Prague, Czech Republic

Five years ago

Under the gilded ceiling of the Estates Theatre, Allegra sits to my left as we watch the final act of Don Giovanni. Tomas is playing a supporting role as Don Ottavio, the heroine’s fiancé. He is so amazing. I plan to make him speak to me later in that gorgeous language. It won’t matter if he asks me where the train station is in Italian. I need to hear that whispered softly in my ear.

True to their word, Davison and Allegra came to Prague for Tomas’s debut. They stopped in Paris first for a week to celebrate her being one of the winners in the Metropolitan Opera’s National Council Auditions. When they arrived, I gave them a tour of Prague, the same one that Tomas had given me. It’s a walkable city, and they only time we used public transportation was when we rode the tram up the hill to Prague Castle on the other side of the Vltava River away from the center of town.

Outfitted in a custom-made tux, Davison is seated on the other side of Allegra, his hand rubbing over the sparkling diamond ring on her finger. Allegra and I squealed like banshees when she showed it to me. I was so thrilled for my best friend. After everything she’s been through in her life, she deserves a little happiness.

The curtain finally falls on the final act. Thunderous applause echoes throughout the magnificent space. Along with Davison and Allegra, the entire audience rises to its feet.

When Tomas comes out for his solo bow, I give him a shout of “Bravo!” as well as a “Woohoo!” just so he knows it’s me, and I swear, he grins so widely because he heard it and he places his hand over heart to acknowledge me.

Allegra picks up her black cashmere shawl, and I watch as Davison helps her wrap it around her shoulders over her black ball gown.

“We’ll see you both at the reception?” she asks.

“Yup. I’m just going to go backstage to see Tomas so I can congratulate him privately.”

She raises her eyebrow at me as Davison places his hand on the small of her back, pushing her toward the aisle. “And that’s enough information, Luciana, thank you very much. Give Tomas our congratulations.”

“You got it, Money Boy.”

I smile wickedly when I hear Davison grunt in displeasure under his breath. Allegra grabs his other hand. “Come on, Harvard, let’s get some champagne,” Allegra tells him soothingly.

When she passes me, she mouths “Really?” and I just continue to grin.

I gather my own purse and head for the backstage area where Tomas has already introduced me to the security guard, but I learned how to say “I’m Tomas Novotny’s girlfriend” in Czech just in case there was a problem.

Luckily, the security guard remembers me and lets me through the door. I head for Tomas’s dressing room down the various passageways. When I get there, I see his dresser walking out with his costume to return it to the costume department. I give the older man a quick nod and step into the small room where he’s standing dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans.

“Hey you! You were—”

Before I can speak another word, Tomas has me pinned against the wall as he shoves the door closed with his foot. He stares at me for a long minute, his blue eyes illuminating like brilliant sapphires at me, and then slams his lips over mine.

Fuck, I want him now.

It doesn’t take me long to hop on board the sexy train. He sucks my tongue into his mouth, tangling mine with his. He moans so deeply and by now, I can identify them. He wants me. Badly. I can hear the need in them, the hunger.

But despite how much I want him at this moment, part of me holds back because of that look he gave me just before he kissed me. There are times when I’m with him that I can feel the distance between us, like he’s not giving himself to me completely. I know he’s keeping something from me, and every time I ask him what’s wrong or what he’s thinking about, he changes the subject or gives me some kind of vague answer. Like that fleeting glance just now. He stares at me like that a lot, as if he can’t believe he’s here with me, but simultaneously thinking that he doesn’t deserve to be. It’s as if we’re one step away from being closer than I had ever hoped for, and then just as quickly, pulls away just enough to worry me that we’ll never truly be as close as I want to be, knowing I’m truly his and he is mine.

The grip of his large hands as they grab my breasts interrupts my thoughts. He covers them wholly, kneading them hard. I moan from the pain, which only encourages him to push them into my chest, practically flattening them. He bends down and sucks one nipple into his mouth through the silken fabric of my dress. His moans grow louder, more primal as he switches to the other side, giving it the same attention that he afforded the other.

I know what he’s experiencing right now. It’s the adrenaline of opening night coursing through him—the applause, the excitement, the knowledge that he sang his ass off and did it without messing up. Plus all that applause…a singer’s ego tends to reach Everest-like heights when that shit happens.

He pulls back from my breast. Two round wet marks appear on my dress where he sucked me. He has marked me. He owns me. “I need to fuck you now, Luciana,” he whispers roughly.

And just like that, my pussy tightens, and I’m dying for him.

“Yes, please, baby,” I rasp as I start to undo the back of my dress.

But then he stops my hands. His eyes bore into me, molten with desire. “Not here.”

He grabs my hand and rushes me out the door. A bustle of activity moves outside in the hallway—dressers running around with wigs and costumes, champagne corks popping, raised voices and laughter bouncing off the walls. Others try to stop Tomas to wish him well on his debut, and he accepts each one graciously. But with each well-wisher, his hand grips mine tighter with frustration.

Prague Boy wants some, and I’m going to make sure he gets it.

I tug on his arm when another cast member stops him and lean into his warmth. “Honey, I’m really not feeling well,” I moan in feigned pain.

“Of course. Would you excuse us?”

He leads me away successfully from his castmate. “Well done, darling.”

“That’s nothing,” I scoff. “You should’ve seen me when I was a kid and faked a fever so I didn’t have to go to school.”

“Uh-huh,” Tomas mutters over his shoulder because I know he’s got other things on his mind.

We continue making our way down numerous hallways until we reach a side passage, encountering a few stagehands. Tomas looks back to see if they’re gone, and he ducks into the door the two men had just walked out of seconds before.

He heads through the entryway with me and turns on the light. The spacious room reveals itself to be holding various sets, from dining room tables and chairs to large chandeliers. And there in the middle of it all stands one huge bed without any linens.

I swivel my head to Tomas. “You’re kidding, right?”

I realize he’s not joking when I hear him lock the door behind us, then comes right to me and picks me up in his arms.

“Baby, I’m too heavy, I can just walk—”

“Be quiet, Luciana,” he orders me in a raw voice. “You’re beautiful, you belong to me, and I’m going to fuck you hard, deep, and long so you’ll never forget this moment and what I just said.”

Oh my God.

He’s never said that to me before. This is only the third time we’ve had sex, and each time has been amazing, but now, it feels different with the sound of those words coming from his mouth. I actually stopped breathing when he said them, and now, I think we’ve finally jumped that hurdle. Tomas Novotny is mine, and I’m going to claim him right fucking now.

He throws me onto the mattress, and I jump to my knees to start unzipping the back of my dress. Both of us become frenzied with need, electricity shooting to each of my nerve endings, my pulse growing rapid with each breath.