Behind the showers, left side, is a door. Choose wisely.
It’s not a game; it’s a test. See what … or who … I pick.
But that’s just the problem. I don’t fucking know what to do.
All I know is that I’m moving in line, just as all the other women attending today’s ceremony are. Wives, husbands, mothers, dads, recently married—everyone attends except the children. They’re being watched over by a few lucky elders.
I guess they don’t consider it luck but duty.
In this community, the ceremony is almost like a fun night out. A place to be. As though it’s the most amazing thing there could ever be. They don’t know any better … but I do. I remember what it’s like to make a choice. To not be naked in front of an entire audience.
And I’ll never, ever forget. That’s a promise I made to myself, no matter how long I’ll have to stay here, even if it is forever.
“Clothes,” the elder wife at the door spits at me, and the reality of what’s about to happen hits me right in the face.
But I can’t panic now. People are pushing behind me, forcing me to step forward.
I take off my clothes in a corner and throw them in the bin as before. People are showering left and right, some of them not able to keep their hands to themselves, almost as if they’re preparing for tonight, secretly enjoying the voyeurism of being in one room with everyone else.
Instead of going right with Emmy, Holly, and April, I take a left turn and lose them in the crowd. I walk through the showers, ignoring all the people throwing me glances, while covering my scar with my hand in the hopes that no one will notice.
Right in front of me is a metal door that looks locked from this side. I stare at it for a second, wondering what I’m doing.
Should I listen to the note? Or should I turn back and do what’s expected of me? Am I to marry the first guy who grabs me and fucks me? Am I going to be someone’s wife even when I never said yes?
Or should I go against the rules and follow the directions on the paper, not knowing who it came from? I thought it was from Noah, but what if it isn’t? What if it’s all a lie meant to lead me on, just to get me to do something bad?
My hand hovers over the handle.
There’s only one thing I can do … make a choice.
And I do the moment I push it down.
To my surprise, the door opens, but not without there being a giant man in the way, and when he spins around, I almost get scared enough to turn back the other way. I just stare at him, and he stares back. Then he steps aside.
I slip past quickly, hoping he won’t squash me. He closes the door behind me, but I’m completely frozen to the ground.
Right in front of me are eight gigantic Jacuzzis that could fit at least three or four people. With the marble flooring and beautiful mosaic-like stones on the walls, it’s as though I’m in a luxurious hotel spa … only it’s in the middle of the community grounds, right behind the same hut that hosts all the other showers with just a thin wall separating the two. Like segregating the herd from the herders.
And in the middle of all of them sits a man, all by himself. Noah.
The note had to have come from him.
I swallow away the lump in my throat.
I feel watched. Naked.
Maybe because he is watching me with purposeful intent, his eyes taking in my body almost as if he’s sampling the wares with a lick. I shiver in place.
“Come,” he says with that same dark, sultry voice that almost managed to subdue me the last time we met. That time when he almost … kissed me.
I shiver again. I shouldn’t let him get to me the way he does, but there’s something about this man that I can’t simply ignore. I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I know he sent me that note. As a patriarch, he can waive the rules when he wants to. All he needs to do to get what he wants is throw a simple look, and right now, that look is directed straight at me.
I take in a breath and tread carefully across the wet floor while also covering myself and my scar as best as I can. Despite that, Noah still lets his eyes slide over my body as though he’s taking in the view, and it makes me blush. Hard.
Especially when I’m so close I can see his beefed-up chest and part of his rock-solid abs without anything to cover it except the water. I don’t even wanna know what’s farther down because I don’t think I’d be able to stop myself from ogling if I saw.
A smirk grows on his face, and I feel as if I just got caught staring at the forbidden fruit. So I stop and stand still right in front of his Jacuzzi. What is he going to say? Or rather … what is he going to do?
“Leave us,” Noah says to the guard, and the man immediately nods and walks out through the same door I just came in through, probably to guard it from the other side.
“Join me …” Noah beckons me. “I don’t bite.”
Yet he bites his lip. How ironic.
I take a step forward, each one watched with calculating eyes as I get into the warm pool. Compared to the showers, this feels like a warm blanket cocooning you.
“Being a patriarch has its perks,” he muses, smiling as I settle on the opposite end of the Jacuzzi, still covering my boobs because I know he’s watching.
“One of many, it seems,” I reply.
He nods. “You’re starting to understand.”
“Quite the opposite, actually. I’m amazed the people accept this.”
“That’s how this community works,” he explains, smiling. “But you figured that out already.”
I smile back. “I’m smarter than I look.”
“I know. I’ve known for a long time.”
I narrow my eyes. Why do I get the feeling everything he says has a double meaning to it?
“Just as I knew you would come here,” he says, spreading out his muscular arms above the edge of the Jacuzzi.
Of course he knew which choice I’d make.
“The choice was yours nonetheless,” he says, looking up at me with those same sultry eyes that manage to weaken my every defense. “But you know that too.”
I suck in a breath and think about the note. The choice I have to make is clear, but not at all simple. Get fucked by an unknown man or get fucked … by him.
There is no choice, only the lesser evil of two.
But if I’m going to have to fuck, one way or another, then it’ll be by a man of my choosing. This place has already taken so much away from me. I won’t let it take away this choice from me.
So I slide underneath the water until it covers my mouth and swim two strokes until I’m right in front of him. Naked. Ready.
Chapter 15
Noah
I’ve been waiting for this moment for so long. Finally, she’s here, in the flesh … naked.
From the very first moment I laid my eyes on her, I’ve wanted to take her, but it needed to be her choice and hers alone. I wanted her to decide between me or someone she doesn’t know. And she picked right.
I’m the only one she should want, and she’ll find out soon enough just how hard that can be … after I’ve ravaged her pussy. I’ll fuck with her mind and her body in ways she can’t imagine. She’ll be left hanging on my lips, wishing she could have another taste.
She’s already right in front of me, eyeing me down as if she’s waiting for me to pounce. But I want her to make the first step. I’m not interested in taking what isn’t mine. I want her to be wholly submitted to me before I make my move.
So I wait, with ease but also with eagerness, leaning in to tempt her just enough to make that final move. That one kiss that’ll push her over that dark line where nothing is right and nothing is wrong as long as it feels good.
Her lips pucker as she leans in, and she places a kiss ever so gently on the side of my lips.
“That’s what you wanted all along,” she mumbles.
I grin. She doesn’t even know half of what I have in store for her.
“You have no idea,” I reply.
Not a chance.
Grabbing her face with both hands, I smash my lips onto hers, claiming what’s meant for me and only me. She doesn’t fight me, but I can tell she’s holding back. I know she’s letting me have my way with her, but I want her to give it her all.
“Give me everything,” I whisper against her lips.
I know she wants to; I could taste it on her lips and feel it on her body as she inches closer and closer to mine.
She pauses for a second, our lips red and heavy, desperate to collide again. “I want something in return.”
I lean back and grab her chin with my index finger and thumb. “You don’t get to make demands, Natalie. It’s my way or the highway.”
“So this is my only choice?” she says.
I nod, and her nostrils flare as she shakes her head. “You play a dark game, Noah.”
“Oh, this is anything but a game to me,” I reply. “I want every single inch of you. No-holds-barred. Every look, every breath, every moan.”
Her cheeks turn the same shade of red they had when she first entered the room. I quite like how it looks on her. So innocent and sweet and not at all how I know she is deep down inside. A devilish enchantress ready to steal your heart … or break it into a million pieces.
And I cup her face in my hand, and say, “Tonight, you’re mine.”
She doesn’t resist, doesn’t pull away as I lean in and kiss her lips. Instead, she closes her eyes and lets me persuade her to stay and give her what she needs for tonight.
I plant a million tiny kisses on her lips until she’s overcome with need and opens her mouth, allowing my tongue to enter. I kiss her hard and deep, circling my tongue around hers, claiming it, owning it. I want her to know what I could do to her if she’d only let me, if I was the one to own her completely.
I wrap my arms around her body and pull her in. In the warm water, her skin against mine feels like a wet dream. Finally, I have her here, and I’m not letting her go. Not before she’s completely wiped out, and I’ve overtaken her mind.
When I’m done with her, our fucking will be the only thing she can think about for weeks. Oh yes, I’ll give her exactly what she wants …
Power.
Natalie
I can’t believe I’m doing this. That I’m letting him do this. But I have no say in the matter, no voice … my body has even already betrayed me. His kisses are sweet and demanding all at the same time, and it confuses me so much. I don’t know what to do with myself or the emotions circling through my head as I kiss him back.
My body instinctively leans in closer, wanting more of his dirty touch, more of his filthy kisses, even if it means I’ll go to hell for it. I know it’s wrong, and he’s the devil incarnate, yet I can’t stay away.
This was the only choice. There’s no right or wrong; there’s only him, me, and our impossible desire for each other.
I’ve felt it since the moment I first saw him, that undeniable attraction that pulls me toward him. Even if my brain tells me not to do it, and I know I’ll hate him with every fiber of my being, I can’t stop myself from kissing him back, from wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in for more.
I’m addicted, fucked up, and messed up in the head for allowing this to happen.
But I know it must. This … this is my only way forward. My only way out.
Him.
It’s always been him, and he knows. It’s exactly why he’s using this against me, and fuck him for doing it … and fuck me for going along. But fuck, does it feel good.
He grabs my hair and tugs so hard my head tilts back. His lips land on my skin, leaving burning hot kisses in a trail up to my ears. “Your body wants me,” he whispers, and then he nibbles at my earlobe, making me all hot and bothered.
He’s right, and I hate it. I hate that he already knows me so well. What about this man has me so enthralled? It’s as though he can see straight into my soul, and it hypnotizes me. Every single one of his kisses lures me in deeper, wanting more and more.
And I find myself straddling his lap, his erection pushing up against my belly, reminding me of the fact we’re both completely naked with only water between us.
“Is that what you want, Natalie?” he murmurs against my ear. “You wanna straddle me? Is that your choice?”
I don’t answer. Instead, I lean back, place a single finger on his lips, and move forward.
If I’m going to do this, it’s going to be my choice of who and how, and this is how I want it to happen.
So I push myself over his cock and let him slide into me. He’s rock hard and huge, and a moan slips from my mouth when he’s fully inside.
“Yes … let me hear your pleasure,” he says as his hand grabs my ass and squeezes tight.
I slide up and down slowly, fucking him with my eyes closed. With his hands, he moves me to a rhythm of his liking, and I follow along, trying not to get swept up in the moment. But it’s hard, so hard, because with a few simple kisses and a hard-on, he’s managed to make me hot for him. Even though I should hate him, despise him, right now I want nothing more than for him to fuck me.
And I tilt my head back and stare up at the mirror-covered ceiling, hoping no one will ever find out about what took place here.
But I know I’m only lying to myself.
They will. Eventually, everyone will know I fucked a patriarch.
Even if I won’t tell a soul, he will.
I look down and straight into his eyes, begging him with a single look not to do it. To keep this between us and let this be a simple exchange. But that dirty smirk on his face says the truth.
He revels in this. The secrets, the raunchiness, the pure debauchery. He loves it, adores it, almost as much as he loves power.
Because that’s what this is about … power.
Fucking me makes him feel powerful.
He may fuck my body, but he’ll never own my heart or soul.
I stare straight back into his lusty eyes, bouncing on his lap like there’s no tomorrow. His fervor grows as his dick tightens inside me, and I struggle not to come myself.
But I can’t give him that too. My pussy may be his, but my climax is mine and mine alone.
“Come for me, dirty girl,” he growls, grasping me by the waist to fuck me even harder.
“No,” I hiss back, determined not to give in.
He presses a hard kiss onto my mouth. “Give me what I want.”
Is that a threat? It probably is.
Fuck.
Guess that’s what you get for making a deal with the devil … you get taken, used, and fucked in every imaginable way.
“Let me look at you when you fall apart,” he says.
I make a face. “I can’t,” I say. “I don’t come unless I love the person I’m fucking.” It’s a straight-out lie, but I’ll make up anything in order to keep him at bay.
A wicked smile spreads on his lips. “Is that so? I guess we’ll have to find out.”
He swiftly spins me around and shoves me to the other end of the Jacuzzi. Before I know it, he’s got me pinned down against the edge, spreads my legs, and shoves his dick inside. I gasp, the full force of him inside my pussy way bigger than it was before.
“Yes, those are the sounds I’m looking for,” he growls, fucking me hard and fast. He grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls back. “I can keep this up all night, Natalie. Come for me.”
If I give him that … it’s like I’m giving him everything. All of me. And I can’t. I can’t do that. I can’t allow him complete control. Not like this, not this night, not ever.
So I fight the urge—no matter how strong it becomes, no matter how hard my legs shake or my body fights for the release it yearns so much. I feel as dirty as the kisses he gives me on my exposed neck, but the way he holds me as though I’m some fuck doll reminds me of my place in this world. His world. And I can’t ever forget that.
He brought me here.
He was the catalyst behind all my pain.
Don’t succumb to the pleasure.
His fingers slide down between my thighs, and my eyes burst open. In a moment of clarity, I moan. Loudly. And I squeeze together my thighs and let out an exasperated sigh.
He groans in response. “Fuck yes.”
His cock thickens, and a warm jet bursts inside me. He roars out loud and thrusts in a few more times before pulling back. I lean over the water vents and breathe out loud.
Right then, a door to the right side of the room opens.
A man steps in, one I recognize from before, someone who sat in a chair on that same stage Noah is supposed to be on soon for the ceremony. A man with pitch-black hair, offset with gray streaks.
A patriarch.
I cover myself with my hands.
“Noah …” the man says, sounding a little disappointed.
Noah pulls away from me and looks up at the other patriarch. “Patrick.”
“Didn’t know you’d be bringing girls back here,” Patrick says, rubbing his stubble beard, which is turning gray in some areas. “That’s allowed? Hmm … interesting.”
Noah clears his throat. “Special occasion.”
“Right.” Patrick hums, a hint of arrogance and mischief on his face. “Well, I’ll just skip this part then and go on to the stage.”
He marches right past us with a towel still around his waist.
I guess there are different rules for the patriarchs … or none at all if they see fit.
“I’ll see you there,” Patrick says to Noah, and he winks. But I’m not sure if the wink was meant for Noah or for me.
When he’s left through the big door in the back, Noah returns his attention to me. Before he can get to me, I get out of the Jacuzzi and grab a towel from the nearest rack, wrapping it around my body.
“You can leave through that door,” he says, pointing at the one that Patrick just went through. “It’ll take you to the ceremony.”
I frown. That wasn’t the deal. I had a choice, I made my choice, and now he’ll send me to the sharks?
“You won’t be taken by another man. I promise,” he says.
“How? What will you do?” I say, trying to keep my cool.
Under His Rule (Dark Romance Suspense) Page 11