The moment the door slammed shut behind them, the tension exploded.
Riven paced, restless, fire burning under his skin. "You want to own me. But I'm not yours to keep in a gilded cage, Cassian."
Cassian stood like a storm at the edge of breaking. "You say that—yet your body tells a different story every night."
Riven turned, eyes blazing. "Because you make it impossible to breathe without you."
Cassian closed the space in two strides, gripping Riven's face. "Then stop running."
He kissed him—hard, punishing, devouring. Riven melted into it, until Cassian pushed him back onto the bed, yanking silk ropes from the drawer.
"No," Riven whispered, breath shaky.
"Yes," Cassian replied, already binding his wrists to the headboard. "Tonight, I keep you."
Riven writhed under him, part protest, part craving. "You can't just tie me up and expect me to—"
Cassian cut him off with a lick down his neck. "Obey? No. I expect you to scream."
And Riven did.
Cassian used every weapon he had—teeth, tongue, hands that gripped, squeezed, stroked. He mapped Riven's body like sacred scripture, slow, precise, ruthless. Riven was helpless, wrists bound, legs spread, body teased into madness.
Cassian bit the inside of his thigh. "You're not caged. You're cherished."
He slid inside Riven with one deep thrust.
Riven arched, gasping. "F*ck—Cassian—"
Cassian drove into him relentlessly, each stroke a declaration, a branding, a war cry. The bed shook. Their bodies collided in rhythm and fury. The ropes held tight, forcing Riven to feel everything.
"You think this is a cage?" Cassian snarled, voice thick with emotion. "No. This is worship."
Their orgasms tore through them like a storm—violent, beautiful, sacred.
When the ropes were finally undone, Cassian cradled Riven against his chest.
"No more running," he murmured.
Riven nodded, eyes half-lidded. "Then don't ever let go."
Cassian kissed his temple. "Never."
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