Plates are passed around, and Madison is still distant, focused on her plate and quietly listening to the rest of us. Eavan pullsher into a conversation about going shopping later in the week, and she slowly becomes the sassy girl that I’m used to—chiming in with small comments, bratty quips, and a soft laugh here and there.
By the time we finish the third bottle and are all the kind of full that turns conversation lazy, I find Nik staring at me, head tilted and eyes narrowed like he’s trying to solve a riddle.
“Why the fuck are you staring at me like that?” I bark.
He leans back, smirking. “You’re here with this beautiful woman, but I can’t help but wonder if she’s really your type.”
I glance at Madison and blurt, “What are you talking about?”
Nik lifts his glass, grinning now. “Twice in the past few months, I’ve walked in on you on the floor. Lying on top of men with their cocks out.” Madison chokes on her wine.Jesus fucking Christ.“I just can’t help but wonder if there’s something you aren’t telling all of us.”
Everyone laughs as I snap, “I wasbeating the shitout of both of them.”
“If memory serves me correct”—Enzo shrugs, ever the instigator—“you sucker-punched me, andyouwere the one who tapped out.”
“You were going to fucking strangle me.”
“He’s into breath play. That was foreplay,” Eavan deadpans, already pouring more wine. Madison laughs full and unrestrained, a rich, hearty sound that bubbles up from her chest. Completely authentic, like it couldn’t be faked even if she wanted to.
With the night getting late, Enzo and Eavan disappear to their apartment beneath the penthouse. Nik vanishes shortly after,and I lead Madison out onto the terrace. We curl up on the chaise, her body tucked into mine. She shifts against me, her voice soft. “I should be good to return to work by Friday.”
I glance at her.Friday?The thought sits bitter on my tongue. “We can discuss it.”
She laughs—sharp and not amused this time—as she pushes out of my hold. Clearly annoyed, she snips, “A couple of nights together doesn’t mean I’m quitting my job for you.”
My jaw clenches. “You need time to heal. And honestly? You’re mine. Every inch of you is mine. I don’t want other men seeing you like that. And I sure as fuck don’t want them touching you.”
Her eyes spark under the terrace lights, piqued but defiant. “Discussing it doesn’t mean you get to dictate.”
I lift her hand slowly, brushing a kiss across her palm, and her breath catches. “Wearediscussing it. I didn’t say ‘no,’” I murmur. “But I can be pretty persuasive.” She rolls her eyes—fighting the smile tugging at her lips—as I slide over top of her, the weight of my body pinning her gently, one hand trailing up her thigh.
“Good,” she whispers. “Because I’m not making this easy.”
My hand slips beneath the soft hem of her dress, fingers brushing over her inner thigh, slow and deliberate. She bites her bottom lip when I graze the edge of her panties.
“Would you rather I make my argument with my fingers or my tongue? Both are quite compelling.”
Chewing at her lips, she mutters, “Fingers.”
Groaning low, I slip her panties to the side. I lift my hand, bringing my fingers to my mouth. I suckthem in and coat them thoroughly with my saliva before easing two of them inside her. She arches off the chaise with a sharp gasp, her nails digging into my shoulder.
I keep my strokes steady, deep and deliberate, teasingly curling against her G-spot. Kissing along her jaw to her neck, I gravelly whisper against her skin, “You think I want to share this? You think I can stand the thought of men ogling what’s mine?” I add my thumb to her clit and apply more pressure against her walls, eliciting a beautiful fucking whimper from her as it pushes her over the edge. “Or of you dancing half-naked for strangers when you could be here, doing this with me?”
Working my fingers through her orgasm, she’s on the brink within seconds. She moans, hips grinding into my hand as she falls apart for me again. “They don’t deserve to wonder if you come as sweet as you do, much less dare to do so withmypussy on their lap.” Working my hand a little rougher and nipping along her neck, I force her to come for me again. “You belong here. With me.”
After pulling my fingers from her, I draw one of them into my mouth and suck the sweet tang of her from it. Her face turns toward me, she’s breathless and her eyes are burning. I feed her my other coated finger, and she swirls her tongue around it, eagerly cleaning her arousal from it.
“Watching and listening to you come has me so fucking hard for you,” I rasp against her ear.
“Good,” she pants. “Because it’s my turn to provide a counterargument.”
Standing from the chaise, my legs are still trembling, and my body is on fire, every nerve still humming. But all I can think about is pulling him inside and getting him under me, over me, or anywhere I can have him if it means he’s buried deep inside me. I reach for his hand to guide him back toward the penthouse, but he doesn’t budge from his seat.
Turning to face him, I find him staring up at me with a smug grin plastered across his face, like he already won. “We’re not going inside, firecracker,” he murmurs, his voice low and thick with lust. “You want to argue about showing off that gorgeous fucking body? Then show Daddy—and the whole fucking city—how badly you want it.”
My breath catches. I glance around, the skyline stretching around us like a wall of glittering eyes. Dozens of illuminatedwindows shine from the surrounding buildings. My pulse thrums in my ears thinking about how many people could be watching, but I know he’s testing how far I’ll go.
I swallow hard, then reach beneath my dress and hook my fingers under the waistband of my panties. Slowly, I slide them down my legs, drawing them over my thighs, my knees, and past my calves. I step out of them one foot at a time and hold them out to him. The cotton is soaked through. He playfully pulls them from my fingers and lifts them to his nose, inhaling deeply with a contented sigh that sends heat spiraling to my core. His eyes rake over my still-clothed body, his voice gravel-deep. “That’s a lot of clothes and not a lot of skin. Not exactly pleading your case.”
