‘That’s not what I’m saying. I saw that you were lost and hurt. I wanted to be there with you, to make you feel better.’

Lifting her hands, she beckoned to him, so he came over to take her hands into his. ‘You know how to make me feel better,’ he said.

Dipping down, he caught her lips with his and guided her hands to his hips. Sliding them around to his ass when he came lower, he hooked his hands under her ass and picked her up to move her further back on the bed. His solid form covered her, and he kept on kissing. His tongue slipped deeper into her mouth, and she kept on squeezing his ass enjoying the unyielding gluts that she liked to grope at every opportunity.

His fist closed around the neckline of her dress, and she pushed on his chest to break their kiss. ‘Don’t rip this dress, I have nothing else to wear.’

‘I don’t give a fuck about that.’

‘In front of Mauri and his men, you will, especially when I’m standing in front of them wearing nothing but a thong.’

Rolling off her, he dropped his hands onto his chest. ‘Take it off then.’

Leaving the bed, she unzipped her silk sheath dress and let it drift onto the carpet. Some of his tension ebbed, but the intensity remained in his eyes, though that was nothing to do with what had gone on downstairs.

‘Maybe we should talk,’ she said. Unhooking her bra, she discarded it, then bent to slide down her underwear. ‘There is a lot to talk about.’

‘Forget talking. Talking isn’t what I need from you now,’ he said. Losing his pants took only a few seconds, he kicked them to the floor and curled his hand around his dick. ‘Have a seat.’

‘This is stupid,’ she smiled, climbing onto the bed. High on her knees, she hovered above the crown of his cock that he was trying to direct into her. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this here.’

‘I need this here,’ he said.

One arm swept around her, and he reversed their positions. Getting her onto her back, he was now the one high on his knees above her. She tried to sit up, but he took her move as an invitation. Cupping the back of her skull, he leaned back so that he could guide his dick into her mouth.

Sucking on the bulb he’d pushed between her lips, Ivy held her mouth back, which was enough to make him mutter in his usual private fashion. Increasing his pressure, she was unable to hold herself back in the face of his strength, so she sucked, just like he wanted her to. But as soon as he relaxed his hand, she grabbed his shaft and took it from her mouth, working it with her hand instead.

‘You think that if you come, you’ll be able to see things more clearly?’ she asked.

‘Your mouth has a way of reprioritising my life,’ he said.

Snatching her arms, he pulled her out from under him and rested her on the pillows. ‘What are you—‘

‘Stay there,’ he said.

Lying above her, he kissed the side of her neck, and when he encompassed her in his arms, she sighed out. When he kissed her like this, Ivy’s whole body fizzed, her hormones took over, and she couldn’t think straight let alone tease or argue with him.

Dax knew every part of her body, he massaged her breasts, using the tip of his thumb and the knuckle of his forefinger to work the nipple, pinching and pulling her into a peak that he loved to suck into his mouth and catch in his teeth.

Running her hands through his hair and down his neck, she was pleased that this endeavour gave him focus. Physical activity was what he needed, and this would keep him occupied for a while. Except her desire was thumping in her ears and the heat of fresh blood gushing through her veins opened every one of her nerves, each of which begged for his attention.

‘Dax,’ she said, but he just grumbled around the breast he was sampling, which sent shivers of vibrations through her.

Locking her ankles at his back, Ivy regretted not taking her chance to ride him when he’d offered her the position. Lost in the deluge of pleasure she got writhing up against his solid member, she almost didn’t notice when he stopped kissing her body and lifted his head.

‘You really weren’t scared down there?’

‘While I was sucking your dick?’ she teased, knowing exactly what he meant. He meant downstairs when she had a gun pointed at her, and to that there was only one response. ‘I trust you.’

That answer wasn’t a tease, and he knew it because he opened his mouth and kept on tasting her. His tongue glided down her abdomen, and while he kissed and licked her navel, she squeezed her lips together because she knew what this was a prelude to. When he was done tormenting her, he moved his attention further south. Parting her legs wide, he pushed down on her inner thighs to give himself a panoramic view of her core.

Coiling her fingers around the pillows that she lay on, Ivy watched him scrutinise her, and held her breath when he descended to taste her.

His skilled mouth licked and sucked on her until she was panting, then he came up over her to kiss her mouth, giving her the full flavour of herself while he sheathed himself in her. Whimpering against the scope of his reach, she relaxed when he moved out and then slammed back in, making no apology for stretching her passage for his own pleasure.

‘I only need this,’ she breathed, taking handfuls of his hair. ‘I need… oh God, Dax, I only need you.’

Opening her mouth wide, she screeched out his name and bucked up into his latest thrust. Orgasm clenched her abdominals, and as she rose from the bed, he took hold of the head board, giving himself more leverage to pound in harder. One orgasm became two, and when his climax eventually conquered him, she was tossed over the cliff again.

‘I don’t want his money,’ Dax panted, resting his head on her shoulder while he regained himself. Then he flopped onto his back and she rolled onto her side toward him, to keep their bodies in contact. ‘I’m sorry, I put you through all of this again.’

‘No,’ she said. ‘We had to come and see this.’ He shoved an arm around her and tucked her head down under his chin. ‘If we don’t want his money or the familial bribe, all that’s left to consider is this: the mansion, the offer of taking over here.’

‘Brad must know something about it, but I can’t see him happily signing over half the assets,’ Dax said. ‘Trystan too, he’ll go crazy if he thinks that I’m going to be in control of his budget, or any aspect of it.’

‘You think that Mauri is setting you up? Or that Brad will just pull the rug from under you when Mauri is gone?’

‘Maybe, I don’t know, the point is, I’m done. I told them when I walked out on that midnight meeting that I was through. I should’ve stuck to that. We should never have come back.’

‘I don’t see my things here, do you?’

His head moved above hers. ‘No. What’s so important to you in this bag?’

‘My birth certificate, all of my pictures, my memory stick, my jewellery… things that can’t be replaced.

Kissing her hair, he moved her body aside, away from his, and got off the bed. ‘Where are you going?’ she asked. But he was already getting dressed again.

‘Wait here, I’ll get your things.’

‘How will you do that? Are you going to tell Mauri how we feel about his offer?’

‘Not until after I’ve gotten your stuff back,’ he said, fastening his shirt and sticking his feet in his shoes. When he was dressed, he dropped a fist to the bed to balance his weight as he leaned down to kiss her. ‘Get dressed, but stay here. I’ll come back in a minute.’

‘I can come with you if—‘

‘No,’ Dax said. ‘I can be more persuasive if I’m alone.’

Still naked on the bed, she watched him depart the room then lay back to look up at the canopy over the bed. If they didn’t want Mauri’s money, family, or empire, then they could leave here and close this chapter for good.

Recovering from the exertion of their lovemaking, she took an extra few seconds to herself before she rolled off the bed and began to don her underwear. Being back here had been difficult for Dax, and she knew that he had high hopes of what he would get from Mauri, like maybe some respect and a bit of reassurance. Instead, he had received none of what he aspired for.