Chapter 11

The limousine ride back to the penthouse was silent. Gerald sat close to Lily, one hand resting on her thigh, but he did not speak. The city lights slid past the windows. Lily could still feel the ghost of Elliot’s hand on her skin and the sharp sting of the slap she had given him. Her heart had not slowed down.

When they stepped into the penthouse, Gerald closed the door harder than necessary. He turned to face her. His eyes were dark and stormy.

“You should not have been alone with him,” he said.

Lily dropped her clutch on the table. “I went to the restroom. I did not ask him to follow me.”

“He put his hands on you.”

“I handled it.”

Gerald stepped closer. “I saw the mark on your wrist. No one touches what is mine.”

Lily’s breath caught at the raw possession in his voice. “I am not a thing you own.”

“You are tonight.” His voice dropped. “You have been since the day you signed those papers.”

He reached up and cupped the back of her neck. For a second they only stared at each other. The anger, the jealousy, the leftover fear from the corridor, all of it sat heavy between them. Then Gerald leaned in and kissed her.

It was the first time his mouth had taken hers.

The kiss was not soft. It was deep and demanding, full of the night’s tension. Lily froze for a heartbeat, then kissed him back. Her hands rose to his chest.

 She felt the hard muscle under his shirt and the way his body pressed against hers. Something inside her shifted. This was different from the rough sex they had shared before. This felt personal.

Gerald broke the kiss only long enough to speak against her lips. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

He kissed her again, harder. His hands slid down her back and gripped her ass, pulling her tightly against him. She could feel how hard he already was. Lily moaned into his mouth. Her own body responded fast, heat pooling low in her belly.

He walked her backward toward the large couch without breaking the kiss. When the back of her legs hit the cushions, he pushed her down and followed, settling between her thighs. The short red dress rode up. Gerald’s hand slid under the fabric and found the thin lace of her panties. He rubbed her through the damp material, feeling how wet she already was.

“Still wearing these,” he muttered. “I am going to ruin them.”

He pushed the lace aside and slid two fingers into her. Lily gasped and arched against his hand. Gerald watched her face as he curled his fingers and stroked that sensitive spot inside her.

“You like it when I lose control over you,” he said. “Do not lie.”

Lily shook her head even as her hips moved against his fingers. “I hate how much I like it.”

The honesty in her voice made something tighten in Gerald’s chest. He pulled his fingers out, stood up, and stripped off his jacket and shirt. Lily watched the hard lines of his body appear. He unbuckled his belt and shoved his trousers down. His thick cock sprang free, heavy and already leaking.

He pulled her up just long enough to yank the red dress over her head. Then he hooked his fingers into the sides of her panties and dragged them down her legs. She sat naked on the couch in front of him. 

Gerald’s eyes moved over her breasts, her stomach, the wetness between her legs. Possessiveness burned hot in him. Elliot had tried to take this. Other men had stared at this. None of them would ever have her.

He pushed her thighs wide and settled between them again. The head of his cock rubbed against her entrance. Lily’s hands gripped his shoulders.

“Gerald—”

He thrust into her in one deep stroke. Lily cried out. He filled her completely, stretching her around him. For a moment he stayed still, buried to the hilt, breathing hard against her neck.

“You feel that?” he said. “This is mine. Only mine.”

He started moving. Hard, deep thrusts that made the couch shift under them. Lily wrapped her legs around his waist and held on. Every stroke dragged against the spot inside her that made her see stars. She moaned freely now, no longer trying to stay quiet.

Gerald’s thoughts were a mess of lust and something deeper. He had bought her as a toy. He had planned to use her body and nothing more. 

But the idea of anyone else touching her made him want to destroy things. The way she kissed him back, the way she took him so perfectly, the way she looked at him even when she was angry, all of it was getting under his skin.

Lily’s mind spun. She had told herself this was only a contract. Three years. Money. Survival. But the way he kissed her, the way he held her like he might lose her, the way her body opened for him so easily, none of that felt like simple survival anymore. 

She hated how much she wanted him. She hated how safe she felt under him even while he fucked her like he owned her.

He hooked one of her legs higher and drove deeper. The new angle made her cry out. Her nails dug into his back.

“Harder,” she whispered before she could stop herself.

Gerald growled and gave her exactly that. The sound of skin against skin filled the penthouse. Sweat slicked their bodies. Lily felt the pressure building fast. Gerald’s thrusts grew rougher, more desperate.

“Come for me,” he ordered. “I want to feel it.”

Lily shattered. Her orgasm hit hard, her pussy clenching around him in tight waves. She moaned his name as the pleasure ripped through her. 

Gerald followed a few thrusts later, burying himself deep and coming with a low, guttural sound. He stayed inside her, pulsing, as he caught his breath.

For a long moment neither of them moved. Gerald rested his forehead against hers. Their breathing slowly evened out. He did not pull away. Lily did not push him off.

Something had shifted tonight. Both of them felt it. Neither of them said it out loud.

Gerald finally eased out of her and sat back on the couch. He pulled her with him so she ended up half on his lap, still naked and marked by him. His hand stroked slowly down her spine.

“No one touches you again,” he said quietly. “I will kill the next man who tries.”

Lily turned her face into his neck and closed her eyes. She did not argue. For the first time since she had signed the contract, she did not want to.