by Huss, JA
“I cannot believe you just said that. I think this is all going to your head. Pack it all up. We’re giving it back.”
“We’re not giving it back. I get this one chance, Cooper. One chance to live like you have lived your whole life. I’m gonna take their advice and enjoy the fuck out of it.”
Then I pause.
Look him in the eye.
And say, with total conviction, “And you’re not going to stop me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - COOPER
“I’m not going to stop you?” I laugh. “Watch me.”
I grab the closest gift bag, walk through the doors, and throw it over the side of the balcony.
“What the fuck are you doing?”
I push past her, grab another one, and I’m just turning to send this one over the side as well when she rips the bag from my hand.
“Stop it, Cooper! It’s not your stuff, it’s mine!”
I yank the bag back and she grabs on to my upper arm. But she’s small and I’m not. So I shrug her off me, making her stumble backwards. Then I go back outside and throw it over.
People are yelling and squealing down below. Cadee comes up to the edge and leans over. “That’s my stuff!”
“Not anymore!”
“Take your hands off it, Elexa! Or I swear—”
“It’s mine now!” Elexa laughs and then disappears from view.
I go back inside and head to the closet. I grab two handfuls of hangers and turn, but Cadee is there, hands on hips, scowl on her face, legs apart, like she’s daring me to get past her.
“Please,” I scoff. “Like you can stop me.”
“Cooper!”
She grabs at me, but I push her aside. Hard. And she crashes onto the bed.
“Stop it, Cooper! Stop it!”
I throw the clothes over. There are about a dozen girls down there now, all with their hands out to catch the falling dresses and shirts as they float and flutter their way to the ground.
When I turn, Cadee slaps me in the face. “What the fuck is your problem?”
My head snaps to the side. Good for her. It was a hard hit. But when I slowly turn my head back to meet her angry stare, she falters.
“You just crossed a line, Cadee.”
She points her finger in my face. “You’re the one who crossed a line. You’re being an asshole! This is my stuff!”
I slap her hand away and point my own finger in her face. “You do not ever”—I pause to breathe—“ever fucking hit me, do you understand, Fugling?”
She gasps. “What did you just call me?”
“Fugling!” someone calls from down below. People start laughing.
Cadee’s whole face goes red. Anger. Shame. Humiliation? Don’t know. Don’t care.
“You wanna be a part of this?”
“Yes!”
I grab her by the hair and yank her back inside. “You sure you want to be a part of this?”
She’s struggling now. Both her hands gripping mine. Trying to make me let go.
I kick a few gift boxes aside and force her down to her knees at the foot of the bed. I yank her head back, my grip on her hair still tight, and make her look me in the eyes. “I think you’ve forgotten just who the fuck I am, Fugling. I think you’ve forgotten your place here. You think you’re above me?” I pull her hair harder, jerking her head a little. “You think you’re better than me?”
I wait for an answer. But maybe she thinks it’s rhetorical?
I wrap another length of hair around my fist, making her squeal. “I can’t fucking hear you, Fugling.”
“No,” she whimpers.
“What?”
“No!” She says it much louder.
“Let me explain what happened last night, Cadee.” I pause so she has a moment to fully internalize what I’m doing. “They offered you. To me. You’re mine. I own you. You are my personal whore. You do as I say. And if I want to throw out your fucking gifts, I will. Do you understand me, Fugling?”
“Cooper!”
“Do. You. Understand me?”
“Yes!”
“Yes, what?” I growl these words out. Daring her to talk back now.
“Yes, my king. I understand.”
I let out a long breath. Then slide my sweat shorts down until my cock is exposed. I close my eyes for a moment to picture what I will do next, and when I open them again, my cock is getting hard as she watches. It grows until the tip touches her face. Right under her eye.
“Open your mouth.”
“What?” She looks up at me with fear in her eyes. “Cooper!”
“What did I just fucking say? Do you, or do you not, want to be mine?”
“Yes!” I cock my head at her and she gulps. “Yes, my king.”
I lower my voice. “Then open your mouth.”
She opens. And I make her wait like that. I make her sit there with tears in her eyes as they stare up at me. She still has remnants of last night’s makeup on her face. Black smudges on her cheeks. And when the new tears escape her eyes, they reanimate the smudges and carry them all the way down to the edge of her jaw.
“Now that’s fucking sexy.”
I let go of her hair. And she starts to close her mouth, but I shake my head. “Don’t you fucking dare. Don’t you fucking dare close your mouth after I commanded you to open it.”
She opens it back up real quick.
“Keep it open and take off your shirt.”
She swallows once. Then hurriedly lifts my borrowed t-shirt over her head.
“Now the shorts. But do not get up off your knees.”
She wiggles around and manages to get the shorts off without standing.
I grab her hair again. This time with both hands. Saliva has pooled in her mouth and when I tip her head forward to slip my now rock-hard cock onto her tongue, it spills over her lips and down her chin.
She starts to close her mouth around my cock, but I yank on her hair. “Did I tell you to close your mouth, Fugling?”
She answers me with a tiny shake of her head.
I stare at her unblinking. Forcing her to wait. Then I lower my voice and say, “Now I’m gonna ask you one more time, Cadee. Is this what you want? Huh? You want the diamonds? You want the mansion? You want the lake, and boats, and the cars? You want the security? And the man?”
She’s silent.
“Well? Do you?”
She nods. So much fucking saliva is spilling past her lips now, I almost can’t control myself. I want to face-fuck her right now.
“Then you do what you’re told. If that’s not what you want, then walk out right now. It’s. Your. Choice, Cadee.”
She doesn’t move.
“Get up and leave, if you can’t take it. I won’t stop you. But if you want all that stuff that comes with the job of being my offering, and you stay, then you will do as you’re told. And if I tell you that these gifts aren’t yours to keep, then you will bow your fucking head and say, ‘Yes, my king. Take them away.’”
She does not move.
“I need a yes. Or a no. Right now.”
She nods her head.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes then.” And then I ease my hips forward and force my cock deeper and deeper into her throat until it hits the back of her soft palate and she gags.
But she does not close her mouth around it.
I smile down at her, unwrap one hand from her hair, and pet her cheek. “Good girl.”
She’s too busy breathing through her nose to give a fuck now. I’m sure all she’s thinking about is wrapping her lips around my cock. Not because she’s particularly into oral, but I’m fairly certain she is having some real difficulty keeping her mouth open now.
Too bad I’m not done talking yet. “Jack gave me some advice last night. To help you out. He said, ‘Challenge her, Cooper. Give her the ability to rise and succeed.’ So that’s what I’m going to do, Cadee. I’m going to challenge you. Every chance I get. And each time you… perform, you will rise.
And they will know.”
We both pause to let that sink in.
Then I say, in a soft voice, “Understand me?”
She nods and blinks her eyes. Which makes more tears spill down her cheeks and drag last night’s makeup along for the ride.
“Good.” I smile at her. “Put your hands on your thighs.” She does this without question. “Do not move them. Not once, Cadee. And do not take your eyes off me. Or I will go back to my father and tell him you’re not good enough for me and your time here will be over. Got it?”
She nods. And holy fuck. There is so much saliva pooled around my dick now, I want to blow my load right on her tongue.
“Good. And now, I’m going to fuck your face until I come.”
And do I see a small hint of a smile?
Can’t have that. So I smack her face. Not hard. Just enough to shock that smile back into submission.
Then I start easing my hips back and forth so my cock slides in and out of her open mouth. I put one hand on the underside of her chin and across her throat while the other one grabs the hair on the top of her head. Then I slowly, carefully push my cock deep. Until I can feel the muscles of her neck straining and the bottom of her tongue pushing up against my shaft, making her mouth as slick, and warm, and tight as her pussy.
“Fuuuck, Cadee.”
She almost smiles again. So I slap her. Just a little harder this time. I want to tell her to focus, but I want her to pay attention to her stinging cheek and not my words.
I pull back, almost letting my cock slip out of her mouth, but stop just before that happens.
I smile at her. I can’t stop myself. But she is good and doesn’t smile back.
“You can close your mouth now, Fuckling.”
She doesn’t smile this time. But she does wrap her lips around the tip of my cock and begins to suck me off.
And then I’m fucking her face again. Faster now. Harder. And then I stop, my cock nearly down her throat. She gags a little and when I feel the muscles of her mouth and throat contract against the tip of my head, I let go.
I spill right down her throat. And I grab her hair with both hands and force her face up to my stomach until her lips are touching me.
Her hands are pushing me back. Slapping my thighs. But I’m right in the middle of my release so it takes me a couple seconds to respond to that and let her push me away.
She turns to the side, coughing. Saliva all over her face and dripping onto her tits.
“Get up,” I say, pulling her to her feet by the hair. I let my shorts slide down my legs and step out of them, then push her in front of me and walk her over to the bathroom.
Both of us are breathing heavy but she is nearly gasping for breath. Inhaling and exhaling with loud, exaggerated noises.
I turn the shower on and push her inside the stall, then pull the glass door closed behind us.
We stand there, just looking at each other, her eyes locked on mine. The water is hot and steam fills up the stall and steams the door, making it semi-opaque.
Then I extend a hand to her and she takes it. I pull her under the rain shower spilling out of the ceiling until we are pressed against each other. We tip our heads up and let it soak our hair and run down our bodies. Then I wash her hair as she washes my body. And we rinse and wash again, until finally, we are clean.
Then I pull her close, hugging her, then kissing her. First her head, then her neck, and then her lips. I hold her face in my hands as I do this. “I love you.” It’s a whisper. Barely heard over the noise of the falling water.
She leans in to my ear with her response. “I love you too, my king.”
I reach down and grab the back of her thighs, picking her up and walking her a few steps over to the tile wall. I press her against it, my hard cock between her legs. Ready for another round.
Well, not really another round.
First round.
When I slip inside her she moans. Her legs wrapped around my middle. Her arms tight around my neck. Her head bowed into my shoulder.
And then I fuck her slow.
I fuck her until her breaths are ragged and short.
I fuck her until her legs are quivering.
I fuck her until she comes.
And I enjoy every minute of it.
When we get out of the shower Isabella is sitting on the bed unwrapping one of Cadee’s gifts. She is also freshly showered and changed. Her make-up is perfect, her hair is straight, long, and glossy, and her outfit is a long, tight-fitting, steel-gray dress that flares out near her calves kinda like a mermaid’s tail. Her shoes are black and the heels are high. Like she’s going somewhere fancy today.
“I thought you left?”
She smiles at me. “I did. But when I went downstairs, I ran into a…” She hesitates. Clicks her tongue. Bobs her head a little. “A development.”
“What kind of development?” Cadee is wrapped up in a fluffy cream-colored towel with another on her head to keep her hair out of the way. She’s looking through her new closet, trying to decide what to wear.
Isabella peels back some tissue paper in the box and holds up a silver necklace, peering at it intently, before announcing, “This is platinum. Well done, Cades.”
Cadee turns around to look at Isabella, then makes a face at the necklace. “Nice. Did you get gifts, Isabella?”
“Yes. But not this many. You’re the favorite.” Cadee has turned back to the closet. She pulls a dress off a hanger and is about to go into the bathroom to change when Isabella says, “Not that one. Pick something… formal.”
“Why?” I ask.
“You’ll see when we go downstairs.” Then she looks up at the picture of Cadee and I over the bed. She points at it. “That’s actually quite pretty.”
“I think so too,” Cadee says. “How about this?” She places a dress on a hanger in front of her body and waits for Isabella’s opinion. It’s similar to Isabella’s, but it’s got a flare skirt instead of a mermaid one.
“That will do. Cooper? You need to put on something nice as well.”
“Why, Isabella?”
“It’s not a bad surprise. At least I don’t think it is. Try for business casual. Do you need my help?”
“No.” I take one more look at Cadee, then sigh and leave to get dressed.
On the other side of the roof I discover that my room has gifts in it as well. They weren’t here earlier. My bed has been made up, the throw pillows all neatly arranged, and there are four boxes on top of the comforter.
That’s not creepy. Not at all.
But isn’t everything about this place creepy?
The boxes are all small and blue with silky yellow ribbons on them. I start opening them—curiosity getting the better of me—and discover a key fob for a BMW, a Breguet watch, a light gray silk tie with the High Court King crest on it, and a pair of Fang and Claw cufflinks.
I ignore all of it, except the cufflinks.
I hold those up to get a better look at them. They are lions, of course. Both the Fang and the Claw represent the lion just like the Wing and Feather represent the swan. But they are circular and have a ringed edge with writing all the way around.
It’s in Latin, but I know what it says. Not because I took Latin for five years while in Prep—I slept through most of that shit and made Lars help me cheat my way through our senior-year final—but because these cufflinks are my father’s. I turn them over, just to make sure. And yes, his initials are engraved on the back of both.
Then I look at the writing around the outer circle again. Divide et impera.
Divide and conquer.
Sounds very familiar.
I put everything back in their boxes and go to my closet where five new suits are inside garment bags and seven new button-down shirts in various colors hang next to them.
Slacks and jeans too. And ties. Lots of ties.
I look back at the tie box on my bed and wonder why that one is special.
But I can think about tha
t later.
I want to know what Isabella is talking about.
I pull on a pair of dark gray slacks and pair it with a light gray shirt. Then, even though Isabella said business casual, I decide to wear a jacket.
I skip the tie.
I run my fingers through my dark hair and then leave my room and find Isabella and Cadee already waiting for me near the elevator.
Cadee’s hair is still a little wet, but I like it. Because when I get closer, I can smell her shampoo.
“OK, I’m ready. Are you gonna tell us what this is about?”
“Jesus. You’re so bad at surprises, Cooper.”
Cadee chuckles. “He really is.”
“Whatever.”
We get into the elevator and take it down to the ground floor. And as soon as we step out, I see Isabella’s surprise.
There is a picture of me hanging on the wall opposite the open doors.
I squint my eyes, trying to convince myself it’s not real. “What the hell is that?”
“Oh, I like it,” Cadee says. She walks up to the huge portrait and studies it.
“Yes.” Isabella beams up at me. “That suit you were wearing last night was very nice, Coop.”
“Jesus Christ. Did my father do this?”
“Oh, you haven’t seen anything yet.” Isabella hooks her hand over my arm, then Cadee does the same. We walk into the great room where pretty much everyone who lives in this building is standing in front of the stone fireplace, looking up at—
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” I rub my temple, because I suddenly have a headache.
“Wow. Were you wearing a crown last night?”
I shoot Cadee a look. “Did you see a crown on my head last night?”
“Oh, look,” Cadee exclaims. “I have a tiara. So do you, Isabella.”
We are looking at a trio of gigantic—I’m talking fucking huge—portraits of the three of us. Hanging above the fireplace in the main room.
I glance around nervously. Everyone who lives in this dorm has now turned to look at us.
The crowd pulls apart. Like they are the Red Sea. And then there is a straight path for us so we can walk up to the fireplace and get a better look at our royal portraits.
My picture is the biggest. I’m standing in front of a palace that doesn’t exist, wearing my fancy suit from last night covered in medals and ribbons and epaulettes I didn’t earn, and of course that crown on my head.