My aunt disagrees with the deceit, and my uncle is not keen on seeing me hurt again. His words. Both said they can’t play good actors for me and their daughter, whatever that means.
They still wished me well.
“They’re on vacation.”
Not a lie.
“It was quite spontaneous.” She sits on the sofa, her elbow pressing on the armrest, holding her cheek. With the other, she lifts her wineglass to me. “How did you know?”
“I pay attention.” I wink at her.
She takes another sip but doesn’t break eye contact. I want to be the center of her focus. Nibble, kiss, lick every inch of her.
I have been hard for the last several hours, and it’s getting difficult to keep my lust contained.
Sitting across from her, I cross my legs to hide the hard-on.
I get lost in the sight of her, but then she clears her throat and puts the glass down, walking toward the floor-to-ceiling window to look at Chicago spread below us.
She looks at me over her shoulder. “While I agreed to stay with you in Chicago, I must return home whenever I need to.”
“No problem,” I say, not hiding my disappointment.
I rule Chicago, but a king who leaves his kingdom unsupervised for too long is prone to lose it. And I can’t affordthat. It’s my father’s legacy. It’s the empire I expanded with unfathomable success. What I want to give my child one day.
She turns around to face me and tilts her head. “You’re very agreeable.”
I lean back and tap my thigh. “Nothing is for free.”
“So, what do you want, husband?” She licks her lips, making my cock weep for her.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to ignore the growing ache. When I open them, I find her smiling. Does this minx find tormenting me amusing? Soon it will be time for payback.
I cock my brow, dragging my lower lip through my teeth. “You know exactly what that is. You.”
“Why?”
“You’re a stunning woman. I like your company, which I can’t say about the rest of humanity.”
I pull another giggle from her, and she returns to the sofa as if she can’t stop seeking my nearness.
She sits inches away from me, relaxing into the cushions as I continue. “I am convinced it’s your brain stopping you from giving in to the impulse. Afraid it will be too good and make your first love pale in comparison?”
The atmosphere changes as she stabs me with a cold look. “You overestimate yourself.”
I brace my arm on the back of the sofa, gripping the fabric as eagerly as I want to sink my fingers into her. “It’s a fact. One I will prove to you sooner rather than later.”
“Wow, your ego paired with your cockiness... it’s a wonder you haven’t sprouted a mane and started strutting around like the king of the jungle.”
She takes another sip and places the empty glass on the coffee table.
“I will conquer you, Zara. One step at a time. I will dismantle every wall, and you will resign yourself to your fate,” I say, my voice dripping with steel determination.
A tremor passes her. “And that would be?”
“To be mine.”
Fuck, retreat. It’s too much, too soon.
