HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION (An Erotic Billionaire Romance) novel Chapter 99

Meadow’s POV:

“I’m sorry I put the note in my bra.”

It had been an hour since Alaric and I had sex. We remained in my bed, both of us wide awake but lost in

our thoughts. He was in a calmer mood now, but I could still tell that he was still slightly annoyed with me.

Because he hadn’t said a word to me. He just kept stroking my back tenderly as I rested my head on his chest.

He paused then, hand on my lower back. I raised my head to look at him and he was already watching me with a gaze I couldn’t decipher. His teeth scraped lightly over his bottom lip.

“Hey…” I continued softly, reaching up to cradle his cheek. “The waiter was an asshole, Alaric, but I would never do that to you. I wasn’t going to call him, I was just… being defiant.”

Plus, I wanted to see what he would do, but I didn’t add that part. My mind drifted to his phone on my vanity. He’d been typing a message on it before he dropped it. Who had he texted? Trip? The waiter?

I knew Alaric wasn’t going to let this go. However, I couldn’t exactly snoop around on his phone when he was here.

“That’s not what I was worried about,” he murmured.

I scoffed. “All the things you said to me while we were…” Heat crept up my neck and I cleared my throat.”

Were they all lies? Because it seemed as if you were really bothered by it.”

Alaric’s jaw clenched as he replied. “I wasn’t.” He kissed the top of my head. “I’m not.”

But I instantly knew he was lying. Most of the time–all of the time, really–Alaric was an excellent liar. But looking at him now, he seemed a little… vulnerable. Like he was annoyed about letting himself go like that when he was fucking me, I swallowed. “So, you’re not scared of me leaving you after I got what I wanted?”

Alaric’s eyes flashed as he shoved out a breath. When he spoke, his tone was cold.

“Did she do anything to hurt you?”

My brows furrowed. “Who?”

“You said you were with your sister at the restaurant, didn’t you?”

My face flushed for whatever fucked up reason it did. I wasn’t too bad a liar–sometimes–but Alaric’s gaze on me had me flustered. As if he knew I was lying but was just playing along.

“Oh, yeah,” I breathed nervously, looking away from him. “Um, no. No, she didn’t do anything to hurt me, Alaric. And why are you changing the subject?”

He arched a brow, and then he gently moved his arm from under me, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. My tongue dried in my mouth as I watched his back muscles flex. “Will you talk to me about this?” I murmured.

Alaric ran a hand through his hair. “Drop it, Meadow.” His tone was a low mumble.

I sat up in bed, making my way toward him. I started to reach for his back. “But I just-”

“What part of ‘drop it‘ was not clear to you?” There was a harder edge to his voice now as he rose to his feet. And I wasn’t sure why, but I looked away when he turned to face me. He scoffed. “How can you be so sharp with your tongue and too timid to even look at my cock when I’m not fucking you?”

My cheeks heated. “I’m not timid,” I denied, my voice becoming a high octave. “And you keep changing the subject.”

“Then look at me,” he said smoothly, dark amusement coating his tone.

I swallowed. I didn’t know what was wrong with me.

“Look at me, Meadow.”

I did. I was already near the edge of the bed so Alaric’s cock was directly in front of my face. He was semi- hard, curving up slightly so I could see a glimpse of the ladder beneath.

Alaric carefully gripped my chin, tilting my head up so I could look into his eyes. “Do my piercings repulse you?”

“What?” I breathed. “No. I just… you’re right, okay? I’m timid. I’ve accepted it.” I rose to my feet. “When are you going to accept that you’re scared of me leaving you?”

His eyes turned hard as he glared at me, and then his hand left my chin. I shook my head. “Alaric, there’s nothing wrong in being-”

His jaw ticked. “The money is yours.”

Frustration clawed at my chest. “It’s not about the fucking money, Alaric.” I dragged my hand through my hair as my voice rose. “It’s about you. Why won’t you just talk to me? Why is it so damn hard for you to just tell me you’re scared of me leaving? Why won’t you let me see you? Know you?”

He was pushing me away again because he didn’t want to let his guard down, and I was fucking sick of it.

“You don’t want to know me, Meadow.”

There it was again.

“I’m not asking for all of you, Alaric. Not now. But at least just…. don’t start pushing me away all because you’d rather not open up to me.”

For a moment, Alaric was quiet, his thumb stroking the length of my throat. And for a second, I thought that he was finally, finally going to crack. Finally going to let me see a little more vulnerability.

But then, his gaze darkened, jaw ticking. “Drop. It.”

A gasp escaped my throat, and as the back of my eyes burned with unshed tears, he stepped away from me.

My heart plummeted with every step he took toward the door, and as my knees buckled, I lowered myself to the bed, blinking rapidly.

And just when I thought he was already gone, I heard him rasp: “Fuck.”

I sprung to my feet, surprised to see that he was walking back to me. “Alaric-”

“Come here,” he muttered, pulling me to him and crashing his lips down onto mine.