Chapter 3 #2
He sets a punishing rhythm, hips slamming into mine, the slap of skin echoing. My breasts sway, my vision blurs, my body strung tight between pain and bliss.
My mind hisses at me, insisting this is nothing more than a debt being settled. But I shove the thought down, refusing to let it steal this from me. If I’m going to give him my body, then I’m damn well going to take the pleasure too.
“Look at you,” he growls, dragging me back onto his cock. “So fucking tight. This pussy was made for me.”
My nails bite into the sheets. I hate how right he feels. Like every thrust is unraveling me, even while my mind claws at the reminder this is just a debt being paid.
The pressure builds fast, unbearable. I can’t breathe, can’t think, only feel the relentless stretch, the rising tension.
“Take it,” Alessio snarls, voice raw. “Take every inch. You’re going to remember this every time you close your eyes.”
“I—oh God, I’m—”
“Come for me, Temptress. Give me that scream.”
The orgasm rips through me, violent and consuming, my cunt clamping hard.
My breath stutters, my body seizing in waves as pleasure detonates from my core. I sob his name, each thrust wringing more sensation out of me until I’m unraveling, every muscle locked and shaking.
Alessio snarls, hips pounding, the piercing dragging me higher even as I shudder. Then he goes rigid, a roar tearing from his throat as he comes, cock pulsing deep inside.
When he finally pulls out, I collapse onto the bed, trembling and wrecked. He strips the condom and tosses it, then crawls up beside me and presses a kiss to my temple.
When I can finally string together coherent thoughts, the first one is: Holy shit.
A lazy smile spreads across my face as I stare up at the ceiling. I didn’t realize how much tension I’ve been carrying since the divorce, how stressed I’ve been about rebuilding my life. This experience has taken the edge off in a way I never expected.
“You okay?” Alessio asks, tracing patterns on my bare shoulder.
“I think you broke me,” I admit, and he chuckles.
“In a good way, I hope.”
“Definitely in a good way.”
I turn to study his face, struck by how different he looks now. The harsh edges have softened, and his expression is unguarded.
We’re both quiet for a while, skin cooling in the air conditioning. I should feel awkward—I’m naked in bed with a near stranger—but instead I feel... satisfied. Not just physically, though that, too. But satisfied with the choice I made, with how I handled an impossible situation.
“You know, I thought you’d say no when I suggested this,” Alessio says eventually. “But I’m fucking glad you didn’t.”
“Well, I aim to please.” I glance at him from under my eyelashes, and he laughs.
“Mission accomplished.”
He turns to face me, head propped on his hand, and I notice a tattoo I missed before. Latin words in black script right over his heart.
“Invictus maneo,” I read aloud, tracing the letters with my finger. “I remain unconquered.”
His eyebrows shoot up. “You know Latin?”
I shrug. “I taught myself when I was a teenager. My school didn’t offer it, so I had to figure it out on my own.”
“I didn’t know I was sleeping with a nerd.”
The comment makes me laugh, and I shove at his arm playfully. “Why Latin? People say it’s a dead language.”
“Because I think it’s beautiful. It’s the root of so many others. Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian.”
“Pretty impressive that you taught yourself a language.”
The compliment makes me flush with unexpected pleasure. “My English teacher said it was a sign of my stubbornness. But I think she was impressed too.”
Alessio tucks a strand of hair behind my ear, then kisses me softly. It feels different this time. Like a goodbye.
I’m right, because he gets out of bed and starts pulling his clothes back on.
“Don’t worry about the debt,” he says as he buttons his shirt. “No one will come for you again.”
The promise should make me purely relieved, but there’s something else threading through my chest. Gratitude, yes, but also a strange sense of loss I don’t want to examine too closely.
“Thank you,” I say, pulling the bedspread over my naked body.
He flashes that dimpled grin, and I imagine women probably fall all over themselves for this man. “I need to get back to work, but you can stay as long as you’d like. Sleep here if you want.”
After he leaves, I consider staying. This place is more luxurious than anywhere I’ve been in my life.
But I need to get back to reality.
As I get dressed, I run through the practical aftermath. I probably don’t have a job anymore after abandoning my shift, but that’s tomorrow’s problem. Plenty of restaurants need servers, and now I won’t have to hand over every paycheck to Eric’s creditors.
The strangest part is how I feel right now. Taken care of. It’s not a feeling I’m used to. Growing up in foster care teaches you early that you’re on your own. But tonight, someone stepped in. Someone made my problems disappear.
And the sex... Jesus. I didn’t know my body could do those things, feel those things.
And maybe that’s what scares me most.
The elevator ride down feels like returning from another planet. The casino lights are too bright, the sounds too loud after the quiet luxury of the penthouse. I’ll probably never see Alessio again; we both know this was a one-time deal.
But I’ll be thinking about tonight for a long time.