“So you’re going on a date …”

Luna sighed, even as she reached behind her back to pull up the zipper of her dress. She was starting to feel like she would never get away from that question. “It’s not a date.”

“Whatever you say, but I can just about guarantee that the elder Runehart isn’t going to see it like that. Hey, is it true they call him Nix? I’m asking for a friend.”

Winter wasn’t wrong.

Kit wouldn’t care that it was just a part of the job—or that she was doing it to make sure whatever plan Uilleam was implementing was successful. That would probably make him angrier, if anything.

But only three other people knew about the dinner other than Luna.

What Kit didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.

“Yeah, his name really is Nix,” Luna said, finishing with her dress then searching the floor of the closet for the booties she wanted. “And like I said, it’s not a date.”

“Right, because you get this dressy for a meeting. the Kingmaker is lucky if he gets me out of my pajamas.”

Luna almost laughed. “It’s for the Kingmaker that I’m even doing this.”

At least, that was part of the reason.

When Uilleam had asked why she’d agreed, she hadn’t been completely honest. She wanted to know more about her sister from someone who had grown far closer to her than either Uilleam or Kit.

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say,” Winter muttered, still sounding disbelieving. “While you’re gone, I’m taking off—I have a friend that’s … around. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“A friend?” Luna asked, pausing to look back at her. “Should you—”

“Dear God, not you too. I already have one mercenary always on my ass, I definitely don’t want another.”

“I’m just saying. If Syn asks, I have to be able to tell him I did my due diligences.”

Winter rolled her eyes. “‘Cause he’s like a human lie detector.”

She was right, in a way, but it was a little more complicated than that. Syn was good at reading micro expressions, so even the slightest twitch of a muscle could tell him whether a person was lying.

“Don’t worry, Mom, I’ll be at The Warehouse downtown.”

“What’s the name of the warehouse?”

“That is the name, and maybe that means I’ll be able to enjoy myself if I know it’ll take you a while to find it. Later.” Winter waved as she went, either oblivious or outright ignoring Luna as she called after her.

Once she was finished with the dress, and inspecting herself in the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. No matter that she wasn’t telling Kit about what she was doing, and who she was doing it with, especially when she could see how this might look.

But, now that she thought about it, there was one way for her to make her status clear since Kit still had her rings. The first time she had worn it, Kit had wanted her to wear it because he wanted to make it clear to anyone that saw it who she belonged to.

Tonight, she would wear that collar for the same reason.

Twenty minutes later, Luna was ready and contemplated what kind of restaurant Agustín would bring her to, whether it be something upscale and flashy to show his wealth or something cheap to have her on edge the entire night.

This was someplace comfortably in the middle.

He was waiting for her outside the frosted doors, his phone to his ear as he spoke in rapid Spanish to whoever was on the other line.

Before Luna could hear what he was saying, he hung up and pocketed his phone, gifting her with a smile. “A part of me thought you weren’t going to come,” he said, kissing both of her cheeks once she was close enough.

“Promises are promises.”

As they entered the front doors, Agustín placed his hand on the small of her back, but she hastened her step a bit to force him to drop his touch. There was no point in giving him the wrong idea.

Once he had given his name to the hostess, they only had to wait as long as it took her to step around the podium before they were being led to a secluded table in the back of the restaurant.

Agustín pulled her chair out then took his own seat as the hostess flitted off.

“Red or white?” he asked as the waiter approached.

“Water,” Luna returned, “with lemon.”

Agustín ordered for the both of them, waiting until the man in the white waistcoat strolled off to get their drinks before he spoke again.

“Tell me,” he said, “how does a girl like you end up working for someone like the Kingmaker?”

Luna thought of the sexual abuse she’d suffered at the Kendall estate then of her time spent with Kit and The Wild Bunch while she trained.

With a slight shake of her head, Luna said, “It’s a long story.”

The waiter returned, setting a goblet of ice water with thick slices of lemon in front of her before turning over Agustín’s wine glass. Popping the cork on the bottle in his hands, he poured a healthy amount of the red wine before setting it in the bucket of ice.

“Are we ready to order?” he asked in a posh accent Luna didn’t think was real.

Agustín graciously held out a hand toward her.

Luna ordered fish over a bed of asparagus, and Agustín ordered steak and potatoes.

While he took a sip of his wine, Luna looked around the restaurant, surprised that Agustín’s men were good at blending in. She noticed they stayed relatively unassuming in the scores of people in the room.

In her study, she didn’t notice Agustín staring at her, his gaze assessing and curious.

“Why should I take this deal your boss is suggesting?”

Luna looked back at him, picking up her glass and bringing the rim to her lips. “You would be a fool not to.”

“Oh? How so?”

“You solve a problem for him, and you’ll gain a friend in the process. Can’t get better than that, right?” Or at least the kind of friend Uilleam could be …

“I think you and I understand the Kingmaker’s offer very differently.”

He might not have been entirely wrong about that, but Luna didn’t offer a response.

Luna shrugged delicately. “Undoubtedly.”

Agustín seemed amused by her—at least, until his eyebrows shot up as though he had just realized something important.

“Tell me,” he said as he refilled his empty glass. “What made you want to betray your family?”

Too many years spent with Kit and Uilleam had taught her how to temper her reaction, so Luna didn’t even blink at the question, but her sudden stillness was enough of an answer for him.

“I’ve wondered why you seemed so familiar,” he said, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “But it wasn’t until I spent the day fucking your sister that I finally see the resemblance.”

She frowned. “You’re disgusting.”

He shrugged. “Maybe so, but all the same. It’s curious, though, Ariana has never mentioned you.”

This made Luna smile. “I’m sure she hasn’t.”

“Your secret is safe with me,” he said quickly, as though she were more concerned with him revealing her presence to Ariana than anything else. “But I can’t say I’m not curious.”

“What makes you assume I’m betraying them?” Luna asked, pausing as the waiter set their food down with a brief nod then went on his way. “What if they were the ones to betray me?”

Agustín laughed in good humor. “That’s not so hard to believe. Your sister, dios mio, she’s a handful. And your mother”—he touched a hand to his heart— “La amante del diablo—the devil’s mistress. No offense, of course.”

None taken. “Since we’re asking personal questions, what do you do for her?”

Agustín took a sip of his wine. “A little of this. A little of that.”

“A little human trafficking, and a little drug smuggling?”

“From anyone else, I might think the contempt in your voice was offensive, but I’ve done my research on the Kingmaker and his Den. I’ve heard curious things.”

“Nothing good, I trust.”

“Depends on who you ask.”

Some would sing their praises, others would curse their existence—that was the trade. “Yet we’re about to start a great relationship.”

“How about this—you give me a truth about the Kingmaker, and I’ll agree to whatever favor he asks of me.”

“You agreed to the favor the minute we walked into this restaurant together.”

Agustín finished his wine, setting the glass on the table. “Then humor me.”

“Ask your question, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll answer.”

“What’s his endgame?”

Luna blinked.

“When the Kingmaker makes a move, it’s wise to pay attention. There’s been … talk … of him signing new clients, blackmailing others, and using his Den to take out those who don’t agree. Now, he can’t be doing this because he wants people to know fear. People already know fear, so he’s trying to get someone’s attention, no?”

All of this was true, but they both knew this already. “Ask the question you want answered.”

“I need to know if he’s the winning team, because whoever the Kingmaker is trying to make a fool out of, I want to make sure my interests are protected when they decide to strike back.”

Luna couldn’t hide her smile if she tried. “I think you already know my answer to that.”

“But I haven’t heard it.”

“Maybe you haven’t noticed, but in the Den, there’s me,”she gestured to herself—she didn’t feel the need to mention what she had done to his men. “An unmatched sniper, a master thief, the best hacker money can buy, a man that’s literally like a tank, former British intelligence, and Syn.”

“Syn?” he asked, brows drawing together.

“Trust me, the less you know about him, the better off you’ll be.”

Agustín hummed, pulling out his wallet to place a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table. “Let’s get you home. My car is waiting outside.”

It wasn’t until they were inside his car that he said, “One more question.”

“You might get one more answer.”

“If I asked you to come home with me, would you say yes?”

“My answer would be no.” Without a doubt.

Agustín might have been nice to look at, but he didn’t hold a candle to her husband.

“Because I am a job, or because of the man in your life?”

Luna glanced at him. “You seem to have all the answers tonight.”

“But none that you seem willing to confirm.”

“Both,” she said, finally answering his question, “but more of the second than the first.”

“And he let you come here with me this night? I don’t think I’d let you out of my sight if you were mine.”

If Kit could have his way, he would do the same. Luna patted his knee. “Then it’s lucky I’m not yours.”

---

Waiting until Agustín was gone, headlights disappearing as the car rounded a corner, Luna crossed the street, walking the two short blocks back to the bungalow—she could never be too careful.

As she walked, she pulled the pins from her hair, letting the heavy mass of it fall around her shoulders before threading her fingers through it to ease the tension in her scalp.

She hadn’t expected anything to come of the dinner. She’d thought mostly that Agustín would hit on her, and she’d be warding off his advances all night, but when she really thought about it, he hadn’t seemed very interested in her in that way, but rather who she was because of her relation to Ariana.

But over the course of the night, even as pleasant as it had all been, she hadn’t been able to stop thinking about Kit and wishing he was the one sitting across from her.

Even the most mundane of dinners had a level of intimacy about them, and she wanted to share that with him.

It was almost laughable how she had been so adamant about staying away from him until this whole mess was resolved, but now, all she could think about was running right back to him, answers be damned.

Once she was inside, she kicked off her heels, breathing a sigh of relief as her feet hit the flat surface of the floor.

Leaving everything by the door, she kept her phone in hand as she headed back for her bedroom, sending Uilleam a quick text to confirm that she had gotten Agustín’s acceptance.

She wasn’t paying attention, too busy to notice her bedroom door was ajar as opposed to firmly shut as she’d left it—too busy to notice the figure sitting at the edge of her bed. She startled, but settled quickly as she realized who was sitting there.

His hands clasped in his lap, his gaze trained out the windows toward the ocean, Kit sat unmoving with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Kit? What are you doing here?”

She should have noticed right away that something was wrong, but Kit had a way of hiding his emotions until he was ready for them to be seen. When he turned to look at her, she could tell at a glance he was angry—or maybe something a little stronger.

Even in the face of it, a part of her was still happy to see him

It was the first time they had been this close in weeks, and she wanted to reach out and touch him, re-familiarize herself with the way he felt, but she didn’t dare move from where she stood at the mouth of the doorway.

Rising from his perch at the edge of the bed, Kit was practically humming with rage as he closed the distance between them, blue eyes glowering down at her the closer he came. His anger felt almost tangible, snapping and twisting between them.

Luna was suddenly reminded of his moniker, and the deadly skills he possessed.

“Kit—”

“Your vows.”

“What?”

“Your vows,” he repeated with an edge to his voice. “Say them.”

His fury was barely contained and in an instant, she knew it was because of Agustín and their dinner. Somehow, he had found out about it.

No, of course, he would have found out. Not just because Uilleam was his brother, but because he would know about anyone who was close to the Rivera family.

So maybe a part of her had known that he would find out—she just hadn’t cared.

“Have you forgotten so soon?” he asked, his voice dangerously calm, which was far more frightening than his yelling. When she still didn’t offer a response, he gave one for her. “I love you with all that I am and all that I’ll ever be.”

It shouldn’t have surprised her that he remembered her vows with such startling clarity—even she didn’t remember her words verbatim—but the more he spoke, the more she realized that it wasn’t just jealousy that was fueling his anger … it was sadness.

She had hurt him in a way that no one else could.

“And until there’s nothing left of me, and even then, I’m yours,” he finished, using her words like a weapon.

Even as she hurt at the idea of causing him pain, she still raised her chin a fraction, boldly meeting his gaze and refusing to back down in the face of his hostility. “I know what I said.”

That was the wrong thing to say. She knew it the second the words were out of her mouth and his hand came up to curl around the back of her neck to draw her closer—firm, but gentle, until there was hardly any space left between them. “Then why did you go out with him?”

“It didn’t mean anything,” she said, reaching up to touch his hand. At first, she had meant to pull it away, to put more distance between them, but despite his anger, she liked him exactly where he was.

“Don’t play innocent with me, Luna. You knew what you were doing. You knew how I’d respond.” As the words left his lips, that potent anger that had seemed to bleed out of him slowly ebbed away as a different sort of expression crossed his face. “Is that what you want? You want me to punish you?”

“I did nothing wrong,” she said back, dropping her hand, suddenly wanting away from him.

But he wasn’t ready to let her go—he had never been ready to let her go.

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You haven’t asked for permis—”

“Is that really the game you want to play?” Kit asked, his voice gone low.

Maybe that should have scared her, the way his voice changed, but fear was the last thing she felt.

His words were a challenge, goading her to deny him what he wanted.

But even as every part of her screamed to do just that, Luna couldn’t force the words past her lips. It wasn’t just about denying him—it would be denying herself.

“Then punish me if that’s what you want,” she said, using that same tone of his. “Do whatever you want.”

For the briefest of moments, she thought he would just drag her over to the bed, force her across his lap, and spank her ass until he was satisfied, but she knew in the next heartbeat that it wouldn’t be that simple.

He didn’t intend to make this easy on her at all.

His gaze seemed to seize on the gold encircling her throat.

Hooking his finger through the loop dangling from it, he pulled her forward and away from the door where she stood.

There was no ignoring the shift in his demeanor, the way he seemed to shift right before her eyes. She didn’t dare move, could hardly breathe as he took out a knife, spinning it between his fingers, light glinting off the metal.

That quickly, he had her attention.

She didn’t fear he would hurt her, not in that way, but something about the look in his eyes made her heart skip a beat.

The smart thing would have been to be afraid, but she only felt excitement.

Those cold, gray eyes of his never left her face as he came closer, letting the tip of the wickedly sharp blade in his hand drift down the column of her throat then over the swell of her breasts before reaching the deep V.

Realizing his intention, she shook her head. “I actually like this dress.”

Kit had smirked a moment before he slipped the blade beneath the fabric, pulling it away from her before yanking, slicing through the dress in seconds.

The knife clattered to the floor as he brought his hands up the torn sides and jerked, splitting it down the middle with ridiculous ease.

A rush of desire hit her, making the ache she was already feeling spiral higher.

It had never been a question of whether she wanted him. Her body didn’t seem to care what her head was thinking—but when she would give in.

His fingers fell on her thigh, venturing higher until his touch was just teasing her hip, then sliding across to the other.

“Are you afraid?” he asked. “You’re trembling.”

No, she wasn’t afraid, but she wouldn’t tell him that she was turned on, that she was craving his touch more than anything in the world.

That would be giving in to what he wanted, and she wasn’t ready to do that just yet.

“Not afraid then,” he said when she didn’t answer.

Without hesitation, he moved his hand from her hip to her thighs then beneath the lacy panties she wore.

A shuddering breath left her at the feel of his heated touch.

“Is this mine?” he asked as he brushed the pad of his thumb across her clit. “Or do I need to remind you?”

Even as what he was doing was making her toes curl and her teeth sink into her bottom lips, she was feeling reckless. “Remind me.”

In an instant, his touch was gone, and she was being spun around, the massive bed looming ahead of her before she was pushed down onto it.

She barely had a second to get her bearings before Kit was on her, and she heard him pulling off his tie.

“Give me your hands,” Kit ordered, his voice flat and unaffected.

That fact shouldn’t have filled with such dark anticipation for what he planned, but just the thought of what he was about to do to her.

Searing pain dragged her from her inner musings as she jerked from the pain, knowing that if he’d hit any harder, she’d have a five finger palm print on her ass.

“I won’t ask a second time.”

As she crossed her arms behind her back and his fingers skimmed over them before gripping her wrists, a thrill shot down her spine.

Unable to see him, she had to settle for the feel of the soft fabric rubbing over her skin as he looped and knotted the material, leaving her bound and unable to move her arms.

There wasn’t any give—no chance of freedom—as he finished. Not when she could just rotate her wrists, but nothing more.

One moment he was there, and the next, he was gone, cool air kissing her skin in his absence.

By the end of this night, he was going to make her regret ever agreeing to go anywhere with Agustín, and she couldn’t wait.

---

His mind had blanked over when he learned about her meeting, that she willingly offered herself up. He had wanted nothing more than to drag her out of there, and had Agustín intervened, Kit had been prepared to say fuck the job and tear the man apart.

But he’d done neither, letting his anger fester and stew until punishing her was the only thing he could think of—punish her for making him jealous, for taking away every shred of focus he possessed until he couldn’t think of anything but her.

He knew better than to come here, to risk the carefully orchestrated plan that had been in the works for weeks, but she was worth it. Because even now, with his tie binding her wrists and her panting breaths sounding like music to his ears, it wasn’t enough.

A fire still raged inside him.

“Don’t speak,” he ordered, tracing her spine with a fingertip, almost smiling at the way she shuddered.

It had been far too long since he’d last had her like this, and he wanted to make it count.

“Don’t even move unless I give you permission,” he said, finishing the order with a sharp crack of his hand against her ass.

Drifting his fingers back up, he smoothed the silky, dark strands of her hair over her shoulder to glimpse the gold choker encircling her throat.

How quickly a mere piece of metal brought him peace but also sparked darker urges inside him—urges he wouldn’t deny.

“Breathe,” he said, the only warning she got before he had her hair wrapped around his fist and pulled, forcing her up, a gasp spilling out of her.

Turning her head, he pressed his lips against hers, kissed the fight and resistance right out of her as she turned to putty in his arms. She moaned into his mouth, the sound breathless and wanting, but he wasn’t going to give her what she desperately wanted.

By the time he finished with her, she was going to fucking beg, but her begging to come, or her begging him to fuck her was anyone’s guess—even he wasn’t sure what his body wanted.

Because despite how furious he was with her, lust rode him hard.

Keeping her there, he got his hand back between her legs, thrumming her clit until she was rocking her hips into his touch.

He couldn’t ignore that little hitch in her voice that told him she was close to coming for him.

But as much as he wanted to give it to her, he stopped completely. “What do you say?”

“Oh, fuck you, Kit,” she said breathlessly, her arms straining, but she wasn’t getting anywhere.

“Wrong answer.”

“Please,” she forced out between gritted teeth.

And just because she managed that, he gave her a taste of what he would do if she would just stop being so fucking stubborn.

“Is it good, Luna?” he asked, liking the way she responded. “Then ask nicely.”

“God, please, Kit.”

Good enough.

He didn’t hold back any longer, rubbing hard until her breath exploded from her lungs and incoherent words tripped over one another.

“Come all over my fingers,” he whispered, “Show me how bad you want it.”

He loved to see her like this, coming apart at the seams, breathless and free.

And that was when his control snapped.

Flipping the button of his trousers, he yanked at his zipper next, shoving them and his boxer briefs down his thighs, his erection springing free.

His mind was so seized on getting inside of her that he didn’t give a shit about getting unclothed completely.

She rocked back against him, but while the action made him smile, he still landed a measured slap to her ass. “Be still. You take what I give you.”

Her response was a broken moan, the sound making him push his fingers in deeper, twisting his fingers just so to reach the spot inside her that had his name falling from her lips.

Luna wasn’t a timid little thing, rather she arched her back a little deeper, spread her legs a little farther, and practically challenged him to see how he would respond.

His hand wrapped tight around his cock, he moved his fist up and back, needing to take the edge off because while he had her exactly where he wanted her, he wasn’t far behind.

With his free hand cradling the side of her head, he pushed her cheek down against the soft sheets. Holding her there, he lined his cock up with her slit rubbing himself through her wetness and liberally coating his cock until he was satisfied.

“Say it,” he commanded, not recognizing his own voice and the need that curled around those words.

Kit felt the tension in her, but that didn’t stop her from rubbing back against him—from panting his name as she tried to force him inside her.

When she still refused to speak, he fisted her hair, yanking her up until she was flush against him and his lips were at her ear.

“D’you want my cock?” he whispered, gently biting down on the shell of her ear before giving the same treatment to the delicate column of her throat.

A sudden urge to mark her came over him, and before he could quell the impulse, he was leaving a purpling bruise where his teeth had once been.

It wasn’t enough.

Wasn’t nearly fucking enough.

She nodded, and he didn’t give a shit that she hadn’t spoken the words—he was too far gone.

He meant to check himself, to ease his way inside her pussy, but the second he was there, he couldn’t hold back any longer.

That first slide, as wet, tight heat enveloped him, made him grit his teeth, his hips flexing as he tried to gain another inch.

There was no other place Kit would kill to be than right there inside her.

And if he needed to fuck her until she passed out to remind her of that fact, he would.

One jagged thrust, sinking in as deep as he could go, then pulling out until only the tip of his cock was inside her, and back again, Kit couldn’t stop.

This was what he had missed for so long.

This was what he needed.

Harsh laughter left him as he heard her speaking, the words barely above a whisper as she told him how good he felt, how she needed more and more and more.

He slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling her screams as she grew wetter in a rush, making him curse louder as he fucked her relentlessly.

“This is what you want, hmm?” he asked, voice low and harsh. “You don’t want to give it—you want me to take it.”

Luna wasn’t a fragile bird he needed to take his time with anymore.

She was strong and breakable, and fuck, he was going to break her in the best way possible.

“Say it’s mine,” he ordered, moving his hand from her mouth to her throat.

Her answer was immediate, breathless, and exactly what he wanted to hear.

“Say you’re sorry.”

“I-I’m s-sorry,” she tripped over the apology as her pussy clamped down around him tight enough to make him see stars.

And when he could catch his breath again, he slapped the bare mound of her pussy and said, “Now give me what I want.”

“I love you,” she practically screamed, the words coming a second before she broke, the orgasm making her tremble and shake, repeating herself over and over again.

“I love you,” she said, with her voice and her body.

“I love you,” he said in return, losing himself inside her.