Rowen was right.
Ihadlet him. I let him chase me, touch me, use me.
And I liked it—loved it—but that didn’t excuse anything.
“I thought you were someone else,” I said slowly. I shook my head and pointed at him. “You tricked me. I didn’t know it was you.”
He put his hands up in surrender and took another step forward. “I did. You’re right. I’m so sorry I lied to you.” He was still closing the distance between us. “I should’ve told you when Irealized it was you. That wasn’t fair of me, but this morning? Last night? You knew it was me the whole time, baby.” He reached for my hands.
I shook my head. “I tried to get away last night.”
“Did you?” He gathered my hands into one of his and brought his other hand to my neck, wrapping his fingers around my throat. “I think you ran because you weren’t ready to admit you didn’t find me as repulsive as you should have. You needed me to chase you down and force you to face the truth.” He leaned in, our lips nearly touching. “You are just as sick as me, Avery. You let me catch you. You let me claim you. And you let me do it all over again this morning.”
“It doesn’t mean anything. I don’t—” I struggled to find the right words. “You make me…” My heart caught in my throat. “I’m not me when I’m with you. I don’t know who I am around you.”
He was a giant walking red flag. His touch should’ve sent me running. Instead, I stayed, aroused by his palm against my throat, thighs clenching, wishing he would bend me over the island and rail me again, make me forget why I kept second-guessing everything.
“Let me show you.”
His lips landed on mine, and my hands flew to his hair, pulling him closer as something snapped in me. His breath was slow and steady, whereas mine came in shallow bursts. The need to pushhim away dissolved, my body and heart finally in sync. I was done running.
“Promise me I’m not just some dirty, kinky fantasy you’ll get bored with now that it’s real.” My emotions clogged my throat.
Rowen’s jaw ticked, his control barely there. “You’re not a goddamn fantasy, Avery.” He kissed my lips. “You’re my entire fucking world. The reason I get up every morning. The reason I breathe.” I started to open my mouth, but another kiss quieted me. “You really think I marked my body for a fantasy?” His voice was thick with frustration, but his eyes were soft and gentle.
He kissed my forehead, his arms wrapping around me, pulling me close.
“What we have is real,” he continued. “It’s fucking raw. It isn’t pretty. It’s fucked up.” His hands moved to my thighs, and he lifted me until my legs wrapped around his waist. “But it's ours.”
He carried me to the island and sat me down. His hands explored my thighs as he spread them with dark intention.
“Tell me who you belong to, kitten,” he ordered, voice low. He dipped his head, his eyes burning into mine.
My mouth was dry, my brain still screaming from its little buried box for me to resist. My heart swelled with emotion and my body leaned forward.
One of his hands slid up my shirt—his shirt. His palm scorched my skin, moving across my stomach and up to one of my breasts, stopping to knead it.
“Say it.” He tweaked my nipple, making me gasp.
“I—” I swallowed hard. “I’m yours.”
He moved quickly, as though my words had broken the dam he held back. He ripped my lacy thong from my body, pulled my ass to the edge of the counter, and looked at me with reverence in his eyes.
“This is so much more than obsession. I own you, Avery. Your cunt knows it. Your body knows it. Your fucking soul knows it.” My thighs shook in his hands. “Just look at you. Exposed. Wet. Desperate. And it’s all for me.”
“Rowen…” I sighed, my body crying out for him.
“Say my name again,” he demanded, moving his head between my legs, already licking his lips.
“Rowen,” I murmured again, just for him.
Her body tried to get away from me, sore from everything I’d put it through, but I held her steady, hooking my arms around her thighs and pulling until her back was flush against the counter.
She could relax while I feasted, while I rewarded her for giving in, letting herself admit everything was true.
Her back arched as I stuffed two fingers inside her. She moaned my name and half-heartedly begged me to be gentle.
I didn’t let up, though. I curled my fingers, hitting her sweet spot, stroking it in rhythm with my tongue on her clit.
