Nik roared, his hips pistoning into me with punishing force. He jerked inside me, a hot flood spilling deep within, his cock pulsing against my walls. The sensation detonated something in me—and I shattered, my body convulsing around him, my fingers clawing at his arms while I screamed his name like a prayer and a curse. Lightning shot through every nerve. He drove into me through wave after wave, milking every drop from us both until we collapsed in the aftershocks.
When I blinked up at him, sweat tracked down his temple. His chest heaved like he’d just taken the city by force.
The smile he gave me was devastating, like seeing the sun break through storm clouds.
Genuine. Beautiful.
“I love you, husband.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them. My eyes widened—half in shock, half in embarrassment—because the confession crashed into me like a shockwave—raw, reckless, and terrifyingly true.
Nik stilled inside me, his expression unreadable. Then he dragged me up the bed with him, caging me under his body and bracing his forearms on either side of my head. His palms framed my face as his thumbs swept away tears I hadn’t realized were falling.
“You are perfect, Lacey,” he said, his voice low and rough. “Stunning. From your pretty pink pussy to your rosy lips—you are mine. Flawless. Every fucking inch.”
The words wrapped around me like velvet. When he kissed me, I could taste myself on his lips. His mouth was unhurried as he placed soft kisses on my cheeks, my temple, and my forehead, like he couldn’t stop touching me.
My breath stuttered. My heart was already gone, carved out and in his possession.
He hooked a thumb under my chin, tilting my face to meet his eyes. The next kiss he gave me was gentle, almost chaste…but he didn’t say “I love you” back. The absence of those three small words pricked somewhere deep.
It stung, but I understood. Nik had only ever known pain and brutality. Love would be foreign to him, maybe even dangerous. But it was there—buried beneath the intensity, the possession, and the brutality. I could give him time. I could love him into surrender, play his game, yield to him as I waited for him to trust me with his heart.
I wrapped my arms and legs tightly around him, holding him as if I could fuse us together. “Promise me you’ll never let me go,” I whispered. “Promise me you’ll never die. Promise you won’t break me. I don’t think I can breathe without you.”
He kissed me again, slow and deep, his next words a lethal caress against my lips.
“I’ll never leave you,” he vowed. “But I assure you, little lamb…I will break you in ways you never imagined.”
Chapter forty
My wife had taken me like a good girl.
Now it was time to teach her how to be the bad girl she fantasized about being.
I gave her one last kiss—slow, lingering—my mouth claiming hers until I heard that sweet hum in her chest. Then I pulled out, watching lazy satisfaction spread across her face as she rolled onto her side. She looked wrecked and sated…a vision so damn beautiful I wanted it burned into my memory forever.
Not just beautiful—she was a rare, impossible thing. Her innocence hadn’t been lost amidst the turmoil of her past, and her resilience shone brighter despite the filth of this world surrounding us. She’d slipped past my every defense and rooted herself deep inside me.
And she’d told me she loved me—uttering those three little words no woman had ever dared say to me, words I’d never wanted to hear before. The craving to hear them should have been a weakness, a liability. Instead, they fanned an ember deep within me, turning it into a burning flame. The emotion was nolonger a weakness but a force—one that made me stronger, more determined to protect what was mine. Still, the emotion was new to me, and I needed time to wrap my mind around it.
“Let’s finish that shower we started,” I said, taking her hand.
Her head snapped up. “You—you mean you want to go again…already?”
I let the corner of my mouth curl upward. “I just watched my wife’s greedy little pussy take me like it couldn’t get enough.” My voice dropped as I tightened my grip. “Come. Time to earn that crown, my queen.”
She hesitated, tugging against me, just enough to test me. I paused, tilting my head and quirking my brow. “But go ahead—tell me no. I dare you.”
She scrambled out of bed. Good girl.
I rose, stretching the tension from my shoulders. She had no idea how much I loved seeing her fall in line. It wasn’t merely her obedience I demanded—it was her trust. Something I valued more than anything.
In the bathroom, I twisted the shower knob, and soon steam began to curl upward. The metal grab bar along the wall caught my attention, and an image of the last time we’d been in here flashed in my mind—the moment I’d realized she was a virgin. The revelation had ripped the ground out from under me, and I’d walked away—not because I couldn’t take her but because in my world, a man didn’t claim a woman’s first time unless he was ready to make her his forever. I wasn’t walking away tonight though. Tonight, I’d finish what I started.
When I turned, she was standing behind me with a towel clutched to her chest.
No. Absolutely not.
I closed the distance in two strides, crowding her against the wall. My hand tangled in her hair at the base of her skull, and I forced her head back until her eyes met mine.
