Page 43 of Sacred Vow
CAESAR
M y hand drops to Tilly’s lower back as I walk her through the entrance of her apartment complex.
It’s well after two in the morning, and she’s exhausted, but she should be.
She had one hell of a night. Tilly was a superstar, and watching her come apart over and over again was easily the best thing I’ve ever seen.
There’s no doubt about it, Tilly Bardot is fucking ravishing. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.
Her legs shake on the stairs, and while it fills me with pride, I can’t stand the idea of her losing her footing and falling. “You okay?” I question, just moments from scooping her into my arms and carrying her the rest of the way.
“Yeah,” she says, leaning into my side. “I just need to get inside and crash. Maybe eat something too. I’ve never been so hungry. Who would have known that coming eight times with three different men would have worked up such an appetite?”
“It was nine,” I inform her. “And considering the night you just had, I’m surprised you didn’t have me stopping for takeout on the way home.”
“Trust me, I considered it. We went past three burger places and a Chick-Fil-A, and if I weren’t so tired, I would have demanded you stop to feed me. I swear, I think my stomach is starting to eat itself.”
We reach the top of the stairs, and I make a mental note to see about having an elevator installed in her apartment complex.
After all, I can’t have her battling these stairs if we’re going to continue fucking like rabbits the way we’ve been doing.
The stairs are a safety hazard. Though, perhaps a brand-new apartment would be better, something much closer to my place.
She’s almost wrapping up her college degree.
Graduation is right around the corner, so I’m sure she’ll be thinking about moving anyway.
I’m busy running through the best apartment complexes near my place when a sound from down the hall has us both glancing up.
I find a woman sneaking out of an apartment, and judging by the way her clothes are falling off her body and she grips a pair of heels, I can only assume she’s doing the walk of shame.
Hearing us in the hallway, her head snaps up, her eyes wide as she sucks in a breath, but realizing we’re not ax murderers lingering in the hallway, she visibly relaxes.
She gives Tilly an awkward smile before shifting her gaze to me, starting low and sweeping right up my body until finally coming to a stop on my face. Her jaw loosens, and she lets out a low breath. “Shit, girl,” she says as we pass by. “Your dad is hot.”
Fuck me.
Tilly laughs, and I slide my hand lower, taking a handful of her ass and squeezing tight. “Your father wouldn’t do that now, would he?”
“Oh my god,” she groans, shoving at my chest. “I don’t even know how to respond without grossing myself out.”
Reaching her apartment, I take her keys out of her hand before opening the door, and as she walks in, I find myself following her and welcoming myself into her home.
I close the door behind me, and before I even get a chance to look around, Tilly is already half-naked and making her way into the bathroom.
She turns on the shower, not bothering to shut the door, and honestly, I like how comfortable she feels with me. Though, after what we just did, it wouldn’t make any sense for her to feel shy.
I know I should leave and give her the chance to wind down, but I can’t bring myself to walk back out the door, and as she quickly showers, I find myself hovering in her kitchen, searching through her fridge and cupboards for something to feed her.
Only all I seem to find is some shitty ramen noodles and an almost empty bottle of cherry vodka.
Does this woman not know how to feed herself?
She finishes in the shower a moment later and strides out of the bathroom in only a towel, her gaze lingering on me as she sashays right into her bedroom to get dressed. I find myself following her and stopping in her open doorway, my shoulder braced against the frame as I watch her drop her towel.
Her long chestnut hair is pulled up into a messy bun, the soft strands that have fallen out now damp from the shower, and as she steps into a black thong and pulls on a pair of old worn sweatpants, she’s never looked so radiant.
Thoroughly fucked, sated, freshly showered, and not an ounce of makeup on her pretty face. She’s fucking perfect.
Tilly digs through her drawers and pulls out a shirt a moment later. When she fixes it over her head, a stupid smirk stretches across my lips as I read the words plastered across her full tits. Don’t be afraid to get on top. If he dies, he dies.
“Why am I not surprised?”
Seeing my stare, Tilly glances down and reads the shirt she’s chosen before her eyes shift around with uncertainty. “I kinda got you a shirt too.”
My brows fly straight up, not having expected that at all. “You got me a shirt?”
Tilly nods and searches through her room. “I know you’re not exactly the slogan T-shirt kind of guy. You prefer a more sophisticated, polished look, but when I saw it, I couldn’t resist.”
I watch her as she searches for this mystery shirt, and when she eventually finds it hidden beneath her blanket, she grabs it with enthusiasm and starts unfolding it. Then she holds it up against her chest to show me what she chose for me.
I start reading out loud. “ I’m not a gynecologist, but I’ll take a look .” My brow arches, a smirk tearing across my lips. “What happened? My son’s girlfriend screams louder than yours , was already taken?”
Tilly’s face twists with a cringe. “Yeah, sorry. Sold out, so I got the next best thing.”
I shake my head and step into her bedroom, a softness sweeping through me, realizing that in her day-to-day routine, she thinks about me, and while that’s sweet, it’s also not how this was supposed to go.
I move into her, my hand lifting to the base of her throat and pulling her in.
“Thank you, hellcat,” I murmur, her soft eyes captivated by mine.
“I’ll wear it every day until the fabric physically tears to pieces, and even then, I’ll hang the shredded pieces of its remains above my bed so I’ll never have to be far from its magnificence. ”
“Ha. Ha,” she says. “Daddy Di Rozé has jokes.”
I lean in and close the gap, dropping my lips to hers in a swift kiss and feeling her body melt into mine.
This is dangerous territory. I shouldn’t kiss her like this.
I shouldn’t have even kissed her at Vixen, but I couldn’t help it.
It’s as though my body takes over, giving in to its most basic desires.
When I pull back, I meet her eyes, my hand dropping from the base of her throat and skimming down the length of her body. “Did you get everything you were needing at Vixen?”
Tilly nods, her cheeks flushing the brightest shade of red. “And more,” she admits. “I don’t know what I was expecting, but what you gave me far exceeded that.”
“Good, I’m glad,” I tell her. “Now grab your things. I’m taking you out to eat.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “But I just got comfy.”
“So? Wear that. I just need to feed you.”
She shrugs her shoulders, and I don’t doubt she knows how this could easily complicate things. The same thoughts are going through my head, yet I can’t bring myself to admit that it’s a bad idea.
“I’m sure there’s something here I could eat.”
“You have ramen and vodka,” I tell her. “Not exactly the kind of sustenance your body requires after what you’ve just been through at Vixen.”
“What were you expecting? I’m in college. This is what we eat. Ramen is the one and only food group required for college graduates all across the globe. It’s basically brain food.”
“And the vodka?”
“Well, that’s just for girls who like to fuck their friends’ daddies and are trying not to lose their mind in the process.”
I shake my head, rolling my eyes. “Grab your things, hellcat. Let’s go.”
“Shit,” she mutters. “Can I sleep on the way?”
“You can sleep at the goddamn table as long as you’re putting food into your mouth.”
Her gaze settles on mine for just a moment too long, a strange curiosity in her eye that makes me wonder what’s roaming around inside that head of hers, but knowing it couldn’t be good, I don’t allow it the chance to turn into anything more.
“Come on,” I say, turning on my heel and stalking out of her room. “Lock up behind you.”
Fifteen minutes later, Tilly’s head is lolled against the window of my car, barely able to keep her eyes open, and while I’d give anything to put this girl in her bed and let her rest, I can’t fathom the idea of not feeding her first.
As I pull into the first parking space I see in the near-empty parking lot outside the restaurant, Tilly lifts her head off the window, her sleepy gaze glancing across the lot as she lifts her fingers and points to a different space. “Shouldn’t you be parking over there?”
My brows furrow, and I follow her stare to the handicapped parking space. “The fuck?”
“You know, ’cause you’re like, almost a hundred,” she tells me, stifling a yawn. “I can help you with your walker if you need, though I picture you more of a mobility scooter kinda guy.”
My car rolls to a stop, and the moment I can, I fix my stare on Tilly. “Watch it, hellcat. I don’t care that you’ve just had an exhausting night or that your sweet little cunt is still feeling exactly where we’ve been, I will bend you over my lap and spank that attitude out of you.”
She just smirks. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Fuck me. This woman is going to be the death of me, and yet, I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I shake my head, exasperation thick in my veins. “Get your ass inside that restaurant and figure out what you want to eat.”
“Ooh,” she says, that smirk still loud and proud across her lips. “You’re bossy tonight.”
After cutting the engine, I push my way out of my car, and by the time I’m walking around the front of it, Tilly steps into my side.
On instinct, my hand falls to the small of her back, and I lead her into the restaurant.
At this time of night, it’s almost deserted, but the host happily shows us to a table right by the window.
Tilly doesn’t bother consulting the menu, just tells the hostess exactly what she wants, and within ten minutes, she’s scarfing down her food as though she hasn’t eaten in over a week.
“Holy shit, this is good,” she says, just as her phone vibrates against the table with incoming notifications, one after the other. She ignores it at first, but when they don’t stop rolling in, both of us stare at the phone with curiosity.
She lets out a huff, clearly not thrilled to have her meal interrupted, and as she scoops up her phone and checks what’s going on, she groans and hands it straight to me.
I glance down at the screen, and my chest sinks.
“Looks like The Vag Destroyer didn’t stay down for long,” she tells me while shoveling a bite of chicken parmesan into her mouth. “It was nice while it lasted.”
I flick through the multiple notifications and scan over all the new accounts that have been created, each one with the sole purpose of humiliating this beautiful woman who sits across from me.
My jaw clenches, anger sweeping through me as I lock her phone and slide it back across the table.
“I’ll deal with it,” I tell her, having every intention of finishing it this time.
Animals like this never stay down for long, but this one will learn not to fuck with what’s mine.
I’ve already had to teach him one lesson, but apparently, it didn’t stick.
Tilly watches me, her gaze narrowed, and when she reaches across the table and brushes her fingers over my hand, I realize it’s clenched into a tight fist. “It’s okay,” she tells me.
“It’s not a big deal. I mean, it is. It’s shitty, and this guy clearly has some weird hang-up about me and is insisting on making my life a living hell, but I knew it was coming.
You told me as much. I was prepared for it. ”
A darkness swells in me, and I pull my hand away from hers. “Nothing about it is okay,” I tell her, a hint of the man I used to be coming out in my tone and making her recoil. “I’m going to find this asshole and finish this for good.”
Her gaze lingers on mine, and I can see the thoughts spiraling through her head. “What does that mean?” she questions, visibly swallowing. “Finish this for good?”
I watch her for a moment, but the longer I sit in silence, the more her mind will take her to places it shouldn’t go. “There’s a lot you don’t know about me, hellcat,” I explain. “I think it’s best we just leave it at that.”
Her gaze narrows. “Should I be running in the opposite direction?”
I nod. “Yes,” I say, matter of fact. “You should.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
I let out a breath. This is my opportunity to tell her who I am, to let her know the kind of man she’s been sleeping with, but I can’t bring myself to do it.
Once she knows that I spent ten years behind bars for killing a man in cold blood, it’ll be over.
Her fight-or-flight instincts will kick in, and she’ll convince herself to walk away, and I’ll have no choice but to sit back and watch her go.
She’s only twenty-two. She should be focusing on where her life will take her, finding a good job in her field for after graduation.
If that means moving her life across the country, she shouldn’t be focused on shacking up with a convicted murderer, no matter how long ago it all went down.
Because the truth of the matter is, when it comes to Tilly Bardot, I know without a doubt in my mind that I would do it all over again.
I would take another man’s life without question if it meant keeping this woman safe, I’d happily spend another ten years behind bars because of it.
“Finish your meal, hellcat.”
Her lips press into a hard line, and the curiosity in her eyes becomes more intense, looking at me as though only just realizing that apart from what’s on the surface, she doesn’t know a thing about me.
Her gaze finally drops, and she eats the rest of her meal in silence. Her mind is clearly focused on other things, and while she’s dropped it for now, I don’t doubt that the topic of my past will be coming up again very soon.