37. Summer
Rook was staring at me.I could feel it, even though my eyes were closed and the bed beside me, cold.
Blinking them open, I scanned the room, feeling a dreamy sort of haze over me, lost in the memory of what I’d learned last night. The world felt gray—a monochromatic palette of men who controlled, and of power that ravaged the weak.
The ground beneath my feet had vanished; a new and haunting reality in its place.
Rook had opened my eyes, and now, the world would never be the same.
And yet, last night, he’d opened my eyes to something else…
He was a man who despised the world and its inhabitants. He was generous with his money, but gave nothing of himself—to most.
But, after last night, I knew the truth he kept closely guarded.
Rook had the capacity for love.
I had a feeling that, if he loved you, it was untouchable and unconditional. It burned fiercely and passionately.
Last night, his unselfishness and care had given me a glimpse of that, and I wanted more.
He wasn’t by the window, in the sofa chair or the closet, nor standing by the dressers. I rolled over, turning my head, and there he was—standing in the doorway to the bathroom.
His hair was wet, drops of water running down his neck and bare torso. He wore a pair of dark grey sweatpants and nothing else. It was strange to see his bare feet. This relaxed, informal side to him.
My gaze met his, my heart in my throat. His eyes—beautiful, soulful, and deep.
“Sit up, Summer. I want to see you.”
I rose, my knees under me, letting the comforter fall to my waist. Feeling a shooting thrill as his eyes roamed over my nakedness. They took in my hair, mussed and unbrushed, my cheekbones and jawline. Wandering slowly over my face, as if he had all the time in the world. Eventually, it lowered, down my neck, across my collar to my shoulders.
I burned.
Burned for this man.
“Fold your hands behind you, and straighten your back.” As I obeyed, his gaze went to my chest, and my breasts were suddenly heavy with want. He lingered there for a long time and I saw every emotion in his gaze. Fascination. Desire. Yearning.
He wanted me as much as I wanted him, and he wasn”t afraid to show it.
I felt the intensity of his need, the rawness of his energy, pulsing between us.
The suits he wore, the emotions he masked, how quiet he remained in the company of others—it was a carefully designed and controlled mask of the restrained power within him.
In reality, he was a wild and untamed beast. His power was palpable, like an electric current surging through his veins.
A shiver worked its way up my spine as I took it in. I wanted to feed off it. To let it flow over me and through me and in me. It gave me strength in a way I”d never felt before. A confidence that was both alluring and addictive.
I could be in Rook”s thrall forever.
I wanted to speak but the words evaporated before they were fully formed.
I’d never really realized until yesterday how much guilt I’d been holding on to. It had been a thunder crash of emotion, a tornado inside me, the memory of what really happened that night wanting to burst from me. But I’d been holding on to it for so long, it could only storm inside me…until Rook.
He’d shown me how to release it.
How to transfer the pain inside into something pleasurable.
How, in the release of my orgasm, I could let go of all the other emotions — heartache, regret… guilt.
He strode forward, tilting my chin upward to brush a thumb over my lips, which parted at his touch. “Thank you.” There was something in his gaze, something about the way he was looking at me…something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. But it was familiar and palpable, as real as the soft sheets under my knees. He continued, “You exist in this world, Summer, but remain above it. Like a supernatural creature—delicate and otherworldly, too perfect for this terrible world we live in. And now, you’re here to tempt me, to haunt me in my dreams. I’m always reaching, but you are never there.”
“And why is that?” My throat was dry, my voice hoarse and scratchy, my mind, caught under his spell. He was the one casting the magic.
Bending down, his eyes shuttering closed for a brief moment, he whispered against my lips, “Because I’m not capable of trust, dear, sweet bunny.” His hand went to my neck, lightly squeezing, “And so, I can’t give you what you want—unconditional love. I will always have one hand on the door, ready to slam it in your face. And, because of that, I can never have you.”
Dejection crashed over me, and I pulled in a silent breath. His grip around my throat was firm and unyielding, like an iron collar, chaining me to back my fears. He met my eyes for a brief moment, his gaze dark and intense. A finality in them.
“Now, come here,” he moved to the center of the bed and lay on his back, beckoning me, as if he hadn’t just thrust a hot iron through my belly, “I want to play with you.”
When I hesitated, regret still coursing through me, his eyes flashed. “I told you, Summer. I have an insatiable appetite. Is it too much?”
“No.”
“Then for now, this cunt is mine. I paid for it, and I will take what I want from it.” He paused, “Are you telling me you don’t want me?” Was that a warbling to his voice, a vulnerability?
“No, sir.”
His gaze darkened at my words, a low hum escaping his throat. “Good. Then be a good girl and do what I say.” He held out his hand, guiding me to straddle him, then he heaved me upwards. “Sit on my face, I want to taste you.”
I shivered at the deep timbre of his voice but still hesitated. “But what if…” God, I was embarrassed. I inhaled a deep breath, gathering my courage. “What if I smother you?” My voice sounded small.
“Let’s find out, shall we?”
I, hesitatingly, lowered myself but his hands wrapped around my thighs, pulling me tight to him. Heat enveloped me as he buried his nose in my cunt, pulling in a breath and groaning in pleasure. “You smell so good, baby girl. Your pussy is already begging for me.”
I could feel it, the heat, dripping from my cunt.
I whimpered, my body coming alive at the fluttering suck of his mouth, his tongue lapping as he murmured against my skin, “So fucking delicious. Shift your hips, baby. I want your juices running down my face.”
At his direction, I closed my eyes, and rocked against his jaw, giving in to my lust.
“Mmmm,” he groaned, “so obedient and wonderful.” He lapped and suckled, his touch guiding me, helping me know how to do it. My awkwardness slowly melting away in the heat of the moment.
His fingers probed, running up and down my slit. Inserting a knuckle. Pulling it out then entering the tip, rubbing against my walls. Sucking my pussy lips into his mouth, biting playfully. Making me pull in a startled breath.
I couldn’t stop the noises coming from me, loving the prickling pain of his teeth.
Growing more confident at his praise, I began to roll and snap my hips, moving them to where it felt best.
“Good girl, just like that,” he urged, laying his head back, “keep going but look at me. I need your eyes.”
His dark gaze met mine, the electricity crackling between us. “I want you to watch. Look at how I play with my little bunny’s cunt.” He slid a finger past my swollen lips, stretching me, pumping it in and out. Making a soft squelching noise. “You like this, baby girl?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir.”
He picked up speed, his thumb grinding into my clit.
“Oh God!” I couldn’t help myself, my eyes fluttered closed again. Losing myself. Couldn’t stop shifting my hips as he played with me.
“You like having a man so desperate to have you, that he would break all his rules for you?”
“Yes,” I moaned.
“Tell me this cunt is mine,” he growled. “Tell me I own my best friend’s virgin daughter’s cunt.”
“Yes!” My voice was growing higher, the pressure between my legs building. “You own my cunt.”
“Good girl.” He inserted another finger, stretching me, the pain shooting through my belly and legs. “So goddamn tight. Fuck my fingers baby girl.”
Gripping the posts tight, I bucked my hips, thrusting up and down.
“Yes! Just like that.” His pace picked up, matching mine. Vicious waves of arousal shooting through me. Deep groans escaping his throat. Fingers in and out.
“Now come here,” he growled, “I’m going to make my cunt weep.” He yanked me closer. Eating my pussy. Fucking me with his fingers. His other arm a band around my thigh, keeping me in place. “So good, baby. You taste so good. Harder baby. You can’t hurt me.”
Losing control, I went wild, hips pumping, thrusting, fucking his face. Once more, letting the wild beast inside me out. Breasts slapping. Pussy squelching. Juices running. His fingers thrusting so deep up inside me.
“Beg me to let you come.”
“Jesus!” I cried. “Please!”
“Such a naughty girl.”
“Please!” Losing control. “Please, please, please. I need it!”
“Scream my name as you come, baby. Give me your sweet cream.”
“Rook!” I screamed as a bomb detonated inside me. My mouth dropped open, gulping a deep breath, my body seizing as lightning rushed through me. Still gripping me tight, he licked and suckled, moaning a deep longing-filled noise as he devoured my pussy until I could only hang there, quivering.
“Fuck! Come here, baby.” I fell into his arms, and he kissed me, his fingers digging in to my cheeks, forcing my lips open. Then he shoved his fingers in and out of my mouth. “Suck. Taste your dirty cunt.” I did, then, he dipped his fingers up inside me again, teasing out my juices, then shoving them into my mouth. “See how addictive you are? Taste how I can’t have you.” I sucked for three pumps of his fingers before he ripped them out, kissing me.
Tongues twisted, legs tangled, arms wrapping around each other…my whole body consumed by this man.
I wanted this every day.
This obsession. Ownership over my body.
In that moment, I knew I was in trouble.
The Magnolia, I would survive them.
But this man—this man—I had no fucking chance.
He would destroy me.