on top of me, but she stopped herself, settling for holding my hand. “I was so worried about you.” Tears spilled from her lovely sapphire eyes.
I reached up and wiped them away. “I’m okay, angel.”
I caught her chin between my thumb and forefinger, turning her face so I could inspect her. One of the last things I could remember was Ricky hitting her with his gun.
I locked eyes with Marco, knowing he’d give me an honest answer. “How is she?”
Physically, she looked fine, but my memories were hazy, and I couldn’t recall everything that’d happened after I got stabbed.
Marco wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. “Our girl’s a fighter. She’s okay.”
“Yes, I’m fine,” she insisted. “But you need to rest,” she told me firmly. “I’m going to call the nurse to get you more pain meds.”
“Don’t,” I insisted. “I want to talk to you. Both of you.”
Marco hit the call button for the nurse. “Talk fast. Then, rest.”
I glared at him for being so high-handed, but I didn’t waste time arguing. “We’re leaving New York,” I told them. “Dad says we have to.”
Marco’s eyes lit up with hope. “What?”
“We’re out, Marco. We can leave. They don’t want us here anymore.”
“Really?” Ashlyn gasped, her tears falling faster. “It’s over? We can all go back to Cambridge now?”
“Is that where you want to go?” I asked her. “You don’t have to go back to Harvard if you don’t want to.”
“I’d love to go back. I want to finish school. On my terms.”
I squeezed her hand. “Then that’s what we’ll do, angel.”
The nurse appeared, ready to administer more pain meds. I thought about refusing, but one hard look from Marco silenced me.
“We’ll be right here when you wake up,” he promised.
Ashlyn brushed a kiss over my cheek. “Get some rest. I love you, Joseph.”
Her words of love followed me down as I sank back into sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Marco
Four Months Later
Ashlyn whined and wiggled in Joseph’s ropes. Her arms were drawn tight behind her, bound from shoulders to wrists. A blindfold covered her lovely eyes, and he’d just introduced her to a wicked new toy: nipple clamps.
She was on her knees in the middle of the bed, and he loomed behind her, stroking her skin in a teasing caress that drove her wild.
I increased my pace, my hand flying over the page as my light pencil strokes captured the beauty before me. I used to draw from memory, but now that I was taking my art more seriously, I wanted a live model. Ashlyn was the perfect woman for the job.
When I could pry her away from her studies and urge Joseph away from his classes at Boston University, they helped me create my sensual drawings. I was developing something of an online following, and I was able to sell my work. I’d even started earning enough to cover our bills for the townhouse we’d bought in the South End. Dad had given me a chunk of cash and a “good riddance” on my way out of New York, but being with my new family—Joseph and Ashlyn—eased the sting of abandonment. And being able to help support us financially gave me a sense of personal pride I’d never known before.
Ashlyn let out the sexiest little whimper, and I couldn’t hold back any longer. I set my drawing aside and snapped a picture on my phone for later reference. My balls ached and my dick throbbed, desperate to get inside her. I couldn’t sit back and sketch for even a second more.
I had to fuck her, had to touch her. I was as addicted to her as ever, and so was Joseph. Our pretty, clever little princess. She was focusing on her academics, but I knew that ultimately, her dream was to have a family. With both of us. We didn’t bother to hide our unconventional relationship now that we were free of our families’ expectations. We made our own choices and lived to make each other happy. No one else mattered.
Joseph noticed that I’d set my work aside. He shot me a wicked grin and removed the clamps from Ashlyn’s nipples. She shrieked and writhed as blood rushed back to the abused buds. Joseph petted her wet pussy, making her cry morph into a desperate little whine.
I closed the distance between us and removed her blindfold. She stared up at me, her shining eyes dark with erotic pain. She’d taken to Joseph’s games beautifully, but I’d always be here to take