Chapter 16 Forbidden Territory
Melissa’s POV
The cupboard door swung open.
My breath caught in my throat.
Inside, neatly arranged on velvet-lined shelves, were things I never expected to see. Leather cuffs with silver buckles. Silk restraints in deep burgundy. A riding crop with an ornate handle. Other items I couldn’t even name, all organized with the same meticulous care as everything else in his office. They were sex toys.
Heat flooded through me, pooling low in my belly.
My mind conjured images I had no right imagining. Gavin’s hands wrapping those cuffs around wrists. His voice, low and commanding, giving orders that would make someone…that would make me—
I pressed my thighs together, feeling myself grow wet.
Stop it. Stop thinking about it.
But I couldn’t. My body responded to thoughts I shouldn’t be having, creating scenarios that made my skin flush hot and my breathing quicken.
I reached out, my fingers hovering over one of the leather cuffs.
“Like what you see?”
I stifled a scream, spinning around so fast I nearly lost my balance.
Gavin stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame like he’d been there for hours. His suit jacket was gone, tie loosened, and his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong forearms. His ice-blue eyes pinned me in place.
My heart hammered against my ribs. “I didn’t expect… I thought you were out.”
“Clearly.” His gaze flicked to the open cupboard, then back to my face. Something dark and dangerous flickered in his expression. “Find what you were looking for?”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have” I took a step back, my legs hitting the desk. “I’ll just go.”
He moved. Not toward me, but to close the office door behind him. The soft click echoed through the room like a gunshot.
We were alone. Completely alone.
“What happened to your neck?”
His voice had changed. Gone was the slight amusement. Now it was cold. Hard.
My hand flew to the gauze instinctively. “Nothing. I just—”
“Melissa.” He crossed the room in three strides, stopping just inches away. “What Happened to You?”
I bit my lip, trying to think of a lie. But the pills made my thoughts fuzzy, and slow.
His hand came up, fingers brushing the edge of the gauze. “I’ll ask one more time. Who hurt you?”
The gentleness in his touch contrasted sharply with the steel in his voice.
“Troy,” I whispered.
The air in the room changed instantly. Gavin’s entire body went rigid. His jaw clenched so hard I heard his teeth grind together.
“What did he do?”
“It doesn’t matter—”
“Tell me.” His eyes bored into mine. “Every detail.”
So I told him. About the storage room. About Troy grabbing me, backing me against the wall. About his hands on my throat, his teeth breaking skin.
With every word, Gavin’s expression grew darker.
When I finished, silence stretched between us. Heavy. Suffocating.
Then his hands were on my waist, lifting me effortlessly onto the desk.
I gasped. “What are you—”
“He marked you.” His voice was low, dangerous. His fingers carefully peeled back the gauze, revealing the angry purple-red bite mark. “He put his fucking teeth on you.”
My breath came faster. “Gavin…”
His eyes met mine. The hunger in them made my stomach flip.
“Did you want him to?”
“No.”
“Good.” His hand slid up to cup the back of my neck, tilting my head to the side. “Because you’re not his to mark.”
Before I could process his words his mouth descended on my neck. On the unmarked side, opposite Troy’s bite.
I moaned. I couldn’t help it. His lips were hot against my skin, his tongue tracing patterns that made my toes curl.
Then he sucked. Hard.
“Oh God—” My hands flew to his shoulders,my fingers digging into solid muscle.
He sucked harder, deliberately creating a mark. Erasing Troy’s touch with his own.
My legs wrapped around his waist instinctively, pulling him closer. I could feel him against me, hard and insistent through his pants.
I ground against him, desperate for friction. For relief from the ache building between my thighs.
He groaned against my neck, his hands tightening on my waist.
“Melissa.” My name was a warning. “Stop.”
But I couldn’t stop. The pills had lowered all my inhibitions. Made everything feel urgent and necessary.
I ground against him again, harder this time.
His control snapped.
His mouth crashed against mine in a kiss that stole my breath. It was hot, possessive and demanding and everything I shouldn’t want but desperately did.
I kissed him back just as fiercely, my hands tangling in his hair. His tongue swept into my mouth and I whimpered, pressing closer.
One of his hands slid up my thigh, pushing the silk of my dress higher.
Then he froze.
He tore his mouth away from mine, breathing hard. “We can’t.”
“Why not?” My voice came out desperate, needy.
“Because you’re on something.” His eyes searched my face. “Your pupils are dilated. You took pills.”
Shame flooded through me. “Just anxiety medication. To help me sleep.”
“You’re not in your right mind.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing—”
“No.” He stepped back, putting distance between us. “You don’t.”
The loss of his body heat made me shiver.
“This ends now,” he said, his voice rough. “Before we cross a line we can’t come back from.”
“We already crossed that line.” Tears burned behind my eyes. “The moment you kissed me at that party. The moment you saved me in the pool. The moment you—”
He turned away, running a hand through his hair. “Go to bed, Melissa.”
“Gavin—”
“Go. Now. Before I change my mind and fuck you on that desk.”
I slid off the desk on shaky legs. My body screamed in protest, unsatisfied and aching.
At the door, I turned back. “You marked me too.”
His eyes met mine.
“I know,” he said quietly. “And I shouldn’t have.”
But he didn’t look sorry. He looked like he wanted to do it again.
I fled to my room before I could beg him to.