Page 4 of The Collector
"I— you don't understand, I could lose my job. I need this job."
Raven let his hand wander between her thighs, softly rubbing them up and down until he touched her core with his thumb. The pressure was enough to make her squirm and try to get away. Her nipples pebbled beneath her leather bra begging for attention. Raven paused. The moment hung between them, taut and trembling. His hand moved back to her thigh just short of her center. He let it rest there, warm and still, waiting.
“You set the rules,” he said finally, voice low and steady. “I want you. But I won’t force you into something you don't want. You say the word, and I’ll back off. But if you want me… I’m yours.
Mynx glanced over at the timer above the door.
"Then let's not waste time," she said, voice low, deliberate.
She slid to her knees, fingers working the zipper of his pants with practiced ease. Raven's breath hitched as she freed him, her touch featherlight, her eyes never leaving his. When her tongue met him—warm, slow, exploratory—his body lit up like a fuse. Each movement was deliberate, a rhythm she controlled, and he surrendered to.
He reached for her, fingers threading through her hair—but didn’t force. She set the pace, and he let her. Let her take him apart slowly, deliberately, in time with the music that throbbed like a second heartbeat.
She moaned around him, the vibration making his cock pulse with need.
Raven stood, pulled her up from the floor and pushed her onto her knees in front of him. Then slid himself between her thighs pulling her thong to the side. The crown of his dick pushed slowly into her. He savored the feeling as the warmth enveloped him. She moved back against him with a thrust, indicating she wanted more. But Raven stilled her with his hands at her hips. He rocked back and forth slowly, barely penetrating her, and leaned over and slid his tongue down her spine. The moan thaterupted from her was laced with pleasure. When he reached the bottom of her back, he gripped her hips hard and pushed her into her with everything he had. She pulsed around him, her moans echoing through the room.
"Tell me you're mine," Raven said, voice low, rough with need. "Even if it's just for the moment."
Mynx's eyes didn't waver. "I'm yours," she whispered, hips grinding with deliberate pressure. "Now make me forget everything else in the world but you."
Raven slipped the tie from around his neck, the silk whispering through his fingers. He leaned in, wrapped it gently around Mynx's eyes, knotting it with care—not to blind, but to heighten. She didn't flinch. Her breath hitched a little, but her body leaned into the darkness.
Then he moved.
He dove into her with everything he'd been holding until that moment, the ache of wanting something that didn't belong to him, someone that could never be his own urging him to take it all. Sweat beaded along his chest and abs and began dripping onto her skin like a confession of his desire. The music throbbed in the background, but all he could hear was her breath, his heartbeat, and the silence between them that felt like heaven. When his orgasm came, it was in waves; it pulsed with the music and her moans.
The timer buzzed—a sharp reminder that time, even purchased, was finite. Raven blinked, the haze of heat and hunger thinning just enough to let reality back in.
Mynx rose, her body slick against his, leaving the scent of honey and vanilla still clinging to his skin. She leaned in, lips brushing his cheek—not possessive, not romantic, but something quieter. A benediction. A goodbye.
Her voice was low, threaded with something he couldn't name, when she got up to leave. "Thanks, handsome. So that you know—I never let things get this far with clients."
She pulled back, eyes lingering for a beat longer than necessary. Then she turned, the mesh dress catching the light as she disappeared behind the curtain.
Raven sat there, breath shallow, the taste of her still on his tongue and the ache of her absence already blooming in his chest. He'd bought time. But what she gave him for it was something else entirely.
Need.
Chapter 2
Erica
"Hello—,” Erica said answering her phone on the second ring.
"Mi Amor—did you get the outfit picked out?" Her mother asked.
"Mama— what are you still doing awake? I told you not to wait up for me. Don't you have to be up early in the morning?
Erica shuffled her bags to one hand so she could push the dimly lit button for the second floor. She leaned back against its rear wall as the doors closed, and the elevator began to move.
"Yes—you know I do, Mija. I couldn't go to sleep— not until I made sure you were all set for tomorrow. I'm so excited for you." The girlish sound of her mother's laughter vibrated through the line; the sound was so contagious it forced a smile and laughter from Erica, too.
God, I love this woman. Her protectiveness could be overwhelming, but the love beneath it was raw and relentless.
The elevator jolted to a stop. The doors opened to a gust of freezing wind. It hit Erica head-on. She halted mid-step,stunned by the sudden drop in temperature. Instinctively, her fingers clutched at the hoodie, pulling it tighter. The thin workout clothes she wore underneath offered little warmth from the unexpected chill in the air. She set her bags on the elevator floor. Goosebumps erupted across her skin as she fumbled with the zipper, shivers rippling through her small frame before she finally sealed herself in from the cold.
Fall had always been Erica's favorite time of year, but the tropical summer temperatures in southern California usually changed less dramatically. She mentally kicked herself for parking so far away from the mall entrance. It wasn't as if she'd had much choice; when she arrived, it was so full that it had been her only option.
