Chapter Six
Maeve
I had promised myself I wasn’t going to be curious about Draven. I knew his name now. He didn’t have to tell me, and he spent so long not being anyone important. I feel like I am losing my mind right now. The bruises around my neck are a stark reminder of what my family was capable of.
I thought I knew who my family was. The horrible truth was, I didn’t know a damn thing. They were not really my family.
Fear ran down my spine when I thought of how quickly my life could have ended the other day. Draven saved me and brought me home. He showered me. Fed me. I had slept in his bed, and when I woke up, I was in his arms.
I’d waited for that horrible feeling to consume me that made me want to leave, but it never came, not even for a moment. I had enjoyed being in Draven’s arms. I felt safe.
It was then I realized I had never felt safe, not since I had discovered what was going to happen to me.
My family had told me to get over it. They hadn’t cared.
I was just a meal ticket to them. My life for theirs, and yet they still attempted to kill me.
Tears filled my eyes when I thought about it.
I sit on the window ledge of my bedroom window and look out across the garden, where Draven is.
Maybe I’m suffering with some kind of Stockholm syndrome or something, because I can’t help but think back to that shower when he took care of me.
His hands didn’t linger in inappropriate places.
He washed me, removing the blood that had stained through to my skin.
I loved the way his fingers ran through my hair, and it kind of made me wish I hadn’t cut it.
It had been an act of defiance to my parents, cutting off my hair, but they hadn’t cared.
Draven was talking to the gardener, and his sleeves were rolled up, but then it was hot. I feel myself heating up.
What would it be like to truly be owned by this man? He had saved me. Sure, he had taken me, but he’d not hurt me in any way. I lived a life like a princess—an owned princess. My life belonged to him, and Draven could do anything he wanted to me, yet he had done nothing. Why?
I watched as he came back into the house, and I felt arousal rushing through my body at the thought of being owned by him. I wanted his hands on me again.
Climbing off my window shelf, I leave my bedroom behind and make my way downstairs, coming to a stop when I see Draven.
“I’m about to call for lunch,” he said, stopping when he caught sight of me. “Care to join me?”
“Sure.”
I’m trying to act casual. I’m wearing a simple white summer dress, with straps wide enough to cover my bra straps, but it only falls to my knees.
Draven walked into his office, holding the door open for me, and I walked past him and to one of the sofas. He has two, on either side of a coffee table. Near the main window sits his desk.
“How are you?” Draven asked.
It’s nice to know his name. “I’m good.”
Draven sits down opposite me, and I can’t help but watch him. His gaze is on me as well.
“How old are you?” I asked.
“Thirty-five.”
“Wow,” I said.
“Does my age bother you?”
“No.” I happened to like the fact he was older. Not that I had been around a lot of men my own age, but I had seen a lot of movies to know they were not exactly mature. Draven looked mature.
“How is your neck?” he asked.
“Fine.”
His sleeves are rolled up, showing off his thick, heavily inked arms.
“Did you like getting tattoos?” I asked.
He sat back and looked at me. “Did you?”
I couldn’t help but smile. “I asked you first.”
“And seeing as I am the oldest, you will answer me.”
“Yes, I did. They hurt, but then a needle digging into your flesh is going to hurt.”
He chuckled. “I rather like the pain. After a while, I didn’t feel it.”
“That was the same for me.”
I don’t want to talk about ink, or pain.
“Maeve, come here,” he said.
In that moment, I was like a moth to a flame. I walk around the coffee table and stand right in front of him.
At first, Draven doesn’t move or make a sound, but then he takes hold of my hand. He strokes his finger across my inner wrist, and it felt so good, I didn’t want it to stop.
“Tell me what is going on in that mind of yours,” he said.
“Nothing.”
“You think I don’t see the interest in your eyes, Maeve?” he asked. “Do you think I didn’t notice you were looking at me from your bedroom window, or that last night you wriggled against my dick because you felt how hard I was getting?”
I thought I had been subtle, but I felt him pressing against me, and I had enjoyed it.
The moment he tugged on my wrist, I didn’t fight and instead fell against him. Draven is a man in charge and knows what he wants. He moves my knees into position so that I straddle him.
“Is this what you want?” he asked, both his hands at my hips as he held me in place.
I feel the hard ridge of his cock, even through his pants.
“Yes.”
I don’t fight him, and I’m not afraid. Draven has already proven he doesn’t want to hurt me, so I place my hands on his shoulders and stare into his eyes, refusing to look away.
He has intense brown eyes. I had a feeling they were probably scary to look at, especially if he was staring at an enemy. I was not his enemy.
I’d never been this bold with a man. I had learned to fight, and I had gone dancing. I rebelled in the hope of changing my fate, but nothing was going to help me. My fate had been sealed long before I was even born.
I was going to belong to Draven Adams. From the age of sixteen, I’d been so pissed about that. I hadn’t even known his name, nor who he was, just that I was going to be owned by a man. I would mean nothing. I would be nothing, and there was no way I would be able to change that.
Now, I am so happy to be owned by him. I know it is crazy and fucking stupid.
All this time, I should have been looking for a way to escape, but why?
I am happy. I know there were probably many people that had been in my position who were dead now.
I was lucky. Draven had no intention of killing me.
I didn’t know exactly what he was going to do to me, but I also didn’t care.
Cupping his face, I feel bold, like I am tired of holding back. For a long time, I have wanted to scream and keep it in place, and now I close that small distance between us and kiss him. I kiss my captor, and I don’t let go.
I love the feel of his lips against mine, and one of the hands on my hips slides up and grips the back of my neck.
I hesitate, expecting the fear to come flooding back, but he’s holding the back of my neck, and the other hand is gripping my hip tightly.
There is no mistaking what is going on right now.
Draven is touching me. I want his hands all over me, touching me, exploring me.
There is a knock at the door, and I pull away.
“Fuck off,” Draven said, growling the words.
“That’s not very nice,” I said.
“I’m not a very nice man.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to argue with him, but all too soon, Draven has his hands on my waist, and he’s spun me around so that my back is to him.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Shh,” he said, and his fingers cup my chin, tilting my head back and kissing me. It is an odd angle, but I deal with it because I want his lips on mine.
His other hand is creating a riot of sensation all over my body, as the tips of his fingers graze across my right nipple.
He doesn’t linger at my tits, and instead I feel my dress lift up.
I don’t know what to expect, but he presses his palm flat against my core, and I cry out.
The pleasure is so intense I don’t want him to stop.
His lips continue kissing me, and I feel so consumed. They are like a fantasy. I want to get drunk on his lips.
Draven moved my panties out of the way, and his fingers started to explore my pussy. He stroked across my mound and slid between my slit, stroking my clit. The moment he found my clit, I couldn’t hold back and cried out, not wanting him to stop.
I felt the instant change within my body ... how good it felt to be touched by him. I was so incredibly wet.
Everything I knew about sex, I had learned myself. It was another part of my rebellion—watching porn, reading books about sex. I had done everything I could to understand it, but I hadn’t completed that last part—actually having sex. I didn’t cross that line.
Until now.
****
Draven
After I brought Maeve to a screaming orgasm and swallowed down her cries, I made sure we went to the dining room to enjoy lunch.
I know Maeve is confused. Yes, all I want to do is sink my dick balls-deep inside her, but she is also a virgin.
I am not going to terrify her on that first time. Besides, I rather like this build-up.
As for Maeve’s father, I am going to take my time and enjoy squashing everything he has built. His death is only a matter of time.
As for the drugs, his youngest son was an addict, and in the past twenty-four hours, that man would have bought some tainted product and would currently be in the hospital fighting for his life. His death was inevitable.
The Taylor family had not raised good people.
Maeve’s youngest sister was a bully. I have evidence of the pain and suffering she had inflicted on a young girl, who had to be hospitalized because of what she had done.
The girl had been pushed from a building after being beaten.
Meave’s sister had been the one to order everyone to hurt this girl and then had pushed her off the building.
The youngest brother liked to drug women and rape them. The list went on from torture, abuse, addiction. They were not a good family.
I can’t help but wonder if my father made that deal, knowing there was a chance the Taylor family would end up dead. Killing them was going to be easy.
I was waiting to see if Maeve was the same; however, I knew she was different. She had admitted the truth to me, stating she had never really been part of the family. She lived separately from them.
I was also dealing with Mikhail Vasiliev.
He had attempted to rob one of my casinos on the same day my wife had been attacked.
They hadn’t gotten away. My men had captured his, and he made them all get inked on the back of their necks.
He lost his chance at getting any of the money from my casino, and he lost his guards.
It was a useless play of power and showed the amateur he was.
After lunch, I left Maeve alone to conduct business. With Mikhail Vasiliev attempting to hurt my business, it was only fair I take some from him.
By the end of the evening, I was standing in the hospital across from the youngest Taylor son, who was hooked up to machines after being revived for a third time.
He had a long list of rape accusations his father had been able to squash.
My father should have taken care of this family when he had the chance.
The only consolation was, I got the best this family had to offer.
Joseph Taylor walked into the hospital room, hanging up his cell phone, and the moment he caught sight of me, his face went a bright shade of red.
“Hello, Joseph,” I said.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
“I guess Mikhail Vasiliev is not a very happy man.”
“You have some nerve coming here.”
“Are you not going to ask about your daughter? You know, the reason you’re all still living and breathing?” I asked.
“I do not have a daughter.”
This made me smile. “That’s right.” I looked at him and took a step toward his son. “He’s so young.”
He was older than Maeve. Twenty-five years old, but that was still young. He had caused a lot of misery.
“I want you to get out. You’re not welcome here.”
“One by one,” I said. “You’re going to watch them fall. Mikhail Vasiliev will not save you. A trade will not save you.”
“We have a deal.”
“And you sent someone to kill what was mine. Maeve is alive and well. The people you had working for you are dead. Your son will join them.”
“You cannot do this. A deal was struck.”
“And you broke your deal,” I said. “I’m not my father. I will not make a trade. I have what I want, and now it’s time for you to pay the price.”
He didn’t get the chance to say another word as his son’s machine began to beep. I hadn’t touched him. Hadn’t lifted a finger. I wasn’t the one that snorted the drugs or injected it into his veins.
There was always a risk, and I left the hospital room. At the same time, I put in a call to get it done.
By the end of the night, the Taylors would no longer have a home, as I had just put the order in to have it burned to the ground. There was no one inside. The only people who were going to get hurt were those associated with the Taylors and Mikhail Vasiliev.
My father made deals. Not me. I ended things.
Climbing into my car, I sit back and allow events to unfold as I head back home to Maeve.
I can’t help but think back to the feel of her in my arms. There’s a change to her, one I want to explore.
This is going to be a lot of fun.