He didn’t pull out of me when he stopped thrusting. We were both panting as he let go of my wrists and collapsed his weight on top of me. Our limbs were tangled as he turned onto his side and pulled me with him, wrapping me tight in his arms.
I was grinning as my pussy throbbed, sore but loving it. I wasn’t a virgin anymore. Whoa. The very thought had me grinning.
“The king takes his crown jewel,” he said and tipped my face up to his. “It was every bit worth waiting for, Miss Constantine.”
I giggled, high on life and not coke. It was an amazing contrast. “I hope the king can take the crown jewel again real soon,” I told him, and he laughed along with me.
His cock was already hard against my belly as he flipped me onto my back. “Don’t worry about that, sweetheart,” he said. “And this time I’m gonna make it hurt.”
He wasn’t lying.
He made it hurt.
Bites and bruises and blood. Force and fight and filth.
And love.
So much love it chased my demons away.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Lucian
I stared down at the freshly shoveled flower bed with a smile on my face, my arm wrapped around the woman I loved in a way I didn’t believe was possible for this twisted heart of mine to love.
Elaine had been a darling with the spade, helping me in my mission to dig the grave with a sweet little smile on her face.
She didn’t speak and neither did I. Words weren’t needed.
Already the world churned around us. So many questions with our names all over them. Disappearance. Kidnapping. Morellis and Constantines.
I didn’t care about any of it. Not anymore.
All I cared about was my devotion to the woman at my side, and just how the fucking hell we were going to forge a way for ourselves.
This property on Bishop’s Landing wasn’t going to be enough of a home to keep us together. People would be coming, seeking, demanding. They hadn’t looked for her here yet, but they would figure it out soon enough. Even my connections and my power wouldn’t keep the authorities out, if they knew I had Elaine held hostage.
People would be wanting to kill us the very moment they caught sight of the truth.
I kissed Elaine’s head and held her tighter.
There was no doubt about it, we’d committed the most forbidden crime we could have committed, and it wasn’t the reverend’s body at our feet.
A Morelli had fallen in love with a Constantine.
And a Constantine had fallen in love with him right back.
Our road ahead was impossible, but we’d find it. We had to find it.
Elaine was thinking the same thoughts as me in that beautiful head of hers. She looked up at me with a delicate smile. “What do we do now?” she asked me.
“Well, sweetheart, we can’t stay here forever.”
She laughed. “Life would have been a whole lot easier if you could just keep hating me, wouldn’t it? If I could have just kept hating you.”
I tossed the spade to the ground. “I could never really hate you. You’re too damn intoxicating for that, Elaine.”
“You’re pretty damn intoxicating yourself, Lucian,” she said. “Cocaine has nothing on you.”
I took her hand and led her back to the porch. The sky was already darkening, the afternoon reaching its close.
In truth I had no idea where the road ahead was leading us, I just knew it would be together.
“Time for the king to take my crown jewel again?” she asked me, tugging me inside with a mischievous smile on her perfect lips.
Yes, it was time for the king to take her sweet crown jewel again. The king would never grow tired of taking that pretty gem; I knew it right down in my dark, dirty soul.
They’d be coming after me, and I knew it.
Time was ticking, and it was ticking fast, but not fast enough to take away the moment.
With the smell of fresh dirt in the air, and no one else around for miles, it felt like we were alone in the world. Or like we were in some far-off place where we were untouchable.
That was an illusion, though.
We were in the heart of Bishop’s Landing.
We couldn’t see any of the other massive estates from here, but we knew they existed.
And we heard the vehicle before we saw it.
The gentle hum of an engine, the sound of tires on the road.
Our eyes met. The irony is that I was caught. If Elaine had wanted to be free, all she had to do was wait until she was seen. The world was looking for her. Whoever was coming would be her ticket out of my clutches.
I saw that awareness run through her mind.
I saw when she made her decision.
Maybe it was because of the body that’s now six feet under. Maybe it was something else. Either way, she dashed to the house, hiding herself from view before the Bentley crested the rise.
The irony of the situation doesn’t escape me. I’m standing here with a shovel and a flower bed as if I enjoy gardening. Me, Lucian Morelli. They’ll think I’ve gone insane.
They’re probably right.
I recognize this particular car.
Connor Ohanian was a man of strong loyalty. It has been very hard to get him onto my side for the takeover because he had worked with my father for so long.
He and I also worked together, of course. For years.
We worked together closely, and he trusted me. But it was only my father’s risky behavior and the impact that it was having on thousands of employees that made Ohanian agree to the coup.
I hadn’t spoken to him since I went on a leave of absence.
His car glides over the long driveway and pulls a few feet away. He gets out, looking the same as he always does, wearing a suit and slightly worried expression.
It’s his default state. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen him any other way.
“Lucian,” he says. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry the plan didn’t work.”
It’s strange, but I find myself chuckling. “You know what? I’ve barely thought about it. Maybe everything worked out for the best.”
“It didn’t,” he says. “Morelli Holdings is going under. Your father has become even more erratic. He’s taking bigger risks. The entire company will fold if we don’t do something.”
It did bother me. The family, my mother, my sisters, all those employees. I cared about Morelli Holdings, but I loved Elaine more. “Not my problem. The board didn’t vote me in.”
“That’s the thing. They’re going to vote you in. It’s already been decided in an emergency meeting. You’re the new CEO if you’re willing to take the position.” He seems to notice the dirt on my hands and the freshly plowed earth. “Come with me. The vote can happen right now.”
Surprise holds me still. “You’re serious.”
“Dead serious. Once we looked at the deals he’s been signing and the numbers, we had to act. We’re already facing serious layoffs, and perhaps worse. We need you.”
They need me. I should be crowing at the triumph. This is exactly what I wanted to have happen. It means power. Money. It means winning over my father. I could leave Elaine in the house, attend the vote, and come back as the CEO of Morelli Holdings.
Except it’s not just about the vote. It’s about everything that comes after.