Deadmen's Queen: A dark college reverse harem romance

Chapter Twelve

Knights wAS already full by the time we got there. It didn’t surprise me, even on a Sunday night, the restaurant was usually booked solid for three months. It was one of the best restaurants in the county, and people came from far around Blackvellyn to dine here.

“Looks packed,” Paige murmured, slipping her hand in mine.

I squeezed her hand. “Don”t worry about it.”

The concierge spotted us the moment we stepped through the door, his professional smile widening when he saw me. “Mr. Blake, a pleasure as always.”

“Evening Brooks,” I said, nodding at him. “Normal table?”

“Of course sir.”

We followed him through the tables to one near the back. I liked this table. You could view the whole restaurant, but it was set apart slightly, so people couldn’t overhear your conversation. Paige followed Brooks, and I hung back a little, enjoying the view. Kate had been right. I did like that dress. It was high cut at the neckline, but short on her legs, and the deep blue velvet hugged her curves in a way that made my blood heat. My Persephone was beautiful, and she didn’t even realise it. She moved with an unconscious grace, unaware of the eyes she drew from other tables, eyes that I swiftly rebuked with warning glares.

Paige slipped into the booth seat, and I slid in next to her.

“Your usual, sir?” Brooks asked, already knowing the answer.

“Double brandy, on ice,” I said, nodding.

“And you, miss?”

“I’ll have the same,” Paige said, lifting her chin as she looked at me, her eyes flashing with a challenge.

“Right away,” he replied before disappearing into the crowd.

I raised my eyebrows at Paige. “Double brandy?”

“I needed a drink, and it always smells nice on you,” she said, blushing. “Is that ok?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” I asked, and she looked away uncomfortable.

“Paige, you can order whatever you like, and there will be no judgement at all from me. I want you to relax and have a good time tonight.” She nodded.

“I can”t believe you got us in here,” Paige said, looking around, her fingers tracing the ornate patterns on the tablecloth.

“It’s not difficult when you know the owners,” I said.

“You know the owners?”

“Tristan, Nate and I are the owners, Paige,” I grinned.

Her jaw dropped slightly. “You”re what?”

“Own it,” I repeated.

“Wow, that’s amazing.”

“We decided at quite a young age that we didn’t want to be dependent on our fathers’ wealth,” I explained. “We got regular jobs at seventeen and eighteen outside of working at our families’ companies, and we invested all of it into our own company at eighteen, which we’ve been building up ever since. Knights Ltd now owns four restaurants and two hotels, and we’re currently working on buying a nightclub chain we want to upgrade.”

“How do you find the time to do all of this and your PhDs?”

“We make the time,” I replied, my gaze never leaving hers. “We also run the club’s businesses, and work for our fathers when they need us. It’s intense, and it’s a lot of work, but it will be worth it.”

“You like having something of your own,” Paige said slowly, and I nodded.

“Yes, we all do. And Tristan always wanted a restaurant. He might not get to cook in it, but he gets to hire the chefs and say how they’re run, chat about the menu, that kind of thing. It’s not perfect, but it’s something.”

“Can’t he just quit and say he wants to be a chef?” she asked.

“It doesn”t work like that. The Syndicate is for life.”

I was saved from having to say anything more as a waiter set our drinks down in front of us and handed us each a menu.

Paige perused the menu in front of her, her eyes wide as she scanned the list of expensive dishes.

“Is there something you fancy?” I asked, my eyes never leaving her.

“It”s all a bit overwhelming,” she confessed, her fingers lightly tracing over the descriptions on the menu.

I took the menu from her, our fingers brushing for a moment. “Leave it to me.”

Her eyes widened slightly, but she nodded, sitting back in her seat.

I ordered a selection of dishes for us to share - caviar blinis, beef tartare, truffle risotto, and baked lemon sole.

Once we gave our orders to the waiter and he had moved away, I turned back to face her again. Her gaze was fixed on her glass as she ran her finger over the rim nervously. I reached out to cover her hand with mine, a soft smile on my lips.

“Hey,” I whispered softly, “relax. It”s just dinner.” She smiled at me.

“What happened back there in the pub, Paige?”

“I was just worried that I’d lost my phone.”

“And so what if you had?”

“I…”

“Were you worried about telling your parents?” I asked, trying to approach it gently.

Paige nodded, not looking at me.

“Paige, I don’t want to come across like I’m being critical, but your reaction to losing your phone was very much like the one from when you were sick in my car. Can I ask, do you get panic attacks a lot?”

“Not so much now, but I used to get them a lot,” she confessed, her blue eyes darting up to mine, then dropping away again.

“Is it because your father used to beat you?” I asked softly. This time, her eyes shot up to mine, wide with alarm.

“No! No, of course not!” Her hand trembled under mine, and I squeezed it gently.

“Paige, tell me the truth.”

Her lips parted and I saw her chest rise and fall rapidly under her dress. She was starting to panic again.

“I won’t say or do anything, I just want to know.”

She hesitated, then nodded, her body almost deflating as the silent confession left her. I knew it. Rage charged through me, but I kept it under control, letting it boil in my blood, as I continued to question her.

“Often?”

“Not often. He… he likes to drink, and when he’s had a lot, you’ve just got to be careful not to annoy him.”

I lowered my other hand from the table to my other side where she couldn’t see it, clenching it tightly.

“And your mother?”

“He hit her more than me. I was usually kept out of the way.”

“Did she hit you?”

Paige swallowed. “Yes, but that wasn’t too bad. She… did other things. Worse things.”

I gritted my teeth. “Like what?”

But Paige had reached her limit, and I caught the glimmer in her eyes as she turned her head away.

“I can’t…” she whispered.

The waiter reappeared with our meals, and I waited as he set the plates and dishes down for us. Paige sipped at her brandy and I suppressed a smile watching her trying not to cringe at the sixteen hundred pound bottle she clearly didn’t like.

The waiter left, and I watched her toy with the food, clearly now no longer hungry since I’d forced this topic of conversation upon her. I hated seeing her like this, so defeated and sad, and so completely unaware of her own worth. The feeling of helplessness and anger gnawed at me. But all I saw was this brilliant woman in front of me who had faced so much and was still standing resiliently. I hated that she’d been put through this, and I vowed they wouldn’t get away with it. Somehow, someway, Neil and Pauline Matthews would pay for what they’d done to their daughter.

“Nobody deserves to be treated like that, Paige,” I said softly. “And I am going to make sure it never, ever happens to you again.”

She looks up, the defeat and acceptance in her eyes tearing at my heart.

“I should have been better, smarter, prettier. Better at talking to people. I let them down all the time, Bast. Just like I’ll let you down.” My heart ached at her words.

“You listen to me right now, Paige,” I said sternly. “None of that is true. They were your parents and you deserved love, care and respect no matter who you are or what you look like. You are an intelligent, beautiful and incredibly talented woman who’s self worth and confidence has been repeatedly knocked. That is not your fault. You deserve the world, and I won”t let anyone ever make you feel less than that.”

She sniffled, trying to hold back her tears but failing, as they spilled down her cheeks. “I”m not...I”ve never been...”

“Enough?” I finished for her, my voice rough, my throat tight. “You”re more than enough, princess. And you always have been.”

I reached out for her, pulling her to me so I could kiss her. I wasn’t so good with words either. I just needed her to know how much she was coming to mean to me. Her lips met mine, salty with tears, and I kissed her with everything I had, not holding back, just wanting her to feel what I felt. I hurt for her, for the pain she”d endured and kept hidden from the world. I hated to think of her enduring this alone, but the very thought of it made me appreciate her strength even more. Paige was a survivor and although I wanted to protect her, I knew she had the spirit to fight back.

When I finally pulled back, I reached up to brush her tears away.

“You”re not alone anymore, Paige,” I whispered, locking eyes with her. “I promise you that.”

She nodded tentatively, as if she wanted to believe in my words but feared they would be empty ones. I searched for some way to make her understand.

“The Persephone role. You agreed to it for the money, didn’t you, Paige? Not because of greed, or because you wanted to get ahead, but because you wanted to escape.”

She nodded. “I knew it would turn me into the slut my mother always said I was, but it’s my only way out.” She looked up at me. “I just need to keep her happy till the school year ends, and then I can run.”

I sighed, not quite believing I was about to do this.

“Paige, what if I was to… arrange something else? We could cancel the contract. I’ll find you somewhere to live. You can complete the school year, and then I’ll set you up wherever you want. London, maybe, near the galleries. With a studio. I could be your sponsor. You’d be away from her, and following your dream, and you wouldn’t need to do anything else. You’d be free from us.”

She stared at me for a moment. “Are you saying I wouldn’t need to be your Persephone any more?”

I nodded, fighting the urge to swallow the tightness in my throat. “You’d have everything you’d get by being Persephone, except you wouldn’t have to… perform your end of the contract.”

Paige stared at her plate. “What about Persephone though?”

“I guess we’d just find somebody else.” Over my dead fucking body. I couldn’t imagine anyone else in the role now. Not since Paige. We’d just have to work something out, and if it meant the club did badly this year, then fuck it. If I couldn’t have Paige as my Queen, then I didn’t want anyone else.

“Another woman,” she muttered under her breath.

“Yes.” Never.

She looked back up at me, eyes burning into mine. “You’d set me aside, just like that?”

“No, Paige. I’m giving you the chance to change your mind. To leave. You would go about your life, create the art you want to and I”d take care of everything else. You wouldn”t have to see us again if you didn”t want to.”

Her eyes dropped down to her plate again and for a moment, I thought she would refuse. Then she looked up at me, her eyes determined. “No,” she said firmly.

“What?”

She repeated herself, louder this time. “No,” she said. “I”m not running away anymore.”

I was taken aback by her sudden change in demeanour. “Paige, you”re not—”

“Let me finish,” she cut me off. “I’ve spent all my life being controlled, but I chose this, and I will not break my promise. It”s scary and it”s not what I ever thought I”d do but... it”s my choice. And I am so grateful for your offer, Bast, but I need to do this. Not just for the money but... for me.”

The relief flooded through me so intensely that it left me momentarily breathless. I could barely believe what I was hearing.

“You’re sure?” I asked quietly, needing reassurance.

“If I’m going to make myself a life next year, I need to know I won’t back down. I need to push myself, to find my limits, and you and Nate, and Tristan help me do that. I want to stay. I’m in, all the way.”

“All the way?” I asked. There was an underlying question in my voice, and she blushed as she held my gaze.

“All the way.”

Her declaration stirred something within me that was more potent than simple desire - it was an addictive cocktail of possession and pride. She was mine now. And she was choosing to be.

“Are you prepared to prove that?” I asked.

“Yes.”

I grinned. “Good. Then you agree to obey me, and do everything I say?”

She nodded, biting down on her lower lip, her eyes holding a spark they didn’t have before.

“Good. Now, slide your underwear off and pass them to me.”

“But... we”re in public,” she hissed.

“I don’t care. Do it. Now.”

She hesitated and for a moment, I thought she might not go through with it, but she slipped her hands under the table, and shifted up, sliding them down her legs. She reached down, picking up the scrap of lace and passed them to me. I tucked them into my pocket.

“That’s my good little slut. Now, let’s eat before this food goes cold. I want to see a clean plate, princess.”

She took a deep breath, then turned and picked up her knife and fork. I picked up my own fork, too, but slipped my other hand under the table, laying it on her thigh. She tensed, her fork halfway to her lips.

“Keep eating, Paige,” I reminded her.

I left my hand there a few minutes, before starting to inch up her smooth skin, dipping between her thighs.

“Open your legs for me, little whore,” I whispered.

She did, immediately parting them wide under the table.

“Oh, I like it when you do as you’re told, Paige,” I said, trailing my fingers down and brushing them over her lips. She gasped and I smiled.

“Already wet, just at the thought of what I’m going to do? You are such a dirty little bitch, aren’t you?”

She bit her lip and looked away from me, her cheeks turning a vivid shade of pink.

“Yes, sir.” The words were like a dart of desire to my cock.

In a low voice, just loud enough for her to hear, I continued my assault, “You”re going to have to get used to being wet all the time, Paige. From now on, every time you see me or hear my voice, you”re going to remember how it feels to have my fingers inside you and you”ll want it so badly that it will be all you can think about.”

Her knife and fork clattered onto her plate as she gasped, a shudder rippling through her body as I pushed a finger inside her. I smirked, pushing deeper. She shifted in her seat, gasping as I slid a second finger inside her.

“Quiet now,” I warned, my voice barely a whisper, “Can”t let anyone hear.”

She nodded, biting down on her lip, and I chuckled to myself. Oh, the things I was going to do with this girl. Her cheeks flushed a pretty pink, and she squirmed in her seat, trying to push herself closer to my hand. I smiled at her desperation.

“Patience is a virtue, love,” I murmured. She whimpered and looked at me with pleading eyes. I leaned closer to her, my hand still moving between her legs. “Eat your food, Paige.”

I moved my fingers agonizingly slow inside her. The ragged gasps she was unable to suppress were music to my ears. Each one fed the predatory instinct circling within me, urging me to play with her more.

“Please... Bast,” she whispered.

“What”s that, darling?” I feigned ignorance, keeping my eyes on the plate of food in front of me while my hand continued its torment between her trembling thighs. “I can”t hear you.”

She went silent for a moment before biting out a frustrated curse. It seemed she had gathered up all her courage before she opened her mouth to respond.

“I need... I- I need...” She stuttered, unable to voice out her desire clearly.

With an amused smirk, I leaned closer and whispered into her ear. “Need what, Paige? You have to tell me.”

She whimpered again, her brows furrowing deeply as my fingers increased their pace. She was close, so damn close and the anticipation was intoxicating. Here in this restaurant surrounded by strangers, Paige was teetering on the edge of pleasure only because of me.

“I need you... ,” she finally managed through gritted teeth as a shudder wracked through her body.

“That”s my good girl,” I said. She was panting now, her meal now forgotten as she dug her nails into her thighs. The need in her eyes was intoxicating. It was such a turn on to see her like this, desperate for me, for the pleasure only I could give her.

She stifled a moan and I smiled at her struggle. The pink in her cheeks deepened, her eyes growing glassy as she struggled to keep herself together. So innocent yet so brazen under the table. I leaned in closer to her, my lips brushing against her ear as I whispered.

“You”re doing so well, darling,” I murmured, my fingers slipping deeper inside of her. “Just a little bit longer.” The scent of her arousal filled the air between us, making me harder with each passing second. “Are you ready?”

She nodded, biting down hard on her lip as I increased my pace, all while murmuring words meant to push her over the edge. Her hand shot out and gripped mine hard enough to hurt as she tried to muffle the sounds that threatened to burst from her lips.

“You’re so fucking wet, Paige,” I said, into her ear, my thumb circling her clit. “I love that this gets you off, knowing we could be seen. But then, you like being watched too, don’t you? You get so wet at the club when you know all eyes are on you, when they can see my fingers pushing into your pussy…”

She moaned, and I captured her mouth quickly with mine to muffle the sound.

“Such a dirty little whore, with such a wet pussy. Your body wants this,” I murmured, my voice barely audible over the atmospheric clamour of the restaurant around us. “And you’re going to come for me right here...and soon everyone will know exactly what a slut you are for me.”

Her grip on my hand tightened at the sound of my words and she finally managed to whimper an answer. “Yes...yes, Bast.”

This simple sentence sent a shiver of anticipation down my spine and I felt myself harden further at the thought of what was about to transpire.

I increased the pace again, not giving a damn if anyone could see what I was doing to Paige under the table. Her hands flew up to my arm, gripping tightly as pleasure coursed through her body. Her eyes fluttered shut and she buried her face in my shoulder, muffling a low moan as I found what I was looking for.

I sped up, in no hurry to finish our little game but knowing she was close to the edge. She was panting heavily now, sweat beading on her forehead and dampening the curls at the nape of her neck. I watched her eyes dilate, her chest heaving with the effort to control her breathing. She squirmed in the chair, the muscles of her thighs tightening against my hand.

“That”s it, my little slut,” I whispered, pressing my thumb harder into her clit. Her eyes grew wide, lips parting in a silent gasp as pleasure coursed through her. Beneath the table, I watched as she clamped onto my hand, whitened knuckles indicating the intensity of her climax. She shivered under my touch and suddenly stiffened before melting back into the chair - spent and satisfied. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath while I withdrew my hand from underneath the table with a smug grin plastered on my face.

Our waiter appeared, his eyes fixed firmly on me, and Paige sat bolt upright, cheeks flushing pink.

“Are you finished?” he asked.

“We are. Thank you, it was most delicious. Please give our compliments to the chef.”

“Thank you sir, I’m glad you were happy. Can I tempt you with a dessert menu?”

I glanced at Paige, lifting my hand to my mouth, and sucking on one of my fingers. She blushed even harder.

I turned back to the waiter.

“No, I think we’ll pass on dessert.”

“Very good sir. Shall I charge it to the normal account?”

“Please do.”

He disappeared, and I stood up, licking my other finger. I looked down at Paige and held out my hand. She reached up and I pulled her up.

“Shall we go home?” I asked, and she nodded.

I held her hand through the restaurant, almost feeling as though she would drift away if I didn”t keep a tight hold on her. Tonight, she wasn’t going anywhere. Tonight she was going to be mine, finally.