Did this count as Olivia agreeing to marry him? Talon’s chest puffed with pleasure and pride.

Maybe, he thought. If she doesn’t agree later on, I’ll have to use this as her consent. If at all possible, however, he wanted her to choose him completely of her own will. He wanted her to love him just as much as he loved her.

He got a cold sports drink out of the basement fridge and some gluten-free crackers, then headed back to ‘Olivia’s room,’ also known as ‘the dungeon.’ The sex dungeon, that is. He’d decorated it as a normal bedroom in the way he thought Olivia would like, but he added some special "toys" to heighten the experience.

Olivia was grumpy, which was adorable. Honestly, she was lucky she was so adorable, or else he’d still be angry with her. The memory of her talking to those two chads last night…

He handed her the sports drink and crackers and watched her sip and nibble, wondering how irresponsible her so-called “friend” Zoe was to let Olivia walk home by herself in that state. The two guys had sensed easy prey and offered to “take her out for a good time,” but she waved them off, saying she was on the way to her boyfriend’s.

“Were you talking about me last night?” he asked her, sitting on the edge of the bed, looking down at her. “When you told those two douchebags you were on your way to your boyfriend’s house?”

Olivia stared at him again, chewing slowly. “What are you talking about?” she finally asked.

She really didn’t seem to remember. “You’re really lucky you have me, you know?” he said, his voice low. He brushed her hair back from her face. Those two pitiful excuses for men were lucky to remain unscathed, and it was only because Talon would rather be with Olivia than take the time to find and deal with them. “As for how you ended up here…it was easy to convince you to come with me this time. Drunk Olivia ‘looooooves’ Talon. Or at least what he does to her puss—”

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She hit him with a pillow. “Drunk Olivia is an idiot! I don’t like waking up in unfamiliar places, not knowing how I got here. It’s scary.”

“That’s why I was thinking of keeping you here,” he told her. Her eyes widened.

“You can’t.” Her face was frozen in surprise—eyebrows high, wet mouth open in an 'o.'

“Why not?” He ran his hand down her body over the covers. “I can take care of you. If you’re worried about your apartment, I can pay your rent for the time being. So…stay with me.” He'd pay for an empty apartment for years if it meant giving Olivia the illusion of choice until she gave in to him.

Olivia was quiet for a couple of minutes while Talon slowly rubbed her body up and down over the covers.

“I don’t have a choice, do I?” She flicked her hair back and raised her eyes to his, meeting his gaze. Her eyes were hard, angry. Fiesty.

He smiled at her. “I’m glad you realize that, Olivia. You’re so smart.” He leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “Hydrate and rest up. There’s an attached bathroom with everything you’ll need, and a little kitchenette just outside your room. Your chain goes far enough for you to use everything. If there is anything else you need or want, just let me know. I’ll get you anything.”

He was about to get up when a mental image of himself flashed in Talon’s mind—he flopped down on the bed behind Olivia, grinding his hard-on into her ass over the covers, then kissing her shoulder, sliding his hand under the covers to touch her skin…she rolled over to face him and pulled his shirt over his head and kissed him frantically.

He groaned out loud and got up from the bed. Olivia wasn’t feeling well, therefore, he could wait until later in the day. He would wait. He would.

Now that almost everything had fallen into place, she was here. And she would be here for a long time.

With luck, a long time would turn into forever.