She shakes her head. “No. You can’t tell anyone about us—”
“I’m not. All you have to do is wear this.” I reach into my pocket and take out a collar, placing it on her lap.
I took it off Lacey this morning, so I could wrap my hand around her throat while I pounded her pussy raw before mass. From behind, Lacey is the double of Bella, hence why I asked the girls to initiate her. If she doesn’t speak—and she couldn’t while her face was shoved into a seating cushion—I can almost imagine it was Bella I was slamming from behind. Lacey could hardly walk when I left her in the vestry. It was only when I sat down to join the service did I notice I still had Lacey’s collar in my pocket. I’ll have to give it back to her when I see her later.
For now, it serves a purpose.
Arabella stares at the leather dog collar, complete with a dog tag. I can imagine the guys’ shit-eating grins when they see her wearing it. They fucking love that the girls wrap them around their pretty necks as a mark of ownership to me. We never asked the groupies who trawl after us all around the school to do so. It was their idea to set them apart from the rest. There’s even an initiation they make new girls go through, like Lacey, to be privileged enough to wear one.
It’s fucking stupid, but I play along.
Why the fuck not.
That place is tedious otherwise.
And this will make it even more interesting.
Arabella’s brow furrows. “No, I’m not wearing it.” She drags her gaze away from the collar to look at me. “Everyone knows what that means.”
“Exactly,” I say, taking a swig of my drink.
When the waiter comes,I order us another bottle of Krug, and I take Arabella by the hand and guide her out onto one of the balconies overlooking Hyde Park.
“Oh wow, so beautiful,” she says.
London at night is lit up like a fucking Christmas tree, reminding me that in less than two months, I’ll be at Courchevel for the annual family holiday. I say nothing and open the Krug instead.
“Penny for your thoughts?”
I shift my gaze to the sound of Arabella’s voice. She’s still wearing that hideous mask. I never bothered wearing one. I need everyone to know who I am. But it annoys the fuck out of me that she doesn’t want to be seen as my date. Even if I know that it’s because she’s afraid, I’m still pissed.
Ignoring her question, I top up her glass and then set the bottle down. One glance around is enough to tell me no one is watching us. We are surrounded by people here, but on this balcony, it’s as though we’re alone.
I reach to take off her mask.
She steps back, out of reach. “Rome, what are you doing?”
“This needs to come off. I don’t want to look at it anymore.” The fact that she used the shortened version of my name like she did two years ago has me wanting to fucking kiss her already.
“No, someone will see.”
I raise a brow. “There’s fucking no one here, so come back here and let me take it off.”
She grimaces but doesn’t stop me from undoing its ties and tossing it to the ground. As soon as I take her in full, wearing that barely-there dress I requested especially, I want her. And some part of me has known since the moment I met her, sitting in that birdcage, that she was always going to be mine.
I pull her closer. She teeters on her heels until she’s in my arms. She opens her mouth to say something, but I don’t want to fucking hear it. I steal her words with my mouth on hers. She tastes like sweet wine and smells fucking divine. She’s hesitant at first, but then her inhibitions fall away, and it’s like it was before.
She moans as I lick her luscious lips and bite her throat, kissing all the way down to her clavicle.
“I’ve fucking missed you,” I murmur in her ear as I bite the lobe.
“I’ve missed you too,” she admits.
I knew getting her away from Reynard was all I needed to get her to open up again. I knew she was afraid. But I don’t fucking care anymore. And I need her to not care either.
I slip my hand between her warm thighs. She doesn’t try to stop me, but she does stiffen. Then I brush my fingers against her damp panties, making her quiver.
“Relax, little mouse,” I say in a low voice. “My little Bella.”