I sat at my desk in front of the roaring fire, enjoying a large decanter of scotch while the snow fell outside. It was Christmas Day, and I spent all afternoon pretending it was just another day.

But no amount of pretending could change reality.

This was how I spent all my holidays—alone.

Vanessa was with her family, drinking and having a merry time.

I might be doing the same thing—if my parents were alive. If I had a chance to have siblings. Their happiness should be my happiness. I shouldn’t be nursing my regret with booze. Sometimes it made me so spiteful I wanted to go over there and kill them all.

Including Vanessa.

But I kept my distance and tried not to think about their joy.

Vanessa kept asking what my real name was, but I didn’t see why it mattered. I was Bones, plain and simple. No one called me by any other name. My passports didn’t even have my real name either because I traveled under different aliases. It was easy to remain above the law when you weren’t really a person.

The sun set, and the night deepened, but I stayed in my office.

Thinking about my last Christmas with my mother.

She went to work on Christmas Eve, picking up a client from the street. Money was tight that month, and we were being evicted. She had to find the money somewhere—and she wanted to get me a toy for Christmas.

So she met a client that ended up killing her and leaving her in a dumpster.

My mother never came home.

It wasn’t until three days later that the landlord came for his money. He discovered me, called the cops, and that’s when they found her body in the dumpster. I was sent to the orphanage.

No one could judge me for hating this stupid holiday.

No one could judge me for hating Vanessa.

I should just fucking kill her.

Slit her throat and be done with it. I should put her body in a dumpster just the way my mother was tossed aside.

But I knew I never would, no matter how angry I was. I was far too obsessed with her, far too infatuated with her. When she wasn’t with me, I thought about her. Now I counted down the days until she returned. When I fucked her, I didn’t think about the horrible shit in my life.

I just felt good.

She was like drugs and booze—but with a better high.

My phone rang, and I immediately looked at it in the hope it was her. But it was Max. “Yeah?”

“Caught you at a bad time?”

“It’s Christmas—so yes.”

His past was just as dark as mine, so he didn’t question it. “I think I might have a lead on the guy who killed your mom.”

I sat forward, my elbows moving to the desk. “Yeah?”

“I think it may have been Joe Pedretti. My sources say he has a thing for prostitutes—and he kills a lot of them. He was in the area the night your mother died. I can’t confirm it with complete certainty, but there’s a good chance it was him. I’ll look into it more.”

“That name sounds familiar.”

“Yes…because he’s the leader of the Tyrants. They do business with the Russians, transferring weapons and drugs back and forth across Europe. I hate to say it, Bones, but he’s pretty untouchable.”

“No one is untouchable—not for me.”

“He’s got at least a hundred men working for him—all heavily trained. He’s got lots of money. He has a relationship with the cops just like you do. He’s not as big as the Italian mob or the Skull Kings, but he’s not a guy you should piss off.”

“I don’t give a shit. If he killed her, he’ll pay for it.”

“Let me confirm it before you do anything stupid, alright? And even if he did do it, you still shouldn’t do anything stupid. You’re only putting yourself at risk and the other guys on the line. Your mother is dead, plain and simple. She’s not coming back, the cops don’t care, and there’s nothing you can do about it. Your mother wouldn’t want you to die for her when she’s already dead.”

Everything he said made complete sense, but it didn’t change my mind. “She’s family, Max. I don’t care if she was just a prostitute. She was my mother and did the best she could to take care of me. Now I’ll take care of her.”

He sighed over the phone. “Bones, maybe I shouldn’t have told you.”

“No. I needed to know. You don’t have to be involved.”

“I’m already involved. I’ve got your back—you’ve got mine.”

Because we were blood brothers.

“Just take some time to think about it. You’ll realize it’s pointless.” He hung up.

I set the phone down and balled my hands into fists. Rage pounded in my temple and my heart. The man who screwed my mother and then slit her throat was walking free. I had to dump his body into a dumpster just the way he did for her. Little did he know, he picked the wrong woman to fuck with. Little did he know, her little boy would grow up to be the foulest monster in the world.

Little did he know, I was much worse than my father ever was.

And he would pay for what he did.

I grabbed the decanter of scotch and threw it against the wall, listening to it shatter into a thousand small shards. Richard didn’t come running in because he was used to these outbursts of rage.

I snatched my phone and called Vanessa.

It was midnight, so she might be in bed by now.

She answered. “Hello?”

I didn’t say anything, keeping my silence over the line.

She knew I was still there. “Something wrong?”

So many things were wrong, but I didn’t think I could tell her. “When will you be home?” I needed to sheathe my anger, and the best way to do that was to be buried between her legs.

“Late tomorrow night.”

I could make it one more day. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

Now she turned quiet.

I didn’t ask how her Christmas was because I didn’t care. I didn’t ask her anything because I didn’t want to talk. I just wanted to sit on the line with her, listen to her breathe while she lay in the beautiful mansion her father had bought for his family.

“I gave the painting to my parents… My mother cried.”

I remembered the painting like I was still looking at it. I remembered the details, the joy. The sense of family was overwhelming, the feeling of friendship and loyalty. She expressed so much in that picture, so much that I never had.

“My father really liked it too. They hung it up on the wall right then and there.”

I wanted to say something nice, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. She had the life I wanted, and I was the one sitting alone in my office, thinking about the man I wanted to kill, thinking about my mother’s dead body eaten by cockroaches in the dumpster.

Life wasn’t fair, and I never got used to it.

She had everything.

I lost everything.

I hated her.

But I swallowed my anger as much as I could and kept my fury bottled inside. I was the one who called her, after all. “That’s nice.” That was the best I could do, so I hung up and turned off my phone so she couldn’t call me back.

I had an endless supply of scotch, so I opened another bottle and poured a glass.

And I drank until I passed out.

I sat on the couch in the darkness of her apartment and waited for the sound of her approach. She said she would be back this evening, and I made the two-hour drive so I could be there when she walked in the door. Her happiness infuriated me, and the only way I could numb the pain was by burrowing myself between her legs.

It was the only form of revenge I could have.

The only thing that could stop me from thinking these bad thoughts.

Voices came louder as people approached.

“You don’t need to carry my stuff, Con.” Vanessa’s beautiful voice came through the door.

“I know I act like I hate you, but I don’t. Let me carry your shit.” Conway’s deep voice came next. His appearance came into my mind. I remembered how he looked at the Underground, in his finest suit. I’d wondered if he knew who I was—like I knew who he was.

The keys moved in the door.

I was tempted to stay put, to let him look at me when he walked inside. He wouldn’t be armed, and his pregnant fiancée would be in the car downstairs. I could kill him then go after her next. Carter would probably be there, but I could handle him if it was one-on-one. Vanessa would come after me with everything she had.

I’d have to kill her too.

But I wouldn’t break my word to Vanessa. She kept her end of the deal and didn’t tell her family what was going on. So I walked into her bedroom and hid out of sight.

They stepped inside seconds later.

Conway was in a black jacket and jeans, looking so much like his father it seemed like Crow Barsetti was in the house. “You want me to put these in your bedroom?” He had her two bags in each hand.

“No.” Her answer flew out fast, an instinctive reaction. She knew I was in the bedroom even if she couldn’t see me. She probably felt my presence, felt my possessiveness even in a different room. “I got it. You should get going. It’s been a long day.”

“So fucking stubborn.” He dropped her bags on the floor. “You’d think I would get used to it, but I never do.”

“You’re more stubborn than I am.”

“But much better looking.”

I listened to their sibling-bickering with annoyance. I didn’t have a brother or a sister. Neither of my parents lived long enough for the luxury.

“Thanks for giving me a ride home,” Vanessa said. “Christmas was nice.”

“It was,” he said in agreement. “Mom and Dad really liked that painting.”

“Yeah…” Her voice softened. “Seems like they did.”

I turned the corner and watched them by the front door.

Conway wrapped his arms around her shoulders and hugged her. “Let me know if you need anything. I’m right down the road.”

“I know.” She hugged him back.

“Merry Christmas, sis.” He kissed her forehead then walked out.

She watched him leave before she shut the door behind him. She turned the lock and kept her position in the entryway, her back rising and falling hard. She knew I was just down the hall, and getting her brother out of there as quickly as possible was her goal. She didn’t want us breathing the same air. Her forehead rested against the door for a few seconds before she stepped back.

I stepped out of her bedroom and made my way down the hallway and into the living room. She didn’t turn back to me, already knowing I was there before she heard my footsteps. Like she was using her body as a shield between me and the exit, she didn’t move. She was scared. I could see it in the way she held herself.

It was the first time I’d ever seen her that way.

I stopped behind her, my chest pressing into her back. My arms circled her petite waist, feeling the thick jacket that covered her body. My head angled down, and I kissed her on the neck, feeling her frantic pulse right against my lips. Her heart was beating so fast, the terror ripping through her in waves.

She kept her body in front of the door as long as possible, as if giving her family enough time to get to the car and drive away. All I had to do was pick her up and move her, but she would probably fight me to the death.

But I wasn’t interested in them—only her. “You kept your end of the deal. I’ll keep mine.”

The breath left her lungs slowly, her relief visibly washing through her.

I was almost touched by the gesture, moved by how much she cared for her family. She acted as a human shield to keep me away from them, and the only time she showed fear was when she was scared for someone else.

I pulled her jacket off her body then hung it up by the door. She was in a long-sleeved black t-shirt, and it hugged her body in all the right ways. It showed the deep curve in her waistline and the perkiness of her tits. Her skin-tight jeans made her ass look like a heart. I pressed my body against hers, wanting her to feel how hard I was for her.

I got off on her fear.

I got off knowing I was the man who scared her the most. I had the power to take away her entire family, and I loved having her pinned underneath my thumb. Power was the kind of booze I couldn’t get enough of.

Along with Vanessa Barsetti.

I gripped her hips and slowly turned her around, forcing her to face me. Now that I could see her expression, I could see the fear in her eyes. Vulnerable, afraid, and protective all at the same time, she was in survival mode. She wanted her brother out of there as quickly as possible, to keep him away from the monster hiding in her closet. My hand cupped her cheek, and I held her gaze for minutes, seeing the web of emotions deep in her eyes. It was impossible for her to be strong and sassy for me when she didn’t care about her own life. She would lay hers down in an instant to protect her brother. She was loyal, having complete disregard for her own life.

I respected that.

I would do the same for any of the guys in my crew, the closest thing I had to family.

I slowly backed her into the door and moved my hands to her hips. I pressed her into the wood, my body surrounding hers and keeping her pinned so she had nowhere to go. Her family was gone, and she was my prey all over again.

Even though I was twice her size, twice her weight, and ten times her strength, she didn’t seem afraid of the monster that I was—just what I was capable of doing. My thumb brushed along her bottom lip, and I studied her like I hadn’t seen her in weeks rather than three days. I felt the softness of her mouth, the plumpness of her lips. Her makeup was done, her eyes dark and smoky, and her painted lips made them look even more appealing. She curled her hair and had it done nicely. When she perfected her appearance, she was even more stunning. She could be a model if she wanted. She could be the wife of the richest man in the world—the ultimate trophy wife. She could be anything she wanted.

But she was mine.

I owned this woman from head to toe. I claimed her deeply and passionately. No other man could have her because I sprayed my presence everywhere, from her home, to her bed, and in between her legs. “Miss me?”

“No,” she whispered. “And yes.”

My hand brushed her hair behind her shoulder, revealing her slender neck. “I missed you every night and every morning.” I could have gone out and picked up another woman who was depressed over the holiday season, but she would have been a disappointment. I would have pictured Vanessa underneath me, and it would have been difficult because of the condom wrapped around my dick. I’d rather have Vanessa’s bare pussy, so wet and slick.

A slight tint moved into her cheeks, understanding exactly what that meant.

“Is that how you missed me?”

She held my gaze, slight defiance in her eyes. She tried to downplay her attraction to me, but every time she did, she looked stupid because it was painfully obvious it was a lie. Last time we fucked, she admitted I was the best she’d ever had. “You know that’s the only way I missed you.”

I cornered her like an animal, and I liked making her surrender over and over. “I got you something for Christmas.”

She kept up her guard, knowing the gift wouldn’t be jewelry with a red bow on top.

“Go in the bedroom and put it on.” My hand dug into her hair, and I brushed my lips over hers, teasing her.

Her lips parted automatically like I expected.

But I didn’t kiss her. I just reminded her how much power I had. I released her and stepped to the side, allowing her to pass.

She gave me a violent look before she headed to the bedroom.

I watched her go then eyed her bags on the floor. I knew Vanessa would try to kill me eventually and spending a few days with her parents gave her the perfect opportunity. While she pulled on the red lingerie I got for her, I looked through her bags.

It was mostly clothes, makeup, and hair supplies. But I found one of her sweaters rolled up, and once I straightened it out, I found the Glock inside.

I couldn’t help but smile.

She asked her father for a gun, or she stole one of his. It was the perfect opportunity to get a weapon since I had a tracker in her ankle. I could see everywhere she went, so if she tried to buy a gun, I would know about it.

Too bad I was too smart for her.

I emptied the magazine of all the bullets then put it back as I found it. There was no extra ammunition, so she obviously had it for one use only.

To kill me.

I dropped the bullets into my jacket pocket by the door then sat on the couch, rubbing my palms together. Vanessa was the kind of woman you should never underestimate. She was getting more acquainted with my power as time went on. She only had more reasons to be scared of me. But that didn’t deter her. The only way to save her family without getting them involved in the situation was to kill me.

And she intended to make that happen.

I could be angry, as any normal person would be.

But I wasn’t normal.

I was fucking hard.

I loved her fight and her spirit. If she were under torture, she would hold up a lot longer than men twice her size. She had a determination that couldn’t be snuffed out, not even by a man like me. That forced me to respect her.

Which was hard to do.

To me, respect wasn’t given freely. It was earned.

And she fucking earned it.

She never truly submitted to me. She kept up the battle, silently. She wouldn’t stop until she reclaimed her freedom and her safety. She enjoyed fucking me, but she didn’t allow that to cloud her judgment. She kept them separate, viewing me as both a man and a monster.

Once I waited long enough, I walked into the bedroom.

She stood up in the red lace panties and the matching push-up bra. She put on the red pumps I gave her, and they fit her petite feet perfectly. Her dark skin looked great against the bold color, the color that reminded me of blood. With her makeup done that way and her lips painted the same color, she looked like the kind of woman you only saw in a fantasy.

My eyes trailed up and down her body, worshiping the gorgeous woman standing before me. Her nipples pressed into her bra, and she shifted her weight because she was provoked by my stare. She wanted me as much as I wanted her, and when she felt my intense expression, it made her feel more desirable.

Exactly how I wanted her to feel.

I stood in front of her, just inches away, and breathed onto her face. I didn’t touch her, drawing out the anticipation for as long as possible. I purposely didn’t kiss her, saving the best for last. When her lips were on mine, we created a firestorm. The chemistry was hotter than an open flame. When my cock was inside her, it was like throwing gasoline on top.

And then we exploded.

My fingers wrapped around her neck, and I felt her pulse against my fingertips. It was much slower now that her family was gone and safe, but it still beat hard against her skin. I could feel it reverberate against my fingertips.

I brushed my lips against hers again, dragging them gently across her flesh. I didn’t kiss her, but I let our mouths touch. I let the fire stretch between us, listened to the bonfire of chemistry begin to crackle.

Her hand went to my forearm, and she gripped it as I held on to her neck. Her lips were parted slightly, and she breathed onto my lips, her excitement infectious.

I was torturing myself, and I was torturing her.

I wanted to make her want me, to make her beg me. She was just scared a minute ago, but now her desire had bubbled to its full level. She turned into a woman who wanted a man. Our physical relationship seemed to be different from our sinister one. As long as her family was far away from me, she could feel her pussy ache for my cock. She could allow herself to yearn for my kiss.

“On your back.” I released her neck, my cock stirring in my jeans because it was anxious to feel that slickness. The longer I made her wait, the wetter she would be. I hadn’t even kissed her yet, but I knew her pussy was pooling with moisture. I could excite my woman without even touching her.

She followed my command and moved to the bed. She got on her hands and knees first and crawled up the bed until her head was near the pillows. She turned over and lay down, her knees together and the tips of her heels pointing into the mattress.

I opened her nightstand and pulled out the black leather belts I hid inside.

She immediately eyed them, her face growing suspicious. “What are you doing with those?”

My knees sank into the mattress, and I grabbed both of her hands, choosing not to answer her.

She jerked her hands away. “What are you doing? You aren’t tying me up.”

“I’m doing whatever the hell I want, baby.” I grabbed both of her wrists with a single hand and pinned them over her head. “Because you’re mine. I own you. You can fight me the whole way, but we both know how this is going to end.”

“I said no.” She tried to move from underneath my size, but I was far too heavy for her.

“You think no means anything to me?” I stared at her with ferocity before I took both belts and wrapped them around her arms like snakes. I crossed them above her wrists then attached them to the headboard.

“Stop.” She tried to buck me off with her hips. She threw her entire weight into it, doing everything she could to move me.

I locked the belts in place, so now there was nothing she could do even if she got me off her.

“Bones, I mean it.” She tried to command me with her expression, but it wouldn’t work. It didn’t matter how beautiful or how angry she was. Nothing would change what was about to happen. “Untie me now.”

I held my body on top of hers, my cock nearly breaking through my zipper because I was so damn hard. She was scared, and she was pissed—a perfect combination. “No.”

“Yes.” She tried to jerk her body one more time, but it only shook the mattress and didn’t affect me at all. “Why do you need to tie me up? I’m willing. I’m here. I put on the lingerie, and I’ll fuck you like I always do. Now take them off.” A thin film of moisture coated her eyes. Not from sadness but frustration.

“What are you afraid of, baby?”

“I just don’t like this. I don’t like—”

“Feeling powerless.”

When she turned quiet, she confirmed my assumption.

I pressed my forehead to hers. “You will always be powerless with me. So you should just get used to it.”

“Please let me go,” she whispered. “I’ll do anything you want…”

I kissed the shell of her ear then dropped kisses along her jawline toward her mouth. “You need to trust me.”

“I’ll never trust you,” she hissed. “You’re the last man in the world I trust.”

I grabbed her neck and forced her to look at me head-on. Then I leaned in and kissed her, finally.

She resisted me in the beginning, still trying to buck me off.

I kissed her harder, pulling her deep into me with my kiss. I sucked her bottom lip then gave her some of my tongue, letting it touch hers in an erotic dance. Our mouths broke apart, came together, and then moved again.

Her hostility began to simmer, but it didn’t disappear altogether.

I kissed her harder, bringing her into the moment with me. I elicited her desires, made her want me again. I swallowed her fear with desire, made her focus on her arousal and the moisture between her legs.

My hands glided down her body until I found her panties. I pulled them down her long legs as I kissed her, feeling them slide down toward her knees. I broke our kiss so I could move them all the way down. I noticed how perfectly maintained she was down below, which was obviously done for me. If she really didn’t care, she wouldn’t have bothered. But she kept her pussy in perfect shape for my dick and my mouth. I pulled her panties off and spotted the pool of moisture that had settled into her thong.

And she only had them on for five minutes.

I looked at her, my face triumphant.

She closed her knees because that was the only power she had.

I set the panties aside then undressed. I pulled my shirt over my head and dropped my jeans. My boxers came last, revealing my dark dick and the red tint from all the blood that left my head. I grabbed her panties and wrapped them around my length, smearing her pussy juice all over me.

I moaned as I slathered myself in it, feeling the slickness and the stickiness.

Vanessa watched me, her knees slowly falling apart again.

If she oozed this much into her panties, then her slit must be overflowing.

For me.

The man who wanted to kill her.

Once my cock was covered in her arousal, I tossed her panties aside and moved on top of her.

She took a deep breath when she felt my weight, and she tugged on the belts, like she might get lucky and they would come free. “Please let me go…” She never begged before, not even for her life when a knife was pressed to her throat. But having her freedom stripped away bothered her on a much deeper level. She was too independent and fiery to be chained down. She was a wild mare, an animal that needed to be free and unsaddled.

But everything would change with me.

I pinned my arms behind her knees and opened her wide apart, the perfect position for her small cunt to take my big dick. I loved taking her deep, getting all of my cock inside her, so she could take every drop when I was finished.

I pressed my crown through her entrance, feeling the squeeze of my girth as I first slid inside. I inched farther in, gently pushing more and more.

She breathed as she felt me, like she forgot just how big I was in the last three days.

I pushed until I was balls-deep, and I held myself on top of her, feeling her slickness surround me completely. I pinned her legs back farther, my face just inches from hers. I loved the desire in her eyes as well as the fear.

She tugged on the belts automatically, like she was trying to touch me rather than get away.

I moaned in her face, feeling like a king who had just conquered a land and took the queen. She forgot how big I was, and I forgot how amazing her pussy was.

How the fuck could I forget?

I started to thrust inside her, to take her perfect pussy with my big dick. I slid through her slickness over and over, all the muscles in my body tightening because every nerve inside me was firing off. Every time I took Vanessa, I took a little more of her. Now I was having all of her, seeing her tied up to the bed and shifting back and forth with my thrusts. Her red pumps were still on, right next to my head.

So fucking good.

She breathed with me, her nipples hard and rising toward the ceiling. She enjoyed it, but not the way she usually did. She normally came within the first few minutes, but now it seemed like she might not at all.

I knew it was because of the belts.

I pressed my forehead to hers and breathed with her, enjoying myself so much that I didn’t care about her discomfort. This woman was my prisoner, my slave. I could do whatever I wanted because I owned her.

But I wanted to make her come. I loved watching her give in to her carnal needs, loved watching her give up the fight because my cock felt so good. So I gave her what she needed. I kissed her softly, my lips moving with hers in the way she liked. She liked my hard kisses, but the one she loved most were the soft ones, the kind that were more sensual than aggressive. I kept moving inside her, kissing her like a man kissed the woman he loved.

Fuck, it felt so good.

Her pussy felt even better now. When my mouth was on hers, I got a little stiffer. Our tongues moved together, and my chest tightened in ecstasy. I breathed into her mouth, and she reciprocated. She stopped pulling on the belts and concentrated on me.

It’d been days since I had this pussy, but it felt like months. I wanted to come, to dump my seed inside her and feel it spill out onto the bed. But I restrained myself like every man should, making sure I finished last.

Real men finished last.

Thankfully, her lips started to quiver, and she moved her hips with me, taking my cock faster because she wanted to be pushed into a blinding orgasm. She missed me when we were apart. There was no doubt about that. I expected sex in the morning and at night, and her body did the same—even if her parents were in the same house.

She started to breathe harder, panting as the explosion ruptured between her legs. She came with a whimper, the orgasm so good it sounded like she was crying. She was particularly tight around my dick, flooding me with pussy juice and cream.

“Fuck, baby.” I couldn’t wait any longer. I wanted to make her come again before I released, but when her cunt felt this good, that wasn’t possible. I had the rest of the night to catch up on sex, so I released with a final thrust, stuffing her with as much come as possible. I filled her to the brim, moaning uncontrollably as I hit my trigger.

So damn good.

She finished her orgasm when I finished mine because hers seemed to last a lot longer. Feeling my cock twitch before it released must have fired her up a little more. She looked up into my face with a flushed expression, clearly satisfied by how I just made her feel.

I didn’t pull my cock out even though it began to soften. I kept it in there, feeling my come slide past as my size became smaller. I was staying in that same position all night, filling her tight pussy over and over.

Once we were caught up, I’d let her go.

I kissed her again, our tongues moving together as our breath filled each other’s mouth. It was the intermission between the pleasure and the beginning of the next orgasm. Less than a few minutes later, I was hard again.

She broke our kiss. “Let me go…”

I thought I finally got her mind off that. “You’re a prisoner. Prisoners wear chains.”

“A powerful man doesn’t need chains,” she whispered. “His authority is enough.”

I’d said something similar to her when we first met. Now she was throwing it back at me, trying to manipulate me. “Why do you want me to let you go?” I hadn’t hurt her. I’d just overridden her, used her.

She held my gaze in silence, like she didn’t want to answer me. She didn’t want to admit she hated not having control, even though we both already knew that. Unless there was something else she wasn’t sharing with me.

“Why?” I repeated.

“Because…I want to touch you.” She spoke with shame written all over her face, and that was how I knew it was sincere. She hated herself for saying it out loud, but she wanted it bad enough to admit the truth.

“Where do you want to touch me?”

Disappointment filled her eyes at the question. “The back of your neck…your shoulders…your chest.”

My dick was at full attention, and I started to thrust into her again. “I’m going to tie you up a lot, baby. You should get used to it.”

“Why restrict me when I want to feel you? Why stop a woman from fucking you?”

I shoved myself completely inside her and felt my moan vibrate in my neck. “Because I’m the one who does the fucking, baby.” I started to thrust into her, and this time, I fucked her a lot harder than last time. I sank her into the mattress and fucked her at full speed, giving it to her so deep and so hard.

And she took it.

When I released the belts from her wrists, she immediately moved away and massaged the irritated parts of her arms. They were chafed in some areas because she had them on for a few hours. She dropped the red bra she was wearing and then grabbed a t-shirt from her drawer. She didn’t turn to look at me.

I knew she was pissed at me.

“You aren’t sleeping here tonight.” She ran her fingers through her hair then looked back at me. “I mean it, Bones.”

I lay against her headboard, naked and comfortable. It was almost midnight, and I had no intention of going anywhere. She couldn’t make me if she tried. If she went for her gun, she would learn that it was empty.

And then she’d be in deep shit.

I stared at her in silence, telling her I wasn’t going anywhere.

“Go,” she commanded. “Put your clothes on and leave.”

“I’m not deaf,” I said quietly. “You can stop repeating yourself.”

“Then why aren’t you moving?”

“Because I don’t give a shit what you want. I’m staying here as long as I wish. Get over it.”

“Get over it?” she hissed. She put both hands on her hips, her t-shirt covering her panties because it reached down to her thighs. “No, I won’t get over it. I put up with a lot from you, but I don’t feel like putting up with you right now.” She stormed out of the bedroom and shut the door behind her.

I stayed still, wondering if she would grab the gun and come back. But all I heard was the sound of her making up the couch, getting it ready with a pillow and a blanket so she could sleep somewhere else.

I could just ignore her protest and keep the entire bed for myself.

But I didn’t like her defiance.

And a part of me actually felt bad for making her so angry.

I pulled on my boxers then walked into the living room. She was lying in the dark, pulled into a small ball on the couch. She had two blankets on her to stay warm, but that was still nothing compared to my body heat.

She knew I was there, but she kept her eyes closed.

I moved to the floor and leaned back against the couch, my face close to hers. I could hear every single breath she took. I noticed the way her breathing increased, obviously aware of my proximity. “You’ll freeze out here.”

“I’d rather freeze out here than lie with you.”

I stared at her window, the curtains drawn shut. Only the light from the kitchen illuminated the front of her apartment. “You came, so I don’t understand why you’re so angry. I’ve done worse things than tie you up. Doesn’t make sense for you to get so worked up over that.”

“You crossed a line, and you know it. I said no.”

“No means nothing to me.” I sat on the floor of her apartment, the cold temperature not bothering me in the least. I thrived in the cold. The summer was the time of year I despised most.

“That’s a lie.”

“You don’t know me very well.”

“I know you better than you think, Bones. This situation has been difficult for me, and I’ve cooperated. But I don’t want to be tied up again. I hate the way it feels. I hate being restrained. It makes me feel lost.”

“Then why did you come?” I countered.

“Because you made me…”

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Tell me you won’t do it again.”

“I can’t.”

“Bones,” she said forcefully. “I’ve made my wishes clear, and you will honor them. This is something I’ll fight you over forever.”

“Did it ever occur to you that I like it when you fight?” I asked coldly. “That I like it when you suffer? I want you to be scared. It gets me hard, baby. That’s the kind of guy I am.”

“You’re more than that.”

I scoffed because her statement was stupid.

“I don’t disagree with your statement. I just think you have more potential than that. I don’t believe you’re as evil as you say you are.”

I shook my head. “Then you’re dumber than I thought…which is a huge disappointment.”

“Bones.”

I wouldn’t look at her.

“Bones,” she repeated, this time with more emphasis.

I sighed before I turned my head to look at her.

She propped herself on her elbow so we could be eye to eye. “I don’t like it, and I don’t want you to do it anymore. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.” She held my gaze with authority, holding on to whatever power she had left. She stared at me without shaking, making a request that she had no right to make.

Why did I even listen to her? Why did I walk out of the bedroom and join her in the living room? Why was my ass sitting on the floor when she should be the one at my feet? There was something about this woman that forced me to a have a little humanity…something I didn’t think I was capable of. “Pick your battles wisely, baby. You’ve won this fight, but I won’t be accommodating for the next one.”

Relief shone in her eyes, and she released the breath she was holding. “I shouldn’t have to say this but…thank you.”

I turned my head forward again. “Why is this so important to you? What am I missing?”

“It just…nothing.”

I turned my gaze back to her, holding on to the last word she spoke. “It’s not nothing. Tell me.”

“If a woman is bound…it feels like rape. But if she’s not…then it’s consensual. I feel like I don’t have any rights or any decision in the matter. Something is being done to me. And it makes me think of what my mother must have gone through…because she never would have stopped fighting…” Moisture coated her eyes instantly, the tears appearing from nowhere. “She must have been tied up and…” She closed her eyes, but the tears escaped from underneath her eyelids and streaked down her face.

I felt like shit.

It was the first time I really felt that way.

It was the first time I felt like I did something wrong.

It was the first time I cared.

That I actually felt something close to guilt and empathy. I couldn’t bring myself to apologize, but now I wanted to give her what she wanted. I didn’t want her to feel that way, to ever feel like I was doing what my father did to her mother.

I turned my body into the couch and cupped her face. My thumbs brushed away her tears before my fingers glided into her hair, comforting her the only way I knew how. My face moved into hers, and I brushed away the remaining moisture with my lips. “Baby…” I scooted my arms underneath her and carried her into the bedroom where she belonged. Her arms immediately wrapped around my neck, and she pressed her face into my shoulder.

I put her in bed and got her under the covers before I lay beside her. This time, she didn’t push me away. She moved into my chest and snuggled with me like she did every other night. She pushed me away just minutes ago, but now she held on to me like she needed me.

My fingers moved through her hair, gently caressing her.

“Why didn’t you do it?” she whispered.

I knew what she was asking even though it was ambiguous. When she first became my prisoner, she expected me to rape her. I probably would have if my father had never done it to her mother. It seemed wrong to me, so that was a line I never crossed. I’d kill people and torture them, but forcing a woman against her will seemed wrong, even if it turned me on. My mother was a whore, and men used her for her body. Why would I want to be another asshole like that? I already was an asshole, but that was a different level. “I knew my father did that to your mother…so it felt wrong to do that to you. I have nothing because of what your parents did to my family, but I won’t pretend that my father’s actions were okay. I wanted to make up for his mistake by not doing it with you…so we’re even.”

She held her breath after I finished speaking, like she was replaying my words in her mind again. Her fingertips lightly dragged down my chest and stomach, and when she breathed again, she seemed to be back to normal. “Thank you…”

“I didn’t do it for you. I just want to right the wrong…that way I have every right to destroy your family.” I said the words as I held her, held this Barsetti in my arms. My fingers stroked her hair, and I lay in bed with her, our naked bodies intertwined together.

“So you won’t tie me up again?” She didn’t seem surprised that my vendetta was still as alive as ever. But that was probably because she intended to kill me with that gun she brought home.

If she fired that gun, I wasn’t sure what I would do in retaliation. I may have to beat her senseless to punish her. Or I may have to kill her. There would need to be some kind of punishment for her ill-advised decision.

I just wasn’t sure what it was yet.

“No.”

She gripped me harder and moved farther onto my chest. Now she was all over me, treating me like a lover rather than a master. “Promise?”

“I told you men like me don’t make promises.”

“But you make promises to me…”

I tilted her chin up to look at me, and I kissed her softly on the mouth. “Yes…I promise.”