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“This doesn’t fix what you did.” Her hand wrapped around my cock, stroking slowly. “This doesn’t erase the betrayal. This doesn’t mean I forgive you or that we’re going back to the way things were. This is just me choosing to fuck you because I want to. Because I can. Because I own this House and everything in it, including you.”

“I know.”

“Do you?” She positioned herself above me, the head of my cock pressing against her entrance. “Do you really understand that you’re mine now? That I could take you or leave you? That I could let you fuck me tonight and never touch you again?”

“Yes.” My hands moved to her hips, but I didn’t pull her down. I just held her, waiting. “I understand. And I’m still here. I’m still asking. Please, Zinnia. Please let me inside you.”

She smiled, dark and devastating, and then she sank down onto me in one slow, deliberate movement.

The sensation was overwhelming. She was tight and hot and perfect, and when she bottomed out, I felt something inside me break open. Not my body. Not my control. Something deeper. Something locked away since the night I betrayed her.

“Fuck,” I gasped. “Zinnia⁠—”

“Don’t move.” Her nails dug into my shoulders. “Don’t you fucking move. I’m going to ride you, and you’re going to sit there and take it, and you’re not going to come until I tell you to.”

“I don’t know if I can⁠—”

“You will.” She started moving, rolling her hips in slow, torturous circles. “Because if you come before I give you permission, I’ll make you watch while I fuck someone else. I’ll make you sit in the audience and watch while Rook or Khaos or some random guest makes me scream. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Good.” She picked up the pace, riding me harder, faster, her breasts bouncing with each movement. “Now tell me what you thought about when I was gone. Tell me what you did with all that grief.”

“I—” My hands tightened on her hips. “I walked through the city at night. I went to the places we used to go. I stood outside your apartment and stared at the windows and tried to remember what it felt like to be near you.”

“And?”

“And I hated myself.” The words came out raw, broken. “I hated myself for what I did to you. I hated myself for not being strong enough to refuse Evangeline. I hated myself for choosing power over you and then losing both.”

Zinnia slowed her movements and leaned down to kiss me. This time, it was softer, almost gentle, but there was still an edge to it.

“I hated you too,” she said against my mouth. “I hated you for leaving me. I hated you for betraying me. I hated you for making me love you and then destroying it.”

“I know.”

“But I also missed you.” Her hips rolled again, and I felt her tighten around me. “I missed the way you looked at me. I missed the way you touched me. I missed the way you made me feel like I was the only person in the world who mattered.”

“You were.” My voice cracked. “You are.”

She sat up, her hands braced on my chest, and started riding me harder. “Prove that you can love me without owning me. Prove that you can want me without claiming me. Prove that you understand what it means to give yourself to someone freely.”

The House responded to her words. The shadows coiled tighter around us, the velvet walls pulsed faster, and the masked guests began to move in their seats, their hands sliding over their own bodies as they watched.

“I can feel them,” Zinnia said, her voice breathless. “I can feel their hunger. Their desire. Their need. And it’s feeding me. It’s making me stronger.”

“Good.” My hands moved up her sides, cupping her breasts, and she arched into my touch. “Take it. Take everything you need.”

“I will.” She leaned down, her teeth scraping against my throat. “But first, I want to hear you beg.”

“Please.” The word came out as a groan. “Please, Zinnia. Please let me come. I can’t—I can’t hold on much longer.”

“Not yet.” Her teeth sank into my shoulder, hard enough to draw blood, and I felt the House shudder in response. “Not until I say so.”

She rode me harder, faster, her movements becoming desperate and uncontrolled. I could feel her getting close again, could feel her body tightening around me, and I knew I wasn’t going to last much longer.

“Zinnia—”

“Wait.” Her nails raked down my chest, leaving red lines in their wake. “Just—fuck—just wait.”