“Hm.” The low sound scraped down my spine. I turned reluctantly.
He sat sprawled on the black leather couch like the penthouse itself belonged at his feet. Shirt gone. Tattoos dark against bronze skin. One arm stretched lazily across the back cushions. Beautiful. Dangerous. My husband, officially.
“I have something for you tonight,” he said. My pulse betrayed me. I hated that. A slow smile curved his mouth. “You’re going to pleasure me.”
Heat flooded my face. “I’m not one of your toys.”
“No,” he murmured. “You’re my wife. It’s your duty.”
The words wrapped around my throat like silk. I swallowed hard. “You act like that’s supposed to convince me.”
“It should.” His eyes dragged slowly over me. “Take off the robe.”
My breath caught. Every smart instinct screamed at me to refuse. But my body… God, my body remembered him too well already. The way he touched me. The way he looked at me like he wanted to consume me whole. Slowly, I untied the robe. Leo watched every second. Hungrily.
The silk slipped from my shoulders and pooled around my feet. His gaze darkened. I hated the flutter low in my stomach. Hated how badly I wanted his approval.
“Come here, bellissima.”
My feet moved before my pride could stop them. Leo spread his legs slightly as I approached, his eyes never leaving mine.
“Still pretending you hate this, I see,” he said quietly. Heat crawled up my neck. He reached for me slowly, knuckles brushing the inside of my thigh. I sucked in a sharp breath.
“Mmm,” he murmured. “That reaction. Gets me every time.”
“I can’t help it,” I snapped weakly.
“No,” he agreed softly. “You really can’t.”
His hand slid higher. Teasing. Not enough. Never enough. Every nerve ending in my body felt alive under his attention. “On your knees, wife.”
The command sent heat straight through me. Humiliation tangled viciously with desire as I lowered myself slowly onto the plush rug between his legs. Leo leaned back slightly, watching me with terrifying satisfaction.
“So pretty like this,” he murmured. “My beautiful prisoner.”
I hated how much I loved hearing that. His fingers tilted my chin upward gently.
“Open,” he said. My pulse thundered. The teasing was unbearable. Every touch deliberate. Every praise carefully timed to make me melt and resent myself for it simultaneously. “I said open. Wide.”
I parted my lips slowly. Leo’s eyes darkened.
“Fuck,” he murmured under his breath, leaning back deeper into the couch like the sight alone affected him. “Look at you.”
Heat flooded my face. I hated how much his approval mattered already. His fingers slid into my hair, gathering the blonde strands loosely at the nape of my neck. Not harsh enoughto hurt. Just enough to control. Just enough to remind me exactly where I was.
“Still scared of me?” he asked quietly.
“Yes,” I managed. The answer came too fast.
His thumb brushed my lower lip gently. “Good.”
My stomach tightened. The rain hammered softly against the windows behind us, the city glowing silver and gold below the penthouse while Leo looked at me like he owned every breath in my lungs. Maybe he did.
“Such a pretty little mouth,” he murmured. “Always arguing with me. Always lying.”
“I don’t lie-” I started, but he laughed softly.
“Bellissima, you can barely look at me without getting flushed.” Humiliation burned through me because he was right. I hated that he knew it. Hated that my body betrayed me every single time he touched me. Leo’s grip tightened slightly in my hair, guiding me closer until my thighs brushed his knees.
