“It’s simple. No more mixed signals and near-kisses. No more games, no more pushing me away, no more denying your feelings. I understand the need for discretion, but I willnotcompete with the ghosts of your past. You aremine, Cassius Devane. Understand?”
“I suppose I can live with that,” he says with one last smile, and then he’s inching his way down again, replacing his teasing fingers with his—
Oh, goddess. That mouth…
I strain against the leather belt, spreading my thighs as he licks a hot path between them. He swirls his tongue over my clit, then sucks it between his lips, gripping my thighs and spreading me wider, deepening his kiss.
After all the touching and teasing tonight, it doesn’t take much to push me to the very edge, and soon my thighs are trembling again, the heat in my core building to a near-crescendo as he devours me, the deft strokes of his tongue growing more urgent as I arch closer, my muscles clenching, my breath turning shallow and desperate…
“Cassius!” I cry out as I finally shatter beneath his mouth, and he moans in response, the deep, gravelly sound of it vibrating across my clit as another wave of pleasure pulses through my core. Heat spreads down my thighs, wrapping my body in an electric buzz as the orgasm ever so slowly recedes.
Butheisn’t ready to recede.
He presses his lips to my flesh again, sliding his tongue inside me, his grip on my thighs tightening as he continues to take back every last inch of control.
It’s almost too intense, almost too much, but I’m powerless to resist the seductive demands of his touch. He pushes me past the blissful orgasm, past the aftershocks, right to the edge of total overwhelm. Soon I’m squirming, my skin on fire, my thighs clenching beneath his firm grip, my body desperate to escape his relentless kiss. But no matter how hard I try, he’s alwaysrightthere—tasting me. Claiming me.Owningme, just like he promised.
Then, just before I’m certain my body’s going to revolt, certain I’m going to pass out from the overwhelming intensity, I feel it building again, a slow but steady climb, each stroke of his tongue unlocking new levels of desire that demand evenmoreof his touch, more of his hot, perfect mouth.
He moans again, teeth grazing my clit, and that’s all it takes. I come with an intensity that borders on chaos, a pleasure so pure and otherworldly I’m not even sure I’m in my body anymore. I wonder if I’ve been struck by lightning, my body vibrating, my nerves sizzling, my bones melting inside me. By the time he pulls back, I can’t even scream his name; all I’ve got left is a gasp.
I’m still reeling as he drags his mouth along my inner thigh, kissing a fresh path up my stomach.
I’m still reeling as he slides out of his pants and boxers, then settles his weight between my thighs, his cock hard and eager.
I’m still reeling when he positions himself at my entrance, looking at me with a deep, desperate hunger, his mouth glistening, his hair as wild as his eyes.
“Okay?” he asks.
There’s only one word that matters now, only one word I remember, and I offer it up like a gift. “Yes.”
He plunges inside me, my body gripping him tight, still pulsing with the final waves of the ecstasy he just delivered.
He breathes my name and buries his face against my neck, inhaling the scent of my skin.
And then, naked and stripped of all pretense, Dr. Cassius Devane—a man who once pretended to shoot me in order to save my life, a man who’s protected and cared for me every day since, a man who would lay down his life for me and my Arcana brothers without question—fucksme.
It’s the only word for it, and not because it’s shallow or vulgar or casual. No—it’s deep and dark and possessive, an act of pure, primal instinct that leaves no more room for doubts and denials, no more room for fear.
Only love. Only perfect trust.
He fucks me hard, then soft. Teasing strokes, then deep, all-consuming lunges.
He fucks me with his eyes open, as if he doesn’t want to miss a single expression, a single smile.
He fucks me in a way that marks me forever—that claims me, just as I’ve claimed him.
Only when I’m crying out his name again, only when I’m writhing beneath him, only when my body trembles in the grip of a final, epic orgasm, only then does he finally close his eyes and surrender, once and for all.
He comes with a shudder that rolls through his every muscle, vibrating against my body as we both fall headlong into bliss, letting that wild, untamed river carry us away.
* * *
We emerge slowly, one breath at a time, neither of us wanting the moment to end. But my hands are numb from being restrained so long, and we’re both in desperate need of a hot shower and some sleep.
Doc finally releases me from the binds, gently massaging my arms and pressing light kisses to each wrist. Blood rushes back into my fingers, making my hands tingle, but I like the feeling. It reminds me of everything we gave each other tonight.
Promises. Honesty. Vulnerability. Trust.
