Page 43 of The Devil's Heir

Jarek

"She's so fucking frustrating! What more does she want from me? I've given Lily more than I've ever given any woman, and still, she fights me!"

I'm sitting in a private booth at The Reformatory with Joey. I came here as soon as Lily stormed out of my office, which, looking at my watch, had been three hours ago. I don't typically drink more than a couple; I don't like being inebriated, but then I've never been in this position before.

My best friend finds it amusing, which only pisses me off more. When a cute brunette comes bouncing up to me and offers me a lap dance, I don't think twice before waving her away. No matter how pissed off I am at her, my pauper is always at the forefront of my mind. Nobody holds a candle to her.

"What exactly did you tell her?" Joey asks. "I thought you two were getting along great lately."

I hadn't wanted to go into detail with him when I first arrived, but now, I'm a blabbering fool. I've got liquid courage or some shit like that because I don't give a fuck what I say in front of my friend right now.

"I thought I was doing something she would want by allowing her to rip up the contract we have. She turned it down!" I growl.

"She did? What else did you say?" he asks, taking another drink from his scotch.

"I don't know. Something along the lines of her being mine and that I won't let her go. I thought she would love hearing that. God only knows Sasha would have loved to hear that from me," I mumble.

"Oh fuck. Please tell me you didn't say that to Lily," Joey says worriedly.

"What? No, of course not. Sasha was never brought up. I'm just saying… that woman and most others would jump at the chance to be with me."

"Is that why you like Liliana so much—because she's different?" My friend grins.

"The hell if I know—maybe."

"You know what you need to do?"

"Good God, what is it?" I ask, thinking he's going to have some insane plan like he usually does. Joey's always coming up with crazy shit; not all of it is bad, but most of it is ridiculous.

"You need to do some sort of grand gesture. Give Lily something that will make her see you in a different light."

I stare at my best friend, not because he's talking crazy—he's not—but because he hasn't given me this kind of good advice in years. Now, figuring out this grand gesture is going to be the hard part.

I call one of the servers over, and she's all smiles. "What can I get for you, Mr. Falcon?"

"Club soda on ice… and keep them coming."

"Coming right up, Sir." The server walks away with an extra sway to her hips, but it does nothing for me, not anymore.

I can feel eyes on me, and when I turn to my friend, he's staring at me with a look of confusion.

I never feel the need to explain myself, but for some reason, I don't mind explaining anything when it comes to Lily and Joey.

They're the only two people in my life who I actually care about.

Jackson is slowly climbing there as well.

"I need to sober up," I tell Joey. "I can't think when my mind is mush, and I've had a few too many beverages for my liking."

Joey's smirk irritates me, but I don't say anything because a voluptuous blonde plops herself down on my friend's lap and starts grinding on him. I'm sure he knows the woman, but I don't, and I'm not in the mood to watch that shit. I would have gone to one of my other clubs instead if I had.

"Fuck off," I tell the woman, none too nicely.

She must be new around here because she glares at me and even dares to comment back. "Screw you, asshole. "

Joey chuckles as he sits back and allows the woman to dig herself a hole. I'm not in the mood, but maybe fucking with her a little will lighten my sour mood, so I decide to play.

"Oh honey, my standards are much higher than you." The server walks up with my club soda, and I take it, swallowing down half the glass in one go.

"Please, you probably have the tiniest dick in the club. No honest woman would want to even touch you," she sneers.

"Is that why you offered to screw me… because you're not in the honest category?" I grin wickedly.

"Who the fuck do you think you are, anyway?" She huffs.

Joey leans forward and whispers something into her ear. I know, the moment I see the woman's face drop and the fear take hold, that he told her just who the fuck I am .

My grin grows wider.

"I-I'm so s-sorry, Sir," she stammers.

I don't want her fucking apology. She caught me on the wrong night. Lifting my hand, I snap my fingers, and a few seconds later, a bouncer stands beside me.

"Please show this woman out of my club and make sure she doesn't come back. If she ever shows her face here again, you know what to do with her."

I don't need to remind my people how to do their job. They know what I expect, and they carry it out. If this woman returns, she'll be thrown down in one of the cells until I see fit. I try not to kill women as much as possible, but that doesn't mean I won't if they push me too far.

The bouncer grabs the woman's arm and yanks her off Joey's lap. She gasps at how rough he's being, but I don't give a shit.

"That's too bad—she's a good fuck," Joey states, amused.

"I'm sure you'll find another good fuck to entertain you once I leave." I take another drink of my club soda. "How's Genie anyway?"

"Gia, my fiancé's name is Gia." Joey chuckles.

"Does it really matter?" I ask.

"It will when I start fucking her, and I call out the wrong name." My friend laughs. "It's why I never get a woman's name. That way, I won't say it while with my fiancé. "

I grin, shaking my head. "Gia's a good girl, isn't she?"

"Yeah, a little too good. She takes her religion seriously and barely allows me to kiss her.

We're not getting married for another year, and I'll be damned if I stay celibate until then.

Marrying Gia isn't my decision, so I'll continue living my life until the nuptials.

Then, I'll do whatever it takes to turn that good girl into one of the naughty ones I like to fuck so much. "

My friend is a sex fiend, worse than I was, but he's still my friend, and I support anything he does. I don't blame him for continuing his bachelor life when he did not choose to get married. To each their own.

People must wonder why I don't continue dominating the subs at the other clubs.

It's simple—for me, my pauper is the only one I want to dominate.

However, she's making it damn hard to do so.

What I need to do is accept our situation as a challenge and step my game up.

Maybe if I can get her to submit more in the bedroom, she'll submit more outside of it.

After a few more club sodas, I take my leave.

I had texted Richards to drive me here earlier, and he's been sitting at the bar sipping on water this whole time.

He's quiet, just as I like them, so the drive back to the estate is peaceful, unlike this afternoon when the silence was the loudest it's ever been.

The memory of Liliana looking scared as we sat in silence almost undid me. I don't know what happened. One moment she was being strong for me while in Blake's office, and then, once we heard the results, our roles switched.

I thought telling her the contract didn't matter and that I wanted her anyway would ease her worries, but it had the opposite effect.

I know I shouldn't have said what I said about her being mine, but it's the truth.

I won't let her go, but it was too soon to tell her that.

Apparently, she wasn't ready to hear it.

Once I'm dropped off at the front door, I walk inside to an eerie silence. A clock ticks in the distance, but that's all I hear. I'm not sure where Carmen has been spending her time, and I really don't give a shit as long as she leaves us the fuck alone. Soon, she'll just be a bad memory .

I drag myself up the stairs but don't go to my room. I head to Liliana's instead. Slipping into the darkness of her room, I undress and slide under the covers, and pull her into my arms. She squirms to free herself, causing my cock to stir, but that's not why I'm here.

"Shh, go back to sleep, pauper," I tell her in a soft voice.

Once she realizes that I'm not going to force her to have sex, she settles down, and soon, I feel her steady breathing. I've never cuddled with a woman before, but I don't want to sleep without Liliana in my arms. I sleep best when she's there.

I wake up hours later to thrashing. Lily is whimpering in her sleep as if she's having a bad dream.

"No!" she cries out, swinging out her fist as she does.

I pull her into me and try soothing her. "It's okay, Lily—I'm here—you're safe… shh."

"No, please, just leave me alone!" she yells, still sleeping.

I turn her over onto her back and pin her arms to the side of her head. "Lily, wake up—you're dreaming."

I feel an ache in my chest, and all I want to do is kill whoever it is that's causing her to dream like this. I don't want my pauper to lose sleep over anyone, and I definitely don't want to see her in such distress.

"Please, Liliana, wake up." I shake her.

Her eyes snap open, and she breathes heavily as she blinks the sleep away. When she finally focuses on me, I see panic in her eyes and let go immediately. The last thing I want to do is scare her.

"You were having a bad dream, so I thought I'd wake you," I explain.

Lily sits up and turns the bedside lamp on. "W-what are you doing in here, Jarek?"

My brows furrow. "I was sleeping. I didn't want to bother you when I got home, so I just crawled into bed—"

"I understand that, Jarek," she says, interrupting me. "I mean, why are you sleeping in my bed. Why are you not in your own bed?"

Okay, now I'm angry. I won't let anyone—not even Liliana—speak to me this way, not when I'm trying to help her.

Forgetting all about her bad dream and the state she was in, I reach out and grip her neck, pushing her back down onto her back. My lip curls as I glare down at the beauty beneath me, but I don't allow her appearance to get to me.

"I'm only going to say this once, pauper. This is my house, and I will sleep wherever the fuck I want. Since you didn't want to get rid of the contract, everything still stands, including your submission. You can't have it both ways."

My voice started out surly, but it was low and raspy by the time I finished. God, she's fucking beautiful, especially when she's wearing my hand necklace. I gently squeeze her throat, then gaze down at her lips.

"Tell me, pauper, what were you dreaming about?" I ask before dipping my head down and grazing her jaw with my lips.

"Jarek, I…"

"Tell me," I urge when she stops.

"It doesn't matter, Jarek." Her tone is soft and whispery the more I sprinkle kisses around her jawline.

"It matters to me, now, tell me."

Lily hesitates briefly, but then she says, "You, Jarek. I was dreaming about you."

I stop. What feels like a bucket of ice water crashes down over me, and I jerk away.

"What do you mean you were dreaming about me?"

I can see the hurt in her eyes as she states, "I was dreaming about the day you chased me off, and I ran into traffic. You wouldn't leave me alone; you just kept chasing me…"

Gazing down into Lily's eyes is like looking into dark, tumultuous clouds. I feel desolate, and I don't like this feeling very much because it reminds me too much of my childhood after losing my parents.

"I'm sorry, Lily. I didn't know…"

We stare at one another for a few beats before she says, "It doesn't matter anymore; it's all in the past."

I smile sadly, gaze at her, and ask one of the most important questions of all: "Is it?"