46. Caden
Caden
I followed Aeris through Atlantis at a distance, the sounds of moans, whimpers, and quiet desperation wrapping around us like a maelstrom of confidence, sex, and carefully curated sin.
She’d been fucking breathtaking on stage, standing alone beneath the golden lights with nothing but her voice to hold an entire room captive. I’d almost crossed the distance between us and sat at the piano, just to give her a melody haunting enough to match the ache in her words.
But I didn’t, not when there were so many eyes.
“Let it all burn,” Dad had whispered to me as soon as Selene had pulled up outside Vivienne’s. “I’d give up every penny before you marry that bitch.”
Which was convenient, because I never had any intentions of marrying Vivienne Blackwater.
“In here,” Aeris whispered, waiting until there were no eyes on us before pulling me into one of the unoccupied rooms. “It’s private. No one can overhear.”
She immediately locked it behind me and then placed her palm flat on the screen until it glowed green.
“What happened to your office?”
“It’s been compromised.” There was a stubborn set to her jaw. “I gather congratulations are in order?” she said tightly.
I stared down at her, at the tight purse of her lips and the defiant tilt of her chin. “Selene threatened my father.”
She nodded once, as if she knew it was a possibility. “Is he okay?”
I took one slow step forward, the air between us thickening with violent tension. Like the first snap of lightning seconds before the rain. “His pride’s wounded, but he’ll live.”
Aeris stood straight, shoulders rigid as I crowded her. “Well? Did you accept?”
“You don’t want me to marry her,” I said, a statement rather than a question.
Her brows pulled together, and I ached to smooth my thumb over the line. “You know I don’t.”
“Why?”
Her eyes searched mine for a long, heavy beat before she pushed past me, deeper into the room. “Does it really matter?”
She’d dragged me into one of the club’s private playrooms. A large bed took up most of the space, draped in luxurious silk sheets with coils of soft black rope laid out deliberately at the corners.
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors covered every wall, reflecting our bodies back at us from every possible angle.
Then there was the padded bench at the foot of the bed, cuffs for someone’s wrists and ankles as well as an array of toys to play with.
“Answer the question, Aeris.”
“God,” she growled, the word cracking with frustration. “What do you want me to say? That I don’t want you to marry her? That if you go through with it, then everything I’ve risked has been for nothing?”
I took another deliberate step forward, crowding her space. “Is that all?”
Colour flooded her cheeks. “Goddamn it, Caden,” she cried, voice breaking. “What the hell do you want me to say?”
“The truth.” I backed her up until she hit the mirror, and fuck if she didn’t look beautiful in her anger.
“If you marry her, then Selene wins and I’ve lost.”
“Is that the only reason?”
She let out this cute little sound. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
“Everything.”
I moved fast, my hand wrapping around her throat, feeling her pulse hammer wildly against my palm as I leaned in until our faces were inches apart.
“Let me be very fucking clear, Tempest,” I said, dropping my voice. “I want everything. I want you to admit that the thought of me marrying Vivienne makes you sick. That the idea of her hands on me, her mouth on me, makes you fucking feral.”
Her breath hitched, and I wanted to capture the sound.
“I want you jealous,” I continued, tightening my grip just enough to make her gasp. “I want you possessive. I want you so goddamn obsessed with me that the thought of anyone else having me drives you insane.”
I brushed my thumb over her racing pulse, voice dropping to a dark whisper. “Because that’s exactly how I feel about you.”
She glared at me, and I fucking loved it. Loved that there was something sharp and ruined in her that matched this violence inside me.
“This is crazy,” she whispered. “We don’t even like each other.”
I tilted her chin higher, forcing her to meet my eyes as I breathed her in, the faint scent of her perfume. Not floral and sweet, but something hinting at coconuts, salt, and sun-kissed skin.
“What if I say no?” she added.
My free hand slid between her thighs, finding her pussy already slick. She tried to twist away, but my fingers tightened around her throat, pinning her against the mirrored wall as I pushed two thick fingers inside her without warning.
“You don’t want to tell me no,” I said, curling them deep. Aeris moaned, loud and broken, her walls clenching hard around me. “You want me to take the choice away. You want me to quiet that clever, stubborn fucking mind until all you can do is feel.”
I added a third finger, stretching her, fucking her with slow, deliberate thrusts while my thumb circled her swollen clit.
Aeris was panting now, hips rolling desperately to meet my hand even as she stared daggers. But she wasn’t fighting me. Like I’d said, she wanted this—wanted me—even if she wouldn’t admit it to herself.
“You hate how much you need this,” I rasped against her ear, her cunt fluttering and squeezing, dripping down my palm with every thrust. “You hate how wet you get when I take control. But your cunt doesn’t lie, Tempest.”
A wrecked sound tore from her lips, and her hands flew up to grip my wrist. Not pulling me away but holding on like she might fall apart if I stopped.
I fucked her with my fingers, relentless, curling them against that spot that made her legs shake.
Stretching her so she’d easier take my cock.
Last time she’d been too tight, and she’d struggled to take me.
But this time I was going to take my time, turn this powerful woman into a crying, dripping mess.
Crushing my lips to hers, I swallowed every broken protest as my fingers thrust faster, harder. Forcing pleasure through her body like it was mine to command.
I devoured her as she came, savouring the scream as my hand stayed firm around her neck, not choking but anchoring her, keeping her from falling apart completely.
I watched her closely. Every flutter of her lashes.
Every hitch in her breathing. Every subtle twitch of her body.
I was tuned to every tiny sign, making sure she stayed right there with me and wasn’t slipping away into her head, into those dark places where pleasure became survival and gentle touch felt like a trap.
I needed her to stay with me.
To be present.
Once she came down from her high, I removed her dress and underwear, leaving her in nothing but a pair of heels.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to her pulse, wanting to mix gentle pressure with heavy and show her both could be pleasurable. “And you’re mine.”
Pressing her palm to my chest, Aeris shoved me back a single step.
Her head cocked, those fucking lips pouting and swollen.
Then she was on me, her kiss hungry, furious while her hands shoved my shirt up over my head.
Her fingers made quick work of my belt and trousers, pushing them down with impatient tugs while stepping us both back until my legs hit the bed.
And I let her.
I let her push me back against the sheets. I let her drop to her knees between my spread thighs and take me into her mouth like she was starving for it. She took me deep, hollowing her cheeks, working me with slow, deliberate strokes of her hand and that sinful mouth.
I groaned, fisting one hand in her red hair, tightening just a little because she liked the pain. Aeris moaned around my length, the vibration shooting straight up my spine. Every swirl of her tongue, every suck and bob of her head pushing me closer to the edge.
She took me deeper, throat relaxing beautifully as she tried to swallow every inch. The sight of her lips stretched wide around me, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes, almost made me lose control.
Almost.
I fucking savoured the wet heat and the way she worshipped my cock like it was hers to ruin.
But this need to be inside her, to feel her tight cunt squeezing around me, finally snapped my patience.
With a low, feral growl, I tightened my grip in her hair and dragged her up my body.
She gasped as I pulled her onto my lap to straddle me, her soaked pussy sliding along my aching cock.
“Enough,” I grunted, voice rough with barely leashed need.
“And here I was, thinking you were being a good boy,” she rasped, gripping my length to line me up and slowly sink down. “Fuck,” she groaned, her head falling back as she took the first few thick inches.
Her pussy clenched, still so tight even after her first orgasm.
I hissed through my teeth, fingers digging into her hips, but I held back. I let her set the pace, let her sink down another inch, then another, until she was fully seated on my cock, trembling.
“Why did it have to be you?” she breathed, voice wrecked as she started rolling her hips, riding me with slow, deep movements. “You’re ruining everything.”
I chuckled, watching the obscene stretch where her pussy swallowed every inch of me. She was fucking drenched, her arousal coating my cock and dripping down my balls.
For a few blissful moments, I gave her control.
Let her use me. Let her chase what she needed as she braced her hands on my chest and fucked herself on my cock like she hated how much she wanted it.
Because I knew that was what I could do to take care of her.
To help her forget. To drown out Selene, the grief, the constant fear, and every dark shadow clawing at her mind until the only thing that existed was us.
My hands on her body. My cock inside her.
My voice in her ear telling her exactly who she belonged to.
The second her moans turned breathy and desperate, the moment I felt her start to lose herself, I flipped us, rolled her beneath me, pinning her wrists above her head with one hand while slamming my hips forward. I buried myself to the hilt in a single brutal thrust, tearing a sharp cry from her.
“You got to play,” I growled against her mouth, fucking her hard and deep, the wet slap of our bodies filling the room. “Now it’s my turn.”