Twisted Empire: Dark Dynasty Book 3 Page 19

  They weren’t the only arrests made, however. Over the next few weeks, thousands of new arrests were made as many of the people the society had paid off to stay silent or cover things up for them were taken in too—media magnates, high-up members of the police, multiple politicians including several senators and members of Congress. On top of that, the men and women who’d sold their daughters to the society had been imprisoned, including my parents.

  I didn’t bother visiting them.

  Even now, a year and a half later, arrests were still being made frequently by a task force the non-corrupt members of the government had created to deal with the situation. Crown and Dagger had its slimy tentacles almost everywhere, so it was taking a long time for them to sift through all the corruption and shady deals, but the message was clear: we’re coming for you.

  There was simply no way anyone associated with the third level of Crown and Dagger could continue to get away with what they’d done. The public wouldn’t allow it to happen, wouldn’t allow the furor of the case to die down after a few weeks as so often happened with other cases that caused public outrage. This time everyone was finally saying they’d had enough of being stepped on. Had enough of corrupt old rich men getting away with everything while so many suffered under them.

  “Oh, and speaking of Elias, guess what?” I said, still peering down at the gravestone. “We’re still together, and after today, we’ll be free to do whatever the hell we want. That’s the main reason I came here this morning. To tell you that your son still loves me, and I love him too.”

  A gust of wind picked up and blew right past me. I liked to think Tobias sent it; a demonstration from beyond of his foul mood.

  “You know, you never deserved to be a father,” I said, glaring down at the headstone. “But I’m so glad you were anyway, because somehow, despite all your insane shit, you raised an incredible son. That’s the only good thing you ever did, although I’m sure you can’t take too much credit for it. The team of nannies you hired for Elias when he was a child probably had more to do with it.”

  I sniffed derisively and stood. “One more thing,” I said, holding up a hand. “I’m sure you desperately want to know what’s happened to your money. So here it is. The stock prices of most of your family-owned companies totally crashed when the news of what you’d done came out, and most of your fortune was obliterated by that. Right now, there’s only two billion left, shared between a hundred direct family members. That sounds like an astronomical amount to me, but I know it’s mere pocket change to you.”

  I almost expected to hear a scraping sound as Tobias rolled over in his grave.

  “Here’s the best part. Elias used a substantial amount of his share of what was left to establish an organization which helps women escape violence and human trafficking. I’m guessing that’s literally your worst nightmare.” I smiled again. “Anyway, I have to go now. Don’t expect a visit from your son anytime soon. Or ever.”

  I turned around, stepping confidently through the cemetery. I didn’t look back.

  When I reached my parking space across the road, I noticed I had a text from Elias. Will you be home soon? The guy is coming to remove my ankle monitor in a few hours.

  I messaged back saying I’d be about fifteen minutes. Excitement bubbled up inside me as I headed down the tree-lined streets of New Marwick to the eclectic Victorian-style home Elias and I had moved into after the incident at the Lodge.

  Soon, for the first time in two years, both of us would finally be free at the same time.

  The files Greer released for us online included information on every single cover-up Tobias had ever engaged in, even those unrelated to Crown and Dagger. That meant everyone was now aware of the terrible car accident Elias was in when he was driving under the influence of drugs, along with the fact that Tobias had paid off the police and the family of the dead man to keep it all under wraps.

  Elias knew he’d get in trouble for it, but he didn’t mind. He said he deserved it, because he never should’ve gotten away with it in the first place. He was fined and sentenced to three years in a state prison, but due to the fact he’d helped take down Crown and Dagger and subsequently aided the task force with all their investigations, he’d been put on house arrest instead and had his sentence chopped in half too.

  He’d taken it well. Instead of moping and prowling around the house like a caged lion, he’d thrown himself into work and started the charity for victims of violence.

  Obviously he couldn’t do everything alone as he couldn’t leave the property, but my friend Willa had helped him out a lot. She’d been deeply affected by Crown and Dagger’s demise, given that her father was a top council member (completely unbeknownst to her and the rest of her family), and she felt a pressing need to help all the women he and his cronies had abused.

  When she wasn’t helping with the charity, she was busy finishing her commerce studies at Roden. I was there too. I hadn’t gone straight back after my rescue from the Lodge, because of all the media attention, but after six months I’d finally returned to my old journalism course.

  Roden itself had been affected by the scandal due to its historical ties with Crown and Dagger (the fact that the Dean was a council member didn’t help matters, either) and had dropped several places in the college rankings, but it was still a decent school, so I hadn’t wanted to change to another college. Besides, even though I didn’t live there anymore, it still felt like a lot like home to me when I wandered the leafy grounds and admired the hulking gray and brown Gothic buildings.

  Pri was back at Roden, too. I saw her nearly every day. My friend Katie had suggested we co-author a book about our experiences with Crown and Dagger and Pri loved the idea, so when we weren’t at home or attending classes, we were usually holed up in our favorite library, running through chapters or new ideas.

  Greer was no longer with us on campus, because she dropped out after writing and releasing the viral article. She’d immediately received a job offer from her favorite online magazine, and with her name on the byline of the biggest article to hit the world for decades, she could walk into any other writing job she might want for the rest of her life. So it wasn’t that she was afraid to be at Roden after using the student paper to help us—she simply didn’t want or need the degree anymore.

  I pulled up in my pebbled driveway and stepped into the house. “Elias, I’m back!” I called out.

  Silence.

  “You there?” I poked my head into his home office. It was empty.

  Figuring he might’ve gone upstairs to take a shower, I padded up to the second floor and headed down the hall so I could sneak in and join him. The paned window at the end of the hallway had dark gray curtains drawn over it, making the wide space dim, but a candle was burning on an accent table a few feet ahead, throwing slivers of flickering light onto the shadowy floor.

  As my footsteps echoed on the floorboards, a realization dawned on me. There were two sets of echoes. Someone was following me down the hall.

  Just as I turned to see who it was, a hand clamped over my mouth and a strong arm went around my hips, gripping me so tightly I could barely breathe. “Tatum Marris. I finally got you,” hissed a deep masculine voice.

  I let out a muffled moan under my assailant’s hand and shook my head, trying to free myself so I could cry out for help. My hands were clenched in a rigor-mortis like grip as my heart pounded frantically, and I finally managed to wrench my head away and let out a scream.

  “Get away from me!” I shrieked.

  “No. You left the door unlocked when you left,” came the voice in my ear again. “You practically invited me in, little whore.”

  “My… my boyfriend is here. He’ll find you any second,” I said, every inch of me trembling.

  A low chuckle. “You’re wrong. We’re all alone in here. Just you and me in the dark,” the man growled. “You’re all mine now, Doll.”

  Elias spun me around and pushed me up against the wall. I gasp
ed and hid my smile, struggling like a wildcat as he held me firmly against the wood panels.

  Even after everything I’d gone through in the past, my dark fantasies hadn’t changed, and I still liked an element of fear in my love life. The thought of a big strong man grabbing me, commanding me, and owning me made my knees weak and my toes curl. But only if it was Elias. I loved giving up all control to him. Loved letting him treat me like a toy. Submitting to his will was the only way I ever truly felt complete.

  I still liked to challenge him and fight him, though. Keep him on his toes. That way he’d punish me for my insubordination, which I not-so-secretly wanted.

  I’d always loved his punishments. Last week he made me press my naked body up against the glass of a picture window upstairs while he spanked and fucked me from behind in full view of multiple passersby on the beach below our house, one hand wrapped around my throat. The humiliation of being watched by the gaping strangers turned me on like nothing else, and by the time he was done with me, I was a hot, sopping mess.

  “What are you going to do to me?” I asked, eyes wide.

  “Only what you deserve,” he said huskily, tearing my long coat and dress off. His eyes narrowed. “I fucking knew it. No bra or panties.”

  I shivered under his dark gaze, goosebumps peppering my skin. He shoved his pants down, freeing his erection before grabbing my arms and pinning them above my head on the wall behind me. I moaned as he kissed and bit my neck like a famished man, working me into a gasping frenzy.

  Elias drew back a moment later and pulled something from his pocket. A black silk rope. He fastened my hands to the small frame of a light fixture above my head, and then he strode over to the accent table and picked up the candle.

  “Close your eyes, Doll,” he growled.

  “What are you going to do?” I asked, my captive body trembling.

  “You already asked that, and I already answered,” he said, narrowing his eyes and tilting my chin farther up. “You’re getting what you deserve. That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

  “Yes.”

  He planted a bruising kiss on my lips before speaking again. “Then do as I say. Close your eyes.”

  I shut my eyes and waited, naked chest rising and falling with heavy breaths of anticipation. A surprised scream tore from my mouth only seconds later. Elias had tilted the candle near my breasts and was letting the hot wax spill onto my bare skin.

  I felt his hot breath on my left ear. “You know I like hearing that, Doll. Do it again. Scream for me.”

  He poured another drop of wax on me. This one hit my abdomen and slid down it in a scorching rivulet until it cooled and hardened below my bellybutton. I did as Elias commanded and screamed for him again, squirming as a heated pressure built in my core. His torture always did this to me, the mixture of panic and pain igniting a firestorm of pleasure deep inside.

  More wax landed on my nipples, making me shriek louder, and then I moaned to Elias, begging for more. “Please… do it again!”

  Each drip of candlewax was followed by a crushing kiss or hard nibble on the side of my neck. I gasped and writhed against Elias until I was nothing but a quivering mess, crying out for more pleasure. More pain. “Oh, please…”

  “I know what you want, little slut. Beg for it,” Elias growled in my ear, one hand groping my ass, fingertips digging in hard.

  “I want you inside me. I want you to hurt me. I need it. Please!”

  He dropped the candle, forced my thighs apart and sank two fingers into my slick entrance. I spread my legs even wider, as far as my body allowed, demanding him to touch me. Fill me. Claim me.

  I groaned as his fingers slid in and out of me in a ruthless glide, the tip of his thumb flicking my clit. “This is what you want?” he asked. His voice was thick with lust.

  “More,” I gasped out, vibrating with violent need. “Please, I want your cock. Now.”

  He withdrew his fingers and teased my clit with a rough rub of his shaft. Then he slung both arms around me and lifted me up. I gasped and wrapped my legs around his waist as he pushed inside me. When he was all the way in, he circled his hips torturously slowly, making me whimper as I waited for more.

  He began to pump hard and deep, so fast I knew it wouldn’t be long until I fell apart in his arms. I clung to him desperately, biting my bottom lip to stop myself from coming. I wasn’t allowed to without permission.

  Elias groaned as he filled me again, slamming my back up against the wall. “You feel that, Doll?”

  “Yes,” I moaned as tremors began to shake every inch of me. I was oh-so close to the edge, and he knew it.

  “I’m the only one who can do that to you,” he growled, slowing his movements to short, steady thrusts as he denied my orgasm and kept me dangling right off the edge. His breathing was labored. “You belong to me. Your mind. Your body. Your heart.”

  “I know,” I said, my voice a desperate whimper. “Please let me come. Please.”

  “Tell me you love me.”

  “I love you,” I gasped. “Only you. Always.”

  I wasn’t just saying it so he’d let me come. I loved him just as much as I did when I first fell for him a year and a half ago. He was still the only man for me.

  Elias tightened his iron grip around me and growled a command in my ear. “Come with me.”

  I clutched his shirt, my eyes flying open as I careened over the edge. My climax slammed through me, making my pussy ache blissfully as the heated pleasure radiated out from my clit. Every muscle clenched, gripping Elias until he groaned and stopped moving, his cock pulsing inside me as he filled me up like I so desperately wanted.

  In the same moment he put me down, the doorbell sounded from downstairs. I giggled as Elias slapped my ass. “You better get dressed and clean yourself up.”

  “Don’t you want the guy to see me naked and dripping with cum when he removes your ankle monitor?” I teased.

  He grinned and slapped my ass again, making me squeal. “Get out of here. And remember, I’m taking you out to dinner as soon as I’ve signed the papers and officially become a free man.”

  I nodded. “I know. I can’t wait.” A devious smile crossed my face. “Although it’s been nice having you here as my captive all these months. A little bit of payback.”

  Before he could chase me and spank me for saying such a thing, I darted down the hall to our bathroom.

  When I was dressed and ready (and still not wearing any panties beneath my new dress) I met Elias by the front door. He grinned as I approached. “That dress...” he said slowly, admiring the way the tight fabric clung to my ass along with the low dip at the front which displayed a perfect amount of cleavage. “How am I supposed to concentrate on dinner when that’s in my face? I want to fucking eat you instead.”

  I smiled playfully. “You could always get down on your knees and crawl under the table at the restaurant.”

  “I might just have to.” He winked and opened the door. “Let’s go.”

  When we were in the car, he turned to me. “Mind if we make a quick stop at Roden? Willa has some files she wants to give me, and it’s on our way so she asked me to meet her there and get them.”

  “Sure.”

  We arrived at the campus fifteen minutes later. I trailed my hand along a neatly-trimmed hedge as Elias led me past the Law Library. “Can you believe I’ll be graduating in just over a year?” I said.

  Elias turned his head and grinned. “Yeah, I can. You’ve done classes in every study trimester since you went back. I’m surprised they haven’t thrown your degree at you and kicked you out already.”

  I laughed. A few minutes later, we arrived at a large gray medieval-inspired building. Bamford, my old residential college.

  “Why are we here?” I asked, brows knitted.

  “This is where Willa asked me to meet her.”

  We headed inside. Willa was sitting on a wooden bench in the foyer. Her eyes lit up when she saw us. “Tatum, you look amazing!” she sa
id. “You have to tell me where you got that dress.”

  “Thanks!” I replied, giving her a hug. “I got it online. I’ll send you the link later.”

  “Cool.” She turned to Elias. “I left the box of files in the Buttery. Could you go and get it yourself? I really need to run. I have to get this paper to my professor before the deadline, which is in…” She glanced at her rose gold watch. “Fifteen minutes.”

  “Sure.”

  Willa grinned and dashed off. I followed Elias down the hall and down a short flight of stairs which led into my old favorite haunt, the Bamford Buttery. Now that I wasn’t living on campus, I didn’t come here as often, which was a shame because my favorite food in the world could be found right here.

  I stopped short when Elias flung the door open. The room was devoid of other people and filled with flowers and candles. The wooden bench seats and tables had been taken out, and all that remained was a small square table in the center with two chairs on either side of it. Two champagne glasses sat upon the white tablecloth, along with another candle and a small vase of pink carnations.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, turning my curious gaze to Elias.

  “I know how much you love the hot buttered lobster rolls from here, and I wanted a quiet night for us. Usually when we go out, we get recognized. Won’t happen if we have this whole place to ourselves.”

  “I see.” I tilted my head to the side, a slow smile spreading across my face. “There is no file, is there? Willa helped you set this up so you could get me in here without suspecting the surprise.”

  Elias held up his hands. “You got me. No file. Tonight’s all about you, baby girl."

  I reached up to give him a hug, sighing happily as I breathed in the woody scent of his cologne. “Thank you. This is amazing.”

  He led me to my seat, and a chef appeared from a doorway a moment later. The delicious scent of butter and lobster filled my nostrils as he set two plates down before us and quietly departed. I groaned with pleasure as I took a bite of my roll. “This is literally the perfect date,” I said after I’d swallowed my mouthful. “I’ve been craving one of these for weeks now. So badly.”