Chapter 17: Take Me Now, Cassius

MARIELLE

The words hung in the air, vibrating between us like a live wire. I couldn't believe I’d said them. My heart was thundering so loudly I was sure he could hear it, but I didn’t look away. I couldn't.

Not when my world was collapsing, and the only person who could catch me was the one pushing me off the ledge.

Cassius went perfectly still. The droplets of water on his chest seemed to freeze. His eyes, usually a storm of unreadable intentions, narrowed into sharp, lethal slits. The faint, mocking half-smile he’d been wearing vanished, replaced by a tension so thick it felt like he might snap.

“What did you just say to me?” his voice was a low, dangerous vibration.

“You heard me,” I whispered, my voice growing stronger with the desperation pooling in my thighs. I took a step forward, closing the distance until the heat radiating from his damp skin brushed against me.

“You’re getting married, Cassius. You’re giving your name to a woman you don’t love. You’re building a life with a stranger while you spend your nights teasing me until I can’t breathe without you.”

I reached out, my fingers trembling as they touched the cool skin of his shoulder. He flinched slightly but didn't pull away.

“If you’re going to leave me, if you’re going to throw me away for power and legacy, then finish what you started,” I hissed, the tears finally spilling over.

“Don’t leave me with the memory of your fingers and your tongue. Give me all of you. Give me a reason to hate you when I watch you walk down that aisle.”

“Marielle, get out,” he growled, but he didn't move. His hands were clenched at his sides, the muscles in his arms corded and straining.

“You don’t know what you’re asking for. You’re upset about the news..it’s a business arrangement. It changes nothing.”

“It changes everything!” I shouted, shoving his chest. He didn't budge. It was like hitting a wall of stone.

“It means I’m the secret. It means I’m the mistake you make when you’re bored of being a Boss. I won’t be your distraction, Cassius. If I'm a slut, then I’m ..your..slut. So do it. Fucking take me and own the ruin you’ve made of me.”

The air in the room seemed to ignite. Cassius’ hands shot out, his fingers tangling in my hair and jerking my head back so fast I gasped. He leaned down, his face inches from mine, his eyes burning with a feral, uncontrollable hunger.

“You think this is a game?” he rasped, his breath hot against my lips. “You think you can walk into my room, look at me like that, and demand I destroy you? I have spent every waking second trying to keep my hands off you to protect what’s left of your soul, Marielle. Because once I go there… once I truly take you… there is no coming back.”

“Then don’t come back,” I challenged, my hands gripping his bare waist, pulling him flush against me. The white towel was the only thing between my heat and his.

“Take me, Cassius. Now.”

A low, guttural sound broke from his throat.. a surrender and a threat all at once. He didn't say another word. He simply scooped me up, my back hitting the unmade bed as he followed me down, pinning me into the dark, twisted sheets.

“You want to be mine?” he whispered, his teeth grazing the shell of my ear, sending a jolt of electricity straight to my core.

“Fine. But remember, princess… you asked for the monster. And tonight, the monster is going to make sure you never forget who you belong to.”

He reached for the hem of my sweater, his eyes locked on mine with a promise that made my blood sing. He wasn't the uncle who protected me anymore.

He was the man who was about to break me, and for the first time in my life, I was ready to shatter.