Unless I beg him to be, my mind countered, planting an alternative.

Throughout the five-course meal, our conversations were enlightening. For a moment, I wondered if he’d altogether dropped his sexual intentions with me since he stopped leaning close and whispering into my ear. In between courses, he actually excused himself to speak to someone, a couple, but the woman seemed too flirty for anyone’s comfort. So, while he was engrossed in conversing with someone, I quickly darted my eyes towards my friends, and I was greeted with thumbs up.

Upon returning to the table, Jared and I carried on in a friendly manner. Powerful men came and went from our table as they whispered into his ear, some congratulating him, some desiring to do business with him. As my father’s top person, Jared’s ideas had navigated the company to new territories. He was brilliant, and although his ingenious mind was impressive, I simply wanted him…without the accolades, the fame, and fortune.

As dinner drew to a close, the string quartet upped their momentum. I was just about to mention something hilarious to him when his forefinger lightly touched my arm, sending goosebumps, fireworks, and exploding stars, causing an electrically charged supernova to burst into my system, engulfing my body in flames, liquefying my insides as it sent a tingling sensation in between my legs.

Damn…his touch already felt insane. I couldn’t fathom what sex with him would be like. Good God, I’d most likely convulse and die on the spot. I was going to be royally screwed; I just knew it.

“Dance with me.”

Not yet. I needed more time to prepare me for his holy vaginal exorcism.

I knew how he worked; I’d seen it a few times. He used the closeness of dancing to make you hyperaware of him. By the time the song ended, you’d be a hyperventilating mess, going absolutely gaga over him. I’d be one of those, too. That was why it was safer to decline his go-to “slow dismantling” tactics. “So you can slowly and excruciatingly disarm me? I’ll pass.”

A show-stopping smile appeared on his lips. His eyes sparkled. Feral and dangerous, as if I had baited him with a good challenge.

Good. I need him hungry.Very hungry. Ravenous to the point of madness.

His frame fully faced me, so I pivoted my body, slanting towards him. There was no mistaking how much he desired me. His eyes did all the talking, and boy did they strip me bare. They were explicit in their exploration, and even if I was in my dressed state, I already felt naked before him, ready for the taking. Through those magnetic blues, he slowly disarmed me inch by inch until my reservations were nonexistent.

It was time to cast the bait.

My hand caressed his jawline before I leaned in, making sure my thigh nudged his member, and whispered, “Maybe I'm not all that interested.” I made a coy smile before sipping on my champagne. I waited a beat or two before timidly rising from my seat and exiting the tent, then beginning to stroll in the opposite direction, towards the vast, dimly lit garden.

The moon was high, and it highlighted my path. I had grown up in this house, too. I knew every inch, nook and cranny the grounds had. And just as I concocted, the perfect spot was a few more minutes away. It was a good enough distance not to be disturbed. The party could be faintly heard from a distance, but it wasn’t loud enough to drown out any sounds if there was someone heading in this direction.

The koi pond had a mini waterfall surrounded by cherry trees. It was one of my favorite places growing up, so much so that my father actually began planting the trees on our estate, too. I’d used to dress in my princess attire, custom armed with my magic wand as I played pretend in my cherry kingdom. But alas, tonight wasn’t about playing pretend—well, in a manner, it was since I wasn’t forthcoming about my real identity. But nevertheless, it didn’t make the situation less nerve-wracking.

If Jared were truly interested, then he'd have followed me. So, I waited. Facing the pond as I stood, gaping at the moonlit sky above, silently praying to grant me this wish.

In less than two minutes, the loose gravel surrounding the pond crunched underneath his shoes. I felt his presence approaching me from behind. There was a hesitation, a pause, as if he was waiting for me to say something, but when none came, his body engulfed me, pulling me against his solid frame. I closed my eyes and shuddered, savoring every second of being with him.

He didn't say a word. But I felt his lips behind my neck before his emboldened hand smoothed over my silk dress, reaching between my thighs and cupping my mound over my dress.

“You are such a tease,” he growled into my ear as his possessive hand curved harder into my groin, making me gasp and pant for air. When his lips nipped my skin, my eyes rolled to the back of my head, moaning as I pressed my bottom against his hardness.

“You seem to like being teased.” Desperately eager to match his hunger, I was heady as his hands and lips traveled my body, cupping, squeezing, teasing me to the point of oblivion.

The need in my loins grew, and when I couldn’t hold back any longer, I brazenly spun around to face my seducer. Gradually backing towards a tree, I coquettishly lifted my dress slightly, inviting him to come and join me.

“You're breathtaking,” he hungrily stated as his eyes roved over my figure, absolutely ravenous. As if he couldn’t hold it any longer, he sat on his heels. Greedy hands began to lift my long dress before his fingers brushed the insides of my thighs.

Wantonly out of my mind, I hastily shifted to spread my legs farther apart for his convenience. He groaned appreciatively when he felt how much he affected me.

He pressed my body against the tree, slanting me at an angle before he lowered, leveling himself with my wet crevice. He let out a guttural moan when he breathed in my arousal before his tongue stuck out and tasted me. My knees buckled from the first lick.

Jesus. He was amazing. I was drunk, horny as hell, so it didn’t take a lot of tongue coaxing to throw my inhibitions aside. Looking down on him lapping up my womanhood, I was a quivering mess as I came on his tongue several times. He didn’t relent as he stuck a finger in me.

“So tight…My finger barely fits,” he ardently hissed with unconcealed hunger.

Oh, shit. It was almost time. Hopefully I wouldn’t scream like a someone was trying to murder me.

A sheen of sweat coated my body as I nervously tried to relax while Jared prodded my untried hole. “It's been a long time since my last...a few years actually. Does it not please you?”

“Does it not please me? You have no idea,” he groaned, “Bloody hell, you're such a fucking tease.” He nipped my clit before slowly getting up to slide the thin silk straps off my shoulder. Feral eyes devoured my breasts before he dipped his head, capturing a nipple in his mouth while his hand tugged and pulled at the other. “I didn't bring a condom with me,” he huffed out against my nipple while his hardness rubbed against the side of my thigh. “I have a room in Four Seasons. Come with me. Let me show you what I can do to this tight body.”

“Yes! Oh, God, yes!”