Page 24 of Handsome Devil

“Not all who wander are lost.”

Still, I was short of breath. No amount of oxygen was enough to satisfy my burning lungs.

It had been eight hours since I last went through my rituals.

Two, six, two.

Two, six, two.

Two, six, two.

Going a few hours without solving mathematical problems, without sanitizing, without reading my favorite paragraphs, made me feel suffocated and out of control.

I cracked open a thick abstract algebra book. I grabbed a pen and started solving equations.

Math soothed me. It turned off all the other thoughts swirling in my head. Usually, I concluded every waking hour of my day with at least one or two pages of equations. But that hadn’t been possible today.

When I didn’t have my routine, I wasn’t thinking straight. I made mistakes.

Which was how I ended up engaged to my fucking PA.

I didn’t want to marry Gia. I wanted to ruin her.

Now I could do both. After all, Ididneed a successor. Someone to inherit this empire of ruins.

I couldn’t think of a better candidate than my PA.

Beautiful. Intelligent. Capable.

Insufferable.

But my reason for loathing her was entirely independent from who she was as a person. I was a pragmatic man. I could make the distinction.

Yes, she’d do. I’d simply have to get rid of her once she stopped being useful to me. Just like the others.

I’d keep the children. Get full custody.

I was too rich to contemplate any other outcome.

I finished one page. Then another. My handwriting was neat, my pen steady. The tension slowly rolled off my shoulders. As I solved math problems, my thoughts unfurled.

Why did I do that? Why did I ask her to marry me? I could’ve just fucked her.

But no. That wouldn’t be enough.

I didn’t want one night with her. I wanted all her nights. Her days too.

And I wanted to stop competing for her time with random fuckboys from dating apps.

I wanted to finally consume her in the same way she consumed me. To drag her with me to the dark rabbit hole that was my existence. Make her pay for what she did all those years ago.

I could worship her body and disparage her soul. I would finally treat her as she deserved to be treated—another warm, willing pussy that would do anything to get my last name and access to my wallet.

The wench had always been beautiful, but tonight, she was mesmerizing. And when she solved that math problem…when she put the pen down before her ten seconds were up…

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath.

My cock stiffened in my pants.