Heartless Sinner (Empire of Sinners #5)

Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

Scarlett

I stand in the middle of Micah’s bedroom utterly awestruck.

He had to go to a business meeting in Manhattan, so when we landed, he left me in the care of his guards while he headed out to work at his family’s multibillion-dollar company.

I came here to this … palace in the Hamptons which sprawls across Billionaire Row, a place I’ve only heard about on TV and magazines.

Now I’m here in a home infused with so much opulence and wealth it already makes my old life feel like a distant memory.

It couldn’t have been yesterday that I was scrubbing toilets and cleaning the tables in the diner. It couldn’t have been yesterday that I was planning to run for my life with my father.

But it was.

I gaze ahead at the floor-to-ceiling window stretching across the wall. It offers a breathtaking view of the Atlantic Ocean as the waves crash against the private beach.

I could happily stare at this scenery forever.

I’ve been like this since I got here and the head maid gave me the tour of the grand estate.

Everything is beautiful, including this bedroom.

Everything in here screams Micah. From the imposing black marble fireplace to the hand-carved mahogany bed frame that dominates the space.

The California-king sized bed is dressed in charcoal silk sheets, and modern art pieces accent the walls with their sharp lines and bold shapes reflecting my future husband's tastes.

My fingers trace the sleek edge of his dresser, taking in the contrast between the masculine leather chair in the corner and the delicate crystal chandelier above.

The walk-in closet to my right has been transformed into what looks like a designer boutique, and even the air smells like him.

I feel like I’m floating around in a dream. I keep wondering when I’m going to wake up.

I don’t want to wake from this.

The only thing missing is Dad, but at least I know he’s safe.

Neither of us could believe our ears when one of Micah’s guards came by to tell us the debt had been paid.

The same guard stayed with us for the night and he’ll be at the house for as long as we need him to be.

Of course, when I told Dad about Micah’s proposal, he wasn’t too thrilled and was worried about me, worried that I was selling my soul.

While I understood that it would be abnormal for him to be alright with it, I had to remind him that we were in a life-or-death situation.

He soon agreed after that. The next time I’ll see him is at the wedding, which Micah told me was going to take place in two weeks.

So many outlandish things have happened to me this past week that getting married in two weeks’ time sounded normal.

I spoke to Lucy briefly last night so I could bring her up to speed and stop her from sending the extra money.

I didn’t tell her about the marriage offer. I wanted to do that part in person. She should be here in a little while, so I don’t have to wait too long.

Yesterday everything felt out of sync, but now I feel like I’ve been set on a path where I can fix things.

It doesn’t hurt that I’m insanely attracted to Micah. That said, I know I have to be careful.

I’d be a fool to lose my head and my heart to a man I know very little about.

I also need to remember this isn’t forever.

It’s business with something else neither of us should label. Especially me, who just escaped a mind-wrecking relationship with a dangerous man.

I wonder what Anton must be thinking now that the money has been paid.

I pray he’ll leave me alone. That’s all I want.

A soft knock breaks through my thoughts.

"Miss Scarlett?" Maria, the head maid, calls out.

“Come in.” I stand straighter, pushing my shoulders back as if I need to make a good impression. I know I don’t. But I have no idea what Micah has told her. I just don’t want to look like some woman in his home.

The door swings open, and she walks in with her hands clasped as if in prayer. She reminds me of Professor McGonagall in Harry Potter . She has the same color hair, same build, and the same stern but kind eyes.

"Your friend Lucy is here to see you. I have her waiting in the sunroom.”

The smile I give her comes straight from my heart. “Thanks so much. I’ll go down and see her.”

“I’ve brought out some sandwiches and ice tea, but if you need anything else, just call me.”

“Sure. And thanks.”

She takes her leave and I pull in a deep breath, preparing to see Lucy. She’ll want to know everything, and like Dad, I know she’ll have her reservations.

What she and Dad don’t realize is that this was my best bad choice.

I leave the room, stepping out onto the landing with its silky wallpapered walls and chandeliers that follow me all the way down the wide sweeping stairs.

I make my way to the sunroom and find Lucy standing by the window.

She notices me and before I can say a word, she rushes toward me, her wild blonde curls bounding across her shoulders as she moves.

"Scarlett!" Her arms wrap around me, and something inside me breaks when I think of all that I’ve been through.

She holds me tighter and I realize I'm shaking.

"Oh, sweetie," she whispers against my ear and we pull apart. “Are you okay?”

“I’m okay. I’m just… drained.”

“Of course.” She releases a sigh and looks me over with concern. I know why. I’ve lost a lot of weight, and I do look drained. It’s from all the work. “Look at you.”

“I know, but here’s hoping for better.”

She nods. “Let’s talk.” She gazes around the sunroom in a daze, but I know she’s thinking about more than just the room. “I want to hear the full story about how we’ve come to be here in the Hamptons. I mean, this place is... it’s like a billionaire's bachelor pad had a baby with Architectural Digest ."

I find myself laughing, and it feels great. "That's one way to put it."

Lucy arches a perfect brow. "You have one hell of a lot of explaining to do.”

“I know. Come sit.”

I usher her to the little wicker table and chairs where the food is set up. It feels so strange to be the one receiving food and not serving it.

We sit and Lucy leans forward, gazing at me eager to hear the rest of the story.

"Please tell me you didn’t sell yourself to the devil to pay off the debts?”

“I can’t tell you that.”

Her eyes snap wide. “What did you do?”

“Micah and I agree to get married in two weeks. I have to sign a contract ,and he’ll give me a million dollars if I stay married to him for a year. I get half now and half at the end. And as you know, he also paid Anton.”

Her already pale skin turns a deadly shade of alabaster. “He offered you what?”

“The offer of a lifetime.”

She stares back at me, her eyes still saucer wide. “I… I want to tell you to be careful because Micah Delarosa is in the mafia, but I’d be a fool to disagree with you. This is an offer of a lifetime.”

My body and soul feel less tense for having her support. “I’m really glad you think so because the situation I just left was so bad.”

“I know it was. Anton doesn’t fail to surprise me. And Johhny, too. Have you heard from him?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head and try to ignore the twist of truth coiling through my stomach. “He left us to die, Lucy.”

“I’m so sorry. Sorry feels like it’s not enough, but it’s all I can offer, and my support.”

“That’s so much more than I could ask for.”

She reaches across and gives my hand a gentle squeeze. “I will always be here for you.”

“And me for you.” I chuckle.

Seriousness returns to her eyes. “Scarlett, are you safe here? Are you safe with Micah? He seems to be really fascinated with you, and I like that, but how safe is it?”

A chill slithers down my spine and settles in the pit of my gut. I asked myself the same thing on the flight here. I didn’t come up with a winning answer. “I think I’m safer with the devil I don’t know than the one I do.”

She gives me a small smile. “I guess it looks that way. Just be careful. You seem fascinated with him, too. I’ve never known you to have a one-night stand. Plus, you’re marrying him.”

The truth of her words weighs me down. I think of the way Micah looked at me at the airport, like I was something he'd finally caught after a long chase. Like I was his.

“I know to be careful.”

“Good. I would hate for him to be another Anton.”

“Me too.”

She squeezes my hand again and I cling to her like a lifeline. “You’ll get through this, Scarlett. Let’s just be glad the worst seems to be over.”

“I truly hope so.”

My heart can’t take any more pain.

Lucy stays with me all afternoon and leaves at nightfall. When she’s gone, I check in on Dad then indulge in a long bath with scented oils and scented this and that.

I soak my tired body for three hours while I read the copy of Pride and Prejudice I got from the library downstairs.

I’ve never been in a house that had its own library, much less one that looked like it came straight from the set of Beauty and the Beast . I had fun exploring all the books and I plan to go down there again tomorrow.

It’s ten when I get in bed, and I lie there wrapped in the silky sheets wondering what I’m supposed to do.

Micah’s scent taunts me, picking at the myriad of questions floating around in my mind.

Do I wait for him to come home?

Maybe he’s busy with someone else. Another woman.

He could be with another woman. And I’d have no right to say anything because I’m a contract. The agreement we have is mutually beneficial.

It’s business. So, he’s not mine and I have no claim on him whatsoever.

Nothing except the undiluted attraction that seems to possess me when I’m around him. I felt it again in the alley and it was scary how it made me forget everything that wasn’t him.

I stare up at the ceiling, admiring the patterns and grooves on the plaster until my lids become heavy and that feeling of safety wraps around my body with protective arms.

I drift into a deep sleep, but it doesn’t seem like it’s that long before I open my eyes again to the sound of water running. The shower.

It’s not loud at all, but my recent dance with paranoia has left my hearing more sensitive of the slightest of sounds.

A quick glance at the clock on the wall tells me it’s three in the morning. I didn’t think I’d slept for that long.

I gaze ahead at the bathroom door, every nerve ending in my body alive with anticipation. It’s obviously Micah in the shower—because who else would be using it?

He’s back . And I’ve never been more awake.

The sound of running water cuts off abruptly and my breath hitches.

Droplets hitting the tile floor count down the seconds until the door opens, releasing a cloud of steam into the moonlit bedroom.

And there he stands.

Micah fills the doorway like a god carved from shadow and sin. The moonlight filtering through my curtains catches his eyes, turning them mercurial.

The water trailing down the rigid planes of his abs draws my attention to every muscle and those tattoos that had my mouth watering from the first night we met.

I devour the sight, and shamelessly, my fingers ache to trace the intricate lines of ink that start at his collarbone and sweep down his right arm in a sleeve of darkness.

The ravens inked on him take their flight through thorned roses, their wings spreading across his shoulder blade calling to me to fly with them.

I scan over the rest of the tattoos, trailing down, down until my eyes meet the fluffy white towel slung low on his hips, which does nothing to hide the hard bulge of his cock pressing against it.

Realizing I’m staring, I look back at his face and our eyes lock. The way he looks back at me has my blood heating.

There's something magnetic in his gaze that speaks to the deepest parts of me that continue to crave his touch regardless of how good or bad he is for me.

In silence, we stare at each other as he walks into the room, moving closer to me.

Water drips from his damp hair which is slightly curling at the ends and lands on his shoulder.

When Micah reaches the bed, my fingers grip the sheets.

He dries his hair with another towel and his lips curve into that dangerous smile I've come to crave. It funnels the heat already coursing through me straight to my groin.

"Did I wake you, bellezza?" His voice sounds deeper than usual at this hour, and it sends a wave of desire through my entire body.

"I’m a light sleeper." I shuffle beneath the sheets to sit up.

His gaze drops to my body, making me suddenly aware that my thin silk nightgown is on show and has ridden up past my thighs.

Nervously, I tug at the hem but freeze when I catch his eyes following the movement.

When he looks at me again, the air between us feels charged, like the silent moment before lightning strikes. “You looked comfortable in our bed. Are you?”

Our.

It’s strange to think of anything in this lavish home being ours instead of just his.

“Yes.” The word sticks in my throat as he moves closer and my heart thunders against my ribs.

“How was your meeting?”

“Long as fuck.”

“Is this the time you usually get home from work?” That’s my roundabout way of asking what to expect. I guess I’m also trying to see if he’s going to be spending time in anyone else’s bed.

“Not always.” Keeping his eyes on me, he allows the towel to fall from his hips, revealing his very hard cock.

My head spins at the sight of his massive erection and there’s no point pretending I'm not affected.

“Come here to me. I need to fuck you.” My stomach flutters from the demand in his voice, and just like that, I’m wet.

He inches closer, and my breath snags in my throat as if caught between a pile of rocks. I lean toward him, too, and the strap of my nightgown slips down my shoulder.

I don't fix it.

We meet for a kiss, and he pulls me onto him to sit in his lap while he devours my mouth.

The kiss sings through my body, curling around every nerve, and I want to drown in him.

I know I’m my own worst enemy. Hours ago, I was in this very room telling myself I needed to be careful around him. Now I want him to take me and fuck me as hard as he wants. I don’t want to resist or deny myself this.

His hands stroke down my back and cup my ass, then he pulls away from my lips and eases me back onto the bed.

It takes mere seconds for him to take my clothes off, leaving me naked and at his will to do with whatever he wants.

Pressing his body to mine, he guides me onto my hands and knees, then runs his hands over me, pausing to tease my breasts and my clit.

“You like the way I touch you, don’t you?” His hot breath whispers over my back.

“Yes.” My voice quivers with arousal.

Sweet pleasure hums through my body from his possessive caress of my nipples, but when I feel his cock at my entrance, I crumble.

He pushes into me, and I moan, then he slams all the way in.

Fire flashes across my skin and I lose my mind, becoming his again. Pleasure hisses through me like a cacophony of rough waves slapping over jagged rocks.

“Fuck, you always feel so fucking good,” he groans, pounding into me. “You’re all mine now, Scarlett.”

The possession in his words grips me, and I shove my hips back trying to take more of him. He gives me more, and I come, crying out.

Ripples of pleasure consume me, burning everywhere it touches.

This isn’t like the alleyway. Or New York. It’s something else, and it makes sense. We’re different people now.

I’m different. Unlike New York, I know who he is. Unlike the alleyway, I know he wants more from me. One year’s worth of my company.

The slap of our skin fills my ears as he fucks me harder, faster, deeper.

My soul vibrates with every thrust, then I’m coming again with fireworks exploding in my mind.

“That’s right, bellezza. Come for me.” His voice is filled with that dominance that rips me apart and breaks me.

My climax draws out his and we share the release, moaning into the possession that claims us.

Micah presses his body into me, pulling me closer so his mouth is at my neck.

His breath is as heavy and ragged as mine. “I don’t know what you are doing to me, but promise me you won’t stop.”

I glance back at him. “I promise.”

“Good, because I need more.”