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“By… seating arrangements.”

We were meant to be at the same table. Whatever layout Lana had planned, Marek intervened. I still feel like there’s no way that’s true… but it has to be. He just told me as much.

It’s dark and cold on the observation deck, but Marek’s body poised over mine keeps me warm. He looks away, stumbling back into his story about engines or whatever we’re supposed to be talking about.

“The weight distribution put too much strain on one side of that level and disrupted an engine’s connection. We fixed the balance issue, killed the opposite thrusters, and Captain Millard’s crew will have us back on track in a few minutes.”

I’m sure his words make sense, but they’re lost on me. Because my mind is lost on him.

He wanted me at his table.

He brought me a gift.

He kissed me.

There are a million reasons I shouldn’t be here with him. There are probably a million and one reasons why he needs to be somewhere else.

We’re here, though. There’s no fighting it.

“A few minutes, you say?”

I don’t let him answer. This time I take control, pulling him down to meet my mouth. Our first kiss was a heady, intoxicating fall into the forbidden.

This one is so much more.

I run my fingers through his hair as his mouth widens to claim mine more thoroughly, his passion increasing with each demanding probe of his tongue. My body arches to his, and he rubs himself against my center, through his pants and my dress, the pressure overwhelming and not enough all at once. I nip at his bottom lip with my teeth, delighted by the rumble of pleasure it evokes in him.

I run my hands down his back while arching my hips to meet his desire, all the while fueling mine even further.

In a swift motion, Marek puts an arm beneath me and rolls us over. Our lips break for the briefest moment while we move, but he puts his hands on my cheeks and pulls me back in before the separation becomes unbearable.

I run my hands along his chest, wishing his clothes weren’t between us. He thrusts against me at my touch, the pressure hitting in all the right places and driving me wild.

I want him now. I don’t care about anything else.

My hands instinctively move to the hem of my dress, sliding it up my thighs to bare more of myself. I simply cannot consume this man fast enough.

As we nip and kiss and bite, I move my hands toward his belt. He groans into my mouth but makes no move to stop me. We’re in a passionate crescendo that’s been quietly building for weeks and neither of us has the wits to stop it.

My hand traces the outline of his shaft through his pants, while the other feels around for the button of his slacks. He raises his hand to caress my breast, using his thumb to stimulate my nipple to hardness under the silk dress.

His other hand slides between my legs, his fingers tracing against my thighs.

Just a few pieces of clothing to go.

Only a moment or two longer and I can have what my body hungers for so intensely.

Mere seconds until…

The sound of a door opening shatters the moment.

Marek moves me off of him in a firm yet gentle fling, and I sit back on my knees so I can pull my dress down and make sure my ass isn’t hanging out for everyone to see.

It’s dark in here, but not that dark.

We’re caught.

My insides turn from a jumble of sexual excitement to frayed nerve endings as I think about what we’ve done. The Lottery and the pairing were meant to keep this from happening. There are bylaws for this type of behavior. Marek wrote them himself. We signed contracts.