As I walked past, he added, “For what it’s worth… I hope he treats you right.”
 
 I paused, glancing back at him. “He does.”
 
 Confidently, I walked into Theo’s office with my head high, knowing damn well who I belonged to and why.
 
 ?????
 
 Theo kept me waiting.
 
 Long enough for the tension in my body to curl back in on itself. I was perched on the edge of the velvet-upholstered couch in his office, flipping through an architecture magazine I wasn’t reading, when the door finally opened.
 
 He stepped inside, closing it quietly behind him.
 
 I didn’t even look up.
 
 “You took forever.”
 
 His voice was a slow grin. “And you actually waited.”
 
 I flipped a page. “That doesn’t make it right.”
 
 Theo didn’t answer. Not with words. He took the magazine from my hands and set it on the coffee table, then stepped between my knees. His hand slid up the inside of my thigh.
 
 “You’re still sore?” he asked, voice low, eyes sharp.
 
 “A little.”
 
 His fingers found the edge of his shirt I was wearing and pushed it up. Then, he pushed my thighs apart and gently caressed the metal of the piercing through my panties.
 
 “Are you saying no,Amore mio?”
 
 I held his gaze. “No, I’m not.”
 
 “I didn’t think so,” he smirked.
 
 And that was all it took.
 
 He sank his middle and ring finger inside me, and I let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like a moan.
 
 “You’re being very loud, Sweetness,” he murmured, very amused by my reaction.
 
 “You wanna switch places?” I asked pointedly as I shifted my hips toward his hand.
 
 “No,” he chuckled before removing his fingers. And with no further warning, he hooked his fingers under the waistband of my panties, pulled them down, and stuffed the soft fabric into my mouth.
 
 Again.
 
 Doubt: Good to know the panties kink is alive and well.
 
 I’m surprised he didn’t rip them off.
 
 The red fabric muffled the next sound I made as he returned his fingers to my core.
 
 His eyes were dark and amused. “There we go.”
 
 I leaned back on the couch as he got to work, grinding against his palm. His fingers didn’t slow. Neither did my pulse. I rode his fingers as he shoved them into me. I fought to hold eye contact,but the pleasure kept making me close them as I reached my peak.
 
 I came hard—hips jolting, thighs clenching, body trembling around his fingers as he coaxed every last tremor from me. He didn’t let up until I was panting, the back of my head pressed to the couch, my legs wide open and shaking.