Chapter Twenty #3
I locked eyes with him, my face stone cold. Marquette was my father’s age—hell, maybe even older. But among the Big Six, we were equals. He was head of his family. I was head of mine. So I spoke to him with the weight of a boss.
“At the last party, my wife ended up with something in her system that nearly killed her. That’s what caused her vertigo before she fell in the pool. She swears she only had a glass of wine. So I want to know how Serenity’s drink got poisoned.”
He looked truly shocked when I laid it out.
His reaction said he had no clue, that he hadn’t orchestrated a damn thing.
Years of working as my father’s right hand in the Big Six and Marquette never gave my father a single reason to doubt his loyalty, but you never really know people.
After everything that happened, I had to keep my guard up.
Did I truly believe he tried to poison Serenity?
Honestly, no. Even if the facts seemed to point that way.
Still, there was something off, and I planned to find out what, especially if it led back to the Sawyer’s.
“Wait, Konflict. Are you accusing me of trying to kill Serenity?”
I crossed my arms and stared him down.
“I need answers.”
“Well, I don’t know what happened. I’m honestly surprised you’d suggest Serenity’s drink was poisoned.
Marlau, the bartender, has worked for us forever.
I refuse to believe he’d do something like that.
And if the drink was poisoned, more than one guest would have shown the same symptoms as Serenity.
He poured from the same bottle for other people. ”
He was right about that. I’d considered it, but I wanted to hear it from him.
“I can’t believe you’d think I’d hurt Serenity. She’s like a daughter to me. She’s almost the same age as my own girl. If mine wasn’t away right now, they’d probably be good friends. I would never harm Serenity, not after Kate made me promise to protect her if anything ever happened.”
“What?” I asked, caught off guard.
“Yes, what? Why do you think I pushed for your marriage? It’s what your mother wanted.
She was working behind the scenes to smooth things over between the Korven’s and Veylor’s, just so you could one day approach the girl you had a crush on for so long.
I don’t know why you’ve been acting like a fool with her, when we all knew you loved that girl, Konflict. ”
Now I was the one who didn’t know what to say.
“If I wanted your wife dead, I wouldn’t have insisted you marry her.
Why would I push you to marry Serenity, only to want her killed later?
It would’ve been easier to just let you finish her that night and end the war.
Though I’m convinced you wouldn’t have killed her.
Forcing you into marriage was about keeping her alive. ”
I’d never understood why the other families stepped in on a conflict that wasn’t theirs, when Emberwick law says every family is sovereign and nobody interferes when two go to war.
That night, they showed up and made me lower my weapons.
Even though they were too late because most of the damage was already done, and Marquette was right—I never would have killed the woman I loved.
But even so, they broke the rules of the Big Six.
Now I understood Marquette’s motivation.
“Then why push to bring the Sawyer’s in? Why act like it’s a problem that I hold too much territory and power if there’s no sixth member?”
“Because I’m a businessman first. I protect my interests and my family’s interests. I don’t want the Korven’s overpowering everyone else. For the council to stay balanced, the power needs to be equal.”
His answer made sense, but something still bothered me. I felt like he was hiding something.
“The Sawyer’s said someone promised them a seat on the council,” Krash chimed in.
“Where’d you hear that ridiculous rumor?” Marquette shot back right away.
“Seylan Sawyer claimed someone would make sure they got the sixth seat in the Big Six. I heard Serenity tell Valery,” Krash clarified.
“And since you kept asking us to reconsider our votes against their admission, I can’t help but feel something is fishy,” I added.
He looked uneasy as we continued to push.
“I never promised the Sawyer’s a seat if that’s what you want to know. I just thought their business fit what we needed. They would have made good partners. But now, after what happened, it doesn’t matter.”
I watched him closely. He wasn’t as calm as he’d been when talking about Serenity, which told me there was something he wasn’t saying. But as he pointed out, it wasn’t an issue anymore. Not after I took Seylan and Eleana out. I doubted old man Sawyer would want any part of the council now.
“Right. It doesn’t matter anymore. I took out the Sawyer kids because they kidnapped my wife. I couldn’t let them walk away from that.”
“You know their father won’t let it go, right?” Marquette warned.
“Let him come. I’m ready. Anyone who tries to hurt my wife will face hell. I turn into a monster when it comes to Serenity.”
“Of course. I’m just saying, keep your guard up.
After you killed his heir and his princess, he’s not going to just move on.
But as you said, if he tries something, we’ll be ready.
The other families don’t get involved in internal conflicts, but against an outside threat, everyone stands together.
You’ve got the support of the Marquette’s,” he said, reaching out his hand.
I shook it, sealing the unspoken alliance we had as members of the Big Six.
“All right, I still have questions about the poison in Serenity’s drink. I don’t think you had anything to do with it, but I expect you to investigate. It happened in your mansion, so I hope you can find out who’s responsible.”
“And I will. I’ll keep you informed, Konflict.”
With that, we left the Marquette estate. There were still things that bothered me, and I was determined to get to the bottom of every last one.
Three weeks later.
I couldn’t take it anymore. I was done giving her space, done with all the ‘cool off’ advice. Three weeks since my wife left, refusing to speak to me or see me. She dodged me every time I tried to reach out. She was dead-set on the divorce, which I had no intention of granting.
I’d agreed to stay away, to give her room, just like everyone told me to. Yeah, that advice was bullshit. It didn’t work. I was done playing nice and fair. This time, we’d do it my way, and Serenity would have no choice but to talk to me.
I hit the Veylor casino elevator button, stopping it from closing. Before Serenity could protest, I stepped inside and pressed the button to close the doors, locking the two of us inside alone.
“What are you doing here, Konflict?” Serenity growled, standing as far away from me as she could.
I ignored her and pressed a random floor so the elevator would move. As soon as it did, I slammed the emergency stop, trapping us between floors. Now she couldn’t run.
I turned to face her.
“We need to talk. I’m done waiting.”
“Well, too bad. I don’t want to talk to your lying ass. Start this elevator. The only conversation you’ll be having is with my lawyer when you sign the divorce papers.”
Before she even finished her last word, I was on her, my hand closing around her neck, her back pinned to the wall.
My grip wasn’t violent, just tight enough to remind her who I was.
Who could make her come just by touching her.
Who knew how to talk to her body and make her melt.
Who had his name tattooed on her pussy. She could deny it, act tough, but when I had her like this, every inch of her body shivered under my fingers.
“I find your delusional side kind of cute, until it goes on too long and starts pissing me off.”
Squeezing her throat a little more, I brought my lips close to hers. I could feel her body vibrating, her pulse racing under my palm, her breath getting shaky. My lips hovered over hers, and all I wanted was to taste her again, because three weeks was a fucking eternity.
“Konflict,” she moaned against my mouth.
“Konflict what? Where’s all that big talk now, Serenity? You think you run shit around here? You know you’ve got no power, baby. Not when I touch you like this.”
My hand slid up her thigh, slipping beneath her skirt, then slowly gliding along her warm skin until I found the entrance to her pussy.
“You know who owns this pussy, Serenity. You know she misses me. I can hear her crying my name,” I said, stroking her through the thin fabric of her panties. The wetness soaking her thong told me everything I needed to know.
“Look how wet you are. You want me, don’t you? You want me, baby?”
“Konflict… fuck… please…” she whimpered against my lips, her breath short as my finger circled her clit through the fabric.
“Please what, Mama? What do you want?”
I traced the line of her slit, teasing her through that last barrier of cloth. Serenity writhed in my arms. Her need was spiking fast, and so was mine. My dick strained in my pants, desperate to get back home, back inside where it belonged after three weeks in exile.
“Hmmm… oh God… just… please… Konflict… I need… hmm…”
“You need what, Serenity? Say it. Tell me what you want me to do to you. I want to hear it.”
“Please put your fingers inside me,” she finally begged.
“Hmmm… Is that what this pussy craves? You want my fingers inside? Like this?” I murmured, sliding her thong aside and sinking a finger into her heat.
Her pussy was soaked, so hot and tight I thought my dick might snap from how badly I needed to be inside her. Precum was already leaking, and all I could think about was how fucking good she felt.
“Hmmm… Venus, this is what you want? One finger inside this drenched pussy? Tell me how you want me to touch you, Mama.”
I pushed deeper, twisting inside to stroke every part of her, never stopping the low whisper in her ear. Serenity clung to my arm, dragging me closer, making me go even deeper.
“Oh… fuck… I… I want more, Konflict… please…”
“You want more? How many fingers, beautiful? How many do you want in this pussy?”
I added a second finger, working her deep. Her pussy gripped my fingers, squeezing tight and getting wetter and wetter. Her moans were tempting my patience. I was about to crack.
“Fuck… you’re so tight. Look at how you’re gripping my fingers. You like that, Mama? You like it when I touch you like this? You want it nice and slow, or hard and deep?”
My mouth found her neck. Electricity shot through her as I kissed her skin and I kept giving her more with my fingers.
“Oh… Konflict… fuck me… I… Jesus Christ…”
“You want me to fuck you, Serenity? You miss me? You miss my dick inside this pussy?”
“Y-Yes…”
“Then why aren’t you back home, where you belong?”
I slid a third finger in, stretching her wide. When I started moving faster and deeper, her breath caught.
“Do you forgive me, baby?”
“N-No… I don’t…”
Thrust… thrust… thrust.
“Why? Why can’t you forgive me, Serenity?”
“B-Because I hate you,” she whimpered.
Her words cut deep. I’d known she hated me for what I did, but hearing her say it stung in a way nothing else could. I pumped my fingers faster, dragging her toward the edge.
“Well, you don’t seem to hate my fingers, though.”
Thrust… thrust… thrust.
“My mouth either.”
I kissed her shoulder, her neck, her ear, the edge of her lips.
“And I’m sure you wouldn’t hate this dick if I gave it to you right now.”
I pressed into her, letting her feel how hard I was through my pants. My fingers worked even faster. My tongue slipped along her ear, then I sucked her earlobe, biting down gently.
I sucked and thrust and sucked and thrusted, again and again and again, until she couldn’t hold back anymore.
“Ahhhh… God… I…”
“Come on, Serenity. Coat my fingers with your juices. Yeah… just like that… I love it when this pussy gives me everything. You’re so fucking beautiful when you come for me, baby.”
She came hard, pushing my fingers deep inside her.
It took her a while to come back down. And when she finally did, she shoved my arm away, face closing up. She straightened her clothes without looking at me, then stepped away and hit the button to restart the elevator. And there she was, acting like I hadn’t just made her come.
That shit pissed me off.
I let out a humorless laugh.
“Oh yeah, here we go. Back to the scowl. Back to ignoring me. Fine. Fucking awesome. Parfaitement magnifique.”
“This changes nothing, Konflict. Just because you gave me an orgasm doesn’t mean I’m going to forget everything and forgive you. You don’t get everything just because you know how to use your fingers and your dick. I still hate you and I still want a divorce.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.” She crossed her arms, chin up.
“Good. In that case, I guess I’ll just have to invade your personal space until you have to love me again.”
I bent and picked her up, hauling her over my shoulder. She shrieked in surprise.
“What the fuck are you doing? Konflict, put me down!”
The elevator doors opened in the parking lot. I carried her out, still slung over my shoulder.
“Stay still or I’ll have to smack this juicy ass to make you behave. Be a good girl for me, baby.”
“Fuck, what do you want from me? Where are you taking me?”
“Somewhere you won’t be able to escape me. I’m keeping you there until you love me again.”
“Fuck! I hate you so much.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that, and it’s shocking, because I’m so damn lovable. Everybody loves me. You have to, too. We need to fix that hate right now. How about I fuck it out of you and fill your heart and your pussy with nothing but love, baby?”
“You’re a crazy man.”
“Yeah. But I’m your crazy man, right, eh?”