Page 21 of Devil’s Promise

He opens it, his voice harder and darker than he’s used with me. “What the fuck do you want?”

“What the fuck are you doing up here?” a male voice barks back.

“Mind your fucking business, Knox.”

“My business? My business is not the problem.” I hear a thump on wood. “What the fuck is she doing here, Angel? She should be with her father, at least until the wedding.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Angel grits back. “Don’t worry about that.”

“You better know, because this is your fucking plan and none of us have liked it from the start. Don’t get lost in some pretty pussy.”

“You’ve already fucking said that. It doesn’t need to be said again.”

Is that an actual thing? Is it a possibility? I crane my neck a bit more, cocking my head to listen but a second later, the door slams.

I have a brief second to wonder if Angel has left when I hear his steps across the floor. I tense, wondering what happens next.

He told my father he’d keep my virginity intact until the wedding. Did he actually mean it? I will use any opportunity I can get to learn about this man and also delay what I know is coming.

He enters the room again, his lips curling up into something that resembles a smile when he sees I haven’t moved. “Good girl,” he rumbles, even as he squats down at the end of the bed, grabbing my foot again.

His tattooed hand wraps around the arch as he brings it back to his mouth. “How do your feet smell good?”

My shoulders lift as I mentally tick through the list of what I know about this man. When it comes to me, he likes what he sees.

But he’s got control. What that control hides is far less clear.

He kisses the pad and then he pops my big toe in his mouth, sucking it between his lips.

I clamp my lips shut because it feels… Good. Really good.

The suction makes me pulse with pleasure between my legs, fluttering in a way I’ve only experienced a few times and never this strong.

My skin breaks out in goose pimples again, but this isn’t because I’m cold.

He pops my toe out of his mouth, his lips tugging into a satisfied grin.

“I noticed you didn’t eat your dinner.”

I blink at him. Dinner? He just had my foot in his mouth. I shrug again, not knowing what else to do.

But he pulls out his phone, unlocks the screen, and holds it out to me. “Tell me why.”

I could tell him I’m not hungry. But at least for some time, I’m going to live with this man. So I tell him the truth.

I keep a strict diet. Camera adds ten pounds.

I hand it back. He reads the message, his lips turning down in a frown. “I’ll look at you naked later, but chances are you’re gaining ten pounds. I like you soft and I like curves.” Then he pockets the phone. “But you are right. A woman should eat healthy. I’ll send up a salad and tomorrow we’ll order groceries so that you have access to whatever food you need.”

I give a nod, wilting back onto the bed.

He looks at me, his hand skimming back up my leg to trace my hip and settle at my waist.

I tense at his touch but this time, the tension is not all fear, there is a pleasantness to the anticipation.

“I am not a nice man, princess,” he rumbles. “What I do for you, I do because it pleases me. And you are here for my pleasure. Is that clear?”

I nod, even as I lift my hands over my head. I watch his gaze settle on my chest, his eyes darkening.