Chapter 21: Caught Finger-Fucking

MARIELLE

I sat on the velvet couch, the condensation from my lemonade glass chilling my palm as the slow, rhythmic beat of the music pulsed through the hall. Cassius had spared no expense on this venue, yet the purpose of the party remained a mystery, a heavy secret hanging in the air alongside the scent of expensive perfume and aged bourbon.

Everyone was drifting through the crowd like ghosts in designer silk. Vera had vanished with her mother to play the part of the dutiful daughter, leaving me alone with my thoughts. Then, I felt it..that prickle on my skin, the unmistakable weight of someone’s gaze.

I searched the crowd discreetly until my eyes landed on him. Cassius. He was a vision of lethal elegance in a black tuxedo, his first two buttons undone to reveal the chiseled bronze of his chest. My heart didn't just race.. it slammed against my ribs. He was towering over a business associate, but his eyes were locked on me, dark and predatory.

Despite the biting chill of the air conditioning, I felt a wave of heat crash over me. I clenched my thighs together, my body liquefying under that singular stare. I looked away, desperate for Vera to reappear, but she was gone. When I risked another peek, he was talking again, a stubborn strand of dark hair falling over his forehead. He looked human for a second, but then he looked back, catching me staring.

I froze. I hated that I couldn't hate him. After the humiliation, after the way he’d used me as a convenient distraction from his pristine fiancée, I should have felt nothing but loathing. Instead, I just wanted him.

My knuckles turned white around my glass as he began walking toward me. Each step was deliberate, a hunter closing in on his prey.

“Marielle.”

I jumped, the sound of my name on his tongue sending a fresh jolt through my system. I looked up, and the very air between us seemed to thicken with unspoken tension.

“They want to meet you. The daughter of Fernando.”

He held out his hand. His eyes were ice, devoid of the heat I’d seen moments before. It was all business.

I stood up, ignoring his hand, and adjusted my dress. I forced a porcelain smile and walked beside him toward the guests.

“Won't you introduce me to the beautiful lady?” the man asked. His tone was slick, oily with a flirtation that made my skin crawl.

“Hold your tongue,” Cassius warned, his voice a low growl.

He chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender. I stepped forward, playing the role I was born into. “I am Marielle Fernando. Nice to meet you.”

“I am Felix. Pleasure to see you.”

He took my hand, his thumb circling the back of my palm in a way that felt like a violation. I pulled back instantly, shifting uncomfortably.

“So when are you joining your father’s company, Ms. Marielle?”

I glanced at Cassius for a heartbeat. “I have not thought about it yet.”

“Well, you should. I’d definitely want to work with someone like you.”

Suddenly, Cassius’ arm draped over my shoulder, pulling me flush against his side. The heat of his body was a physical blow.“She won't work,” Cassius said, his voice flat and final. “And our businesses can’t handle such fragile souls.”

I clenched my dress. ..Fragile?... I wanted to scream that I wasn't, but the weight of his touch made me feel like glass ready to shatter. I couldn't take the suffocating proximity anymore. I excused myself and practically ran toward the restrooms.

I needed to breathe. I needed to escape the way he made me feel.

I burst into the bathroom, locking the door and ensuring it was empty. I stood before the mirror, my reflection a stranger with blown-out pupils and flushed skin. I was horny. It was a shameful, dirty realization. I was a bitch in heat, desperate for the relief he had stirred up and then denied me.

With trembling hands, I dropped the straps of my dress, letting it fall until I was standing in nothing but my black lace lingerie and heels. I looked like a desperate slut, and God, it excited me. I bent over the marble counter, watching myself in the mirror as I spread my legs.

My fingers found my wetness instantly. I was soaking wet.

“Oh shit!”

I moaned softly, my head arching back as I began to work my clit. My tits bounced with the rhythm of my hand, my knuckles turning white against the marble.

“Fuck!”

I bit my hand to keep the screams at bay, the wave of pleasure building into a tsunami. But then, a large, warm hand clamped onto my ass.

My eyes flew open. My reflection wasn't alone.

Cassius.

Shame burned through me, but the sight of him watching me finish myself sent me over the cliff.

“I—I...” I couldn't speak. I watched his intense gaze in the mirror as my fingers moved faster, desperate for the end. My eyes rolled back.

“Aarghhh!”

I bit the back of my hand as I peaked, my juices trickling down my thighs as my knees buckled. I had come shamelessly in front of the man who had just called me fragile.

He watched every shudder, every spasm, without moving a muscle.

I was damned.

********

CASSIUS

I stood there, my hand still gripping the silk of her skin, watching the aftermath of her ruin. She was panting,her body still vibrating from the release, looking every bit the "fragile soul" I had claimed she was…only now, she was my fragile soul.

"Did you get the relief you were looking for, Marielle?" I rasped, my voice sounding like gravel.

She didn't look at me, her head still bowed against the counter, her hair a curtain of dark silk over her shoulders. "You... you shouldn't be here."

"I go where I want," I reminded her, my other hand coming up to tilt her chin so she had to look at me through the mirror. "And right now, I want to know why you're doing this in a public bathroom instead of coming to me."

"Because you're getting married!" she hissed, a spark of that new fire returning to her eyes. "Because I'm just the 'secret in the house,' remember? I'm the one who doesn't matter when the lights are on."

I felt a surge of possessive rage. I spun her around, pinning her back against the marble counter, my body a wall of solid muscle trapping her. My cock was straining against my trousers, aching for the same release she’d just found.

"You think you don't matter?" I growled, leaning in until our noses touched. "You think any of those men out there look at you and see anything but a prize to be won? I look at you and I see the only thing in this world that actually makes me feel human. And yet, you stand here and touch yourself for a reflection instead of for me."

"You pushed me away!" she sobbed, hitting my chest. "You told Enzo you were just trying to fuck me!"

"I told Enzo what he needed to hear to keep his nose out of my business," I lied….or perhaps it was the truth, I didn't even know anymore. All I knew was the scent of her, the sight of her in that lace, and the way she’d just screamed my name in her head while she came.

I reached down, my hand sliding between her damp thighs, catching a drop of her release on my middle finger. I brought it to my lips, tasting her while she watched with wide, horrified eyes.

"You're not working for Felix," I whispered, my voice a dark promise. "And you're not touching yourself again. If you need relief, you can find me. Am I clear?"

"Cassius..." she whimpered, her hands clutching my shoulders.

"Am I clear, princess?”