12. Tarquin
12
TARQUIN
Staring at Synthia’s bedroom door, hearing her sobs, it does something to me that I’ve never quite experienced before.
The omega’s muffled cries penetrate the thick door, each sob more agonised than the last. I stand motionless in the hallway, caught between retreat and something else—something unfamiliar that tugs at me to enter her room, to... what? Comfort her?
Ridiculous.
I turn away, disgusted with myself. This is a transaction, nothing more. Her emotional state is irrelevant as long as she performs her function. I’ve paid for her body, not her happiness.
Yet I find myself lingering, listening to the raw pain in her cries. This isn’t the sound of someone upset over rough treatment or wounded pride. This is deeper, more visceral—the kind of grief that comes from true desperation.
My hand hovers over the doorknob before I pull it back. Whatever ghosts haunt Synthia Fuller are not my concern. I remind myself that emotional entanglement is dangerous and messy.
I force myself to walk away.
I make it three steps before I stop, her sobs clawing at something inside me I thought never existed. I’ve heard omegas cry before—it’s never affected me like this. There’s something in her voice that speaks of true devastation, not the manipulative tears I’m accustomed to.
Closing my eyes, I weigh my options. If I go in there, I’m crossing a line I’ve carefully maintained my whole adult life. If I walk away, I’ll spend the night hearing those sobs echo in my mind.
“Damn it,” I mutter, turning back to her door.
I open it, not bothering with knocking, as the precedent has already been set. To change those boundaries now will throw the dynamic off-kilter.
Synthia sits up suddenly, brushing her tears away quickly as she averts her face. “What do you want?” she asks, her voice rough from crying.
I stare at her, taking in her red-rimmed eyes and the way her small hands tremble as she tries to compose herself. Her hair is still damp from the shower, dark tendrils clinging to her tear-stained cheeks. She looks vulnerable in a way that unsettles me—far removed from the defiant omega who faced down Declan’s knife without flinching.
“Your crying is disturbing the household,” I say, my voice coming out colder than I intended.
She laughs bitterly, the sound sharp and brittle. “My apologies for the inconvenience, Sir. I’ll be sure to schedule my emotional breakdowns more considerately in the future.”
I find myself moving closer, drawn by something I can’t name. The scent of her distress is potent—salt and sorrow mingled with her honeysuckle omega scent.
“Was it Declan?” I growl. “Did he hurt you?”
“This isn’t about him.”
I stand awkwardly at the foot of her bed, uncertain of my purpose here. Comfort has never been something I do—I’ve never had a reason to develop the skill.
“Then what is it about?”
She shakes her head, clutching her phone tightly. “Nothing that concerns you.”
“You are in my house. It concerns me.”
“Just go away,” she says flatly. “Unless you want me to spread my legs for you, just go.”
I’ve never been told to go away before. I’m not quite sure how I’m supposed to handle that, especially coming from an omega I don’t know and who is paid to be here at my beck and call.
“Open up,” I grit out, cursing myself for this, but she has forced me into a corner of my own making.
She glares at me, defiance rising for all of two seconds before she grits her teeth and lies back, wiggling out of her shorts and spreading her legs wide, showing me that sweet pussy that I need wrapped around my cock. Not being able to knot her earlier, despite it being designed to insult her, has backfired spectacularly on my arse and now all I want is to rut with her until she begs for mercy.
“On your knees,” I croak.
She stares at me for a long moment, those brown eyes still glistening with tears, before she moves with deliberate slowness. Pushing herself up, she turns and positions herself on all fours, her back to me. Taking a step forward, I unzip my cock and grip it hard. It’s raging, almost twitching, eager to be inside her. Letting go of myself, I grip her hips and drag her back straight onto my waiting dick. She gasps as I stretch her and pump my hips gently at first, but I soon speed up, slamming into her. I ram forward, her body yielding despite her obvious emotional distress. I grip her hips tighter, pulling her back to meet each thrust, my fingers digging into her soft flesh as I rail her hard. Each stroke forces small gasps from her lips. I’m oddly satisfied by this—that I can pull her from despair into desire, if only temporarily.
Leaning forward, I grip her hair, pulling her head back.
She pushes back against me, meeting my thrusts with an intensity that surprises me. There’s something almost desperate in the way she moves, as if she’s trying to lose herself in the sensation.
Her body shudders, a tremor running through her that I feel around my cock.
“Come all over me,” I whisper. “Show me you’re worth what I paid for you.”
She tenses at my words before a broken moan escapes her lips. Her pussy clenches rhythmically around me as she comes hard, her entire body shaking with the force of her release. The sight of her coming undone pushes me over the edge, and I feel my knot swell.
With a growl, I unload into her, pushing my half-knot deeper into her cunt. She soaks me with her slick, and I stifle the groan of the sheer hedonism of the moment. I don’t want her to face me. That’s not how this works. She is here to service me, obey me. I don’t want to kiss her or have her gaze at me with longing or desire. Her slick drips down my balls, and I reach down to gather some on my fingers. I press them to her rear hole. She tenses up with a muffled yelp. Lubing her up, I insert a finger into her arsehole, and she whimpers.
“You’ve never done anal?” I ask roughly, intrigued by her reaction. Most omega escorts have done every which way, every hole, every position.
“Never needed to,” she grits out as I thrust my finger deeper inside her virginal passage. “Every alpha I’ve been with found my pussy was more than enough to satisfy them.”
I choke back the snort of delight at her answer. “Did they, now?” I mutter, and add another finger, stretching her hole while my knot expands a bit more in her cunt. It surprises me to feel the pressure grow. It surprises her, too. She lets out a low moan and pushes herself back onto it.
“Tarquin,” she gasps, her voice wavering as my fingers work her tight hole while my cock remains locked inside her. “Your knot?—”
“Shut up,” I growl, not wanting to acknowledge what’s happening. My knot never expands this fully outside of the rut. The fact that it’s happening now, with her, is something I refuse to examine.
I continue stretching her rear entrance, spitting on her to use as more lubricant. Her body trembles at the vulgarity, but it pleases me.
“When I take you tomorrow,” I say, my voice low and controlled despite the storm raging inside me, “it will be here.” I press my fingers deeper into her arse, making her gasp. “I’m going to claim every part of you before the week is out.”
She drops her head, her breathing ragged. “Is that what this is about? Making sure you get your money’s worth?”
I twist my fingers inside her, making her cry out. “Don’t presume to understand my motivations.”
The truth is, I don’t fully understand them myself. This omega has got under my skin in a way none have before. The sound of her crying had pulled me to her room against my better judgement, and now I’m knotted inside her, preparing her arse for a punishment I know will be worth it.
My knot subsides finally, and I withdraw from her pussy reluctantly.
She collapses onto the bed, her face buried in the pillows, shoulders shaking slightly. I can’t tell if it’s from pleasure or if she’s crying again.
I force myself not to care.
Tucking myself away, I adjust my clothing with mechanical movements. Looking down at her prone form, I feel an unfamiliar tightness in my chest. Weakness. I need to crush it before it takes root.
Without another word, I turn and leave her room, closing the door quietly behind me and making my way quickly back to my bedroom, before I turn around and offer her the world at her feet.