He takes his shirt off, and I hiss, an involuntary sound that slips out before I can stop it.
There’s a fresh bandage wrapped around his ribs, the edges already stained with blood. Bruises bloom across his torso, dark and ugly, like someone tried to break him open and almost succeeded. A long, angry gash slices along his side, the stitches rough and raw, like they were done by someone who didn’t have time for precision—only survival.
I cover my mouth with my hand. Not to muffle a scream but to stop myself from reaching out and hurting him worse by touching the wrong place.
“What happened to you?” I whisper, even though I already know.
“Flesh wounds, baby.”
“This is because you went after Remo.”
He shrugs, like it’s nothing. Like bleeding for me is just part of the cost. Like he didn’t walk into a warzone for me. Like he didn’t risk his life to keep me breathing.
Tears prick at the backs of my eyes, hot and helpless. I blink them away.
I won’t cry. Not now. I have to be brave when he’s standing there, battered but alive, still looking at me like I’m a fragile thing.
“You idiot,” I breathe. “You beautiful, reckless idiot.”
“I’d do it again. A thousand times,” he quips. “But, baby, right now, I need inside of you.”
He strips off the rest of his clothes with quick, efficient movements, revealing a body that’s pure sin. His cock is thick, heavy, and the tip is already glistening with precum.
I lick my lips. I want to taste him.
“Next time,” he promises, his eyes locking onto mine.
“This time,” I insist and then add, “Please.”
I go on my knees at the edge of the bed. He steps up to me. I lean in, kiss the tip, and lick the precum.
His hands dive into my hair, and the pain when he tugs is magic.
I hold his cock with both hands. It’s hot. Satin. Silk. Steel. Thick. Long. Hard.
“Eyes on me.”
I look up at him, his erection close to my lips. I can smell his arousal. It’s erotic.
I open my mouth, and he pushes forward. My lips close around his cock, and I taste. His hand on my hair controls my movements.
“I’m not coming in your mouth this first time,” he grinds out.
I cup his tight buttocks; they’re tense, muscles upon muscles.
“I need….” He pushes in and then out. “Tap my ass if it’s too much.”
I wish I could tell him he could never be too much. That this is what I’ve always wanted; always wanted him, even before I knew him.
It would never have been a nice man in a suit—the day Lucian—that I’d crave. I know that now. Growing up in the shadows has changed my DNA—coded me to love a man like Lucian.
I have no regrets. He’s everything.
He drags my mouth onto his dick as he pushes his hips forward. There’s a rhythm to it that allows me to open my mouth wider, letting him sink in deeper.
I gag the first time he hits the back of my throat. He doesn’t stop. Just growls, “You want me to stop?”
I shake my head, holding him tighter.
