Page 104 of Monk

“JOHN!” she shrieked, her fists pounding against my back. “Put me down!”

I didn’t answer—just strode toward the farmhouse, kicked the front door open, and stepped inside. “Which room?” I asked again.

“I’m not telling you!”

I smacked her ass again, the sound sharp and satisfying.

She yelped.

“Fine,” I said. “I’ll find it myself.”

I took the stairs two at a time, ignoring her protests, and kicked open the first door on the right.

Bathroom.

I kicked open the second door.

Guest room.

The third door.

Lina’s room.

I knew it instantly. The scent of her perfume hung in the air, something floral and clean. The bed was neatly made; the quilt was a soft cream color. A few framed photos sat on the dresser—Tatum as a baby, Tatum at the beach, Tatum laughing.

I walked to the bed and threw Lina down onto it. She bounced once, her breath leaving her in a rush. Her eyes were wide, her chest heaving, her hair a wild mess around her face as I kicked the door shut behind me and locked it.

“John—” she started, her voice breathless and uncertain.

“No,” I said, cutting her off. “You don’t get to talk right now.”

My cock was already straining against my jeans, so fucking hard it hurt. I had been half-hard since I had thrown her over my shoulder, feeling her body pressed against me, her ass right there under my hand. Now, looking at her sprawled on that bed, her chest heaving, her lips parted, her eyes wide and dark with something between fear and need, I was so hard I could pound nails.

I pulled my cut off slowly, deliberately, and tossed it onto the chair in the corner. Then I grabbed the hem of my shirt and yanked it over my head. Lina’s eyes tracked the movement, her gaze dropping to my chest, my abs, the ink that covered my skin. I watched her pupils dilate, watched her tongue dart out to wet her lips. “I’ve been arrested,” I said, my voice rough as gravel as I unbuckled my belt. The leather slid through the loops with a hiss that made her breath catch. “Threatened. Blackmailed. Dismissed by you this morning like I was nothing. And the one thing—theonemotherfucking thing I’ve been thinking about since I walked out of that courthouse was getting inside you. Sinking my cock so deep into your tight little pussythat you would forget your own goddamn name. Reminding you, reminding your body of exactly who the fuck you belong to.”

I popped the button on my jeans and dragged the zipper down, the sound loud in the quiet room. Lina’s breath hitched, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“You accepted my cut,” I continued, stepping out of my jeans and kicking them aside. My cock was tenting my boxers obscenely, a wet spot already forming at the tip. “You stood in front of the entire club and let me claim you. That means you’re mine, Carolina. Mine to fuck. Mine to protect. Mine to love. And I’m done pretending otherwise.”

I hooked my thumbs into the waistband of my boxers and shoved them down. My cock sprang free, thick and heavy and angry red, the veins standing out along the shaft. Pre-cum beaded at the tip, and I was so fucking hard the head was almost purple.

Lina’s eyes dropped, and I saw her throat work as she swallowed hard.

Her lips parted.

Her thighs pressed together.

“Take off your clothes,” I ordered, my voice low and commanding.

She didn’t move. She just stared at me, her chest rising and falling rapidly, her eyes locked on my cock.

“Now, Lina.”

Her hands trembled as she reached for the hem of her shirt. She pulled it over her head slowly, revealing the simple white bra underneath. Her breasts were rising and falling with each rapid breath, the lace barely containing them.

“All of it,” I said, wrapping my hand around my cock and giving it one slow stroke from base to tip.

Her eyes followed the movement, and I saw her bite her bottom lip as she reached behind her back and unhooked herbra, letting it fall to the bed. Her breasts were perfect. Full and soft and heavy, her nipples already hard and peaked, begging for my mouth. Then she stood on shaky legs and unbuttoned her jeans, shimmying them down her hips along with her panties. When she was finally naked, standing in front of me with her arms at her sides, I took a moment just to look at her.