Disclaimer: Sexual scenes ahead. Please skip if you don't wish to read it.

His mouth was warm, his lips smooth, and Shanya lost all sense of time and place as she deepened the kiss. He tasted of the Champagne he'd just drank, but a deeper taste lurked underneath it. The taste of him. Purely him. She didn't think about anything else except how good Paris tasted, how wonderful his lips felt against hers, how powerful his body was, pressed against hers. She shut her eyes and gave the reins over to him and soon, he was leading the kiss with enough fire to burn the whole damn boat to ash. He wrapped his hand around her possessively, his tongue plunged in and around her mouth, tasting her, savoring her. She moaned deeply, her fingers entangling themselves in the hair at the nape of his neck, and as he kissed her fiercely, she wondered if it were possible for her heart to explode. Her toes curled from the sweet pleasure of his mouth as they met each other, passion for passion, stroke for stroke, swimming deeper into that growing abyss.

She ran her hands through his chest, fondling the buttons of his shirt while relishing in his hard skin. There was something about him that lit her up from the inside, something about her that melted his confidence to nothing at all. Touching him was like being handed the holy grail—like her heart was mended even though she never knew it was broken.

His own hands had already found their way under her top, tentatively exploring every inch of her bare skin. It was easy for him because she hadn't worn a bra. He found her breasts and cupped them both, rubbing his index fingers around her areolas. Her whole body came alive and she moaned into his mouth, the kiss getting even more demanding. She'd never allowed anyone to touch her in this manner. Never let anyone get this close. Why was it incredibly natural with him?

He released her mouth and went for her neck, pressing hot kisses against the bare skin.

She tilted her head to give him more access as she continued to work on his buttons, already frustrated. She forgot about Heather, forgot that he'd practically told her he couldn't choose between the two of them, forgot that she was pissed at him hours ago. She forgot everything and immersed herself in his heady kisses, ready to rip his damn shirt off him if she had to.

"Easy, tiger," he laughed and helped her with the rest of his buttons. In less than three seconds, he was free of his insufferable shirt.

With ease, he carried her off her feet and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He was still pressing hot kisses against the base of her neck. Shanya's mind went numb as each touch set her body on fire, all she could think of was how she yearned for this man's touch. In every part of her body. Especially there.

He laid her gently on the deck, using his insufferable shirt to shield her back from the hard texture as his weight descended upon her. She smiled, there was something so powerful about him on top of her, his relentless arousal pressed against her thighs. His fingertips were electric, they must be, for wherever they touched, her skin tingled in a frenzy of static. As his hand continued its devious foreplay, her body had a transitory paralysis, her mind unable to process the pleasure fast enough.

Naked from the waist up, the chilly breeze had turned her areolas into hardened nipples. Paris kissed her stomach, slowly, and she threw her head back as the tickling pleasurable sensation overtook her. He found his way up to her left breast and in one smooth movement, his mouth descended on her waiting nipple, sucking and licking it with painful subtlety. A moan escaped her lips and she arched her back even more into him.

It must've been the right move because he sucked her harder, moving his mouth to her right nipple, and applying the same sweet torture. She thought she would crash over and burn as his hands reached for her flyer and unzipped her jeans, delving into her panties as he trailed his hands over her sweet spot.

"You're already wet."

Her cheeks burned. Her body reacted to him so quickly it was almost embarrassing. Was this normal? She didn't know the first thing about foreplay—actually, she did, but it hadn't been real. It was just so she could have power over her boyfriend. But this, this was real—if the wetness between her thighs was any indication.

Paris was rubbing her clit, massaging her pink haven with his bare hands, and Shanya's face heated up even more as her body fired up in anticipation of what she knew was about to come next. But she shut her eyes and reveled in the pleasure he was accumulating in her body, in the delicious throb of her sacred forest.

When Paris took her into his mouth, Shanya cried out. The waves of pleasure that hit her were indescribable. His tongue was relentless as it ate her, drinking the wetness her body so freely released.

"Oh my God, Paris..."

She needed to hold on to something—anything or she was going to be blown apart into little pieces right here on this boat.

His name on her lips seemed to drive him because he ate her with more fervor now. "You taste so good."

She shut her eyes as her body convulsed and racked with the expertise of his tongue on her pink naked flesh. The rhythmic action was enough to send her crashing into another climax.

He inserted a finger into her opening then, and Shanya stilled. He seemed to sense her hesitation because he looked up at her, his eyes the color of the last ashes on a fire, glazed over with stark desire. She could barely breathe at the depth of it. There was a flash of something else, but it was gone before she could pick up on it.

Very slowly, he removed his finger from within her and stared at it for a bit. She frowned at the sudden withdrawal, wondering why he'd stopped. The question was on the tip of her tongue, but his mouth came over hers again, none of that fire in it, just a touch of resignation. When he pulled his mouth away from hers, Shanya had to fight the urge to beg him to come back and kiss her properly.

"We... shouldn't. We have to stop." His breath sounded painful and ragged as he got up off her. "Any more of this and I will not be able to stop myself from taking you right here on this boat."

Shanya felt her face heat up at that remark. Her eyes landed on his very visible arousal bulging through his tight jeans even as he reached for her tank top, discarded a foot away from them, and gave it to her.

A sickening feeling dwelled in her gut. She'd almost given him her virginity. Something she'd thought she'd never give up so easily. She licked her swollen lips and wore her top quickly. When she was done, he helped her up from the deck and she stumbled a little, dizzy from the ride she and Paris had just been on. The ride he had just given her.

He was at her side in an instant, steadying her. Their eyes locked for a moment and she glimpsed something almost feral but resigned in his before he broke contact and picked up the shirt she had been lying on.

He used it to wrap around her, shielding her from the cold as he leaned in, and Shanya expected him to kiss her again. But he only bit her lower lip with his teeth and proceeded to kiss her cheek and then the tip of her nose. With a groan, he released her completely and took a step back.

"What is it about you that makes me lose control?"

He seemed to be asking himself the question as he turned around and ran his hand through his already disheveled hair. Disheveled by her. She bit her inner cheek. What she'd just been about to do... what she'd been about to give up... did he know?

He faced her then, his eyes almost beseeching. "You must think I'm a jerk."

Amongst other things...

But who was she kidding? The whole reason she'd agreed to be engaged to him was so she could change her shabby life. And if she was being really honest, to spite her mom and prove to her brother that she was more than capable of getting her life right on her own. She didn't need some family scandal dictating her life and hanging over her head forever. But because fate had a twisted sense of humor, she'd walked right into another scandal with Paris. Except with this one, she was her Principal. The outsider ruining another's relationship.

This was supposed to be a professional arrangement. Now it had gotten way out of control.

"I'm sorry, Shay. I'm doing this all wrong."

There it was again. Her name on his lips. She wanted to melt into him and tell him to say it over and over again. She was quiet though, the words lost in her already muddled mind as she wrapped herself more firmly with his shirt. A mistake. She could smell him on it and it wasn't helping.

"Say something," he pleaded. He looked so vulnerable as he stood there, gazing at her like her words meant something to him. Like he lived by her every want and need. If she asked him to cut it off with Heather, would he? In a heartbeat? But, of course, she would never ask that of him. She was more than that and she refused to become those silly mistresses who waited upon their man's empty promises. He would have to come to the decision on his own. He'd have to choose, he couldn't have it both ways. But he'd told her he didn't want to.

She didn't even want to be anyone's choice in the first place. Because if he loved her, then picking her shouldn't have to be a choice, it'd have to be a priority. And as she looked at him, unsure and racked with guilt, she knew he wasn't ready for that at all.

At least, he was honest with her, which was more than anyone else would've been.

She walked closer to him and wrapped her hands around his waist, resting her head on his chest. She felt him breathe easy as his hands came around her waist in a heartbeat, hugging her to him tightly.

"We did this all wrong from the start," she finally replied, "We—Heather included. So don't be too hard on yourself."

He sighed, his chin resting on her hair. They stood like that for over two minutes, the only noise around them was their gentle breathing and the sound of the waves rocking the boat as the breeze blew around them. Shanya shut her eyes and simply let herself feel everything she needed to. Even if this wasn't going to last. Even if, like Lily, she was living in a fool's paradise.

Paris pulled her back from him, putting his hands on her shoulders and she was forced to gaze deeply into his beautiful grey eyes. He didn't have that feral look she saw a few minutes ago. His eyes were focused and clear.

He touched her face tenderly. "I don't deserve you."

She scoffed, her eyes teasing as she patted him on the back. "Obviously. But cheer up, Grey eyes. Your money makes up for your shortcomings."

He grinned, shaking his head at her and she was glad to see the seriousness ebb away a little, replaced by his usual look of amusement.

* * * *

She was a virgin.

A virgin. He'd known the minute he'd buried his finger into her wild heat, the wet haven closing around him snuggly. Just when he'd thought that Shanya couldn't possibly surprise him any more than she already did, he was proven wrong.

All this while, she had been a virgin. And he'd been about to ravage her, take her greedily without a thought. Even with another woman in his heart, even with the dilemma. He'd insulted her. He truly was a damned idiot. Selfish. A total cow. He belonged in the deepest pits of hell.

As he laid alone on his bed, back in his estate, an image of her beautiful face flashed across his mind, staring up at him as he explored every inch of her rich, delicate skin. She was willing to give up her virginity to him—someone who didn't even deserve to touch a hair on her head. It had ruined him. Utterly shook him.

He'd had to stop it, even though his whole body had rebelled against it, even though kissing her felt like coming home, he'd had to.

He'd meant what he said. He didn't deserve her. He wasn't sure he ever would.

A/n: You know what he deserves though? A vote for doing the right thing by Shanya. Seriously, how many dudes do you know of who'd pick doing the right thing over getting laid by a virgin?

Exactly.