GENESIS
"How much for a smile?"
Huh?
My head tilted before I could stop it. I blinked up at him, confused.
I scrunch my nose slightly. Was this... a game? Was I supposed to smile now? But why would he pay for that?
He pushed me gently against the wet, smooth stone wall. The coldness against my back contrasted sharply with the heat of his bare body pressing into mine. I could feel something else, too—hard, stiff—pressing against me.
Heat rushed up my neck, blooming across my face.
He lifted one hand from my waist to wipe the water from his face. The shower kept pouring over us, but since I was backed against the wall, my view wasn't blocked. I saw everything.
Then he cupped my cheek with a rough, warm palm.
"Did I upset you, kitten? Since I came home, you haven't smiled at me. You haven't even looked at me."
Oh.
Guilt slammed into my chest, hard. That's what had been clawing at me since the moment he walked through the door. Every time my mind drifted to that tiny bottle filled with poison, it made me feel sick—like I was going to throw up.
"You're doing it again," he said. "Tell me what I did. I'll fix it. That's why I asked how much for a smile. Hell, I'd pay for a smile from you."
His hand drifted lower, pressing gently against my pelvic bone, and tingles shot through me like a current.
I turned my face back to his, slow and shaky, even as heat simmered under my skin. His eyes were locked on mine—not just watching, but pleading. Starving.
"I don't like it when you look away like that," he murmured. "You don't know what it does to me when you shut me out."
His thumb brushed my bottom lip.
"You think I just want your body?" he asked, and his voice cracked a little, like it hurt him to say it. "God, kitten… I want all of you. Your looks. Your silences. Your little nose scrunches. The way you hide your face when I catch you staring."
His other hand slid down, gripping my thigh, lifting it up and wrapping it around his waist. I gasped—or maybe just breathed too sharply—my chest rising fast as his lips hovered above mine. Not touching. Just there.
"So smile at me," he whispered. "I feel like I'm losing my mind when you look at me like that... like you're slipping away."
I drew in a deep breath, staring into his eyes.
Maybe I should just smile. Acting like this would only make him suspicious. He didn't need to know the truth. Not yet.
I bit my lip. Then I thought about the good moments—about everything that had happened since I came to live here with him.
And the smile came.
Not forced. Not faked. Just... real.
His breath caught—a single sharp inhale, like I'd knocked the wind out of him.
Then his eyes dropped to my lips, catching on the soft curve of my smile. When his gaze returned to mine, something shifted. Snapped.
"Oh, baby…" he whispered, awed. "You're gonna ruin me."
And then he kissed me.
Fierce. Desperate. His lips crashed into mine, sucking, tasting, devouring. Our tongues tangled. Teeth clashed. It was messy and hot and I couldn't breathe—but in the best way.
And just like that, it was over.
He pulled away, then began planting kisses all over my face—my eyes, my nose, my neck—and lower, down to my chest. My mouth fell open as tingles raced down my spine.
Then his lips wrapped around my nipple, and I trembled.
He sucked on the right one, while his large hand covered the other completely. He squeezed it gently, rolling and pinching my nipple between his fingers.
"These…" he growled softly, "are mine. All mine."
My eyes rolled back. It felt so good—too good. A different kind of wetness pooled between my thighs, and they started to shake.
He raised his eyes to mine. They looked different now. Wild. Feral. Like something inside him had snapped loose.
"They're mine, right?"
I nodded. Of course they were his. No one had ever made me feel this way. And even if everything between us ended someday, my body had already chosen him.
"Good girl," he murmured. "Now spread that pretty pussy for me."
My face flushed hot.
"I'm going to fuck you so thoroughly," he said with a smirk, "that every time you look at me, you'll blush and smile remembering how good it felt."
I nodded again. That was all I could do.
He grabbed the thick head of his cock and guided it to my entrance—already pulsing and aching with need.
His other hand wrapped around my neck, steadying me against the wall as he leaned in and pressed our foreheads together. The heat and steam from the shower wrapped around us like a fog.
He smirked, eyes locked on mine.
"I'm going to ruin you—dirty you up, inside and out—until all you can think about is me. Just me."
And then he slammed into me.
The force knocked the breath out of my lungs. My mouth opened in a silent scream, which he captured with a kiss—his lips crashing down on mine.
****
TEACHER
I opened the book and held it up to him.
Kier glanced at it, frowning, finally unlatching his mouth from my neck and face.
It was the next day. He was dressed for work, and I was supposed to have a class with Liam. Though, now that I thought about it, Liam hadn't shown up for a while. I just assumed he was on a break.
Kier sighed. "Your tutor won't be coming anymore. I'll get you a new one."
What?
Why?
He read the question in my eyes. Running a hand through my hair, he leaned in to kiss me, but I pulled back.
He groaned. "Your tutor didn't know how to respect personal boundaries. Claimed he was the best, but—" his voice dropped into a snarl, "—he crossed the line."
Personal boundaries?
I blinked, slowly processing that. Then I took my book and scribbled:
JUST LIKE YOU
He was supposed to leave for work, but instead, here he was—kissing my neck, sucking on my breasts, touching my skin like he had all the time in the world.
His eyes widened. "No," he said, serious. "I do that because you're my wife. I have every right to your body. But he doesn't. And he touched your arm."
What?
He was serious.
So… he fired my tutor because he touched my arm?
When did that even happen?