Page 64 of Shades of Ruin

She rolls her eyes and heaves a sigh of defeat. “Yeah, good point.” She frowns and looks at her tits, suddenly remembering that there’s a downside to this too. “How long is the recovery time on these?”

“Six to eight weeks. I’m banking on six. I don’t think I could wait much longer to play with them.”

“You and me both,” she agrees.

Reaching for the glasses, I grab a couple of sphere-shaped ice blocks from the freezer, crack open the bottle of Grande Couronne, and pour a double in each. “Drink up,” I command, shoving the glass into her hand. I clink my own glass against the edge of hers and slam it down my throat in two large gulps.

“Angel,” I warn when she doesn’t touch hers.

“Fine,” she huffs as she brings the rim to her lips. She takes a small sip before jerking the glass away. “Mierda, this is vile.”

I gape at her dismissal of a six hundred dollar bottle of vintage liquor. “Insult my whisky again, and I’ll spank your ungrateful ass with that spoon over there,” I threaten, nodding toward the large, wooden spoon she left out on the counter.

She follows my gaze and then looks up at me with defiance burning in her eyes. “What makes you think I wouldn’t enjoy that?”

“What makes you think I wouldn’t find a way to make sure that youdon’t? I have some fresh ginger in the fridge. Want to see how that feels shoved up your ass while you clench your burning little hole with every smack?”

The smugness disappears from her face. “No, thank you.”

“That’s what I thought. Now finish that drink like a good fucking girl.”

Chapter Thirty-One

ANGÉLICA

Ichoke down every drop of whisky in spite of wanting to gag as it burns my throat. I imagine Grey spent a small fortune on a bottle of liquor that tastes exactly like lighter fluid, but who am I to judge. I have no desire to revisit my experience with the damn ginger, so I keep my mouth shut and do as I’m told. By the time my glass is empty, my insides feel warm and tingly, and there’s a pleasant haze softening the edges of my vision. Maybe the whisky wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

“Ready?” Grey asks when I slide my glass onto the counter.

He’s had three drinks in the amount of time it took me to finish one. If it was anyone else, I’d be worried about the steadiness of their hands with my nipples at their mercy. But I’ve never seen Grey shake once in all the times we’ve cooked together. He’s solid as stainless steel and just as unbending.

“As I’ll ever be,” I murmur, still holding the box of diamond jewelry in my hands as though it’s a live grenade about to go off.

It’s not that I’m not excited—hell, I’ve soaked through my panties fantasizing about him piercing me more than once. But this feels more important than just playing with pain anddominance. Thismeanssomething to him, and I know there’s no going back after this.

He wants to claim me as his. He wants me to belong to him. But he doesn’t even fully know the girl he’s so determined to keep. He doesn’t understand the dark, tainted secrets that separate me from everyone else. And we’ve come so far that I don’t know if I could risk losing him with the truth.

Complete truth is the one thing Greyson has demanded of me, and I’m terrified that it’s the only thing I’ll never be able to give.

“No need to sound so nervous, angel,” Grey hums with the softest sweetness in his blue eyes. He pinches my pebbled nipples between his fingers. “I’d never do anything to damage these pretty little titties.”

I flinch when he rips open the front of my dress, and suddenly his hot mouth is on me, driving me crazy with need as his tongue etches ecstasy into my skin. He tugs on my sensitive nipple with his teeth until I whimper at the delicious sting of it. His lips wrap around me as he sucks hard, and the sweet pressure of it sends a flood of arousal straight to my pussy.

I’m not wearing any panties, and I can already feel the slick wetness between my thighs.

As if sensing the fierce heat that’s building in my core, Grey slips his hand between my thighs and groans when his fingers slide into the sticky wetness at my entrance. “No panties, you naughty fucking girl,” he pants as he thrusts his fingers inside me. I clench around his hand, begging for more. “Were you hoping I’d fuck you before dinner?”

“No,” I answer as smugly as I can between gasps while his skilled fingers decimate the flimsy boundary keeping my climax at bay. “Iknewyou would.”

“Sounds like I’m becoming too predictable. Maybe I shouldleave you aching and needy just to shake things up?” he asks, the smolder in his eyes dark and wicked.

“No, please,” I whimper, the muscles of my pussy clenching to keep him inside me. “I need you. I need you inside me right now.”

“Hmm,” he hums while he pretends to think it over. “If you’re a good girl and stay perfectly still while I pierce your nipples, I’ll fuck you after.”

“Please don’t make me wait.” I’ve never experienced the sort of desperate hunger he ignites inside me with anyone else, and he is the only man I will ever beg. “I want you so much it hurts.”

“You know I love to see you suffer.” The bright gleam in his crystalline eyes is cruel and merciless. “Now I’m definitely going to make you wait.”

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