Chapter 35
Julian
As I adjust her on my lap, her legs part a bit and try as I may to avert my gaze, not to be a complete bastard, my eyes glue onto her soft skin where three long red scratches run parallel along the apex of her thigh.
I will kill him. I will draw it out. I will make him pay for touching her. Soothing a hand over her hair and down her spine, I hold her a little tighter, wanting her to know that she is safe with me. Forever safe with me.
Pulling away, I watch as a single tear rolls down her cheek. “Did you… did you mean it? Are you really going to sell me?”
I want to laugh, but that wouldn’t ease the tension or worry inside of her, so I choose against doing that. With Elena, I have to dig deep, be gentle and kind.
Cupping her cheek, I turn her face to me. A ragged breath leaves her lips, and it is painfully obvious how much tonight’s events have broken her. Her father had been right in a sense. She was not made for this world. She is fragile, and if I’m not careful, I’ll break her, and stupidly, I don’t want to do that.
“If I didn’t want you… if I was going to sell you, do you think you would be in this car with me right now?”
Hiccupping, she shakes her head. “No, but… it sounded like you… like you were going to.”
I can’t stop my lips from twitching up at the sides. “I told you, you might not like some of the things that I said or how I behaved, but I promised you that no harm would come to you. Did you believe me?”
The answer to my question is obvious, but I still want to hear her say it. Like others, she expected the worst from me, even when I’ve proven again and again that I didn’t have it in me to hurt her. Technically, she didn’t fully know that because I needed her fear, for her to be scared of me, to comply, but deep down, I felt like she might feel safe in my arms.
“I didn’t know what to believe. I don’t know if I’m cut out for this–to be your wife.” She sniffled, and her words make the possessive beast that lurks just beneath the surface extend its claws out.
“Whether you are cut out for this world or not doesn’t matter. You will be my wife, and there is nothing that will change that.” My response is final. I’m not going to let her go, no way, no how. Elena Romero is mine. Mine to corrupt. Mine to claim.
The car comes to a halt in front of the house… our house. Lucca opens the door, and I climb out while keeping Elena in my arms. I hold her to my chest, making sure she isn’t giving Lucca a show while I bring her inside. She holds on to my neck like I’m her life preserver, and maybe in a way, I am, keeping her afloat and alive in this world of darkness.
“Are you hungry?” I ask her as we pass the kitchen.
“No, I just want to take a bath and go to bed.”
Nodding, I carry her all the way into our bathroom, where I put her down on her feet before turning on the water. She sits down on the edge of the tub and slips out of her heels. She looks exhausted, and I want to ease that tension, ease her fears and pain.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Am I growing a pussy myself?
“Can I have a moment? I-I need to use the bathroom.”
I almost interject, pointing out that she used the bathroom not too long ago, but I decide to give her a minute to herself. I’m sure she needs a second to gather her thoughts and pull everything together. Stepping into the bedroom, I close the door behind me and pull out my phone to text Lucca.
Me: I need everything you can find on Lev Volcove.
Lucca: Done.
Sighing, I run a hand through my hair before making a fist. Lev Volcove is a dead man walking, and he doesn’t even know it yet. I don’t care who his father is. What was the fucker thinking when he touched what was mine? Obviously, he wasn’t thinking.
A tinge of something foreign and unusual fills my chest. It’s an emotion I haven’t felt since I was a child. I recognize the feeling like a thorn in my side. Guilt. For taking my eyes off her alone at that bar, for letting this happen. I’m not sure how to digest what I’m feeling, so I decide not to touch it at all.
Giving Elena a little longer in the bathroom, I take off my suit jacket and toss it on the chaise lounge. My shoes go next, and I start to unbutton my shirt, feeling better with each piece of constricting clothing I lose. Down to my dress slacks, and my button up shirt, I feel like I can breathe again.
I wait a few more moments before I enter the bathroom and find Elena completely naked, climbing into the tub. The dress she was wearing is on the floor next to the toilet. Picking up the scrap of fabric, I throw it into the trash can next to the sink.
When I turn back to face her, she is just sinking down into the water. I’ve seen her naked a few times now, but it never gets easier. All I want to do is rip my own clothes off and mount her like a wild animal. Bite her skin and watch her writhe beneath me. The ache in my balls is permanent, and a constant reminder of what I refuse myself daily.
I haven’t been able to have sex with anyone else, mainly because every time I tried, Elena’s picture popped into my fucking head. She’s messing with my mind and my cock. It only wants her, and no one else.
“You did good at the event, and I’m proud of you. I want to reward you. Playing your part wasn’t easy, and seeing your father wasn’t easy either, I’m sure.”
She nods, but there is a hesitant look in her green eyes.
“What is my reward?”
“You’ll see when you get out.”
I help her wash and rinse her hair, and she uses a washcloth to get her makeup off. Once she is clean from head to toe, I lift her out of the tub and get her dried off. I leave the wet towels in a pile on the floor and lead Elena back into the bedroom.
“Don’t put a nightgown on yet. Lie down on the bed, face down.”
Elena stops and looks up at me, shock written all over her face, but thankfully, no fear.
“Why?”
“Don’t worry. I told you this was a reward. You will like this. Trust me.” I motion for her to get on the bed, and she does, even though her movements are hesitant.
I grab the massage oil from the drawer in my nightstand and pour a generous amount into my palm. Her head turns toward me, and she watches what I’m doing with peaked interest. When I come back around to her side of the bed, her head turns again.
Her watchful eyes never leave me, and now curiosity has turned to excitement.
Sitting down on the bed next to her, I rub my hands together to warm up the oil before planting my palms on her back. As soon as I start massaging her shoulders, she lets out a quiet, breathy moan. A sound that somehow has a direct line to my dick. Fuck. I must enjoy torturing myself.NôvelDrama.Org owns this text.
Her muscles are stiff, her body tense, but the more I work my fingers into her flesh, the more she relaxes, sinking deeper into the mattress.
“I told you, you were gonna like this.”
“It feels really good,” she murmurs, turning to putty in my hands.
When her upper body is thoroughly massaged, I move lower to her legs, running my hands over her naked ass as I go. I expect her to tense back up, maybe even squeeze her ass cheeks together, but instead, she moans into the pillow. So trusting, if only she knew the things my hands had done. The death that coated them. Would she still want them on her?
Arching her back, she pushes her perfect globes into my palms. She probably doesn’t even realize the invitation she is sending my way, which makes me want her all the more.
“I guess you want a full body massage?”
“Mmhh…”
“Is that a yes?” I ask, massaging the insides of her thighs. Her sweet little pussy grinds against the mattress, seeking relief that it doesn’t understand, that only I can give it.
“Yes, don’t stop,” she pleads, jerking her hips as I move closer to her center. The bedsheet is damp beneath her, and her sweet arousal coats the insides of her thighs, dripping like honey from her pussy.