24. Camille
Chapter 24
Camille
B ack at the chateau, I started packing the last of my stuff into boxes. Despite the agreement I'd made with Kage, I wouldn't stay a moment longer in this house with Ty. The idea of sharing the same air as him after what he’d done was unbearable. I pulled up my Uber app and ordered a ride to take me to Dante’s. I'd come back for my stuff with Dante tomorrow.
The sound of the front door opening and closing echoed through the otherwise-silent house. My heart skipped, hoping Kage was checking up on me after what had happened between us earlier.
"Camille!"
Ty's voice smashed my hopes to smithereens.
I shut my door and locked it but now I was trapped here. Shit.
Ty pounded on the door. “Camille, I didn’t paint that fucking swan.”
The urgency in his voice almost had me until I remembered all the shit he’d pulled since he’d been back. Why the hell would I believe him now?
“Bullshit,” I replied. “You think I don’t know your artwork? And it was signed MS just like your other pieces.”
“The bloody swan painting wasn’t mine. Someone planted it there.”
“That’s the best you’ve got?”
“I’m telling you the truth. Open the door."
"No."
"Fucking open the door or I'm busting it down."
"You wouldn't dare!"
"Oh, baby. You still have so much to learn about me."
His weight slammed against the door, and I quickly backed away. Before I knew it, he'd broken through, the wood frame splintered.
"God, you're an asshole," I screamed as he stepped inside.
“Exactly. I’ve been an asshole to you since the second I got here—to your face . Why wouldn’t I own up to the painting if I'd done it?"
“Because you saw my reaction and realized you’d taken it too far. Because somewhere inside that hollow heart of yours is a fucking conscience and now you feel bad.” I threw up my hands in frustration. “Or who knows? Maybe you’re trying to lure me into a false sense of security so you can do something even worse to me.”
“Worse like hold you down and kiss you? Oh right. Already did that tonight.”
I glared at him, my body tingling at the memory. When his lips had met mine, all I could think about was fucking him—not that I’d ever admit it.
“I hated it. It was the worst kiss of my life.”
“Liar. We both know you were into it as much as I was. You just got scared that I was seeing you for who you really are. A bad girl trying to play nice.”
“Fuck you.”
“You seem to be saying that a lot, my sweet swan. Is that what you want? To fuck me? Does bad Camille want to show me what a dirty girl she can be?”
“I don’t fuck boys . Only men . Like Dante. And Kage.”
Jealousy flashed through his eyes. I bit back a smirk as I stood there, holding my ground.
"That’s right, Ty. I’m all covered when it comes to sex. You can't show me anything they haven't already."
"You can’t handle what I could show you.”
“Oh, big, bad, scary Ty. What do you do, tie girls up? Spank them? You think you’re so tough because you like it rough?” I taunted. “News flash; BDSM is so vanilla now. You think you’re this big bad guy but you’re just a lonely little boy who struggles to get it up unless he’s hurting someone?—”
“Now you know that’s not true. You felt how hard I was before," he taunted me.
“While you were restraining me,” I reminded him.
“That was nothing. You want me to show you how rough I like it?” Ty asked, suddenly grabbing my arms and backing me up against the wall.
His hand curled around my throat. I moaned, tipping my head back, hating how much his touch aroused and thrilled me. And yes, there was a part of me that was scared, too, but not enough to ask him to stop.
"You bare your throat like prey," he murmured. "You like being my prey, Swan?”
He pressed his hips into me and he was harder than ever. I instantly imagined how fucking hot it would be if he fucked me as his teeth sank into my skin, marking me as his, making me belong to him. He was a predator, and I was the rabbit in his trap, helpless...
All at once, he grabbed my hips and spun me around, pinning me against the wall and grinding his cock against my ass.
"You feel how fucking hard you make me?" he growled against my ear. "And that’s with you pretending you don’t want it. Imagine how good it would be with you begging for my cock in that tight little pussy of yours."
He shoved Kage’s shirt up, leaving my ass bear, and landed a sharp spank on my ass. I moaned like a porn star, loving the sting but loving the way Ty palmed my ass more. Ty grabbed my jaw, pried my mouth open and twisted my head to the side while he pushed his fingers into my mouth. He got close, closer, until I could see the look in his eyes.
Power, dominance, yes – but underneath it, something else, something...vulnerable. He was physically dominating me, but I was suddenly struck with the realization that Ty was desperate to have this. I had other men, other choices, but him? He only wanted me.
I bit down on his fingers, and he withdrew them from my mouth with a sharp curse. "Do your worst, Ty.”
"How about I do my best?" He pushed harder against me while his hand curled around my throat again and squeezed. Hard.
I forced myself not to struggle as my breath was cut off. With his other hand, he cupped my breast and played with my nipple, and the combination of air loss and the zaps of pleasure from his touch was momentous. I lifted my hand to curl around his wrist, not to pull his hand away, but to keep it there. I whimpered and pushed my ass back, grinding against him.
He cursed and suddenly let me go. I sucked in air, the sudden supply of oxygen making dots flash in front of my eyes.
He took several steps back as if my presence suddenly disgusted him. "That's just the tip of what I'd give you, Camille. You might think you liked it, but believe me, you wouldn't like what came next. Stay in your pool with your little boy toys.”
We stared at each other, the only sound in the room of us sucking in deep breaths. Then…
"Camille?"
At the sound of Dante’s voice, Ty smirked. "Your savior is here. I'll be on my way. But first, I’ll let you in on a little secret. I did paint that swan," he said, his voice dripping with a venom that made my heart race. "I want to hurt you. Even if I didn't hate you, I'd want to hurt you. Because that's who I am now. Remember that."
His words hit me like a physical blow, leaving me momentarily speechless. My mind raced, trying to reconcile the Ty I thought I knew with the one standing before me, spewing threats and admitting to desires to hurt me. But deep down, a part of me screamed that it was a lie, a twisted game he was playing for reasons I couldn't understand
He didn't wait for my response. Instead, he turned on his heel and headed downstairs, leaving me standing there, a mix of confusion, desire, and a disturbing sense of loss swirling within me.
Dante
I was just about to head upstairs when Ty came barreling down the stairs. His face was red, his expression hostile. When he passed me, I stared at his retreating back then up the stairs. “Camille?” I called again.
“Coming!”
She appeared at the top of the stairs, looking disheveled, her expression wary. I climbed the steps and the moment I saw the red marks on her throat, shaped like fingerprints, I growled.
No wonder Ty had stormed by me like a bat out of hell.
"I'm going to kill him," I spat out, the words tasting like venom on my tongue.
Camille flushed and her hand fluttered to her throat, but she shook her head. "Don't. We were just fooling around, and it went too far."
"Since when do you and Ty fool around?" Oh, I wasn't a fool. I knew that with the kind of past they had, and with the kind of sexual tension that crackled between them whenever they were together, it was only a matter of time before they gave in to their desire for one another. But I wasn't going to let her feed me a load of bullshit that those marks on her neck called for a laissez faire attitude either. Not with the energy they’d both given off.
“Fuck, Camille. He hurt you?”
"Dante, can we not...talk about it. Please?"
When she stopped in front of me, I reached out, gently stroking her neck. She winced and caught my hand. "I'm okay, Dante. Honestly."
"Peaches, that kind of play... It should be with someone you trust. There should be parameters. A safe word."
She glanced away. "It's not like that. We were...experimenting. It was just...a one-time thing."
"Why are you protecting him?"
"Because I could have stopped him," she said loudly, her gaze meeting mine. "Because I... I liked it." She dropped her face into her hands. "God, I'm a freak."
The last thing I wanted was for her to feel ashamed about her kinks. I gathered her into my arms. "You're not a freak. Mixing pain and pleasure, or fear and pleasure, can be intoxicating. You just have to be careful."
She hugged me back before stepping away. "Like I said, he's not touching me again."
"Good. Because unless he does things right, unless you're fully on board, the next time he marks you, I will end him."