24

Rae

November 27th, 2019

I was sore, but something told me Jack had been going easy on me knowing that I—we had this party to go to tonight. Even at the thought, I grew a little irritated. He was trying to be nice, and while I was grateful for it, another part of me resented him for it.

Maybe I wasn’t in the best physical shape, but I felt like I had something to prove. I could take anything he threw at me. I was sure of it.

I suppose it didn’t matter. After tonight, I was sure he would up the training, which I would be forever grateful for. Anything to distract me from my own life blowing up.

He got himself an invite too, probably knowing someone somewhere, high up in the Mayoral office. I was starting to learn quickly that they knew everyone. And by everyone, I literally mean everyone. Malachi and his little shadows, as Jack had begrudgingly called himself a couple of nights ago during training, had been everywhere, done everything. There was no way to live a life like that without knowing people, creating enemies, gaining unwilling allies.

It was thrilling if I thought about it long enough. I hadn’t told Jack that yet, for fear of what he might put me through, but Hell, it was thrilling. He was the man who actually knew people. His family probably had enemies out the wahzoo and now I was a part of that. I was his Claimed, which actually meant that if I hadn’t been targeted before, I was sure as fuck going to be targeted now.

And Jack would protect me.

Even at the thought, I couldn’t help but smile.

I was forced to get a long-sleeved dress, but I didn’t wholly mind. It was chilly out so having long sleeves prevented me from having to wear a jacket.

The dress was form-fitting, a burnt umber to dark red ombre that sparkled when I moved. It had a drop back and a corset inspired bodice. I absolutely loved it.

I slid my hands over my hips, angling myself in the mirror, watching the sparkles do what they were made to do. I didn’t even know people threw Thanksgiving parties, but I suppose if you were rich enough, you could do whatever you wanted.

I inhaled deeply and straightened. Rae Bennett, Marla Bennett’s daughter, part of the elite. Just because I knew something different now, didn’t mean they did. I could still wear this mask. I could still act.

I rolled my shoulders and grabbed my clutch. I walked out of my room and slowed when I saw Jack wearing a three-piece suit, all black. He was adjusting his overly expensive Rolex when his eyes caught me.

I swallowed, suddenly feeling like perhaps I had picked the wrong dress.

“Hmm,” he mused, sliding his hands into his pockets. “How many people will be at this party?”

I felt my shoulders fall an inch, my heart thudding. It wasn’t the greatest dress, I understood that, and clearly I paled in comparison to him, but I deserved a compliment. Fucking dick.

I set my jaw and I headed for the island where my keys and money sat. “I have no idea, why?”

“I’ll need to bring more bullets if we’re to attend tonight. Can’t have anyone giving my wife bedroom eyes.”

My heart skipped a beat, my stomach fluttering. His wife? At just those words, my irritation fell away. “I’m not your wife, Jack.”

I managed to pick up my money before I felt him behind me, pressing me painfully into the island, my waist digging into the granite.

I gasped, dropping everything in my hands to grip the island. “Jack,” I breathed out, my stomach warming, my pussy already throbbing.

He slid his hand up the length of my exposed back before wrapping it around my neck and squeezing. “No, you’re better than that,” he growled, his other hand pulling up my dress, exposing the black thong I had put on underneath. “You’re my Claim, I own you.” He cupped my pussy violently. “I own this,” he growled, a whimper escaping my lips. “I own every moan from your pretty little lips. I own each and every one of your orgasms, Princess, all of them. Wife is just a term, but it’s a term well-known around the world.” He slid my thong to the side, running his finger across my pussy, feeling the arousal that was now growing.

I was panting, doing my best to keep myself from pressing my head against the island, from smearing my makeup in the slightest.

“If that’s what I have to use to force them to see the truth, then fine,” he grumbled, shoving a finger inside of me.

I groaned, rocking my hips back.

“I’ll follow whatever laws this world has placed upon society,” he went on, adding a finger, “but make no mistake, Rae, I’ve owned you since the second I fucked you in that tent. If I want to call you wife, I will call you wife. If I want to call you my little whore, I will do as such.” He added a third finger. “Whatever label you put on it, you’re mine and mine alone.”

My body shook as he slammed his fingers into me, his body pressed into mine. My eyes started to water as my knees buckled.

“You’re my wife,” Jack told me, pulling me up against him, sliding his hand around until he gripped the front of my neck, cutting off my air. “My wife. Breathtakingly beautiful, heartstoppingly divine wife of mine.”

I shuddered, gripping into his pants, feeling it built up inside me. “Fuck,” I groaned, shoving myself back against him. “I’m your wife,” I whimpered, the sound of that sentence sending shockwaves through me.

“My wife,” he said again, pushing me over the edge.

He pulled his fingers out of me and turned me around, sliding them into his own mouth as he lifted my head, taking in my heavy eyes, my trembling body. “My favorite desert,” he hummed, my body vibrating from the compliment.

He sucked them dry, leaned in and kissed me deeply, passionately, the taste of my cunt spreading over my tongue, making my head spin.

He pulled away and smiled. “Get your things, you can fix yourself in the car.”

With that, we headed towards the elevator. And I had never felt more like a toy than I did in that moment. Used and abused in the best possible way.

I had never considered being anyone’s wife. It was never on my radar, but honestly, it seemed like the natural next step to whatever it was we were. When you were the son of a criminal, nothing was like it should have been. Timelines didn’t matter in this world. Saying ‘I love you’ was mundane. Going on dates? Meeting the parents? Didn’t exist here, but I didn’t wholly mind. What was the point of falling for someone if you couldn’t do it in explosions of chaos and fire? I didn’t think I could handle something as mundane as first and second dates, taking it slow. It just didn’t seem real anymore. Far less real than this.

Jack opened the car door for me and allowed me in, leaving Mr. Blakley scrambling to get back into the driver’s seat.

I slid in, swiping the end of my dress in with me before Jack shut the door and walked to the other side, sliding in.

I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen the Mayor before the masquerade. Francis Strauss. From what I could remember of him, he was a good man, nice, stood for a lot of good things. He had done well for this city, beloved by all, but with everything else going on, I was still on edge. Anything could happen. People could show up with guns, they could poison my drink again, they could take the mayor hostage and force Jack to choose or something far worse.

We had to be prepared for anything. If he said run, I had to run, no questions asked.

“Where is Zo this evening?” I asked after a few minutes of silence.

“On her own assignment,” he answered, locking his phone and sliding it away. “Malachi has her doing some grunt work.”

“What do you consider grunt work?”

His eyes found mine, trailing over my body again, heating me up from head to toe. “Another Initiate went rogue, we have to contain it,” he answered, finding the scar on my chest. “Easy.”

He hadn’t told me a lot about what they did, where they came from, but I knew enough to know that it wasn’t good. It wasn’t the time to ask questions, but I would soon. I wanted to know all about their lives. All about what they did and how they did it, where they traveled. I wanted to know everything.

“I want you to put this on.”

I shook the thoughts away and looked down to his outstretched hand to find him holding a little black velvet box.

My heart skipped a beat, my eyes widening, lips parting. “Is that a ring?” I whispered, a roaring sounding in my ears.

“You heard what I said, Rae, I want you to put it on.”

It wasn’t a request, but despite how badly I wanted it on, despite how terribly empty my ring finger suddenly felt, I hesitated. “People are going to ask—”

“Tell them,” he answered. “Jack Ashrin. Nobody knows my name, and if they do, they know not to say a word about it. Put it on.”

My mouth had gone dry, my mind was racing. “I’m your…”

“Wife,” he said tightly, opening up the box, clearly getting impatient with me. “Not my fiancé, my wife.”

My jaw dropped when he pulled the ring out. Fuck, it was beautiful. Cypress cut white gold ring with a deep blue sapphire set in the center, ringed with smaller white sapphire diamonds. It couldn’t be hidden or overlooked. It was meant to be seen, to scream to the world ‘taken’.

I held out my trembling left hand and watched as he slid it on. A perfect fit. I released a breath as I held out my hand, admiring it. Wife.

Mrs. Rae Ashrin.

My eyes filled, my bottom lip trembling as I found his eyes.

He was watching me carefully, his eyes searching mine. He lifted his hand, brushing his knuckles under my eye. “No happy tears, we don’t want to ruin your makeup, hmm? Not unless I fuck the tears out of you.”

I nodded, leaning into his touch. “It’s beautiful, thank you.”

He searched my eyes, something in his own changing. “I couldn’t imagine anyone better.”

My heart lifted. As proposals went, this kind of went along with how my life had been since I met him, and it was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

I grabbed his hand and carefully lifted it over my shoulders before scooting over to his side and leaning into him.

He leaned back, adjusting himself a little to give me a better spot to rest, his body relaxing when I found the perfect groove in his side.

I stared out his window, his breathing even, quiet. “I would never have said yes to anyone else in all the world,” I told him after a few minutes. And it was true. I couldn’t imagine anyone else being good enough, not like Jack was. Jack was perfect. He was everything I ever wanted.

I was his wife. His. I belonged to someone. I finally had a family. One that wanted me. I finally had someone.

We didn’t say anything the rest of the drive. Not until we were a few blocks from the Mayor’s house and my phone chimed.

I straightened and pulled it out, uncaring that Jack was watching it intently to see who had messaged me.

Viv: Have fun at the Mayor’s tonight!

Pick up a hot dude, forget about

the one who brought that girl over.

She didn’t even ask if I was okay after that party. Never mentioned it.

“How are you feeling about her?” Jack asked when I locked my phone without responding.

I looked back towards the window and shrugged. “I don’t know how I feel about her,” I answered truthfully. “She’s my best friend, but she hasn’t texted me since the party, and the more I’ve thought about it over the last few days, the more I’ve been realizing that she’s kind of a shitty friend. Always there in the good times. Partying, laughing, making light of everything, but then giving me back-handed compliments about certain things in my life.”

My eyes lifted to his. “Maybe you were right. Maybe she is a bad person, and I was just so used to having her around, I didn’t want to admit that she’s always been a shitty friend.”

He kissed my hair. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” I asked, somewhat bitterly. “You people told me she was bad news, I didn’t want to listen.”

“I’m sorry because she was still your friend. That wasn’t a lie. The pictures weren’t photoshopped. She was still your friend.”

My eyes narrowed and I leaned back enough to really look him in the eyes. “What?”

Jack nodded. “You two, as far as I can tell, really have known each other that long. You were never enrolled in that school, but those pictures weren’t faked.”

I searched his eyes for several seconds before turning towards the front of the car. So, we have been friends since we were teenagers, but if I wasn’t enrolled, we didn’t meet in school? Great. Well, at least that part of my life was only half a lie. “What’s the plan for tonight?” I asked instead. “Do you have an assignment here? Are you going to interrogate the Mayor or his wife for information?”

“My only assignment tonight is you,” he told me. “So unless I think the Mayor is involved with you somehow, then no.”

I looked out of my window, my mood soured by the whole Viv thing. “Well, I never fucked him, if that’s what you’re worried about. I just want to go, play nice, and leave.”

Jack was quiet a moment. “Why do you accept the invitation if you don’t like going to these things?”

“Because the person I thought was my mom always went to these things,” I answered coldly. “I’m her daughter, and to everyone in this city but us, she was just a beloved art dealer. I wouldn’t want to tarnish her fake reputation because I’m bitter about her lying to me. To everyone.” I rolled my eyes and pushed his arm away, suddenly too hot. “Everyone has a role to play, this has always been mine.”

Mr. Blakely pulled up in front of the Mayor’s house. It was grand, fit for parties, balls, anything you could think of. It was decorated in lights, music drifting through the air, people streaming up the stairs.

There wouldn’t be as many people in attendance as there had been at the last party, but it would still be the talk of the city for a while.

Mr. Blakely stayed in the car this time, allowing Jack to open mine for me and lead me out.

I had always felt confident going to these things. Beautiful, incomparable to most everyone here, even though everyone here was absolutely stunning. But tonight was different. Tonight, I had Jack. I had secrets only few people in this world knew.

Tonight, when all of these people went home to their sad marriages and their dry beds, I’d go home and get tied up to mine, fucked until I cried, and then fucked some more. I was the only one with a letter carved into my skin. The only one in the world who had been claimed by a member of Malachi’s family. I was it.

I had power. Real power.

And with that feeling came a small smile. My chin lifted as I slid my hand into the crook of Jack’s elbow, making sure that the world could see my ring, my collar, that scar.

I was better than them for one simple reason; I had Jack.

We walked up the stairs, nodding at those who looked over. There were no masks tonight. Everyone knew that it was Rae Bennett who walked arm in arm with this handsome man, and they all stared as if we were some anomaly they couldn’t quite understand.

It made me feel proud. Unstoppable, I suppose.

“Careful, Princess,” Jack mumbled into my ear as we reached the top of the steps, “some might see this as confidence that needs knocked down a few pegs.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Let them try,” I replied, finding his eyes.

A smile touched his own lips, his eyes flicking to my lips and back. He looked proud of me, and that alone was enough to set butterflies fluttering in the pit of my stomach.

“Ms. Bennett!”

I looked over to find the Mayor himself walking over with a beaming look across his face. I gave him a polite smile and nodded. “Mayor Strauss, it’s good to see you again.”

“You as well. Don’t you look like a vision tonight,” he said, taking my hand and taking me in. “And who might this be?”

I released Jack’s arm and gave them room to shake hands. “Ash Offerin,” I told him. “My soon to be husband,” I said, the smile growing painfully wide. God, that sounded good.

Francis’s eyes widened as he found my left hand. “Oh my goodness, congratulations. Not a Bennett too much longer then, hmm?” he chuckled. “I’m so happy for you. And you,” he nodded towards Jack. “Come, grab a drink, enjoy yourselves. No expectations, no anything, just have fun.” He leaned in close. “Celebrate, hmm?”

I chuckled. “Of course, thank you again for the invite. Your home is as beautiful as ever.”

He laughed. “Thank my wife for that one.” His attention was quickly taken away from us. “Mr. Grange!” he boasted, giving me a nod as a goodbye before he disappeared once again.

“Friendly,” Jack commented.

I rolled my eyes, sliding my arm around his. “It’s in the job description, Ash.”

“Good name. Come, let’s mingle with the elites and see what we can find.”

I nodded, taking the wine he offered me from the table and turning towards the room. Any information would be just fine. We weren’t here on any sort of mission or assignment. We didn’t have any leads. This was a night simply out of obligation, but if we could find anything out from these higher ups, it would help.

If there was anything every elite did well it was talk.

So, we began our mingling. Slipping into our roles with ease as we walked around the room and inserted ourselves into certain conversations.

I liked watching Jack slide into other roles. It was so interesting seeing him change to match whoever he was talking to. His posture, his energy, the way in which he spoke. He became different people with each group we walked up to. Zo must have been relieved having him as a partner, then again, I suppose if Jack had been trained to do this, so must the other brothers.

When it was nearing midnight, I was finally starting to get tired. We hadn’t found out anything important outside of trading deals and who was buying a new boat.

I was ready to get back and rest.

I left Jack to finish up his conversation with a couple of attorneys that seemed to take a liking to him and headed for a waiter carrying champagne. I didn’t really like the taste of champagne, but I did like holding the glass. It made me feel less as if I were standing out.

I thanked him for the drink and found a spot near the wall so I could observe for a while. Jack looked so at home around these people. His shoulders were relaxed, his smile easy going, although not real. It felt surreal seeing him like this.

“Ms. Bennett.”

I looked over, finding a woman I knew well walking up. Marie Espinoza. She and my mother had done a few deals when I had been younger. “Ms. Espinoza,” I greeted with a smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

“And you,” she hummed, looking me over. “Look at you, all grown up. You are so beautiful, just like your mother.”

“Thank you. How is everything? Your son?”

She laughed. “Oh, as wild as ever, but I wanted to talk about you,” she cooed, reaching for my left hand.

I allowed her to take it, watching as she admired the beautiful ring I couldn’t get enough of.

“Wow, a lucky man,” she said with a glint in her eye. “He walks around this place as if he owns it,” she went on, turning to face Jack who was still deep in conversation with the attorneys.

I nodded, my heart lifting as I watched him talk. “He does.”

“Where did you find him?”

“On a trip to Washington,” I answered without thought. “I was on vacation, and we ran into each other at the market.”

“Love at first sight,” she sighed, placing a hand over her heart. “Beautiful.”

Love.

I shook my head and straightened just as Jack finished up his conversation and headed our way. “Is your son still in the realtor business?”

“Absolutely,” she beamed. “He’s thriving there. It’s like he was born for the role. His most recent sale was to a man by the name of Blanchard.”

I shifted on my feet the name settling uncomfortably for some reason just as Jack joined us. “And how did that go?”

She frowned. “Oh, Blanchard dropped out just before he pulled the trigger. Sad. The house he had been looking at was on the market for years. Miguel can’t figure out why he decided not to sign.”

“I’m sorry, I hope it works out for him,” I replied easily. “Marie, this is Ash. Ash, Marie and my mom were friends years ago.”

Jack took her hand and shook it firmly. “It’s good to meet you, Marie.”

She blushed. “You as well, Mr. Offerin. You caught yourself a good one, eh? Treat her well, understand?”

Jack smiled. “I would never treat her anything less.”

Marie nodded as if that’s all she needed to hear. “Well, I have to go. It’s getting late and the grandkids were wanting to see me before bed. It was so good to see you again, Rae, we should get coffee some time.”

“Give me a call,” I said in way of goodbye.

Once we were alone again, Jack turned to me, his eyes scanning over me as if I had been in danger. “You know Blanchard?”

I shivered, shaking my head. “No, I mean…I don’t think I do. The name doesn’t sound familiar.”

He studied me carefully before looking around the room. “Okay, let’s get home. We’ve done enough here.”

I nodded, my shoulders relaxing. “Perfect.” I was exhausted. I wanted to get home, watch a movie, relax. Maybe stare at my ring a little bit, admire the shine of the sapphires.

We headed out, waving and nodding our goodbyes, only relaxing when we found the comfort of the car.

We didn’t say a thing on the drive home, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

Marie was a good soul. I remember always loving her. She was gentle and kind. Good through and through. She couldn’t be a part of whatever was happening, I was sure of it.

But that name? Blanchard. That was important. It was so important. I just didn’t know why, not yet.

When we got to my building, Jack took my hand and led me up to my floor, unlocking my door, leading me in.

I took my shoes off, discarded my things on the counter and finally released a breath. Tonight was good, but it was also a lot. I was exhausted clear to the bone.

“We’re moving in the morning,” Jack finally announced.

It wasn’t like I would have argued with him at this point, but even if I had wanted to, I was too tired to do so. “Then you had better make my last night in my apartment worth remembering,” I told him with a small smile.

I may have been tired, but I was never too tired for him.

His eyes darkened with a sick delight. “I expect you naked on that bed in one minute.”

My smile widened, a zing of excitement running through my veins in anticipation of what he would do to me. “Yes, sir,” I hummed.