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“I’ll be more careful next time I go out,” I said, choosing my words carefully. The last thing I wanted was to agree to be locked up at home. I’d still have my freedom, still hang out with my friends—I wasn’t willing to let go of that. I’d just make better choices in the future.

Stefan cupped my face in his hands. “The thing is,” he said, “this world you’re involved in—our fathers’ world—myworld—it’s dangerous. You have to let me take care of you.”

“Okay,” I said, liking the sound of it. But I hated the idea of being constantly spied on without my knowledge. “Are you having this guy follow me around all the time?” I asked.

“No. It was a last resort. Dmitri’s a good guy, but he’s not on call 24/7 to watch you.”

I sighed with relief and leaned into his chest. “Can you just…please keep me informed when my bodyguardisgoing to be keeping an eye on me? I want to be able to trust you.”

“I can do that,” he agreed. “But you have to stop fighting me. I’m trying to protect you.”

He poured some conditioner into his hands and began to massage my scalp again.

When he framed it like that, I didn’t mind at all. Being protected by Stefan made me feel safe and secure.

After rinsing out the conditioner, Stefan soaped up his hands and began to rub soft, sensual circles against my skin, from my shoulders to my toes. I let my arousal wash over me, tilting my head back as the hot water flowed down my body.

I could see he was already hard again, but when I reached for his cock, he batted my hand away, kneeling on the floor instead. Roughly—just the way I liked it—he forced my legs apart.

“Hold on to something,” he said, and before I could ask why, he was sliding his tongue along my slit.

I was wet and hot and more than ready for him. Gripping the shelves on the wall, I held on for dear life as he pleasured me with his mouth, his tongue lapping into me, making me even wetter, before following with a deep thrust of his thick fingers. First one, then two, and finally three. Even though I was still a little sore, it felt fucking amazing. I loved the way he stretched my body open for him. Like I belonged to him. Like I was his and his alone.

With one hand, I threaded my fingers through his wet hair, holding him steady so I could grind against his fingers as he teased my clit with the tip of his tongue. When he growled against my most sensitive spot, I could feel the vibrations sending shockwaves through me. My hand tightened against the back of his head with my impending release. I was so close, it was driving me crazy. The water was hot and steamy around me, but the only thing I felt was Stefan and his fingers and his mouth, pulling me toward the edge. My moans pitched higher and he moaned an affirmation against my pussy, and suddenly it felt like we were the only people in the world—just the two of us and the water and the heat and the pleasure. I never wanted it to end.

Except I wanted, I needed, that release. His mouth rolled over my clit again, sucking hard, and all I could do was cry out at the overwhelming sensations, the sound echoing through the bathroom as Stefan fucked me with his fingers and his mouth.

Throwing my head back, I arched my body, helpless to hold back any longer. My orgasm rippled through me, so deep and powerful that my entire body shook as I came. I was panting his name, mindless with ecstasy, coming so hard that I lost track of everything but my own pleasure.

Once my body stopped vibrating, Stefan turned the water off and grabbed towels for both of us, gently drying my body and then my hair before enveloping me in his arms and carrying me back to bed.

He was still hard, but when I reached for him again, he gently moved my hand away. I understood that this wasn’t about his release, and let him tuck me in, the warm blanket coming up around both of us.

This was everything I had been waiting for. We were finally repairing the broken things between us.

I had told myself I was going to get over him, but now that I was wrapped in his arms again, I had to admit to myself that I hadn’t even been close. The little girl part of me still thrilled at the wordhusbandattached to this green-eyed god, this strong, protective, gorgeous man. He was mine. All mine. I was still in a dreamy haze over the orgasms he’d just given me, the way he’d been so rough and then so gentle, the way he held me now in our bed.

I snuggled deeper under the covers, pressing my naked body against his, completely lost in the perfection and bliss of the moment.

“It’s good you’ve finally come around,” Stefan said. “It’s for the best.”

“Come around?” I asked, not comprehending.

He nodded. “You’ve finally realized what your place is, and you’re fulfilling your responsibilities. I expect you to have your things moved back to our room again tomorrow.”

And just like that, he reminded me that I was an object. Just a trophy for his shelf, candy for his arm, a toy for his pleasure. I only mattered because I belonged to him—because I was hisbelonging. My purpose was to make him look good, to uphold the illusion that he and his father had created. And to fuck him when he commanded it. That was all. In short, I was no more to him than all the other women he thought he “owned” at the agency.

Rolling away from him, I muffled my tears, crying into a pillow. Even though Stefan was right there next to me, already drifting off, the room suddenly seemed cold and lonely. “Our room,” he had called it. As though I was half of a couple.

When we both knew I wasn’t anything at all.

Tori

Chapter 14

For the time being, my husband had won. I moved my things back into the master bedroom and forced myself to play nice during the few hours each day that he was actually at home. It was tough, but admittedly an improvement. Our marriage might still be one of convenience, but now that Stefan and I were having sex again, I allowed a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Things could still change. They could still get better. Who could say?

Part of me knew it was foolish to have such thoughts, but I was tired of locking myself up in the guest room, passively waiting for something to change. I hadn’t at all forgotten about KZM’s women, or my vow to help them, I just needed some time to figure out what to do next.