“Sin.”
I chuckled and leant down, capturing her mouth and cupping her face with my hand. When I pulled away, I grabbed the shower gel and squirted some on my hands. Whilst I was just about ready to fuck the living daylights out of Scarlett, I had other ideas for how and where I wanted to do it.
“I think you must like the smell of sin,” I told her as I washed her body. “You seem to like me.”
“I more than just like you,” she mumbled as I turned her around and washed her back.
I didn’t want to read into that, even though my heart fired off at her words. Picking up the shampoo to distract myself, I started washing her hair. I’d managed to get blood in it earlier and wanted to make sure she was clean of all traces of those men.
“I’m going to have to get a set of toiletries for your room too now, like I have done with the others.”
“Who says you’ll spending a lot of time in here?”
She let out a little huff and crossed her arms over her chest.
“If you don’t want an equal share of my time, that’s your loss. I’m sure Pres, West and Frankie will be happy to take your nights off your hands.”
I tugged her back against my chest and ran my hands down her front, stroking them across her breasts. She shivered but continued pouting.
“Such a brat,” I whispered in her ear as I cupped her pussy and slid my fingers along her lips. “I’ll get Francis to tie you to my bed so you can’t leave if you start with that line of thinking.”
“Then don’t be out here trying to withhold bedroom privileges from me. I already have to put up with not having my own one.”
I had ideas of how to create a space for her in our penthouse, but it was something I was going to discuss with the others, so now wasn’t the time.
As much as I wanted to continue playing with her, we needed to finish washing. I let go of her to condition her hair after rinsing the shampoo out. She let me without complaint and gave me a shy smile when I allowed her to wash me in return.
I pulled her out of the shower, flipping it off before wrapping a large towel around her small body and drying her thoroughly. I set Scarlett on the counter whilst I dried myself. She used a smaller towel to dry her hair enough so it was no longer dripping.
Picking her up off the counter, I took her into my room and strode across to my bed. I set Scarlett down in the middle of it and crawled over her. My fingers traced a line down her chest, watching her skin prickle from the contact. She stayed perfectly still, allowing me to explore her stunning body, scars and all. I stroked her ‘war’ brand. It had healed up, leaving pink lines across her skin that would eventually turn white. West now had a matching one she’d given him on his chest. It was a little like the binding of two souls, which I had to admit felt apt for her and West. They were both as unhinged as each other at times.
“You’re beautiful,” I murmured, settling my fingers across the biggest scar on her abdomen. “I’ve always thought so, but now… now you’re more so. All of your imperfections are perfect to me.”
“Drake…”
“Shh.” I put my finger to her lips. “Don’t say anything.”
I sat up and reached over to my bedside table. Scarlett was suitably distracted from looking around my room right now, but she could later after I’d had my way with her. I dug out a small knife. She watched me use it to make a small nick on my wrist. Blood pooled around the cut. I coated my finger in it before leaning over her. Her eyes followed the path of my finger across her chest, painting a word on it in blood.
Scarlett swallowed when I was done. Her eyes went to mine after she read it, even though it was upside down for her.
“You branding me too?”
“In my own way.”
Smeared across her chest in my blood was the word ‘mine’. She was mine. All fucking mine. Scarlett belonged to me.
“I’m already yours, Drake.” She reached up and stroked her fingers across my face. “I’ve been yours for a while, in case you hadn’t noticed.”
“Is that so?”
She nodded.
“I helped you get rid of three bodies. I think that proves my loyalty.”
I grinned and leant closer.
“It does.”
“There’s something else that belongs to you as well.”
I raised a brow.
“And what would that be?”
She licked her bottom lip, then her eyes clouded over. Her hand dropped from my face and she looked away.
“Scarlett?”
“How do you really feel about me? I mean, you said you’ve always wanted me, but what does that mean?”
Catching her by the chin, I turned her face back towards me to make her meet my eyes. I didn’t like seeing fear in those beautiful hazel-greens.
“It means…” I leant closer, brushing my mouth over hers. “It means, little wisp, that you are the owner of what you’d probably describe as my cold, black heart.”
Her bottom lip trembled against mine.
“You love me?” she whispered, her voice shaking on the words.
“I love you.”
“Fuck.”
I kissed her, stealing away any other words she was thinking about saying. She wrapped her arms around me, pulling me flush against her. I tried not to groan as my cock slid against her wet little pussy.
“Such a dirty little mouth you have,” I murmured against her lips.
“All the better to wind you up with.”
“Brat.”
“I’m your brat, sir.”
I pulled away from her and grabbed her by the waist, flipping her up onto her hands and knees. Running my fingers down her back, I pressed kisses to her spine.
“You have a lot of punishments pending, little wisp. I intend to collect.”
She shivered but didn’t tell me no or to stop. I got up off the bed and walked over to my display on the wall across from my bed. It was black metal crisscrossing bars with hangers at different intervals. On those hangers were my various whips and crops.
I selected a small crop, testing it against my hand before moving back towards the bed. Scarlett looked back at me, then down at the implement in my hand.
“Drake…”
“What’s your safe word with the others?”
“Red.”
“Then you say that and I will stop, okay?”
She nodded but didn’t look entirely convinced. I knelt on the bed and stroked her hip.
“What’s wrong?”
She turned over and crawled into my lap. I set the crop on the bed and cupped both her cheeks as she held onto my shoulders. She searched my face for a moment.
“Nothing. I want you to punish me, but first…”
“First?”
“Kiss me and say it again.”
I almost denied her. The truth was, I couldn’t help myself when it came to my little wisp. Not any longer. I wanted her smiles and her laughter more than anything else. Leaning closer, I ran my nose along hers.
“I love you.”
“Again.”
I pressed a kiss to her mouth.
“I love you, Scarlett.”