Page 44 of Ruthless Reign

When I finally gave the list to him, my entire body shook like he might take one look at it, smirk, and throw a line of insults in my direction. He didn’t. He ran his dark gaze over it, smiled with simmering satisfaction, and grabbed his list to show me.

“We’re compatible,” he said, leaning back in the dining room seat. We’d just finished a meal I’d ordered in because I still hadn’t figured out how to cook. But I had a plan for that, too. “I think we might be able to pretend for a while.”

He was right. Most of the stuff I wanted him to do to me was on his list of things he wanted to do. Spanking, hair pulling, biting, scratching, paddling, flogging, cuffing, ropes, chains, etc. He wanted to fuck my throat and cum deep inside of me, and I wanted to let him. He wanted to breed me, domesticate me, and pretend I was a fifties housewife, solely reliant on him for my pain and pleasure. Giving him that control alleviated the anxiety continuously churning in the back of my mind. Honestly, the only time it stopped was after an intense scene with him, like he was the only person I could give over to. I still wasn’t sure how I felt about that, but I decided not to examine it too closely.

“What do you want to feel during our time together?” he asked, sipping his wine.

“Cared for,” I said. “Adored. Even if you’re degrading me, calling me your slut, the fact I’m yoursmakes it special.”

He nodded. “I agree. And after? What do you hope to get out of it?”

“Calm,” I said. “Peace.”

“Hmm.” He must have liked the sound of that. “And I have your consent to do anything in the Y column at any time?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

His grin lit up his entire face. “Good. Now get on your pretty little knees and crawl over to me.”

I did, and he took me in the dining room nearly as rough and as furious as he had the first night. Afterward, he ran a bath, and we soaked in the tub together for over an hour, talking and plotting.

Perhaps because of this, I wanted to show him I couldbe the wife he wanted, that I had more use than being a Caputi heiress. So a week later, I invited Alba over to teach me how to make dinner. I figured I could spend some quality time with my cousin in addition to trying to please my husband.

“You see,” she said, pulling the chicken out of the oven. “You want to get it to an internal temperature of one sixty-five. That’s when you know it’s done.”

I’d read that in the cookbook, but having her here to show me made it so much easier.

“I feel like an idiot,” I said as I grabbed the tongs to plate our dinner. He’d be home in a few minutes, and I wanted to make sure everything was perfect for when he arrived.

“Don’t,” Alba said, pushing up her glasses. “Cooking is a difficult skill to learn. It took me forever to figure out the timing.”

“Thank you,” I said, giving her a soft smile. “For being so kind to me.”

She grinned and narrowed her intuitive gaze. “You seem better.”

“Oh?” I tried to hide my surprise. “How so?”

Alba shrugged. “More at ease, maybe.”

I ignored my burning cheeks at howat easeRoman had made me last night. “I think I’m getting the hang of this whole thing.”

When Alba turned just right, I saw Uncle Benito in her features. She’d probably hate it if I told her that, so I kept it to myself, but it reminded me I did have family here. The people I’d grown up with seemed so very far away, but Alba wasmy blood.

“There’s not much to it,” she said. “Especially when these alpha assholes start to get smitten.”

I rolled my eyes. “Roman is hardlysmitten with me.” Except for when I took my clothes off and did whatever he told me. Except for when he gave me commands, and I nearly tripped over myself to follow them.

“I see how he looks at you when he thinks no one else is watching,” Alba said, bumping me with her hip while she scooped carrots onto our plates. “I’m sure this isn’t what you planned, but if it had to be someone in the Roses, it seems like it was a good thing it was Bear.”

It took me a second to remember Roman and Bear were the same person. “Why does everyone call him Bear?”

Alba shrugged and shook her head. “You’d have to ask him that.”

My phone buzzed and drew my attention from my cousin, and I turned my back on her when I realized it was Della.

Della:Hannah was terminated after you left. No one’s seen her in months.

My stomach dropped and my heart raced.

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