4. The Grotto
Faith
A furious Cassius Blackwood dragged me away from the sex-fueled pool party and the patron who was flirting with me. He hustled me up the stairs and across the lawn, away from everyone. I could barely keep up with him.
“Where are we going?” I asked. “Sir,” I added hastily.
“To the grotto,” he growled. “Stay close.”
I obediently followed the mercurial billionaire. He’d ignored me at the pool, and I’d done everything I could to avoid him. Gina had ordered me to stay out of his sight, and I intended to follow the rules. I still couldn’t believe that I was allowed to remain at the club and that I’d be earning so much money. I didn’t want to sell my virginity and be a plaything for billionaires. But I really didn’t want my baby brother to get kicked out of his treatment program.
The Madam ordered me and Tate to go to the pool to join the party. I didn’t think that Cassius would be there. When I saw him, I felt a hot shame. He didn’t want me. He sent me away. I didn’t dare look in his direction for the rest of the afternoon, fearing his displeasure.
So I’d been shocked when he appeared at my lounger, hands clenched into fists, furious with the patron who’d approached me. Then he’d dragged me away from the party.
To say I was confused was the understatement of the year. Maybe Cassius was taking me to the grotto because he was going to fire me again. Or perhaps the billionaire had something else in mind…
Because Cassius stalked ahead, I stole glimpses of his powerful build from behind my sunglasses. Holy hell. I might not like him, and I didn’t understand him, but even I had to admit he was an exquisite male specimen. His back and shoulders rippled with muscles leading down to his swim trunks. His ass was muscular, perfect, as were his athletic thighs and calves. Cassius had a light tan and perfect, smooth skin. Glints of gray highlighted his dark hair; the evidence of his maturity somehow made him sexier. I remembered how he’d touched me the night before and shivered. He’d made me feel things I didn’t know were possible. He was an expert—a seasoned professional to my junior varsity level of cluelessness.
It felt incredible, but only for a little while. He fired you. He left you shivering, naked on the floor.
I didn’t know why he was back now. I didn’t know what he wanted.
We neared the grotto; several couples were in the manufactured lake, frolicking. When I say frolicking, I mean fucking. Everyone at the club was having sex again! I glimpsed inside the grotto’s rooms, many of which were occupied. Couples were inside, their naked flesh glinting in the sunlight. I saw one of the girls riding her billionaire, her long raven hair snaking down her back. She bounced up and down in an intense, primal rhythm. The patron threw his head back in ecstasy, cords standing out on his neck. He started thrashing, strangled curses erupting as he came. The woman threw back her head, lost in the moment, joyously riding him home as she shattered. I wondered if I could make Cassius feel like that…
I heard several cries of intense pleasure. It made me feel slick inside, woozy and hot. I got wet between my legs—some sort of innate biological response. The grotto’s marble statues looked on, inscrutable and all-knowing, as couples engaged in the eternal act of sexual connection.
Cassius grabbed my hand again and dragged me to the last grotto room. As we passed, I heard both male and female voices cry out in ecstasy. It seemed illicit to be able to hear such personal behavior. I glimpsed the pond again. The couples who floated were entwined, lost in each other, enraptured.
Maybe I should be like one of the statues—indifferent,I thought, as if nothing shocked me.
The truth was, everything shocked me. But I put on a brave face as Cassius led me into the final room. I hadn’t been inside one of these yet. The suite’s centerpiece was a beautiful, canopied bed, its white gauzy overlay rippling in the breeze.
“Get on the bed, Faith. And remove those sunglasses. Eyes on me,” Cassius commanded.
I licked my lips, which had gone dry. “Yes, Sir.” I removed my sunglasses and gingerly climbed onto the bed.
“Take off your suit.” Cassius stood at the end of the bed, powerful arms crossed against his chest, and watched.
“Y-Yes, Sir.” My heart rate kicked up as I tugged off my bikini. All that was left was the V necklace, cool against my burning skin. I’d gotten some sun by the pool, and my skin felt taut and hot against the whispery whiteness of the fine cotton bedding. The translucent canopy undulated above me, stirred by a light breeze. My skin prickled with goose bumps as I waited. I hadn’t expected to find myself in a grotto room that afternoon, naked on one of the beds, still wearing my V necklace. Especially not with Cassius Blackwood, who’d fired me only hours before, inspecting me hungrily…
“Spread your legs,” the billionaire ordered.
“Y-Yes, Sir.” I did as I was told.
Not knowing what was about to happen made me wild. My heart thudded in my chest. I got wet between my legs—soaked. I was afraid, but I was also… eager. Excited. That was the only way I could describe it.
The billionaire stalked to the bar and poured two ice waters. “Have you had any alcohol today, Faith?”
“No, Sir. I don’t drink.” I wasn’t sure if offering any extra information was acceptable, and I regretted the admission as soon as it left my lips.
Cassius’s icy blue eyes raked over me, zeroing in on my sex. It made my insides clench.
“Good. Neither do I.” He approached, putting the glasses on the nightstand. He was so close, yet so far. His hungry gaze traveled over my bare skin, and it was almost as if I could feel it, tiny zips of electricity lighting me up.
“What did that patron say to you—the one who sat on your chaise?” he asked. “Tell me everything.”
“He introduced himself. His name was Todd, I think.” I licked my lips nervously. “He told me I was pretty but needed to relax a little. He touched my necklace, asking if I was still a virgin. I said yes.”
Cassius frowned, his full lips forming a thin, angry line. “And then?”
“He told me to put my book away and suggested I take my top off.”
The billionaire hissed. “What did you say?”
“I said—I said I would do whatever he wanted,” I admitted. Misery welled inside me. I didn’t like the man. He was younger than Cassius and handsome, but as soon as he’d sat down next to me, I’d cringed.
Cassius’s expression was stormy. “I saw you put your book away.”
I nodded. “I thought I was supposed to do what I was told.”
“Only for me.” Cassius’s hands curled into fists. “Did you want to take your top off for him?”
“N-No, Sir. I didn’t.” I didn’t want to admit the truth—that at that moment, I’d longed for the more familiar, albeit mercurial, Cassius.
“What else did he say?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “He just asked if my platinum rights were still available.”
Cassius’s eyes narrowed. “And what did you tell him?”
“I told him that they were, Sir.”
The billionaire rocked back on his heels. “From now on, the answer to that question is no. I’m reclaiming my rights to you. You’ll still receive four million dollars. I’ll pay double to compensate you per our newest agreement.”
“Oh!” I blinked at him, shocked. “You will? That’s very generous of you. Sir.”
“It’s not generous.” His icy gaze raked over me, landing in between my legs again. “It’s selfish, Faith. Very, very selfish.”
He undid his swim trunks and dropped them to the ground. His cock—huge, rock-hard, and luscious—stood at full attention. Its tip glistened as it jutted directly at me. Holy hell. What was I going to do with that thing?
“You are mine, Faith,” Cassius instructed. He stalked toward me, his enormous, hard length getting closer and closer. “You will do what I want when I want. You will come when I call. And you’ll come when I have my way with you, of course. Like right now.”
He climbed onto the bed, kneeling, and scooted toward me. I shivered as I waited to see what the billionaire would do. He bent down, his face hovering over my sex. I could feel his breath. I quivered and clenched. The moment stretched out as I waited, needy, afraid, and most of all, eager. I longed to reach out and touch him, to feel the smooth skin pulled taut against his rippling muscles.
“Sir…?” I finally ventured. How long was he going to make me wait?
“Patience, my virgin,” his deep voice rumbled. “Once I start, I’m not going to stop.”
“Oh.” I didn’t know what to say to that! It seemed like some sort of penance and, simultaneously, the answer to my prayers. I wanted him, but I didn’t want to want him, and I didn’t even know what I wanted him to do. Something akin to last night, without the shameful part where he rejected me…
I waited, watching the powerful billionaire as he watched me.
Cassius seemed to enjoy my discomfort. His half-smile was cocky as I squirmed. I was already so wet.
Finally, he lowered his face to my sex. He blew on me, his cool breath making me shiver. He was so close. I held my breath, waiting for what he’d do to me next. Cassius blew on me again. Shivers wracked my whole body as I tensed. I could hear cries of pleasure erupting all around us in the cave.
Give it to me. I’ll have what they’re having,I thought wildly.
Then the billionaire’s tongue darted between my legs, gently lapping my slit. Yes!
I groaned, elated and relieved, immediately giving myself over to the sensation. I couldn’t stop myself from relishing Cassius’s attention. From the moment he touched me, I lost all control. Cassius put his strong, calloused hands on my thighs, gripping me. His touch drove me wild. I wanted his hands everywhere, but I knew I couldn’t ask. He was in control. I was his virgin, his hired plaything, his employee.
He buried his face in my sex, and I cried out. “Cassius!”
He chuckled darkly against my wet heat, tongue searching, darting between my warm folds, working his way up to the tender bud he’d ravished the night before. When his mouth found my clit, I realized that I was swollen and sore from our encounter at the club last night. He circled the tender bud gently with his mouth, tentatively sucking, and I realized that the shimmer of pain beneath the pleasure made the feelings more intense.
He began to suck hard and nibble at me.
“Oh my God, oh my God…” I thrashed beneath him, helpless, already entirely under the billionaire’s spell. It was true that he owned me. He was making my body sing. His hands gripped my thighs as his tongue lashed at me, up and down my wet slit. I cried out again, grinding against him. I was riding his face. Too lost in the moment to feel shame, I cried out again and thrashed against him, wanting more, wanting everything he had to give.
The edge of an incredible, overwhelming orgasm swept toward me like a riptide. It was ominous. It was enormous, so much bigger than me. The sensation threatened to drag me out and under, but all I could think was, hell, yes.
“You’re already there, aren’t you?” Cassius asked, nuzzling against my clit. “My little virgin’s so eager. How about I give you what you want, huh? You can come on my face, and then I’ll come on yours. Then we can do it again.”
I wanted to shout Yes, Sir! But I didn’t dare.
It didn’t matter—he immediately dove back into my sex, devouring me, and I lost all ability to think. His hands gripped my thighs, pulling me against his face again and again so that I was riding him. My hips bucked of their own volition. I’d never done this before, but my body took over. It knew what to do.
His tongue darted inside my slit, exploring again, bringing me to the edge of a new height of pleasure. I was flying high, soaring, my sensations rising to new heights. He put his hands under my ass and raised my body to his mouth, all the better to ravish me. Then his firm lips, teeth, and tongue once again devoured their way up my folds to my tender bud.
Cassius kissed it, worshipping my sex, then sucked it hard.
I shattered beneath him. Lost in the moment, I sank my hands into his hair, grinding against him, and cried out. “Ah! Cassius!” I came in a torrent all over him, the release and rush of my orgasm pouring out of me. I saw white. I soared high above, my body singing with rapture. Completely out of control, I babbled as I flew, laughing as tears streamed down my face and my body wracked in spasms of unimaginable pleasure.
I was lost to him, lost to the riptide. It was a force so much more powerful than me; I was helpless to it. Take me. Own me. Shatter me.
And he did.
Cassius sucked me through my orgasm, through my cries, until I realized that another onslaught was building, more potent than the last. I was almost afraid. The riptide was coming for me, its intense pull impossible to resist. I was drowning in the pleasure my billionaire gave to me, enjoying it too much to even think of saving myself.
“Cassius. Cassius!” I shattered again, and he moaned against my sex, loving it, cradling my ass and burying his face in between my legs. This orgasm was even more intense. I came hard, shooting out all over him, my body spasming in undeniable, out-of-control pleasure. I didn’t even know my name anymore, and I didn’t care. The riptide took me far out to sea, and I was lost in it, in him. All that mattered was the billionaire’s face buried in me, his hands gripping my ass, his firm, naked body between my legs.
I was his.
Once the spasms subsided, I felt weak. I came back into my body in waves, slowly descending from the incredible heights. I couldn’t believe the depth of my orgasms, how profoundly they’d shaken me, how, in the moment, I’d been entirely out of control and helpless against the powerful sensations the billionaire had conjured between my legs.
I didn’t trust anyone—I couldn’t—but I’d completely given myself over to Cassius: it seemed I didn’t have a choice. It simply was. He’d possessed my whole body, my whole soul. I’d never had an experience like that in my life.
Cassius worked his kisses up over my belly, finally reaching my breasts, which he sucked and nuzzled. This made my sex hot and needy again. Fresh wetness slicked my thighs, which I couldn’t believe. What was he doing to me? He was turning me into some sort of sex-starved animal!
The billionaire glanced up, his icy gaze owning my attention. He moved closer, bringing his face level to mine. Time slowed down, then stopped. He was so beautiful in the afternoon light. There were some lines around his ice-blue eyes, some silver in the light beard darkening his jaw. I loved that he was older than me. I didn’t know why that was true, but it made me feel safe. I recklessly wrapped my arms around his neck, relishing the feel of his large, muscular body against mine. His skin pressed against me, making me feel hot and also making me feel strangely at ease, as though we were meant to be naked together. His erection jutted against my stomach, huge and urgent, but Cassius seemed calm.
We gazed at each other for what seemed like forever. The white translucent canopy fluttered all around us, stirred by a light breeze.
Then Cassius Blackwood did something I didn’t expect: he leaned down and kissed me.