Page 45 of Tempted By Eden

James’s lips curl into a wicked grin as he thrusts even harder, driving into me with renewed strength. His breath is ragged, the muscles in his arms taut as he pushes us both toward the cliff.

“You’re so fucking perfect,” he growls low and rough. “Mine. You’re mine.”

His words send another shockwave through me, and I tighten around him, strangling his cock. He’s relentless, his hips slamming into mine with a pace that has me on the verge of another climax. My hands grip the edge of the table, desperate for something to hold on to as he pushes me higher and higher.

“Come for me again,” he orders.

I bite my lip, trying to hold back, but it’s no use. My body obeys, shuddering as another orgasm rips through me, my pussy clenching around him in pulses. It’s too much, too tender, and I can barely breathe as I cry out his name, my voice hoarse.

James isn’t far behind. With one final, powerful thrust, he buries himself deep inside me, his body trembling as he finds his release. He throbs inside me, unloading, filling me up as he groans into my neck, his breath hot against my skin.

For a few moments, we stay like that—his body pressed against mine, our breathing labored, hearts racing. The world feels hazy, distant, as we come down from the high, still locked in the afterglow of the moment.

Slowly James pulls out, careful and gentle. The loss is immediate and a soft whimper escapes my lips at the emptiness left behind. His seed trickles out, and I reach for a napkin on the table to clean myself up, but his hand catches my wrist.

“No,” he barks. “Leave it.”

My eyes widen, but the look in his eyes has me frozen in place.

“I want you to feel it. To feelme,” he murmurs, his thumb brushing over my swollen clit, making me jolt. “I want you to feel my cum slowly drip down your thighs and be reminded of who owns this pussy.”

His words send tingles dancing across my skin, and I nod. My heart races again, a fresh wave of arousal washing over me, despite the fact that I’ve just come twice.

“I hope you recover quickly,” I say, breathless, my lips curling into a playful smile. “Becauseyourpussy is hungry again.”

“Greedy little thing, isn’t she?” His eyes gleam, but beneath the shine, I can still see the lust lurking. “Your wish is my command.”

Without warning, he lifts me into his arms, my legs wrapping around his waist as he carries me inside. The smashed remnants of our dinner are forgotten, left behind in the courtyard, but I don’t care. All that matters is the feeling of James’s strong arms around me, the press of his lips against mine, the promise of more to come.

As we stumble into his bedroom, I laugh against his lips. For the rest of the night, we lose ourselves in each other, our fucking shifting from rough and frantic to softer, sweeter, almost reverent. We don’t stop until the early hours of the morning, when exhaustion finally catches up with us.

***

As dawn breaks, I slip out of James’s estate, my body sore in all the best ways, my heart still fluttering from the night we shared. But as I slide into the back of the taxi, the real world begins to worm back in. I rest my head against the cool window and watch the city rush past as we weave through the quiet streets. No matter how much I try to cling to the euphoria, there’s a quiet fear I can’t quite shake. James is dangerous—not just in the way he touches me, but in the way he makes me feel like I’m his. Like I could fall, and there’d be no coming back. Keeping him out of my heart is going to be harder than I thought. And I’m afraid it might be too late. I have to protect my heart from this man. Because he has the power to destroy it.

Utterly annihilate it.

Chapter twenty-four

Cora

His touch lingers, etchedinto my skin like a phantom. The dull ache in my thighs, the ghost of his breath on my neck—it’s all there, refusing to fade. A reminder of everything that happened last night, and everything it could mean.

I sit at my desk with sunlight streaming through the windows and a smile dancing on my lips. It’s strange, this feeling—this happiness. Almost like I’d forgotten how it felt.

Last night wasn’t just mind-blowing; it was deeper. James let me into his world, beyond the guarded mask he wears at work. Now our dynamic has shifted. But where do we go from here? We’ve crossed a line and I want more. But a relationship with James isn’t just complicated—it’s a risk I can’t afford to take.

Dread coils within me at the thought of anyone at work finding out. If they knew I was sleeping with the CEO, how would they look at me? Worse, how would they look at the changes I’ve been fighting for? All the progress I’ve made to improve the toxic culture would be overshadowed by whispers about how I got here. I’ve worked too hard to be reduced to a cliché—a woman sleeping her way to the top. And yet, here I am, falling deeper and I can’t seem to stop.

He’s absolutely irresistible, the way he looks at me like I’m the only woman in the room, the way he seems to trust me—both at work and in those quiet moments we’ve shared. I have a feeling not many people get to see this side of James, and now that I’ve glimpsed it, I don’t want to let it go.

But ever since our eyes met on my first day, when he stalked across that stage, I’ve been content to keep my head down, bury the past, and protect Leo from any potential fallout. It felt safer that way. I didn’t know the man, and I wasn’t about to invite a stranger into our lives. But now… everything’s different. I’ve held onto Leo’s secret, convinced it was the only way to protect him. With every moment James pulls me closer, that secret becomes heavier, more suffocating. It’s not just guilt weighing me down—it’s the fear of what will happen when I finally speak the truth. Will I lose control of the one thing I’ve kept safe?

Every time I think about telling him, a knot tightens inside me, a mix of fear and dread. What if he’s furious? What if he hates me for keeping Leo a secret?

Or… what if he wants to be a father, to beinvolvedin Leo’s life? I’m unable to let go of the image of James, not just as a powerful businessman, but as someone who could reshape our entire world. His wealth, his influence—it’s light-years away from the life Leo and I have built together. And once James knows, there’s no going back. Everything would shift, and the possibility circles me like a rising tide. As if on cue, my computer pings. I glance at the screen, and a smile curls my lips when I see James’s message.

James

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