It hardened me, princess.

Cassidy’s POV

“Family. You hinted at it last night, between... everything. What’s the deal? You don’t scream ‘happy home’ vibes.”

His expression flickered—vulnerability cracking through the cocky facade—as he added a second finger, thrusting slow and deep, thumb pressing my clit in rhythm. I gasped, clenching around him, but he held my gaze, voice rough. “Mom died young. Cancer stole her fast—no goodbyes, just empty rooms and a kid too small to understand.” He leaned in, lips brushing my collarbone, sucking a mark there as his fingers picked up speed. “Dad? He’s alive, but drowning in boardrooms and bitches. Affairs are his escape—keeps the ghosts quiet. Or so he claims.” A third finger joined, stretching me, making stars burst behind my eyes. “It hardened me, princess. Made me fight for what I want. Like you—right now, writhing under me, so close I can feel it.”

The rawness in his words hit me hard, echoing my own scars, but his touch was relentless, coiling tension tighter. “I’m sorry,” I breathed, my hand sliding down to grip his cock through the sheet—thick, velvet-hard, pulsing in my palm. He groaned, hips jerking into my touch. “That’s brutal. Alone like that... it messes with you.”

He caught my wrist, guiding my strokes as he fucked into my hand, his fingers mirroring the pace inside me. “It does. But you? You’re my antidote.” His free hand pinched my nipple, rolling it until I cried out. “Your turn. What demon chased you into my bed? Spill it—all of it—while I make you come undone.”

I hesitated, but his thumb flicked my clit, sending jolts of pleasure that loosened my tongue. I told him everything, words spilling between moans: The door creaking open. Jason’s sweaty betrayal, his whiny confession—“I’m into real women, Cassie, with curves and fire you don’t have.” Mom’s naked sneer, her hand cracking across my face as she hissed, “Bitch, I can sleep with anyone I want. You’re nothing but a whining mistake.” How she’d never loved me—just chased money, ditching Dad for sugar daddies, treating me like baggage. The slap’s burn, the blood in my mouth, the way I’d fled into the night, shattered and seething.

By the end, tears pricked my eyes, but Dante’s touch never faltered—fingers curling deeper, hitting that spot that made me see white. “They’re poison, Cassidy,” he growled, voice thick with restrained fury. “Worthless ashes. You? You’re fire—fierce, unbreakable.” He withdrew his fingers suddenly, making me whine, only to replace them with his mouth—tongue diving in, lapping at me like a man starved. I arched off the bed, fingers twisting in his hair as he sucked my clit, teeth grazing just enough to edge pain into ecstasy.

“Dante—oh god, don’t stop,” I begged, hips grinding against his face. He hummed approval, the vibration pushing me closer, his hands pinning my thighs wide.

“Tell me you’re mine,” he demanded between licks, voice muffled but commanding. “Say it, and I’ll let you come.”

“I’m yours,” I gasped, the words ripping free as the coil snapped—waves crashing, body convulsing, his name a scream on my lips. He drank me down, relentless until I was trembling, oversensitive and spent.

But he wasn’t finished. He crawled up my body, eyes feral, cock nudging my entrance. “Good girl,” he purred, kissing me deep so I tasted myself on him—salty, intimate. “Now, take me. All of me.”

I nodded, wrapping my legs around his waist as he thrust in—bare, thick, filling me to the hilt in one smooth glide. We both groaned, the stretch exquisite, my walls fluttering around him. He set a punishing rhythm, hips snapping, one hand bracing beside my head, the other hitching my leg higher for deeper access. “Fuck, you’re tight—made for me,” he rasped, lips crashing into mine, swallowing my moans.

“Harder,” I demanded, nails raking his back, drawing red lines that made him hiss and pound deeper. “Make me forget them. Make me yours.”

He obliged, flipping us so I straddled him, hands on my hips guiding my ride—up and down, grinding circles that hit every nerve. His eyes devoured me, thumbs teasing my nipples as I bounced, the slap of skin echoing. “That’s it, princess—ride me like you own me. You’re so fucking beautiful, coming apart on my cock.”

The praise ignited me, tension building again as I clenched around him. He sat up, arms banding around me, thrusting up to meet my descends—deeper, faster, our breaths mingling in frantic kisses. “Come with me,” he growled, fingers finding my clit, rubbing in tight circles.

We shattered together—him pulsing hot inside me, spilling deep as I clenched and cried out, waves pulling us under in shared bliss. Collapsing against his chest, sweat-slick and sated, I listened to his heartbeat thunder with mine.

But even as the afterglow wrapped around us like a warm blanket, I could feel the hunger stirring again. Dante’s hands roamed my back, tracing lazy patterns that sent shivers racing across my skin. “You think that’s all?” he murmured, his voice a low rumble against my ear. “I’m not done with you yet, Cassidy. Not by a long shot.”

I lifted my head, meeting his gaze—dark, intense, promising more. My body, still humming from the orgasm, responded instantly, a fresh ache building between my thighs. “Prove it,” I challenged, my voice breathy but bold.

His lips curved into that wicked smirk, the one that made my pulse race. In one fluid motion, he rolled us over again, pinning me beneath him. The sheets tangled around our legs, but he didn’t care—he was too focused on me, his mouth descending to my breasts. He took one nipple between his teeth, tugging gently at first, then harder, the sharp sting blending with pleasure as his tongue soothed the bite. I moaned, arching into him, my hands fisting the sheets.

“God, you taste incredible,” he growled, switching to the other breast, lavishing it with the same attention. His free hand trailed down my body, dipping between my legs to find me still slick from our release. “So wet for me already. You’re insatiable, aren’t you?”

“Only for you,” I admitted, gasping as he slipped two fingers inside me again, curling them expertly. He pumped slowly, teasing, building me up without mercy. His mouth left my breasts, trailing kisses down my stomach, over my hips, until he was settled between my thighs once more.

This time, he didn’t dive in right away. Instead, he blew a cool breath against my heated core, making me squirm. “Patience, princess,” he teased, his fingers still working inside me. “I want to savor this.”

“Dante, please,” I whimpered, my hips bucking toward his mouth.

He chuckled, the sound vibrating through me. “Since you asked so nicely...” His tongue flicked out, tracing lazy circles around my clit while his fingers thrust deeper, faster. I cried out, the dual sensation overwhelming, pushing me toward the edge again. He added a third finger, stretching me, preparing me for what I knew was coming.

Just as I felt the climax building, he pulled away, leaving me panting and frustrated. “Not yet,” he said, his eyes gleaming with mischief. He reached over to the nightstand, grabbing something I hadn’t noticed before—a small bottle of lube. “Turn over for me.”

My heart pounded as I complied, getting on my hands and knees, ass in the air. The vulnerability of the position sent a thrill through me, mixed with anticipation. Dante’s hands caressed my back, my hips, before parting my cheeks. “So perfect,” he murmured, drizzling the cool lube over me. His finger circled my tight entrance there, gentle at first, testing.

I tensed, but his other hand reached around to stroke my clit, distracting me with pleasure. “Relax, baby. I’ve got you. Tell me if it’s too much.”

I nodded, biting my lip as he eased one finger in, slow and careful. The sensation was new, intense—a burn that quickly morphed into something delicious as he moved it in and out. “Oh fuck,” I moaned, pushing back against him.

“Good girl,” he praised, adding a second finger, scissoring them to stretch me further. His strokes on my clit never stopped, keeping me on the brink. When he finally withdrew his fingers, I felt empty, needy. But then I heard the crinkle of a condom wrapper—wait, no, he wasn’t using one earlier, but now? The thought flew out of my head as the blunt head of his cock pressed against my ass.

“Deep breath,” he instructed, one hand on my hip, the other guiding himself. He pushed in slowly, inch by inch, the fullness overwhelming. I gasped, clutching the pillows, but the pain was fleeting, replaced by a deep, throbbing pleasure as he seated himself fully.

“Christ, you’re tight back here,” he groaned, holding still to let me adjust. “You feel amazing.”

“Move,” I begged, rocking back experimentally. He obliged, starting with shallow thrusts that gradually deepened, his hand still working my clit. The combination was mind-blowing—every thrust hitting nerves I didn’t know existed, building a pressure unlike anything before.

He leaned over me, his chest against my back, lips at my ear. “You like that, don’t you? Taking me everywhere. So fucking dirty and perfect.”