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“Welcome home.” Jude was there, stepping close to help me with my coat before kissing me while I juggled both cupcakes in one hand.

“I like the sound of that. And I brought you sugar.”

He smiled against my lips. “I’m going to need to up my gym time if you keep bringing me extra baked goods.”

“I’ve seen every inch of your body now, sir, and I don’t think a cupcake is going to make a dent in your fine ass.”

Jude raised an eyebrow, but he took a bite of his cupcake when I held it out for him. “Mmm. See? Nothing wrong with your baking. Before dinner?”

I licked some of the frosting off mine, savoring the melting chocolate and the tart, semi-sweet bitterness of the decorations. That was the key to baked goods not everyone realized. Sweetness was the real killer. Too much, and you couldn’t enjoy it. There had to be balance, and this was a cupcake. I was back, baby.

That cupcake was a goner. I devoured the rest of it.

Walking into the kitchen, I brushed the crumbs off my fingers. The food was all set out on the counter, still in the takeout containers.

“I didn’t dish it up yet since I wasn’t sure when you were coming back.”

“That’s perfect. Because I was thinking…”

Jude smirked as I crossed to him, wrapping my arms around his waist and looking up at him. “You were thinking?”

“Maybe we could eat a little later. Because once I do, I plan on eating so much of it, I’ll be nothing more than a ball afterward. And I think I’d like something else before I turn into a pumpkin.”

I saw a twinkle in his eye I’d missed before. “I thought you might say that.”

I narrowed my eyes. “No, you didn’t. You couldn’t have.”

He reached behind him, and I heard the clink of metal a second before he moved, spinning me and pinning my back to his chest while he took my hands. They were caught by one of his big ones easily, the movement of clasping the handcuffs around my wrists more natural than breathing to him.

It shouldn’t have been nearly as hot as it was.

“It’s funny.” His breath warmed my cheek as he leaned around to kiss me there. “If I didn’t know, then how come I had these ready?”

“I don’t know.” It was hard to get air in my lungs. Warmth spread through me, my heart pounding in my ears and between my legs. I was a living pulse the second this man touched me. “Maybe you were just hopeful.”

“Or maybe…” I felt him smile. “Maybe I knew you’d be feeling a little victorious and want to play first.”

“You’re wrong.” It was a lie. He was right on the fucking money.

Jude drew his lips across my neck, and I gave up any pretense of not wanting this. My hands were off-limits now, and though I still struggled with the fact that I enjoyed it, I wasn’t about to let my brain ruin this. Teeth met my skin, a gentle bite where my neck joined my shoulder, drawing a moan from me.

“Do you like being at my mercy, Lena?” The words were low and soft. In another context, they could be deadly, and that was the beautiful heart of it. To surrender to someone who had every bit of power to hurt you, but they never would.

“Yes.”

“I could bend you over the sofa and take you here.” He wove his hand into my hair, pulling my head back so more of my neck was exposed, and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out from arousal before we got anywhere.

“As much as I like the idea, I’m not cleaning up the velvet.”

He laughed, spinning me and bending to toss me over his shoulder, careful to situate me gently because of the handcuffs.

“Jude!” My voice was nothing but a shriek that turned into a moan as he swatted my ass. But he didn’t stop, carrying me up the stairs to my room—though I thought of it as more of our room now. We were here more often than not.

He placed me on the bed and smiled. Playful, but completely in control. Breathing into it, I felt myself relax. The more we did this, the more comfortable it became—the more I started to value not having to think, knowing we would both have pleasure in the end.

I didn’t have to worry where to move or whether Jude liked anything I did, because he was in charge. If he didn’t like something, he changed it. And there was not a second in which Jude took control when I felt anything less than whole and cherished. He never made me feel small or let me second-guess myself.

My breath left me, thinking about the three words I’d dreamed about for more than three years, but it was so soon, and I wasn’t sure I was ready. But god, I was definitely falling in love with him. Truly and completely.