Devil's Captive (Fallen Dynasty 1)

“No,” I replied with a smirk. “But other people do. I’m sure you’ll learn why soon enough.”

I let go of her chin, and she let out the smallest of gasps when my fingers stopped touching her. It made my cock throb in my pants.

I took my seat across the table from her again, pulling a briefcase onto my lap and opening it, smoothing the buttery leather.

“Before we eat,” I began. “We’re going to have to make sure you understand the rules.”

“Rules?” Violet raised her eyebrows at me. “I’m eighteen now, Devlin. I don’t need house rules.”

“You do in my house,” I informed her. “And if you want me to treat you right, you’ll obey every single one. You don’t want to get thrown out on your first day, do you, Violet?”

She stayed quiet, and I rewarded her with a saccharine smile.

“Don’t think I haven’t made sure you have nowhere else to go,” I told her. “I’m guessing your dear sister didn’t jump to your help, and brother dearest is still long lost?”

Once again, I was met by silence, and I sighed, pulling a file from my briefcase.

“You don’t have to talk to me, princess,” I told Violet. “Just sign on the dotted line so we can move on.”

I slid the papers over the table to her, along with a pen with the engraved message of Property of Devlin Windsor. Just like Violet would be once she signed the contract.

“What is this?” she asked, the suspicion obvious in her voice as she started looking at the papers, turning the pages. “What the hell is this, Devlin? It doesn’t make any sense.”

I reveled in the paleness of her face, the redness emerging in her décolletage. I took my time admiring her sexy little form in a cute, pleated pink off-the-shoulder dress that revealed her slender shoulders. I was certain she wasn’t wearing a bra, and when she pushed her long, dark hair onto her back, I was rewarded with a view of her hardening nipples under the fabric of her dress.

Holy shit, I thought to myself. I want to fucking devour her.

I kept my thoughts to myself, reaching for the glass of wine I’d poured myself and taking sip after sip of the well-rested, dark red liquid. Violet got paler and paler as she pored over the many pages of the contract.

“My lawyer should probably look this over,” she finally managed, looking up at me with contempt in her eyes. “You know, make sure you aren’t taking advantage of me.”

“Your lawyer?” I asked, laughing out loud. “Good luck finding someone who’ll work for you, princess. And better yet, good luck finding the money to pay for their service.”

“You can’t just expect me to blindly sign a document like this!”

Her little outburst was adorable, and I grinned at her, both of us knowing she didn’t have a choice in the matter.

“This… this here,” she muttered, her finger shaking as she pointed to a clause in the contract. “This says I’m going to get punished if I’m disobedient.”

“That’s right,” I replied smoothly. “You can’t expect me to put up with bad behavior, princess. I’m not going to find excuses for your mistakes like Daddy did.”

She blushed fiercely, glaring at me from her seat.

“What about this, then?” she asked, turning the page and pointing to another wall of text. “No masturbation? That’s crazy, Devlin. You can’t control… you can’t control that aspect of my life!”

I pushed the papers back at her, making sure to look right into her eyes as I muttered, “Sweetheart, I’m going to control every aspect of your life once you sign this.”

I watched the tears gathering in the corners of her eyes. Her bottom lip wobbled, and I really thought she was going to start crying on me, but she bit her lips and stopped the tears from coming. She raised her head instead, meeting my eyes with braveness I hadn’t expected from her.

“What do I get in return?” she questioned boldly. “What do I get for giving all of this up?”

“That’s simple,” I replied, shrugging and grinning at her. “The way I see it, you’re part of a fallen dynasty now, Violet. And I’m one of the only men in the world who can restore the life you used to have. I can give you all of it back… Every little bit of the money you had, the reputation, the rich friends, the lavish parties. I’ll do my best to give that to you.”

Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“How are you going to do that?”

“First,” I responded. “I’m going to get your dad out of prison and prove he’s innocent.”

“How?” she asked. “Can you really do that?”

She was leaning forward, hanging on my every word, even though she was trying hard to hide her desperation. But I could see right through her. Always could.