I need more of her.

  Squeezing her hands, I draw back, then tunnel my way into her again. Pleasure burns even hotter, scorching through my veins to every corner in my body. My bones threaten to melt. An inferno settles low and deep—a greedy, consuming lust I can’t ignore or fight.

  Under me, she wraps her legs around me, rocking to my rhythm and rising up to meet every thrust with a breathy cry that only jacks up my desire more. My skin sizzles. Climax is coming fast, its anticipation a burn so sweet I can taste it.

  Fuck, I have to get control of myself. I refuse to be the only one swallowed up by this passion.

  I focus on her reactions so I can undo her until she screams out my name in surrender. But watching her face while I fuck her with one deep, relentless stroke after another only unwinds me faster. Corinne is a visual temptation I can’t resist. Her sooty lashes flutter over dilated eyes, soft with need above her flushed cheeks. Her plump lips part, seemingly swollen and bruised from my kisses. She pants and wails. The sounds hang in the air, buzz in my ears, and fray the tenuous hold on my self-control.

  “Corinne,” I gasp out before I seize her mouth, nudging her lips apart and delving deep. She’s with me—every second, every breath, grabbing at my hands and rising up to me.

  She’s burning me alive.

  Tearing my mouth free, I transfer both of her wrists, still pinned to the mattress, into one hand. The other I tangle in her hair and tug. The arch of her milky throat beckons. I nip my way down her neck, then settle my face into the crook, where that deliciously feminine scent of hers only adds fuel to my flames.

  “Fuck,” I pant. “Oh, fuck. Princess…”

  Corinne struggles to free her hands while meeting me thrust for thrust. “Let me touch you.”

  Instinct compels me to shake my head and hold tighter. I can’t let her break me down any faster. I’m already losing control.

  Besides, I can put my hands to better use.

  Cursing, I pull free from her snug clasp, sit back on my heels, then flip her onto her stomach. With my knees, I spread her legs again, then cover her back with my body, shoving myself inside the haven of her pussy in one desperate thrust.

  She cries out, a sound between surprise and desire. “Xavian…”

  With one hand, I grab her hip and, teeth bared, drill down into her as deep as I can. The other I wrap around her hair and tug until she moans. “Take me.”

  “Yes. I want you. All of you…”

  I bury my face in her neck. “Feel how hard I am? How much I want you?”

  “Yes. It’s so good.”

  It fucking is. “You’re close. I feel you.”

  Another gasp escapes her as she grips the sheets in her grasping fingers. “Yes.”

  I slide my hand from her hair and tuck it under her body, feeling her breast, skimming down her stomach, then settling over her clit, and rub.

  Her whole body tenses. Her breath catches.

  “Come for me,” I demand.

  “Yes. Yes!”

  She tightens. My blood pumps and surges. Pressure builds. Pleasure ramps up. Her stiff bud swells. My triumph soars. Almost there…

  “That’s it, princess. So hot. So tight…” I hiss out. “Give me your pleasure. Scream for me.”

  Corinne pants once, twice. Her breath stopping. Her body seizing. Her pussy clamping down. “Oh. Oh…”

  “Now,” I growl, surging and banging deep inside her, ecstasy pooling and building until I swear it’s going to destroy me.

  “Xavian!”

  She comes apart, jerking and shuddering, as she keens out in long, low-throated pleasure that pings off the walls and echoes from the floors. It fuels everything filthy, reckless, and possessive inside me as I grip her hip mercilessly and crash into her one last time before liquid ecstasy, unlike anything I’ve ever felt, shoots through my body, exploding my brain and burning away all my barriers. I shudder, pouring everything into Corinne until there’s nothing left but her—her skin, her scent, her sweat, her sweltering heat singeing me as I cry out her name, then sink my mouth onto the crook of her shoulder, biting down and I ride out the last of the orgasm that guts me.

  When it’s over, I roll away, panting hard, and blink at the ceiling.

  Holy. Fucking. Shit. What was that? It was too deep to be mere sex. It was too dirty to be strictly making love.

  It was a taking. It was a claiming.

  It was you forgetting that everything between you two is supposed to be an act, dumb ass.

  In my head, I hear Maxon telling me again that I’m fucked. He’s right.

  What the hell am I going to do?

  I exhale, shocked when Corinne appears above me, red-faced and spent, pressing her lips to my shoulder, my jaw, and my mouth, then sinking beside me with a satisfied sigh.

  Because I’m a greedy bastard with no intention of letting her go, I wrap my arms around her and lay her on top of me, kissing her thoroughly.

  “Xavian?” she asks when we come up for air.

  “Yeah.” I play cool, but I’m braced to hear she already regrets me or she intends to leave.

  Instead, she smiles. “That was…amazing. When can we do that again?”

  For the third time, I roll away from Corinne, sweaty and spent. But not satisfied. I’m beginning to think I’ll never get enough of her. For now, I’m at the end of my strength.

  “Oh, my gosh.” She pants. “What are you doing to me?”

  Making sure you never want to spend another night without me.

  But that thought is dangerous. Voicing it is even riskier. Despite my foolish hopes, there’s almost no way she stays.

  And when she leaves, I’m pretty sure she’ll shatter my heart.

  I have no fucking idea how to handle this.

  “What are you doing to me?” I counter. “You wrung me inside out, princess. I just wanted to return the favor.”

  “Oh, you did.” She sits up, wincing.

  “Sore?”

  “Yeah.”

  That’s no shock. I’ve spent hours inside her. I should apologize and back the fuck off while her untried body recovers. But I’m a fucking bastard because I’m not going to do either of those things until I’m sure I’ve imprinted myself on her in some permanent way.

  If she leaves me in the end, I’ll make damn sure at least a part of her heart remains mine.

  And what about that revenge you wanted so badly a few days ago?

  Right now, I’m finding it hard to care.

  I wrap an arm around Corinne’s waist and haul her back against me. “I’ll kiss your pussy and make it better.”

  “Again?” Corinne breaks away, blushing. “You have to let me stand and stretch. You’ve kept my legs spread for so long I’m stiff.”

  I grin. “I’m not even a little bit sorry.”

  She smiles back as she stands and raises her hands above her head, unabashedly displaying every naked inch of her body. “I didn’t think you would be.”

  Fascinated, I watch as she stretches her calves, quads, and hamstrings, circling her ankles and rolling her neck. Everywhere I look, she’s gracefully curved and lush. She’s not one of those women whose clothes hang off of them like a coat hanger because she’s in desperate need of a cheeseburger. She fills out everything perfectly, especially my hands.

  Inevitably, I’m lured to her nipples, drawn tight and red after my dedicated attention. Her peach of a pussy is beyond swollen and sugary slick. I can’t stop staring at the shadowy cleft, imagining my tongue there again. My cock stirs and stands, making me question whether round four is truly a bad idea.

  She catches sight of my reaction, and her eyes go wide. “Seriously?”

  “I warned you that I have a very active sex drive.” But the intensity of this desire is insane, even for me.

  “You did. I’m not complaining. I just need a minute. And maybe a little conversation.” She slides back into bed, curling up beside me as if there’s no place she’d rather be.

  Snuggling has long been a fuck-no for me. It encourages a closeness I don’t typically want and it engenders feelings in women I later have to quash. But after a trio of spectacular orgasms, I still want to be close to Corinne. I want her to want me even more.

  For the first time since Hadley, I desire a woman for more than sex. I don’t know how to handle that since we’re probably doomed. But my sex drive has other ideas.

  I wrap my arm around her and bring her against my body, spooning her. My lips wander up her nape. My hard cock prods her luscious ass. “Princess…”

  She sighs happily when my finger circles her nipple. “Are you always this way with women?”

  “What way?”

  “Attentive. Affectionate.”

  Being honest is scary, but I’m too fucking knotted up to play games and I’d rather not lie. “No.”

  She turns to me with a frown. “So you really just…”

  “Hit it and quit it? Usually.”

  “So why bother holding me now? We’re temporary. If you think I need extra tenderness because I’m new to having sex, I appreciate the kindness, but you don’t have to pretend with me.”

  Is Corinne saying she doesn’t want me to touch her anymore? I’m not okay with that. “You agreed to my terms. Sex with you for the duration of our ‘engagement.’”

  “This isn’t sex, and we didn’t negotiate cuddling.”

  “Are you telling me I can fuck you but I can’t hold you? If you are, I have ways of making you say yes. And I’m not above using them.” I pin her to her back and roll her beneath me, hooking my finger under her chin until she meets my stare. “What’s the problem?”

  She bites her lip, looking so vulnerable. “This is a lot of intimacy for me. I’m so used to being alone…”

  So it’s not me she’s rejecting? “You shouldn’t be.”

  “Until tonight, I was resigned to the idea that I wasn’t wildly exciting to any man. Obviously, I didn’t have sex with anyone in my past, so it’s not like I know what it might have been like, but no one I dated seemed terribly bothered that I wanted to wait. So how much could they have actually wanted me? But you…”

  “I want you. Very much.”

  “I can’t figure out why…except revenge.”

  “I’m not in bed with you to get back at your brother, princess. And I really fucking hope you didn’t get naked with me simply to get your hands on your inheritance.” The warning note in my voice should tell her how much that would piss me off.

  “No, but I assumed the unspoken part of our agreement was that I wouldn’t catch feelings for you.”

  Normally, her feelings are the last thing I’d want. But with her pressed against me and her lips drifting softly against my chest? I close my eyes, and it’s too easy to picture us like this next week, next month, in the next decade. Hell, in this life and the next. Yeah, my stupid heart is ready to go there.

  Fuck, I really think I’m in love. I’m probably going to crash and burn—but I’m going to go down fighting for Corinne.

  “I’ve never wanted anyone the way I want you,” I admit.

  She sucks in a shocked breath. “Except Hadley, right?”

  I’m going to shock her again. “No. I want you more.”

  “But you two were engaged for real.” She blinks at me, stunned. “I don’t…”

  “Understand?” There are a million reasons. “You’re funny. You’re dedicated. And you’re genuine. Despite our scheme, you don’t play head games. You actually care about the people in your life, even if they’ve been less than kind to you. I admire that. It’s not in my genetic makeup.”

  She looks stunned. “You don’t think it’s weak?”

  “To have a heart? No. Hell, it probably makes you stronger than most. You know people you’ve invested in might someday let you down, but you’re still there for them. You still give them the benefit of the doubt. You still open up.”

  “I always thought caring too much was one of my faults.”

  “You’re wrong.” I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s one of your best qualities.”

  “Am I anything like Hadley?”

  Why does she want to know? To see how she measures up?

  “No.” When she frowns, I reassure her. “That’s a good thing, princess. Hadley always put Hadley first. Even at her most open, she was guarded. She rarely gave anyone her warmth or honesty unless she wanted something. Affection and sex were things she doled out to change a conversation or get her way.”

  “Why? I can’t imagine being so…calculating.”

  The Corinne I’ve come to know isn’t capable of that. That’s part of why I’m falling hard for her. “Hadley had reasons. I understood them, but that meant we saw commitment very differently. I didn’t realize that until it was too late.”

  Corinne comforts me with a soft stroke. “I’m sorry.”

  “My fault.”

  “But you’re not the kind of man to let himself be manipulated like that, unless…” She frowns. “She must have been very beautiful.”

  “She was, but that wasn’t why I made excuses for her behavior. She’d had a rough childhood. We both came from nowhere and we were determined to make something of our lives, no matter what. I thought we’d scratch our way to the top together. I helped and protected her as much as I could because I believed she would be there for me, too. That’s also why I proposed. Turns out, her idea of getting ahead was jumping ship as soon as she got a better offer.”

  “I thought she simply intended to marry well all along.”

  I shake my head. “When we first got together, she planned to take the fashion world by storm. She was forever sketching this and that. God, her sewing in the middle of the night when she couldn’t sleep drove me nuts. That fucking machine woke me up more often than not…” I shake my head. “But she wasn’t good at math. Her junior year, she was taking trig for the second time. I tried to help her, but halfway through the semester, she knew she wasn’t going to pass. She also knew she was going to lose her scholarship. She panicked and found her Plan B in Parker. In a way, I get it. My mom barely made ends meet, but I never wondered as a child where my next meal was coming from. She did—a lot. That terrified her, understandably. But I can’t forgive or absolve her for cheating.”

  “When you found out, I can only imagine how much it hurt. You loved her.”

  “I did.” As much as I was capable at the time. And because she gave amazing head. My twenty-one-year-old self thought that was critical. “But since she felt zero remorse in leaving me for your brother, I realized she never loved me.”

  Corinne’s face softens. “Her loss is my gain. After all, if you were married now, you wouldn’t be the perfect fake fiancé.”

  “After tonight, don’t you think we’re more than that?”

  Her lips part. She stares mutely, blinking.

  Is she trying to find the words to let me down gently? Probably. She’s going back to LA and she’s always going to be Parker’s sister. I’m an idiot for hoping my feelings matter. I’ve never been good enough before. Why should I be enough for this princess? Hell, I should just be happy she didn’t lie to me first.

  “Never mind.” I fling myself off the bed. “I’ll be back. I need to make sure the cleaning crew did their job.”

  “At four in the morning?” She lunges for my hand and grips tight. “Don’t go. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

  “Forget it.” I reach for my clothes.

  She squeezes my fingers tighter. “Let’s talk this out.”

  “There’s nothing to say.”

  “Obviously, there is. You caught me off guard. Give me a minute—”

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It does! You just told me how emotionally brave you think I am. But I’m not when it comes to you. After tonight, it feels like we’re way more than co-conspirators. I didn’t want to admit that out loud. Given how fast you go through women, I didn’t expect you to…”

  “Want you beyond the sex? Even after I’ve said I do?”

  She nods. “I was afraid to cling or make you regret helping me. But I have feelings for you I told myself I shouldn’t. I’ve worried I would drive you away by being the silly little virgin who can’t distinguish a good time from something more. Besides, for us to have any kind of future…I would have to be more important to you than revenge. After what my brother has done, I can’t ask that of you.”

  Is she serious? If I had to choose between Corinne and stabbing Parker in the back? No contest.

  But none of that matters unless her feelings are anywhere close to love.

  “Since I also have to figure out how to save my business, we need to continue with our scheme until my brother hands over my money. So I’m afraid of blurring the line between fantasy and reality.” She presses her lips together. “I’m not ready to get my heart crushed again.”

  With a sigh, I sit on the edge of the bed. Do I tell her what I know? “I’m not sure what changed, but Riley was going to propose to you. Financial records indicate he bought you an engagement ring. A week later, he returned it. The next day, he called you and broke things off.”

  Corinne gapes at me. “How do you know that?”

  “After you first came to my office, I hired a PI to look into you. I needed to know how much of your story was true so I could tell if your proposal was serious or if your brother had sent you to take me down.”

  “And what did you find?” She’s clearly pissed.

  “That you were being honest. Look, the day I hired Owen, it was nothing personal. But I thought that knowing Riley had been serious about you might help.”

  She shakes her head. “It just leaves me with more questions. We didn’t fight. He said he just didn’t want to do the long-distance thing anymore. And that I wasn’t what he wanted after all.”

  “And you took that to mean you weren’t good enough?”

  “Wouldn’t you?”

  She’s got a point. “It reinforced your belief that everyone leaves you.”

  Biting her lip, Corinne looks away. “Yes.”

  I would tell her that I’ll continue being here for her, but is she ready to hear it? Instinct tells me she’ll only believe me when she sees it. So I have to prove I’ve got her back. I’ll have to find the right opportunity. And if I can’t…I’m ruthless enough to make my own.