I hope that he’s wrong.
rupert
My money.
That ratty old lady is right. I hate, hate that she’s right, more than anything.
While I remain a rich fool, Peony will never escape the danger of being associated with me and my fortune. She is not safe—and willneverbe safe—as long as I am who I am. That very same money I traded everything for? It’s also the thing that Andy nearly killed her to get.
Giancarlo was wrong. The old man’s curse has returned for me, as it always will, on and on until the end of time. I do not get to have happiness. I do not get to have the woman I love, not while I am this.
After Stella leaves that night, Peony angrily cleans the kitchen, and I give her a hand as best I can without asking questions. She is rightfully upset over what Stella said about her father, and I am lost in my own thoughts, obsessing over what I need to do. What the right thingisto do.
I wish I could throw all my money into the ocean to undo this curse. I don’t need the funds—I never really have. But nomatter how much I give away to charitable causes, the money always grows, as it has since I was changed. Still, I would trade it all if it meant I could be with Peony forever.
But as long as I am near… I can never be sure that something awful won’t happen to her in order to punish me and fulfill the curse.
That night, I don’t mind that Peony uses me to vent her frustration, climbing up into my lap and sinking down on me, slinging her arms over my shoulders and fucking me with everything she has until she sags against me, and then I take over, lifting her by the ass. She comes quietly, but it’s not enough for me.
My flower deserves better. She deserves the world.
I press her down to the bed, looming over her, my cock slick and dripping with us. I spread the lips of her pussy with my fingers, then ease myself inside her again while she’s still tight from her orgasm. She moans as she swallows me up, and I lean forward to silence her with my lips. I devour her mouth while I methodically make love to her, keeping her pinned to the bed, hiking her legs up so I can get the best possible angle. A few times I simply slow down, almost to stopping, keeping myself fully sheathed inside her warm, pulsing heat.
“Peony.” I nuzzle her nose, sweeping her hair back from her sweaty face. She whimpers for me to fuck her more, but I simply warm my cock inside her, gently rocking. “I love you. I love you more than I can put into words.”
I see it on her face as her heart blooms, spreading its wings wide for me, to accept me and bring me inside. It nearly brings tears to my eyes just to see the pure affection and devotion on her face.
“I love you, too, Rupert. More than I knew I could love someone.” She pulls me close, wrapping me up in her arms,and I begin once again to move slowly. Her moans climb, turning into cries as I seek out the place that will push her over the edge.
I will love her as completely as I can, so she will remember it when we’re no longer together. I breathe through my nose to keep my own finish locked tightly away, because I want to show her the most perfect bliss while I still can.
And then, I swallow her pleasure, kissing her as she screams into my mouth. I want to consume her so I never have to live without her. So she can never leave me.
But it’s true what they say: sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go.
peony
Rupert is strangely solemn the day after Stella’s visit, and I suppose what she said has affected both of us. Perhaps it really would be right to leave the manor for now, at least until the fervor of the media dies down.
I decide to broach the subject with him that afternoon on our walk. The clouds are threatening us with snow, and the air is chilly, but I don’t want to give up this time to stretch my legs and have a serious talk with Rupert about what we should do next.
“I decided that I like your idea,” I say, breaking the quiet between us. “About leaving for a while and going to one of your other properties, where the media can’t find us.”
He does not look as pleased by this suggestion as I expected him to be.
“Peony…” Rupert slows his steps, and I slow down, too, until we’ve both come to a stop.
“What is it?”
Something indecipherable darkens his lion-like features, and his eyes slide away from mine. He bares his fangs down at the ground as if the brown leaves there have betrayed him.
“I think it’s best ifyougo.” He still won’t look at me. “You should pack up your things and live there. Without me.”
I’m not sure I heard him right. He wants me to go?Alone?
“Are you…” My voice comes out choked, because I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Are you asking me to leave, Rupert?”
It looks as if I’ve physically slapped him the way that his gaze jumps to mine, and his body straightens.
