Chapter 37
37
P oe’s hesitation is immediately apparent in the way her knuckles rap against the wood.
I saw the moment she entered the mansion with both Angel and Grey on security footage. Saw the way her fingers played with those long, dark strands tied into a high ponytail while giving them moon eyes. There’s no telling what was being said, but the three are clearly so much more at ease with each other than the last time I saw any of them all together.
Now here she is, all alone with me and completely at my mercy.
As Poe enters the room, I grunt something that might pass for an acknowledgment. Right now, all I can fucking focus on is the work I need to do. This is a distraction from the ever-growing influx of things needing my attention.
I can’t let myself look at her red-painted lips without thoughts flying through my mind of wondering if she’s wearing that makeup for me, or for them. There’s no need for me to take in the outfit she’s got on—ankle boots and a black t-shirt dress that hides whatever she’s been instructed to wear .
Grey has got to be the biggest piece of shit I’ve ever met, because he appears to have made it his mission to break me with each new set of lingerie she turns up here adorned with. Of course, Poe could wear anything—a boring, functional set of bra and panties would do—for these lessons she’s supposed to be receiving under my guidance, but the orders we’ve been given are orders nonetheless.
Except, he’s taken it upon himself to up the ante each time, and all I damn well know is that I can’t let myself get consumed by wanting this girl. Besides, once she hears what is due to take place next, she certainly might want to slice my chest open.
“Presumably, I do not need to remind you of what is required while in this room.” Keeping my attention focused on the computer in front of me. I still don’t miss the way she stiffens on the periphery of my vision.
However, today, Poe doesn’t fight me. She simply begins to carefully remove her dress, with fingers catching the hem and tugging it up over her head, before neatly folding and setting it on the console table against the opposite wall.
The silence thickens and swirls as her steps draw closer, bringing a wash of her scent and the hints, the subtle reminders of a warm summer evening that she seems to always carry around. Jasmine and sweet rain.
As she approaches my desk—the pillow already positioned beside my chair that I set out for her ahead of time—her movements remain unhurried. Somehow Poe can seem entirely sure of herself, while also holding onto a certain air that seems to seek out a confirmation that everything is to my liking, and that fucks with my head.
Seeing and hearing her willfully battle me is heady, but being graced with her submission might just be the worst thing I could ever have been given an open-door invitation to experience .
The kind of temptation that leaves me no better off than Angel or Grey in all of this, and the life I lead doesn’t goddamn allow for me to step through such a doorway. No matter how enticing it might be to know what lies on the other side.
So, I do what I always do. The invisible mask goes on, and I lock everything about myself away just to damn well make sure we all survive this.
“Very good,” I say as she settles onto her knees, keeping those gentle eyes lowered to the floor.
“Thank you, Sir.” Her voice is hushed, and with those few words, just like that, I’m fighting the urge to toss all of this to one side. But we have our orders to follow, and my interest in what lies beneath her pretty exterior is irrelevant.
Not because I don’t care to know… not because I’m dismissive of her likes, her interests, and those intricacies of individual wants, but because it can’t be any of my concern. If I allow those thoughts to keep growing roots and establish in my mind—as they tend to do at three a.m. when I’m lying here awake and alone, debating whether to leave the mansion and return to my own bed finally after all this time—then I’ll have failed.
Within all of this, all I am is a flawed man who is trying to save children from the cruelest of fates my brother and I were subjected to.
That’s all it can be.
So, I allow the silence to keep folding in on itself as I click around on my keyboard and attend to the assortment of duties calling my name. None of which I’m paying as thorough attention to as I should, but it’s never felt like this when I’ve had someone perched beside my boots. I’ve never felt that kind of compulsion to be anything but the agreed-upon power dynamic.
I’ve replayed that fucking kiss a thousand times, and as much as my rational mind tells me I shouldn’t have done what I did, there’s a deep-seated longing in my chest to drag this girl into my lap and press my lips to hers again. Nothing good can come of indulging in those sorts of ideas—the kind that revolve around feeling the plushness of her mouth and chasing the glide of her tongue while blissed out and drifting somewhere in sub-space.
Other than a few shifts of her palms resting in her lap and a couple of adjustments to the way she sits on her heels, Poe plays the role she’s here for perfectly.
All it does is remind me of the exact reason why she’s being required to do this in the first place, and that kicks up an ugly feeling in my stomach.
I clear my throat. “New instructions have arrived. I need to brief you on the upcoming requirement that you participate in a public display.”
Poe doesn’t flinch, but I can practically hear her thoughts racing. “I’m unsure what you mean, Sir.”
“Now that you’ve been seen at both Noire House and within the Lilith Household, there is an expectation that you will perform along with some other initiates before the Gathered.”
This time her weight shifts, but Poe listens on silently, and as I continue speaking, I wish I damn well knew what was running through her mind.
“What it means, is that you will not simply be afforded the opportunity to watch this time. You are to engage in a public display. The individuals who have chosen you wish to see how well you can… participate.” As I manage to grit out that final word, I’m well aware of how cold I sound. I’m entirely goddamn aware of my coarseness and the fact Poe is essentially being told that she has to fuck in public, whether she wants to or not.
“Is that all, Sir?” Her words are clipped.
It’s all it should be, but I hate the fact I have to be the one to bear the brunt of her anger. There’s no thanks for what my brother and I do in secret. That’s precisely why we move in the shadows and operate at a level of secrecy that leaves me forgetting who the real version of me is when I sit on the edge of my bed some mornings.
So, I suppose it’s not entirely a surprise that Poe should give me her hatred, even if it is misplaced, thanks to the sordid fucking pricks who are supposedly set to claim her.
Whoever they are.
“Do you wish to say something, Poe?” I spin my chair ever so slightly, drawn with a need to adjust my position so that I face her now, and it puts every curvaceous inch of her figure squarely between the spot where my boots are planted on the floor, and my knees are spread.
Grey is officially a dead man.
I have to damn well swallow hard because this is the first time I’ve properly looked at what she’s wearing.
The black lingerie isn’t overly skimpy, but is perfectly cut to highlight her curves. Her breasts are pressed high and rounded with a mix of sheer fabric and lace that somehow reveals everything and also hides enough that it’s seductive, teasingly so. The way her tits nestle together in a deep crevasse makes my fingers itch to hook the front of that bra and drag her forward. To squeeze that valley of lush cleavage together more and watch her skin quiver with hesitant breaths while waiting for my command.
As my eyes dip lower, I catch the moment her stomach caves at the feel of my attention cutting a path across her skin. Over the matching panties, she wears a delicate belt, and thigh garters extend around to wrap the swell of bronzed skin just below the crease of her hips like a gift sent to drive me insane.
From this angle, Poe looks like a goddamn wet dream. Grey is playing a dangerous game, sending her in here looking like this, because in this moment, while looking my fill, I’m caught by the urgent need to know if I’ll find that same evidence of her pussy leaking their cum all over those lace panties.
The flicker of that thought appearing in my mind like a bonfire spark leaves me scrubbing a hand over my jaw to suppress a groan.
How viscerally I want to know they’ve also been inside her—that the three of us are sharing this girl equally—is a hook digging into my stomach. My dick is already thickening at the simple idea of requesting that she stands up for me and puts her cunt on display for my inspection.
I’ve been so lost in my observance of Poe, that it only registers amidst heavy, thudding beats between my ears that she hasn’t answered my question.
“Poe. Use your words,” I say, and I have to adjust my position in my chair.
“I don’t understand why you’re keeping me at arm’s length.” She doesn’t give me her eyes, but there’s no hiding the quiet dismay lingering there.
This girl has every right to be spitting mad at me for turning her away after what happened between the two of us last time we were in this room. Where she kneels is barely inches from where I had her bent over this very desk, and even just the tiniest flash of thought recalling that night results in a further throb of my cock.
“Did you expect something more coming here today?”
“I expected you to treat me like I am something… something more than just…” She falters.
And that’s exactly where this thing needs to remain. In that unspoken void where we don’t breathe life into any attachment or connection, it’s impossible for someone in the position I’m in. How do I explain that? Well, that’s why it’s much easier to be the asshole, and that way, she can put all thoughts of anything outside of that label to one side .
“You know this is nothing more than an initiation.”
Poe swallows and doesn’t disobey me by raising her eyes, but she lets her fists ball on top of her knees. From my position seated above her, I see the way that pink tongue swipes across her bottom lip.
“Well, good thing I’m not yours anyway, remember? I’m just a bit of fun, that as you say… you’re initiating me, you’ve brought me into this world under orders.” She shifts around a little on her heels. “I have to be shown off to satisfy the Anguis don’t I? So why deny an opportunity to really see this arrangement through?”
My throat tightens.
“Clarify that for me, Poe.”
“I think you need to do more than leave me sitting on a cushion to really know what it’s like to be a submissive.” Her chest starts to rise and fall a little faster. “Wouldn’t it please you to show me more than that?”
“You want me to take you publicly? To show off how good you are for me as my sub?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Goddamn. Those two words are like an electric current running through my veins and I don’t know why it’s so much more powerful when they ghost over her red lips.
Reaching forward, I hook one finger beneath Poe’s chin to tilt her head back and bring those doe eyes to meet my own. “Are you going to fight me?”
“No.” She wets her lips again.
“The last time you were in this room, you seemed reluctant. I’m supposed to trust that things have changed in such a short period of time?”
“I want to please you, Sir. How can I make up for it?” Her eyes remain locked with mine, and it’s all too captivating to have her between my knees like this, just for myself .
Poe breathes a little harder through her nose. “I enjoyed it when you did what you wanted with me, but I understand I have a role to learn.”
“You truly want to learn?”
“What would please you the most, Sir?” Every single drop of her attention is on me, and there’s a surge of possessive need that dares to raise its head. Poe is telling me she wants to be here learning what will please me the most, and I’m feeling like there’s never been a greater opportunity to take something that doesn’t rightfully belong to me, while also getting to give the middle finger to the Anguis and everything I’ve endured to get to where I am.
“What I want is for you to kneel on your cushion until I tell you otherwise,” I say, giving her chin a slight nudge, letting her know where I want her eyes to return to.
I catch the crestfallen look in the split second that her gaze slips from my own, and while I want nothing more than to tell her the reasoning behind this, it’s also going to make what comes next so much more pleasurable. Poe just doesn’t know that yet.
Turning back to my computer, I leave her seated there and feel every wave of emotion start to roll off her. Frustration. Disappointment. Bitterness like an acidic burn.
After I mindlessly scroll through shit that is enough to leave me without the will to live, I let my eyes slide toward her figure. Sure enough, Poe might be fighting a battle on the inside, but she still continues to do as I ask, and it’s a beautiful sight.
“Come here. I’d like to have you a little closer.” My voice comes out in a low command. “Move your cushion and sit here.” I push my chair back slightly and gesture to the spot beneath my desk where Poe will fit just perfectly, as long as she’s kneeling down.
Her eyes fly up to mine, widening as they do so, and I catch the fresh tinge of pink settling high on her cheekbones .
“You can rest your head there for me.” Sliding one palm over the inside of my thigh, I show the spot where I’d like her to be. At the same time, I have to damn near bite my own tongue once I take in those big brown eyes looking up at me from right between my legs.
Poe looks like everything good I should never have the pleasure of knowing. Her lips part ever so slightly; then she allows her cheek to rest against the fabric of my trousers.
“Like this, Sir?”
“Perfect. Exactly like that,” I murmur, then turn back to what I was supposed to be doing, but the heat pooling low in my groin is only accentuated by the way her face pressed against my leg scalds me through the fabric.
We stay like that for an ever-increasingly torturous length of time. I’m damn well edging myself as much as her because, apparently, I’ve become fiercely impatient where she’s concerned. From usually having less than a fleeting interest in the simple exchange that might come with submissives I’ve had interactions with before in this club, having such a moment with Poe feels captivating to the point that all I actually want to do is lean back and stroke her hair and then drag my fingers back and forth over her tongue until she’s whimpering for me.
Each tiny shift of her head sends sparks flying beneath my skin, and Poe uses the opportunity to become bolder by seeking ways to quietly use her power. Ever so softly—at first, I don’t know if she even realizes it’s happening—her nose and cheek begin nuzzling against that inner part of my thigh.
There’s no mistaking how hard I am now, with my cock straining for attention and pressing insistently forward with each lingering moment her hot breath begins to pant only inches from my groin.
I’m contemplating what her next reward might be when the perfect opportunity presents itself. There’s a knock at the door that is unmistakable. That woman always follows the same pattern when turning up at my office.
Poe makes a tiny noise, but doesn’t outright move from her position. Reaching down to brush my thumb over her lower lip, I tug slightly on it. “You want to be good for me?”
Her nod in reply is ever so subtle beneath my touch.
“Come in.” I keep my eyes trained on hers as I call Keisha into the room.
The girl at my feet has a thousand emotions colliding on her expression at once as I see her fight every instinct to whip around and look in the direction of the door. Her face pales as the simple need to hide or get up and cover herself forces to the surface. Yet, she doesn’t move, even though I see the whites of her knuckles clenched into fists over her lap.
“Hey boss. You wanted to know the latest updates from tomorrow night’s VIP list, yeah?” Keisha breezes in, carrying a slim laptop cradled against her chest and a fruit smoothie in the other hand.
“Got some changes?”
She lets her eyes dance ever so quickly to the figure between my knees before bouncing up to my face with a sly grin and a shake of her head. Though this woman would never judge or say anything, considering the nature of what goes on inside these walls day in and day out, there’s likely to be a million questions she’s dying to ask about what the hell I’m doing, none more so than because it involves this particular girl.
“I do indeed.” Her tongue pokes against the side of her mouth as she sets the smoothie down for a second on the edge of my desk and whips out a thin manilla folder from on top of her computer.
“Thank you. Any urgent alterations needed to room allocations?” I flip through the printed list of names and any initiates they are bringing with them for the evening .
As I do so, I catch sight of Poe’s wide eyes staring up at me with her own carousel of questions racing through them.
“Only the one group, they hadn’t previously advised that they would be bringing someone new to the club. I’ve already sent them the necessary paperwork and given them the deadline to send it all through with evidence of clear tests provided before ten p.m. this evening, otherwise don’t bother showing up tomorrow.”
I glance at the name highlighted, and scratch at my stubble as my eyes dart over the familiar roster of members and the Gathered who will be in attendance. “Javier does love to pretend he’s allergic to the rules.”
“Same shit he pulled two years ago, hmm?” Keisha picks up her smoothie and looks at me over the top of her straw, giving me raised eyebrows along with her all-knowing bullshit. Challenging me to a game of how long I’ll allow her to stand here talking about crap that could’ve been a fucking text rather than an in-person visitation.
“Something like that,” I mutter, and toss the folder down on the desk. “Anything else you require me for?”
“Nope.” Her grin splits as she takes another slurp through the straw.
“Then I’m sure you’ve got plenty of other places to be.”
“Sure do, boss.”
“Goodbye, Keisha.” I narrow my eyes her way, giving no uncertainty around the fact Poe isn’t for anyone’s eyes but my own.
“I’ll text you if anything comes up.” A bunch of keys attached to her hip jangle as she spins around with one final raise of her eyebrows, and finally we’re left alone again.
By the time I look down at Poe, her eyes are a little glazed over, and she resumes nudging her cheek against my thigh, nearly purring in the process.
Bringing one palm to cup her jaw, I slide my touch along the delicate surface of her skin—a face that holds so much youth compared to my bones that feel ancient and hollow after every shitty thing I’ve endured—and pinch her jaw.
“You did so well, princess.” Her eyes shimmer as those words float in the space between us. “For that, you can undo my pants, and then you’re going to stay right there underneath my desk and be very quiet for me.”