by Robinson, M.
“Who?”
“Stop playing your damn games! Where. Is. She?”
“Eh.” He pushed off the doorframe. “She died giving birth to you.”
My eyes widened. “How can this be?”
“You should be grateful. At least she didn’t have to endure your father’s recklessness like the slave who raised you as her own. She loved you, Donovan; that much we both know.”
“Troy—”
“No, no, no, the question and answer portion of tonight is now over. We have more important things to discuss.”
“Which are?”
“That you just proved to me that you were always better than your father and that mostly”—he moved toward me and pried the whip from my hands—“you need pain just as much as he did.” Blood from the whip dripped across his fingertips. “Maybe even more than I could have possibly imagined. You need the balance; you need me.” He dropped the whip and put both hands on my shoulders. “We’ll continue this empire together, with you by my side.” He shook his head at my father’s dead body. “Son, we’ll conquer the world.” He abruptly stepped back. “I’ll clean this up. You go take a shower and think about things. We have a lot of work in our future, but first.” He cleaned off his hands and pulled out his cell phone, barking into it, “Send her in.”
“Her?” I repeated, stunned stupid, in shock, afraid, lost. “Who is she?”
His smile revealed white capped teeth. “Yours, she’s yours… Your first. Do enjoy taming your pet, Donovan. It might be the only way you can sleep tonight, and don’t worry—she likes the pain.”
A gorgeous woman stepped into the room.
She had a slinky black dress on and immediately fell to her knees, shoes off, hands open, waiting for me.
And like a drug, I went to her.
Needing her touch. Needing to punish her the way I was punished. Needing ownership.
Pain.
Loss.
Screams.
I gripped her by the hair and exclaimed, “Who am I?”
Her eyes dilated as she replied, “Master.”
Juliet
He was shaking.
Did he even realize it? The way he clung to me?
“Master,” he repeated from his panicked memory. “Now you know… He killed my mother, and I paid him back in the same kindness. Troy saw.” He sat up, facing me on the floor. “He saw, and he took me under his wing. Our business has always been this, but Troy…” He hesitated. “He’s not the same as me. He’s cruel, punishing, and he’d kill me to get to you.”
“You’re afraid,” I said calmly. “Of turning into him.”
“I fucking am him!”
“No.” I was ready to slap him. “You aren’t. You’re controlled. You’re loving. You know the boundaries. Maybe at first, I didn’t see that, but now I do. I—” I almost confessed. “I see you, Donovan. I see you.”
“Impossible.” His voice cracked. “I stole you. All you see is what I want you to see.”
“Had you given me a chance,” I uttered softly. “I would have begged to be stolen by my monster, my villain. I would have tied myself up and opened wide for your taste, would have spread my legs and cried for the pleasure only you could give me, would have crawled across a floor just to serve my master. I would have—”
His kiss was sudden.
Painful.
Raw.
Mine.
Our tongues tangled as he pushed me back against the floor, hovering over me, his body weighing me down in such sweet surrender I wanted to cry. “Yes.”
“Yes,” he repeated. “Mine, all mine.”
“Always,” I agreed while he kissed down my neck.
He paused, his breath coming out in short pants and pinning me there. “I’ll never let anything happen to you.”
“I know that.”
“I keep this estate to remember.” His dark eyes met mine. “To never become him; no matter how much I need—to stay me.”
I leaned up and kissed him across the mouth, setting my lips against his. “She’d be proud of you, Donovan.”
“She wasn’t even mine.”
“She was in the ways that counted.”
Our foreheads touched.
I didn’t know how long we stayed like that until my stomach started growling.
With a sexy smile I hadn’t seen from him ever. Donovan stood and pulled me to my feet. “Shall I feed my pet?”
“As long as it’s not in a bowl,” I joked.
He burst out laughing, pulling me into his arms. “Aw, pet, it would be my honor to serve…”
An hour later, he was looking at me while I ate.
“Aren’t you hungry?” I devoured the snack he’d made for us, finally looking up as he watched me eat. “What? Is something on my face?”
He scoffed out a chuckle. “Would fucking kill to have you on my face.”
I shot him a look. “Do you only think about sex?”
“Yes.” He reached out and grabbed my chair, jerking it closer until our knees were intertwined. We were sitting outside, watching the gorgeous Seattle night sky. “Sex and you. Always. Every second. Every day.”
I couldn’t resist. “So, are all your pets like this?”
“Do you see any other pets?”
“No, but—”
“You’re mine.” He grabbed my fork and put a piece of fruit into my mouth. “Serve me during the day, then let me serve you during the night. Let me worship you while you submit so perfectly; doesn’t that sound like the best ending to every fairy tale?”
“Servitude.”
“What better way to show your devotion than on your knees? What better way for me to show my adoration than bringing you to them?”
I found myself smiling. “Somehow, that was the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” I ate the bite, leaning in. “I promise to always wait for you on my knees if you swear to keep me, own me, honor me—while you stand.”
His smile was no longer cruel. It was beautiful, like seeing the ocean for the first time, like losing yourself then finding yourself again.
“You say I’m yours. But you’re just as much mine, aren’t you?”
He was quiet.
Too quiet.
All of a sudden, I was in his lap with his lips caressing my collarbone. “Where else would I be? Then with you? When the world is chaotic, I’ll be calm. When you have nowhere to turn, I’ll be your home. When you think you’re lost and afraid, let me be your map. I’m done, Juliet. I have so much to tell you, but I’m done—finished. This is it. You’re my crescendo after a lifetime of playing.” He pulled me in for a hug, his lips hot on my ear. “You’re my finale.”
I exhaled against his body, feeling him everywhere, too relieved to say anything but, “Don’t forget…”
“I could never forget you.”
“Then don’t let me go.”
“Never.”
“I think…” I wrapped my arms around his neck. “I think I was yours before I even knew it.”
He shuddered.
No more words were spoken. I enjoyed the moment in his arms.
Warm.
Safe.
Free.
I had no idea that it would be fleeting, this feeling. When you live with the villain, you never suspect horror. Although, it was there. Around the corner.
Lurking.
Waiting to strike.
And we were both too wrapped up in our broken fairytale to see it until it was too late.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Donovan
One Week Later
“Keep your phone on you, no matter what.” I leaned into the SUV and warned Juliet for the tenth time as she put on her Ray-Bans and grinned at me like I was some sort of parent firing off all the rules for going off on their own.
Things had been tense between Troy and me.
She didn’t know. I didn’t want to involve her, but he’d been speaking to the board, telling them complete bullshit but also try
ing to convince them that he should have a heavier hand in the business.
My business.
The hell handed down by my father.
I always suspected him. I just never knew he would do it so blatantly in front of my eyes. It didn’t help that he’d visited again a few days ago and told Juliet how beautiful she looked in front of Elaina.
Sometimes I hated him—more than I hated myself, which was saying a lot. And now Juliet was going out and helping with the next auction, meeting with Elaina, going out into the world I wanted to shield her from. I couldn’t keep her in her golden cage forever, as much as I wanted to. The only peace I had was that she was surrounded by guards.
Juliet shot me a grin.
I looked away.
“Promise, Master.”
My head shot back, my dick hardening. “You did that on purpose.”
“Maybe I just like you that way.”
I growled and jerked open the car door. I leaned across the console, unbuckled her seatbelt, and tapped her breasts lightly before reaching my hand between her thighs.
Her thong was soaked.
“Mmmmm.” I gripped the thin fabric and tore it from her body. “Don’t think you deserve these today.”
“Dono—”
I glared.
“M-master.” Her lips pressed together in a thin line. “I’m working, though…”
“Yes.” I bit down on her bottom lip. “You are, and all day as you help with the auction, you’ll remember my hand between your thighs, my fingers playing you the way you play the piano for me. You’ll remember.” I shoved a finger inside her heat. “You’ll think of me until it hurts until you can’t wait to come home and find”—I hooked my finger and then added another—“relief…”
“Master!” Her moan was both my heaven and my hell. “Please…”
“You argued, you teased, you taunted.” I pulled my hand back and licked each finger. “So I’ll do the same, just in case you forget who holds the keys to this kingdom.”
“You,” she rasped. “You, you, you, you—”
Her body arched so nicely.
I realized my control hadn’t just snapped.
It was gone.
In an instant, I was out of the SUV.
Walking around to the driver’s side, I yanked her door open. She stumbled against me as I slammed her against the side of the vehicle, lifting her skirt and needing to feel her to know she was mine. I hiked her silky dress up to her hips, and she undid my belt and pants, gripping me and freeing my cock.
Pain pounded into me. So sensitive, her grip so hard.
“Please.” She squirmed against me, trapped, my prey.
I thrust into her in one smooth movement, my body nearly collapsing from the pleasure of her soft cries, of the way she tried to suck me in deeper, harder.
Anyone could see us.
I didn’t give a shit.
I was home.
Even if I would never admit it out loud.
I pumped into her, my movements frenzied and desperate. For the first time in my life, they weren’t planned or calculated, and it was all because of my Juliet.
Play for me.
Play for me.
Play for me.
Our bodies slapped against one another, then slowed, moving like a symphony, an orchestra, plucking the strings in a movement that made you pause, that made you wonder if there was a higher power. It made you question everything.
Your existence.
Your meaning.
She screamed out my name, not realizing I was already worshipping hers as it fell from my lips.
“Donovan…”
“Juliet.” I pulled her dress down, straightened my collared shirt, and wiped between her thighs, soaking in the wetness, soaking in us, and wanting to make a damn trophy over it. “Stay safe. Keep your phone on you.”
Her smile was satisfied. I put that there. “I promise.”
“Good.”
“Good.” She leaned up and kissed me across the mouth. “I love…” She hesitated for a moment. “You, I do love you, Donovan, Master. Mine.”
Stunned, I watched her get into the SUV and drive off.
And like the perverted motherfucker that I was, I looked down at my dirty shirt, inhaled, and smiled.
Juliet
When I walked into the house, my cheeks profusely blushed, remembering what happened the last time I was there a week ago.
I couldn’t describe the emotions that Donovan stirred inside of me. For the first time in my life, I was happy.
Truly.
Unbelievably.
Happy.
I’d been wanting to tell him I loved him, and I was waiting for the right time to confess those three words. There was something about the way he looked at me that there was no stopping them from falling from my lips. I didn’t expect him to say them back; he honestly didn’t have to.
I felt his love.
Taking a deep breath, I walked into the room where Elaina would be waiting for me. She was already there, standing by the table that had all her makeup on it for the slaves to make over.
“You’re late.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.” Could she tell I was walking funny? That I hated the emptiness between my thighs—the emptiness he’d left there.
She eyed my body up and down. “That’s Donovan, having to fuck you before he leaves you alone for a minute.”
I stopped dead in my tracks. Was it that obvious?
“Your hair is a mess, your dress is wrinkled, your eyeliner is smudged, and from the looks of it, you’re not wearing any panties. If that doesn’t scream freshly fucked, then I don’t know what does.”
Subconsciously, I straightened out my dress and tucked the unruly strands of my hair behind my ears.
“No, don’t compose yourself, Juliet. We’re in the business of selling sex, and—” she gestured to me “—what better way of getting our point across when you’re radiating heat. They can smell it on you.”
“But I’m Donovan’s.”
She smiled, big and wide, and I couldn’t tell if that was a good or bad thing.
“Of course, darling. He’d never let anything happen to you; it’s his number one priority as your master, and trust me when I say—you’re different than his pets from the past. He’d actually die for you.”
Unable to hold back, I blurted, “How does this work for you? I mean … with Troy. You’re his wife, right?”
“It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? His wife. I used to want nothing more than to have that title until I realized it doesn’t mean one damn thing to him. It’s just two words, like his slave, but forever.”
“Does slave not mean forever?”
“In your case, it does.”
“Oh…”
“Go ahead, ask your questions.”
Should I? Could I? Was this another test?
“Your master wouldn’t have sent you to me if he didn’t already know that you’d be a curious little kitten. There isn’t anything that I don’t know, Juliet. You may as well ask. This may be the only chance you get.”
“Have you … are you … is there a past between you and Donovan?”
She smirked. “I knew you’d start there given our relationship and the way he treats me, but no, pet. It’s never been that way between us.”
“Can I ask why?”
“I’m Troy’s, and unlike him, there are boundaries that even Donovan won’t break.”
“Does that mean you wish he would have?” I wondered out loud, truly curious.
She finally shook her head after a few tense seconds. “No, he’s not my type.”
Reassurance washed over me. Elaina might have been older than I was, but she was still stunning.
“Now, is that it?” She clasped her hands in front of her.
I so desperately craved to ask her why Donovan took me, why he chose me; however, I couldn’t form the words.
Not for one second.
“Sometimes
being alive is better than being dead. We couldn’t save your moth”—
she corrected herself—“his mother, so he’s doing the best he can.”
I opened my mouth to reply.
“We need to get the slaves ready.” With that, she turned and started walking toward the door. “I’ll be right back.”
What did she mean by that? My mother?
I wasn’t stupid.
My feet moved on their own accord, following after her. Except, as soon as I opened the door…
For the second time in my life, everything went pitch black.
Donovan
Elaina didn’t have to tell me. When I walked into the estate, I felt it. The expression on her face was simply confirmation of what I had to do. I didn’t want it to come to this. Never did I think it was going to. Which was only my fault; I should have known better.
Villains didn’t get happily ever after’s.
Not yesterday.
Not today.
Not tomorrow.
I was damned.
Swallowing my pride, I did what I had to do to save her.
Even if it meant the heroes killed me in the end.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Donovan
I drove up to the gates of Hell, literally. And just like the Devil, they didn’t want me there either. The gates opened, and before I could hit the gas pedal, my SUV was surrounded by guards holding me at gunpoint.
I took a look around, deciding long ago that I would meet my maker at the hands of one of my enemies. Unfazed by what was happening, I opened the door and stepped out in plain sight. Standing tall and proud, I snidely smiled, leisurely glancing down at all the red laser marks that were now placed over my body from the artillery they were holding. Grinning, I slowly gazed up through the slits of my eyes. I waited a few seconds before taking the backs of my fingers and wiping away their target as if they were nothing but specks of dust.
Mocking them.
My stare shifted toward the hero, hauling ass out of the estate. Once the Mafia Casanova was in my face, he didn’t waver.
Not that I ever expected him to.
Romeo
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
He didn’t miss a beat. “Troy took her.”