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Like when he saw me with Luca or when I looked at Emilio in the booth at the club. The same with his reaction now.

He loves power, and when I start to take it from him, he touches me to prove it’s still there.

I brush my lips over his. “What about when you let him sit in the booth and watch you finger me?” I run my tongue along the seam of his lips. “Was I yours then?”

He bites my lip and curses under his breath. “That night, he heard your moans of pleasure, but he didn’t seeyour body.” To further drive in his words, he pushes his hand into my panties and cups my pussy. “All he saw was how I played with your pussy so fucking good that you lost control of yourself.” He rips my panties off. “It also taught us both that you enjoyed having an audience, don’t you?”

I turn my head, looking away from him.

It’s true.

If Emilio were still here and Julian had me in this same position, I’d let him do whatever he wanted with my body.

“So wet, just thinking about it,” Julian says, hiking my leg up his thigh and thrusting three fingers inside me, stretching me so well.

He loves teasing me and playing games.

I want to do the same with him.

“Where were you all night?” I ask, shutting my eyes.

“Ah, who’s the jealous one now?”

“You know where I was. It’s only fair.” I moan as he plays with my clit.

“I was working.”

I grind my hips against his hand, so much pleasure rolling through me that I’m surprised I can speak. “Speaking of work, that’s where I need to get to.”

He pulls his fingers out and steps back so fast that I almost keel over him. “You don’t have a job.” He uses the same tone Emilio did when he basically said the same thing.

I huff out a breath as he straightens his suit jacket. “Yes, I do.”

“Is that job to fuck me whenever I want?”

“No, the shelter, smart-ass. I’m scheduled to work there today.”

“You no longervolunteerthere.” He steps forward, pinning me against the wall and shoving his hand back between my legs.

If his goal is to tease me so I forget about volunteering, he’s underestimating me.

I push his shoulder. “It’s in the contract, so you have to let me. The shelter is already short-staffed to begin with.”

“I’ll increase my donation so they can hire more people. Problem solved.” He tauntingly smirks at me and presses his hand back against the wall, as if holding me hostage.

“You don’t let me go, then you don’t get to come inside me.” I mock his smirk before ducking underneath his arm. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” I pluck the sweatshirt from the floor and tug it on while walking up the stairs. “The sweatshirt is mine now too.”

The coroner callson the drive to Safe Hearts Mission. He tells me he can’t reach my mother and asks where to send my father’s body. His question hurts my heart.

How sad.

My father’s body is stranded at the coroner’s. I can’t believe my mother didn’t even have the respect to prepare her husband a proper funeral. I doubt she’s even grieving.

We haven’t spoken since she told me she was living her best life in Tahiti. She hasn’t checked on me once. I really don’t have anyone but Julian and my friends.

Another how sad.

I instruct the coroner to send my father’s body to the same funeral home my grandparents went to after their deaths. In his will, he put that he wanted to be buried in the same graveyard as them.