Lucy nods. "Noted. Did that one Elvis really get a restraining order?"

  I snicker.

  Cage sighs. "Please avoid that Elvis, Lucy. My phone will be off as well and I'd hate to wake up to a shit storm tomorrow morning."

  Lucy smirks. "I make no promises."

  Cage sighs again.

  "It's just a little Xananigans," Tera declares proudly.

  "Oh hell," Ethan mutters. "She's got a word for it."

  Xan's grinning proudly as he throws his arm around Tera and kisses her temple. "She participates. Of course she's going to have a word for it."

  Cage scrubs a hand over his face and shakes his head, chuckling as he does.

  I smirk and elbow him gently. "Are you wondering how this has become your life?"

  Now he laughs. "Close enough."

  "Imagine how boring it'd be without this," I question with a wave of my arm.

  He nods. "Boring… or peaceful?"

  I shrug. "Same diff."

  "I suppose," he mutters.

  "Admit it, Cage dude. You love me," Xan taunts.

  "I wouldn't go that far," Cage replies and I laugh.

  "I'm wounded. Deeply, deeply wounded," Xander retorts, feigning sadness.

  Cage sits there, the only sign of his amusement is the tiny lift of one of the corners of his mouth. "You'll recover."

  "You're so hot when you're all quietly commanding," I whisper in his ear, then bite the lobe gently.

  Cage stands and pushes his chair in. He gives me the look. Oh, that look. That's the look that tells me he wants to rip my clothes off and have his way with every inch of my body. Mmm, I want that too, so I stand with him, placing my napkin on the table.

  "If you'll excuse us," Cage addresses.

  He places his hand on the small of my back and leads me toward the exit of the ballroom. I can still hear the catcalls from our table as my heels click over the inlaid wooden floor. Let them tease all they want. They just don't know.

  But I know and my knees are weak at the thought of all he's about to do to me.

  Cage presses the elevator button, looking down at my chest where my nipples are already hard, then meeting my gaze and smirking just a bit.

  Arrogant, egotistical, completely full of himself. That's my husband. But he has a right to be. Especially about this.

  We step onto the elevator along with a few other couples and Cage waits for them all to disembark before he slides his keycard in and presses the button to our suite.

  The only tell that he's holding on to his control by a thread is the occasional twitch of his finger against my back. Other than that, he's stoic and quiet, while I'm over here humming with want, wet and ready for him to take me wherever and however he wants. He sees it in my eyes as he always does. It's what pushes his buttons. And all of that thrills me beyond words.

  Only Cage Nichols. Only ever, him.

  Chapter 4

  CAGE

  The look in her eyes is going to be my undoing. It's the look that tells me I have the freedom to take her any way I want. It's the look that promises her total surrender. It's the look that she only shares with me. It's the look she gives when she's ready to submit to me. There is no greater gift from my strong, independent woman than this.

  The doors open and I usher her to our suite, unlocking the door, and stepping in behind her.

  "Fee," I breathe.

  Her eyes lower and I get impossibly harder.

  "You want this?" I ask, urging her to meet my gaze. "You want to submit to me tonight, Fee?"

  She nods.

  "I need your words, Serafina. In this, I always need your words."

  "Yes. I want you to command me. To dominate me. To bring me pleasure and take pleasure from me. I want to be your everything," she tells me and I nearly fall to my knees, her words humbling me.

  "You already are my everything," I tell her. "You'll always be my everything, with or without this."

  "I want this. I want this with you tonight," she offers, stepping out of her heels, then kneeling before me.

  "Fuck," I mutter. "I can't promise to be controlled. Not with you looking as you do right now. Beautiful and submissive and all mine."

  "Anything," she murmurs, her head bowed, her hands on her thighs as she waits.

  I'm so hard I could come in seconds. But I won't.

  "Undo my pants, Fee."

  Eagerly, she reaches up and unbuckles my belt while I remove my jacket, vest, and tie. She unzips and then stops.

  "Good. Now stand for me," I urge, holding a hand out to help her, then lead her to the bedroom. I remove my cuff links, setting them on the table, then remove my shoes. I unbutton my shirt and her breath catches. It's just a soft hint of a sound, but it speaks volumes. I remove the shirt and rest it on a chair in the corner.

  "Come to me," I beckon her. She does. I make a circle motion with my finger for her to turn around. Then I slowly, purposefully, begin to unzip her dress, teasing her skin with my fingertips as I slide the zipper lower. Her breathing picks up. All from my touch. Nothing in this world could please me more.

  Walking to face Sera, I grip her shoulders gently, then tug the fabric of her dress down her arms, baring her to me. I rest the dress on top of my shirt, and there's my Fee.

  "You're so unbelievably beautiful," I tell her, because she is. "You steal my breath." She stands before me in a black lace strapless bra and thong. Her long, long legs seem to go on for miles.

  I was going to drag this out, tease her and myself, staying half clothed, but I can't. Not now. Maybe later. I remove my pants and boxer briefs then turn to her.

  She inhales deeply and I know, I just know my Fee wants to look.

  "Look at me, Fee."

  Her eyes move up my body, hovering around my cock a little longer than the rest of me, and I smirk. I want her to want me. I love knowing I'm enough for her. That we're perfect together.

  "Remove your underclothes," I order.

  She reaches behind unlatching her bra, letting it fall down her arms, and it's my turn to suck in a breath. Her breasts, firm and full, dusky nipples already hard, beckoning for me to touch them. To suck them. Her thong goes next, leaving her naked in her beauty.

  "Come." I motion for her to stand in front of me and sit on the edge of the bed. I can barely speak. This woman. She's everything.

  I glide my hands up her abdomen and over her breasts. She bites her lip. Unacceptable.

  "I want to hear you, Fee. Hold nothing back. Ask. Demand. Beg."

  "Cage," she breathes.

  I rest my forehead against her abdomen trying to hold myself back, but I fail. Only Serafina can break my control.

  "I wanted to go slowly," I begin, lifting her into my arms, pulling back the blankets and sheet, and lying her down. "But I can't. I can't, Serafina. I need you."

  "Then don't. Take me. Don't you know I need you as much?"

  I slip between her legs, my lips a whisper away from hers. "You truly undo me, Fee."

  "Take me," she beckons.

  Who am I to deny her?

  I test her readiness, slipping my hand between her legs to find her wet. So wet.

  "You're soaked, Serafina. You want me that much?" I ask, dipping a finger into her.

  "Yes," she moans.

  I'm afraid to get inside her too quickly. I need her to come and I might come the second I feel her around me.

  "In me," she pleads. "Please, I need you inside me." Her hips lift.

  I touch her face, brushing the hair off her cheek as I guide myself inside her. Never. Nevernevernevernevernevernever have I ever felt anything as exquisite.

  Her moan mingles with my groan and we still, gazing into one another's eyes.

  Suddenly, going fast doesn't seem so important. All I needed was to be inside of her, connected to her, to feel her as only I can.

  We needed to be one.

  Chapter 5

  SERA

  Frantic. I'd been frantic to climax, to feel him inside me a
s I did. But now… now I relish every slow thrust, feeling his cock fill me so completely over and over again, as we watch one another.

  Cage links our fingers.

  The tenderness in the gesture, in his eyes, it fills my heart so full it almost hurts. A tear slips free and he sips it between his lips. He doesn't ask why. He doesn't worry. He just knows. He always knows.

  "Nothing will ever feel like you," he whispers against my lips.

  "No," I agree.

  The pleasure begins to escalate as he touches me deep inside. He feels it too. I can see it. But we're in no hurry.

  "I want to savor every moment with you, Serafina. You're my heart," he tells me and another tear slips free. Only with him will I allow them to flow so freely. With him there's nothing but trust, unconditional love and acceptance.

  "I love you so much I ache with it," I tell him and he smiles softly, knowing it's the truth.

  Suddenly, I need more—and he knows. A shift of his hips and pure pleasure flows through me.

  "There. Right there," he mutters aloud.

  "Yes, oh, Cage," I moan. "I…"

  "I know, Fee," he breathes against me.

  "There, yes, there…" I chant.

  "Don't close your eyes," he tells me when I begin to, the pleasure so great it's difficult to keep them open.

  His eyes, nearly black as night now as pleasure overtakes him as well.

  "I will never get enough of you," he moans. "Never."

  Our hips meet, synchronized as we pick up the pace, needing more. Just a little more.

  "I…"

  "Mmm. I feel you. Let go, Fee. You know I'll catch you."

  "Cage," I breathe as the shockwave of pleasure rolls over me.

  "It feels exquisite when your pussy squeezes me as you come. Give it to me, Serafina. Give me everything," he demands, fucking me now, harder and faster.

  "Oh God, yes!" I cry out as I'm pulled under. Bright lights, breath-stealing bliss overwhelms me and he calls out my name. My husband. His face contorting in pleasure as he gives me everything of him. Everything.

  "Fee," he growls. "Fuck!"

  When we still, we don't look away. He leans in and kisses me softly.

  "My God, Fee," he breathes, his face almost anguished.

  There go those tears again as I nod.

  "I love you with every breath in my body," he tells me. "No. It's so much more than that."

  I nod again.

  A tear slips from his eye and I reach up to hold his face.

  "Oh, Cage," I cry, reaching up to touch the wet trail over his cheek. "This. You."

  It's his turn to nod.

  "It's always been you, Fee. Always and forever."

  "Only ever you," I reply, looking into the eyes of the man who is my world.

  "One lifetime won't be enough," I tell him.

  He grins softly. "Then it's a good thing we've got forever. But for now, what do you say we shower, eat some real food, and do this again?"

  "Pizza?" I ask.

  He grins. "Always."

  "Breadsticks."

  "Mhm." He slowly slips out of me and I pout. "Don't worry. I'll be back inside you before you know it."

  "Hmm," I murmur, slipping from the bed and padding to the bathroom where I turn on the shower, hearing the low hum of Cage's voice as he orders our real dinner.

  I smile as I think of our future together.

  "What are you thinking about?" he asks, stepping in behind me.

  "Our future."

  He lifts a brow in question.

  "Children," I blurt out, strangely nervous.

  His face softens. "Anytime you're ready, Fee."

  "When this shot wears off," I begin, pausing as I rinse my face, having scrubbed all the makeup off. "I think we should start trying then?"

  "You think?" he asks, lifting my chin so I meet his gaze.

  "I'd like to start trying."

  "Then we'll try. I would love to have another child with you, Fee."

  I smile and hug him tight. "I'm so glad we have forever."

  "Me too. Now let me take care of you."

  He reaches for my shampoo and begins lathering my wet hair.

  "Mmm," he hums. "Coconut and pineapple. My favorite piña colada."

  I can't hide my grin. I love when he says things like that. They warm me inside, so deep inside, knowing how much he loves me.

  He conditions and rinses my hair.

  Slowly, methodically, he washes my body. There's nothing sexual in the way he's touching me, yet the feel of his hands on my skin arouses me like nothing else.

  When I reach for his shampoo, he stops me. I look up at him in question.

  "No. This is for you. No touching me until I say so," Cage commands.

  That's so hot. I nod, knowing he doesn't want me to speak now. He's in control and he wants me to submit. Only he gets to see this side of me. It's the vulnerable side, the weak side that I don't let out very often.

  "You'll relax and let it all go for me, won't you, Fee?" he asks.

  I nod. "I will."

  He knows I need this so I can release the build up of hate and anger. Even when I'm torturing someone for la Famiglia, I can't let it all go. I need to keep it together or I might just lose my mind, and once I do, I'll never get it back. I'd find every fucking Manzini out there and chop them into little pieces.

  Cage knows all of this without my having to say a word. He just knows. He knows me.

  He finishes washing himself and steps out of the shower. He towels off, drying that hard, muscular body that still steals my breath. Then he's beckoning me to step forward. He hands me a towel for my hair, then begins drying my body with the other.

  He lifts his eyes to mine and I see desire, love, and pride. He always says I undo him. He undoes me with just a look.

  Cage lifts me into his arms and sets me on the edge of the bed. He sits behind me, removes the towel from my hair, then begins combing out the tangles.

  "Everything about you is beautiful, Fee."

  Tears well in my eyes even as I smile.

  By the time he's done combing my hair, I'm relaxed—more relaxed than I have been in a long time. Cage slowly lays me back and he goes to kneel before me. He puts lotion on my legs, working his way up, then urges me to turn over. I'm drifting in a haze of near sleep as he puts the cap back on the lotion bottle.

  "On your back, Fee," he commands. I do as he says. His hands slide up my legs, slowly working his way between my legs. He spreads them further apart and leans forward, kissing just below my navel. He kisses his way down between my legs, his tongue circles my opening and I let out a gasp. I wasn't expecting him to just go for it. Cage is known to tease me for a long time.

  "Legs up," he commands. That glorious tongue slides up and back down my pussy.

  He uses his thumbs to open me up to his perusal.

  "So beautiful. So wet. So delicious," Cage growls, before licking and sucking—driving me crazy. He slips a finger inside of me, then two, working them in and out of me slowly as his tongue begins circling my clit. I want to cry out, to scream his name, but I know if I do he'll stop.

  "Lay still, Fee," he scolds when I lift my hips.

  I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from begging and pleading with him.

  "Mmm," Cage hums, picking up the pace with his fingers, going deeper, harder. The pleasure swirling in me is building and building. His tongue, oh, that tongue, presses harder against my clit and his fingers do that magical curl that fans the embers burning low in my belly, turning them white hot. Ecstasy surges forth through my body, from my belly to the tips of my fingers and toes. I shiver and shake from the strength of my orgasm, and when it eases up, I let out the breath I don't realize I'm holding.

  "Such a good girl, Fee," Cage praises. He wipes his mouth with the towel, then sits on the bed, back resting against the headboard. "Come."

  I sit up to walk around the bed.

  "No."

  I look up at him in qu
estion.

  Chapter 6

  CAGE

  "Crawl to me—slowly—across the bed."

  It was all I could do not to slam into her when she silently came for me. Her shudders pushed me to the brink. Somehow I maintained control—for her. This is all for her. This is what she needs.

  I palm my cock and start stroking it slowly as she sits back on her heels in front of me, her hands resting on her thighs, eyes downcast. I know she wants to watch me, but she won't.

  "Fee, look at me."

  She looks up into my eyes.

  "I want you to suck my cock, lick my balls, touch me there only."

  She nods. She leans forward, resting her hands on my thighs, her hair curtaining her off from my sight. I pull her hair into my hand and grab the pen from the nightstand. I twist her long locks as I've seen her do a thousand times, and anchor them with the pen.

  Her lips are wrapped around my cock as she slowly takes me deep into her mouth, her fingers touching my balls. I fist my hands at my sides and fight to keep this control.

  "This needs to go fast. I need to fuck you, Fee." I need to be inside her, to be one with her again.

  She doubles her efforts and I relax my hands and my body, giving myself over to the joy of her touch, the feel of her pleasing me. She takes me too deep and gags a bit. I lift my hands to the sides of her face.

  "Easy, Fee."

  She keeps going, her hand cupping my balls, rolling them gently in the way she knows drives me crazy. Then she sets me off, her tongue dipping to the ridge just below the head of my cock, swirling that wicked tongue around and around, flicking it across the tip, then taking me deep again with strong suction.

  My fingers tighten in her hair and I groan.

  "I'm going to come and you're going to swallow every drop."

  She nods slightly, her nostrils flaring as she fights to breathe. Up, down, up, down goes that outrageously talented mouth and before I'm ready, I start to come with a long, low moan. My hips press forward of their own accord as pulse after pulse of my cum fills her mouth. It's a toe-curling orgasm that sends tingles to the top of my head.