13. Kneel

13

Kneel

Teal

“Cora, kneel.”

Declan’s instructions are direct. Precise. They send a shiver up my spine and remind me we’re all at this madman’s mercy.

He overtakes the room with two words, and she obeys the same way anyone probably would. Because when Declan demands control of the room, he has it.

Cora walks over to where Declan is sitting, kneeling before him. But he isn’t watching her. His eyes are on me.

He’s testing me.

Tempting me.

Whatever game this is, he has me hating him as much as I hate myself for standing here now. My feet are frozen in place when I should have run from his bedroom the moment he sat down .

My gaze moves to Cora on her knees for him, and I wonder if Declan has fucked her in the past. I wouldn’t doubt it. She’s following his instructions like it’s any other day with Declan Pierce.

“Anything on your mind, Teal?” Declan asks me.

His hands casually rest on the arms of the chair, and he’s relaxed. A hint of a smile climbs the corner of his mouth, and it’s so unholy it’s beautiful.

He’s cut straight from my nightmares, so why does his torture feel like my home?

I clench my teeth and shake my head, refusing to bow down to him.

This relationship is fake. He forced me into it, and I’m not letting him think he’s getting to me. Whatever he’s doing means nothing because I’m not really his.

His possessiveness and his kiss are all part of his elaborate game. The only reason he’s pushing me now is to get a reaction. He wants me to stop whatever he’s about to make Cora do in an effort to force me to show my hand. He wants to provoke me to prove how weak I am.

He wants me to admit I want him.

But I don’t.

I can’t.

No matter what Declan wakes in my bones, I’m smart enough to know it will only spread if I feed it. It will grow until I run out of room. Until he seeps from my pores and becomes my ruin.

“Have it your way, Teal. Remember what I said.” Declan breaks his gaze on me, and I hate that I miss it.

I hate that it lands on Cora .

I want to burn her eyes out for daring to look at him.

It’s not like he’s mine. It’s not like I even want him.

But when he nods, and Cora’s eyes brighten, anger swells inside me.

He told me how to stop this. All I have to do is say the word, and I can put an end to it.

So, what’s holding me back?

My fingers clench, and I try to let the sight in front of me scare me off. I let it be the reminder of the lengths Declan Pierce will go to if he wants to prove a point.

That’s what this is—a statement.

He’s forcing me to admit that there’s a small, insignificant part of me that’s having a hard time separating what’s real between us and what isn’t. He’s trying to wake up my rage like it will give him the answers he’s looking for.

Everything about this scene playing out is proof that I should get out while I can.

So why don’t I?

Declan smirks at Cora. “Make it nice and sloppy for our guest.”

His guest?

My jaw clicks from clenching my teeth so hard.

Declan leans back in his chair, and Cora runs her hands up his thighs, aiming for the button on his pants and popping it open. She drags the zipper down, and my heart is racing.

I’ve heard the rumors. Declan isn’t shy. He prefers an audience, and his sexual escapades are revered between these walls. From the familiarity between him and Cora, she probably participates, which gives me even more of a reason to hate him.

This is his life, not mine.

But when Cora tugs Declan’s jeans and briefs down in the front, and his hard cock is freed, my head swims.

“What do you say, Tealene?” He glances at me. “Are you willing to admit what we are yet? What you want… Are you going to claim your boyfriend?”

Cora waits, not touching him, too familiar with this behavior for my comfort. She’s definitely been with him, and I hate that jealousy burns up inside me.

Declan isn’t mine. Not for real.

Except when Cora wets her lips, that’s what he feels like.

I close my eyes, and I can still feel the burn of his kiss. The flash of emotion that rumbled through my chest. He saw me. For one second in my life, it was like someone actually cared.

“No?”

My eyes fly open.

I’m desperate for air.

He’s shattering my defenses. I’m a glass figurine falling in slow motion.

Declan watches me, even as he brings his hand up to Cora’s face. He strokes her cheek and runs his fingers into her hair. Her mouth hovers a fraction away from his cock, but he’s preventing her from touching him yet.

It might be a second. It might be minutes.

I’m suspended, and my eyes burn as my head pounds.

Time slows .

Declan is evil. A master at inflicting pain, and this is just another way he’s chosen to do it. Worse, it’s working.

He releases his grip to set her free, and my resistance snaps.

“Stop.”

He grabs her hair the moment the word comes out, smirking. “You can go, Cora.”

“What the hell, Declan?” She huffs.

He shoves her away, unapologetic, because that would require empathy, and he’s incapable. She falls back on her ass but doesn’t argue as he glares at her. Hurrying to her feet, she silently pouts as she leaves the room.

She storms out, slamming the door behind her. And the entire time, I’m watching Declan’s cold, demonic eyes. The doorways to the dark heart of the devil.

“Come here,” he says when it’s just the two of us, pointing to the spot at his feet.

I know where this is going. The challenge he’s issuing.

I’ve been fighting this since he first made his demands, but there’s no more getting away with it.

As I walk toward him, I tell myself it’s because he has information he could use against me. I tell myself it’s to keep my father’s plans at bay.

But when I sink to my knees in front of him, I know the truth is so much darker. It’s this sickness he wakes up somewhere deep in my heart.

A part of myself I’ve tried to cut out in any way I could.

Razors.

Pills .

But Declan slices through. He takes the chaos in my mind, and he quiets it.

My heart bleeds as my body surrenders.

I’ve been alone my whole life—truly alone—scared to let anyone in. But Declan stormed those walls. He invaded my safe space. He demanded I let him in, and now that he’s there, I can’t get rid of him.

Even when it hurts.

Even when I’m begging him to stop.

Declan leans forward, not bothering to put away his cock, which is rock hard and twitching at the sight of me. He grabs my chin and brings us nearly mouth to mouth.

“Good little pet.” He smirks, his icy gaze fastened to me.

He’s a sinner with the influence of a god, and there’s no escaping him.

“Don’t just sit there, Tealene. Open your mouth. Be a good girl, and let me see how deep you can take your boyfriend.”