“Beautiful.” He sucks my clit between his teeth, and the ache in my pussy swells and bursts, consuming me in a tidal wave of stars. My back arches, my head thuds against the table. Jack presses one hand over my hips, holding me down as he continues to pound his fingers inside me. My orgasm rolls and rolls, never stopping, never slowing, and I cry out his name as all my tension and emotion leave me in a rush.

    “Jack!”

    * * *

    RAMPAGE

    My name on her lips does me in.

    I shove down my clothes and sheath myself, my cock so hard and tight even the slide of latex is a painful pleasure. Penny is languid on the table, beautiful in her release. I undo her restraints, drop my knee to the blanket-clad table, and move over her. “Are you ready for me, beautiful girl?”

    “Yes.” She wraps her arms around my neck, presses her lips to mine. Her kiss is sweet, her lips warm and soft, trusting and giving. Our eyes meet, linger, and I lose myself in the deep blue sea. I rock against her, teasing her clit hard again. When I feel her tremble, I slide in, gritting my teeth to hold myself back. She is so hot, so tight, so wet, and her body molds to mine. She is perfect for me. Perfectly made. A perfect fit. A perfect match.

    Her pussy quivers, and I thrust in and out, inch by inch, each time a little deeper but not deep enough, each time a little harder but not hard enough.

    “Jack,” she whispers. “Please, Jack. Please.”

    Her skin flushes, and her breaths come in short pants. I pick up the pace, hammering into her as I sweep my thumb over her clit. Her pussy tightens around me like a velvet glove, and she climaxes, her little nails digging into my shoulders, her heels digging into my ass, her voice raw and rough, groaning in my ear. I thrust one more time. Pleasure shoots down my spine and erupts through my cock in long, hot jerks.

    I collapse over Penny, drop my head to her chest. For the first time, I don’t feel the familiar bite of self-loathing. I have never felt such pleasure without pain. Although that need is still part of me, for Penny, I can push it away.

    “Thank you.” She strokes her hand down my back, her breath warm against my cheek.

    “For what?”

    “For showing me this side of you. I didn’t think you could have sex without some element of pain.”

    “Neither did I,” I say honestly. “I would be a happy man if I could make love to you like this every day.” I roll to my back and gather her in my arms, cradling her soft body against me.

    Penny pulls back and studies me, worry creasing her brow. “Happy, but not fulfilled.”

    “Happy is enough for me,” I assure her. “Pain is a craving. Not a need. And from what you just told me, I think you’ve had enough pain in your life.”

    Far from being reassured, Penny’s frown deepens, and she pushes herself to sit. “If you don’t feed the craving, it becomes a need. I know that better than anyone.”

    I’m not sure where she’s going with this. I am willing to change for her, to do what I promised Avery I would do, to suppress the part of me that destroyed my life for a chance at normal with her. “What are you saying?”

    She twists her hair around her finger, and her face softens. “I’m saying I enjoyed making love, but I also enjoyed what we did in the alley and what we did at the club and when you used your belt. You don’t have to give that up for me.”

    Emotion wells up in my throat, bittersweet. Penny could never give me what I get at Club Sin. She needs pain for emotional release, but she doesn’t enjoy it the way the masochists at the club do; she couldn’t tolerate the level of pain that gives me a total emotional release. And I couldn’t hurt her that way.

    “Means a lot to me, your saying that.” I stroke a finger along the curve of her jaw. “But I don’t think you really understand what goes on during a hard session at the club—the level of pain involved—and I don’t want you to. I want you, just the way you are, doing things the way we do them. That means exclusive, darlin’. I’m not the kind of man who shares.”

    I’m also not the kind of man who can find true release without pain.

    But for Penny, I’m willing to try.

19

    You were very angry

    PENNY

    Monday morning, after staying up half the night fretting over Jack’s decision to give up the club for me, I make the mistake of trying to sneak past Ray.

    “Stop right there,” he barks from behind his newspaper. “I see you, Pen. We got things to discuss.”

    “Amanda’s in court this morning.” I keep walking, looking straight ahead. “I have to get her stuff ready.”

    “She just called to say the hearing has been postponed, so we got lots of time to talk.” He folds his newspaper and swings his legs off the couch. “Friday. Things were happening in this office that made me concerned.”

    “Well, since they aren’t your concern, you don’t need to be concerned. Is the coffee ready?”

    “Don’t try to change the subject,” he growls. “All I care about is making sure you’re being treated right, and the way you looked when Jack walked out of your office on Friday made me think that’s not the case.”

    I head over to the coffeepot and pour a cup, trying to figure out how to get Ray to back down. Even if I tell him to stuff it, he’s not going to let this one go. “You know Jack. He’s a good guy.”

    “You never really know anybody, Pen.” He picks up his cup and sighs. “I love Sia, but I won’t even pretend to know what goes on in that head of hers sometimes. Why does leaving the toilet seat up mean I don’t care? Is it such a hardship to put it down? And she does act like her mother sometimes. Doesn’t mean I don’t love her. I’m just pointing out a similarity of behavior.”