Page 132 of Madness & Mercy

“You want protection?”

Click.

“You have it.”

Click.

“But there’s a price.”

He grabs the front of my shirt and yanks me to my feet.

“Truth. Loyalty.Me.”

His hand presses to my chest, over my hammering heart.

“You don’t get to run. You don’t get to lie. You stay… and you belong tome.”

The cuffs are gone, but his grip is even tighter.

“So what am I now?” I ask. “Your prisoner? Your hostage?”

Nico’s smile isn’t kind, it’s the kind you see just before the blade sinks in.

He tilts his head, studying me like he’s memorizing every place he could break me, and every place he already has.

“No. If you were my hostage, I wouldn’t ask you to stay.”

He steps in again, his hand sliding to the back of my neck.

“If you were my prisoner, I wouldn’t kiss you like this.”

And he does. This one is slow and deep, hot enough to burn straight through the guilt.

When he pulls back, I’m shaking.

“You’re not a hostage,” he says, his voice low.

“You’remine.That’s the difference.”

He lets the words sink in, heavy and final.

“But don’t forget what this is,” he mutters “You betrayed me. Youlied.And you’re going to spend every waking minute of everysecondearning your place at my side.”

My pulse is thundering.

“And if you run?” he murmurs. “I won’t just chase you.”

He leans in closer, so close I can feel his body heat.

“I’ll hunt you down and drag you back where you belong.”

I stagger backwards, his words catching me off guard.

And he moves before I can blink.

One second I’m standing there, wrists red from the cuffs, chest still heaving from whatever the hell that last confession just ripped out of me, and the next, my back’s against the wall.

Nico’s palm slams against the concrete beside my head. The other grips my cock, applying just enough pressure to make me moan. He’s all heat and fury and control pressed tight against me.