Chapter 29
“Flower?” Mr. Smythe asks as we move down the hall, away from Rose but not back the way we came.
“It’s fitting, don’t you think? Something beautiful I can crush beneath my shoe.”
“Indeed.”
Richmond slipped in the door as we left the room, a stupidly large Bowie knife clenched in his fist. Clearly, he’s overcompensating for something.
Rose’s blood stained the steel. The sight of it awakening something possessive in my hollow soul.
How do I make it clear she’s mine now and not to be touched without seeming too eager?
The last thing I need is Maximus thinking he has a hold over me.
I’ve never owned someone before. All previous engagements were consensual, despite what their lips were screaming.
But Rose needs to remain here at Bleakcrest. She’s my reason for returning, no matter how frequently.
My mind stirs, desire coiling tight around my cock as I try to erase the sight of her bound and bleeding.
I would‘ve taken her right there in that cursed room. Delivered on my threat to fuck her raw if she didn’t answer me.
Shit, I have half a mind to turn back and do it.
Richmond isn’t necessary anymore, and I kind of want to see that dumbstruck look on her face when she beholds the new contours of mine again.
Maximus deliberately lets the silence linger. Allowing me to take in the vastness of his empire as we pass door after door. I can only assume each room houses a slave, and based on the cacophony of sounds floating through the air, only half are enjoying themselves.
Rounding the corner, Maximus leads us toward another staircase. Pausing at the bottom, he turns to me, breaking the tense quiet. “So, was my newest purchase to your liking?”
I let the sickness festering inside me leak out onto my face, the sinister smile curving the corner of my lips.
“Definitely.” Fuck, Rose was glorious. That resilience and unwillingness to break despite the gashes to her skin lit me up from the inside.
I’m going to absolutely ruin her. I’ll have her crying for me before our first day is through.
That little flower is going to wither for me.
“Though, I have other business to attend to on the island and was not prepared to transport any new acquisitions this trip.”
“Completely understandable. When can I expect your return?”
My mouth opens to toss out a date about a week in the future. Hopefully long enough for Bucky, my tech guy, to figure out this fucking security system that could potentially kill me if I touch it wrong.
“Perhaps when you return with my first shipment of immaculate product?”
Well, fuck me. I’ve done it. Elation fires through me as I extend my hand. “That sounds perfect, Mr. Smythe.”
Maximus slides his soft, cold hand into my rough and calloused one.
Little does the devil of the island chain know, he just shook hands with his downfall.