I walk to the only place I can think of. It takes an hour and a half in the freezing cold, especially since I’m not wearing practical shoes. But I finally make it to Declan’s building, and stop outside, shivering on the sidewalk as I talk myself into going in.

It seems like a crazy step to take, but I don’t know how else to reach him. How else to explain that I didn’t report him to the site, that I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.

I step into the lobby and plaster on my best smile–difficult through the wine haze that’s settled over my shoulders as I walked (turned out chugging that glass on an empty stomach wasn’t a great idea), and the tracks of tears on my cheeks. “Hi,” I tell the doorman, proud of myself for only staggering a little bit on the threshold. “I’m here to see Declan.” Declan. Declan who? Shit, I don’t even know his last name.

“I’m sorry, miss,” the doorman replies without even batting an eye. “You’ll have to come back another time.”

“Can you at least call up to him? Please, it’s important.”

“I’m sorry,” he repeats. “If you’d like to leave a message—”

“I don’t want to leave a message; I just want to see him,” I blurt out, then flush as my voice echoes in the enormous entryway. Another couple breeze through the doors, casting sideways frowns at me as they nod to the doorman and waltz over to the elevator.

“Please,” I add, my voice a whisper now.

“Miss, I told you, you can leave a message.”

“But why can’t you just call up to him now instead of later?”

“Because, he’s–” the doorman stops midsentence to glance over my shoulder, and

his stoic expression melts into relief. “Ah, sir. I was just telling the young lady here that she could leave you a message if she wanted.”

I whirl around, and my breath catches in a hiccup as I find myself face-to-face with Declan.

“Joyce?” he asks, eyes widening.

The tears start to sting at my eyes again, and before I can open my mouth, before I can even start to explain, he catches me in a hug. I wrap my arms around his neck, burying my face in his shoulder. “I thought I lost you,” I mumble into his coat, my eyes swimming in tears. I’m beyond embarrassment at this point; all I can feel is dizzying relief, as Declan starts to walk us both backward, though his foyer to the elevator.

When the doors close behind us, and we’re alone, he kisses my cheek, then reaches up to brush away the tears still falling. “What happened?” he asks, eyes piercing mine. “Are you all right?”

I blurt out everything. The whole story, from the moment I found his account missing, to Violet coming over to comfort me, but then confessing that she’s the one who had him removed. “And I didn’t have your number or any other way to contact you, and I was… I thought…” I catch my breath as the elevator reaches his floor, and we step out into his apartment, his arms still wrapped tightly around my shoulders. “I thought you’d abandoned me,” I whisper, face flushed with heat. “After you got what you wanted…”

Declan stops dead in the middle of the living room. Grasps my chin in his hand and turns my face to his, his gaze serious. “Joyce.” He shakes his head. “You clearly forgot that I already made you mine.”

His lips find mine, and we crash into the kiss. He parts his lips, his tongue searching my mouth, claiming it, and I sink into him, arms around his shoulders, letting him take me, loving the sensation of belonging. I feel so safe in his arms, protected from anything else the world could throw at us.

When we finally part, breathless, he laughs softly and rests his forehead against mine, eyes boring into mine. “I’ve been at work all day; I didn’t even realize that stupid website kicked me off.”

“Oh, god.” I groan, closing my eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your account.”

He laughs, and when I open my eyes again, he’s rolling his. “I don’t care that I’m banned.” He leans in to kiss my neck, then trails his lips along my jaw. “I found what I need. Something I didn’t even know I was looking for…”

Then his lips are on mine again, and I can’t think straight when he kisses me like this. We crash into the wall beside his door, and he pins me against it. Lifts my arms over my head slowly, holding them in one hand as his other explores my body, trailing down my waist to tug at the hemline of the skirt I’m wearing. “As for you, my naughty girl… Have you gotten what you were looking for out of this deal?”

I tilt my head, catching his grin with one of my own. “Mm, almost.”

His eyebrows lift. “Almost?”

“I’d say yes, but frankly, I don’t want to stop having fun yet…” I reply, dropping my eyes to take in his body. The way he leans over me, possessive, commanding, and yet his eyes don’t stray from my body, hungry and full of desire that I make him feel.

“That’s good.” He leans in, almost kisses me, but stops short, teasing, making me quiver with desire. I want to feel his body pressed against mine, his hips arching into mine. But he holds me in place against the wall, not quite touching me yet. “Because there are still so many pleasures I want to make you feel, Joyce.” His eyes flash to mine. “So many ways I still want to fuck you. Claim you. Make you mine.”

I squirm a little, my belly tightening at the thought. “Then take me,” I reply, lifting my chin, challenging.

His fingers hook under the hem of my skirt. In one swift motion, he pulls it down my legs, taking my panties with it. I gasp as the cool air of the room hits my pussy, and when he rocks forward to press his hips against mine, my ass hits the even colder wall behind us. I shiver, and he grins, one hand sliding between my legs as his lips feather across my ear, not quite a kiss, just a breath.

“I love feeling you surrender to me,” he murmurs, his hand cupping my mound, fingers grazing my pussy lips, not touching me in earnest, not yet. “Spread your legs,” he orders, and I obey, spreading them as wide as I can while still pinned against the wall, my wrists grasped tight in Declan’s strong hand.

He strokes me slowly, his fingers exploring my slit slowly, tracing from my ass all the way to my clit and back again. I’m wet already, and he smirks as he swirls his fingers in my juices. “You are so hungry for me, aren’t you, dirty girl?”

“I want you,” I whisper, my voice stuttering as he slides one finger into my pussy. I clench around him, and he grins, sliding down my body to run his tongue along the underside of my breast, hot and damp through my shirt.

“I always want you, Joyce,” he murmurs. Then he bites down on my nipple, the bite softened by the fabric of my shirt and my bra. I gasp, my head falling back against the wall as I harden between his lips. I’m lost in that sensation when Declan pulls away again, releasing my hands. I reach for him, for his jeans, wanting to free his cock, but he steps back, smirking. His finger slides out of me, and I groan faintly in protest.

“Turn around,” he says, his voice hard with the command.

My belly tightens more at the sound, but I obey, turning to face the wall, shivering a little.

“Spread your arms.”

I do, flattening them against the wall. I suck in a sharp breath as I feel Declan’s hands trace along my arms, from wrists to elbows to shoulders. Then his hot hands trail down my sides, up and under my shirt, then along the edges of my bra, teasing me, toying with me. Exploring every inch.

“I fucking love your body,” he says, low and sultry, as his hands glide lower. Over my ribs, stomach, then tracing the line of my hips, both hands on either side of me, his fingertips just barely grazing the edges of my mound. “I want to memorize every inch of you.”

My breath catches as he slides onto his knees behind me. He kisses my ass, his hands sliding back to caress my ass cheeks, then gripping tightly. He spreads my ass, and bends under to tongue me from behind, his tongue sliding along my slit until he finds my clit, and swirling around that, making me jump with the sensation.

I start to sag against the wall, relaxing into the feeling. But just when I’m getting used to it, I feel his finger slide into my pussy again. I gasp and tense around him, adjusting to the sensation. Before I can, he pulls his finger out again, still wet from my juices, and then presses his finger against my ass. Now my whole body tightens, but Declan leans back to nip my hipbone, getting my attention. I turn to look over my shoulder at him kneeling behind me, and he grins.

“I told you. All forms of pleasure.”

I nod, trying to relax, trying to trust him. It’s hard when I’m so nervous. His finger presses harder, harder, and then with a sharp spike of pain, it pushes into my ass. Declan stands as he does this, and I arch my hips back against him, groaning. He slides his finger all the way inside of me. Holds it there, and I hear him unzipping his pants. Pushing them down.

“God, you’re so tight,” he murmurs, curling his finger a little, and I gasp again, tensing. But it’s starting to feel better, especially when he starts to pull his finger out and slowly press it in again. Just as I’ve started to adjust, though, I feel the head of his cock press against my pussy, and I tense once more.

He doesn’t wait for me to relax, just thrusts into me an inch at a time, until his cock is fully inside me, and his finger is still in my ass, his hand pinned between his own legs, digging into me. I feel impossibly full, stretched to my limits, and yet it’s an amazing sensation, having him inside me in every way possible.

With his free hand, he tilts my face toward his and kisses me, tongue sliding into my mouth. He starts to rock slowly, thrusting in little motions at first, then speeding up. I keep my back arched, my hips angled toward his.

When he finds his speed, he pulls his finger out of my ass and grabs my hips instead, his grip tightening as he starts to fuck me harder, faster. We’re both gasping, my body still pressed flat against the wall as he fucks me against it, lifting me up onto my toes with every deep, hard thrust.

“Fuck, I’m going to come soon,” he growls against the back of my neck. He lifts one hand to grab my hair in a fist. Pulls my face toward his, and our mouths crash together as he reaches around to finger my clit. That, combined with the feeling of his cock inside my pussy, sends me over the edge. I cry out into his mouth, my lips still trapped by his, and he kisses me hard as I climax, my body shaking against his.

He finishes a few strokes later, growling as he buries his cock inside me one last time, his grip hard as he climaxes. He rocks against me a few more times, still lost in his orgasm, and then he pulls out of me, both of us panting.

I try to take a step, but stumble, my body deliciously sore from the fucking, my pussy still throbbing and my ass feeling tight. Declan catches me, kisses my cheek, my temple, my forehead.

“You are so fucking amazing,” he murmurs, and I lift my face to his, kissing him in return.

“That was…” I shake my head, laughing faintly. “Fuck, Declan.”

“That was the idea,” he points out, smirking.

“Mission accomplished,” I tell him, lifting an eyebrow. Then we’re kissing again, and I forget everything but his lips.

“Do you really not mind losing your account?” I ask, biting my lip as we sit cross-legged in his kitchen, enjoying a repeat of the dinner he’d planned to cook for us last night. Was it only last night? It feels like another lifetime at this point. In the best possible way.

“Is this your way of asking if I mean to stay by your side?” he asks, smirking.

My face flushes again, and I stare into my bowl of gnocchi, unable to meet his gaze. “I just can’t get the idea of you chasing virgins out of my head.”

Declan sets his bowl aside, then slides across the floor to catch my shoulders in his hands. He waits until I raise my head to meet his eyes. When I do, he’s smiling. “Joyce. I don’t need that site. I’m not curious anymore. I have you. The idea of losing you to someone else, when I was in that bidding war…” He shakes his head. “There’s a reason I had that alert set on my phone. Why I was willing to pay any amount, no questions asked. I knew, from the moment I first met you that I needed to have you. You’re perfect, and my life is better with you in it.”

“I love you, Declan,” I whisper, afraid of what that means, frightened by how fast it happened. But I do. I’ve never felt love before, until now. For a heartbeat, I’m afraid I said too much. But then Declan pulls me forward, catches me in a slow kiss.

“I love you, Joyce,” he murmurs when we part. He catches my eye with a grin. “You’re my perfect piece of art.”

I laugh, shake my head. “Am I still perfect, if I’ve been sullied?” I lift an eyebrow, smirking.

“It doesn’t count if I’m the one who did the sullying,” he counters. “Speaking of which…” He takes my bowl from my lap. Sets it aside and pulls me on top of him, lying back on the floor so I’m straddling him. And then I forget all about my worries and lose myself in his touch again.

Declan drives me home the next morning, though not before programming his number into my phone. “You’re never going to lose me again,” he promises, before kissing me once more, long and slow, until I have to climb out of his car before I jump him again.

I stride up my walk, flying high, but I pause when I see lights on inside. I unlock the door, and open it to find Violet dozing against the couch, her mouth open. In front of her, on the table by the TV, is the sculpture. It’s been carefully, meticulously repaired—I almost can’t see the cracks in it, unless I squint in the low light.

She glued the whole thing back together, somehow. I sigh and nudge her shoulder to wake her up. Violet rubs her eyes, startling, and I catch sight of bandages on a few of her fingers. Ah, crap. Working with glass, no less.

“Vi,” I murmur. “C’mon, you can sleep in my spare room.”

“I’m sorry,” she mumbles, her voice still tinged with sleep. “I’m sorry I was such an ass; I ruined everything. I tried to… Tried to fix…” She gestures at the statue, and I pull her into a tight hug.

“You fixed it perfectly, Vi. Don’t worry about it. Come get some rest.”

“I’m sorry about the website,” she says, waking up as we walk toward the spare room. “I really didn’t mean to upset you. I thought I was helping, but I realize now it was… I overstepped. I shouldn’t have reported him.”

“Don’t worry about it now, Vi. I’m deleting my profile anyway,” I reassure her, rubbing her back as we reach the door.

“What?” Her eyes widen. “Don’t do that–not because of me. I was being judgmental; you should do what’s best for you, Joyce.”

I push open the door, and shake my head, laughing a little. “I don’t need it anymore. Besides, I’m not a virgin anymore.” My eyes sparkle, and I grin at her. “And anyway, I’ve found something better than a sugar daddy or a guy to buy my virginity. I’ve found a man I love.”

Violet hesitates in the doorway. For a moment, I expect her to launch into another speech, or call Declan creepy again. Instead, she breaks into a broad grin. “I better get to meet this man, someday.”

“Soon,” I promise her. “He’s going to be sticking around for a while.”