I moan as his tongue invades my mouth, and he drinks my shallow breaths like they own him. I want to believe it’s true, even for a second.

“Judge,” I plead, my nipples stabbing against my dress, my body aching for something I can’t quite articulate.

“I know.” He shoves my dress up over my hips and then hoists me up into his arms, carrying me over to the bed.

I’m somewhere between trying to find the will to argue and the need to give in when he sets me down on the edge of the mattress and kneels before me. And fuck, it’s a beautiful sight to have this powerful man brought to his knees by his want for me. But the thought enters my mind, and I can’t stop it. How many other women has he done this with? Who did he do this with last night?

“Judge,” the protest leaves my lips as he slips my thong over my ass and slides it down over my legs, careful not to entangle it on my heels before he removes it.

His palms come to rest on my thighs, spreading me apart, and I know I need to stop this insanity. I dig my fingers into his hair and he groans, sending a cascade of sparks through my body. But I still can’t forget.

“Tell me her name,” I demand.

“Who?” He kisses his way up my thighs, dragging his nose along my skin and inhaling me deeply.

A breath blows through my lips, and I shake my head, trying not to let him distract me.

“The name of the courtesan you like to fuck.”

He ignores me, continuing his sensual assault on my inner thighs as he slowly works his way inward, closer to the point of no return. But I can’t let him. I need to hear him say it.

“Tell me.” I tighten my grip on his hair. “Or so help me God, I will fuck every man who comes near me. I can assure you they won’t be hard to come by. I doubt Paolo or Raul would refuse—”

“Goddammit, Mercedes.” He nips at my thigh, and I yelp. “You drive me fucking crazy.”

I try to shove him away, but he just yanks me closer, my ass hanging off the bed as he stares straight into the glistening depths of what he already knows belongs to him.

“There is no fucking courtesan,” he growls. “Are you satisfied?”

“That’s not what you told me—” A strangled sigh chokes my words as his tongue lashes against me. “Oh, God.”

“Only I get this.” He swirls his tongue around my clit, setting off fireworks in my belly. “Say it.”

“You say it first,” I pant. “Tell me why you’re a such a fucking liar.”