Arranged love

TITAN

Turning off the wand, I place it on the stand next to the table. I undo her wrists first, then her neck, hips, and ankles and pick her limp body up off the black leather. She shakes uncontrollably in my arms. If I hadn’t just watched her come six times, I would say she’s having convulsions. She’s covered in sweat. Her eyes are closed, and she’s gasping for each breath. She kept telling me yes. To the point she was going to lose her voice from all the shouting she was doing.

Entering the bathroom, I place her in the large Jacuzzi tub that sits in the center of the large room and turn on the water. When it’s the temperature I want, I quickly undress. Climbing in behind her, I lean her back against my front. I pick up the cup next to me and fill it with water before pouring it over the front of her.

She moans, and her head falls to the side. I check her pulse. It’s racing. Maybe I pushed her too hard.

“I’m okay,” she whispers, reading my mind. “I could have … kept going.”

I snort. “You were about to lose consciousness.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

She gives me a faint smile. “So worth it.”

Opening her eyes, she looks around the dim bathroom aimlessly. She lifts her hand, wrapping her fingers around the steel eye hook that is on the inside of the tub. “That’s a weird spot for a towel hook,” she muses.

I laugh. “That’s not to hang towels on.”

“What then?”

“It’s for water play.” Everything in The Palace is set up for dominance. Nothing is for convenience. It’s for total domination.

“Oh.” Her eyes light up. “I wanna-”

“Absolutely not,” I interrupt her. “How do you feel?” I get serious.

“Amazing.”

“Sore?”

“In the best way.”

I kiss her hair. It’s knotted in the back where she struggled with her neck being restrained. “Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up and into bed.”

_______________

I wake to the sound of a vibrating noise. I yawn, wondering what time it is. This room doesn’t have any windows for a reason. And after we finished in the tub, we passed out. It isn’t being used until tomorrow, so we just stayed here. I knew she needed the rest.

I hear the noise again and realize it’s my cell vibrating, and I get out of the bed and dig it out of my jeans on the floor. Noticing it’s almost nine in the morning. I never sleep in. I’m ready and sitting at my desk by six-thirty every day. This casino doesn’t run itself.

I open up my emails and scroll through them, responding to the ones that need immediate attention. I send Bones a message that I will be down in about an hour. My phone vibrates in my hand with a new email, and I read over it.

Titan

I need a date for my annual company party. It will be on my yacht off the coast of Hawaii. Next week. I would say the duration will span across three days. Given time for flights and event. I want to reserve Emilee.

I run a hand through my hair and look over at her sleeping in the bed. Her naked body tangled in the black silk sheets. She’s on her side, facing me. Her eyes are closed as she breathes deeply. I don’t mind her being a Queen as long as I know the situation she is in and she’s not out of reach for me. A date night here at one of our many steakhouses? Sure, I’d let her do that. A date on an island, while on a yacht with a client that I know prefers to fuck his queen? Absolutely not.

I write out a quick response.

I’m more than happy to secure you a queen for the event. Unfortunately, Emilee is unavailable at that time.

She’s mine, and I don’t plan on sharing her with anyone. Other than occasionally with Bones because that is what she wants.

“Morning.”

I place my phone back in my jeans and crawl back into the bed, pulling her into my side. “Good morning, gorgeous.” I kiss her forehead.

She smiles. “I could get used to this.”

“What is that exactly?” I ask.

“Endless amounts of orgasms and waking up next to you.”

Me too. I hate to admit that I’m already falling for her. I knew it would happen, but if I’m being honest with myself. It was why I wanted her all those years ago, there was just something about her. When she turned me down, it just made me want her more.

I walk through the crowded hallway of the school and see her coming toward me. She has her eyes down staring at her cell, typing away. Probably talking to Bones. I haven’t seen her since I kissed her at the frat party last weekend. When I was ready to go all the way and she changed her mind.

I purposely step in front of her, making her run into me. “Oh, sorry … Titan?” She looks up at me.

“Hey, Em. Can we talk?”

She pushes her hair behind her ear. “I can’t …”

“It’ll only take a second.” I grab her arm and yank her into the nearest classroom that I know is vacant this time of day. I shut the door behind me and lock the door.

“Titan, I don’t have time.”

I grab her arm, yank her to me and press my lips to hers. She opens up for me immediately and moans into my mouth. My hands find her hair and I deepen the kiss. She tastes like a cherry lollipop.

But she pulls away too soon. “Titan, we can’t,” she whispers, licking her lips.

“Because you love Bones?” I question.

“No.” She runs her hands through her tangled hair. “We’re not like that.”

“So you’re just his fuck?” I know what they are, but I want to hear her say it. I want her to admit that what they have isn’t what we could have.

Her eyes narrow on me. “No.”

“Then what the fuck is it?” I snap, getting irritated.

“I don’t have to explain it to you,” she growls. “It’s none of your business. And why do you care so much? He’s your best friend; you shouldn’t want to fuck me.”

“Because I know that he doesn’t give a shit about you,” I say.

Her face falls, and her eyes sadden. Shit!

“Em, that’s not what I meant.” He doesn’t love her, no, but he does care about her. She’s the only woman in the world that he gives the slightest fuck about. He always talks shit on Grave and his drug problem, but Emilee is his drug. He can’t quit her.

“And you do?” she asks, arching a brow.

I clamp my mouth shut because I’m not sure what to say. How to make her understand. Does she think I watch her and follow her around for nothing? She’s right. I’m not supposed to want her. Not like this. Not this way.

“That’s what I thought,” she states, and I step out of the way, letting her out of the room and out of my life.

“What are you thinking about?” she asks me.

I let out a long breath. “Nothing.”

“It’s not nothing. I can feel your heart race.”

I run a hand down my face. “You. Me.” I pause. “Bones.”

She rubs circles on my chest with the tips of her fingers but stops when I mention him. She sits up, the black silk sheet falling off her chest, and stares down at me. “Are you mad at me? For what we did?”

“No.” I sit up as well. “I told you I was okay with it. I wouldn’t lie to you.”

“It’s just …” She bites her bottom lip.

“Can I ask you something?” She nods. “Why did you guys stop seeing each other back then?” I’ve always wanted to know but some things you just don’t ask. And she was right. It was none of my business. No matter how badly I wanted to know.

She bows her head and sighs. I push her hair behind her ear so I can see her face. “You know that night I kissed you at the frat party?” she asks.

“Yeah,” I answer slowly, wondering what that has to do with it.

“That night before, Bones had come over to the house. My parents were out of town, and we had sex.” I knew he was going over there because we had plans, and he was late due to seeing her before. “After we were done, he was getting dressed, and he said that we needed to stop seeing each other.” She frowns. “I was confused at first because it was just sex, but then he said that he loved me, but he couldn’t love me the way that you did.” Her soft blue eyes meet mine.

I tense at her words.

“I loved Bones, the most he would allow someone to love him.” She sighs, averting her eyes again. “We started hooking up my sophomore year in high school when he was a senior. It was a couple of months before his mom passed, and honestly, I thought it was going to go somewhere. But after she died, he became more closed off than he was before. He was unreachable. It was like he felt nothing. Not even physical pain. I saw Grave spiral after that, worse than he already was, and I was afraid Bones was going to do the same. I clung to him, became his lifeboat because I didn’t want him to drown.” She takes in a deep breath. “Then he got injured in baseball while in college, destroying his chance at getting out of this town and going pro like I knew he wanted to do. There was never a good time to walk away. But you …” She looks up at me. “You didn’t have that problem. I remember saying how could Titan love me? He doesn’t even know me. I was attracted to you, yes. And I wanted you, yes, but that would be as far as it would have gone.”

“How do you know that?” I ask like I could have seen the future back then. I can’t say for certain that we’d be sitting here right now if she had let me love her back then.

“The next night, I saw you at the frat party, and after that first kiss we shared, I just knew …” She trails off.

“Knew what?” I ask.

“That I wouldn’t be able to do with you what I did with Bones.” She drops her head. “That I wouldn’t have been able to separate feelings for just casual sex, so I pushed you away.”

“Is that how you felt about me?” she asks. “Did you have feelings for me?”

“Yes,” I answer without any hesitation. This is my chance. To be there for her in a way that Bones never wanted to be.

“But … you were a dick to me.” She narrows her eyes at me.

“I was jealous. I wanted you for myself.”

She straddles my hips, and I readjust myself onto my back, staring up at her. “Why didn’t you say something?”

“What was I supposed to say? Hey, I’ve liked you since you were in third grade. But by the time I wanted to approach you, you were already fucking my best friend?”

“Third grade?” She chuckles, thinking I’m joking.

I nod. “Yep. Duncan Wiltz walked behind you and shoved you out of the swing.”

She bursts out laughing. “How did you know that?”

“I had Mrs. Hollan’s class, and her window faced the playground.” I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I was two grades ahead of her, and it was our last year at the elementary school. Her mother always dressed her in bright colors. She was hard to miss.

Her mouth opens wide as she stares down at me in shock.

“I watched you lie there on the ground and cry while he sat there swinging, laughing at you.”

“I can’t believe you remember that.”

“You were wearing a pink shirt with white polka dots and jeans. You had pigtails. A pink ribbon on the right one with a yellow wrapped around the other.”

“That is …” She blinks.

“Adorable.”

“Kinda stalkerish.” She laughs. “But I remember that day too. Well, not what I wore, but the best part was that he came back to school that next Monday with a …” She trails off as I smile. Hers drops off her face, and she tilts her head to the side. “No … did you …? Titan.” She slaps my bare chest. “Tell me you didn’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Liar. You broke his arm, didn’t you?”

I shrug “Must have been karma.” I followed that motherfucker home after school and broke his arm with my bare hands. And I told him if he said a word, I’d break the other. He never touched her again.