That fear in her eyes fights with the hope that courses through her. How can she have so much fucking hope? I'm taking her whole life away and she's still thinking about how I'm going to help her save her brother.

Squeezing my hand again urgently, she's trying not to sound like she's begging. Her voice is smooth. But I can smell that fear, see it with the hope in her hazel eyes. She’s fighting herself, but she’s going to win what she needs. I’m winning what I need. I try to look anywhere but at her lips when she continues. “If you're taking me that long, you're clearing all his debts, and you're getting him in rehab."

Ballsy as fuck. I fucking love Lucy's strength now; I wonder if I say no just how hard she's going to push. But I hold back making her suffer, at least in that way, right now. I take her hand and slide it into my trouser pocket.

No, baby girl, that cock so close you can feel the heat coming off it, is not what you're reaching for. Yet. I close her hand over my penthouse key. "This will get you in the room with the code," I tell her. I crook my finger indicating for her to lean down. When she does, that's when I stand so that she falls against me, and I pull her close. I can't help it; I need to feel her body now. Especially because I'm going to find out the deal with her brother before I take Lucy’s virginity. She’s mine now and I want her so goddamn bad, but I have to know what kind of a deal I’m making.

Fuck, Lucy should be confirming this. She's got this big fucking plan and she's not even certain that I'm not just going to fuck her, and then not give two shits about her brother, or his debt.

I'm not going to do that, but she doesn't know that.

I don't think Lucy trusts me. I knew when she called me out that there was hate in her voice for me. But she has to trust me enough to believe I’m keeping my word. Well, that innocent way she hopes for the best is going to be her fucking undoing.

For a second, that hope in her rubs off on me. I want her to enjoy me fucking her, but grandiose ideas form in my brain because a spitfire like her could be my queen.

But that's far too much hope for a man like me to have. I can buy anything, have any woman, but when would I ever find a true partner who would trust me and matter so much more?

I know that’s never going to happen because that's something you can't buy. And I'm buying Lucy.

"The code is 9567," I whisper. That's the code that activates my cameras specifically for someone entering my penthouse with a given code. I'm a paranoid fuck, but this is certainly a much better use for the code than I ever thought I would need. "Wait for me, naked. I'll cancel your brother's debt to me now, and then I'll take what belongs to me."

I bring a hand down the small of her back. I could be so lewd, but I let it fall without touching her more. I don't want her too scared.

I’m about to leave her, even though I don’t want to, when someone breaks through the air around us. In a room full of people, I wouldn’t notice anyone else but this person is shouting at Lucy.

"What the hell are you doing here? With him?” an angry voice slurs, obviously drunk. I can tell by the hair, the eyes, that this is Lucy’s brother.

“Tommy, look, you need help and I'm going to do the only thing I can do to help you get that--" Lucy says, and I know that’s the truth.

Tommy cuts her off. "You want to put me in fucking rehab, I get it, but what's the point, Luce? I'm going to backslide right back into being a fuckin' disaster. If they think I ain't good for the money, then I'm taken care of, too. So, just let me be out of your hands, Lucy. You're wasting your whole fucking life on me--"

"That's enough,” I interrupt this time. I won’t listen to anyone talk to Lucy this way. And I can’t take the way I see her tremble in pain at his words. “If you had any sense, Tommy, you'd listen to your sister instead of fucking, gambling, and drinking away what's good in your life. As of right now, you're a free goddamn man. Your sister can't say the same thing. She's willing to give up everything for you—and you're going to the best damn rehab there is." I put my hand on his shoulders and make him stand tall. This is fucking pathetic, how his sister will give up fucking everything and he'll just sooner wallow in nothing.

Lucy's pain is palpable. I can't help myself, and I turn to stroke her cheek. She doesn't recoil, which after how she reacted toward me earlier, is really shocking. I can see a look of appreciation in her eyes. Fuck if I don't deserve that shit. Lucy's a goddamn angel and I'm an asshole willing to drag her down to hell.

I look up at her from the drink I'm grabbing without thinking about it. I put it down without drinking it. I wanna be fucking better. I do. But I rarely even think about how much I drink and now suddenly I have the willpower to set down the drink and call it a night. "I'm going to make sure Tommy is well taken care of. He'll go to the best facility. Now."

Tommy starts to open his mouth but Lucy shoots him a withering look. "What's done will not be undone," she says, and there's something faraway in her voice. The ominous way she doesn't want to tell her brother that I'm going to fuck her, well, I'll let that slide without some kind of remark on my part. Lucy is making a sacrifice and I want to honor the way she feels about her family. I may never have had anyone give a fuck about me even one iota as much as she cares about her brother, but I can recognize it when I see it. I pick up my phone and I call one of my staff members.

And now that I’m thinking about something more than Lucy’s sweet pussy, I do know who Tommy is. When I see Tommy, I know his last name. I know who he is. I know how much he owes not just me, but I have a pretty good idea of how much he owes just about everyone you don’t want to owe in this city.

But none of that matters because the deal is going to be done and I’m going to have Lucy.

I'd do anything for Lucy to have one ounce of that hope she has for her brother, just one ounce to be in my direction. I'm a goddamn fool, because owning her isn't the way to earn her. But I guess I'll take what I can get.

I'm foolish as fuck. I never settle. I always get what I want. And I've been okay with being alone.

And now Lucy walks in and puts her hand on me, and I'm practically wrapped around her finger. Of course, wrapped around her finger or not … she still belongs to me. I’m not exactly going to lie down and give her any power. She can’t even know the power she has over me. And when I’m done with her tonight, she’ll barely remember anything before tonight.

I’ve been out of the game for a while, but I know how to fuck. And I know how to fuck Lucy so damn well that she forgets everything before tonight. Forgets ever being afraid, maybe.

"You're taking Tommy to Sutherland, and you're to pay everything. When he has visiting and communicating privileges and visitation, only Lucy is permitted."

Antonio dutifully responds and I hang up.

I turn to Lucy. “Go up to my penthouse," I say. I let my eyes veer toward my drink. "I'll make sure everything is sorted out and I'm going to be up in a couple of hours. Make yourself comfortable." She starts to walk away and I walk toward her, deleting all the space between us a little too fast. I have to get away from my drink, and I have to tell her these words now, even if its a goddamned lie. "It's going to be okay," I say. I want to reach out and touch her face again. Fuck it. I can't resist. I do. I see that she's gritting her teeth. Lucy doesn't recoil, but she's only letting me touch her because she has no other choice. Even if she might enjoy the touch, she doesn’t want to. A decent man would leave her alone and help her out of the goodness of his heart. But I’m all out of goodness, and I have plenty of money. That’s why I have so much more money than most everyone else. I don’t do what a good man does; I do what a wealthy and powerful man does.

Lucy’s strength only makes me respect her moxie more. Lucy is tough as nails, and she has more willpower than I'm betting myself and her brother have combined. 

It's really a damn shame I'm even in her life. 

But that's about as sorry as I'm going to feel for myself now because tonight, I'm sinking my cock in her and watching her come undone around me. How fucking much my life has changed in this one minute, no one knows. People still assume, not just Lucy, that all I do is fuck around. It doesn't matter to them that I'm married. I rarely see my wife and no one—much less her—has any expectations for me. 

There's no way that Lucy knows I'm married. I realize this now. She's a sweet girl, willing to do something that's pretty fucking crazy, but I know she's going to be pissed if she finds out. I say if, but shit that people aren't supposed to know has a point of biting someone in the ass. Because I’ve got to get in front of that, I resolve that I'll tell her that I’m married. But not tonight. There's enough for her to take in and take on that she doesn't need one more crazy thing to deal with. I'll deal with that later. Is that a mistake? Sure, probably, but I don’t ask permission; I don’t apologize. I forge ahead no matter what happens. Lucy is mine. Keeping her happy isn’t exactly sunshine and roses. I’ll take care of her brother, and everything else is going to have to fall into place, no matter how messy that might be.

"I'll be upstairs in a few. I'll make sure Tommy is taken care of," I say again, letting her know that she can go ahead and go to the penthouse now. That would've been clear before, but I couldn’t keep my hands off of her.