Cassie closed her eyes. This was her husband. This was the man she’d married. With his heart on his sleeve and his love pulsing from him in waves, he made her toes curl with his affection. “Go on,” she whispered, opening her eyes to his dark gaze.

“You’re right about me holding on to my guilt. I hated myself for not protecting you in Brisbane. And I loathed myself even more for not being able to help you after.”

“We could’ve gotten through it, if only you’d talked to me.”

He inclined his head. “Maybe. But you never should’ve been there. My stupidity could’ve cost you everything.”

“Could’ve, but it didn’t.” The words were a breathy exhale. She needed to know what haunted him, only the agony in his eyes made her second-guess if she really wanted to know. “You’re still not going to tell me, are you?”

“No.”

She winced, and scooted back to sit on the windowsill to space herself from the burn. His admission broke her heart. Collapsed her chest. “I need to know what you’re going through, Tate. I need to know what’s dragging you away.”

Her nose began to burn, her vision blurred. She still refused to cry. There was nothing tears could do to stop the damage that had already occurred. But everything inside her ached with the unfairness of what had happened.

“I do love you, Cass. But our marriage is over.”

The reminder of his love hurt more now than ever. They’d done so many things wrong. From the night of the club, to the way they reacted, to the underhanded way she’d first entered Vault of Sin, and everything in between. It was a tangled mess. One that would never unravel.

“But I…” She didn’t know what to say. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had more will to fight. “What if—”

“No.” He gave a sad smile, announcing a myriad of emotions in one simple glance. “Please don’t fight this anymore. I can’t take it.”

She tried to mimic his calm, and was sure she came up short. It wasn’t easy when her insides were putty and the pounding in her veins felt like the world was going to end. She needed to touch him. Just once. To feel the strength under her palm and the heat to warm her frigid soul. She reached for him, running her fingers over his chest, sinking under the hypnotizing beat of his heart.

“I won’t stop loving you.” She continued to cling to his shirt, bowing her head to his shoulder. She closed her eyes, sinking into the rhythm of his heartbeat, wishing they were in another place and another time.

“I know. But will you ever forgive me?”

His whisper spread right through her, touching every nerve. She squeezed her eyes, gripping the material in her fists until her knuckles hurt. “I don’t know.”

There was so much to forgive—the way he’d shut her out for months after their trip to Brisbane, the way he’d tied her to the bed in Vault of Sin and left her blanketed in humiliation, and most of all, the unanswered questions.

“I’m so sorry, Cass. I wish I knew how to explain my guilt so you would understand.” His breath brushed her ear, his lips a delicate caress against her skin. “I never should’ve introduced you to all this. I should’ve been happy with what we had.”

If only they hadn’t pushed the boundaries. If only she hadn’t enjoyed it enough to want more. If only they weren’t lost to breathtaking, heart-palpitating love, none of this would’ve happened.

If only.

She pulled back, her fingers still tangled in his shirt. “Your lifestyle choices were what I chose for myself too. I wanted everything you offered. I would’ve told you if I didn’t.”

He winced, the harshness crumpling his strong features into something heartbreakingly vulnerable. “I wish…” He sighed. “I should go.”

He moved to pull away and she increased her grip. Yes, this was goodbye, but she couldn’t lose his warmth just yet. She needed to hold him, to breathe deep of his scent so her memory never faded.

He was beautiful. His face a picture of torture and devotion. Grief and adoration. She loved this man. Always would. And now she had to let him go.

“Goodbye, Tate.” She leaned into him and brushed her mouth over his. The delicate sweep scorched her all the way to the tips of her toes. It was exquisite in its softness. A purely instinctual glide of lips.

He returned her affection, sinking between her thighs, weaving a hand around her neck. She knew this was goodbye. The end. And still, she couldn’t stop herself from deepening the connection, sliding her tongue into his mouth.

Her fingers gripped tighter on his shirt, her body unable to get close enough, her heart too far away. She adored this man. Always would. But they were over now. This was all they had left.

She moaned against his mouth, kissing him harder. The parts of her soul that had died when he’d walked from her life reawakened with the force of a million tiny nerve explosions. He was everywhere—in her mind, in her heart, his taste on her lips, his love in her veins.

She couldn’t get enough.

He groaned and pulled back, snapping her from the pleasured daze. His eyes were filled with heat, his breath coming in short, shallow pants. He was on the brink, just like her. Wanting to take this further, yet needing to walk away.

“This is the end, Cass. I don’t want to give you the wrong impression.”

“I know,” she spoke against his lips. “But I’m already dead inside. Make me feel alive again, one last time.”

He closed his eyes, his forehead etched with lines of pain as he winced. When he looked at her again, she glimpsed determination. Desire. Passion so wild and unrestrained that it caught her off-guard when he slammed his lips back against hers.

He grabbed her hips and yanked her forward to the edge of the windowsill, his body sinking between her thighs. “God, I’ll miss you.”

She released his shirt, sinking her hands into the lengths of his hair like she’d done so many times before. “Make love to me, T.J.”

He growled and shook his head.

“Please.” She met his gaze, showing him the resignation she felt for their marriage. She knew it was over. He’d never let her jeopardize her future, even if she weighed up the risks and threw caution to the wind.

“I don’t want you to think—”

“We’re over, T.J.” She kissed the side of his lips, his cheek, his earlobe. “Show me how much you love me before you leave.”

He froze, his spine stiff as her pulse echoed in her ears. Please don’t walk away.

“I’ll love you forever.” The clatter of his belt was a melodic frenzy, followed by the grate of his zipper.

She pulled at his shirt, tugged it over his head and let it fall to the floor. He was more defined than she remembered. His muscles were honed, his skin taut and inviting.

She grappled for the waistband of his boxer briefs and yanked them forward to expose the tip of the erection begging to be freed. Her mouth watered at the sight of it. The thick, bulbous head she wanted to get her mouth around.

“Cass…” He scrunched the material of her dress, tugging it up her thighs. “I haven’t had sex in a long time. I haven’t been with anyone but you.”

She grinned, enjoying his pained lack of self-control.

“You think this is funny?” he taunted, hitching a finger under the crotch of her panties. “You seem just as defenseless, pretty lady.”

She nodded, jolting her hips toward his touch, striving for the briefest glimpse of penetration to sooth the ache in her pussy. “I’ve never wanted you inside me as much as I do right now.”

She lifted her dress over her head and threw the material aimlessly. She didn’t care if the neighbors could see her in her underwear. Instead, she sank under the spell of lust and love her husband was bathing her in, refusing to believe this was the end.

“You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”

Her heart fluttered. “I guess you still don’t get out much.”