Page 19 of Pleasure Lessons

His body goes tense. Did I confess too early? Have I ruined everything?

He raises himself up on his elbows and looks down at me, his eyes dark with something dangerous. Maybe fear? But what could a man like Rhett ever possibly be afraid of.

He nods. “I heard you.”

“And do you…should I not have said that?” I’m blushing. I shake my head, realizing I’m destroying the most beautiful moment of my life. Regret fills me instantly. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have–”

“Don’t apologize,” he tells me. “It’s my fault. I didn’t say it back, Cassandra, because–well because you’re engaged to another man. To Arthur.”

I let out a heavy sigh of relief and gently stroke Rhett’s cheek. “I can’t marry Arthur. I’ve never wanted to. You know that.”

I’m pretty sure I see his eyes light up briefly before he looks away, and when he looks back, it’s like he’s pondering something. Plotting something.

“He can destroy me. You know that, don’t you?” I nod timidly. He’s right. With all that wealth, Arthur is extremely powerful. “He can destroy you too.”

“So…that’s it?” I ask. “There’s just no way?”

“Now hang on a minute,” Rhett cuts me off, leaning close and pressing his lips to mine. Even a simple kiss from him sends me soaring. “I didn’t say that. I just want you to understand that if you make the decision to leave him and go with me, there’s no going back. It’s ride or die. All or nothing.”

I nod immediately. “I understand. So what do we do?”

There’s a long silence.

“I’m not sure,” he replies. “But I have an idea.”

That’s all I need to hear. With him still hard and swollen inside me, I lean in and kiss his chest, grinding my hips from side to side to get him started up again. And it doesn’t take more than a second for him to take the hint.

My head falls back and my jaw hangs open as he makes love to me, and I let myself fall into a floating void of bliss. I may not know what the future holds, but I know one thing for certain: I will never belong to another man.Ever.

8

CASSANDRA

My heart beats so loudlyit nearly echoes against the walls of my room. Every sound of the house shifting has me on edge. Every creak could behisfootsteps, coming to see me and ruin everything.

Arthur. The man holding the keys to my cage. Keeping me from the happiness of my life.

“If you make the decision to leave him and go with me, there’s no going back. It’s ride or die. All or nothing.”

That’s what Rhett said to me last night, staring at me with his piercing eyes. His words feel embedded in my soul, like they’ve been imprinted on my heart. I take calm, precise breaths, as if one wrong gasp could shatter me and I’d be gone from the man I love.

I’ve been pacing my prison all day, surrounded by silk drapes and ornate woodworking, unable to eat, unable to sleep, unable to do anything but think of the promise he made to me. That we made to each other.

Are we really doing this? Will it work?

“Don’t question it!” I hiss at myself. “Of course it will!”

My lips still taste of him. My center still aches from him breaking me in last night. I’m no longer an eighteen-year-oldgirl. I’m a woman. All thanks to Rhett and his mighty manhood.

I gaze out the window at the setting sun, golden light slicing through the tree tops, illuminating the shadows of the darkest thoughts of my mind.

It’s almost time.

My bag is packed, my shoes are laced tight, and my black hoodie is lying on the bed beside me. I also have my purse with letters and cards from my mom that I couldn’t bear to lose.

Rhett’s plan is simple: quietly leave my room, slip out through the servants’ wing, cross the back gardens, and take the trail through the woods that leads to the main road where Rhett will be waiting in his truck. Then he’ll drive us away and we’ll be free together.

I close my eyes and take a breath.

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