"You don't realize how sexy you look right now," Alex said quietly, voice carrying weight that felt like confession rather than flattery.

"And I want to savor every bit of it," Alex continued, voice dropping to register that made the words feel dangerous.

Before Catherine could respond... before she could even process the words...

His hands moved fast and sure, gripping beneath her thighs. In one effortless lift... powered by his Enhanced strength... her body left the ground.

"Ah—!" Catherine gasped, surprise and pleasure swirling as her legs immediately locked tight around his waist, pulling him closer.

Her hands tangled in his hair as she balanced in his arms.

Alex turned and sat back down on the bench... settling comfortably, casually... with Catherine now positioned exactly where he wanted her.

In his lap.

Straddling him.

Face to face.

Catherine's breath caught as reality registered with devastating immediacy.

This position was... different.

And she could feel everything.

The bulge straining against his pants pressed directly against her core through the thin barrier of her bikini bottom, hard and prominent and impossible to ignore.

Heat flooded Catherine's face as awareness crashed through her... not just intellectual understanding but visceral, physical recognition of exactly what that meant, exactly how aroused he was, exactly what that pressure promised.

'Oh God.'

She shifted fractionally, trying to find more comfortable position, and the movement dragged her most sensitive area directly across that rigid length.

"Ah—" Catherine gasped, sensation shooting through her nervous system with intensity that made her eyes flutter closed.

"Comfortable?" Alex asked quietly, and the amusement in his tone suggested he knew exactly what effect this position was having.

Catherine opened her eyes, finding him watching her with expression that made her pulse spike.

"I—" she started, but words failed as his hands settled on her waist... warm, possessive, holding her exactly where he wanted her.

Alex's gaze tracked over her face with attention that felt almost clinical in its focus, cataloging every micro-expression, every flicker of desire or uncertainty or desperate need she couldn't hide.

His hands moved from her waist, tracing upward with maddening slowness... over her ribs, along the curve of her breasts... until his fingers settled on the edge of her bikini top.

The fabric had already been compromised... askew from their previous encounter, barely covering what it was supposed to, held in place more by luck than actual support.

"These," Alex said quietly, thumbs hooking under the edge, "are getting in my way."

His eyes returned to hers, holding her gaze with focused intensity.

"And I don't like things that obstruct what I want."

Her instincts screamed one last warning, sharp enough to almost break through the haze.

Once he removes this… there's no pretending anymore.

But the protest died unvoiced.

Because Catherine didn't want to stop.

Couldn't have stopped even if some part of her wanted to.

The hunger that had been building since Alexander Hale's first touch had consumed everything else... logic, dignity, self-preservation, everything except desperate need that wouldn't be denied.

Her hands remained on his shoulders, neither helping nor hindering, just holding on as his fingers began sliding the straps down her arms with deliberate slowness that suggested he was savoring every second.

The fabric moved.

Slowly.

Revealing more skin with each millimeter.

Catherine's breathing quickened, awareness of her own exposure intensifying with each moment, but she didn't stop him.

Couldn't.

Could only sit there in his lap, straddling him, feeling his arousal pressed against her core, while he systematically removed the last barrier between them and complete vulnerability.

The bikini top slipped free, revealing her breasts in full glorious freedom, warm and trembling against his hands as he claimed what had been just out of reach.

"You have such big, pretty breasts," Alex said, his voice thick with admiration and hunger.

His dark eyes raked over her chest, filled with raw, open lust that heated her skin under his gaze. She could feel the burning need pooling deep inside him, visible in every flicker of expression... an unspoken claim she both dreaded and craved.

Without hesitation, his hands closed around one breast, fingers heavy and possessive.

"Ah—" The sound escaped Catherine's throat before she could suppress it.

Alex's thumbs circled the peaked tips with precision that suggested he knew exactly what effect each movement was having, exactly how sensitive she'd become, exactly how to make her gasp.

His hands squeezed gently, testing the softness, the give, and Catherine felt her back arch involuntarily... pressing more firmly into his palms, her body demanding what her mind couldn't articulate.

"Mmm..." Another moan, louder this time.

Alex's grip tightened fractionally... not painful, just possessive... and Catherine's head fell back as sensation flooded through her with intensity that made coherent thought impossible.

His hands explored with thoroughness that left no inch untouched... palms kneading the soft flesh, fingers tracing the curves, thumbs returning again and again to those peaked tips that betrayed exactly how desperately she needed more.

"Oh God—" Catherine gasped as his fingers pinched gently, rolling her nipples between thumb and forefinger with perfect pressure.

It was too much.

The sensation, the exposure, the reality of sitting topless in his lap while his hands claimed her body like he owned it—

Another moan tore from her throat, completely unbidden.

Then another.

Each touch of his hands drew sounds from Catherine that she'd never made before... desperate, needy, absolutely shameless.

Alex's hands moved to the sides of her breasts, pushing them together, thumbs brushing across both nipples simultaneously, and Catherine cried out with volume that should have embarrassed her but only seemed to encourage him.

"Alex—" His name escaped as plea or prayer, she couldn't tell which.

His hands continued their exploration... squeezing, caressing, possessing... like he'd discovered his favorite toy and intended to learn every response it could produce.

"I wanted to taste them so badly" His voice dropped low, almost a growl, as he captured the full curve in his mouth, teeth grazing the sensitive flesh with impatient hunger.

"Anhhh..." Catherine gasped, a high, breathy moan slipping free before she could stop it. Her back arched instinctively, every nerve on fire as his mouth worshiped her skin.

His mouth released her with agonizing slowness, returning his attention to both breasts with his hands... squeezing, caressing, reclaiming what his lips had just left.

Every touch drew another moan, another gasp, another whimper that revealed exactly how thoroughly he'd destroyed her composure.

Then Alex laughed.

Not mockingly.

Not cruelly.

Just... amused satisfaction that made Catherine's eyes snap open — when had they closed?— and focus on his face with effort.

Alex's smile widened, hands never stopping their maddening exploration.

"You're acting like you're a virgin," he said, amusement clear in his tone.

The words hit Catherine with force that felt almost physical.

Heat flooded her face... embarrassment mixing with arousal in ways that made her want to look away, to hide, to do anything except meet his knowing gaze.

But she couldn't look away.

Could only stare at him while his hands continued their work and her body continued betraying exactly how affected she was.

Alex's fingers lingered a moment longer on her breasts, savoring the softness beneath his touch before slowly, deliberately, sliding downward.

The heat of his hand trailed down her ribs, over the curve of her waist, every inch igniting sparks that made Catherine shiver.

Her breath hitched as his fingers paused just above the line of her bikini bottom. Time seemed to slow, every nerve stretched taut in sweet anticipation.

Then, without hesitation, his touch dipped beneath the thin fabric of the bikini, sliding lower... tracing the delicate skin of her inner thigh before finally resting on her most sensitive place.

"Anghhh—" The contact was electric. A slow, feather-light graze that sent a wave of shock and pleasure rippling through Catherine's entire body.

Her eyes fluttered closed, mouth parting in an involuntary moan that escaped like a whispered confession.

"You're so wet," Alex murmured, voice low and breathy, his touch just as teasing as his words.

She could barely nod, too overwhelmed by the delicious tension pooling deep inside her.

His fingers moved with lazy precision... circling, stroking, exploring the slick folds with an artistry that both grounded her and sent her spiraling higher. Each movement drew louder, needier sounds from her throat; soft gasps escalating to desperate moans.

Warmth pooled thick and fast between her legs, every stroke fanning the flames of want until it felt like her skin might singe.

Alex's eyes locked on hers, dark and hungry. She saw the raw claim in his gaze... that this moment, this body, this pleasure belonged entirely to him.

Catherine's hands gripped his shoulders tighter as the flood of sensation crashed over her, losing herself completely in the intoxicating blend of his touch, his heat, and the undeniable need blossoming inside her.

"So," he murmured, voice low and heavy with unspoken challenge, "what do you want me to do now, Catherine?"

The question hung between them like a spark waiting to ignite. Catherine's breath caught, pulse pounding fiercely as a hunger surged through her... raw, urgent... far beyond the mile-wide kiss they'd just shared.

Her hands clenched on his shoulders just enough to betray her tension; her thighs pressed harder around his waist, desperate to hold onto control as waves of sensation threatened to overwhelm her.

After a trembling breath she barely mastered, her voice broke the silence... soft, raw, and edged with both vulnerability and challenge.

"You're the first man to make me this helpless, Alex," she whispered, voice trembling with a mix of vulnerability and challenge.

"And Victoria… she wasn't just singing praises about you." Her eyes locked on his, a flicker of something fierce sparking in their depths.

"Show me. Don't hold back. Make me scream your name, Alex. Make me lose myself."

Alex leaned in closer, eyes narrowing with a knowing gleam: the calm before the storm.

And in that breath, the promise of everything to come.

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