CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
LENA

MY KNEES BUCKLED WITH RELIEF. I NEVER THOUGHT I’D ever be grateful to hear that voice, but right then, I could’ve built a shrine in its honor and pledged eternal devotion.

Over Max’s shoulder, I spotted Ethan—his tousled hair, his lean, solid frame—and suddenly, I could breathe again.

“Ethan.” His name escaped on a breath, like a lifeline.

In many ways, it was.

Max’s eyes narrowed as he followed my gaze. Then, slowly, he withdrew his hand and turned, offering Ethan a pleasant nod that went entirely unreturned.

“Not interrupting,” he said coolly. “Just catching up with an old friend.” His gaze flicked between us with veiled curiosity, but he didn’t push further.

“Good seeing you, J. Don’t forget…” He tapped his phone with a smug grin, then turned and walked away.

I waited until he vanished around the corner before slumping back against the wall, my heart thudding against my ribs and my stomach churning with the threat of revolt.

Ethan closed the distance in two strides, gripping my arms and scanning my face, his brows creased with concern. “You look like you’re going to throw up.”

I forced a smirk. “That’s just my natural reaction to seeing you.”

The jab fell flat, no real bite behind it. What I actually wanted was to curl into his chest and block out the nightmare of the last half hour. He wasn’t exactly a friend, but right now, he was the only steady ground in a world that had suddenly tilted sideways.

Ethan didn’t bother responding to my weak sarcasm. “Did he hurt you?” His voice was quiet, but underneath, it rippled with something darker—something protective that cut through the lingering cold in my bones.

“No,” I replied, though it wasn’t entirely true. “He’s just… someone from my past. We were catching up.”

I couldn’t risk letting anyone know the full truth—not about Max, and definitely not about what I used to be. Ethan already thought the worst of me. If he found out I had once been a thief, I didn’t want to imagine the fallout.

“In the biblical sense?” His tone turned from dark to dangerous.

“Careful, Ethan.” I tried to play it off, ignoring the unwanted flutter in my chest. “Or I’ll start thinking you’re jealous.”

A tight smile tugged at his mouth. “I don’t do jealousy.”

“There’s a first time for everything.” I stood straighter, pretending I wasn’t enjoying his concern far too much. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Same reason as you, I guess.” His tone was dry. “Came to check out the club. Wasn’t feeling it and was on my way out… then I saw you.”

“Right.” We were near the exit, so it tracked. Even though Max was gone, his presence still clung to the air, foul and heavy, like smoke from a fire you thought was out.

His threat replayed in my mind on a loop.

Did he already have a plan? Or would he make it up as he went along?

He’d said no sex, but that didn’t mean the favor would be any less dangerous—or illegal.

What if he wanted me to steal for him again?

And why just one favor? He’d spent seven years behind bars because of what we did. I’d expected revenge or a never-ending list of demands.

So what was this really about?

Was the “favor” just a mask for something deeper, darker?

Questions spiraled through my head, each one louder than the last.

Breathe. Focus.

I’d handle Max later, when the shock wore off and I could actually think straight. For now, there was nothing I could do.

I blinked hard, forcing thoughts of my ex into the background where they belonged.

If emotional suppression were an Olympic sport, I’d be on the podium every four years with gold around my neck.

“You said you were busy tonight,” Ethan said, shifting closer, resting his forearm against the wall above me. His eyes locked onto mine, sharp and unrelenting.

"I am." I tossed my hair over my shoulder and pasted on an impudent smile. "Or maybe I just didn't want to meet up with you. I guess you'll never know."

"You trying to provoke me, Red?" His dark warning snaked through me.

Yes.

"I only provoke people I care about." I blinked up at him, the picture of innocence. "That doesn't include you, Ethany." Anticipation climbed in my chest when a soft snarl rose in his throat. "It's not care I want from you."

He claimed my lips in a punishing kiss. My blood burned at the onslaught, and when his tongue forced mine into submission, I yanked a fistful of his hair in retaliation until he hissed out a pained growl.

"Oops," I mocked. "Forgot how soft you were. I'll try to be gentler next time."

Ethan straightened and licked the spot of blood on his lower lip. I'd nipped him so hard during our kiss I'd broken skin.

"Don't worry, Red," he said, his smile a vicious slash across his face. "I'll show you just how soft I can be."

He closed his hand around my wrist in an iron grip and yanked me toward an unmarked door across the hall. Surprisingly, it was unlocked.

Ethan pushed me in.

It was some sort of supply closet slash overflow room.

Paper goods and utensils crowded the black metal shelves, a fog machine sat in the corner between a rolled-up rug and a broken-down chandelier, and a mirror hung on the wall opposite the door above a small table.

The click of the door locking behind me brought my attention back to Ethan. His presence filled every corner of the room, making the small space feel even smaller, and I could feel the heat radiating from his body across every inch of my skin.

Or maybe the heat was from the way he looked at me, like he wanted to devour me whole.

Sparks danced through me.

Blood pounding in my ears, electricity lighting up my veins. Thoughts of Max already fading into the nether where they belonged.

This was exactly what I needed.

"Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to do something?" I asked in as bored a tone as I could muster.

Ethan's eyes glinted in the dim light. He walked toward me, each slow step sending another jolt of anticipation and fear down my spine.

It took him only a few strides to reach me, but by the time he did, my heart was ready to burst out of my chest.

He didn't take his eyes off me as he yanked my dress up and ripped my underwear off.

I hissed out a protest when the flimsy silk shredded

without resistance.

"That was my good underwear, asshole."

Ethan lowered his mouth to mine. "Ask me if I care." He swallowed my angry retort with another bruising kiss while his fingers delved between my legs to find me already wet and aching for him.

Such a fucking jerk. That didn't stop my body from craving his, but it also didn't mean I had to make it easy for him..

I pushed him off and slapped him. Not hard, but enough for the satisfying smack of my palm meeting flesh to echo through the tiny space.

Adrenaline lit up my blood when his brief flare of shock morphed into fury.

Pinpricks of fear fanned my arousal into a white-hot flame. It burned hotter when he forced me to my knees and undid his belt and pants.

The thinly carpeted floor dug into my skin, and my breaths came out in harsh rasps when his cock sprung out, thick and angry and already leaking pre-cum.

"Open your mouth."

Need pulsed through me like a living thing, but I met his blazing eyes with defiant ones of my own. I kept my lips firmly pressed together.

The message was clear.

Make me.

Ethan's eyes blazed hotter. His hand closed around my throat, and he squeezed. Harder and harder, until darkness edged my vision and I couldn't take it anymore. I opened my mouth to gasp for air, managing to drag in one breath before he shoved his cock in.

Oh God.

I gagged horribly, my throat bulging around his girth as drool leaked from the corners of my mouth and dripped down my chin.

"Tuh mphfg." Too big. My whine of protest came out muffled. I pushed half-heartedly against his thighs even as my juices dripped down my own.

The hard floor, the pinch of pain when Ethan fisted my hair with both hands, the sensation of having my throat

completely filled...it was too much.

My nipples hardened into diamond points, and I resisted the urge to stroke my clit.

I was already close to orgasm, and he hadn't even touched me yet.

Ethan tugged my head back until he stared straight down into my tear-filled eyes. "I'm going to fuck that smart mouth of yours until the only sound you'll be able to make is the one of you choking on my cock," he said calmly. He rubbed one of my tears away with his thumb.

An electric shiver ripped down my spine at the contrast between his lethally soft threat and his tender touch.

"The next time you want to insult me, I want you to think about this." He withdrew until just the tip of his cock remained in my mouth, paused, and plunged down in one sharp thrust.

I gagged again, the tears flowing faster, the heat in my belly stoking hotter. "You on your knees, gagging on every inch of my cock while I ruin your tight little throat."

I whimpered. My nipples and pussy were so sensitive a strong gust of air could very well tip me over the edge. "Mphm yphf." Fuck you.

Ethan smiled, and the pinpricks of fear intensified until my entire body was a live wire of sensation.

"This is going to be fun."

That was the last warning I got before he started fucking my mouth so mercilessly it was all I could do to try and suck in breaths through my nose before he bottomed out again.

My helpless gurgles mixed with his harsh groans and the obscene slap of his balls against my chin as he punished my throat exactly the way he'd promised.

Hard. Brutal. Unrelenting.

I squirmed and tried to ease the ache in my jaw, but he was too big and the fucking too furious.

Eventually, however, my throat opened up, and he was able to slide even deeper with less resistance.

"That's it," Ethan groaned. "Every inch, just like that. I knew you could take it."

I moaned at the praise. I couldn't see properly through the tears clouding my vision, but the buzz between my legs had grown too loud for me to ignore.

I reached down to rub my clit.

Before I could make contact, Ethan yanked himself out of my mouth, lifted me up, and bent me over the table, ignoring my protest.

"You were enjoying your punishment a little too much, Red. We can't have that." He pushed my legs wider with his knee, his voice rough with lust. "Look at you. You're fucking soaked for me."

"It's not for you, asshole." My retort sounded breathless and unconvincing to my own ears. "I hate you."

The word you sharpened into a yelp when his palm landed on my ass with a sharp sting.

"That was for the fragile ego quip you made earlier. This..." Slap. "...is for the hallway. And this..." The hardest strike of all, one that made my body jerk on impact. "...is for driving me fucking insane."

A pleading sob fell out of my mouth when Ethan yanked my head back so his mouth hovered near my ear. "Tell me why I can't stop thinking about you. Hmm? What the fuck did you do to me?"

I shook my head, unable to form a response or make sense of the pain and pleasure ricocheting through me.

I was on fire. Skin blazing, tears and drool pooling on the table beneath me, but it all burned so exquisitely I never wanted it to stop.

Ethan's low snarl rumbled down my spine and made my toes curl. "Hold on to the table."

I heard the faint tear of a foil wrapper. I just managed to curl my hands around the cool wood before he was inside

me, driving deep and hard into my pussy with each upward thrust.

I cried out, my mind emptying of any thoughts except the sensation of his cock pounding into me and the slide of his skin against mine.

No Max. No secrets. No lies. Just ecstasy in its purest, most undiluted form.

"Still hate me?" Ethan's fingers dug into my throat with just enough pressure to intensify the heartbeat between my legs.

"Always," I gasped. I was getting lightheaded, but when I gripped his wrist, I didn't know whether it was to push him off...or keep him there.

His mouth curved into a tiny smirk as he stared at me in the mirror above the table-his eyes glittering with lust, the skin over those knife-blade cheekbones stretched taut with anger.

"Good."

The table banged against the wall with each savage thrust. My eyes fluttered closed from the sheer overload of sensation, but they flew open again when Ethan gave my hair

another sharp tug. "Open your eyes, Red." His other hand gripped my throat harder, and a fresh burst of arousal clouded my

vision. The pressure, the ease with which his grip encompassed my throat, it all felt horrifyingly right, like I was made to wear his fingers around my neck. "I want you to see exactly whose cock you're taking."

My skin flushed hotter than it already was. I stared at our reflections, taking in my glazed eyes and swollen lips. Hands on the table, back arched, head pulled back by Ethan's firm grip. I looked humiliatingly wanton, like I'd been fucked within an inch of my life and still wanted more.

Behind me, desire carved harsh lines into Ethan's features, and his eyes burned into mine as he resumed his thrusts. Slowly this time, feeding his cock into me inch by inch until he was buried to the hilt.

He leaned down and tugged gently on my earlobe with his teeth. "Whose cock, Red?"

"Yours," I whimpered.

"That's right. Now tell me..." He pulled out and slammed back into me with so much force I would've slid across the counter had his hand not still gripped my throat.

"Does this feel fragile to you?"

"Mmmph." I managed a garbled reply, but even that faded into a string of moans when Ethan picked up speed and settled into a punishing rhythm.

My first orgasm hit me like a lightning bolt, so sudden and explosive I didn't get a chance to process it before the second one rolled in. Slower, then building up, up, up until it crashed over me and drowned me with mind-numbing pleasure.

When Ethan finished with me, I'd come so hard so many times I was a boneless wreck. I collapsed on the table, my body quivering while he rubbed his palms over my ass and soothed the burn from his ruthless spanking earlier.

"You look so beautiful like this." His gentle voice was at complete odds with the feral way he'd fucked me, but it settled over my skin like a warm blanket. He continued rubbing me with soft strokes until the burn faded and my breaths returned to normal.

He turned me around, cleaned me up with one of the paper towels lining the shelves, and pulled my dress down around my thighs before sitting me on the table.

"Feel better?" he asked casually, like he hadn't just destroyed me in a club supply closet.

"Uh-huh." I was too dazed to come up with a more coherent response, though part of me realized Ethan knew all along what this was a distraction I'd goaded him into giving me, as hard as he could.

His mouth twitched with amusement, though his eyes remained heavy-lidded with desire. "Good. Now say goodbye to any friends you came with. I have plans for round two, and they require more space than we presently have."

Round two. Right..

My brain still wasn't functioning properly, but round two sounded good to me.

I should spend the first night in my new apartment, but the prospect of lying awake in my room, plagued with panic over what to do about Max, seemed less appealing than eating dirt.

My stomach twisted when thoughts of Max and his amorphous favor crept back in, erasing some of my high. No. Tomorrow. I'll deal with him tomorrow.

I waited a few minutes after Ethan left before I finally gathered the strength to stand on my own. I fixed my hair and makeup the best I could, but I wasn't a magician. There was no way I could go back into the club looking the way I did.

I sent my friends a quick text instead, telling them I'd met a guy and I would check in with them later. They were used to me doing this in our college days, so they didn't question me.

I snuck out of the supply closet and slipped out the back exit.

My stomach fluttered when I saw Ethan waiting for me, his lean, muscled form silhouetted against the moonlight. This was crazy. I was crazy for sneaking behind everyone's backs to hook up with him. I didn't even like the guy.

But like and need were different things, and right now, I needed what only he could give me.

I just hoped I didn't get too addicted in the process.