“Use your words, Red.” I don’t have to see his face to know he is smirking.
Asshat.
“I want your fingers inside me.” Luckily, it is dark, and he won’t see the stain of red that is no doubt tinting my face the color of a ripe tomato.
Without preamble, his fingers surge straight inside me, my pussy welcoming them into its hot, wet embrace.
Matthias groans. “You’re so fucking wet for me,” he breathes into my ear, nipping at the lobe harshly, causing a moan to slip from my parted lips. “Careful, Red. Someone might hear you and then come investigate. I would hate to have to end this night on a bloody note if someone see’s you this way.”
I nod, unable to get any words out. I lean my head back against his shoulder and rock my hips into his touch. Matthias continues his assault on my throbbing pussy, hooking his fingers in just the right spot so that I am seeing stars, my hips bucking into his fingers unapologetically, like a cowboy riding a wild stallion.
“Oh god.” I choke back another moan as my body shudders, the coil in my belly tightening as his pace becomes more frenetic.
“Come for me, my little traitor.” He pinches one of my nipples—hard—while he bites down on my neck, and I have no choice but to follow his command.
Over the hill I tumble, my entire body nearly convulsing as my inner walls clench violently around the digits he has buried deep inside me. My legs shake, and I feel Matthias’s grip on me tighten fractionally to keep me up. His fingers slip from inside me, and I whimper at the loss.
“Taste yourself,” he whispers and holds his fingers up to my lips. I open my mouth, my tongue darting out hesitantly to lick at the tip of his finger coated with my juices before I suck them into my mouth.
I’ve never been one of those women who is turned on by the heroine sucking her own cum from a man’s fingers. Now, as I lick and suck at Matthias’s, I can definitely see the appeal.
It isn’t about the taste, which is slightly musky and sweet, but how his eyes darken at the sight of me sucking his digits like I would suck his cock. It is also the growl that lifts from his throat. The way his pupils dilate as he takes me in with a deep hunger that leaves me breathless.
“So why did you really come down here?” I ask as I straighten my dress. Matthias chuckles, his grip now on my waist as he leans against the wall of the dance floor. My legs still feel like jelly, and I am not inclined to move. Not when he feels so warm against me. “I doubt it was simply because one of your men said he saw me partying it up.”
Matthias lets out a frustrated sigh, letting his head fall back against the wall with a soft thud.
“He saw what happened with you and Jimmy.”
“And what?” I step from his hold, turning myself to face him, hands on my hips as I glare at him. “Were you worried that if I died, you wouldn’t be able to use me in your plan?”
Matthias’s eyes narrow as he glares down at me, his posture stiffening.
“Oh, wait,” I scoff. “I’m no longer useful that way, am I? So why bother coming down, Matthias? Did you suddenly grow a conscience or something and start giving a fuck? You’ve made it perfectly clear how you feel about me, even if we do fuck.”
“Just because I distance myself doesn’t mean I don’t care, Ava,” he tells me, his face softening slightly at my agitated state. “I just don’t trust you.”
“Because you never give me the chance to tell you my side of the story.” I point my finger at his chest. “You just assumed I betrayed you. Assumed I’ve been playing you the whole time. Well, newsflash, asshole, I haven’t been. I never once toldanyone anything about what you tell me. That includes your brother’s name. Hell, I never even told Libby, and I tell her fucking everything.”
“It’s not that simple, and you?—”
“Save me your fucking bullshit,” I spit at him. “You want to know what I think? I think you married me on a whim to get the upper hand on Elias, and now that he’s dead, you don’t need me anymore. You got your use out of me and a couple of good fucks, and instead of owning up to it like a man, you hide behind your thoughts of betrayal. I thought that maybe, maybe, I could get you to see my side. To let me tell my story, but the thing is, you don’t want to hear it because it won’t make one lick of difference, will it?”
“Ava…”
“No.” I choke back a sob, the tears flowing freely. God, I have to stop crying. “I’m done, Matthias. I thought I wanted to play your game, but I don’t. I’m done, and once the gala is over, I’ll be gone and out of your life forever. Just like you want.”
There is no looking back now, and I doubt things will ever be the same. There are two ways this will end, and I know one thing for sure. One of those outcomes has the potential to destroy me in worse ways than anything Christian ever has.
twenty-seven
I lie on Matthias’s bed, staring at the ceiling.
The sound of my breathing is the only thing to be heard throughout the vast space other than the familiar, comfortable clicks of the pocket watch hef left on his dresser. He never goes anywhere without it, which tells me he was in a hurry to get to the club after he received the call about the assault.
I’ve been back at the penthouse for almost an hour, my stomach churning as my mind races a million miles an hour. He hasn’t come back yet, or if he has, he hasn’t come back here to me, which tells me what I need to know.
I am nothing but a mere pawn on his chessboard, not the queen I always thought I was. Our marriage is nothing more than a farce, a tactic he never had the chance to utilize because the enemy’s king is already wiped from the board.
