Chapter 18
Everly
The day was perfect, and so completely unexpected. Silas blew me away by inviting my dad’s sister. I met cousins I never even knew existed. For the first time, I felt… connected. Rooted. Like I hadn’t just dropped out of the sky with no real ties to anyone but my grief.
Why hadn’t I ever questioned the story my mother fed me? She told me my dad’s family wanted nothing to do with me after he died. That they’d rejected me because I was mixed race. And I believed her.
Why wouldn’t I?
I was just a kid trying to survive her contempt. I never imagined there could’ve been love waiting on the other side of that wall she built. I never would’ve had the courage to seek them out myself—not with the fear of being rejected hanging over me.
But Silas had done it for me, and I would never forget that.
His hands circled my waist, warm and possessive, and he couldn’t stop touching my bare abdomen. The gold of my outfit shimmered with every movement, but it was his gaze—fixed and reverent—that made my pulse flutter.
“You look so fucking stunning, baby,” he murmured, rocking us gently to the music. “You took my breath away.”
I melted into him, swaying as his large frame guided mine. “I wanted to surprise you,” I whispered. “Luckily, Kiran helped me out.”
He hummed in response, brushing his lips over my neck through the sheer scarf pinned in my hair. The gesture was tender—almost reverent.
All around us, our guests laughed and chatted over the remnants of food and drink. The room had shifted into something warmer, more relaxed. I was so glad we’d kept it small—intimate. A grand, luxurious wedding would have made me feel like an imposter.
This felt real.
He leaned in, voice low and meant only for me. “Shall we get out of here?”
“Yes,” I sighed, my cheek resting against his chest.
It had been an emotional day. Too much. Just enough.
And now I just wanted to be alone with him.
My ex-stepfather. Now my husband.
It was twisted.
It was hot.
And it was just one more knife in my mother's back.
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Lawrence was busy dropping people off, so Silas drove us home in his sleek burgundy Porsche. My fingers inched up his thigh toward his crotch.
I thought I’d be sad today without my dad—but seeing his younger sister, meeting cousins I never knew I had… it filled something in me. It soothed the ache. And now? I was down for whatever Silas wanted tonight.
His cock was rock hard, straining against his trousers. I slid my palm over it, pressing down with slow, deliberate pressure.
“Ten minutes until we get home,” he rasped.
“Mmm. You sound frustrated,” I teased, tracing the shape of his head through the fabric.
“Wait until we get home,” he muttered, his voice dark and tight. “There’s no one there to save you.”
I smiled. “Do you know what I want?” I asked, curling my fingers to cup him properly.
His eyes flicked to me—brief, dangerous—before focusing back on the road.
“Tell me,” he said, his jaw clenching.
“I want this cock in my ass tonight,” I murmured.
His slow exhale did something to me. He hit the accelerator, the Porsche surging forward, and when I tried to move my hand away, he caught my wrist and pressed it right back down.
“Keep it there,” he growled. “So you remember exactly what’s going to wreck you tonight.”
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“You’ll break your back!” I screamed, laughing, as Silas lifted me clean off the ground.
The front door was still wide open, but that didn’t stop him. He carried me inside like I weighed nothing.
“You know we can move house if you don’t want to live here,” he said, kicking the door shut behind us.
“No, I love your home,” I said, nestling closer.
“Our home,” he corrected softly.
Then it hit me. I blinked. “Wait… I didn’t sign a prenup.”
He chuckled and gathered the long, delicate material of my skirt to carry me up the stairs.
“You’ve got our baby inside you. You’re married to me. You’re never going to leave,” he said, as if it were the most obvious truth in the world. “I don’t need you to sign a thing.”
I wasn’t sure if that was sweet or slightly psychotic, so I just shrugged. “You know you still need to go back down and lock the double doors, right?”
“I’ll do it after load number one’s inside you,” he replied without missing a beat.
I shook my head, grinning like an idiot.
Upstairs, the bedroom looked like something out of a romantic hotel spread with two bottles nestled in ice buckets that had half-melted, a cloche-covered dish, and pale rose petals scattered across the bed.
“Fizzy apple juice for you,” Silas said, lifting the bottles before setting them aside again.
“This must’ve been Connie’s doing,” I murmured, smiling as I took in the scene.
He grunted—probably annoyed that he didn’t plan it himself—but gently lifted one of my feet into his lap, undoing the thin strap at my ankle.
I lay flat on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as he slid my gold sandals off, one by one.
“Do you know why I want to live here?” I asked softly.
“No,” he replied, his focus still on my feet.
“I had a crush on you… and I used to spy on you,” I admitted, fiddling with the gold beading on my scarf as my face burned.
“No way,” he said, but the smirk tugging at his mouth gave him away.
“My mum caught me once and—” I paused, my smile fading. “She said some things.”
Horrible things. Words that didn’t belong in any mother’s mouth. She took something silly and innocent—a harmless crush I would’ve grown out of—and twisted it into something vile. Made me feel small, ashamed. Unwelcome. After that, I stayed away, even during school breaks.
His smirk vanished.
“What did she say?” he asked, brows pulling together.
I shook my head. I didn’t want to relive it. I didn’t want to give her voice power here.
“It doesn’t matter now, does it?” I said, quieter this time.
“No,” he agreed after a pause. “It doesn’t. But if you ever want to talk about anything—anything at all—you know I’m here, right?”
He rubbed my foot between his palms and I let out a groan. After a full day in heels, it felt like heaven.
Silas might not always say the perfect thing. But he always made me feel safe.
And right now, that was everything.
“You know you’re still my personal fucktoy, Mrs Voss,” he murmured.
I started to laugh.
Silly man.
When would he learn?
He was all mine.
My personal toy.