Cain's heated and perspiring body slowly pulled away from between Delilah's parted legs. With an impatient gesture, he brought his hand to his forehead to brush away the strands of hair that had fallen over his eyes, still breathing with difficulty. He then unbuttoned the first few buttons of his white shirt with a nearly savage movement, revealing the firm skin of his chest, still warm from the closeness of their bodies.
From that perspective, Delilah felt something inside her shudder once more. Cain had always been an extraordinarily attractive man, but seeing him now so close, beneath the disarray of his breathing, his presence seemed to possess a much more dangerous power. He was capable of sensitizing every corner of her body and dragging her toward a perdition from which, deep down, she no longer wished to escape.
However, when Cain's hands descended toward the buckle of his belt, Delilah quickly raised her hand and halted his movement.
—...I may not be the kind of person you expect —she said with difficulty.
Cain remained motionless. He was completely certain that desire was consuming them both in the same way, but if Delilah needed one more moment—even just an instant to gather her thoughts—he would have to restrain himself. Even if his own body felt as though it were about to burst.
—Do you want me to stop? —he asked in a soft voice, maintaining a serene expression that contrasted with the tension running through every muscle of his body.
Delilah's lips trembled slightly. A shadow of sadness appeared on her pale face, and seeing her like that, Cain closed his eyes for a moment.
—I have taken things too fast... I'm sorry.
—Don't apologize... it's not that —she responded quickly.
In truth, she did not want to stop. She had never imagined she would be capable of forgetting her own convictions so easily. In a sense, she was betraying herself, but that was not something she regretted. What truly made her tremble was something else: the fear that this moment would become the beginning of an inevitable end.
Therefore, before Cain could misinterpret her silence, she raised her hand and rested it upon his chest, as if that gesture could give her the courage necessary to continue.
—...This is not my first time.
The confession fell into the room like a stone cast into water. For a few seconds, the air seemed to grow cold. Delilah kept her gaze lowered, feeling that she had just wagered everything with those words. That truth had marked her way of living, her distrust toward people, and even her apparent indifference to the world. Her careless way of moving through life had its roots in that revelation.
Cain Salieri was known for his upright character and irreproachable conduct. For Delilah, there was no guarantee that a man like him could accept such a truth about a woman who had grown up among nobles... and who was already past her twenties.
Cain pulled away then. He let himself fall back onto the bed, staring at the ceiling with an expression that seemed to arise from some silent disappointment. A sigh escaped his lips as he closed his eyes.
In a way, they were both the same. Two people capable of destroying their own future because they could not forgive themselves for the mistakes of the past.
The silence began to become unbearable.
When she felt that several minutes had passed, Delilah turned her gaze toward the door, as if she could already anticipate the inevitable conclusion of that conversation.
Then, Cain's voice broke the stillness.
—Don't you dare leave me.
Although his eyes were still fixed on the ceiling, all his attention was concentrated on her. It always had been. The idea that another man had occupied an important place in Delilah's life awakened in him an irritation impossible to hide. Before she could even think of getting up, Cain took her arm and pulled her back onto the warm sheets.
—I won't lie to you —he said frankly—. I feel frustrated. All I want right now is to erase the memory of any other man from your mind... to become your only truth.
Before Delilah could respond, his lips captured hers in a deep kiss that stole any attempt at protest. What Cain desired that night was simple: he wanted to claim her. Not just her body, but also every corner of her heart.
His hands moved across Delilah's skin with clear intensity. Every place his fingers lingered seemed to awaken a different reaction in her. Even though it was not her first time, what Delilah was experiencing in that moment felt completely new.
—Please... —Cain murmured near her ear.
His voice had lost its usual firmness, and in that instant, that low and vulnerable tone had the effect of a spell upon her. Delilah stopped resisting. The obedience that surged within her was not imposed; it was born from the very desire that was beginning to consume her.
Her emotions blended with an intense adrenaline, an unknown sensation that only seemed to find relief in Cain's proximity. Each of his movements awakened a deeper, strange, and intoxicating heat.
The first time she had been with a man had been very different. There had been no desire, nor that intoxicating need for contact. Her body had reacted with discomfort and resistance, and the attempts to continue had ended in a clumsy and painful experience that was barely completed. The supposed "proof" of virginity had been lost in the midst of that confusion... and with it, a part of the value Delilah believed she held.
For years, she wondered why people spoke of sex with such fascination. If it was painful and humiliating, why did it seem so important to everyone else?
But now, with Cain so close, with his breath mingling with hers and her body responding to his every move, she finally understood something that had previously been impossible for her. Desire could be a force so intense that it was impossible to escape.
Cain moved a few more times with a slow and deep rhythm that made Delilah's fingers sink into the sheets. His breathing became more and more disorganized, harder to control, as pleasure hit her mercilessly. She hid her face against the firm and sweaty skin of Cain's neck, trying to contain her moans.
When the pressure in her thighs and legs became unbearable, her body shook in a spasm of pure ecstasy. She fell onto the mattress, trembling, feeling how the remains of her clothes stuck to her sweaty skin.
Cain's reaction came almost at the same time. He was breathing heavily, exhausted but satisfied. His hair was wet with sweat, disheveled over his forehead. However, he had no intention of moving away or putting distance between them. Instead, he wrapped her in his arms and held her against his chest, listening to the frenetic and agitated rhythm of Delilah's breathing. He could feel his heart beating at a different pace.
—Delilah...—he whispered with the little energy he had left. —The man you love... he loves you too.
He shook his head softly, correcting himself.
—No... I've loved you since the very first moment you looked directly at me.
His voice became a whisper.
—Please... let me love you.
—Stay with me.
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