I nod, biting my lip like that’ll somehow help my case, and he stares at me for a full five seconds before finally stepping closer. My heart leaps as he crouches, leans in, and my breath hitches when he brushes a curl from my cheek, fingers featherlight beneath my jaw like he’s about to say something soft—something real.
And then he whispers—“No.”
I choke. “What?”
“No, pup.”
I flail. “But I just—did you hear my offer?! Full domestic head!”
Damian stands up again, smug as sin, and turns toward the closet like I’m not on the verge of having a tantrum so epic it cracks the foundation of the building. “You can hold it when I give it to you,” he says over his shoulder. “And not a second before.”
I shriek into a pillow.
Alright. If bribery won’t work, we move to seduction.
I drop the pillow, slow and deliberate, sitting up straighter so he gets the full effect—nothing but his shirt and my rage stretched across this mattress like a loaded weapon. He’s halfway to the closet with his back turned, muscles flexing through that smug-ass t-shirt like he doesn’t know I’m plotting filth with every cell in my body.
I shift, arch my back just enough to ride the edge of sin, thighs parting as my voice dips low and syrup-sweet. “Cap,” I whisper. “C’mere.”
He pauses so I keep going. “Come touch your favorite thing. I’m warm and needy and so good for you, sir.”
He turns slowly—not out of hesitation, but because he’s savoring the theater of it—eyes dragging over me like he’s already won. “I thought you were mad at me,” Damian murmurs, head tilting as that smirk ghosts across his lips.
“I’m furious,” I reply, sliding my hands up my thighs. “Furious and naked and not above using sex to get what I want.”
He laughs low and rough.
I crawl to the edge of the bed, let my hands slide up his shirt where it hangs off my body. “C’mon, captain,” I purr. “Let me ride you while you hold the ring. I’ll even moan your full name.”
Damian steps close enough to make my breath catch, eyes on mine like he’s already undressing my soul. “You trying to bribe me with sex, pup?”
“I’m trying to destroy you with sex, actually.”
He leans in, kisses me once, hard, then pulls back and grins. “You are going to destroy me. But you’re still not seeing the ring.”
I groan. “You’re a menace.”
“And you’re a tease.” He palms the front of his pants, smirking. “Try harder.”
Oh, I fucking will.
I drop to my knees so fast I surprise even myself. The carpet hits my skin, and I settle there, spine straight, palms resting obediently on my thighs, eyes wide.
Damian raises an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“You said try harder,” I whisper, tilting my head. “So I’m trying.”
He watches me—eyes dragging down my body. His expression doesn’t change, but something in the air does. He stands there, arms still folded, like he wants to see how deep I’ll fall before he decides to catch me.
I lick my lips. “Sir,” I say, soft and low, “please let me see the ring.”
Damian hums, not impressed yet.
I lean forward, just slightly, eyes still up on him. “I want to know what it looks like when you claim me. I want to know what it feels like to wear it before anyone else. Just for a second. Please.”
He still doesn’t move.
I push further. “I’ll be good. I’ll listen. I’ll let you do anything. Restrain me. Ruin me. I’ll sit at your feet and wear your name and that ring, and I won’t even touch myself unless you say so.”
