Page 89 of The Devil's Heir

"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 curlsas 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.