Page 24 of Auctioned to the Titan

It’s the first thing she has said since we left that place. She doesn’t understand that it makes me feel worse.

I turn on the water, letting it run as I stare at her, my heart pounding in my chest. There are a thousand things I want to say to her. I want to apologize for leaving her, to apologize for how scared she must have been, for so many things. But the words that leave my mouth aren’t an apology.

“I love you, Alice,” I whisper. “The fact that I didn’t get to tell you that was the worst feeling in the world.”

She blinks up at me, tears welling in her eyes, and she nods. “I love you too, Damon. I realized that today.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut, and something inside me snaps. I grab her by the waist, pulling her against me, needing to feel her skin, her warmth, her everything. My lips crash onto hers, raw and desperate, and she gasps into my mouth. Her hands grip my shoulders, pulling me closer, as if she needs me just as much as I need her.

The emotions between us are too intense to be gentle. I was terrified, terrified that I would never hold her like this again, never feel her body pressed against mine. My hands find the hem of her dress, and I yank it over her head, leaving her barebefore me. She shivers, her breath hitching as she looks up at me with wide, trusting eyes.

The look in her eyes—trust, love, vulnerability—it nearly destroys me.

“You’re mine. Do you understand that? No one will ever take you away from me again.”

She nods, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. “I’m yours, Daddy. Only yours.”

Something primal surges through me, and I lift her off the counter, pressing her back against the cold tile wall of the shower. The water cascades over us, but I barely notice it.

My focus is entirely on her—on the way her body responds to me, the way she arches into me, her soft moans filling the space between us.

I slam into her, hard and fast, and she cries out, her nails digging into my back. It’s rough and animalistic, but I can’t hold back. I need her to feel this, to feel how much I love her, how much I need her. Each thrust is a reminder that she’s here with me, safe and alive.

Her body clenches around me, her head falling back against the tile as her cries of pleasure mix with mine. “I love you,” I groan against her neck, my lips brushing over her wet skin. “I love you so much, Alice. You’re mine. You’ll always be mine.”

She gasps, her legs tightening around my waist as I take her deeper, harder. “I love you too, Daddy,” she whimpers, her voice barely audible between her panting breaths. “Please… please don’t stop.”

Her words send me over the edge. I grab her hips, pulling her impossibly close, feeling her tighten around me as she lets out a sharp cry. Her orgasm crashes through her, and I follow right behind her, groaning her name, losing myself in the feel of her.

We stay like that for a moment, our breaths ragged, hearts racing as the water pours down on us. I press my forehead against hers, trying to catch my breath, trying to come down from the intensity of what just happened.

“I love you, Alice. More than anything.”

Epilogue

Alice

It’s my last day of art school, and my heart feels lighter than it has in years.

In fact, I still can’t believe how far I’ve come.

Before I met Damon, I lived a life dedicated to putting my father first, never myself, never believing there was a way out from guilt and duty. I just wanted to help my dad pay off his debts and do whatever I could to survive.

And now? Not only am I a graduate, but I have infinite possibilities on what I can be, what I can do, who I can become.

And that’s all because of Damon.

The security team that goes with me everywhere barely notice anymore. They’re just a small but necessary part of my life; Kirk is rotting in prison where he belongs, but Damon still has many enemies he’s made as he’s built his empire.

Against his better judgment, Damon paid off my father’s debts. Both of us came to realize that if my father were debt-free, I’d also be free. Free to never see him again, never feel like I failed him again. Now I have no idea where he is, and that’s for the better.

I’ve built a new life, a better life, and now I have all the time in the world to do whatever I want. Because of Damon.

It makes the news I’m about to give him even more exciting.

The car stops, and I get out. My stomach flips. It always does anytime I’m about to see Damon.

It doesn’t matter how long I’ve known him or how long we’ve been together. He’s always going to have this effect on me.

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