Chapter 25
25
TWO WEEKS LATER…
“ Y ou look like a princess, sugar. A princess about to marry a King,” my father said with a wink.
I managed to mask the hatred from my expression, but it was asking too much to expect me to smile. He stood behind me in a tux, inspecting my elegant wedding gown in the full-length mirror.
I’d wanted something simple and modern, but I’d been overruled and hadn’t cared enough to fight them about it. Did it really matter what I wore to marry a monster?
“He’s…not a good man, Daddy.”
My father blinked, clearly caught off guard by the abrupt shift, but he quickly regained his composure. “Neither am I, sugar. Some of us don’t have the luxury of being good .” He checked his phone, ready to end the conversation.
“No,” I said firmly, turning to face him. “He’s not good… to me .”
He shifted uncomfortably, refusing to meet my eyes, and I knew in an instant that I didn’t need to elaborate.
“ You know ,” I said with dawning horror. “You know exactly what a monster he is, and you still want me to marry him because it’s strategic for you.”
His doting-father mask slipped, and I caught a glimpse of the ruthless territory leader in him. “We all make sacrifices, Juliet. If you don’t go out there and marry him?—”
I held up my hand to cut him off. “You’re finished threatening me. I’ll do what needs to be done… if we strike a bargain. Jacque gets to make her own choices. She chooses her path in life and picks her partner when she decides she’s ready for one. And you’re going to send her on the yacht trip with my aunt and uncle.”
Now he was suspicious. “Why the yacht?”
Because I need her safely out of the way on a ship halfway across the world surrounded by Secret Service. “Because she deserves to be young and have some fun.”
From his scowl, it was apparent he didn’t like being told what to do, but I could also tell he’d expected me to beg him not to make me marry King…so he was most likely pleased I was being compliant even if it came with conditions.
“Fine. You marry King, Jacque marries who she wants and makes her own choices, so long as they don’t cause a scandal.”
I shook my head. “I don’t give a fuck if she causes a scandal.” His sneer deepened at my use of profanity. It was the first time I’d ever cursed in front of him, and it felt good to stop making myself so polite to please him. It was time to find out what I was capable of if I pushed back. “It’ll have nothing on the scandal I’ll cause if the film crews out there televise me jilting Kevin King at the altar. She gets to be a normal young adult. And I want it in writing, handled through a lawyer of my choosing.”
He sighed heavily. “Fine. With you married to King, she doesn’t matter anyway. Have your lawyer write it, and I’ll sign.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s almost time.”
He patted my shoulder as he left, but there was no affection in it. As soon as he closed the door, I let my composure slip and started to pace the room.
Minutes . I only had minutes left before the producer from the film crew came to retrieve me so we could start the wedding. I was ready to just get on with it. The longer we waited, the more afraid I was that Reaper was going to call in my debt since I hadn’t called it off myself.
I hadn’t heard anything from him and hadn’t dared to try to reach out. If he punished me in some way for breaking our deal, it couldn’t be worse than getting him killed.
A phone that wasn’t mine went off on the end table by the window. I thought my father or one of the stylists had left theirs, but my heart raced nervously when I flipped it over and read the text.
A deal ’ s a deal, darling .
I sat in a puddle of wedding dress, losing all bravado with a single text. Would he dare to interrupt the actual ceremony? Surely, he wouldn’t be able to storm in and object with security as tight as it was.
Was it possible he was here? Fear knotted anew in my stomach. If he was here, someone would spot him and King would start asking questions that could put everyone Reaper cared about in danger.
I deleted the message and hid the phone in a deep inner pocket of my suitcase. Having a phone King didn’t know about removed a huge obstacle to my plan. I’d find a way to hide it better later, but there was no time!
When I turned back around, I covered my mouth to stifle a scream at the shock of finding Reaper sprawled on the couch I’d just been sitting on like it was the throne at his party.
“How did— What are— You can’t be here!” I spluttered.
If anyone had seen him here, they’d immediately know he didn’t belong. He hadn’t even tried to blend in. He was wearing a white dress shirt with a lace collar and cuffs, but it was completely unbuttoned, leaving his bare stomach and chest on full display. A pair of skintight riding pants and brown leather riding boots matched his leather gloves. He looked like a Victorian gentleman who’d turned rogue.
He cocked an eyebrow. “You were just going to leave me on Read.” He tutted like he was disappointed. “I see two weeks is too long to leave my brat undisciplined.”
Two weeks of aching to call him, of lying awake thinking of him touching me.
“You have to go!”
“Why?” He extended a hand to summon me closer, and I obeyed without even realizing I was doing it. He put his hands on my waist, assessing my wedding dress with a look of distaste.
I frantically looked over my shoulder. “Because there’s a film crew about to walk through that door!”
His slow grin was borderline feral. “And you’re saying this wouldn’t make for good TV?” He lifted one of my stockinged feet onto his thigh, running his hands up the sheer fabric that covered my calf, then stopping at the back of my knee. “You seem to be under the mistaken impression that you can break a deal with me, darling.” He ran his hands up my thigh now, brushing his gloved fingertips over the white fabric of my panties before sliding them back down to my knee.
He delivered his threat with the confidence of a man who only had to sit there to get what he wanted. If anyone caught him there, all hell was going to break loose and there’d be no wedding.
“You said you wanted me to come to you willingly. Give me that chance. Give us a chance. Don’t make me do it like this.”
He gave me a look so charged with frustration, I would’ve laughed if the stakes weren’t so high.
I wove my fingers into his hair gently. “You’re so used to being in control of everyone, making deals and guaranteeing outcomes with leverage. I’m asking you to trust me to choose you with no leverage and no deal on the table. Release me from this bargain, and I’ll find a way to be yours.”
Reaper pulled one of his gloves off and slipped two fingers into his mouth, then rolled his tongue around them. He dragged my panties to the side with his other hand and shoved the wet fingers inside me. “You’re already mine.” He crooked his fingers and stroked at an angle that took my breath away. “I’ll tell you what…I’ll consider your debt repaid if you can make me come in this pretty pussy before someone comes through that door.”
I gritted my teeth to stop myself from moaning as he stroked my clit with the leather of his glove and thrust his fingers deeper with his other hand.
I could’ve argued with him about the nuances of consent, but there was no point. We both knew I wanted to fuck him. We both knew I wanted him to leave before he got caught. Arguing about anything else was a waste of precious time.
I glanced over my shoulder, torn between the temptation of letting him get us caught and the knowledge that the consequences would hurt people I loved.
“Better not waste time.” He unbuttoned his pants, and his meaning couldn’t have been plainer. “I’m not leaving until I’ve filled up your tight little cunt.”
I pulled off my panties and hiked my skirt up, then pulled his cock out of his pants, and it sprung to attention. I sighed in frustration as the thick head nudged at my entrance only to slip forward without penetrating.
He spread his arms across the back of the couch, doing nothing to help me.
We both exhaled when I finally got the head in. I tried to sink onto it, but it was too thick to just ram in there. I whimpered, pushing against the stretching pressure that bordered on pain. I didn’t mind the pain, a different kind of hurt as Styx had said. I hoped I was sore later and it made me think of Reaper. He was the only one willing to fight everyone, even me, to keep me safe.
His smile curled into something feral. “You seem to be struggling. Do you need my help, darling?” If he just thrust his hips up, he’d slide in deeper. “It would break our terms, but if that’s what you need…”
“Don’t need your help this time.” We let out guttural groans when I thrust down and drove his cock deep inside me. If we didn’t keep quiet, someone was going to hear.
The frantic need to feel this with him before I had to go ice-cold for the ceremony snapped something in me, and all at once, I was an animal thrashing against him, digging my nails into his chest as I rode his cock with abandon.
“Fuck…” Reaper breathed.
This wasn’t what got him off, though. He’d told me as much. He wanted to feel me come.
I managed to tuck my skirt under one arm and lower a hand between my thighs, letting him see the way I was touching myself.
“You’d better get me off before that film crew comes in the door. Maybe you’re stalling because you want to get caught. I know how much you like it when people watch.”
He was talking shit, and it was turning me on, the threat of being caught, the scandal of it all. I was beyond thinking clearly enough to focus on the consequences. I couldn’t tear my eyes from his as we thrust together. He lost control and snatched my hips, driving me over the edge of an orgasm just as he groaned and came.
I held my breath, fighting not to make the sounds that felt like they were going to explode out of me. It was cruel to ask me to endure such intensity in silence. I wanted to collapse against his chest and lie there until I stopped feeling like I was floating. But it was too risky.
“You have to go,” I said, standing up. As soon as he pulled out, the mess started to come out.
“You leave it there,” Reaper growled. “Walk down that aisle and make whatever bullshit vows you want, but you’re going to do it with my seed dripping down your thighs, reminding you that no matter what you say to him, you belong to me.”
Someone knocked on the hallway door.
“Just a moment!” I called.
Reaper snatched me to his chest, claiming my mouth in a searing, possessive kiss. “This isn’t over. I’ll see you at the Black Rose.”