voice cut in softly.

I blinked myself back into reality, nodding and hustling my pace as I packed more. I opened my top drawer, looking for my contact book and a notebook I had taken with me on different excursions across Asia, hoping it might help on this mission. As I took out my books, I had forgotten that my only picture of Holden was underneath, I froze, my eyes locked on to the photograph.

His gray eyes, somewhat sad and sleepy looking like his father's, the faintest touch of light freckles starting to show on his cheeks and nose, his dark brown hair starting to grow in and look thicker, his open-mouthed smile revealing baby teeth starting to grow from the gums. I took that picture with a disposable camera, catching his little infant-self unposed and happy.

I forced the fleeting memory away. Last year the very sight of this photo made me have a complete and utter breakdown, but now I was able to compose myself without shutting down. The pain was still present, but a numbness that only came with time was slowly replacing the overwhelming grief. I saw Sam approach from my peripheral vision, but kept my eyes downcast at the photograph.

"Is that Holden?" Sam questioned hesitantly.

I swallowed thickly. "Yes," I replied curtly, closing the drawer abruptly.

Sam didn't respond, he only watched me with concerned eyes as I busied myself packing. Words of comfort seemed to linger on his tongue, but he held it, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily as I finished packing my duffel bag. Sam had comforted me about Holden before, despite me being keen to accept pity.

Some commotion from outside my bedroom door alerted both of us. Although it was muffled, I heard Sophie and Vera's voices from behind the door - Vera was home from school early today. I zipped up the duffel bag, slinging it over my shoulder and motioning for Sam to follow me outside. I opened the door, making my way to the kitchen. Vera heard us approaching, turning on her heel to greet me. Still in her school uniform, her long brown hair slightly frizzy from the humidity, she glanced up at me, eyeing my bag and Sam who stood beside me.

"You both all packed? Your flight is in a couple hours, right?" Sophie asked, smiling at us both.

"Yeah, we need to leave in a minute." I replied, looking down at Vera.

"I figured you wanted to tell her bye, so I pulled her out of school early." Sophie commented, focusing on getting something out of her refrigerator.

"I appreciate that." I replied genuinely.

I stroked Vera's arm, she looked at me expectedly, studying me with her intelligent eyes. Being home for a year was going to make leaving harder than I thought. I pulled her into a gentle hug, pulling away before I got emotional.

"I'll keep in contact regularly, okay?"

"Okay, mom." She stated simply.

"Take care of each other, don't take any unnecessary risks this time around. I'd prefer it if my cousin returned in a much better state than last time." Sophie interjected.

"I'll keep her safe, I promise." Sam said.

"Find some treasure, mom." Vera added, the determination in her voice filled me with a sense of pride.

"Will do."