His driver was waiting across the street, holding the car door wide open as he nodded towards us. “Good evening, Mr. Chambers.” He then directed his kind gaze at me. “Madam.”

Once secured in the back of the Mercedes and with the driver starting the engine, I rested my hands on my lap, fighting the need to fidget because, even though he sat an arm’s reach, I felt the tension. It utterly crackled between us. It had gone from innocent to sinful in the blink of an eye.

After five minutes of silence, my tensed shoulders started to ache, so I gradually reclined my head against the headrest, sighing as I silently begged for my sanity back. My body hadn’t been the same ever since Craig had appeared in the picture three nights prior. It tingled, every pore sensing everything—from a single touch to one of his dashing smiles, I was profoundly affected by this man.

This heightened state was the cause of my dreams of him, doing some ungodly things a married woman shouldn’t even dare to think about. However, my subconscious did dare, and what dreams they were. They had completely left me wanting. This curling hunger had slowly been building for over seventy-two hours since meeting him, and it kept thriving, growing. As if needing to feed, it wouldn’t stop until I had accomplished what it wanted, what it needed to be satisfied.

Maybe it was that devious, animalistic look he had that trigged this unquenchable thirst within me. Although, as much as it thrilled me to know I was still capable of feeling such sexual intensity, it was frightening that it wasn’t Ashton. It was supposed to be only him, my husband, who should make me feel like I couldn’t live another second longer if he didn’t remedy this ache in my loin.

“Ava.” The sound of my name rasping out of his lips like a caress made my breasts ache.

Bloody hell, could I get a moment without thinking of sex? Not only was it frustrating that I wanted him so badly, but it simply didn’t help when he called to me in such a seductive tone.

“We’re here.”

Slowly and seductively, I lifted my gaze to meet his, immediately feeling the world suspend—stopping. I was hanging on a pendulum that was ticking away, as if I had little time left to make a decision—a decision that would change me, my life, and everything I believed myself to be.

His dark, penetrating gaze traced my lips before he granted me a look that gave me a glimpse of the hunger he’d been holding back. I found myself breathless as he slid out of the car the moment it was opened by the hotel doorman, and I didn’t release the hold of my breath until he was on my side of the car, holding out his hand to help me out of the vehicle. My brain didn’t even register whether I should limit my skin contact with him; my hand went out to meet his without hesitation.

The second I was out of the car, he guided me towards the hotel entrance. Was this where he was planning to say his goodbyes? My mind reeled at the thought that I wouldn’t ever see him again. Yet I knew, deep down, it would possibly be for the best. Having him around me was mystifying because he provoked such an ache that he alone could soothe. Well, on the contrary, Reiss had aroused similar acute, carnal desires from me. As I had rationally thought before, the only explanation for why I was reacting to him this way was because, each time I saw him, it wasn’t really Craig I was seeing but Reiss.

Prepping my final goodbyes in my mind, I was taken aback when I felt his hand tighten around mine, as if to not let go.

“Which room number are you?” His question caught me off guard, unsure if he meant to leave me outside my door and be a gentleman or lead his way inside the room then led himself on to me … into me.

“Ava?” he pressed again.

I snapped out of my funk the moment we reached the elevator, taking half a second before deciding to utter the room number.

Everything happened at such a hectic pace that I didn’t get the chance to ponder over the consequences of what I had just done. My heart had taken over my senses, speedily ramming against my chest as if it was a prisoner in need of escape. Not only did my heart feel like it was about to do jumping jacks, but my body felt like it was wired with some sort of power source, because my hand that was attached to his felt too electrifying to describe.

The deafening sound of the bell, indicating that we had arrived on my floor, felt like a sentence, and at the same time, it was as if someone had raised me from the dead.

“Craig,” I started to say as he guided us towards my room, uncertain of how I’d approach this awkward subject. He needed to know I wasn’t the type of woman who randomly slept with men I barely knew. Or, moreover, the fact that, yes, I was married, and even though I was epically lonely most nights, I had managed just fine and would continue to do so.

Standing right outside of the door, he intently looked at me. “Mind handing me your keycard?”

Entranced by those mesmerizing, intense, green eyes, I found myself handing him the damning thing, hoping I hadn’t completely lost my mind.

“Craig,” I whispered with a lot of hesitation. “Ermm … Thank you for the ride. I truly appreciate—”

The instant the sound of the door unlocking and opening occurred, I was inside my room, right against the wall, pinned by his body and caged by a predatory look that utterly set my body ablaze.

“What—no—” My words were cut short when he nudged his hips forward, and I felt his sizable manhood. “We mustn’t.” Bloody fuck, my pussy was beyond aroused, and I hadn’t truly felt how glorious his cock was yet.

“Oh, but we must. I couldn’t take another one your come-hither looks, Ava. I need to bury myself inside you, or so help me God, I won’t stop until I’ve filled you with my cock and seed, burying it deep in your cunt’s moist, tightened walls.”

His filthy words only fueled the burning inside me as I focused on the gradual provoking thrusts he was making.

“Tell me you want me,” he harshly demanded as he grew harder against me.

“I do.” I was so turned on I couldn’t think coherently. “I want you.”

He made a deep, guttural sound before gritting out some more harsh words I couldn’t catch in my hazed state, and then his lips unceremoniously kissed me. It was a punishing kiss, nothing I had ever felt before. It hurt, as if he meant to draw blood, but his cruel treatment only made me a more willing participant. I was incensed with lust to the point that I barely registered that he had dropped his pants. I only noted it when he took my hand and guided it to grip his cock whilst I matched his brutal kisses.

As I stroked his hardness, he thrust his hips while the tip pressed against my stomach, as if giving me a warning that it would be inside me quite soon enough.

“Does the feel of my cock make your cunt wet?” he groaned against my lips before he moved towards my neck then to my ear and whispered into it. “You’re wet, aren’t you?” he accused. “Do you want my fingers to investigate how naughty you’ve been?”

Fuck. Please do. I was about to say the words, but I was cut short when he didn’t hold back from his pursuit; his hand was in between my thighs in a flash, ripping my panties away.

His probing middle finger charged in between my hot folds, making him hiss in pleasure when he did indeed find it seeping with my slick essence. Discovering the tiny nub that triggered a button in me, he made me gyrate and convulse with his expert ministrations.

“You like being unleashed from all the constraints, don’t you, sweet Ava?” he gritted out as he thrust harder into my palm. “Open your legs wider. Open yourself to me.”

It was raunchy and sordid, and my body exalted in his capable hands. Without much indecision, I willingly spread my legs farther apart, giving him full access to my pussy.

“You want my cock inside you?”

Without a doubt.

I responded with a passionate, “Yes.”

He made a deep, animalistic sound, delighted that I was readily submitting to him. “What do you want me to do with your cunt, Ava?”

Reiss … He used to ask me the same, exact question.

Losing myself in my own dream, I relinquished all inhibitions and let my mind wander into fantasyland with Reiss in mind.

“Answer me,” he demanded as he slowly lifted my body.

He then led us towards the bathroom, my limbs clinging on to him as if I didn’t want to let him go. Once he had situated me against the wall in the bathroom, he lavished on my lips before he yanked his kisses away and lifted my body higher up the wall.

This time, he didn’t speak until my legs were wrapped around the back of his head with his face directly in between my thighs. “Hold on to those towel bars. Your life might depend on it.”

I didn’t need a second warning before I followed his advice. Elation ran through me as I first felt the moist flick of his hungered tongue.

“Bloody hell!” I screeched as I trembled at his tongue’s relentless expertise, gripping the metal bars as I got lost in the pleasure he was weaving inside me. I was under his spell, and God help me, I didn’t want it to end.

When my thighs started to clench, readying for a massive first release, he released the tight clasp of his mouth from my pussy before he unceremoniously slid me lower to meet my lips. I welcomed his rough invasion, kissing with my essence glazed over his mouth, as my body melted against him.

My eyes inadvertently opened, and I found myself in the mirror, looking wanton … carnal. I was a woman who had abandoned all her restraints, welcoming everything this man was doing to me.

“Sweet Ava,” he rasped out passionately. “Ava. Fuck!” he uttered my name again in the same fevered tone. “Ava … Ava … You’ve no idea how often I thought of you …” His kiss consumed me, burning me feverishly, burning away every rhyme or reason I had before I felt his first crushing thrust as his cock slid halfway into me, throbbing with one purpose only.

A muffled cry came out of me. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was relieved or hating myself for loving the very feel of him. He felt like he belonged here, entwined with me, just like this.

Reiss …

God, how he felt like Reiss.

“Wrap your arms and legs around me, love,” he softly requested before he kissed my forehead. “I want to worship you in bed.”

Passionately, we kissed as he guided us towards the bed. His lovemaking was ferocious and lit my senses, an unparalleled and an out of this world experience.

He took me twice without pause, beckoning my passions to no end. He was demanding, and I eagerly tried to match it.

He made me lose myself in a dreamy world, a world where nothing mattered and to hell with the repercussions. I found myself thinking this might be the start to a brand new spark in my life. Maybe this was what I had needed in life—excitement and new passion. I felt revived, newly awakened after being left dead for so long. I hadn’t even realized how lonely I’d been before tonight. And what a revelation that was. Drowning in my morose life, I hadn’t known I needed saving.

But tonight … Tonight had changed everything. I definitely needed to reassess my life, and maybe it was time I took control again, to hell with what my parents wanted.

Elation and newfound purpose sung through my veins as I submitted myself to a deep slumber, feeling at peace as I felt his heartbeat steadily beating against my back.

Hours later, I immediately awakened when I sensed him slowly untangling himself from me. It wasn’t long before I felt the dip of the bed, knowing he was readying himself to leave quietly, as if trying not to wake me.

I let my ears follow his hushed progress. From the whish of his clothes to the sound of the grating zipper and the soft clink of his buckle, my ears took in the soft noise he was making as my heart hammered rapidly.

Was he simply going to walk out of here without a word? It was probably late in the wee hours of the morning; therefore, there was no point of him leaving unless he regretted what had transpired between us. Or maybe he needed to go home and seek his bed with his girlfriend in it…

My mind raced with all these scenarios when I realized his movements were headed towards my side of the bed. My heart stopped functioning altogether when I felt his presence before me while I kept the pretense that I was still sound asleep.

His thumb was the first thing I felt as it brushed against the bottom of my lip before he dragged his hand to my chin, gliding it up my face until he cupped it, cradling it with his palm. I heard him take a sharp breath, as if he was having a tough time.

“Forget me, sweet Ava …” he started saying, crushing any hopes of continuing this between us. “Because I have …” His lips caressed the softness of my cheek before I felt his breath brush against my ear. He then whispered, “Since the moment I found out you never really cared for me.”

My heart felt like it had been staked right then and there. Hearing those words meant only one thing.

Fuck the blasted pretense of sleep, I decided hastily.

I snapped my eyes open, petrified as I gazed into the eyes of the man I had lost long ago. “You lied.”

Fuck. What the blasted fuck was he playing at?

A cruel, vindictive smile etched across his face before he straightened himself, shrugging down at me. “It stings to be lied to, does it not?” He then gave me a cutting look that made my insides go cold. “I don’t ever want to see you again, so stop looking for me. That part of me … He died a decade ago. Goodbye, Ava.”