“Why is that?” she asked.

“Because I’d like to finish what I started.”

ALMOST EVERYONE HAD ABANDONED THE THEATER by the time Preston and Trihn rounded the corner to the backstage entrance.

“What are we doing?” she asked.

He flashed her a toothy grin before pulling out two backstage Press passes.

Her eyes widened. “Where did you get those?”

“Work.” He shrugged his shoulders, as if using Press passes to get them backstage was totally normal.

“I don’t think you’re supposed to use them for this,” she whispered as they approached the door.

“Live a little with me.”

She had no other choice. They were going to the backstage area of The Metropolitan Opera House, a stage she dreamed of performing on. She was excited and decided she didn’t care how he was about to use Press passes. She wanted to go backstage…and she wanted Preston to keep his promise to finish what he had started during the ballet.

Preston flashed their passes to the older gentleman manning the door. He brightly smiled at them and gave them directions to where the interviews were being conducted. The man was so nice that it almost made Trihn feel bad.

Then, Preston grabbed her hand again and began pulling her down the hallway. She giggled and clutched on to his body.

She remained silent as they walked through mostly empty hallways. Preston had this thing down pat. In the midst of their deceit, she tried to mirror his confidence, acting as if they were supposed to be there.

He took a seemingly random turn, fiddled with the doorknob, and then pushed it open. “After you,” he said.

Her eyes darted down the hallway. She was just waiting for someone to come out and notice what they were up to, but whatever was going on after the performance kept others far removed from this room. She entered with Preston on her heels. He shut the door behind her¸ casting them into darkness.

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” she whispered.

His hands grazed her sides. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

“We get caught. They kick us out. Someone calls the police. We end up in jail!” she said dramatically.

“We’ll just say we took a wrong turn.” He kissed her exposed shoulder.

“They won’t believe us.”

“People believe anything you tell them with enough conviction.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Like right now, I’m going to get you out of that dress that has been tempting me all evening.”

He grabbed her waist and pushed her back against the door. She thudded noisily, and a giggle escaped her mouth. His lips found hers in the darkness, and suddenly, her arms were forced over her head. A groan escaped her mouth. She thrust her body hard against his, grinding her core against his suit pants.

He locked her wrists together over her head and then reached around to slide the zipper of her dress down. It hit the base of her spine, and then the material slid down her narrow hips to pool at her feet.

“See?” he teased.

“Doesn’t count,” she purred. “I wanted you to do that.”

He nipped at her bottom lip. “I think you’re going to want me to do everything else I’m about to do, too.”

She had a feeling he was right.

Now that her eyes had adjusted to the sliver of light coming from the base of the door, she pulled back to get a good look at him. He was just staring at her, almost waiting for permission, which was something he plainly didn’t need. Or maybe he just wanted to make sure she was okay. Normally, she would be drunk, and things would just…happen. It brought a smile to her lips that being with Preston was so different than her life before him.

Her smile must have been what he was looking for because, in that instant, everything shifted. The air between them heated and crackled. His mouth crashed down onto hers, and the world disappeared.

Whatever had been building between them during the performance, building between them for weeks, was crashing down all around them. She couldn’t contain it, nor did she want to. She wanted him to take what was his. She wanted to be his fully and completely.

His hand left her wrists, and she dropped her hands to his shoulders, holding on to the stiff material of his jacket. He wrapped his arms around her and grabbed her ass in both hands. She gasped against his mouth. He took that as an opportunity to delve deeper with his tongue and dig deeper with his fingers.

Time seemed to stretch between them. They were in a hurry due to the circumstances of being locked in an empty room backstage, but still, he seemed to want to explore her body. His hands traveled over her waist, down the backs of her legs, and then up her inner thighs. She shuddered against him as she wrestled with unbuttoning his shirt and getting beneath it to his glorious abs. She started for his belt buckle without pause, but then everything came to a screeching halt when he touched her pulsing center.

“Oh God,” she moaned softly, trying to keep her voice down.

Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much she’d truly wanted him. Her body was on fire, pulsing and radiating heat at his eager touch. His finger swirled around her clit through the soft material of her thong. She trembled, nearly coming undone right then and there.

“I like you like this.”

“How?” she managed to get out.

“Powerless at my fingertips.”

“I will be like this whenever you want me to.”

He chuckled softly against her mouth and continued his work on her lower body. “I want to feel this,” he said, slipping a digit under her thong and soaking his finger, “all around me.”

“Oh, yes,” she moaned.

At the feel of him, her body convulsed of its own will. She was so worked up that she could barely get her hands moving to undo his belt buckle, pop the button on his pants, and drop the zipper. She freed his cock from his boxers and gave it a few good strokes.

His head fell into the crook of her shoulder. “Fuck.”

The way he’d drawled it out with a deep throaty moan as she grabbed his cock made fuck her new favorite word.

Preston roughly hoisted her up, so that her legs circled his waist, and then forced her back against the door. She held on to his shoulders for support and was glad for her dancer balance.

He yanked her underwear to the side, and their bodies moved together until the tip of his dick was positioned over her opening. He shifted up into her just an inch, and she tensed at the slight intrusion.

It had been…a long time since she had done this, and the first time hadn’t been the best of experiences. She had promised herself that, when it happened again, it would be with the right person, for the right reasons. She had to remind herself that she had no reservations about Preston, and she forced herself to relax.

With ease, Preston pushed up into her slick wetness. Her head tipped back at the feel of him filling her, and she let loose a string of her new favorite word.

He chuckled hoarsely into her shoulder.

“You’re…so—shit,” he said incoherently. “Tight.”

“Mmm,” she groaned back.

He had stolen the rest of the words from her. Then, he started moving, and despite her loss of words, she found that she was loud enough anyway. He covered her mouth with a fierce kiss to try to silence her as he moved in and out. She pushed herself harder against him, meeting his movements as best as she could. His grip on her was firm as he did much of the directing, and she didn’t mind at all.

A rustling outside the door made her head pop up, and her eyes widened in alarm. “Shit,” she whispered.