Inked Adonis: Chapter 26

Victory tastes like blood and smells like bullshit.

I lean against my office window, watching the Chicago skyline blur into twilight while I replay every detail of yesterday’s shelter visit in my head.

Each moment had been orchestrated, every reaction cataloged and analyzed. The way Nova’s shoulders tensed when she spotted Martinez outside. The way her breath hitched, her pupils dilated with pure, unfiltered terror at the sight of her father’s old drinking buddy.

You can’t fake that kind of visceral fear response. I’ve seen enough people try.

But it was Nova’s interaction with Susan, the shelter director, that sealed it. The genuine respect in Susan’s eyes when she greeted Nova. The easy familiarity as Nova walked around, rattling off the names and histories of every damaged creature in the place. The way her entire being lit up when she talked about rehabilitation success stories.

You can’t fake that kind of authenticity, either. Not even Katerina, master manipulator that she is, could pull off that level of genuine connection.

My fingers trace the cold glass, remembering the warmth of Nova’s small hand in mine as we toured the facility. She’d been so focused on the animals that she hadn’t noticed the calculated nature of our visit. Hadn’t realized that every moment was a test she was passing with flying colors.

She aced it.

My test is yet to come.

Because now that I know Nova isn’t playing me, I have to decide what the fuck to do with her. And the possessive hunger clawing at my insides suggests I’m already in deeper than I should be.

It’s not as if I don’t have plenty else that demands my attention. I should be handling the Andropov shitstorm right now. Three of my best men are down, their bodies cooling in Moscow morgues while Ilya slithers through Chicago’s underbelly like the snake he is.

Instead, I’m standing in my bedroom doorway like a lovesick teenager, watching Nova sleep.

She’s curled around my pillow, her dark hair spilling across the white cotton like spilled ink. Finally peaceful after hours of nervous pacing. It took hours, but eventually, once the vet left after bringing her to the penthouse, Ruby settled in at Nova’s feet. Not quite touching—not quite ready for that—but closer and calmer than either of them truly have a right to be.

Rufus lies between them. Protecting one, the other, or both—it’s impossible to tell for sure.

The sight does something to my chest that I refuse to examine too closely. Something that makes me want to crawl in beside her, wrap myself around her small frame, and tell the rest of the world to go fuck itself.

Dangerous thoughts for a man in my position.

My phone vibrates again. I don’t have to check to know what it says. Another body found. Another message that needs immediate attention. Another reminder that I don’t get to have normal things like watching a beautiful woman sleep in my bed.

Not so long as my fucking brother still draws breath.

But I can’t make myself move. Can’t tear my eyes away from the gentle rise and fall of her chest, the slight part of her lips, the way her fingers clutch my pillow like it’s an anchor in a storm.

Christ. I’m so utterly, completely fucked.

A soft sound escapes her throat and her eyelashes flutter. I brace myself for what comes next, knowing the peace of this moment is about to shatter like everything else in my life.

Those golden-brown eyes find me in the darkness, and the softness in them turns to iron.

“Yesterday was a setup, wasn’t it?” Nova pushes up on her elbows, my bedsheet sliding down to pool at her waist. “Susan. Martinez. All of it. You needed to see how I’d react to my father’s old partner. To prove I wasn’t lying about my past.”

I can only laugh inwardly. She’s smarter than anyone gives her credit for. Including me.

“Yes.” No point lying when she’s already carved through my bullshit. “Are you angry?”

My question comes out rougher than I intended. I lean against the doorframe, forcing myself to stay put when every instinct screams to go to her.

“Part of me wants to be.” She meets my gaze steadily, chin lifted in that defiant tilt that makes me want to kiss her and shake her in equal measure. “The other part understands why you did it. And…” A slight flush colors her cheeks. “The other other part is relieved you finally believe me.”

The naked relief in her voice is overwhelming. I hate that I put that uncertainty in her eyes, that fear. But I don’t regret investigating her. I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

In my world, trust has to be earned in blood and pain. Nova’s earned it. The question for both of us is… what comes next?

She sighs, her chest rising and falling with the motion. “So you got what you wanted. Do I get what I want now?”

“That depends. What do you want, Nova?”

Her answer is as immediate as it is impossible. “I want my freedom back. My work. My life.”

I push off the wall and walk closer as she keeps whispering. I’m careful to maintain distance even though every cell in my body screams to pull her into my embrace and never let go of her.

“No more keeping me prisoner. No more games. No more tests.”

“I have a counter-offer,” I say as I stop a few feet shy of where she’s sitting on the mattress. “You keep my security detail. You live here. You sleep in my bed. It’s under your terms—you’re no longer a captive—but… you stay with me. For good. Because you want to. Because I want you to.”

A small smile plays at the corners of her mouth. The kind that says she sees right through my bullshit. “Those sound less like conditions and more like things you need.”

Perceptive little thing. She’s figured out the truth—that I need her close not just for control, but because the thought of her anywhere else makes me homicidal.

“Take it or leave it.”

She studies me for a long moment, those whiskey-colored eyes seeing straight past my walls to the darkness underneath. Then she does something that stops my heart.

She reaches for me.

“I’ll take it,” she whispers against my mouth. “All of it.”

I grab her then, sealing the deal the only way I know how—with a kiss that sears us both. Because we both know this isn’t really a negotiation.

It’s a claiming.

Nova kisses me back like she’s starving for it, matching my intensity bite for bite, lick for lick.

Not submitting.

Claiming me right back.

“Sam,” she gasps as I trail kisses down her throat. Her pulse hammers against my tongue. She tugs at my shirt, small fingers fumbling with buttons, and I growl.

“Off,” I command, pulling back just enough to strip us both. The sight of her naked body nearly brings me to my knees. She’s all soft curves and battle scars, trust and defiance wrapped in one perfect package.

I lift her off the bed, carrying her to my desk. Papers scatter as I lay her down, but I couldn’t give less of a fuck about business right now. Not with Nova spread out before me like a feast, her eyes dark with want and something deeper that I’m not ready to name.

“Please,” she whispers.

Just like that, I’m lost.

Her plea ignites something feral inside me. I spread her thighs and drop to my knees like a man possessed, breathing in her intoxicating scent. One lick up her inner thigh and she’s already trembling.

“Sam!” She yanks my hair, demanding more. I devour her like a starving man, my tongue parting her folds, tasting her essence. She writhes but I pin her hips down.

She’s not going anywhere.

“Sweet fucking perfection,” I growl against her core, making her whimper. I torture her clit with precise strokes before sucking it between my lips. She arches off the desk with a cry that makes my cock throb.

“Don’t you dare stop,” she pants, heels digging into my back. Like I could. I need to hear her scream my name, need to feel her come undone. I thrust two fingers deep, curling them just right. She’s so tight it’s sinful.

I set a merciless rhythm, fingers pumping as I feast on her clit. She’s close—I can feel her walls fluttering, hear her breath catching. But I want her desperate first.

“Please,” she begs, thrashing. “Sam, please.”

There it is. I double down, sucking harder, finger-fucking her faster until she shatters. My name tears from her throat as she comes, coating my fingers and tongue with her release.

I drink every drop before rising. She’s sprawled across my desk, flushed and dazed. A goddamn masterpiece.

“My turn,” she purrs, reaching for my belt. I let her free my cock, groaning when she strokes me. Her thumb swipes across the tip. She spreads precum in teasing circles.

She lies back, pulling me with her. I cage her with my arms as she guides me to her entrance.

“Fuck me,” she commands, eyes blazing into mine.

I slam home in one brutal thrust. We both curse at how perfectly she takes me. I start moving, building from slow and deep to hard and fast, claiming her with every stroke.

Nova matches my rhythm. Her nails raking down my back as I pound into her. Skin slaps against skin, mixing with our desperate sounds. Sweat makes us slide together like we’re made for this.

“Harder,” she demands, legs locked around my waist. I give her what she needs, ramming into her until the desk groans in protest. I capture a bouncing nipple between my teeth, biting down.

“Yes!” She clenches around me, hovering on the edge. I reach down to work her clit, determined to feel her come on my cock.

I take her hard and fast, marking her inside and out. Making her mine in the most primitive way possible. She meets me thrust for thrust, her nails scoring my back, her legs locked around my waist like she never wants to let go.

When she comes, she calls my name like a prayer. Like salvation. Like she sees past the monster to the man and wants both equally.

It feels like victory.

It feels like surrender.

It feels like the most dangerous thing I’ve ever done.

Dawn spills across the bed like liquid gold, painting Nova’s skin in shades of honey and amber as I dress for work. She watches me with those knowing eyes that see too much, propped up on one elbow with the sheet barely covering her breasts.

“Your tie is crooked,” she advises me, voice still husky from sleep and sex.

I let her fix it, standing between her legs as she works. Her fingers brush my throat, a touch that should make my survival instincts kick in. Instead, I lean into it like a wolf accepting a collar.

“Last chance to run,” I tell her, needing to give her this final out. Needing her to understand exactly what she’s choosing by staying.

She doesn’t answer with words. Instead, she rises to her knees on the bed, pressing that soft, warm body against my freshly pressed suit. Her kiss is gentle but firm. Claiming. Accepting.

That primal thing once again roars to life in my chest. She’s chosen me, monster and man both. Not because she has to, but because she wants to.

“Be careful today,” she whispers against my mouth. “Come back to me.”

I crush her to me one last time, probably wrinkling the hell out of my suit. “Always.”

As I head for the door, that possessive thing inside me snarls in satisfaction.

She’s mine now. Really mine.

God help anyone who tries to take her away.