“Please. Please tell me what happened. How are you involved? Please, William. I need to know.”
Her eyelids drew heavy. “Later. Rose. I will. I will tell you later.”
“Please don’t leave me right now.”
I kissed her lips again. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Promise me, William. Please promise me. I’m scared.”
“Sleep.” But I couldn’t promise her anymore.
She was asleep again within minutes and fuck if I didn’t want to devour every inch of her in that moment. I fucking loved her.
Chapter Eight
Jennifer had set up Rose’s bedroom again for when she was released from the hospital, stocking the closet and bathroom with clothes and necessities. The doctors said she’d be leaving the hospital within a day or two. When I came home from work. I felt a great sense of unease, unsure of what I was really doing. I had never felt this uncertain about my actions, ever. If this is what love did to a person, I hoped it would end sooner rather than later.
Upon entering the house, I heard whispers coming from the living room. I recognized the voices immediately. Jesus fucking Christ. Now what?
“There is absolutely no reason why Rose would come here, Jennifer. This is stupid. And the moment she wakes, I’m taking her to my place, where she belongs, where she wants to be.” Mark’s voice was quiet but filled with such resolve and unequivocal determination. I knew they were arguing over Rose’s imminent release from the hospital.
“Mark, I know how you must feel. And I’m sorry. These were Rose’s wishes. She wanted to come here. Do you think I would force her? That William would? You, yourself, know she wanted to see William over anyone else. You are the one who called him. Those were her wishes.”
I put down my briefcase and made my way begrudgingly over to them.
“No, Jennifer. She was confused.” He stopped as I entered. He ran both hands through his hair and looked down at the floor, huffing, before he looked back up at me. “Hi, William. Sorry to come over uninvited.”
Jennifer threw her hands up in the air and looked at me. “Talk some sense into this man, would you, William? I’m done.” She stormed out of the room.
“Mark.” I wasn’t angry but I was too tired to deal with him at that moment.
“Seriously, William. This is really stupid.”
“Yes, Mark. I happen to agree with you.”
“So—I’ll just go get her and be on my way.”
“Wait. What? She’s here already?”
Mark startled. “You didn’t know? What did you think we were talking about? Yes. She was released today. And before I even knew it, Jennifer had her brought back here. She wouldn’t even let me talk to her. That Jennifer is a stubborn woman.”
I smiled. That was one way to describe her.
“She’s not going anywhere.” Jennifer reappeared in the doorway. Her fists were securely on her hips, her eyes daggers. “Not tonight. It’s time for you to go home. We can all talk to her tomorrow when she wakes up. This is my house too, Mark, and I know you’re trying to do what’s right, but right now, the right thing to do is to leave. So I’m asking you go.”
“Mark,” I interjected. “I agree with Jennifer. We’ll talk tomorrow. Whatever Rose wants. She’s not going to be here for long anyway. But Jennifer is a physician and can keep an eye on her, make sure she is 100%. I have no intention of her staying for any extended period of time.”
I heard Jennifer’s gasp from behind me as she left the room again.
“Yeah, okay, fine, William. I’m not happy about this but at least I know she’s safe. I’ll speak to you tomorrow.”
God. He had it bad.
“I’ll walk you out, Mark,” I offered.
“Yeah. That’s not necessary. I know where the door is. I’m slightly embarrassed here. Sorry. Fuck. I feel a bit idiotic right now.”
“No big deal. See you tomorrow.”
He darted for the door and I felt for him.
“Here.” Jennifer handed me a scotch before Mark was even through the doorway.
I exhaled and smiled. “Thanks. You certainly know me.” I took a long, hard sip and tensed my lips. “Go light on him. He’s clearly been struck by Cupid’s arrow.”
“Yeah. Well, so have you. The sooner you admit it, the better.”
I shook my head and took another sip, making my way to sit down in the leather chair. “Why didn’t you tell me she would be here?”
“Why do you think?” she said bluntly. “In any case, she wanted to come and she was being discharged. I didn’t need to bother you with this. She’s doing well. Great actually. Go get some rest and we’ll figure this thing out tomorrow. I’m off to Samantha’s for a bit.”
“Have fun.” I sunk into the chair and shut my eyes as I heard Jennifer close the front door behind her. I tried to relax.
When I finished my drink, I couldn’t get Rose out of my mind, and I fought the urge to go to her. I poured myself another drink and thought about doing some work, but my urge won and I found myself climbing the stairs to her room. Not many men would be able to elude temptation when it was so blatantly taunted in front of a hungry face. I felt like a wolf and she Little Red Riding Hood. But hadn’t it always been that way?
I opened the door to let some light trickle into the otherwise pitch-black room. Her scent was the first thing I noticed. The second was her hair, splayed out across the pillow, the way it almost shimmered in that one ray of light from the crack in the door.
I chuckled. How drunk was I? She looked like a fucking angel.
I sat on the side of the bed and suddenly found myself stroking her head, letting the soft strands of her hair fall through my fingers, so fucking beautiful. I felt my cock hardening and she moved slightly with a moan.
I pulled the covers slowly off of her to find her in a pure white nightie, the rounds of her breasts exposed, her nipples completely visible through the thin material. Three buttons and she’d be fully on display to me.
As my eyes adjusted more and more to the room, I saw the faint markings still of her bruises, a dull yellow almost faded completely. She certainly healed fast. Delicate, innocent, skin as white as snow, and yet, there was something remarkable about her resilience. Now that I knew her past, I realized she had a strength worthy of admiration. I wasn’t about to crush her. I wouldn’t. No. I would let her go before I could do any real damage to her. She had been through enough in her life.
I stroked her head one more time before getting up off the bed, listening again to her contented moans as I smoothed my palm down to the tips of her hair.
Startling me, she spoke. “William?” She blinked a few times and tried to pull the covers back up. “Hi.” Her eyes stared at me, full of that emotion that made me want to take her, to own her, to make her mine and only mine.
I had one final sip of my drink before I placed it on the side table. “Hi,” I whispered back.
We stared in silence as I fought every urge not to rip her one article of clothing from her. I wanted to suck her, bite her, tease her, hold her on edge for hours, and then let her fall apart in an excruciating orgasm that destroyed her with pleasure. I shifted my cock in my pants.
“Get some rest,” I finally said, breaking the tension. “We’ll talk in the morning.”
“Don’t go, William.”
“Yes, Rose. I’m going. This isn’t the place for you. And there is a man who loves you. A man who is perfect for you. A man who will take care of you. That man is not me.” She deserves a real man, not a monster. Not a sadist.
I knew in that moment that this was what love was. That I would let her go when I could have her. This. This is what people called unconditional love. Putting someone else’s happiness before their own. Never did I think I could ever feel such a thing.
“But I love you, William. You. Not anyone else. My place is with you.”
“No, Rose. And by week’s end, with Jennifer’s seal of approval, you will need to leave
.”
I actually ached. Physically hurt.
“Make love to me then.” Her voice was desperate. “Just one last time.”
She caught me off guard. “Rose,” I said through gritted teeth, my cock throbbing with desire for her. “Don’t…”
And she shocked me, kissing me, hard, without warning. I tasted the salt of her tears that were already streaming down her face and I couldn’t fight her. I kissed her back with a vehemence I had never felt. And I couldn’t control myself anymore.
I was going to take what I wanted. I was going to leave her for dead when I was through with her. There’d be not one ounce left of her. I would fuck her so that she’d hate me after. And I couldn’t have stopped if I tried. I was a monster. Monsters have no regard for others. Why did I think I’d be different suddenly?
I pulled away from her. “Take it off. Lay down. Put your hands over your head and spread your legs as wide as possible. Follow each and every directive I give you, Rose or pay the price. You want this? You will have it. On my terms and my terms only. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” She trembled. I saw nothing but lust in front of me. I was a vampire and she was the blood. There was absolutely no chance I could stop. I heard her heart beating at a rate that fueled me. I was going to burst if I didn’t consume each and every inch of her. Guilt. Conscience. Gone. I was going to have my fill.
“Good,” I said. “Then do it. Now.”
She removed the flimsy night gown and laid back. Her breasts rising up and down, her nipples peaked so tautly I decided to start there. I licked them first, like a dog dying of thirst and then bit them and nibbled. I knew she could feel my sadistic smile. I was not going to be nice. Not yet, anyway. And fuck, it felt good.
“William…oh god…I…”
“Sssssh. This is what you wanted. You pushed me too far. Now there is no turning back.” I clamped down hard on one nipple and held it between my teeth. Instinctively, she drew her arms down to protect herself. “Hands above your head,” I ordered. “Don’t you dare pull them down again. Or…I stop.”
I felt her whole body quiver under me, and she complied. She liked being told what to do. She liked my control.
I left her nipples and began to trace the outline of her body with my tongue, making me way down to her pussy, drips of arousal evident, sticky.
She hadn’t shaved or waxed in some time and it was beautiful actually. The lightness of her hair was sexy as fuck, a natural blonde so hard to find, but I used it as an opportunity to reprimand and tease her. She was under no contract, no obligation to follow my rules whatsoever, but I needed it as a way to regain my equilibrium. I yanked on it and thrust a finger inside her hot, needy pussy.
“Aaaah. Oh. William. Oh my god.”
I chuckled and took my finger out and licked it clean. She tasted like sweet fucking honey. “My. My. What have we here, Ms. Rose?” I taunted her again with another tug.
She blushed profusely, embarrassed. “I’m sorry. I…” She was panting. “William, please…”
“Mmmmm…I don’t know, Rose, seems like cause for a punishment, don’t you think?”
I could feel her tense and strain to remain calm.
“Yup. I do think so. Even though you look sexy as hell, I don’t think I can let you get away with this. So, spread wider, sweetheart, and take your punishment like the good girl I know you want to be.”
She began to squirm while I did nothing. The silence make her even wetter. The tension, her need, was swallowing her up.
“Come on, little rosebud, beg me to spank you here. Beg me to punish your little, wet pussy. Tell me you need it.”
The humiliation washed over her and she squeezed her eyes shut.
“Come on, sweet flower, open up.”
She took a deep breath and spread her legs wider, and exhaled. Her hips couldn’t stay still and I knew from her worming about that her swollen clit was in agony. A swat would feel good. Not much punishment at all. So I would be careful not to give her too much pleasure. Yet.
I yanked on the hair again, making her focus and then slapped her with a force that made her yelp out and draw her legs together. I was grateful Jennifer had left. Even a house this big wouldn’t be able to muffle her loud cries.
I looked up into her face and her alarmed eyes told me she knew she had fucked up and she immediately drew her legs back apart. I looked at her sternly and rubbed my thumb in circles on her clit. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. “I’m going to come,” she whispered and I saw the first of her renewed tears.
I stopped moving my thumb. “No you’re not, sweetheart. Not yet. And you earned an extra slap for that move. Keep your legs apart. Five more to go. Starting over.”
“William…I need…”
“You wanted to make love,” I said with a bite to my voice. “This is how I make love. And you are fully aware of that. Or we can stop now. You always have your safeword, right?”
She paused and then acknowledged it with a nod of her head.
“Good girl,” I said with a smack directly on her clit, causing another loud outburst.
I rained down three more blows, quickly, startling her and the she really began to cry.
“Safeword, Rose, if it’s too much. Remember that.” But I knew she wasn’t even close to using it. I knew she was just feeling the emotional rush it brought her. The intense, overwhelming wave of helplessness that brought her closer to ecstasy. “Calm down. You’ve got one more.”
She hiccupped and I laughed, drawing my fingers up and down her belly, the sides of her body, creating those goosebumps on her skin that I loved to watch form. I drew on her as she squirmed, as if I was finger painting the very dots that lined her skin. Her juices lined the entirety of her inner thighs and I drew my tongue down to lap leisurely on the insides of them.
“William—that tickles please!” She flailed and I couldn’t control my sadistic torture.
“I know.” I laughed and continued. “I know you, Rose. Have you forgotten?”
I brought my thumb back to her clit and teased her slit with the tips of the fingers from my other hand, softly stroking up and down, and I watched her belly contract, close to orgasm. “I know you well, oh so very well, and I can see how close you are to coming, and that is why I will stop. You’re not ready to come.”
“William. I’m ready. I am really ready. William, please don’t stop.”
And I whacked her hard one final time directly on her clit as she screeched, shocked and surprised. Her whole body convulsed and I watched as an intense orgasm washed over her. It was my turn to be shocked and surprised. Her toes curled and her belly drew in and out and she dragged out a tortured moan. She arched her back as if chasing the final aftershocks of her orgasm and then rested back against the bed.
I rubbed my chin, trying to hide the grin from my face as her eyes stared into mine, full of nervous anticipation of what I would do. She almost looked frightened. It delighted me. I loved watching her lose control like that but there was no reason she needed to know that. So I let her ride it out. Just how might she make it up to me? “Naughty,” I finally said, breaking the silence.
Chapter Nine
“William. I’m sorry. I had no idea…”
I cut her off. “Uh-huh.”
I was still fully clothed as she lay there, a slight sheen of perspiration lining her quivering body. I got up and removed my clothes as well and looked down to see her eyes becoming droopy. Jesus. I had to remember she was recovering.
Her arms still remained submissively above her head as instructed and her legs were still apart. She shook her knees uncomfortably, up and down, and I knew she ached to put her legs back together. She accidentally let out a groan.
“Getting uncomfortable?” I asked.
“Yes,” she admitted.
I enjoyed pushing her limits. “Hmmmm…”
I didn’t want to keep her up but I also knew she would have the entire day to sleep, to relax. I also knew f
rom Jennifer that she was in perfect recovered health. I forged on.
“Stay still.”
She immediately stopped her legs from the wriggling and stilled herself. Her eyes closed and opened repeatedly and she balled and unballed her fists above her head, trying to alleviate her desire to find a comfortable position. I didn’t let her. I glared at her fists and then her eyes and she immediately stopped. I let her suffering linger and then slid down her body to position my face between her legs. I knew there were more orgasms in her, even if the rise would be painful for her.
“Oh, William,” she moaned. “It’s too sensitive,” she complained, even as the creamy juices began anew.
“I bet,” I taunted.
Soon her agonized moans of torture began to turn into moans of pleasure and she began to build again. She astonished me.
“Up,” I ordered.
She looked at me confused.
“All fours,” I directed.
When in place, I began to slide my cock up and down her slippery opening. She was soaked and her scent sent me over the edge. I wanted to be inside her. I wanted to feel the grip of her muscles around my cock, milking me. And I thrust in. Hard.
“William! Oh god, William.”
I tickled her clit as I thrust my cock in and out at a slow and steady pace, driving her crazy.
“Mmmmm, baby. You feel so good. So hot. So tight. My tight, little rosebud,” I found myself taunting sarcastically. That she had deceived me by not telling me her real name was Rose still left its bitter residue on my tongue, albeit faint. Nonetheless, it crept over me, driving me to taunt her more.
My pace quickened and I placed a hand on her lower abdomen, pushing her back side against me harder.
“I’d like a taste of another little rosebud, to tell you the truth.” My fingers, against her belly, crept down lower to crook against her clit and I continued my slow and steady assault from behind with my cock. She was mounting, closer and closer. “Not yet, Rose,” I said firmly, causing her entire body to still. She exhaled. “You’ve already lost control once. For that, you will wait.”
THORNE: Rose's Dark Secret: (Book 2) Page 6