Page 57 of Madness & Mercy

“You feel that?” he rasps. “That’s mine, Julian. All of it.”

My whole body burns.

I can’t hold it in anymore.

“Nico—” I choke, eyes fluttering, heat coiling low and sharp.

“I know,” he groans. “Go on. Come for me.”

And I do.

I come with a sound I’ve never made before, spilling across his hand, my stomach, between us. He follows with a guttural noise, his cock throbbing against mine as he jerks through it, spilling hot against my skin.

We’re a mess. My wrists are raw from how hard I pulled at the cuffs. My chest rises and falls like I’ve just been dragged back from the dead.

He leans down, brushing his lips against my cheek.

“Mine now,” he whispers.

And I don’t argue.

CHAPTER 9 – DISTRACTION

NICO

What the fuck was I thinking?

I wait until he’s fully unconscious before unlocking the cuffs, just in case he tries to make a break for it…again.

He’s already tried to bolt once. I wouldn’t put it past him to try again, especially now that I’ve touched him the way I have.

The way helet me.

His suite’s finally finished. Reinforced locks, new security. I have no excuse to keep him here like this anymore.

And yet, I still want to.

He’s a distraction. A problem. And usually, I take care of my problems—discreetly.

Andthis one…he’s a stalker. Private investigator. Maybe even a hired gun.

But none of that stops him from being the most dangerously beautiful,intoxicatingthing I’ve ever seen.

He isn’t mine. Not by choice, anyway. He’ll probably never be.

But when he looked up at me last night, panting, broken, and begged me toruinhim…

Something inside me snapped.

I’ve spent my whole life taking what I want. With force. With power. Without apology.

But with him, I don’t want that. I want himwilling. I want his surrender, not just his body.

And still, I chained him to my bed like a fucking madman.

Now he’s out cold, completely undone, and it’s just about the only time I feel like I can breathe around him.

Carefully, I lift him. Carry him across the estate like a goddamn offering, back to the corner suite I had rebuilt like a gilded cage. I set him down gently, apply ointment to the raw skin around his wrists, and cover him with the sheets.