Page 77 of Inked Adonis

“Yesterday was a setup, wasn’t it?” Nova pushes up on her elbows, my bedsheet sliding down to pool at her waist. “Susan. Martinez. All of it. You needed to see how I’d react to my father’s old partner. To prove I wasn’t lying about my past.”

I can only laugh inwardly. She’s smarter than anyone gives her credit for. Including me.

“Yes.” No point lying when she’s already carved through my bullshit. “Are you angry?”

My question comes out rougher than I intended. I lean against the doorframe, forcing myself to stay put when every instinct screams to go to her.

“Part of me wants to be.” She meets my gaze steadily, chin lifted in that defiant tilt that makes me want to kiss her and shake her in equal measure. “The other part understands why you did it. And...” A slight flush colors her cheeks. “Theotherother part is relieved you finally believe me.”

The naked relief in her voice is overwhelming. I hate that I put that uncertainty in her eyes, that fear. But I don’t regret investigating her. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

In my world, trust has to be earned in blood and pain. Nova’s earned it. The question for both of us is… what comes next?

She sighs, her chest rising and falling with the motion. “So you got what you wanted. Do I get what I want now?”

“That depends. What do you want, Nova?”

Her answer is as immediate as it is impossible. “I want my freedom back. My work. My life.”

I push off the wall and walk closer as she keeps whispering. I’m careful to maintain distance even though every cell in my body screams to pull her into my embrace and never let go of her.

“No more keeping me prisoner. No more games. No more tests.”

“I have a counter-offer,” I say as I stop a few feet shy of where she’s sitting on the mattress. “You keep my security detail. You live here. You sleep in my bed. It’s under your terms—you’re no longer a captive—but… you stay with me. For good. Because you want to. BecauseIwant you to.”

A small smile plays at the corners of her mouth. The kind that says she sees right through my bullshit. “Those sound less like conditions and more like things you need.”

Perceptive little thing. She’s figured out the truth—that I need her close not just for control, but because the thought of her anywhere else makes me homicidal.

“Take it or leave it.”

She studies me for a long moment, those whiskey-colored eyes seeing straight past my walls to the darkness underneath. Then she does something that stops my heart.

She reaches for me.

“I’ll take it,” she whispers against my mouth. “All of it.”

I grab her then, sealing the deal the only way I know how—with a kiss that sears us both. Because we both know this isn’t really a negotiation.

It’s a claiming.

Nova kisses me back like she’s starving for it, matching my intensity bite for bite, lick for lick.

Not submitting.

Claiming me right back.

“Sam,” she gasps as I trail kisses down her throat. Her pulse hammers against my tongue. She tugs at my shirt, small fingers fumbling with buttons, and I growl.

“Off,” I command, pulling back just enough to strip us both. The sight of her naked body nearly brings me to my knees. She’s allsoft curves and battle scars, trust and defiance wrapped in one perfect package.

I lift her off the bed, carrying her to my desk. Papers scatter as I lay her down, but I couldn’t give less of a fuck about business right now. Not with Nova spread out before me like a feast, her eyes dark with want and something deeper that I’m not ready to name.

“Please,” she whispers.

Just like that, I’m lost.

Her plea ignites something feral inside me. I spread her thighs and drop to my knees like a man possessed, breathing in her intoxicating scent. One lick up her inner thigh and she’s already trembling.

---