“Because why—ah!”
He spanks me again, harder. The sting turns into a burn that washes through my body. Liquid heat pools at my center, and dangerous thoughts bloom from the spot. His growing length pulses against my side and his fingers dip low once more, smoothing through my crack until he’s just barely grazing the warmth of my core. I squirm, desperate for a little bit of friction there.
He leans down, his lips hovering over my ear.
“Because your body carries my magic now. And if anyone else dares touch what'smine”—he growls the word, and I moan at the possessive rumble—“I will burn their soul from the inside out.”
I dig my nails into his forearm, fighting the urge to push one of my hands between my legs and make myself come. The crack of his palm against my ass rings out twice more. Each one brings me a little closer to madness.
“Tell me you understand,” he says, smoothing over the hurt he’s just done.
“I understand, RhazDaddy.”
“Fuck,” he rumbles, and his fingers dip down to my aching core.
I mewl, my mind turned to mush by his huge hand. I’m just a dragon chasing fire, daring it to consume me.
“What are you doing to me, Firecracker?”
His fingers press hard, right where I need them. I wriggle on his lap, getting the pace I need to climb to soaring heights. All the heat he’s poured into my body with every spank coils down into my clit, pressure mounting until I’m crying out with every circle of his hand.
“Rhaz, I’m—”
The blaring siren of my morning alarm rips me through the realms and into my body. I gasp, throwing myself out of bed and across the room. I trip, sheets knotted around my legs. I’m covered in sweat and the bubbling tension in my lower belly isrightat the edge.
I smash my hand down on my phone to silence it and see the burning brand on my wrist.
Hell…I could call him. I could just summon him here to finish what he started.
The reverent way he watched me strikes a guilty chord in my gut. It whispers that I’m not going to be here forever. That once everything is done with Zhao Shang, I’m going home to Boston. That he said he’stiedto this place.
And I can’t tie myself to him.
I swallow that knowledge down and wrap it up in a neat little package before setting it aside and finishing myself off. Theclimax rips through me like a lightning strike—I bite down on my pillow, breath stolen, vision white. When the last wave of pleasure washes over me in a full-body convulsion, I gasp.
This fire demon is breaking me.
ten
A Fresh Coat of Paint
Two days of cleaning, scheming, and learning all I can about coffee has me haggard but fired up at the same time. I’m so ready to whip this place into shape and get it open for business.
Ace is in a flurry when I emerge from the bathroom.
“What is going on?” I ask, toweling my hair.
He pauses, looking at me expectantly.
“First day of school,” Nai Nai says.
The hot sting of failure snaps across my insides. How could I have forgotten?
“Sorry, buddy, I’ll be ready to go in a few—”
“Don’t bother, there’s a bus,” he says, rushing to collect the last of his things.
“Hey!” I snap in Chinese. “I am taking you to your first day of school, Zixin.”
