After a morning of training that saw me on my ass more often than not, a lunch filled with accounting talk, and an afternoon of summer reading, I was tired, sore, and ready for bed. But no matter how long my day was, I couldn’t quell the excited buzz that rippled through my system. Nate had been sending me smoldering looks all day and took every opportunity to touch me, even if it was only to graze my hand with his as he walked by. Each little touch was like a shot of lighter fluid, and by the end of the day I was soaked and ready to blaze.

Snuggled in a leather chair in the corner of Nate’s office, I’d been reading the same paragraph for five minutes when he walked over.

“Let’s go up.” He held out a hand.

I took it, and he pulled me to my feet.

“Night.” Angus gave a small wave and walked into the hall. He and Nate had been crunching numbers and discussing the many illegal uses of Bitcoin for hours on end.

Peter still sat at the side of Nate’s desk, a calculator in front of him and a pencil behind his ear as he surveyed a printed sheet of ledger paper.

“We can look at it tomorrow. Fresh eyes.”

Peter squinted. “I still can’t reconcile the data, and it’s pissing me the fuck off. Someone is skimming cash. But I can’t tell where. It’s not the drugs.” He sat back. “But it has to be the drugs. There’s nowhere else the money could be coming from that makes sense.”

“Tomorrow.” Nate pulled me along with him.

“Fine.” Peter rose. “I’ll go pick a fight with David to take the edge off.”

“Last time you did that, I had to buy you two new teeth.” Nate’s steps grew faster as we left the room, practically hustling me through the hall and to the stairs.

It appeared I wasn’t the only one who’d had a tough go of waiting for bedtime. Peter responded—with something sarcastic, no doubt—but we were well up the stairs, and Nate didn’t seem to care.

We’d just made it inside his room when he slammed the door and pushed me against it, his mouth on mine, his hands pulling at the hem of my shirt.

I was happy to help, yanking my top off and working Nate’s buttons off one by one.

“Do you have any idea how hard you made me today?” He rolled his hips toward me, the hardness in his pants a testament to his words. “Any clue how fucking sexy you look when you’re playing the little miss studious game? Over there with your book?”

I shrugged as he kissed to my neck, sending chills all over me with his wicked lips. “I was just doing my schoolwork.”

He reached behind me and unsnapped my bra. “Like a good schoolgirl?”

“Yes.”

“Wrong.” He stripped my bra off and fastened his lips around my nipple, licking as he shoved my jeans and panties down to my knees.

I bumped the back of my head on the door as he bit down, his hands gripping my ass hard enough to leave a mark.

“You’re not a good girl.” He sank to his knees and licked my pussy. “You’re the worst girl. You need some fucking discipline.” He snaked his tongue between my folds, pressing against my clit as he kneaded my ass with his palms.

My gasp turned into a moan as he gripped the backs of my thighs and pulled them apart just enough to get his tongue inside me. I grabbed his dark hair, squeezing the soft strands between my fingers as he fucked me with his tongue.

“Not getting off that easy.” He sat back, his eyes stormy, then rose and tossed me over his shoulder.

“Nate!” I pressed my palms to his back, but he threw me onto the bed. The air whooshed out of me as he yanked my jeans and panties the rest of the way down, then tossed them aside.

“Get on your knees.” He pointed to the bed.

The command in his voice lit up the erotic centers of my mind like a pinball machine. I scrambled onto my stomach, then pushed up onto all fours.

He rubbed my ass, then reared back and landed a stinging slap. “You knew I didn’t want you to go down to the basement.”

I craned my head around to catch his gaze. “I needed to see.”

Smack. I arched my back at the flash of pain.

“You sure it wasn’t because you wanted to stay close to Angus?” Smack.

“No!” I tried to sit back, but he gripped my hips and held me in place.

His hands rubbed my aching ass. “You sure?”

“Why?” I held his gaze. “You jealous?”

Smack. I yelped at the fresh sting, and then the next, and the next. Why did I have to be a brat?

“Yes, I’m jealous.” The sound of his zipper sent a shock of desperate need through me. “I don’t want him anywhere near you. But I don’t have a choice in the matter. You have to be here, and he has to be here. But”—he kissed the spots where his hands had warmed my skin—“I do have a choice in his room selection.”

“What?” I raised an eyebrow.

Nate dropped his voice. “He’s right next door.” The bed shifted, and Nate’s thick head pressed against my wet entrance.

“He’ll hear!” I hissed.

Nate laughed, low and delicious. “That’s the idea.” He pushed forward, nudging his head inside me.

I moaned at the fullness and the slight sting.

“I want him to hear every orgasm I give you.” He eased farther inside, my walls expanding for him as my body hummed with the need for more. “Every time you call my name.” He pushed all the way, and my eyes rolled back.

“You’re bad.” I let my head hang as I ate up all the sensations.

“Yes.” He pulled back and plunged all the way in with a skin-on-skin slap.

He was still dressed for the most part. Why was there something so hot about that? Gripping my hips, he pulled back and slammed forward harder, then did it again, and again. I began to shove back to his rhythm, driving him farther. He moved a hand to my hair, grabbing a handful and pulling it. I arched to relieve the pressure, then gasped at how deeply he sank inside me. His balls slapped against me with each rough stroke.

The pressure of his hand on my hips disappeared, and when it reappeared at my ass, I tried to turn my head to look at him, but he kept his grip on my hair.

“Nate, that’s not—” My protest died as he pressed his wet thumb around my asshole, rubbing the forbidden spot and sending dazzling sparks shooting through me.

“Not what? Not mine?” He growled. “Wrong.” He massaged my hole, never delving inside but rubbing in a circle as my pussy clenched tighter and tighter around him. “I’ll be taking this hole with all the rest, Sabrina. Soon. And you’ll love it.” He released my hair, then reached around with his other hand and stroked my clit.

I couldn’t escape his touch, and I didn’t want to. My hips rocked back to him, each movement increasing the tension in my clit as he played every bit of me with his fingers. My hard nipples brushed against the sheets, adding to the cacophony of sensation that washed over me. I couldn’t stop. Nothing would keep me from that sweet release. Almost there, my hips began to seize. Then Nate pulled his thumb from my asshole and slapped my ass harder than ever. The jolt of pain rocketed through me and exploded between my legs.

I came on a scream, the sound strangled in my throat as my body locked and my orgasm blasted through me. Over and over, my pleasure expanded and contracted until I was floating along, boneless and overcome with the sweet peace that only Nate could give me.

“You almost made me shoot, Sabrina.” He rubbed my ass, soothing me as he thrust in and out slowly.

I’d melted to the bed, my ass still in the air but my shoulders against the mattress.

“Almost took it all from me. But I’m not done yet.” He pulled out and flipped me onto my back. Ripping his shirt off, he tossed it to the floor, then shucked off his pants and boxers. Covering my body with his, he pressed kisses along my throat as he eased inside me.

I wrapped my arm around his neck and guided my lips to his. He kissed me deeply, each thrust of his tongue matching one from his cock. One palm on my breast, he twisted my nipple slowly, igniting the same fire he’d already brought to a roaring climax only moments before. He was unhurried, taking his time and owning my body with each sure stroke. His mouth pressed to mine, our bodies entwined, even our breath mingling as he languidly made love to me. That’s what this was—making love—each of us sharing more of ourselves than we’d ever thought possible.

He pulled back and stared down at me, my world contained in his eyes. “This is so good.” He thrust for emphasis. “You’re so good, so fucking right.” He dropped a kiss on my lips.

The three words that would change everything danced on the tip of my tongue. I wanted to say them, hoping that he’d treasure them. Whether I said them or not, they were true. I loved Nate Franco from the moment I saw him. There was no one else, not a soul on this earth that could ever take his place in my heart.

Something warmed in his gaze, lust mixing with an emotion that mirrored my own. Could he see it in my eyes, somehow sense the truth? Maybe that kind of love couldn’t stay hidden. Not forever.

He kissed me again, and I let myself go. Gave myself over to him, not wasting the moment worrying about whether he felt it too. Even if he didn’t, I had enough love for the both of us, and I would be happy to share it for the rest of our lives.

His movements grew more frenzied, passion lacing his kisses as our sweat-slicked bodies glided against each other. I angled my hips toward him, trying to catch each movement, each sliver of contact against my clit. With a devilish grin, he reached between us and massaged the spot. Wrapping an arm around my back, he melded our bodies in perfect fusion, his hips pounding as our eyes locked. Everything inside me wound to a feverish height.

“I can’t hold out. Not with you.” He grunted with each stroke, his arm shaking from strain, but he didn’t let up. His fingers rubbed my clit in a smooth circle, pushing me to the edge. “Take it all.” His brows drew together, and his groan shot through me as his release hit.

“Nate.” I tried to catch my breath, couldn’t, and came as his cock pulsed inside me. My filthy mind pictured his come, how it would coat me and mark me as his. I moaned my release, reveling in him as we both flew to the clouds and floated back down like feathers on a lazy breeze.

When the only sound in the room was our breathing, I realized how loud we’d been.

“Oh my god. I think the whole house heard.” How could I blush when he was still inside me?

“Good.” He kissed my nose, my chin, and finally my mouth. “You know I don’t mind giving a performance, especially when it’s as top notch as the one we just put on.”

“You’re terrible.” I couldn’t stop my smile.

“You’re wonderful.” He thrust once more, his semi sending tingles along my overheated skin.

Those three words whispered through my mind again, clamoring to get out. I wouldn’t let them. Not yet.

* * *

“What’s that?” Nate leaned over to look at my laptop.

Wearing one of his white t-shirts, I sat against his headboard with my laptop and logged onto my student account at Temple. “I have to register for classes. They just opened up at midnight. If I don’t get on it, I’ll miss it.”

“Miss classes?”

“Not entirely. I mean, I won’t get the ones I want, so then I’ll have a weird schedule or teachers that aren’t rated as highly.”

“Huh.” He stared at the screen, his brow scrunched, then scooted next to me and pulled me so I sat between his spread legs. Looking over my shoulder, he watched as I opened the class roster. “Why does it say you’re an undergraduate? Aren’t you a graduate since you graduated high school?”

I was glad he couldn’t see my smile. “No, I’m still an undergraduate. Graduate school is—”

“Oh, yeah.” He shook his head. “Sorry. I’ve heard you say grad school before. So that’s after undergraduate, like advanced degree stuff, right?”

“You catch on quick. Maybe you’re the one who should go to college.” I leaned back and kissed his cheek.

He grabbed my chin and kissed me on the mouth until I’d almost forgotten about registration. With a final bite of my lip, he turned my head back to the screen. “Hurry up. I don’t want you getting the shit classes. Though, I can always send someone to open up a spot for you in one of the good ones.”

I clicked through the literature courses. “Did you just threaten to kill a classmate so I could take their seat?”

“Naaahh.” He rubbed his palms down my thighs and rested his chin on my shoulder. “Maybe,” he whispered.

I pointed at my screen. “I get to skip freshman composition since I have AP credit, but I still need three credit hours of English for the semester.”

“Skip? I knew you were smart, but damn.” He whipped my hair over my shoulder and nibbled at my neck. “So, why law?”

Though his lips made it hard to concentrate, I chose a British fiction course and moved on to Western Civilization classes. “I think maybe that—okay, this may sound dumb—it would be the sort of degree that would make me feel empowered?”

“Empowered?” He stopped mid-nibble. “Like what do you mean?”

I’d never voiced my insecurities out loud, mainly because I couldn’t tell anyone “Hi, I’m Sabrina. My drug importer father was murdered in front of me by a hitman, my adoptive parents were also murdered—oh, and then I watched a mafia death match happen right in front of me while I cowered.” But Nate was different. I didn’t have to explain with him. He knew my path as well as I did, so maybe he’d understand why I’d want to choose a different direction. “I just feel like I’ve been a victim for most of my life. First with my father, then with his killer, then when you found me. I don’t want to feel that way anymore.”

“Hmm.”

I leaned back against his chest. “I pour my heart out and all I get is ‘hmm’?”

“Look, I get it. You want to feel in control. Because there were so many times in your childhood when you had zero control. But, the thing is, you’ve never been a victim to me. You’re strong, Sabrina. So fucking strong. To get through all you have, then to be a star student, to get into a great college. The world gave you a shit sandwich, and you threw it back in its face. I’d say you’re a lot more badass than you think.”

I’d never thought of it that way. Maybe because I didn’t have a habit of coming up with shit-sandwich metaphors, but all the same, he’d given me a new perspective. One that I appreciated. One that made me fall just a bit farther, as if I needed another reason to dive deep for Nate Franco.

He cleared his throat and guided my hand back to the scroll pad. “So you have to take some sort of advanced English, and history, and”—he watched me click through some more rosters—“algebra, French, and Introduction to Law?”

I clicked the last class on my list and sighed. “Thank god I got all the good ones.”

“That’s a ton.”

“Sixteen hours. Not so bad.” I shrugged. The course load wasn’t all that different from boarding school. “Plus, the study time I’ll need for each, it’ll probably total out to twenty-five to thirty. And I plan to get a part-time job for another ten or so.”

“Whoa, whoa.” He wrapped his arms around my waist. “A job?”

“Yeah.” I ran my fingertips down his arms, the soft hairs tickling as I went. “I can’t just laze about by the pool all the time.”

“Yes, you can. You class up the joint.” He smoothed his palms up my shirt and cupped my breasts.

“It would just be, I don’t know, as a barista or something at a Starbucks, or maybe even tutoring—”

“No way.” He squeezed. “One on one with college boys who have a constant hard-on? No, thanks.” His thumbs brushed against my nipples.

I wiggled against his growing erection. “Don’t trust me?”

“I trust you just fine. Them, not a chance. I remember me when I was that age. If I’d seen a girl like you…”

“Yeah? What would you have done if you’d met me when you were twenty?”

He yanked my shirt over my head, pulled me back against his chest, then pinched my nipples. “I’d have fucked you raw every chance I got and twice on Sundays.”

“Who’s to say you can’t do that now, even though you’re an old man and all?” I ground my ass against his cock.

“You’re a little brat.” He twisted my nipples and bit down along my jugular.

“Going to spank me again?”

“No, you like it too much.” His right hand delved beneath my panties, his index finger pressing against my clit. “Already wet just from thinking about it.”

I lowered my voice to a purr. “Maybe I’m wet from all this talk of college boys.”

He growled. I barely got my laptop closed before he tossed me face down on the bed and yanked my panties off. But he didn’t spank me. He sank his teeth into my ass. I howled as he bit me and slid two fingers into my slick pussy.

Holding me in place with his fingers inside me, he bit my other ass cheek hard enough to bring tears to my eyes. Then warmth covered the spot, his tongue pressing against the grooves made by his teeth. Sliding his fingers out, he circled my clit slowly. Pulling wetness from my pussy, he used his thumb to massage my asshole, each stroke sending goosebumps racing along my legs.

He left more bites—these gentler—along my skin as his fingers worked me over. When he plunged his thumb inside my ass, I tensed.

“Relax.” His kisses feathered along my lower back.

I let my muscles go, and he slid his thumb in and out, his fingers still on my clit. The sensation of his thumb was almost too much, but at the same time, I wanted more.

Rocking back against him, I turned my head and met his gaze. “Make me come?”

“Anything you want.” His eyes sparkled. He removed his thumb and walked me closer to the foot of the bed. Then he lay on his back, guiding me to sit on his mouth.

When his tongue met my clit, I jolted, and when he pressed his finger into my ass, I moaned. I gripped the footboard and stared down at him as he ate my pussy, his tongue flicking my clit and making wet noises as I rode his face. My thighs clenched, and I didn’t care that I was grinding on his face and pushing back to get more of his finger in my ass. I wanted everything from him. He groaned his approval as I gave up all modesty and spread my legs even farther, pressing my pussy to his mouth.

He opened wide and tongued me until I gripped the footboard like a lifeline and came in a rolling wave of abandon. I chased every last tendril of release until I was spent, then fell over on my side.

Nate rose, adopted a stern expression, and shook a finger at me. “Now, let that be a lesson to you, young lady.”

After my giggle fit subsided and we snuggled into bed, I passed out in his arms.