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“Are—are you sure?” Emery asks, her eyes darting between Callum and me.

“Yes, I’m sure. Go on, we’ll be fine,” I assure her. She nods, standing as she rolls up her yoga mat. “And Emery, you did a great job with this class. Thank you.”

She smiles, walking toward the doorway where Kai is waiting. Kai watches Emery, his gaze tracking her every move with an intensity that makes even me want to squirm. Emery either doesn’t seem to notice or chooses to ignore it entirely, brushing right past him and into the hallway. Kai smirks, chuckling as he spins on his heels to follow after her.

As he disappears, we hear, “You two have fun,” from down the hall. I turn my attention to Callum, still in his lap and very aware of how hard he is for me.

“Fucking Malakai,” Callum grunts. “That kid is going to get himself in so much trouble with that woman.”

“Right?” I say. “I mean, did you see the way she was looking at him? Maybe she wants the trouble.”

Callum huffs out a laugh, running his hands down my back and over my ass. “Yeah, I did,” Callum says, his voice dropping an octave. “Kind of how I’m looking at you right now.”

“Mmm,” I murmur, rolling my hips over his growing erection. “Wanna take this session back to our room?”

He shakes his head back and forth, standing from the ground with me in his arms. And then he says, “I’ve got an even better idea, love.”

46

Callum

Lydia Aston is my beginning, my end, and my everything in between.

Exiting the yoga room, I carry Lydia into the hallway and then bank left toward a room I know is near the back of the building. I also know that the room is vacant and will remain that way as long as I possess the key to it—the same key that just so happens to be in my pocket right now.

“Where are we going?” Lydia asks, her laughter spilling through the space as I continue my half-walk, half-jog down the hallway.

Her laughter drives me forward, elevating the dopamine that’s been rushing through my system since the moment I met her. Whatever the fuck magic Emery spun in that class only enhanced my feelings for Lydia, only heightened my awareness of how much I love her.

I am so fucking in love with this woman, it’s insane.

I resisted the little siren for as long as I could, and it was easier in the beginning. The way she seemed to instantly soothe the chaos inside of me was unsettling. There was a small, shameful part of me that reveled in the suffering—a small part that thought I deserved all of it after what happened to Kaila that night. None of it was true, though. Lydia allowed me to see that. She broke down the walls I’d built around myself, and she showed me the truth. I am worthy, and I’ve never been more sure of that fact than now.

Once we make it to the room, I pull the key from my pocket and stick it into the lock, turning and pushing the door open as fast as my hands will allow. Lydia takes in the room, her eyes widening as realization strikes.

“A sauna? You don’t really strike me as the sauna type.” She laughs, gasping when I pivot and press her against the wooden wall.

Her hands thread into my hair, fingers tugging on the loose strands as the door clicks shut behind us. Steam unfurls into the room, curling around us in a soft caress. The heat settles over our skin in a fine veil of mist, soft and suffocating all at once.

“Yeah, well, ever since you mentioned the goddamn thing, I couldn’t stop thinking about fucking you in one,” I say, squeezing her ass so hard it’ll bruise. “And I happen to know a guy who had a key. We’ve got this all to ourselves for however long we want it. Oh, and it’s soundproof. Feel free to scream my name as loud as you can, little siren.”

“Mmm,” she murmurs, running her hands down my back and under my shirt. “I could show you some red tantra if you’d like.” She lifts my shirt, and I reach back with one hand to pull it the rest of the way off.

“Red, white, blue, purple … I don’t fucking care what color it is, love. Show me the whole fucking rainbow,” I say, dropping my mouth to her neck and sucking.

Her head falls back against the wall of the sauna as a breathless moan leaves her lips. Those fucking lips. I need them on mine, now. I press a trail of kisses up her neck and along the line of her jaw, my lips lingering over hers.

“Lydia,” I mumble, pressing my lips to hers. Her tongue collides with mine as I open up for her. “I can’t get enough of you.” I swallow her moans with my mouth as she pushes her hips against me.

“Then take from me,” she breathes out, deepening the kiss. “Take everything, Callum. I’m yours.”

Her words unleash something within me, something clawing its way to the surface quicker than I can stop it. I spin, slamming her into another wall, my mouth crashing with hers like I’m trying to consume her soul entirely. Walking backward, I turn and lay her down on a large bench against the wall. I pull back from the kiss, only to tear her clothing off like it deserves to be punished for remaining between us. And this time, I grab the center of her lace underwear and pull, ripping them down the middle as a low growl rumbles through me.

“God, you are so damn sexy,” she says, her lust-filled eyes on mine as I toss the torn clothing to the side.

I drag the rest of my clothes off, leaving nothing between us as I lean forward to devour my prey. I know that I tasted her once already today, but once wasn’t nearly enough. I need more, endlessly.

Leaning over her, I wrap my arms around her back and lift her onto my lap. Her slick skin slides against mine as the steam and the heavy scent of cedar and sweat wrap around us. She leans forward, closing the distance between us.