Page 27 of The Devil's Heir
The door clicking shut is deafening as I realize I'm alone with my high school bully. Jarek waves me forward as he stands and comes around his desk.
"Ah, pauper. It's so good to know that you've accepted my offer," Jarek states.
Stiffening my spine, I look him in the eye, and no matter how embarrassing this will be, it needs to be done. "I'm acceptingonlyunder one condition."
His amused smile tells me he's enjoying my acceptance. "Hm, please… tell me what this one stipulation is, my little pauper."
"I need you to promise that you will be gentle for my first time," I tell him.
His brows raise, and he asks, "Your first time for what?"
My face heats, having to say the words directly, but I push on. "I'm still a virgin, Sir."
The room goes quiet, and for the first time ever, I've rendered the Falcon Heir speechless.
SIXTEEN
Jarek
My pauper is a virgin?
Well, well, Liliana was meant to be mine after all. Four years and she's remained untouched—it's unfathomable to me. She's always been beautiful. Even when I found her caked in dirt, her beauty still shined through it all.
I gaze at the woman before me, with her baggy jeans and oversized shirt. Her thin, dingy jacket helps hide her body from me, but I'm not daft. The bone structure in her face and delicate-looking hands tells me that I'll find a thin body under it all—maybe a little too thin for my liking.
"Hmm, tell me, pauper… how long have you been living on Sunset?" I can't bring myself to say the wordhomeless.
She lifts her chin defiantly and answers, "Four years, Sir."
So, she's been here, under my nose, this whole time.
"Answer this question, and I will grant you your stipulation. Was I that bad that you needed to run from me?" I reach my hand out and caress a finger down her dirt-free face. "I would have taken care of you."
I watch as she swallows hard, but her gaze never leaves mine. Her voice is steady but soft when she replies, "You scared me, Sir. I was young, and you were my bully. I couldn't take the mistreatment any longer."
"Yet, you stayed in my town…"
"That wasn't by choice, Sir. I was too broke to go anywhere else."
"That's not true, now, is it? You had at least five hundred dollars," I tell her, sliding my hand into my pocket.
My hand wraps around the piece of jewelry resting at the bottom, where I placed it for safekeeping this morning. I knew Lily would accept my offer—how could she refuse it?
"How did you know—"
Her words cut off when I pull my hand out and dangle the bracelet before her face. My pauper's eyes widen as she stares at the silver bracelet I had bought her for her eighteenth birthday. It wasn't just a present, but a means to stake my claim on the girl I was so infatuated with.
"You were robbed, pauper. This bracelet cost way more than what that weaselly pawn shop owner gave you. No worries, though. Karma took care of him by burning down his shop a few days after I retrieved this," I inform her as I take her hand and clasp the bracelet around her delicate wrist. "Look at that, it still fits."
Lily stares at the piece adorning her wrist, speechless. I turn and walk over to my wall safe behind the portrait of my parents I had made as soon as I took over this office. Using the retina scan to open it, I pull out the box I had delivered this morning and return to my desk.
After typing in the revision of Liliana's stipulation, I print out a new copy of the contract and slide it across the desk, along with a pen.
"Take as long as you need to," I tell her.
"I'm sorry?" she asks, confused.
"To read it, Liliana. I won't rush you—take whatever time you need to read through it all."
