Binding Rose: A Dark Mafia Romance(74)

When did I become such a masochist?

Or was it his sadism that brought it out of me?

I try not to think too much on the answers to those questions and inch closer to him until my knees land close to the tips of his Italian loafers.

“Sit,” he commands, like I’m a bitch in heat who needs to be ordered around.

I sit back on my haunches and hold my head up high so he can see that no matter how he treats me, how belittling his words are, I’ll always have my pride.

He leans into me, his face within a hair’s breadth of mine.

“Tell me, wife,” he begins, his knuckles caressing my cheek, while his other hand uncaps my lipstick and twists it open. “Was that all you envisioned? Did it live up to your high expectations?”

I don’t answer him. I don’t dare utter a word. Instead, I remain perfectly still as he keeps stroking the back of his hand on my cheek.

“You’ve surprised me,” he confesses, and to this, my forehead creases, breaking the schooled features I was trying so hard to keep intact. “I can count on one hand how many people have surprised me in my lifetime. I never expected one of them to be you.”

He pulls back just an inch, his gaze falling to my chest. I don’t have to look down to see that my nipples are pointing at attention in his direction. My body, unlike my mind, finds Tiernan’s gaze on it one of the most exhilarating things it has ever experienced. I continue to look straight into his peculiar eyes as he uses my lipstick to write something just above my breasts. When he’s done branding me with my own lipstick, he throws the tube on the floor, leans back into his seat, and admires his handiwork.

I don’t give him the satisfaction of looking down.

“I’m curious. Did you like my brother’s cock inside you?”

Yes.

“My cousin’s?”

Yes.

“I want the truth. I think after all of this, I’m entitled to it after all.”

“Does it matter if I liked it or not, as long as the end goal is met?” I utter with steel in my voice.

“Right. How could I forget? You want a baby. I never would have assumed you had baby fever when I met you.”

“I don’t.”

“But you still want one?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” he asks sternly, as if the mere idea of a woman wanting a child pisses him off.

“Because it’s expected of me,” I lie. “To ensure the treaty is upheld.”

He shakes his head with a scowl.

“I said the truth, wife.”

“My truth is irrelevant and not included in the bargain we made yesterday in your boardroom. If you wanted it, you should have asked for it. Now I’m not in the mood to re-negotiate terms when I’m perfectly content with the ones we’ve already agreed on.”

He tilts his head to the side and carefully scans my face until there isn’t an inch of it he isn’t familiar with.

“I didn’t want this,” he mutters through clenched teeth.

“You didn’t want me, either. I guess it’s true what they say, you can’t always get what you want.”

He leans forward, gripping my chin in his hand, his fingers digging into my flesh.

“Why should I want you? What could you possibly have that a million other women don’t?”

I snap my chin away from his grip, my daunting gaze piercing his chest like the dagger I wish I could plunge into the hollow hole that should hold a heart.

“If that’s true, then why do you look rattled?” I bite back.

“I’m not.”

“No? Then why do you feel the need to embarrass me at every opportunity?”

“Because pretty things shouldn’t exist in my world. Their only use is to be broken.”

I throw him my best glower while staring him dead in the eye.

“I was broken long before you ever put your hands on me. Don’t think your abuse will make a dent or cause a crack.”

At this, he smiles, genuinely pleased with my answer.

He taps on his knee, his silent command for me to sit on it.

Or maybe it’s just his nonverbal way of telling me he’s about to spank my ass raw.

“I’m not going to hurt you. Not physically, at least. Sit,” he relents when he realizes why I’m hesitant to move.

I get off the floor and sit on his lap, his hand pulling my legs to lie on top of his. Without missing a beat, he then grabs my chin and stares into my eyes. We stay like that for an infernal moment, and to my shame, my core begins to soak his pants with just his eyes on me.

“You came.”

It’s not a question but a mere spoken fact.

“You never said I couldn’t.”

“That’s true.” He grins, almost sounding pleased that I took advantage of the missed technicality. “It’s fine. I don’t care if you cum or not. I don’t even care if you fully enjoy being sandwiched between Shay and Col. All I care is that you know one solemn truth.”

“Which is?” I whisper softly when his hand begins to trace up my inner thigh.

“That just because I let you fuck them doesn’t mean you should forget who you belong to. You’re mine, Rosa. And don’t you forget it.”

“I thought you didn’t believe in ownership?” I throw the words he said on our wedding night back in his face.