“But I still don’t get it,” he says, pulling his hand back slightly.
“Why the auction?”
“You were never meant to belong to anyone else.”
“Buying you was the only way to guarantee that.”
His breath catches slightly.
“And now,” I continue, quieter, “we can finally be together.”
The way we were supposed to be. The way we always—
He swallows, then shifts slightly in his seat.
“There’s… something else,” he says.
“About what?”
He hesitates again, and I know exactly where this is going.
“About sex?” I say calmly.
“What about it?” I continue.
“Did you not like it? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it’s not that.”
“I liked it.”
And then he adds, almost under his breath—
“It was… better than I imagined.”
I don’t react, not outwardly. I just take another sip of my coffee like I didn’t hear it. Like it didn’t just confirm everything I already knew.
But when I look back at him—
He’s smiling. And I find myself doing the same.
Because finally—
After all these years—
He’s finally mine.
And this time…
He’s not going anywhere.
CHAPTER 9
PIERCE
It didn’t start all at once.
Not the way people think obsession works.