Slowly, Arthur linked his fingers with mine. My skin sparked where he touched me and my knees trembled as he unlocked my iron-fast grip and spun around to face me.

His emerald eyes were pools of despair and desire.

With hitching hesitation, his body swayed into mine and his mouth hovered a whisper away from taking. “Can this be true? Not only can you absolve my sins, but also give me even more justice when I end his fucking tyranny?”

I nodded, standing on tiptoes to finish what he’d started.

I kissed him.

I expected a sweet surrender, a gentle sweep into bliss. Instead, something that’d been brewing in Arthur since that night unleashed.

He shed the pain of his concussion.

He shed the agony of being incarcerated unfairly.

And he shed the unhappiness of being betrayed.

His lips claimed mine; his loud groan entered my lungs. His tongue wrenched past my lips and the kiss I’d envisioned wisped into smoke as he drove us from lust into mania.

His hands clutched my backside, lifting me up and swinging me around to land on the countertop. My panties weren’t enough material to slip and slide and my naked thighs glued me to the cool surface, wedging me at the perfect height for Arthur’s questing hands.

Imprisoning my knees, he opened me wide and settled his large bulk between them. His lips nipped and caressed their way down my neck. The small tank top I wore didn’t stand a chance against his teeth and a vicious tug. The white cotton shredded like a flag of surrender, baring my breasts and throbbing nipples.

“I’ll never be worthy of you.” His mouth suckled my left breast, his hot, wet tongue swirling until I gasped and writhed.

“I’ll never understand how I stole your love.” His lips found my other nipple, granting it the same treatment. His voice never rose past a caress, lulling me into him with every syllable.

My back bowed and I grabbed his head, holding him against me. He devoured every millimeter of skin, rising over me to trail wet kisses from my cleavage, to clavicle, to mouth.

I gasped as his lips claimed mine again, bending my neck with a fistful of red hair until I moaned and handed myself completely into his control. He was merciless while I was meek. He was dominant while I yielded.

He took everything and I let him.

Demanding.

Feral.

Consuming.

Arthur was everywhere at once.

In my mind.

My heart.

My soul.

His taste.

His scent.

His heat.

He planted a hand on my sternum, forcing me backward until my spine met marble. My rib cage strained against flushed and sweat-misted skin. My breathing was wild and loud.

“Fuck, Cleo. You’re so goddamn beautiful.” His fingertips trailed my exposed skin. My tattoos glowed beneath the Edison bulbs and my scars shone with disfigurement. I was both inked and ugly but in Arthur’s eyes, I was exquisite.

“I’ll never tire of looking at you.” Something hungry and dangerous flashed over his face; his fingers dug into my multihued skin. “You’re my miracle.”

I tried to rise—to grab at his T-shirt and jerk off his boxer briefs. But he shoved me back roughly, pinning me in place. I didn’t care that he was brusque. I didn’t care that my back twinged with pain.

I was in pleasure heaven.

I need him.

He commanded, “Don’t move. I need to look at you. I need—”

I moaned as his hand fell down his front, cupping his hard length and squeezing. “Goddammit, I want you.”

“Take me, then,” I whimpered.

Arthur yanked my hips forward. We groaned in perfect unison as his hardness molded with my damp panties. I couldn’t stay still as he grinded unashamedly. I was stuck between cold marble and the hard heat of him.

My breath caught as his hands moved from my thighs to scrape against my naked rib cage, slinking upward. His thumb grazed the underside of my breasts.

I moaned again. “Please, Art. Stop teasing me. Take me.”

“God, I love it when you beg.” He thrust against my panties. “Tell me what you want.” His voice was deep and gruff, threaded with lust and need.

Heat was everywhere. My head fell back as he cupped my breast, tweaking my nipple with dexterous fingers.

“I want you to fill me. I want you to bite me. I want you to do anything you want to me.”

My stomach melted; my core grew wet. I’d never wanted someone this much before. Never found utopia in a simple touch echoing with unspoken adoration and power.

I tugged his T-shirt. I needed skin on skin.

Arthur got the message. Grabbing the material, he ripped it over his head. His chest was broad and tanned. His muscles created grooves and shadows, leading toward a perfect trail of hair disappearing into his boxer briefs.

My mouth watered.

I reached out and traced the shape of his erection, barely contained by the black material.

He shuddered; green fire blazed in his eyes. “God, you drive me insane.”

I had no reply. I was past speaking.

Arthur fumbled with my panties. His fingers brushed against my damp core.

I shot off the counter at the barest pressure. The spindles of an orgasm twisted and teased.

Arthur wrenched my panties down, tugging angrily as they caught around my ankles. In his rush, he ripped the delicate lace. “Oops.” His face transformed with a grin even as lines feathered around his eyes from his never-ending headache.

I beamed, falling deeper into love with this complicated man. “You’re rich. You can buy me another pair.”