“I need this, Henry.” Her hands cupped my jaw, eyes searching mine. “Let me reclaim what he tried to steal from me. I’ve never been able to experience the kind of sex they write about in romance books. The kind that makes your soul feel like it’s on fire. That’s what I want. I want to feel pleasure and pain and everything in between.”
“Those romance novels set a pretty high bar.” I blew out a small laugh. “Not sure I can live up to those standards.”
She leaned in, her teeth grazing my bottom lip before she whispered, “I have complete faith in you.” She lowered herself back onto the mattress, legs open, arms over her head. “Now fuck me, Mr. Fontaine.”
I didn’t hesitate. I thrust into her harder and deeper as I clamped my teeth on her neck. She yelped, digging her nails into my back again. But I didn’t retreat. And she didn’t beg me to stop. If anything, she encouraged me to fuck her deeper. Bite her harder.
So I did, grabbing her wrists and pinning them over her head as I drove into her like a man obsessed. I watched her face, waiting for hesitation. Fear. Anything. But what I saw was fire. Challenge. Want.
She met every thrust, breathless, unrelenting. Her eyes burned. Her body arched. Every inch of her called to me, begged for more.
She wasn’t breaking.
She was thriving.
If this was how she reclaimed her independence, I’d help her burn down every trace of the man who stole so much from her.
When I started this, all I wanted was revenge. Wanted Victor to know what it felt like to lose the one person who was his whole damn world.
I still wanted that. But I wouldn't be satisfied until he was forced to endure the same torment he’d inflicted on Ariana.
“I’m close,” I gritted out, my rhythm faltering for half a second.
“Then let go,” she murmured, wrapping her legs around me and pulling me closer.
“Not until you do.”
Her expression flickered. “I’ve never come during sex,” she admitted, breath catching. “I’m not sure I can.”
“You can.” I released one of her wrists, trailing my hand down her torso and between her thighs. “I know you can.”
Shifting, I hooked her legs over my shoulders and leaned forward again, the new angle dragging a strangled cry from her lips. I brought my thumb to her clit, circling gently, then harder, in time with every thrust.
It only took a matter of seconds before her walls contracted, her entire body tightening.
“Henry!” she cried out, shaking violently as another orgasm tore through her.
“Fuck yes,” I exhaled, driving into her with more intensity as she continued to spasm around me.
Almost instantly, that familiar sensation washed over me. I pulled out just in time, groaning her name as I spilled onto her stomach, my body jerking with the force of my climax.
When I had nothing left, I collapsed beside her, my lungs heaving, sweat cooling on my skin. For a long moment, neither of us moved. We simply stared up at the ceiling while we attempted to get our breathing under control.
Eventually, I forced myself up, even though my legs didn’t want to work, and limped into the bathroom. When I returned with a towel, she reached for it, but I shook my head.
“Let me do this for you.”
She nodded, her stare trained on me as I ran the cloth over her stomach and between her legs.
“You okay?” I asked when I was done.
“How many times do I have to tell you?” she huffed. “I’m not made of glass, Henry.”
“I know. I just… I want to make sure you don’t regret it.”
With hunger in her eyes, she sat up and climbed on top of me, straddling my hips.
“The only thing I regret,” she began, her voice husky, “is not doing this sooner.”
