Chapter Ten
Upon hearing Reuben’s confession, something inside Cassandra snapped. She had fought against her desires for far too long and now they had reached a crescendo.
Kissing him felt like the last piece of herself had finally clicked into place.
The smoldering embers from their previous encounter flared to life, creating an unstoppable inferno.
She embraced the flames that had for too long threatened to consume her.
If she survived, Cassandra would rise from the ashes like a phoenix, reborn into something new.
Reuben moaned against her lips. His arms encircled her waist, pulling her flush against his body. The hard length of him pressed against her stomach. A tremor of uncertainty and hesitation made her pause.
“I–If you wish for me to stop…” Reuben’s whisper caressed her lips. When he tried to pull away, she held him tighter. Her fingers tangled in the fabric of his clothes. “Take your time.” Reuben smiled, easing her tension. “Take whatever you need.”
Whatever hesitation remained dissipated into the wind. Reuben was not James. She held his gaze steadily. “I need this.”
They melted together, and for the first time in her life, Cassandra embraced the desire coursing through her.
Her tongue teased the seam of his lips, begging entrance. He obliged with a groan and tasted her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, fingers threading through his hair. Acting on pure impulse, she tightened her hands into fists, tugging on the silken strands.
“Fuck,” Reuben growled into her mouth. “If you persist, I cannot be held responsible for what happens next.”
“And what would that be?” Cassandra teased his lower lip with her teeth. “I want you to tell me exactly what you would do, Reuben.”
His eyes darkened, as did his expression. A feral grin split his lips. “I would lay claim to that which has been denied to me for so long.”
“Do not make promises you cannot keep,” Cassandra murmured.
“From the first moment I saw you, I desired nothing more than an opportunity to pledge my loyalty to you alone.” His grip on her waist tightened.
“To worship you in every way. With my body. My mouth.” He licked his lips.
“I craved your presence. A hint of your scent. The briefest smile. A passing acknowledgment. You know not how I suffered being so close and not being able to act upon my desire.”
Cassandra’s face warmed. His words struck a chord deep within her.
A life lived without passionate declarations and unrequited longing.
Pride filled her knowing she possessed this power over him.
Not because of her position or her status.
No, he desired Cassandra as a woman. Heat blossomed within her, consuming every rational thought.
Reuben kissed her again, tenderly exploring the soft hollows of her throat with his lips, his breath on her sensitive skin sending her into a mindless spiral of hedonistic want. Her eyes drifted closed as he explored further.
His fingers slowly unfastened the buttons of her bodice. She shivered at the brush of his fingertips at the base of her throat. A groan of need tore free when he slipped his hand beneath the fabric, teasing the top of her breast.
“I have a confession,” she breathed, lost in the moment.
“I long to hear it,” Reuben murmured, his mouth burning her with every delicate pass over her bare skin. “Tell me, Cassandra. Allow me to unravel all your secrets.”
“You…” She gasped when his teeth raked across her bare shoulder. “Your presence has tormented me since the moment James enlisted your services.”
He drew back, smiling. “Did you know the extent of your desire for me then? Or was it an unhurried burn that slowly consumed you with an excruciating mounting tension?”
Cassandra blinked at him. The scoundrel.
He knew exactly what he did to her and how long it had burdened her with guilt and shame.
No longer. She refused to remain shackled to the unrealistic expectations of society—of marriage.
James had treated her worse than he’d treated his horses, and he’d beat them regularly when they had not performed to his standards.
Now, she found herself untethered from him—and his monstrous expectations.
This was her moment to finally be free, to live by her own standards. And it felt wondrous.
“I refuse to live in the past a moment longer.” Grasping his lapels, she met his gaze firmly. “The woman I was no longer resides within me.”
“And what is your request of me, madam?” Reuben’s hooded eyes belied his state of arousal. He craved her with a hunger she felt deep in her bones.
“I wish to take full advantage of you, Evans.” She traced her finger across his lips. “I long to ruin you in every way conceivable.”
He parted his lips, taking her finger in his mouth. The warmth of his tongue wrapped around the digit, and he suckled, teasing the length of it with his teeth. When she withdrew it, Cassandra blew out a shaky breath.
“No more conversation,” Reuben said, his voice hoarse and strangled.
In a rush, he grabbed her by the waist, lifting her off the ground. With two strides, he placed her on the desk, his hands impatient as he opened her bodice.
Cassandra gasped at the brute force, but her blood hummed with need. His hands skimmed over her shoulders and arms as he pushed the garment off. She fumbled with the knot of his tie as he pushed the fabric of her chemise down and freed her breasts.
“Saints, you are a vision.” He lowered his head and took a nipple in his mouth.
She arched against his hold, burying her fingers in his hair as he laved each breast with attention. Pleasure spiked through her when he suckled and teased the sensitive buds.
“Evans, please.” Cassandra tugged on his hair, and he broke free with a soft pop.
Reuben held her gaze as he lazily dragged his tongue over her. Then he pursed his lips, blowing gently against her skin.
Her body tensed at the flutter of sensation that coursed through her. With a deep, stuttering breath, she sighed.
“What do you need?” he asked, gathering a handful of her skirts and dragging them up. “Do you need me to touch you?” His fingers found the slit in her drawers. “Do you need me to taste you?” He stroked her slickened cunt. “So wet for me already, madam.”
“Evans.” She damn near growled. “Cease your torment.”
“Answer one question for me, and I will obey your every command.”
“What—?” she gasped, unable to finish the thought.
“Have ever thought of me when you lie in your bed at night, aching and lonely, longing for release?” He slowly eased two fingers inside her. “Have you touched yourself, wishing it were me lying between your thighs, driving you mad with lust?”
The questions only amplified her desire. She closed her eyes, remembering the nights like the ones he described. Every time she’d found the temptation too great, she denied herself, unable to bear the disgrace should it come to light.
“I—I have never—” She licked her lips, panting as he slowly fucked her with his fingers. Driving her mad with every measured stroke. “No.” She gasped as he rubbed his thumb over the sensitive nub at the apex of her thighs. “But I imagined it—many times.”
“Tell me, madam.” He continued his blissful torment as he spoke in an even, seductive tone. “Tell me you watched me work while imagining what it would be like to bend me to your will. Did you want to corner me in the pantry, beg me to fuck you, to ease the ache between your thighs?”
“Heavens, yes.” She moaned when he ground his palm against her center as he pleasured her. “Evans, I—I need—” Her pleas melted on her tongue when he drew back, leaving her empty and desperate for release.
“I have every intention of ravishing you in the way you deserve, madam.” Evans freed himself from his trousers and stroked his cock.
Cassandra reached out and touched the head of it, catching a drop of his seed on her fingertip. She lifted it to her lips and licked the salty treat while holding his gaze.
“Fuck me, Evans.” She arched a brow in challenge. “Show me exactly what I have been missing.”
Without hesitation, Evans pulled her from the desk and spun her around. He wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her skirts in his fist. Then he arched her over the edge of the desk.
“Brace yourself,” he whispered in her ear before drawing the lobe between his teeth.
Cassandra placed her elbows on the desk, thrusting her backside in the air.
He arranged her skirts until she lay bare to him.
He slid his fingers along her folds, parting them.
She rocked against the touch, needing more, wanting everything he offered.
Warmth unfurled deep in her chest as her breath hitched.
Knowing her needs, her desires were at the forefront of his mind left her aching in anticipation.
He cherished her, revered her. Every touch a gentle caress, a promise of safety and fulfillment. She craved more.
“Evans—” she pleaded.
His cock nudged her entrance, seeking her heat. Evans entered her slowly, his groan echoing off the walls and mingling with her sharp inhale of pleasure. He fit perfectly, stretching her to a full completion. She squirmed against him, wanting him to move, needing him to give her more.
“Patience, madam.” He wrapped his free hand around her throat, drawing her up until her back melded with his torso. He squeezed with a hint of pressure at the base of her throat. With her pinned in place, she could do nothing but submit to him. To his control.
He isn’t James, her heart reminded her. “Reuben…”
His grip eased and his hand dropped, fingertips splaying across her heart. “Trust me.”
Peace filled her, and Cassandra surrendered.
With slow, deliberate but tentative strokes, he moved, but the momentum built with every caress, every thrust. Cassandra could barely catch her breath at the onslaught of sensations.