"Then I'll call you a car and let you go."
"What if I want to stay?"
"Then we move to my bedroom and I show you exactly how real this is."
His breath caught. I watched him think through the implications, weigh the options, make his choice.
"I want to stay."
The words sent heat straight through me. "You're sure?"
"Yes."
"Then say it clearly. Tell me what you want."
He swallowed hard. Met my eyes. "I want you to take me to your bedroom and fuck me. Not because you're forcing me. Not because I have no choice. Because I'm choosing this."
Perfect.
I kissed him again, harder this time. Possessive. Claiming. Then pulled back and took his hand. "Come with me."
I led him through the penthouse to my bedroom. The space I'd shown him earlier but not offered. Now he was here by choice and that made everything different.
I closed the door even though we were alone. Privacy. Intimacy. Making this space sacred.
"Last chance to change your mind." I stood by the door, giving him space. "You can leave right now. No consequences."
"Stop giving me outs." He moved closer. "I'm here. I'm choosing this. Stop trying to protect me from you."
"I'm trying to protect you from my need for control."
"Then let me have some control." He reached for me, fingers catching in my sweater. "Let me choose how this goes."
The offer surprised me. The persona would have said no immediately. Would have maintained dominance, controlled every moment. But I'd promised honesty. Promised to let him in.
"Okay." I let him pull me closer. "Show me what you want."
He kissed me first. Slow and thorough like he was proving a point. His hands slipped under my sweater, skating over skin,learning the shape of me. I let him explore. Let him set the pace even though every instinct screamed to take over.
When he pulled back to tug my sweater over my head, I lifted my arms and let him. When he pushed me backward toward the bed, I went. When he climbed into my lap and kissed me again, I let him lead.
But my patience had limits.
I flipped us smoothly, pinning him beneath me on the bed. He gasped against my mouth and I swallowed the sound.
"My turn," I said.
"I thought I had control."
"You had control. Now I'm taking it back." I caught his wrists and pinned them above his head. "Unless you want me to stop?"
"Don't stop." His pupils were blown wide, chest heaving. "But Luca—"
"What?"
"Don't hold back. I don't want you gentle and careful because you're trying to prove something. I want you real."
The words hit like permission I hadn't known I needed. "Real means I'm going to be demanding. Possessive. I'm going to fuck you until you can't think straight and mark you so everyone knows you're mine."
