Chapter 6

The bass from the private sound system thumped against my ribs, a steady, heavy heartbeat that matched the frantic rhythm of my own pulse. We had escaped the main terrace, the air thick with the scent of gunpowder and expensive champagne, for the relative privacy of the back lounge. It was just us, the plush velvet couch, and the panoramic view of the Manhattan skyline glittering like scattered diamonds in the dark. The city below was a maze of light, but up here, in this quiet corner, the world narrowed down to just his weight pressing me into the cushions, just the heat of his body pinning me down, just the anticipation coiling tight in my lower belly. He hadn’t said much since we’d moved from the floor to the couch, but his hands had been busy. His fingers, large and calloused, had peeled away the last of my silk dress, leaving me bare from the waist up, exposed and trembling under his gaze. Now, he knelt between my spread legs, his head bowed, those dark eyes raking over my thighs, my hips, the curve of my ass where his thumb had been circling relentlessly. I could feel the slickness