Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
MOLLY
Once the sun sets, Alexander unlocks the cage and carries me into the hall. I’m bewildered he doesn’t claim my anal virginity.
I’m a bit disappointed, especially with all the foreplay and effort he put preparing my ass.
He peers at me with amusement. “For a captive who claims to hate me, you look awfully dismayed at being taken away from the cage.”
“The entire house is a cage, Alexander.”
He chuckles, low and sexy.
Stepping inside the bedroom, he ambles to the beautiful bathroom and into the glass stall. My legs are like jelly when he places me on my feet. I clutch his biceps, steadying myself. His arm circles my waist, making me lean on him.
Guarding me like a protector.
A stark contradiction to his unhinged side, which spent the entire day dirtying me up like his wanton little whore. I’m covered head to toe in his cum from the countless times he came on me, inside me.
Even as I should be pushing him away, I find myself hugging him with my arms around his back.
His sculpted body tenses, freezing as I curl around him like a cat in heat.
I can’t resist.
The man is temptation incarnate. So warm and hard everywhere.
“Molly…”
“This doesn’t mean anything,” I lie, pressing my lips against his torso. “I’m just tired.”
“Or I made you weak in the knees.”
“Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Brat.”
I smile, kissing my way up to his flat nipple and sucking it lightly. The tip hardens as I flick it with my tongue. He hisses sharply when I bite down.
He yanks my head back with a fist in my hair.
I smirk at him. “That’s for calling me a brat.”
“God! I love you,” he rasps, gaze softening.
My pulse goes haywire. My jaw slackens at the way he utters it, like the words aren’t new and he’s been saying them his whole life.
He wipes the stunned look off my face with a harsh, claiming kiss.
Except, there’s no erasing his confession.
It settles in a deep cavern inside my heart.
Later at night, we both finish scarfing down the homemade pizza that Alexander made from scratch with all my favorite toppings, including the most controversial, pineapple.
Fuck what anyone says, I freaking love it.
“Whose place is this, Alex?” I ask, licking the remnants of ketchup off my thumb.
“Mine.”
“Really?” I arch a brow at him. “I thought you didn’t like to splurge. ‘A waste of money’ is what I believe you said.”
“Do you like it?” he counters, putting my feet in his lap and rubbing my calves distractingly.
After exploring it this evening, I can wholeheartedly say I adore it, from the location to the furniture. It’s spacious without being too extravagant. “It’s lovely. It’s not your taste, though.”
“Is that right?”
“Mhmm.”
His eyes sparkle with mischief. “What would make it my taste?”
“A fireplace, for starters.” My tone is confident. “You love to sit in front of it during the winter. Reading the newspaper late at night or with a glass of whiskey.”
“What else?”
“A backyard to host barbeques. A bigger shoe rack at the entrance to keep your collection neat and organized. A dark-colored rug because you love to walk barefoot inside the house. A big screen television in front of the couch to watch football. Warm tones.”
I blush furiously as he pins me with an intense expression, realizing I went on a spiel. Way to show him how much of a stalker I was when I crushed on him. Clearing my throat, I shrug. “Or perhaps your taste has changed.”
“They haven’t.”
I swallow, my skin heating up as I fight the urge to squirm. He goes to pull out the rug from beneath me.
“You’re right that I don’t like to splurge because I’d rather save money for a rainy day.” His voice deepens as he says, “You’re also right that it’s the opposite of my taste… for now.”
My heart hammers double time. “Then why buy this house?”
“I was driving down this highway when I saw it. Something about the house called to me. When I saw the for-sale sign, I pulled over and came to check it out. One glance and I knew it was made for you. So, I bought it.”
For me… us… I hear the unsaid words.
I made him break his rule.
It wasn’t just this week. I’ve made him go against his nature from the start. I just didn’t know.
Yet again, my brain nags at me that I’m missing an important piece of the puzzle. Why would he purchase this place if he knew we weren’t going to end up together? Unless…
“When, Alex?” My voice is hoarse. “When did you come here?”
“Five years ago.”
The year I began dating Matt. Did Alexander buy it before or after I became his son’s girlfriend? Because the former would mean…
“I was going to ask you out, Molly,” he finishes my thought.
Agony ripples inside my stomach, stabbing me over and over. “Y-you’re lying.”
He tugs me onto his lap until I straddle him, cradling my cheek.
Pain, regret, and anger swirl in his piercing eyes.
“I am not, little bird. The night I consoled you after you returned from seeing your father, I realized how much you meant to me, how much I loved you and couldn’t live without you.
Without taking a chance and telling you how I felt. ”
The memories of that day replay in my head. My father had abandoned my mother a year after I was born. I thought confronting him would bring me closure. Instead, it opened up old wounds and gave me new emotional scars.
He had kicked me off his porch when I showed up at his door and told him I was his daughter. He bragged about how he had a new family and that I was his past, which he doesn’t want ruining his present.
I flew back home and came straight to Matt’s place because I couldn’t let my mother see me distraught. Except, it wasn’t Matt who opened the door.
It was Alexander, who took one look at my tear-soaked face and red-rimmed eyes and immediately pulled me into his arms. He demanded to know who hurt me in a livid voice that still sends an icy shiver down my spine.
I told him what happened, letting him put me back together. He whispered how I was the most precious person he’s ever met and that my father was a fool for abandoning me.
“I saw the sneaky little glances you threw my way all those years,” Alexander murmurs.
“Your pretty eyes always found mine first in the room. Never Matt’s.
Not even after you two got together. By the time I pulled my head out of my ass, it was too late.
You had chosen Matt. It felt like someone took a knife to my heart and cut it into a million pieces.
So, I buried my feelings once more, thinking it was the right thing to do. Until…”
“Until what?” I demand, mad at him for so many reasons. “Until you heard my fantasy and thought I was better suited for you?”
“No.” A muscle tics in his jaw.
“Then what!” I angrily heave. “You couldn’t take the jealousy anymore? You wanted to fuck me once? Make me into a cheater and ruin my relationship with Matt? Why the hell would you complicate my life?”
“Because I realized I was about to lose you forever!” he roars.
“What?”
With a sad sigh, he confesses, “Matt is going to propose to you.”
His words knock the wind out of my lungs. The puzzle finally fits into a full picture. I search Alexander’s eyes for dishonesty, but there’s none.
“It’s why I did all of this,” he says against my lips. “I wanted you to know how I felt before you made your decision. I’m yours, if you’re willing to have me.”