Page 32 of The Count

“There is a locked room upstairs near my quarters. There, I’ve stored the wedding dress that I’ve chosen for you. There are also detailed plans with the devised setup for the ceremony to take place on the estate grounds, complete with images of suggested flower arrangements, catering, the works. I’ve planned everything for us. The last thing I need is you,” he continued.

I stared at him, stunned into silence.

I shifted in my seat, thoroughly distracted by the needy pulsing between my thighs. My core was spiraling tighter, my need growing greater. Already, it was taking all of my concentration not to spread my legs and rub myself against the edge so that I could come.

He looked at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking.

“You want me to be your wife,” I echoed, afraid to believe it and wanting to all the same.

Why did the thought of that turn me on so much? I desperately wanted to brush my fingertips against my clit while thinking about walking down the aisle and saying I do.

“Does the idea repel you?”

“No,” I answered without thinking. His answering grin was chilling and arousing all at the same time.

At that very moment, John came in with a tray and I tried to conceal as much of my body beneath the table as I could, but there would be no hiding the fact that the count had stripped me from the waist down from him.

As John rounded the table, his gaze flicked downward, noticing the bare side of my hip. I dropped my hands to my lap, doing the best that I could to hide my pussy. His gaze wasn’t overt in any way, but the expression on his face told me he knew exactly how this night was going to end for me.

“Trouble in paradise, my lord?” John asked, his mouth curving up slightly with the hint of an amused smile.

“Lucky for her, she’s not sitting on a bright red bottom right now, though she should be with the kind of behavior she’s showcased tonight,” he answered, and my blush intensified to an open flame. If John wasn’t aware of the fact that Dmitri had spanked me in the past, he was most certainly aware of it now.

I stared down at the table, willing myself to disappear.

“Dmitri,” I whispered hoarsely, hoping to appeal to his sensibilities.

“I can give John a demonstration if need be, little girl,” he warned. I didn’t say another word, trying to survive the onslaught of my embarrassment and the near out of control arousal that was coursing through my veins right now. It was getting harder and harder not to touch myself.

In an attempt to distract me from my neediness, I watched as John served dinner. There was a plate of robber steak, with beef, bacon, onions, and bits of red pepper that had been cooked over an open flame. There were plates of roasted chicken, rich salads piled with juicy tomatoes and cucumbers, roasted potatoes, stuffed eggplant, garlic steamed vegetables as well as a decanter full of the plum brandy, just like the one the count had shared with me on my first night.

I stayed still as John served my plate, keeping my hands in my lap until he rounded the table to serve Dmitri. When I pulled my hands away, I was mortified to see that those portions of my fingers were glistening with my own arousal.

I swallowed hard.

I reached for the small glass of brandy that had been poured for me, feeling the need to have a little liquid courage burning through my veins.

When John finally left the room, I felt like I could breathe again. The count’s gaze settled on me, seductive and powerful and utterly full of mystery.

“Why me?” I asked.

“Why does anyone fall in love?” he answered.

“I’m no one special,” I scoffed, using my fork to spear a piece of thick juicy beef.

“You’re everything that makes my world special,” he exclaimed, and my heart leapt into my throat. I felt both scolded and loved at the same time. My brow furrowed. He’d implied that he felt love for me. The sudden urge to ask overwhelmed me and I blurted out the question I’d been wanting to ask for the longest time.

“You love me?”

“Yes. I’ve loved you since the very first moment I laid my eyes on you.”

There was no missing the absolute certainty in his voice. Every doubt I’d had about us fled away in that moment, leaving me awash in my own swirling emotions. I ate several more bites off my plate, just needing the silence and the safety of my own mind.

My core ached.

“You can’t just take me captive,” I finally whispered.

“I live in a world that doesn’t play by the rules, little girl. I make them. Others abide by them,” he replied.

---