Page 46 of Dark & Deceitful

“I need this.” He whispers a breath before sealing the soft warmth of his lips over mine. The kiss is sweet. It’s perfection. It’s Hell. But I’m far too drunk on expensive wine to care.

Dark’s touch lingers for what feels like forever. His breath fans my face, scented with beer. Turning into him, I rest my palm on his thick pec, and he groans as if it’s painful to be touched.

Neither of us move.

Neither of us press for more.

It’s us and the kiss.

Simple.

My heart thuds harder and harder as a murder of crows takes flight in my belly. Dark’s hand presses my shoulder, and I gasp at the simple touch, breaking the spell. Noises flood back in of moans and groans, happy chatter, and knives scraping plates.

Dark hums in deep contentment as he draws away, lids heavy, wearing the sexiest, lopsided, punch-drunk grin I’ve ever beheld.

And I’m done for.

That smile.

Those impossibly beautiful eyes.

My resolve crumbles to ash at my feet, and I let him touch, kiss, and feed me. We’ve played this game of cat and mouse for hours, and this mouse is exhausted.

He wins.

I give up.

After the pool, I collected my things from my stateroom to bring to his and changed into another dress, a white virginal-looking baby doll style with poofy sleeves. He swapped out his messy suit for a green Henley and dark denim jeans. We’ve been inseparable since. I sat at his feet during a poker game andcurled in his lap over drinks with the men. Now we’re back in the dining room, no longer an employee but his plaything.

Romeo served filet mignon for dinner with a fancy, buttery, garlicky potato masterpiece and a side of asparagus. One plate for us both. Unlike the others, Dark is happy to share. Because, unlike the others, he also gives a genuine shit about me. Which is odd when you think about it, given our unusual relationship.

When he returned from his run with Lily and Abby in tow, nothing stopped him from moving on with his life, moving somewhere else, starting a new family, and never looking back. Men do that. Make new lives with new women. But he didn’t. He moved two houses down and tried to be a father to the boys and a friend to me. Even if he’s annoying sometimes, that doesn’t stop it from being true. All my stereotypical male household needs are met between him and Sunshine—roof repairs, car maintenance, lawn mowing, gutter cleaning, and even raking leaves in the fall. I don’t have to ask. It just gets done. Just as I don’t have to ask for my wine to be replenished as the vicious Maxim Drake snaps his fingers, and just like that, my cup is refilled by Romeo, who refuses to look at me out of anger or something else entirely. I guess I’ll never know.

When the lithe, blond sous chef I saw Romeo screwing pauses at our side of the table, Dark asks me, “Are you full, babe?”

I nod, melting into him, letting him hold my weight.

“We’re done.” Dark swishes his hand for the sous chef to collect our plate.

Across from us, the gray-haired man Dark was chatting with at the bar fucks his dark-haired pet over the table. Her bare tits bounce with each thrust, and I stiffen at the closeness of their debauchery. I’ve never been one to participate in public sex. Not that I care if anyone else does. It’s Darmond’s kink,and something tells me it’s one of the many reasons these men purchase women from him the way they do.

My ex grips my chin and forces me to look at him. “Eyes on me.”

I want to ask why, though it’s not like it matters. I’ve seen sex parties before over the past month, maybe not this close, but on the periphery of Mr. Cassiano’s weekend gatherings.

“Has anyone ever told you, you have a perfect body?” Dark asks, and I blush. I know it’s because it’s unexpected, but my eyes widen in surprise anyhow, and he chuckles.

“No?” he prompts, waggling his dark brows. “Well, whoever you’ve been with before was a dumb fool for ever letting you slip away.”

He’s not wrong. He was a dumb fool.

“I didn’t slip,” I remind him.

“No?”

I shake my head. “Nope. He cheated.”

“Idiot.” Dark huffs, smirking like a sex symbol.

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