The Ruthless Heir

Erica’s [POV]

The conversation continues throughout dinner, and Judge grows increasingly quiet as Theron and I participate in a quiet game of who can piss him off more. Throughout the evening, Theron grows bolder, resting his arm on the back of my chair to play with strands of my hair. Kissing my hand before he helps me up from the table. Spinning me around to show off the dance moves his mother taught him as a boy.

I soak up his attention, intentionally avoiding any glances at Judge, though I can feel his eyes on me. It’s a dangerous line I’m tiptoeing, and I know I’m probably going to pay for it later. But right now, I’m going to enjoy every second of torturing him.

“How about we have that word in private now?” Hildebrand asks after he’s finished his third martini. “It’s getting late, and I don’t want to keep you.”

Judge turns his focus to us, and I already know what he’s going to say. He’s about to issue his order to go to my room, but Margot cuts him off.

“I’ll keep Mercedes and Theron company,” she says. “You men go talk shop. We won’t disturb you.”

“It’s getting late,” Judge says. “Mercedes needs to get to bed.”

“Oh, let her socialize for a bit longer,” Hildebrand chides him. “It’s good for her. And you won’t do anything untoward, will you, Theron?”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He feigns dismay at the idea.

“See.” Hildebrand pats Judge on the back, leaving him no choice but to follow.

Not five minutes after they’ve gone, Margot conjures up a fake yawn. “I am getting tired myself. Perhaps I should get back to the cottage.”

“Do you need me to escort you?” Theron asks.

“No, no. You stay and enjoy the company of this lovely young lady.” She smiles as she says it, but something about her tone is off. I can’t tell exactly what it is, but the way she’s looking at me seems to betray that she doesn’t think I’m lovely at all.

It hasn’t escaped my notice that she’s only interacted with me tonight when someone was watching her do so. As if she needs an audience to speak to me. The whole situation feels strange, and I’m honestly glad when she leaves. But then it’s just Theron with me, and I’m realizing this game we’ve been playing might not be a game to him when he reaches over and touches my face.

“You are beautiful,” he murmurs.

“Thank you,” I choke out.

“It’s not just that, though, is it?” he asks.

“What do you mean?”

“That’s not the reason men fawn all over you. You’re beautiful, of course. And that’s always the first thing people notice. But you’re intelligent too. Cunning, even, I’d dare to say.”

“Sly as a fox,” I tease. “You’d know something about that, I think.”

“Perhaps,” he muses. “Maybe that’s why we get along so well.”

For a moment, the room falls silent with a strange sort of tension that wasn’t there before, and I’m thinking I should probably excuse myself unless I want Judge to beat my ass red.

“I can’t stop thinking about this morning.” Theron’s voice is thick when he speaks. “How I washed you in the shower. The way your body felt beneath my hands. Tell me you’ve thought about it too.”

I stare at him, trying to formulate a response. But before I can, he’s leaning in. He’s going to kiss me. And it shocks me so much I can’t seem to move. I thought we were just playing, but now, he’s going for it.

Instinct tells me to pull away, and I want to, but I’m frozen. That is until someone grabs me from behind and yanks me off the couch.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Judge snarls.

I don’t know if the question is directed at Theron or me, but I can feel his rage pulsing through his veins as he traps me against his chest. My legs wobble as his dark voice vibrates against my ear.

“Upstairs. Now.”

He releases me, and I go, not daring to glance at Theron. I don’t know what he’s going to say to him, but I know I don’t want to be present for it.

I hurry along the hall, my feet aching with every step I take. It’s only once I’m a short distance from my door that I realize how stupid it was to follow Judge’s order. He’s going to come in here. He’s going to find me, and he’s going to punish me. But before I can consider any alternate escape routes, I hear his footsteps thundering down the hall behind me.

“Shit, shit, shit,” I whisper in a panic as I dart inside my room and slam the door shut behind me.Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

I know that’s not going to stop him, and I seriously consider if I were to jump off the balcony if it would break something. But then I eye the bathroom, and in a last-ditch effort, I run for it. My bedroom door slams open just as I’m flinging the bathroom door shut, and I catch a glimpse of Judge’s fury. It sends a wave of panic through me, and my fingers tremble as I engage the lock on the bathroom door and scurry backward, seeking out a place to hide. Before I find any, he uses the weight of his body like a battering ram to bust the door in.

I scream. He comes for me.

“Judge, please!” My voice breaks as he grabs me by the arm and drags me back into the bedroom, tossing me onto the bed with a grunt.

“Please, what?” he snarls. “This is what you wanted, isn’t it?”

I’m shaking my head in denial, but we both know it’s a lie.

“You went riding with him.” He grabs my boot and yanks it off, tossing it onto the floor. “You went fucking riding with him today after I explicitly told you not to go near him.”

If I had an answer to that, it gets lost as he tosses my other boot and then starts to yank at my pants. I try to scurry across the bed, but he just grabs me by the ankle and tugs me back to him.

“Tell me, Mercedes,” he growls. “Tell me what you did with him.”

“Nothing!” I pant. “Nothing, I swear!”

“Did you let him kiss you?” He rips my pants off and then splits my thong into two pieces with his fists. “Did you let him touch you?”

“No! We didn’t do anything, I swear it.”

“You’re a goddamned liar.” He grabs both halves of my shirt and yanks, sending buttons scattering before he pulls the fabric off me and tosses that aside too.

When it comes to my bra, I stop resisting, understanding that it’s futile. A moment later, he’s got me naked and flipped over, facedown on the pillow as he starts to whale on my ass with his palm.

“Tell me,” he demands. “Tell me what you let him do.”

“Nothing!” I cry out. “I didn’t let him do anything.”

“You think this is a fucking game.” Whack. “It’s not.” Whack. “I’m not fucking playing.” Whack.

I bite down on my lip and bear his brutal spankings with as much dignity as I can muster. This is what I wanted, wasn’t it? His attention, good or bad. And right now, I don’t even know if I remember the difference between the two.

“Is this for him or me?”

I squeak in surprise when he stuffs two of his fingers into my pussy, feeling the arousal I can’t hide.

“You,” I whine. “It’s always for you.”

“I’m going to ask you one more time.” He curls his fingers into me, and I moan against the pillow. “Did you let him touch you?”

“No.” I move my hips against him, desperate for more.

There’s a long, quiet pause, and then he mutters, “I don’t fucking believe you.”

Tears sting my eyes, and I’m terrified he’s going to go. But then I hear the sound of his zipper, the shuffle of his clothes as he removes them. Relief fills my chest as I try to turn, ready to make it up to him. Ready to suck his cock the same way I did this morning. Except, this time, he puts a hand in the center of my back and growls.

“I can’t even look at you.”

He shoves my face back into the pillow and yanks my legs apart. And then I feel him, the warmth of his body as he eases his weight over me. His scent surrounds me as he drags his cock through my arousal, coating himself while he squeezes my sore ass cheek with his other hand.

“There’s only one way to find out,” he says, almost as if to himself.

I don’t know what he means by that. Not until he leans forward and thrusts his cock into me in one powerful stroke.

I scream from the shock of the intrusion, and he freezes on top of me, clearly getting the answer he wanted. I was still a virgin, but now that virgin blood is smeared on his cock.

“Good girl.” His fingers move to the nape of my neck, stroking me there. That same space he likes to touch as if he could imagine his crest imprinted on my skin. “That’s a good girl, Mercedes.”

My lip trembles under his praise, and I can’t tell what it’s for. Is it for telling him the truth? Or not giving myself to Theron like he thought I had?

He moves then, palming my ass as he drags his cock back out an inch, groaning at the sight of what he just took from me.

“That’s good,” he murmurs again. “That’s mine, little monster. All. Fucking. Mine.”

The last words are barely audible, but I feel it in the way he touches me now. The way he leans his body over mine, rocking into me slowly as he eases the discomfort with soothing words whispered low. He feels so huge inside me. So deep. And I like it. I like it very much.

“Please, Judge,” I beg.

“Shhh, I know.” He brings one of his palms around to my front, massaging my breast while the other slides down to my clit. “I’ll take care of you.”

“Yes, please,” I whine.

I want to ask him if he means always. If he means that I belong to him now. But those thoughts get lost as he starts to rub his fingers over my body, playing with me like a master of his craft. The pressure intensifies as he starts to thrust into me in earnest, his hips colliding against my ass. It feels so intense I want to scream his name over and over, and when I do, it stirs him into a frenzy.

“Nobody else touches you this way,” he grunts. “Tell me you understand.”

“I do,” I pant. “Just you. Only you.”

He groans into my ear, kissing his way down my neck before he drags his teeth over the delicate skin. And that’s what sends me over the edge. I cry out as I begin to convulse around him, and he holds me up, riding me harder, faster, his own body on the verge of giving out. Then with a thunderous roar, he drags his cock out of me at the last second, fisting it as he milks out his release, shooting his come across my back.

When it’s over, the sound of our ragged breaths is all that remains, and I turn to look up at him. I’m half hopeful, half terrified of what I might see. Confusion flickers across his face as he glances down at the scene before him as if he doesn’t understand how it just happened. And then his eyes move to mine, and any warmth I felt from him evaporates.

“You got what you wanted,” he says coldly as he rises to his feet and stares down at me. “You’re a ruined woman now. Nobody will want to marry you. Not even Theron.”