Page 17 of Unwillingly His

“Okay, please allow me to pay for tea. It’s only fair since I occupied the conversation.” Just like that, I was back in a good mood and remembered the social graces I was raised into.

“Thank you,” the others said as I handed my black Amex to the white-gloved waiter.

Feeling a little stronger and ignoring thoughts of Lucian touching me and the wetness between my thighs that those thoughts brought, I was able to refocus on the conversation at hand.

Charlotte was shopping for a new home for her and her husband, and there were so many choices: the Upper West Side, trendy areas like SoHo, or maybe even some grand estate just outside the city.

We laughed at the notion of living outside the city until we saw the dreaminess in Charlotte’s eyes when she mentioned having a cozy place with a big kitchen to indulge her new cooking hobby.

Charlotte looked so smitten. I couldn’t even begrudge her happiness, even when it cost me my family and freedom.

“Ma’am.” The waiter had come back, standing next to the table awkwardly looking at the floor, a blush staining his cheeks.

“Yes?” I asked.

“I’m terribly sorry, but your card was declined.” He took out a large pair of gleaming silver sheers and cut my black Amex in half.

The entire dining room gasped as they unabashedly watched my embarrassment.

I could feel the beady little eyes of every woman taking in each detail so they could tell the stories to their friends and destroy my reputation for sport.

“There has to be some mistake,” I fumed as I gathered the pieces of black plastic off the pristine white tablecloth.

“No, ma’am,” the waiter said. “If you cannot provide a valid form of payment, we will have no choice but to call the police.”

CHAPTER 9

LUCIAN

“The credit cards are cancelled. The bank accounts have been placed in your name as trustee of the estate. The remaining assets will be under the umbrella of the trust within the next thirty days,” my financial manager said over the phone.

I leaned back in my leather home office chair, enjoying the satisfaction of a plan coming together.

Stella would have to beg me for everything from this point forward. The only question now was how long it would take for her to realize it.

I checked my watch.

Perhaps I would have her on her knees by evening.

An intriguing thought.

Having her on her knees—begging.

There was something about her needing me that made my cock swell with interest.

Usually the idea of anyone needing me made my skin crawl. Men like me did not claw their way to the top and hold on to their empires with an iron fist by putting other people’s needs above their own.

I pushed the images of Stella on her knees, with her big eyes filled with tears and her lips stretched around my shaft, out of my head.

There was more work to be done.

The house and other assets were going to take a bit of time, but with her liquid assets transferred, I now had control over her spending.

I told her she was going to have to ask permission even to buy a cup of coffee, and I meant it.

My office door slammed open.

Expectation hardened my cock.

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