I breathe a sigh of relief. I’ve been trying to get in contact with Cain since I’ve stepped inside the ballroom twenty minutes ago, but he hasn’t responded until now.

I was beginning to think he was having second thoughts about us.  

My pulse skitters. My entire body feels both lighter and heavier at the same time.

My heart is beating out of my chest as I make my way up the large spiral staircase. The idea of meeting Cain in a closet during a party is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking.

My legs are rubber by the time I find the door and turn the knob.

The closet is bigger than I thought it would be, but not big enough to be considered spacious. There’s just enough room for two people to fit comfortably inside. I search for a light switch, but there isn’t one.

A shudder runs through me at the same time my phone vibrates.

My thighs clench as I turn around. I love this take-charge side of Cain.

I drop my phone and push the two jackets on the rack to the side.

Then I count to sixty.

The closet door opens at fifty-nine.

The woodsy scent of his aftershave is both familiar and reassuring and the tightness in my chest eases.  

“Hi,” I whisper into the darkness. The slight tremor in my voice echoes off the walls.

He doesn’t respond.

I’m about to ask if something’s wrong, but he presses himself against me.

My mouth goes dry when his cock nudges my ass. He’s so hard for me. Just knowing he wants this as much as I do makes the tiny hairs on my arms stand on end.

“Cain?”

A bite to my shoulder blade makes me jolt. But just as quickly his tongue is soothing the sting.

I startle when he pushes the top of my dress down.

I don’t know why I’m so jumpy. I’ve never been this nervous with Cain before. In fact, I’m usually the one who makes the first move.  

Maybe that’s what my problem is.

Since I can’t remove my hands from where they are, I grind my ass against him. The movement causes delicious friction between my private parts and the pearls.

My grip on the bar tightens as the friction builds and he runs his calloused knuckles over my nipples, causing them to pucker. All my senses are heightened in here, making me even more sensitive than usual.

Chills erupt along my back when his big hand finds the slit in my dress and he walks his fingers up my thigh. Despite his unhurried actions, his touch feels a little rougher than last time, but not in a bad way.

Sweeping my hair to one side, he nuzzles my neck. His coarse stubble scrapes my skin as his hand climbs higher, drawing out my anticipation.

As much as I love what he’s doing, it’s becoming impossible not to touch him.

“Let me touch you.” I draw in a jittery breath. “I want to make you feel good, too.”

I’m prepared for him to refuse, but to my surprise, he takes one of my hands and brings it to his erection. Eagerly, I stroke him through his pants, loving the way his cock jerks under my palm.

Not able to wait another second, I tug his zipper down and slip my finger inside. He doesn’t have underwear on. There’s just warm, firm skin. Feeling bolder, I wrap my hand around his length and squeeze. He makes a low noise deep in his throat and the sound goes straight to my core. I go to pull him out fully, but he seizes my hand and places it on top of my other one.

I want to ask what he’s doing, but it becomes clear when he binds both my wrists to the bar with some kind of silky cloth.

I swallow hard. “Is this a punishment or reward?”

His answer is a swift slap on my ass that makes me cry out.

“Both,” he rasps, his gruff voice barely above a whisper. He must be as turned on as I am because it’s even huskier than usual.

My pulse explodes when the hand inside my dress begins tracing the pearls of my G-string, applying gentle pressure along the way. It feels so good it drives me out of my mind.

“Cain—”

He plucks the string and hisses. The sensation is so sharp and unexpected my breath stalls.

Jesus. There’s something incredibly sensual about being at someone else’s mercy while they do whatever they want to you.

Dragging his teeth along my neck, he presses a pearl to my clit and rolls it. The ground beneath me tilts and I forget how to breathe.

He’s so meticulous in his teasing, giving me tiny sparks of pleasure, but stopping before they blast off.

I’m so wound up I feel like I could burst any moment. “Please,” I beg as he continues his delicious torture. “Put your finger inside me.”

A growl escapes him, a dark one I’ve never heard before, but he doesn’t grant me my request. Instead, he strokes the lips of my pussy with his knuckle, teasing.

Tension in my core tightens—every nerve ending in my body is begging for release.

“Please.”

His teeth scrape my shoulder in warning, but I don’t care. If he’s not inside me soon, I’ll go insane. It’s agony not being able to see, touch, or hear him.

“I need to feel you.”

The tip of his finger circles my opening, just barely enough to feel. My heart thuds against my ribs. It’s a struggle to draw in air. I’m going to spontaneously combust if he makes me wait any longer.

“Cai—”

He plunges his finger inside me forcefully and I gasp, my heart pounding like a jackhammer.

I’m trying to catch my bearings when he slides it out…only to sink it back in a moment later, deeper this time.

I mewl and grind against him when he picks up speed and starts fucking me with his finger. Wet sounds fill the space between us, but I’m too focused on the amazing things he’s doing to be embarrassed.

That is until he jams a second finger inside me, causing pressure my body wasn’t prepared for, and I cry out in pain.

He freezes and my heart bottoms out. I don’t want to ruin everything like I did last time.

“Don’t stop,” I choke out. “I can take it, I swear.”

As if trying to prove my point, I clamp around him, trying to keep him inside me.

It doesn’t work though because he removes them. The loss guts me. Me and my stupid virginity have blown it for the second time.

Pretty ironic for someone an entire town refers to as a whore.

A tear falls down my cheek and that only makes everything worse. I am completely mortified. I just want to get through this barrier between us, but it seems like it’s never going to happen.

“I’m sor—”

The words stall in my throat when he gathers the hem of my dress and maneuvers it out of his way.

Then he drops to his knees.

My brows knit in confusion. I thought he was upset like last time. “What—”

He works his finger inside me again, much slower than before. A breath shudders out of me. This angle is deeper, and the new position steals my breath.

“Oh, God.” I’m so wet I can feel it pooling between my thighs. He pushes me forward, causing the fabric to bite into my wrists, but I don’t care, the pain only adds to my desire.

Red-hot pleasure slams into me when he parts my lips and spears me with his tongue.

“Cain—”

I yelp when he nips me before removing his mouth completely.

Tears prickle my eyes. I feel punished. Like he brought me to the highest of cliffs…only to push me off it.

“I’m sorry,” I croak.  My emotions have gone haywire and I don’t know which end is up anymore. He’s controlling every aspect of me. I’m starting to feel like a pet who is trying but failing miserably to please her owner. “I’m so sorry.”

Nerves bunch in my stomach when he spreads me wider. I’ve never felt so vulnerable before.

“Shhh,” he soothes, collecting my wetness on his thumb.

And just like that, my heart feels lighter. I’m basking in his warmth once more.

Until his thumb moves several inches and he presses a pearl to my puckered hole. I squirm, unsure what to make of the sensation. It feels amazing and scary at the same time.

My breathing hitches when he plants a kiss where the pearl is and his other hand comes around to cup my pussy.

Blood whooshes in my ears when he blows on the pearl and kisses me again.

And then he pauses.

I grow hot, my body sensing what he’s about to do next. It’s illicit and dirty and…

A guttural moan rips from my throat when his tongue replaces the pearl and his finger pumps inside my pussy. It’s so unexpected, so enjoyable, my brain scrambles. Unlike his slow torture from before, this is carnal. He’s eating me like the closet is the Sahara Desert and I’m the last drop of water that will ever touch his lips.

He groans, pushing his tongue in farther. God. He’s like a ravenous, filthy caveman with no limits or restrictions. Every part of my body is his for the taking and I love it.

With a snarl, he pinches my clit between two fingers and swirls the tip of his tongue inside my ass, causing little floaty things to form in front of my eyes.

There’s no way I’m going to last another minute with him doing this to me. My legs shake like trees in a hurricane. I can’t hold on. This is too much. It feels too good.

“Cain.” It’s the first and only word to leave my lips before a tremble starts from my toes and transcends, picking up speed along the way, like a boulder rolling downhill.

I’ve had orgasms before, but this one rocks my entire body from the inside out. It’s so extreme it’s almost frightening. It pulls me in fifty different directions, chipping away at my foundation until I finally shatter.

It’s so strong, it knocks the wind out of me. I don’t have the strength to stand on my own, it literally wipes me off my feet.

I go slack against the restraints, but Cain wraps his arm around my waist and holds me steady, like he has for the last four years.

“I love you.” I draw in a shaky breath. “I know that scares you and I know you don’t feel things the same way I do—but I need you to know my feelings for you are real. It’s not a crush, it’s not misplaced affection, and it’s not wrong.”

He stands, but I continue. I need him to know how serious I am.

“Talking to you on the temptation app is the best part of my day,” I whisper as he unties my wrists. “I’ve never been able to tell anyone the things I tell you and I never will.” I grab the bar when my hands are free, remembering what he said about not moving until I had his permission. “I know you’re worried about the election and you don’t think I have what it takes to do this, but I do. I’ll do anything in the world for you, Cain. I love—”

The sound of the door opening and closing cuts me off and I feel like a fool.

My heart twists when my phone vibrates a moment later. I pick it up with shaky fingers, petrified of what it will say.

And just like that, the organ in my chest takes flight. Cain was right…everything I wanted was here all along. All I had to do was reach out and take it.