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.”
I glared at him, simply questioning, “But who took her first?”
He eyed me skeptically, arching an eyebrow. “It doesn’t matter when someone as sadistic as he has her, and that’s where your concern needs to lie right now.”
I resisted the urge to fuck him up. “So you’re here as what? Her captor or her savior?”
His jaw tightened. “Both.”
I lunged at him, only to be held back by my father’s men.
“Romeo!” he roared, rushing over to stand by my side. With his hand on my shoulder, he demanded, “Stand the fuck down.”
My seething glare shot to my father’s calm one, trying to listen even though every bone in my body struggled to follow his orders.
The son of a bitch didn’t care in the least that I wanted to tear him to shreds. He knew I was aware of who he was and what he did for a living. If I could even call it that, living.