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 trying 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.”