my thighs from his size and power. I look forward to wearing his marks on my skin like a badge of honor.
I can’t wait to press my fingers into the bruises and relive how they got there in the first place.
I’ll ask for more until I can play the bruises on my skin like a piano.
Grab me harder. Kiss me harder. Fuck me harder.
Let my clients see what’s been done to my body and realize that, though they touch me and despite how much money or gifts they throw at me, they’ll never get close enough to mark me the same way.
There isn’t a lot I can give Talent that he doesn’t already have, but he can have this small part of me.
“If you did run away, it would only have been a head start,” Talent says. The playful smirk on his lips turns provocative, and I let out a slow breath as the pressure between my legs sprawls. “I’ll chase you, Lydia. I’ll always find you, and if I can’t, I know people who can.”
Romance is for the kids who didn’t grow up watching their mom dance under a red light at a strip club. It’s not for those of us whose only example of passion was determined by how many dollar bills were thrown on stage. When you lost your virginity to a predatory bouncer, and when your mother’s boyfriend licked his lips whenever he laid eyes on you, or when your only example of sex until now was deliberate and paid in full—romance isn’t applicable.
I won’t know what to do with roses and sweet nothings. But tell me you’re going to tie me to a bed to keep me from running away … well, now I understand.
“Don’t underestimate my ability to disappear, Talent,” I say only half-teasingly. “I’ve managed to outrun more than a lawyer in my life.”
A shadow darkens Talent’s eyes, and he pulls me and the sheets closer to roll on top of me. His weight intensifies the simmering need under my skin, and I dig my fingertips into his forearms to keep from turning to ash and ember. He shoves the sheet away and palms my pussy, dropping his forehead to mine.
“Are you so willing to leave when I can make you feel like this?” he asks, circling his fingers over my clit.
I’m hot enough to melt.
Wet enough to overflow.
Desperate enough for relief to let this go unchecked.
Almost.
Flicking Talent’s bottom lip with my tongue, I tease him with a kiss until he submits and bends into me. I capture Talent’s lip where his smirk meets his cheeks and bite down while waiting for the taste of copper to touch my palate.
And then I bite harder.
He groans in pain, but his dick hardens against my thigh.
I release his mouth and wipe a trickle of blood from my lip, licking it off the top of my hand. Before Talent assesses the damage to his beautiful mouth, I push him onto his back and straddle his waist. His cock slips between my folds, and I circle my hips to feel every inch slide against me.
“If I wanted to disappear,” I say, dragging my nails down his chest. “You wouldn’t have had the chance to tie me to the bed, Talent. I can leave this room right now and you’d never see me again if I didn’t want you to.”
“You don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about.” He grabs my hips and tries to coax me over his erection, but I resist. “Lydia, you don’t have a clue—”
I take his cock in my hand and use my arousal to work him up and down at an agonizing pace. Playing with him excites me, so instead of easing him inside my body or reassuring the poor prince that I won’t be leaving until he sends me away, I press my chest against his and lick the small wound at the corner of his mouth. Then we kiss with the taste of blood in our mouths.
“Don’t,” Talent whispers against my kiss. “Don’t go anywhere without me.”
Searching his expression for a trace of deceit, I only find faith.
And I’m a believer.
“Okay,” I say. My heart double beats in agreement, and I kiss Talent as softly as I know how.
Guiding him inside of me feels like arriving home after a long time away. He fills me all the way up, and I can feel every part of him, every ripple, every vein. My body stretches and moves to adjust to his