Page 34

In the dim light, his body was a work of art painted in light and shadow. His chest was broader than mine, muscles defined not from gym vanity but from years of functional use. A light dusting of dark hair spread across his pectorals, trailing down in a line that disappeared beneath his waistband.

I took my time, pressing kisses to his shoulder, his collarbone, the hollow of his throat. When my lips found a scar near his ribs, he shuddered.

"Bucharest," he murmured automatically .

I kissed it again, then moved to another. He named each one and I honored each with reverent attention.

When I scraped my teeth over his nipple, his whole body jerked.

"Sensitive," I noted, doing it again, harder this time.

"Fuck," he gasped, hands clutching at my hips.

I worked both nipples with teeth and tongue, alternating between gentle and rough until he writhed beneath me. His cock pressed hard against mine, and I ground down deliberately, making him groan.

"Still okay?" I asked, biting down on the junction of his neck and shoulder, hard enough to mark.

"Christ," he panted. "Yeah. More than okay."

I moved lower, teeth and tongue claiming territory down his chest, branding him with marks that would linger for days. Saliva flooded my mouth as I glanced up, hooking hungry fingers in his waistband.

"Want to taste you," I said, not really asking.

"Please," was all he managed.

I pulled his boxers down, freeing his cock, those ladder piercings catching the dim light. I'd been curious about them since that first glimpse, and now I had time to explore. I traced one with my fingertip, watching him shudder.

"These must have hurt," I said, leaning closer to breathe hot air over the tip.

"Worth it," he gasped. "Fuck, Vince, please..."

I licked a long stripe from base to tip, letting my tongue catch on each piercing. The metal was cool against my tongue, creating interesting texture. When I took just the head in my mouth, sucking hard, he made a sound that went straight to my cock.

"God, your mouth," he panted, fingers tangling in my hair.

I pulled off with an obscene pop. "You haven't seen anything yet. "

I took him deep, relaxing my throat to take as much as I could. The piercings created an interesting challenge, but god, it was worth it for the way he responded. I worked him hard and fast, then slow and teasing, never letting him get too close to the edge.

"You're killing me," he groaned after I'd edged him for the third time.

"Good," I said, moving back up his body. "I want you desperate for me."

I kissed him deeply, letting him taste himself on my tongue. His hands roamed my back, tugging at my shirt.

"Off," he demanded. "Need to feel you."

I sat up to pull my shirt off, and his hands immediately went to my chest. When his thumb brushed my nipple, I gasped.

"My turn," he said, flipping us suddenly so I was on my back.

But I caught his wrists before he could do more than kiss my chest. "Wait," I said, my heart pounding with more than just arousal. "I want to try something."

He pulled back slightly, studying my face. "What kind of something?"

I took a deep breath. Fuck it. "I want you to do whatever you want to me."

His whole body went still. "What?"

"You heard me," I said, releasing his wrists. "Whatever you want. However you want. I trust you."

"Vince..." His voice was strangled. "You don't know what you're asking."

"I know exactly what I'm asking." I spread my arms wide, completely open and vulnerable beneath him. "I'm asking you to take what you need. I'm giving you permission to use me however you want. "

"I could hurt you," he said, but his pupils were blown wide, cock twitching against my hip.

"You won't."

"How the fuck do you know that?"

"Because you're going to choose not to," I said simply. "And that choice—you having all the power and choosing to be careful with me—that's the hottest thing I can imagine."

He stared at me for a long moment, something shifting in his expression. The predator receded, replaced by something almost vulnerable. When he spoke, his voice was rough with emotion. "No one's ever... fuck, Vince. Do you have any idea what you're doing to me?"

"Show me," I challenged.

His hands shook slightly as he reached for me, then stopped.

Started again. He resembled someone handed a priceless artifact they feared breaking.

The deadly assassin, the man who'd killed forty-eight people without hesitation, paralyzed by the fear of hurting the one person who trusted him completely.

"I don't know how to..." he started, then stopped, frustration etching lines between his brows. "They never taught me to touch without hurting."

"Then figure it out as you go," I said. "I'm not going anywhere." Not tonight, not tomorrow, not unless Prometheus or his men physically tore me away. The realization was startling. When had this man, this killer, become someone I couldn't imagine walking away from?

He leaned down and kissed me, but it was different now. Deeper, more possessive, but also careful in a way that made my chest tight. His hands roamed my body, testing, exploring, like he was mapping boundaries he was setting for himself .

"You don't have to be so careful with me," I said when he pulled back. "We might die tomorrow. I don't want to die without knowing what it feels like to be properly fucked by you.”

“Are you sure you can handle it? It can get pretty intense.”

I arched an eyebrow. “I do Pilates. Rearrange my guts, Luka."

His eyes went wide, a flash of shock breaking through the desire. "Did you just... did you really just say that? Pilates?"

"Core strength is very important," I said with as much dignity as possible while lying naked beneath an assassin. "I can hold a plank for three minutes."

"And that prepares you for..."

"Getting railed by my homicidal patient? Apparently my logic gets a bit fuzzy when I'm horny." I arched up against him, letting him feel exactly how hard I was. "The point stands. Less careful, more rearranging."

"Jesus Christ," he breathed, something between a laugh and a groan. "You're completely unhinged."

"Only with you," I admitted. The confession felt more intimate than anything we'd done so far.

When he bit down on my shoulder, it was hard enough to bruise but not hard enough to break skin. Knowing he could tear my throat out but was choosing to leave love bites instead made me groan.

I tilted my head to give him better access. "That's it. Use me as a chew toy."

He pulled back, eyes sparkling with amusement. "Chew toy?"

"Come on, we both know your oral fixation is extensive."

"My oral fixation?" He bit down on my other shoulder, harder this time. "You're the one who spent twenty minutes edging me with your mouth literally minutes ago. "

"And I'd do it again," I said cheerfully. "Your cock is basically a fidget toy with those piercings. Very entertaining."

"Fidget toy," he repeated, sounding strangled. "You did not just compare my dick to a fidget toy."

"Would you prefer 'stress relief device'? 'Therapeutic aid'?" I gasped as he bit my neck. "Because I do feel very relieved after—"

He shut me up by kissing me hard, and when he pulled back, we were both breathless.

"You know what?" he said. "No one else would make jokes while I'm marking them up. No one else would call my dick a fidget toy and mean it as a compliment."

"See? I'm special," I said, then more seriously: "I gave you permission to do whatever you want.

So what do you want, Luka? And before you answer, I should mention that next time I'm definitely wearing a collar that says 'Property of Luka' just to really lean into this whole thing.

Maybe a little bell. Really commit to the pet aesthetic. "

"A bell," he said flatly.

"So you can always find your favorite chew toy," I explained reasonably.

"I'm going to fuck you so hard you forget how to make jokes," he threatened.

"Challenge accepted," I said cheerfully.

He sat back on his heels, drinking in the sight of me spread out before him. Then he was moving, yanking my pajama bottoms off with enough force to make me gasp, but his hands were gentle when they returned to my skin.

He descended on me hungrily. His teeth and tongue marked every inch of me.

My neck. My chest. My inner thighs. Each mark landed perfectly, hard enough to last but never crossing into actual harm.

The control he showed while lost in passion amazed me.

His teeth grazed nerves I didn't even know I had, tongue soothing the sting before moving to a new spot.

He mapped my body, memorizing every reaction, every gasp, every shiver.

"Mine," he growled against my hip, biting down hard enough to make me cry out. His teeth left perfect indentations in my flesh, not quite breaking skin but promising they could. "All fucking mine."

"Yes," I gasped, arching into the delicious pain. "Yours. Whatever you want."

His eyes locked with mine. The look conveyed not just desire but possession, protection, a silent vow that anything threatening what was his would meet a swift and violent end. The same lethal focus he'd shown earlier with the knife was now channeled into claiming me thoroughly.

When he finally reached for the lube, his steady hands betrayed him, trembling against the nightstand drawer. "I want to be inside you. Want to fuck you so deep you forget anyone ever touched you before me."

"There hasn't been anyone else in a while," I admitted. "But yes. Please."

He prepared me carefully, almost tenderly, even as his breathing grew ragged with need. Three fingers worked me open while he watched my face intently. "You're so fucking beautiful like this. Can't wait to feel you around my cock."

"Then stop waiting," I challenged.

He pulled his fingers out and slicked himself up, then paused, looking down at me. "You're sure? The piercings..."

"I'm sure," I said. "I want to feel them. Want to feel everything."