Page 9 of Savage Ambition

It pushed me over the edge, and I came with a harsh groan, marking his stomach and hand with my cum. It wasn’t as satisfying as filling him would have been, but seeing him painted with my release stirred something primitive in me.

We stood in the water as he washed off his stomach. He gestured between us. “This doesn’t bother you?”

I ducked my head, keeping my voice too low for the microphones to pick up over the sound of falling water. “The only thing that bothers me is you acting like this changes anything between us.”

“But it does.”

I moved closer, bracing a hand against the wet tile next to his head. “Fine, acting like this negatively changes anything between us.” I needed him to return. His permanent absence would raise questions with real consequences for me and Raphael.

He didn’t pull away. “You don’t think it has?”

“That depends on you, doesn’t it?” I stepped back, mindful of maintaining distance for the cameras. Salvatore would analyze any genuine tenderness and weaponize it against me. He’d done it before.

Shaw struggled to form a response, so I offered an escape. “You should probably go soon.”

“But we didn’t actually finish,” Shaw said, color flooding his face.

I shut off the water. “Did you want to?”

His eyes darted to the drain. “It’s not that I don’t want to, eventually. But I always thought my first time would be with someone who loved me.”

It confirmed my suspicions he was a romantic virgin. I remained silent because I feared I couldn’t keep the mocking edge from my voice, although part of me envied his ability to still believe in such fairy tales.

“Someone who wants me for me,” he continued. “Not because they’re being paid.”

I grabbed towels for us both from the rack. “Do you regret it?”

He accepted the towel and dried himself before wrapping it around his waist. His eyebrows furrowed as he sorted through his emotions about what happened. “I don’t know. Maybe?”

“What’s your issue?” I kept my tone flat, calculating damage control. I needed him to return to shield me from Salvatore’s suspicions about us having sex outside the brothel.

He shrugged. “Dan⁠—”

I crushed my mouth against his, silencing the dangerous name. His fingers tangled in my damp hair as I backed him against the wall, stirring a renewed hunger we had no time to satisfy. My next client was probably already waiting downstairs.

He grinned wryly when we parted. “Well, I guess that’s better than biting me.”

“Considering how much you keep trying to use my name, I’ll have to think of other ways to shut you up.”

“Yeah, yeah. Very funny.” He hurried out of the bathroom.

“Who said anything about funny?” I followed him out, then dropped onto the edge of the bed, remaining in my towel while he dressed. Each inch of skin that disappeared beneath the heavy fabric felt like something stolen from me.

After fastening his jeans, he shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched his shoulders. “Now what?”

A glance at the nightstand clock showed our time had almost expired. “You leave for now,” I said, softening my harsh words with a gentler tone. “But you’ll come back later.”

“Right.”

The awkward tension grated on my nerves. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” In class, completely outside of Salvatore’s territorial grip.

“Okay.” His gaze dropped to the rug.

I tilted his chin up. “It’ll be fine.” I was reassuring myself as much as him.

Ishi’s knock signaled our time had ended. I stole a final kiss before stepping away.

He looked dazed. “Good night.”