Falling for the Villain

“We can’t live without you,” she uttered above a whisper.

“And I can’t breathe without you.”

Gazing up, I narrowed my eyes at her. “This is me, kneeling at your altar, worshipping you, adoring you, and begging you to forgive me for ever hurting you.”

“You betrayed me. How could you do that to me?” She was eerily calm despite the tears running down her face.

“I had to let you go.”

“Why?”

“Because it was the only way to set you free.” From me. From the darkness. From the past. From everything.

“But I’m here now. To fight for you!” she yelled.

I kissed her stomach again. “I know. It was the main reason I gave you back.”

Juliet sighed and lowered her head. “I don’t understand.”

“I needed you to come back to me of your own free will, or else I would have never been able to let go of the fact that I had you taken for me.” Stolen her, kidnapped her, made her cry.

She winced, taking in the sincerity of my voice.

I laid all my cards on the table, unable to do anything else but bow before my queen. “Here I am, pet. Showing you my ultimate weakness. It’s always been you, Juliet.”

“Were you going to tell me the truth about my mother?”

I shook my head.

“Do you want me because I remind you of her?” She looked away, killing my soul in the process.

After I gathered my thoughts, I answered, “I couldn’t help but be drawn to you from the first time I watched you play the piano. Your white dress, your hair pulled back, you came to life on that bench with your fingers over the keys.”

Tears slid down her face, knowing exactly the moment I was referring to. All I wanted to do was reach forward and lick them all away.

She’d been so innocent.

So pure.

So beautiful.

So mine.

I’d needed her like I needed air. There was no going back after that moment in time.

No regrets.

Only Juliet Sinacore.

“From that day forward, pet. I thought about you, and I knew that I would eventually have you. It didn’t matter how fucked up the situation would be; there was no going back for me. I waited and waited and waited for what felt like an eternity. Until finally, you were mine.”

“Donovan…” She wept, her lips trembling.

Her eyes showed so many different emotions it was almost hard to keep up.

“You’re not my slave, Juliet. You’re nothing like the women I’ve trained. You’re strong, resilient. Of all the things you’ve been through because of me, you’ve become this life force. I showed you my hell, and here you are burning with me. I’ve never met anyone like you before. You were made for me, Juliet.”

She took a deep breath, wiping away all the tears that stained her cheeks.

“You don’t owe me anything. I’m fully aware of that, pet. But you need to know the truth. I owe you that and so much more.” It was my turn to take a deep breath. “I fucking love you. Do you understand me? Do you understand how bad that is for a man like me? For the first time in my life, I need someone. You.”

She broke down as if overwhelmed by her emotions, by the moment.

I pulled her into my arms, holding her so tight it hurt to breathe.

Longing to feel her, hold her, comfort her.

Fucking love her.

It took everything inside of me not to throw her over my shoulder and drag her onto the bed with me. Again, it needed to be her choice. I couldn’t make decisions for her anymore. I took one last look at her.

Silently praying…

She’d let me have my way with her.

Let me, for the first time, love her completely, fully, without reservations, without fear.

Her eyes were shining so bright. Her soft, silky hair was down, blowing in the wind from outside. She was wearing a cream flowing dress that wrapped around each delicious curve, and I wanted to rip it off her.

My cock fucking twitched at the sight of her in my arms like it always did. Because she was mine, my Juliet, my sonnet, my melody, my heart.

The feel of her.

The smell of her.

Overwhelming.

Addicting.

Calming.

She straddled my waist, wrapping her arms around me too.

“I love you, Juliet. I love you so much it terrifies me.”

“I know. I love you too. I love you so much it hurts.” More tears streamed down her face. “It hurts everywhere.”

“You’re even more breathtaking than I remember. Show me, Juliet, show me your pain so I can be the one to fix it.”

I was relentless, angry, needy. Especially when I wanted something, there was no stopping me. I was insatiable. My hands immediately traveled up her thighs, feeling the scars of what Troy did to her.

“Don’t,” she murmured, knowing what I was thinking and how I wished he was alive only to kill him again.