Wicked Villain Shorts - Katee Robert Page 0,8
my makeup. I’ve had to make examples of people. To do things that feed my nightmares that same way Ali’s death lingers in that darkest recesses of my soul.
I feel Jafar before I see him. It’s as if the very air in the room shifts to accommodate his presence. He’s always been like that, but the longer we’ve been together the more attuned to him I become.
He stops behind me and then his hands are on my shoulders, thumbs digging into the tight muscles there. “We’re done for the day.”
“I have one more meeting.” A video call with the newest territory head—Cordelia. I feel a foolish sort of kinship with her, another daughter stepping into the larger-than-life shoes of her deceased father. I won’t let that kinship muddy the waters when our territories share a border, but I can’t deny it. “I can’t put it off. It’s Cordelia Belmont.”
“You’re right. You can’t put it off.” He finds a knot and digs his thumb in hard enough to buckle my knees and make me moan a little. “Do you need me?”
I smile. “Always.”
“Baby girl.”
I turn in his arms and slide my hands up his chest. “After this, I’m going to be too wound up to sleep.”
His lips curve. “That wasn’t even a subtle hint.”
“No, it wasn’t.” I press a quick kiss to his lips, barely resisting the urge to sink into it. I don’t have time. There’s never enough time anymore. Someone always needs something from me, and nights are my only relief, the only time I can let down my walls and just be me with Jafar. The moment I walk through the doors of our suite and kick off my heels always feels like taking off a corset after wearing it for hours upon hours.
He sets me back and strokes his hands down my arms. “You have this under control. Cordelia isn’t in a position to press us, not when she has Ursa biting at her heels on the other side.”
“Jafar.” I wait for him to look at me. “I know. I have access to the same information you do.”
He laughs softly. “Sometimes it’s hard taking a backseat in these meetings and negotiations.”
“I can’t imagine why.” I arch my brows. “You aren’t staging another coup, are you?”
“When the last one went so well?” He takes my hand, his finger brushing my bare left ring finger. He’s been patient, but in the last month or so, he’s been touching me there more and more often. I suspect he’d want his ring on my finger no matter what, but after the unconventional offering in marriage I got from Abel Paine a few weeks ago, Jafar has been more subtly possessive. “They won’t stop asking, you know.”
Of course his mind’s gone to the same place mine has. I glance at the clock, but I still have a few minutes. “Jafar, he literally gave me a pick of his six brothers to marry, sight unseen. That’s hardly a tempting offer.” I step to him, pressing myself against his chest. “No one is as tempting as you, Daddy.”
He sets his hands on my hips, but the dark emotions don’t fade from his eyes. “I’ll wait as long as you need.” He urges me closer, rolling my hips against his hardening cock. “But some day, I want my ring on your finger, baby girl. I thought I could give it up, but that was before.”
I’m not really opposed to the idea. Once people stop looking at me and seeing weakness because of my gender, marrying Jafar will carry less risk of undermining my position. I wish it wasn’t something I had to consider, wish our happiness didn’t rank lower than the lives of everyone in our territory, but life is full of hard choices. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He turns me around and gives me a little nudge. “You’re going to be late.”
I wish I didn’t have to push pause on this conversation, but showing up late for this meeting isn’t an option. I barely make it to my chair in time to pull up the appropriate link and dial in. Cordelia’s pretty face appears almost instantly, her dark hair pulled back and her expression serious. “Hello, Jasmine.”
“Cordelia.”
We verbally spar for a few moments and then get down to business, but half my mind lingers at how uneasy Jafar looked. It wouldn’t be obvious to someone who didn’t know him well, but I’ve spent a lifetime studying that man’s expressions and I know