The ringing stopped, but the silence that followed was ten times louder, ringing in my ears like a deafening alarm.
“See?” Tom whispered, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear, his deep voice dripping with dark satisfaction.
“He’s gone.
It’s just you and me.” He didn’t give me a single second to process the crushing weight of the guilt.
Before I could even catch my breath, Tom’s large hand slid down from my jaw, taking firm hold of my throat—not enough to hurt, but just tight enough to make my heart race with a terrifying thrill.
He tilted my head back, forcing me to meet his dark, unyielding eyes.
“No more holding back, Rain,” he growled low in his throat.
“You came here knowing what would happen.
Now own it.” With a sudden, powerful movement, he lifted me entirely off my feet.
My heels cleared the floor, and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist to keep from falling.
My fingers dug desperately into the muscular fabric of his shoulders.
He pinned me flush against the cold drywall of the study.
The stark contrast between the freezing wall behind my back and the overwhelming, feverish heat of his body pressed tightly against mine made my head spin.
Every breath I took was filled with his scent—dark cedar, heavy bourbon, and pure, raw masculinity.
His free hand gathered the silk of my dark green dress, ruthlessly pulling it up past my hips.
The cool air of the room hit my bare thighs, causing a violent shiver to run straight down my spine.
“Tom…
please…” I gasped, the plea dying on my lips as his mouth clamped over mine once again.
This wasn’t a gentle kiss.
It was aggressive, possessive, and completely unyielding.
He claimed my mouth with a bruising pressure, his tongue sliding deep, tasting me, taking everything he wanted while swallowing my helpless whimpers whole.
He shifted his weight, adjusting his hold on my hips with an iron grip.
When he drove forward, claiming me completely, a sharp, gasping cry tore from my throat.
My head snapped back against the wall, my eyes rolling shut as a wave of intense, blinding sensation tore through my entire body.
“Look at me,” Tom commanded, his voice a harsh, heavy rasp against my skin.
His fingers tightened on my hip, digging in deep enough to guarantee dark, purplish bruises by tomorrow morning—bruises I would have to hide from Ethan.
“I told you…
open your eyes.
Look at the man who owns you right now.” I forced my heavy, tear-rimmed eyelids open.
Through the haze of burning sensation, I stared into his dark, fierce eyes.
There was no gentleness in him, no hesitation—only absolute dominance and a raw, primal need to break me.
He moved with a heavy, relentless, rhythmic pace that shattered every remaining wall of my restraint.
Every slide of his body against mine sent jagged sparks of electricity straight to my core.
I couldn’t think.
I couldn’t remember Ethan’s face, our quiet home, or the eight years of marriage I was actively burning to the ground.
My entire universe had shrunk to the four walls of this dim study and the commanding weight of the man holding me above the floor.
“Say it, Rain,” Tom growled, his head dipping low to bite tenderly at the arch of my neck, making me arch my chest directly into his.
“Tell me who you belong to in this room.” “You…” I sobbed out, my voice completely broken, my fingers tangling wildly into his short, dark hair as I pulled his face closer.
“You, Tom…
oh God, Tom!” His name on my lips triggered a dark, feral edge in him.
His pace turned faster, deeper, completely overwhelming my senses until I was gasping for thin air.
The pleasure was too heavy, too sharp, building into a suffocating pressure that coiled tight in the pit of my stomach.
My body tightened, rigid with anticipation, completely locked in his grasp.
“Tom…
I can’t…
it’s too much—” “Take it,” he rasped out, his mouth finding mine again in a fierce, possession-filled kiss just as the peak finally snapped.
A muffled, desperate scream was trapped against his lips as the climax hit me like a physical blow.
Waves of intense, blinding ecstasy crashed over me, making my entire body tremble violently in his arms.
I clung to his neck like a drowning person, my chest heaving erratically as the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over my cheeks, hot and fast.
Tom rode out the storm with heavy, powerful thrusts until he let out a low, guttural groan against my throat, his own body rigid as he held me tightly against the wall, pinning me in place until the last violent tremors passed between us.
Silence descended on the study, heavy and suffocating, broken only by the sound of our ragged, desperate breathing.
Slowly, agonizingly, Tom let my feet down until my heels touched the hardwood floor.
My knees immediately buckled, completely weak, but his hands stayed firmly on my waist, keeping me upright.
My dress was ruined, wrinkled, and pulled up to my waist.
My hair fell around my shoulders in a wild, tangled mess, and my red lipstick was smeared across my chin and his neck.
Tom smoothed down his black shirt, looking dangerously calm and completely unbothered, while I stood before him utterly undone, trembling, and ruined.
He reached out, his thumb gently wiping a smudge of lipstick from my lower lip, his dark eyes sparkling with a victorious, possessive smirk.
“Now,” Tom whispered, his voice smooth as silk as he leaned in to press one last, slow kiss against my cheek.
“You can call your husband back.” CREATORS’ THOUGHTS Patel_Palace “If you’re enjoying the story, please add it to your Library/Collection!”