“Royal, no,” I cry, twisting around to see him finish slicing the letter into my skin, anRcarved into me in front of theDthat Duke burned into me.
“You said you were mine,” he says. “To do with as I please.”
He pulls out of me and slides down the bed, his hands cradling my hips as his mouth meets my skin. I gasp at the stinging sensation when his tongue strokes over the cut. He moans, running his tongue slowly over the sliced skin. He gives a little suck, and I cry out in pain. He moans again, sucking harder.
“Royal, stop,” I gasp, tears of pain stinging my eyes.
He leans up on his elbows, wiping away the fresh blood with his fingers. Then he sinks his hand between my legs, pushing his bloody fingers into me.
“I thought you were tough,” he says, a taunt in his voice. “You can handle a little cut, can’t you?”
I bite my lip and nod, and he lowers his mouth to the wound again, sucking at it while his bloody fingers pump into me. I don’t know why it hurts so much, but I have to bite down on the pillow to keep from sobbing aloud. After a while, he slides back up the bed, lying on my back.
“Even your blood tastes sweet, my little Cherry Pie,” he says, kissing my shoulder blade.
He’s hard again, and he pulls his fingers out and wipes more blood on them, then strokes it over his shaft to get it wet before pushing inside me, in the front this time.
“Fuck,” he breathes. “I’m going to like having you in my bed every night.”
A tear leaks from the corner of my eye, but I lie still and give myself over to him, let him use me like his plaything. The sensation on his bare, slick cock pumping into me while I lie still is so familiar I don’t even know I’m slipping away until he pulls out and flips me over, throwing me roughly onto my back.
“Harper,” he says, grabbing my chin in his hand. His eyes are blazing, heating my frozen soul.
“Royal,” I say, touching his cheek softly.
“Cum with me,” he whispers. He pushes back into me, gently this time, and coaxes another climax from me before he finishes. Then he wraps his arms around me and rolls us onto our sides, arranging the pillows for both of us.
“You okay?” he asks, smoothing my hair back from my cheek.
“Yeah,” I say. “I’m fine.”
And I am. He’s rough with me, but that’s just who he is, how he is. I like it, maybe even need it.
“You can stay here as long as you need,” he says. “Until you graduate, if you want.”
I nod, my mind already racing with possibilities. “Thank you,” I say. “And for what you did for my mom… You’re giving me too much, Royal.”
“She’s family.”
“Does that excuse everything?” I ask.
“No,” he says, scowling. “It doesn’t excuse anything. But that doesn’t mean we can’t get her help when she needs it.”
“And what about your family?” I ask carefully. I’m already thinking how I can leverage this into something big, get something on his dad that will ruin him once and for all.
“I don’t make excuses for them, either.”
“So, you’ll protect your brothers from your dad, even though you don’t excuse what they’ve done?”
“Yes.”
“What about your dad?” I ask. “Why should you have to protect his own children from him? Especially because you’re one of those kids.”
“Who else is going to do it?” he asks, glowering at the wall.
“What if you didn’t have to protect them?” I ask, tracing my fingers down the front of his white t-shirt. “What if you didn’t have to worry about him or live with him even though you’re eighteen?”
“Nineteen.”