“Fuck you!”
She hums and skims her fingers through my sopping strands. I can’t possibly lean back any farther. “How’s your back? I wanted to leave the arrow in, but Greta saw to it that they patched you up.”
“Quit the fucking small talk. Where’s Cecilia?”
“Cecilia?” Her fingers pause in my hair, and she studies my beat-up face and shivering, no doubt blue lips before cupping my chin and dipping down to stare into my eyes. “Cecilia is dead.”
I feel the blood drain from my face. “No…”
She’s lying. She has to be. There’s no way my wife is dead. I refuse to believe it.
Lauren fakes regret, her expression bleeding insincerity, and then she climbs onto my lap, hiking her short leather skirt up to her waist. “I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad news, Darian, but your precious wife was murdered.” Leaning in, she trails her lips, sticky with lip gloss, across my cheek and whispers against the shell of my ear. “Murdered just like your mother.”
“You’re lying!” I struggle against the restraints, causing the ropes to cut into my skin.
Lauren moves back to study me. “You’re not going anywhere, baby. Not until I’m done with you.” Her words are accompanied by her hands fumbling with my belt, and I wish—oh, how I wish—I could wrap my fingers around her neck and squeeze until she’s dead.
“So this is why you have me tied to a chair? You’re in the mood for a little fumble in the dark?”
“Would it be so bad to have some fun?” she asks as she slowly pulls the zipper down while nibbling on her lip—a seductive tactic I’m sure works on a lot of guys. But not me. I’d rather join an orderly than touch this vile bitch.
“You’re an Elder, Darian. The son of Cyrus Delacroix. The Exodus is in your bloodline. You see, for decades, we’ve gone about this all wrong, attacking you on Reckoning night and making you pay in blood, but that’s like poking the bear with a needle pin. You just keep bouncing back like a virus, so it’s time to change tactics. Play a different game.” She leans in and sinks her teeth into my earlobe before sucking and licking. As she rolls her hips against me, she whispers, “What we need in our war is an heir.”
Every muscle in my body stiffens with dread, and she laughs a breathy, cruel sound. “Cat got your tongue, handsome?”
“How will an heir help you in your war against the Exodus?”
“You’re a smart man, Darian. Put two and two together. You know your world and the importance of bloodlines. An heir would be our greatest asset. Just think of all the resentment that would fester inside them and how we could use it to our advantage when they finally claim their place as an Elder. Especially when they find out their father raped their mother.”
I rear back, my jaw slack. “That’s your flawed plan?”
“Oh, come on, Darian,” she breathes, her voice tinged with suppressed laughter. “Don’t look at me like that. Sure, it’s a long-term plan, but they won’t see it coming.” She dips her handinside my briefs, palming my dick, and much to my horror, it soon swells in her grip.
I break eye contact, clenching my jaw so hard that my teeth hurt.
“Oh, my! Cecilia said you have a big cock. For once, she wasn’t lying.”
“I’m telling you this now out of courtesy because you’re her friend. If you know what’s good for you, stop this now, or I swear I’ll kill you.”
“You won’t kill me, Darian,” she says, pushing my briefs down and freeing my cock. “You’ll stay tied to this chair until you’ve served your purpose, and then we’ll put a bullet in your brain and dispose of your body.”
Grinding my teeth, I give her an indignant look. “So you think you can just waltz right into the Exodus in eighteen years’ time and be welcomed with open arms?” I lean in closer and sneer. “They’ll eat you alive.”
“Maybe, but our child will have access to all that power, thanks to their bloodline and being the sole heir to the Delacroix fortune.” Releasing my dick, she taps her lip with her shiny blood-red nail and pretends to think. “Which is now combined with the van der Meer’s fortune, am I right? That’s why you made her marry you, isn’t it? Couldn’t let all that money go to waste.” Her eyes gleam when she looks at me again. “That’s a big fortune, handsome. Makes me horny.”
I grunt as she resumes stroking my length before shifting on my lap and placing me at her entrance.
“I promise you’ll enjoy it,” she purrs, smashing her lips to mine, but I refuse to kiss her back as I wriggle my wrists in a desperate last-ditch attempt to break free. Never did I think I would find myself here, tied to a damn chair, while my wife’s unhinged best friend assaults me. I don’t like to hurt women, butshe better fucking run when I break free, because I’ll kill her so damn slowly, even the reaper will grow bored waiting.
A flaming pain sears through my wrists, but I continue to twist and pull, letting out a grunt as she bites down hard on my bottom lip, drawing blood. When she moves back, it drips down my chin.
She’s just about to sit on my dick when a different voice says, “Leave the poor man alone, Lauren.”
We both stiffen, and Lauren’s jade eyes harden. At the same time, relief floods through me, and I slump in the chair, resisting the urge to peek around Lauren to thank the intruder for their perfect timing.
“I’m a little busy here,” she says without taking her eyes off me.
“This isn’t how we handle things.” The newcomer’s voice is stern but motherly. “And it’s not what we’re about.”
