Page 130 of Ink Deep Devotion

“Pictures.” I reply sternly.“I need my enemies to think you mean nothing. That some whore on the side means more to me.” My exhale pains me as I lower my eyes.

She looks sharply out to the calm ocean like a fish breaking through the surface.

“It won’t be real.”Why did I tell her that?

“At first.” She mutters.

“I never cheated then, nor will I now.”

Her eyes turn into slits.

“I’m not blaming you.”

“Wow,” she snorts,“Thanks for that. I should thank you for killing Dom, too, shouldn’t I? And maybe I should thank you in advance; we all know I pick the bad ones, so while you’re off pretending to fuck the world, maybe I will be too, and then you’ll have to come and kill the line of men I shared my bed with.”

She wants me to react. To grab her and claim her.

“That would help sell our story better.” I agree.

Her fight wavers as tears try to flee her hazel eyes.“A story. That’s all this ever was. A closing chapter. Well, if it’s a story, then I deserve a happy ending.” Her voice is so delicate that I have to lean closer to hear her.“A fairy tale. And you will give it to me, Dash King.”

I shift from foot to foot, the sand tries to grab my heels, sucking them under the cool ground.

“I would have stood by your side through the thickest of evil and the thinnest of light,” Mila stresses as she comes to stand toe to toe with me.“but you’d never let me, so you’ll face it all alone.” Her hazel eyes glaze over as do mine. Tears that I blink away.

Only she has the power to make me feel everything, ungodly amounts of suffering.

“Let’s get this over with.” I wave the priest over.

“No.” She grabs my hand, her fingers trembling like a twig on the verge of snapping.“If you’re going to shatter my dreams, then at least let me dream. One night is all I’m asking for. One night where you love me.”

My hands grow sweaty as I look at where she grasps me.“I’ll marry you because I love you. After this, you will take me to a room and make love to me.” She demands. The priest clears his throat and looks away again.“You owe me that memory, even if it’s fake and forced. I want the fake memory that you loved me, made love to me, and told me you loved me on our wedding day.” Her eyes narrow, forcing her tears back in.“You owe me that.”

I owe you so much more.

I wish she fought harder, but watching her bend a knee to my demands shatters the last piece of me that remains whole.

She never looked at me like I was a monster.

She does now.

A dip of my chin is all I can respond with.

Mila is the perfect performer. We finish the ceremony, and she even poses for the numerous photographers I paid to be here—pictures I will have sent off to the rest of the world before I even see them. Within the coming weeks, I’ll make sure to be photographed with other women so my enemies know the wedding is a sham I was forced into.

I don’t give a shit if they call me a player or a cheat. It will keep Mila safe.

I follow behind her as she leads the way to my room. Her long, silky dress hugs her hips, making the tips of my fingers jealous of the fabric.

“Undress me.” She orders. I oblige. I’ll give her the power, if only for one night.

My fingers take their time untying the knots, then the hooks, and finally, the zipper. The curve of her spine now fills my eyes, the tiny groove where my fingers love to settle when I’m buried deep inside her. Each time she moaned or called my name, it was like the stroke of paint on a canvas. With each blink of her eye and the parting of her lips, I mentally drew and remembered. That kept me going when I was in Initiation 101, and it would have to be enough to last a lifetime apart now.

“I want to believe it,” she mutters dryly.“Make me think you mean it when you tell me you love me.”

“I do love you.”

“You always were the best liar. I actually feel like you mean it, but you’re a king; you feel nothing, only the weight of the crown you're too scared to remove from your head, isn't that right? Don't answer that. Keep feeding me all those lies. This is my happy ending, not yours."

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