Chapter 44
Enzo
Her body sagged against him, soaked and trembling, heart still rabbiting against his chest. She looked utterly destroyed–and god, he’d never seen anything more beautiful,
He held her close a beat longer, letting the water cool around them, letting himself breathe her in. Then, slow and careful, he lifted her from the pool. She didn’t resist. Didn’t speak. Just blinked slow and lazy as he settled her on the edge, her legs still loose around his waist.
That’s when he saw it.
Just above the faint bruise on her inner thigh–a new tattoo.
His teethmarks.
Outlined in fine, delicate ink. Fresh. Clean. Personal.
His brain short–circuited.
She kept it.
Immortalized it.
Branded herself with the place I touched and made it hers.
“Lola…” His voice was shredded silk.
She looked down, all smug satisfaction and barely–suppressed mischief. “What can I say?” she breathed, eyes locked on his. “I collect souvenirs… and that one felt too good to let fade.”
He blinked.
Then groaned.
I’m in love with a fucking problem.
“You tattooed my bite mark onto your thigh.”
“Obviously.”
“You did that today?”
She nodded. “Lunch break.”
“You did it yourself?”
“Studio was quiet.”
He stared up at her like she was an unsolvable riddle in a thong and a grin. “You’re dangerous.”
She popped her hips a little, just enough to make him tighten his grip. “You started it.”
Before he could speak again–snap.
The zip ties around her wrists cracked open with an easy twist of her fingers. She shook them off like lint, flicking them into the water with zero ceremony.
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Chapter 44
He stared.
“You… you could’ve gotten out this whole time?”
She just shrugged. “Yeah.”
“You stayed tied up.”
ཧ་ ིད་
Another shrug. “Didn’t know who you were at first. But once I figured it out…” She leaned forward, mouth at his ear, voice a wicked whisper. “I figured I’d enjoy the view.”
He let out a disbelieving laugh–half wrecked, half obsessed.
She let me keep her tied up. She tattooed my fucking bite. She’s not afraid of me–she’s apparently claimed me.
“You made that mark permanent…” His voice dipped, gravel and heat. His thumbs brushed slow up the insides of her thighs, right to the edge of the ink. “Keep this up, baby, and I’ll make sure every inch of you has something to remember me by.”
Her breath hitched.
Her pupils flared.
And Enzo swore he saw it–that tiny flash of yes, please cross her face like lightning before she masked it in sass again.
Which meant only one thing.
He was gonna find every spot she hadn’t marked yet.
And even if they weren’t permanent she’d always feel them there.
Her legs were still around his waist. The water still hummed around them. Her skin glowed with sweat and chlorine and something he couldn’t name.
He looked up at her and the words just… happened.
“I think I love you.”
Silence.
You absolute fucking idiot.
Her head tilted slightly. Her lips parted, but nothing came out. Her eyes widened, and that was somehow worse than if she’d laughed in his face.
Too much. Too soon. Too real.
He tried to backpedal. Swallow it down. Drown it in silence.
But the truth was already between them, raw and ragged and echoing louder than her moan ever had.
You just had to say it, didn’t you? Could’ve kept it to yourself. Could’ve ruined it later. But no, you went ahead and threw a live grenade into the pool like a fucking romantic pyromaniac.
And then–rrrrrrRRRRRGGGHHK.
Her stomach let out a growl so loud it actually startled the water.
Chapter 44
Then she burst out laughing, loud and gasping, tilting her head back like he hadn’t just said the most reckless thing of his life.
“I swear to god,” she wheezed, “that was not a reaction to your little love confession. But wow, talk about timing.”
Enzo groaned and dropped his head to her chest.
“I hate myself.”
She snorted. “You’re fine.”
“No,” he mumbled into her skin. “I’m not. I’m actually the opposite of fine. I’m having an out–of–body experience and watching myself die of secondhand embarrassment.”
“Wouldn’t be the worst way to go.”
He huffed out a breath.
Then, quieter:
“You marked yourself with me.”
“You didn’t just want me,” he said, lifting his head. “You enjoyed it so much, you made a fucking souvenir. Something permanent. On your skin.”
“You could’ve hidden it. Could’ve let it fade. But you wanted it there. A reminder of how I felt on you.”
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