I didn't cover the bruise.
Not the deep, aching bite blooming along the slope of my neck like a secret only he should see.
I wore it like a medal.
Like a leash.
Like something to drag him back to me.
---
He didn't speak to me the next day.
Didn't look at me.
Didn't come near me unless he had to.
Fine.
If he wouldn't cross the line again, I'd walk over it myself.
---
By lunch, the other guys were gone.
Again.
Like fate was teasing us.
I found him in the back, wrenching something stubborn beneath the lift.
"Can't ignore me forever," I said.
He didn't respond. Just kept working, his muscles tense, jaw tight.
I stepped closer.
"Didn't mean to bite so hard?" I teased, low and shameless. "Or didn't mean to stop?"
That did it.
He stood up fast, chest rising hard. His eyes met mine—and they were angry.
But not the kind of anger that scares you.
The kind that makes your blood race and your knees go soft.
"You think this is a fucking game?" he snapped.
"I think you liked the way I begged," I said, voice like silk dipped in gasoline. "And now you don't know what to do with yourself."
He reached for me.
Fast. Hard.
My back hit the wall—again—and his fingers tangled in my shirt, dragging me close.
His nose brushed mine.
"You don't know what you're asking for, Kade."
"Try me."
His hand cupped the back of my head, firm and steady.
Then—finally—he kissed me.
And this time, it wasn't anger.
It was hunger.
Hot and slow, tongue sliding over mine like he needed to memorize the taste. His other hand slipped to my waist, holding me in place as our bodies collided, friction building in cruel, delicious waves.
I moaned into him.
He pulled back slightly, just to whisper:
"You taste like surrender."
My breath caught.
And then his mouth was on my throat, right over the bruise he left.
He kissed it.
Bit it again—light, possessive, reverent.
"I can't stop this," Jesse murmured. "I don't want to."
"Then don't."
He looked at me like he was trying to remember what mercy felt like.
Then he kissed me again—deeper this time.
A promise and a warning all at once.
---
That night, I lay in bed still tasting him.
And for the first time in weeks, I didn't feel restless.
I felt owned.