Page 94 of Double Standards

“You did,” she laughs, arms wrapping around me. She nuzzles in and it’s a feeling I never want to let go of. I never cared for cuddling. But with her? I need it. I need her.

This could all end in a heartbeat. I know that. But for now, I want this. I want her.

“What are you thinking?” she asks, lifting her head.

“Just waiting for you to recover.”

“Recover?”

I tuck her hair behind her ear and grin. “Ready to go again?”

“You’re insatiable,” she giggles, swatting my chest.

“Only for you.”

Cassie straddles me, eyes locked on mine, lips parted as she lowers herself down—inch by inch—slick, tight, and scorching hot. My cock throbs at the feel of her, buried so deep inside her it feels like we share the same heartbeat. Her thighs flex around me, and her fingers dig into my shoulders for balance.

She sets the pace, hips rolling in a slow, sinuous rhythm that makes my breath catch. The way she moves, so deliberate, so damn confident, it’s like watching something holy. She’s in control now. And fuck, it’sbeautiful.

Her head falls back, hair cascading down her spine as she grinds deeper, angling just right to make us both lose it. Her skin glistens with sweat, her body moving like a sin, slow and punishing. Perfect. I can’t look away. I don’t even try.

I don’t thrust. Idon’ttake. Ilether ride me. Let her use me. Let her take exactly what she needs. And she does it with a hunger that steals my breath and burns my restraint to ash.

She gives me everything. Every moan, every tremble, every pulse of her around me. The way her eyes flutter closed in surrender, the way her body tightens as she nears the edge again, riding the high of power and pleasure. She lets me see her like this; unfiltered, wild and radiant.

She leans forward, bracing her palms on my chest, herrhythm quickening. I feel her starting to lose it, her hips stuttering, breath hitching. My hands slide up her waist to her ribs, thumbs brushing over the curve of her breasts, not to take control—but toworship.

“You’re incredible,” I growl, voice wrecked with awe. “Fuck, Cassie... you don’t even know what you do to me.”

She opens her eyes at that, half-lidded, fire and vulnerability burning in them. The moment between us stretches tight and electric. Because right now, this isn’t just fucking. It’s a vow. A reckoning. A surrender.

And I’ll never see her the same again.

By morning, I’m aching in all the best ways. We’re tangled in each other, spent and sated. But something’s changed, something deeper than lust. Something real.

As I stare up at the ceiling, I wonder if this is more than just desire. And for the first time in a long time, I think I’m ready to find out.

Cassie stirs beside me, limbs wrapped around mine. My fingers trace her waist, light and slow. She shivers, eyes fluttering open.

“Good morning,” she yawns.

I roll to face her, inhaling her scent, kissing her neck.

She giggles, already sensing where I’m headed.

One more time.

Chapter Thirty-Three

The hum of the overhead lights does nothing to drown out the thoughts circling my mind.

The McKenzie case file lies open in front of me, a thick stack of white-collar greed and polished lies, but I’ve read the same paragraph three times and absorbed none of it. My eyes track the words, but my brain’s elsewhere. Back in my bed. Wrapped aroundhim.

Axel.

Even now, hours later, I can still feel the echo of his hands on my skin. The bruising grip of his fingers. The heat of his mouth. The way his voice dipped low when he said my name like it meant something.

My body aches in places I didn’t know could ache—from hours spent tangled in sheets and shadows, breathless and greedy for more. We didn’t just have sex. Wesankinto each other. Like we were both starved. Like stopping would kill us.