I almost pulled away for a moment, but then I began kissing him back. The longer we kissed, the more I wanted to kiss him, and the more I leaned into the situation. I had to have him. I had to explore him. Sure, there were things at the back of my mind that told me that I shouldn’t—that this man was promised to someone else—but then there was another part of me that told me he wasn’t married yet.

He was still available. If only I could convince him that I was a better choice than someone he didn’t love.

I didn’t want to give into my emotions, but at the same time, I couldn’t help it. I wanted him. I wanted everything about him. There was a voice inside my head telling me that if I could convince him that I was better, then I would have him all for myself.

I slowly let go of my inhibitions and allowed myself to get lost in the moment. There was a hunger about him that I found irresistible. It was as though he wanted to know me as much as I wanted to know him, and I was willing to go with anything he wanted.

At first, I thought I was in control, and I was enjoying it, but then I felt something else.

He was right there with me, pressing his lips against mine and exploring me with his tongue. I kissed him back with the same passion, using my hands to explore each and every inch of him. I couldn’t get enough and I knew that he couldn’t, either.

I tried to be careful with my dress as I slipped out of it, but in the intensity of the moment, I heard a rip. I felt a twinge of disappointment in the back of my mind, but then I was right back in the heat of the moment.

We were undressing each other on the way to his bedroom, leaving a trail of clothing right up to his bedroom door, which Antonio kicked open without breaking our embrace. I had never been so engrossed with a man that I was unable to tear myself away long enough to take off my own clothes, and I found it shocking that he was doing the same thing.

We couldn’t get enough of each other. Skin on skin wasn’t enough. When he removed my bra and picked me up, I felt like I was going to explode from the need to have him. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, and he carried me over to the bed. I had my hands around his face, kissing him with every step that he made.

Something in me wished he wouldn’t put me down. Something that wanted us to stay like this for the rest of our lives. I felt so safe in his arms, and when he carried me, I felt as though the entire world had stopped. There was nothing that could touch me. Nothing that could touch us in our happiness. We were a team, working together as two individuals, but coming together as a single person.

He laid me down on the bed, falling on top of me but catching himself. I yearned for him so badly it hurt, and I could hardly stand the anticipation of him being inside me. He reached down between my legs and stroked me, only furthering the need that I felt for him. I moaned and writhed on the bed before reaching and taking him in my hands. I could feel the shudder run through his body as I did so, and the feeling only served to make me feel more powerful.

I immediately let my hands do everything they wanted. I let go of all the insecurities that I had ever felt, and let myself get caught in the moment. For the first time in my life, nothing mattered but the very moment that I was in. It was me and Antonio, Antonio and me.

It didn’t matter that he was going to be married the next day. All that mattered was that we were together, and we were enjoying each other the way we were meant to. There was nothing I wanted to keep secret from him, and nothing about me I didn’t want him to find out. There was nothing I wanted more than to know him fully.

Never before had I felt such strong connection to anyone, and I thought my heart may burst.

This was the kind of love that was only felt between two individuals who had gone through the pain of solitude and insecurity—of not knowing whether they would end up alone with only themselves to blame for it. There was an intensity and a heat to our passion that that I never wanted to end.

He pushed me back on the bed, and within seconds he was inside me. He was suddenly there, so fierce and strong that all I could do was breathe and take him. It wasn’t long before I took him with the same kind of passion. Putting my hands on either side of his shoulders, I pushed with all that I had in me.

He flipped over on the bed and I crawled on top of him, using my lips and my tongue to graze his jawline and his neck. I nibbled at his ears, then I moved to his torso. I could feel him shudder beneath my touch, and I felt satisfaction rush through me. This was the most intense sexual encounter I had ever had, and all I wanted to do was make him want me more.

Then I realized something—he was doing the same to me. Every move that he made wasn’t for his own pleasure, but rather, it was for mine. He was working toward my happiness rather than his own, just as I was focusing on his.

We continued to explore and indulge in each other, each moment bringing us closer and closer together. Our bodies moved with greater friction, and I felt like crying out from both exhaustion and pleasure. There was nothing I wanted more in the world than to be one with Antonio, and to have him feel the same about me.

Then, I was beneath him again, lying on his soft sheets with his strong, muscular body on top of me. He was deliberately and assertively thrusting, and with each movement I gasped out in ecstasy. It was then that our actions took a more deliberate turn, and our gaze met. He continued with the same passion as before, but now there was a different frenzy in his eyes.

Faster and faster he went, and I kept time with him. We were both on the brink, and in a sudden moment, I felt completely engulfed in the deepest happiness possible. I looked up at Antonio, who was shuddering on top of me, clearly wrapped in the same happiness I was. After a moment, he opened his eyes and smiled, looking down at me and winking.

He rolled off of me, falling into the sheets beside me.

“Oh Sasha, what do you do to me? What do you do?” he said as he buried his face in his hands. I smiled and put my hand on his chest.

“What do you do to me?” I asked teasingly in return. There was so much I wanted to say, but I wasn’t quite sure how to say it. I felt I had won—I had peeled him away from the fate that he was foolishly running toward, and it felt good. I didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he was going to have to tell the world that he had made a different decision, and that decision was me.

“God, I’m going to miss you,” he said suddenly, and I looked up at him with a confused look on my face.

“What do you mean?” I asked. He looked down at me and raised one of his eyebrows, and I could see that he was genuinely confused by my question.

“I mean, I’m getting married tomorrow,” he said with a chuckle. He kissed me on the forehead, but I lifted myself up off his chest and looked at him with amazement on my face.

“You can’t be serious!” I exclaimed, as I partially stood at the side of the bed.

I didn’t know what to say, but I felt sick to my stomach. I was beginning to feel like I was nothing more than an object to this man—something that he could remember as his final conquest.

“Sasha? What did you think? I thought you wanted this,” he said, but I wasn’t going to listen.

“Don’t you try to tell me that this was nothing more than a good lay!” I snapped as I rose from the bed. I grabbed one of his blankets and held it around my body as I turned and hurried out of the room, doing my best to hide the tears that were beginning to form in my eyes.

“You know what my situation is!” Antonio tried to say as he followed me out of the room. He grabbed at my arm, but I yanked it away and yelled at him.

“Don’t! Just don’t!” I snapped. He stopped and I hesitated a moment before grabbing my clothes and putting them on. There was awkward silence in the room, but I had nothing to say to him.

All the wonderful things I had thought about him were gone. He had proven that he was just like everyone else, and I no longer wanted anything to do with him. He could get married, he could live his life, and he could have that woman that he felt was going to be a queen.

I would go to the wedding, but I didn’t want to speak to him. I wanted to get the job done, and I wanted to go home.