The next morning, the universe showed off its twisted sense of humor.
I returned home from Walgreens, popping Plan B onto my tongue and guzzling it down with clearance orange juice, a day from its expiration.
But as soon as I stepped out of my Prius, the telltale trickle of my period slid down my thigh.
“Goddammit.”
By the time I finished showering away the blood, my mood had taken a nosedive. I descended the stairs, ready to raid the kitchen for something sweet and decadent.
Zach drifted down the halls somewhere, surely marching like a demon looking for his pound of flesh. I’d managed to dodge him all morning and planned to do so into the evening.
My phone buzzed with another text, probably from Zach.
Still, I checked it just in case, frowning at the name that flashed.
Andras:
Tomorrow. Same time.
I careened to a stop, wondering how to reply.
This marked our first contact since the news broke about my cheating scandal. I figured he needed time to process the news before unceremoniously dumping me, along with his dreams of fostering an Olympic gold medalist.
In the end, I settled for something simple.
Farrow:
K.
I slipped into the pantry without bothering with the lights, rummaging through the snack baskets when the door shut behind me.
Darkness blanketed the room. I fisted a bag of cookies and sighed, turning for the knob.
I crashed against a muscular chest, gasping.
“You’re avoiding me.” Zach’s voice seeped straight between my thighs, an area he apparently had on speed dial.
I hated how my traitorous body never seemed in sync with the rest of my opinion of him.
I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “This seems to be a recurring theme in our relationship.”
“Another thing that seems reoccurring in our relationship is my willingness to spend all my time, effort, and resources on you, while you completely disregard me.”
“Your Boss of the Year award is on its way.” I sighed. “What do you want, Zach?”
“Your company. Your attention. Your pussy. Just to name a few.” He paused, consuming the tiny space with his presence. “We have a deal.”
Ah.
Our deal.
Our stupid, cursed deal.
“We have a deal that we’ll fool around when time permits. We don’t have a deal that I’m at your beck and call. Your ‘pussy for hire.’” I air-quoted the crass words, though he couldn’t see it in the dark. “I’m not your whore, Zachary.”
He crowded me against the shelves, his hand finding my cheek with eerie precision. “I never said you were.”
Zach lowered his head to get a taste of me.
I turned my face away on instinct. “Can’t right now. Just got my period. No hanky panky.”
“I don’t mind if you’re okay with it.”
“Well, I’m not okay with it. And actually, I have to go.”
Not a lie, per se.
I did have to go.
To my room.
To decompress from all the feelings haunting me since we had sex.
His breaths came out faster. “Go where?”
“A date,” I blurted out, cursing myself for such a stupid lie.
“A date?” His hands slammed on the shelves behind me.
“Nice hearing, Zach. Yes. A date.” I licked my lips. “I told you—we’re not exclusive.”
“Name your price for exclusivity.” It occurred to me that he didn’t ask for the date’s name for one simple reason—he’d find out himself anyway. His fingertips grazed my collarbone. “Is it the pendant that you want?”
More than I want revenge.
That pendant brought me here in the first place. It forever lurked in the back of my mind. I never failed to glance at it when I stopped by his office.
But now that I knew him, I refused to resort to theft or blackmail.
Somewhere along the way, I’d decided to win the pendant back, fair and square.
“My freedom is not negotiable.” I flicked his finger off me. “I’ll date whether you like it or not. And if it pisses you off, just remember—you have a fiancée.”
Rather than answer me, he swooped down, drawing my lower lip inside his mouth, sucking hard, stealing my breath away.
The kiss was different this time. Cruel and demanding, teetering on the brink of frenzy.
“I want to fuck you right here. Right now.” His tongue stroked the roof of my mouth. “I don’t give a fuck that you’re on your period.”
I was still raw from yesterday, a dull pain coating the walls of my pussy, and I couldn’t think of anything more horrifying than sex while on my period.
At the same time, I wanted this. Wanted to fill this emptiness with him.
He sucked my tongue into his mouth.
I whimpered when he dared, “Tell me to stop, Octi.”
But I couldn’t.
Not when his mouth sliding down my chin felt like bliss.
His hands clawed my pajama top, ripping it clean of buttons. They flew everywhere, wheeling at our feet.
He picked up my breast through my bralette and squeezed the underside, bringing my soft flesh to his lips.
“This means nothing.” The words ripped out from the back of my throat.
He sucked my entire breast into his mouth, licking away the pain every time I moaned, running his teeth over my sensitive skin.
“Yes or no?” He sounded cold. So, so cold.
I groaned. “Yes.”
He didn’t play fair. My hands roamed his body, fingers disappearing inside his hair, greedily clutching his smooth skin and bulging muscles.
I barely managed to add, “Condom.”
This time, he didn’t argue.
He produced one from his pocket—did the jerk walk around with it, just in case?—and ripped the wrapper with his teeth, shoving my sweatpants and panties down.
A shiver bolted up my spine when he pushed my bra to my neck, his tongue lapping circles on my skin as it traveled south.
“I hate this so much,” I informed him, still driving his head down to my pussy.
He used his thumb to stroke the slit of my dripping pussy, his mouth fastening on my clit. I released a desperate moan, arching my ass up, chasing his touch.
I hate this.
I want this.
I need this.
Conflicting thoughts circled my head, but he chased them away with a flick of his tongue.
“Poor baby.” His breath fanned my clit. “I’m so sorry you have to suffer through another orgasm.”
He darted his tongue out, rolling the tip of it from my ass crack to my clit. My entire body spasmed with pleasure.
“I feel so empty.” The strangled confession tumbled past my lips. “I need you inside me.”
I didn’t even care that this was wrong, and out of control, and even sinful. Didn’t care that my body hadn’t recovered from last night. That delicious bruises still peppered my skin.
I wanted him where he belonged—inside me.
“I know, baby. I’m about to fuck you so deep, you’ll feel my cock every time you walk.”
I didn’t doubt it.
Last time, his dick seemed to reach my heart.
Slowly, he withdrew the tampon and dumped it on the floor. As soon as the tampon was out, Zach was in.
He didn’t ease into me this time. He thrust home with his sheathed cock all at once, filling me to the brim.
The sensation was so intense I felt like I was climaxing and giving birth at the same time.
My muscles squeezed around him, milking his erection as his upper body hovered above mine.
Our foreheads met.
“Hello, Octi.”
I imagined his hungry gaze. He must have looked like a lion after a good feast.
I waited for my embarrassment to kick in, but all I could feel was desire. So much desire.
“Hold on to my shoulders, Farrow.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m about to fuck the soul out of you.”
He squeezed my throat between his elegant fingers, pulled out of me, then started fucking me mercilessly.
A grunt punctuated each thrust, followed by a swirl of his waist and a tilt of his body to hit my G-spot.
He released my throat, dipped his head down, and ravished my mouth. Our tongues fought and molded into one another, neither of us gaining dominance.
Behind us, the door whined open. Light seeped in, inch by inch.
“Hello? Anyone there?” Natalie’s head popped in. “I wanted some pretzel—”
“Out.” Zach kicked the door shut with his foot without even looking back, still kissing and fucking me.
He must’ve caught her finger, because I heard her yelp.
Zach shifted, lowering us to the floor. Each time he speared into me, my back slid against the glossy tiles.
The friction, pain, and vibrations brought me to heights I didn’t know my climax could reach. Everything in my body felt electrified, swollen, and alive.
I tightened my walls around his cock, feeling his skin humming against mine. “I’m going to come.”
My eyes rolled back. An avalanche of warmth swept over me. I rocked back and forth as my climax grabbed me by the throat.
Zach didn’t slow, fucking me even harder, wilder, like he intended to nail me to the floor. “I’m going to mark you until there’s no doubt who you belong to.”
“I belong to no one,” I groaned out, letting him devour my breasts, tease my nipples, lick every inch of my chest.
Snacks tumbled from the shelves, joining the buttons on the floor.
“Have fun on your date, Octi.” He released my skin with a pop, no doubt leaving a love bite tattooed to my skin. “You can pretend to enjoy another man’s company, but we both know that no one will ever come close to me.” Zach rubbed his mark with his thumb, letting it soak into my skin. “Coming now.”
“Me, too.”
Only with Zach did I ever have orgasms so close together.
I couldn’t help it.
He overloaded my senses. It was all too much. The scenery. The sensation. The man.
His cocked jerked inside me. He released a guttural groan, pushing his face into my shoulder blade.
I felt the heat of his cum inside his condom and the drip of my juices leaking onto the tiles.
Within seconds, he returned to his feet before I could regulate my breaths, tucking his dick back into his pants. He opened the door, letting a sliver of light in as he knotted the full condom.
I still lay on the floor, panting, wet, and naked.
“Admit it, Octi. No one else will ever chart. I’m it for you. I’m the only man you’ll ever desire.”
“How do you know?”
He stepped back, frowning. “Because you’re it for me, too.”
Every ounce of defiance I’d managed to muster knocked out of me in one swoop.
Before I could answer him, he turned and walked away, making sure to flip on the lights, so I could take a good look at the gift he’d left behind.
My discarded tampon, drenched from my juices and coated pink with diluted blood.
Proof I would always and forever be his little slut.
