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I sucked harder, urging him on.
And then he looked me in the eyes as he shot his release deep down my throat. “Jesus. Fuck.” His thighs trembled against my touch. The sound of his groan boomed in the small space.
I did that.
I looked up at him, trapped in his gaze as he swept his thumb over one corner of my mouth, wiping away remnants of his cum and my saliva. He kept saying he wanted to own me. I wanted to own him, too. I wanted those grunts of pleasure and the way he lost control to belong to me and only me.
I spent the rest of the plane ride sleeping while Chandler did whatever it was that he did on his phone. Every once in a while, I opened my eyes for a second and caught him staring at me. But he never said a word.
The same driver who brought Grey and me to the airport was waiting to pick us up.
When I stepped outside, the air was different. The trees looked greener. The flowers looked brighter. Somehow, Ayelswick seemed smaller. Something had changed. Or maybe it was me who had changed. I wasn’t the same naïve girl who left, blindly following a man I hardly knew across the ocean just because he told me my father said I should. It made my heart swell and ache at the same time. This was my home. It had always been my home. As a young girl, I always wondered what it would be like to have more, to experience things that our little country couldn’t offer. Now that I’d had a taste, I wasn’t sure I would be satisfied with the simplicity anymore. The ache grew deeper with every mile we drove.
The palace—my home—was the exception. Outside, it all felt different. In here, everything felt the same. Crystal chandeliers lit the way as we moved through the open foyer with a domed ceiling to a hallway lined with columns and arched doorways. Chandler’s penthouse was clean, crisp, and modern. Our palace was opulent, timeless and grand, with historic furnishings, ornate trim, and elaborate tapestries.
I instructed the driver to bring my bags to my room. My body buzzed with nervous energy as I passed the open chambers, past the priceless paintings that hung on the walls. My mind wouldn’t let me rest. I couldn’t unpack. I couldn’t see Liam. I couldn’t do anything at all until I spoke to my father.
With every footstep that echoed off the walls, I moved faster. My heart beat harder. My lungs grew tighter. Chandler was right behind me. He never left my side.
We reached the end of the hall—my father’s chamber. The arched doorway loomed over me as I stepped inside.
Da was there, in his chair in front of the Palladian windows, looking as intimidating as ever.
I steeled myself. I thought I’d be happy to see him, relieved. All I felt was anger. “Surprised to see me?”
I’d never seen pain, true pain, in my father’s eyes, not even when we found out my mother was dying. The way he looked right now was as if I’d just slapped him across the face. He moved his eyes from me to Chandler, and his gaze went cold, his jaw tense, reminding me of their vendettas, whatever they were.
Resentment rose inside me, strengthening my resolve. “For days, I stared out the window and waited for you. I held my breath as I watched the elevator doors open, just knowing you’d burst through them demanding I come home.” My voice cracked. “You never did.” My legs were weak, feeling as though they might give out any moment, bringing me to my knees. My chest felt like it was being ripped apart, torn between falling to pieces and wanting to set the world on fire. The worst part was I wanted him to tell me I was wrong. The naïve little girl who still looked at her father and saw greatness, wanted him to tell her this was all a mistake. He didn’t. “You left me there.” I was yelling now. “They took me as some sort of bait in a game I was forced to play, and you let it happen.” I waited for him and he never came. Ma was right. I had to save myself. “You sacrificed me in order to feed some sick obsession.”
There were other people here, in this room. I hadn’t noticed them before, but I felt their eyes on me now. My gaze roamed from the Chamberlain to one of the Lords in Waiting to my father’s secretary before finally settling on Chandler. His strong was jaw set in a line. His bright eyes were dark, burning, searing me all the way to my marrow. My racing heart began to slow as I let his morphine creep into my veins.Numb.And then, feeling pain-free, heartache free—justfree—I looked back to my father, my words quiet and calm. “You’re not a king. You’re a coward.”
Liam stepped in front of me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “That’s enough, Ani.”
I jolted backward, out of his grasp. “Did you know about this, too? Were you part of it?”
“Know about what?” He raked a hand through his dark hair, then rested it on the back of his neck. “Jesus, Ani, I’ve been listening for five minutes and I still have no idea what’s going on. You were supposed to be in New York. I texted you. You texted me back.”
He texted me?
I texted him back?
My phone. Grey had my phone.
Liam had no idea where I’d been.
Silence settled over the room. Tension hummed in the air. My heart broke for my brother, who I was sure was about to learn a harsh truth.
My father glared at Chandler, ignoring my words, my feelings…me. “We’ll talk later.”
“What is it withtalking?” Chandler stepped forward, moving toward the throne. “In my line of work, people always want totalk. They always want to give me one excuse after another.” He stopped a few feet in front of my father, grinning a cocky smile when two security guards flanked him. God, I was beginning to crave that smile. “I’m not a total asshole.” He paused to chuckle, rubbing the stubble on his chin. “I listen. I give them a chance.” The smile fell, and his expression grew as dark as the suit he was wearing. “But when I’ve listened to all I can take, throw on my good suit, and walk through their door, the time for talking is over.” His voice lowered. His lips curled in a sneer. Dread wove its way into my gut. I thought I’d seen Chandler at his worst. Something told me I was wrong. “It’s time to pay.”
I opened my mouth to ask him what that meant, then slammed it shut when Grey Van Doren walked in the room with two men at his side, neither of them familiar.
