Make the most of it.
One day all this will be but a memory of finer things and better days.
With respect and gratitude,
Fang and Feather
I read it again.
‘Dear Legacy?’ They went to all this trouble to make this card fancy, and then they send me a form letter?
What the fuck?
There is another wax seal at the bottom of the card, similar to the one on the back of the envelope. Same colors, at least. But when I compare them, they are not the same. The impression on the card is different. Just a swan, no lion.
“Cadee—” Cooper is pulling the sheer yellow curtains in front of my door aside as he says my name. But he stops and looks around once he sees the room. “What the hell is all this?”
I hand him the card and then turn to look at the huge picture that has been mounted over my headboard.
It’s us. Cooper and me. The photograph was taken last night while we were having sex on that Valcourt throne, but it looks like an oil painting. One of those digital manipulations with soft brush strokes added over the photo. The frame is also a work of art. Something right out of a palace gallery.
You can’t really tell we’re having sex. No body parts are showing. My elaborate gown is spread over his knees and everything is happening underneath it.
But all you have to do is look at our faces. We are in a moment of pure ecstasy.
I look back at Cooper, who is reading the letter, then wait for his eyes to lift up and find mine. But they don’t linger on me. Instead they immediately dart to the portrait on the wall.
“Jesus fuck. What the hell is that?”
“Us,” I say, walking over to the closet.
“Did you read this card, Cadee?”
“Of course I read it.”
“And?”
I shrug. Then sigh. “I have no idea, Cooper. But they told me to enjoy it.”
“Yeah, that last part? That’s like… a threat.”
I turn to face him. “A threat? It wasn’t a threat. It was advice.”
He just stares at me for a moment. “Are you fucking kidding me right now?”
“What?”
“You’re buying into this shit, Cadee. You’re being way too casual.”
“Isn’t this why we came back, Cooper? I mean, we’re here now. I was in the tomb. I’m in. You’re in. We’re all in. Just be the bully king, Cooper. It’s not that far of a stretch.”
“You’re really OK with this?”
“Why are you getting so crazy? You get two women, Cooper. Two beautiful women. And we’re not jealous of each other because we serve different purposes.”
“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.”