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LIA

I closed my eyes when I felt him get into bed with me.

He brushed my hair off to the side and pressed a kiss on my neck.

I shuddered in disgust.

I hadn’t seen him in two nights because I had spent them at Mael’s, but now that I was back at my own apartment, here he was again, messing with my mind and messing with my life.

And I was just tired.

And angry.

Why couldn’t he just leave me alone?

For the first time since I felt him get into bed with me, I turned around to face him. I knew the move surprised him because he held still. It was too dark to make out his face, and a part of me was tempted to reach over to the lamp and turn it on, but the other part was afraid he might just kill me if I found out what he looked like. And something told me he was faster than me.

He was certainly stronger.

“Well,” I said, feigning bravery. The anger was able to cover up the tremors in my voice. “Aren’t you going to talk?”

I didn’t know how I knew this, but he was grinning at me.

I shuddered and moved back. He wrapped his arms around my middle to keep me from moving further away from him. I closed my eyes, my fear warring with my anger.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked. Much to my disappointment, his voice wasn’t familiar to me. I didn’t know him. I just thought… if he was stalking me like this, then we probably had met somewhere, hadn’t we?

But if we hadn’t officially met, then he was stalking me… becoming obsessed with me after only seeing me on the street once?

I rubbed my hand down my face in frustration.

“What do you want with me?” I asked. “Why can’t you just leave me alone?”

I was feeling brave. Or perhaps stupid, but I didn’t think he would hurt me. If he wanted to hurt me, he would have done it already. But all he’d done was hold me in the night and disappear before the sun was up, leaving no trace of him behind save for a faint scent on the bedsheets.

“I can’t leave you alone,” he said, his voice rough. My heart dropped from his confession. He was telling me things I had already guessed, but there was a finality to his words that left me feeling hopeless.

He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. The move was surprisingly gentle. Still, I flinched. Anger had made me brave, but hopelessness had brought my fear back tenfold. He was still a stranger who had access to my apartment.

Tears burned my eyes.

He leaned down and kissed my cheeks. I let out a stuttered breath. “You belong to me, and that’s all there is to it.”

“Are you… are you going to hurt me?” I asked.

He didn’t say anything for a long moment. Then, “I would never hurt you.”

I didn’t believe him.

He got up.

I flinched, but all he did was leave.

I knew he wasn’t coming back— tonight.

But he would be back soon.

And I didn’t know what to do anymore.

* * *

I hadn’t slept since he left my apartment. I sat on my bed and stared at the wall. I was still doing that when dawn broke and sunlight crept in through the open blinds in my room.

My alarm blared sometime after eight, and I reached to turn it off.

I moved on autopilot. I didn’t give myself time to think or delve into my situation. I thought if I did, I might just lose it, and the last thing I wanted was to lose it.

I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and pulled up Mael’s contact.

My lips trembled. I shouldn’t be this affected.

We had gone on two dates. We hardly knew each other.

I texted him.

Me: I can’t do this anymore. It’s over. Please don’t contact me again.

I slammed the phone down on the bed, feeling so fucking angry I wanted to break something. I wanted to break apart.

It shouldn’t have hurt this much, but it did.

But the last thing I wanted was to pull him into my mess. Not until I got this sorted out first.

I was going to see Leo and tell him everything tonight after my shift.

It was something I should have told him that first night the fucker came to my apartment and slept with me in my bed. And I just feel so incredibly stupid for not doing so.

I got up from the bed and walked to the bathroom, getting ready for my shift. I ignored my phone when I heard it vibrate. There was only one person who would be calling me right now, and the last thing I wanted was to talk to Mael.

Surely, I’d break down.

* * *

I made it through my shift somewhat intact.

I smiled at the right time, made small talk with other people, and acted like everything was fine and my world didn’t feel like it had just imploded, destroying me.

I felt silly for feeling so strongly about someone I’d just met, but I knew under the right circumstances, I would have fallen in love with him.

“Bye, Lia!” Emily called out from the front.

I waved at her, trying to finish up the rest of my cleaning duty. I was the last one to leave the coffee shop tonight. I looked around the empty place, hating the silence. It left me too much time to think. I hurried along, checking one last time that we had all the supplies in their place by the counter for the morning shift tomorrow.

The bell on the front door chimed.

“Sorry, we’re close…”

I trailed off when I turned around to see Mael standing there.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He didn’t answer me. Just stood there and watched me with that intense look in his eyes that always managed to unnerve me.

I shifted on my feet nervously.

Then he closed the door behind him and moved over to me. I took a step back, not that it seemed to do me any good. He was like a bulldozer, moving about the space and not stopping for anything until he got to his target—me.

I shook my head. “You got my text. We can’t— fuck .”

He pushed me up against the wall, his body pressing in close to mine. He gathered my wrists in his hands and held them above my head. I looked from side to side, trying to find an escape. He firmed his grip on me, letting me know there was no escape.

“Mael,” I stuttered out when he dipped his head and ran the tip of his nose up and down the side of my face.

“Don’t you think I deserve an explanation as to why you’re ending it?” he asked, his voice gruff.

I bit the inside of my cheek, not knowing what to say. I couldn’t think of any excuse to use that would be good enough.

“I don’t… I don’t owe you anything,” I said, his closeness making it hard for me to think.

“No?” he asked, pulling back from me. His eyes were dark. I blinked, looking away from him.

He took that opportunity to kiss my jawline. I let out a broken exhale.

“Please. You’re messing with my mind,” I confessed.

“Do you know why I am able to mess with your mind?”

I shook my head. I didn’t know anything at this point. I felt him smile against my skin.

“It’s because you’re still affected by me.”

I shook my head, trying to lie my way out of this.

He shot me a knowing look.

“Let go of me,” I said, pulling my wrists from his grasp. His arms moved around my middle and pulled me into him until our fronts were pressed up against each other.

“Say it like you mean it, and I will. And Lia? I’ll know if you lie.”

I bit my lip. “Let…”

His smile widened. I wanted to slap that smile off his face.

“I already told you it’s over.”

“And why is that?” he asked.

I let out a sigh in defeat. I didn’t have a good reason for him, at least not one I was willing to share.

“Please,” I begged, my lips trembling. This was what I had resorted to.

“Never,” he answered vehemently.

“Mael.”

“Lia.”

I let out a frustrated groan and slapped his chest. He pressed my hand down, holding it there until I could feel his heartbeat beneath my palm.

“Mael,” I said again, only this time, his name came out more like a whisper, the tinge of desperation feeling noticeable in that one syllable.

He didn’t give me the chance to say anything more.

He slammed his lips against mine roughly, so much so that it almost hurt.

I tried to fight him off. I tried to be the reasonable one out of the two of us, but the more he kissed me, the harder it was to hold on to that reason.

He nipped at my bottom lip, tugging on it with his teeth. “You’re running scared. And I’m not going to let you.”

“Even if it’s my choice?”

“Even then,” he said, his voice nothing more than a growl. “I’m not letting you go. You’re mine, and I’m yours, and that’s all there is to it.”

That’s all there is to it.

My stalker had said something similar, but with Mael, I didn’t feel scared. I should be, though, from his unhinged words.

I shook my head.

“Please.”

He shook his head. “No. Feel my heart, baby. Can’t you tell?”

“Tell what?” I asked.

“That each heartbeat is yours and yours alone.”

And then he kissed me again, harder this time, rougher, and I felt the fight leave me. My resistance had been nothing more than a paper-thin wall even a small child could have knocked over.

He hoisted me up, and I clung to him, wrapping my arms and legs around him. He pressed me up against the wall, letting me feel everything. I kissed him harder as he pushed his hips back and then up against my soft center.

“Mael,” I whimpered out, feeling his hardness. He did it again and again until I felt so disoriented I could no longer distinguish between reality and fantasy.

“For even thinking about leaving me,” he said harshly against my skin, “I’m not going to be gentle.”

Fuck.

Before I could say anything to that, he was walking us away from the wall and over to the counter. He sat me down and started to pull on my shirt.

I resisted a little.

“Mael, wait?—”

I looked down in disbelief when a ripping sound tore through the silent shop. He pulled my torn shirt off me, leaving me in nothing but black pants and a black bra.

“I can’t believe you ripped my shirt,” I said, looking down at the tattered fabric on the floor that I had just mopped not too long ago.

He didn’t say anything to that.

His eyes glowed, and there was this look in them that sent shivers up and down my spine.

“Mael?”

He came back to me and kissed me again.

I tried to push him off. He kissed me harder, his hand moving around and unfastening my bra. The skimpy fabric loosened around me before it was pulled down and joined my shirt on the floor.

“Mael, we should slow down?—”

My voice was cut off when I felt his lips around my nipple. I sucked in a sharp breath as he rolled the hardened nub around with his lips, his eyes focused intently on me. I bit my bottom lip, no longer knowing what I was saying. My back arched when he used his hand on my other nipple, plucking and pinching it until a sharp sting began to spread from there.

I shook my head, but at this point, I didn’t even know what I was saying no to.

“You fucking taste so good,” he said around my nipple. “I fucking bet your pussy tastes even better.”

Heat spread across my cheeks. I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.

“You’ll let me taste you, won’t you, my sweet girl?”

I swallowed, but it felt like there was a lump in my throat.

He pushed me back to lie down on the counter before I could say anything, his fingers working deftly at the button and zipper of my pants. I felt it when he pulled the zipper down, the fabric brushing up against my mound.

He pulled my pants off, along with my panties, until I was completely naked on the counter, and Mael was gazing at me, taking in his fill. The light of the coffee shop didn’t help. I was sure he could see everything.

“Spread your legs for me, kitten,” he said.

I blinked, feeling unsure. “Should we really be doing this here?”

He smiled a devilish smile. “Do you really want to stop now? When you’re already naked and needy?”

“I—”

My words were cut off when he cupped me between the legs, his palm squeezing my pussy.

“Don’t deny it. Not when you’re literally gushing over my palm right now, baby.”

He moved his hand up and down my crease, and I closed my eyes from the sensation, my stomach dipping as I took in a deep breath.

“Please,” I said, but I didn’t know what I was asking for at that point.

He pushed one of my legs off the counter, spreading me out for his gaze. Pulling his hand back, he smacked my pussy a couple of times.

“Fuck!” I shouted out from the pain and glared over at him.

His smile widened. “I don’t like to repeat myself, baby.”

“What happened to my sweet Mael?” I asked, although I’d always thought there was a hint of darkness in him that I hadn’t been able to fully explore before.

He laughed. “He’s not here. Not since I got your text this morning and have been going out of my mind.”

A tinge of guilt hit me. If he was feeling even an ounce of how I had felt all day, I was sure he’d felt shitty.

He slapped my pussy once more.

“Hey! What was that for?”

“Lost you there for a moment. Focus on me, kitten.”

I didn’t get the chance to answer him. Not when he was moving his finger from side to side over my slit.

I arched my back, wanting more of him.

“That’s it. That’s my good girl,” he cooed. “Look at you. Look at this greedy little cunt of yours, weeping and begging for more. You want me to eat you out, baby?”

“Yes,” I hissed out, no longer caring about anything else but what he could do for me, to me.

I didn’t care that we were doing this in my place of employment, which was such a stupid and dangerous thing to not care about. But that was going to be a problem I worried about another time—not now.

This time, I just wanted more and more and more.

I reached for him, pulling him down to me. He didn’t disappoint as he took my lips with his in a kiss that just about stole my breath away. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling in his hair, and kissed him harder, loving the taste of him. All the while, his fingers continued to play with my pussy, unrelenting and confident, each stroke igniting a fire inside me I never thought would be possible.

“Mael,” I moaned out when he pulled back.

“I got you,” he said softly, his blue eyes nearly dark. He began to kiss his way down my body.

His lips trailed down my neck, leaving a blazing path in their wake. I shivered as he reached my collarbone, his tongue darting out to taste my skin. My fingers tightened in his hair as he moved lower, his stubble scraping against my skin, creating that delicious friction.

“God, you're perfect,” he murmured, his voice rough-sounding as his hot breath fanned across my nipple. “Perfect for me. Perfect in every fucking way possible.”

I arched into him, desperate for more. He chuckled darkly, taking my nipple into his mouth, sucking hard. A cry escaped my lips as pleasure like bolts of electricity pulsated through me. He didn’t give me a chance to think about anything else but the feel of his hot lips surrounding me, from one aching tip to the next, before his lips were on the move again.

It felt like I wasn’t able to get enough air into my lungs. I tried, but I… It was just not enough. There was too much going on. I sucked in a harsh inhale when I felt his tongue on my skin. Hell.

He paused when he reached my stomach, glancing up at me, his eyes dark and dancing with a sort of wicked humor I couldn’t understand.

“You’re mine, yeah?”

I licked my lips. “I’m yours.”

My heart thudded. It felt like I had just made a deal with the devil somehow, but that couldn’t be right. This was Mael. This was my Mael. There were obviously worse things in life than to belong so wholeheartedly to a man like him.

“Please, Mael. I need you so bad.”

“And how could I ever deny you, baby, when you say it like that? How could I deny you anything, ever ?”

Wouldn’t that be nice if it were true?

If a man like Mael was so hopeless, so powerless against me, would he do anything, be anything for me?

I sighed at the thought as he moved between my legs. My stomach dipped in when I felt his hot breath fanning over my sensitive mound and wet slit.

I tried to close my legs, but his huge body was in the way. There was no escape.

He looked up and met my eyes once more, then winked at me before he buried his face in my pussy, eating me out with fervor.

“Oh God!” I said, my back bowing from the sensation. Mael pressed one hand down on my inner thigh, holding me still for him as his lips continued to move, his tongue coming out, licking up and down my slit, taking my arousal.

He hummed, either from the taste of me or the act of doing this, I didn’t know.

I reached down and roughly pulled on his hair.

My back shook. My legs shook.

“Mael,” I cried out.

I was close.

“Please.”

I pressed my palm on his forehead and tried to push him away when the sensation became almost too much to bear. He didn’t pull away. If anything, he seemed to have doubled his efforts.

He growled, the vibrations intensifying the feeling as his hold on my thigh turned almost bruising.

I cried out when I felt his teeth at my swollen clit, nipping on it roughly before he lapped at it with his tongue as if to take away the sting.

I fell without warning.

One moment, I was afraid of the fall. Afraid of how hard, how high it was, I didn’t know what to do with myself.

The next, my vision tunneled, and there was nothing and no one but the sensation of… this.

It wasn’t a fall. I didn’t fall. It felt like I was forcefully being pulled down into the depths of the unknown.

My heart pounded brutally with every second I spent in hopeless oblivion until finally, finally , I crashed.

I screamed out my release, my hands covering my face when it all became too much, and I didn’t know what to do with myself anymore.

What was happening to me?

I was brought back to reality when my hands were being pulled away from my face.

Mael stood between my legs. He was naked, his hard cock bobbing up and down in front of us. I was too tired to do anything but watch him. I wasn’t even aware he had taken off his clothes. My greedy eyes took in all the skin he had on display, taking in all the ink and stopping on the line of numbers on his rib: 37654. I had those numbers memorized in my brain from the first time I saw them, and one of these days, I would ask him what they meant, but not now. Not when there was something else I wanted more.

My gaze strayed down to his cock.

He was beautiful.

I never thought I would think of another man’s dick as beautiful, but his was.

“Fuck, you’re beautiful when you come,” he said roughly. “Don’t hide that from me.”

I shot him a small half smile just as he grabbed himself, stroking roughly up and down his long length. I licked my lips as he watched me.

“It always feels like I am on the verge of losing control with you.” Then he frowned as though the statement unnerved him.

“Is that such a bad thing?” I asked. I always felt like that. It was only fair that he felt the same way.

He shook his head. “It is if I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t,” I answered confidently.

He didn’t respond to that.

Instead, he directed the tip of his cock to my entrance. I held my breath in anticipation as I felt him push in, my pussy stretching to accommodate his huge size. His thumb pressed down on my clit, moving over the bundle of nerves as he pushed in all the way. We groaned at the same time from the sensation. Mael looked down at my body, his eyes honing in on where we were connected.

“Fuck. It always feels so good with you like this,” he said. “I won’t ever get tired of this.”

I would smile at his words if I wasn’t feeling so much.

Instead, I wrapped my legs around him, trying to pull him in closer to me, trying to get him to move.

“You talk too much,” I gritted out. “Just fuck me already.”

He looked at me, dark humor in his eyes as he pulled back until only his tip was buried, giving me one brutal thrust that nearly shook everything inside me.

I clenched down on him from the sensation as he continued his tortuous pace, fucking me slowly but roughly.

“Please,” I begged. “ Please .”

He increased his tempo, and I closed my eyes from the movement.

“Fuck, baby,” he gritted out.

And then he was moving faster and faster, harder and harder, until it was difficult for me to think of anything but him, feel anything but him.

My breasts moving every time he pushed back inside me, our skin slapping against each other, like a song we both created with our bodies.

He reached down and slapped the side of my breast before playing with my nipple, twisting it painfully. I cried out, my hand moving over to his, unsure if I wanted him to stop or not. He didn’t give me a choice.

He pulled my hand away with his other hand and slapped my nipple a couple of times. My back arched.

“Mael!”

“This is mine,” he said, his voice like gravel and his eyes glowing. “Mine to pleasure. Mine to hurt. Just like you’re mine. Yeah?” All the while, he never stopped the punishing pace.

He kept fucking me.

I nodded, tears stinging my eyes.

“Good girl,” he said, pulling my nipple up until all I could focus on was the pain and pleasure shocking my system.

How contradictory. Didn’t he just say he didn’t want to hurt me?

“Come for me, baby,” Mael said.

He let go of my hand and moved his down to play with my clit once more. A few harsh swipes from him, and I lost it completely.

I shouted out his name as I came, my orgasm tearing through me, making me wonder if I would even come out of this intact or if Mael had ruined me so thoroughly, there was no going back from it.

He soon followed me, his cum gushing inside my pussy and dripping out over my inner thigh. I closed my eyes from the sensation.

And I got my answer.

There really was no going back from this.