Page 80

She nods, suddenly a sadness about her large, emotive eyes.

“I’ll find a way. I’ll figure something out.”

Though as I make these promises, I’m not sure how it can possibly work. I’m a captain in the Baekho Pa and have vowed a lifetime of servitude to the syndicate. It’s like any other mafia organization where you don’t get to walk away at will. You live and die by the family. In our case, the sacred brotherhood.

But Monroe’s not happy cooped up in my apartment at all hours. It’s not a proper long-term arrangement for a woman like her.

She’s restless, eager to return to a real life.

“I trust you, Jin,” she says softly, interrupting my thoughts. She leans up and kisses my bruised, swollen jaw. “It sounds insane after how we met, but I… I trust you with my life.”

I press my lips to hers in another kiss and rest my hand on her breast, feeling her heartbeat flutter against my palm.

She’s enjoyable to touch and feel. Simple things like her heartbeat or the warmth of her skin bring me a contentment I’ve never known.

I’m hard again, pinning her back against the pillows and sliding into her pussy. She moans with me as we kiss and I stroke into her. My strokes are slow and lazy, though no less pleasurable for us both.

We rock in rhythm with each other and let our hands wander our bodies. I grip her hips and switch up the motion, grinding myself into her. She turns her head to the side and shudders under me, the friction it creates against her clit unbearable.

Our orgasms come easily, after only a few minutes of working each other. Her pussy’s still pulsing as I come inside her and bite at the side of her throat. I can’t get enough of her, tasting the sweetness of her skin, even gnawing on her like an animal.

She makes me this way. Feral and volatile.

After, we get up and each take showers. My bathroom is so small and cramped that only one adult can reasonably fit at a time. She goes first while I sit up on the side of the bed and scroll through the notifications on my phone.

I have three unread text messages. All from Jae-hyun.

Jin-tae, we need to discuss last night’s events

Meet me alone at noon

Cheongyeon Spa in Namcheon-dong

I stare at the messages so long I don’t hear the shower turn off or the click of the bathroom door as Monroe emerges amid clouds of steam. She clutches a towel to her body, brown skin gleaming with droplets of water, her curls trapped under a shower cap.

She frowns slightly. “Something wrong? You look more serious than usual. Which is saying something.”

“My boss wants to meet in an hour,” I answer vaguely, rising from the bed. “It looks like I’ll have to leave for a while this afternoon.”

I can tell Monroe’s disappointed—she was hoping we’d spend the rest of the day together—but I kiss her cheek and promise to return soon.

I’m quick in the shower, lathering up and rinsing off and then putting on a change of clothes. If Jae-hyun wants to meet in Namcheon-dong, it’ll take me almost an hour. Even as frustrated and pissed as I’ve been with Jae-hyun, it’s rarely a good idea to be late for a meeting with the Baekho-je.

“Stay put, alright?” I tell Monroe.

Guilt coils inside my stomach as I kneel before her and grab the cuff. I can tell Monroe’s tired of being chained while I’m gone.

I don’t like doing it either—but I’m also not sure if I can truly trust her not to run again. As much as I want to believe shewouldn’t, past behavior is a predicator of future behavior. She’s tried once, and I can’t risk her succeeding.

It wouldn’t end well for either of us if she went rogue and then the Baekho Pa found out.

My long fingers tenderly caress her ankle. I lean forward and drop a kiss to the area. “I promise I will be quick.”

She nods and then settles on the futon couch with a book. This time from my collection she’s selectedA Farewell to Armsby Ernest Hemingway. It won’t be long before she’s read every book on the shelf…

The drive to Namcheon-dong takes over forty minutes. It feels longer as my knuckles tighten on the wheel and my mind wanders.

Jae-hyun rarely asks to meet anywhere other than the Claw Lounge, which is his palace of sorts. His domain as Baekho-je. Let alone meeting at aspaof all places.