Page 178 of Madness & Mercy

His smirk cuts like a blade. “Too bad I didn’t bring any lube. Guess you’ll have to wait.”

I groan loud enough it echoes through the courtyard. “For fuck’s sake. Theone timeyou don’t have it?”

“I was trying to be a gentleman,” he purrs, his lips brushing my jaw. “But you…you just can’t stop tempting me.”

“Gentleman, my ass,” I mutter, and before he can say another word, I drop to my knees on the grass and yank his belt open.“Fuck it.”

I take his cock down in one greedy pull, gagging around the sheer size of him, spit dripping down as I work him hard and sloppy, daring him to stop me.

I hollow my cheeks and force him deeper, choking on his cock like I need it more than air. My hands clutch at his thighs, dragging him closer until my nose brushes the expensive belt buckle I just ripped open.

“Julian—” he rasps, his voice breaking for once, raw and almost startled. “Fuck—”

I pull off just enough to catch my breath, spit dripping down my chin as I glare up at him with wet eyes. “Shut up. Let me.”

Then I’m back on him, bobbing fast, messy, reckless, like I’m trying to swallow every inch of him. I twist my wrist around the base while my mouth works the rest, tasting him, breathing him, letting the obscene sounds echo in the quiet morning air. The sight of him, suit jacket pushed back, shirt straining, head tilted up to the sky because of how much he’s holding back, it’s enough to make me harder than I’ve ever been.

His hand twitches like he’s about to grab my hair, but I slap it away, glaring up at him like a warning.

“That’s right,” I rasp when I pull off for air, stroking him hard, spit and precum slicking my fist. “You don’t get to move. You don’t get totouch meuntil I say so.”

I keep working him, messy and brutal, sucking until my throat aches and my jaw locks, stroking the rest with a tight, desperate fist. He’s groaning now, one hand braced against the tree, the other fisting uselessly at his side because I won’t let him touch me.

“Julian…” His voice is strangled and ragged. “If you don’t stop, I’m gonna—”

That’s when I pull off him with a wetpop, gasping, spit slicking my lips, my chin wet with it. I wipe the back of my hand across my mouth, smirking up at him through wrecked lashes.

“Good,” I pant. “I want you on the fucking edge.”

Before he can catch his breath, I stand and turn, bracing both hands against the rough bark of the tree. My sweatpants are already halfway down my thighs, my ass bared to him. I glance back over my shoulder, pupils blown wide, daring him.

“Nowfuck me,”I growl. “Right here.”

His breath catches. For once, Nico Vitale, the man who bends the whole city to his will just stands there, undone, staring at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“Julian…” His voice is dark, warning, but his cock is already twitching, flushed, wet at the tip. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I don’t give a damn,” I snap, shoving my hips back just enough to brush against him. “Iwantyou. You said it yourself—you own me? Prove it.”

That’s all it takes for him to finally fucking snap.

He growls, and then he’s on me, slamming me chest-first into the rough bark, caging me in with his body. His hands clamp down on my hips so hard I yelp, my nails digging into the tree.

“You don’t know what the fuck you’re asking for,” Nico grits out, his voice vibrating against my neck.

I shove back, already grinding my ass against the thick press of his cock. “I knowexactlywhat I’m asking for. Now fuck me, Nico. Make me yours.”

He curses in Italian, and then he’s lining up, his cock hot and heavy, already leaking against my hole. When he drives in, the stretch is brutal but perfect, splitting me wide until I scream.

“Julian,” he snarls, thrusting deep, burying every inch. “Jesus Christ, you take me so fucking well.”

I can’t answer. All I can do is arch and gasp, palms scraping bark as he ruts into me with punishing force, my ass clapping back against his hips. The sound is obscene, echoing through the quiet garden.

“You feel that?” he growls, pistoning into me. “Every inch of you’s mine. This cock, this body…” He yanks my hair, snapping my head back so my throat’s exposed. “Say it. Tell me you’re mine.”

“I—fuck—” His thrusts wreck my rhythm, battering my insides. “I’m yours. God, I’m yours, Nico!”

“Louder,”he demands, slamming into me so hard, my vision blurs. “Let the whole fucking world hear who you belong to.”