Rise of a Kingdom

A.L Maruga
OceanofPDF.com
Rise of a Kingdom

ISBN: 978-1-7782508-8-0 Paperback

ISBN:978-1-7782508-7-3 Ebook

Copyright © 2023 by A.L Maruga

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without prior
written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews and
certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the
author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual person, things, living or dead, locales, or events is
entirely coincidental.

Cover design provided by: Cady Verdiramo of Cruel Ink Editing + Design

Formatting & graphic design provided by: Mark Suan of WeLoveWriters Design Studio

Editing by: B&R Edits

OceanofPDF.com
Contents

Spotify Play List

A Note from A.L Maruga

Dedication

Author's Quote

Introduction

1. Stella

2. Jaxon

3. Stella

4. Jaxon

5. Stella

6. Jaxon

7. Stella

8. Jaxon

9. Stella
10. Stella

11. Jaxon

12. Jaxon

13. Stella

14. Stella

15. Jaxon

16. Stella

17. Stella

18. Jaxon

19. Stella

20. Jaxon

21. Stella

22. Jaxon
23. Stella

24. Stella
25. Jaxon

26. Stella
27. Jaxon

28. Stella
29. Stella

30. Jaxon
31. Stella
32. Jaxon
33. Stella

34. Jaxon
35. Jaxon
36. Jaxon

37. Stella
38. Jaxon

39. Stella
40. Jaxon

41. Stella
42. Jaxon

43. Stella
44. Jaxon

45. Stella
Epilogue Stella

Bonus Epilogue Stella

Acknowledgments

Resources
Come stalk me!

About Author
Also By
OceanofPDF.com
Spotify Play List

Burn it all down: League of Legends, PVRIS

Running out of Roses: Alan Walker, Jamie Miller

Fighter: The Score

Enemy: Imagine Dragons, JID, Arcane, League of Legends

Super Villain: Stileto, Silent Child, Kendyle Paige

Bizzkill: Mothica
Phoenix: League of Legends,Cailin Russo, Chrissy Costanza

Devil: Lowborn

Chain My Heart: Topic, Bebe Rexha

Dummy: Cheat codes, Oil Sykes

Are You Ok?: Yves V, Dubdogz, ILIRA

Kingdom of One: Maren Morris, Game of Thrones

How Not to Drown: CHVRCHES, Robert Smith

The Wolf in Your Darkest Room: Matthew Mayfield

Heartless: The Weeknd

You and I: Pvris

Devil Side: Foxes

Who Are You: SVRCINA

Man or Monster: Sam Tinnesz, Zayde Wolf

Heaven: Julia Michaels

Sinner: Dezi

God is a Woman: Ariana Grande

You Don’t Own Me: SAYGRACE, G-Eazy

The Other Side: Ruelle

Take the Crown: CRMNL

F U Anthem: Leah Kate

Million Dollar Baby: Ava Max

You can find the complete playlist on Spotify.

OceanofPDF.com
A Note from A.L Maruga

H ELLO, MY LOVELIES,
This book is a complete standalone outside of the Casbury Prep
world. Although a few of the characters of that series will make an
appearance in this book. This book can be read independently or before
Reign of the Queen.
This book follows two characters filled with possessive and destructive
tendencies, the need for control and power, supercharged emotions, and a
controlling alpha hole that can’t seem to help himself.
All characters are over the age of eighteen, and none are blood-related.
Please note that this book does NOT end on a cliffhanger, but does have a
bonus epilogue that leads you into the world of Casbury Prep.
If you have read any of my other books before this one, you know my little
dark soul leaves traces of itself everywhere it goes. If you’re hoping for a
sunnier book from me, run for the hills! We are about to plunge headfirst
down a dark, spiraling path of destruction and chaos that will take us to the
beginning of our journey. If you are seeking answers, you may just find
them. I hope you return with your sanity!
This is an adult, dark romance and is strictly a work of fiction. I do not
condone or approve of any behavior, actions, or scenarios that take place
between these characters. This book is intended for 18+ only.
Many potential triggers are waiting to rush forward and bring you to your
knees in this book, along with its resident alphahole. Please, for your sanity
and mental health, heed my warning. I have placed international resources
at the end of the book for those that may need them.
Content in this work may contain graphic scenes of physical, sexual, and/or
emotional abuse, consensual, non-consent, and dubious consent, murder,
slight cheating (before relationship starts), gun use/violence, knife
use/violence. If these may be triggers, don’t walk, run away from this book.
It may also contain scenes of violence, pain, primal behavior, light BDSM,
sexual manipulation, an over the top possessive alpha, corruption,
depravity, breath play ( Asphyxiophilia), knife play, semen play, and blood
play. Also featured in this book, degradation, Agoraphilia
/Exhibitionism/Voyeurism, If any of these may be triggers for you...go no
further. This is not the book for you.
There will be explicit profanity throughout the pages of this book. The
characters are unreasonable, morally questionable, and lack self-
preservation at times. If that will cause you distress, this is not the book for
you. I am not the author for you.
Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
For those who want to take the return journey, welcome to the beginning of
the empire. This book has caused my sanity to run and hide. I hope you
return with yours.
A.L Maruga xoxo

OceanofPDF.com
Dedication

To my mother and mother-in-law,

the two strongest women I know,
who take no shit,
&
To all the other women that will never settle,
refuse to cower and be forgotten.
This one’s for you!
A.L Maruga
xoxo

OceanofPDF.com
Author's Quote

The blade didn’t enter her flesh,

it entered her soul.
A.L Maruga

OceanofPDF.com
Introduction

I am a commodity. One to be traded between the selfish and dirty hands of

wealthy men. I am a prize to be won. One that is pursued relentlessly
against my wishes.
I am a bargaining chip between two players with no intentions of seeing me
as a human being. I am a pretty object to admire, crave and amuse oneself
with.
I am vengeance, with the yearning for the blood of my enemies pounding
mercilessly through my veins.
I am determination, I will win at all costs. I am the harsh blade in the night,
they don’t see coming.
I am a woman. They thought I was the weaker sex. That I would go quietly,
and meekly into my existence, powerless to define my own destiny.
They were wrong…

OceanofPDF.com
1
Stella

“Anger takes your freedom, anger imprison you in jail of regrets.”

Josephs Quartzy, Sweetest song I know

“I S THAT REALLY NECESSARY?” A cultured deep voice asks

from behind me causing the hair on my arms and nape to stand on
end. The bright sunshine streams through the windows, professing this to be
a beautiful day, except I know the truth. That it is a day filled with dismal
despair and categoric doom.
“Is what really necessary?” I turn around and try to contain the evil grin that
wants to burst across my face, instead providing the intruder a sheepish
smile. My eyes trail over the classic black tuxedo, black polished shoes and
crisp white shirt and continue upwards to a strong chiseled jaw, clean
shaven face, strong Roman nose and dark haunting pools of malice for eyes.
The devil himself, in all his damned glory, stands before me, raking his eyes
over me like I am already his.
He is beautiful to look at and if I were a weaker woman I would be
counting my blessings, but I’m not a weaker woman and he’s about to learn
that first hand when I plunge a blade into his callous heart.
“You’re not going to your own funeral Stella, is the black wedding gown
really necessary?” His brows furrow and jaw clenches. He’s displeased with
my outfit choice, fucking good. I’m infuriated that he’s breathing. One of us
can remedy their displeasure and I have no intention of changing out of this
gown.
“Of course not, I’m going to yours.” I dismiss him with an arched brow and
give him my back. My gaze locks solely out the window at the freedom that
is escaping me. Minute by minute, this day continues to move along,
drawing me closer to my impending destiny. My desire to run from this
room, from this church and this whole mess, vibrates through my system
and becomes throbbing in my veins. Escape! My mind and heart yell, but
my feet remain firmly planted.
“Is this how it’s going to be for the rest of our lives?” A deep irritated sigh
leaves those traitor’s evil lips. His soft footsteps echo off the stone floor and
approach me. Unease skates down my back. I don’t want the monster
behind me to come any closer, but I also refuse to show him any weakness.
An impasse, I must weather to prove a point not only to him, but to myself.
“I wouldn’t worry too much Jaxon, I don’t plan for you to live long enough
to find out.” Ice drips from my voice as I answer him and I bite down hard
on my lip to keep from verbally lashing him like my heart demands.
Control. We need to keep control.
“I don’t understand why you are so fucking angry Stella, you get everything
you want and you didn’t even have to lift a finger to get it.” I feel him move
even closer to me, his body giving off heat in the frigid room.
My body turns angrily towards him, hot fury racing through my limbs. My
features are filled with sheer contempt at how callous his words are. How
fucking dare he utter them to me, I am going to ensure that he regrets his
choice of words and the breaths he continues to take. He’s lucky I don’t
have anything within reach to bludgeon him with. My asshole of a father,
made sure everything I could use as a weapon was removed from this room
beforehand. The first intelligent action the man has ever taken and it was
against his own daughter.
“I get everything that I have ever wanted? What exactly is it that you think I
wanted, Jaxon? Please enlighten me, why should I be happy today?”
“Stella, be reasonable. There was no choice here for either of us. You’re not
making out too badly from this situation. You get to be the new reigning
queen of the Manhattan elite, everyone will worship at your perfect ice
queen feet. You’re about to become one of the richest women in the world.
What more could you need?” He throws his hands up in exasperation with a
perplexed look on his face.
A shrill laugh leaves my lips. “What more could I need? What a despicable
man you are Jaxon Stratford. For your information, I was already one of the
richest women in the world, your money is just an extra zero in my bank
account. As for being the new reigning queen of Manhattan, I never asked
for that title, nor do I desire it.”
I shove both my hands against his chest forcing him to take a step
backwards and then another. His molten steel gray eyes widen dramatically
at my actions. “As for having no choice, I beg to differ. I had no fucking
choice in marrying you…but you could have refused. You could have found
a willing victim to be shackled to you. You chose me because YOU need
my family’s name, connections, and money. Do not flatter yourself that you
are the better catch in this scenario.”
He grabs onto my wrist in his tight grip, pulling me forward towards his
hard body. His gaze predatory, his nose flaring in anger and teeth grinding
together. “You’re right Stella, I had a choice and despite you being the
coldest, most haughty bitch in Manhattan, I still accepted the terms your
father put before me.” His tongue peeks out and licks his bottom lip, the
movement capturing my interest. “Either way Stella, it’s done. You are
about to become my wife and a Stratford. With that comes responsibilities
and respect, respect you will show me little wife or I will make all your
waking and resting hours hell on earth.”
He releases me with a disgusted grimace, like the mere touch of my skin
repulses him and steps further back away from my body. His gaze sweeps
over me from the top of my crown and black veil adorned head to the tips
of my black satin Yves Saint Laurent heels and everywhere in between,
leaving fire in its wake. I almost think I see a spark of interest or desire in
his gaze, but he shuts it down quickly. After all, he doesn’t need to desire
me to force me down the aisle. He just needs the determination of a
wealthy, privileged man.
A knock at the door has both of us startling and moving further away from
each other. The person doesn’t bother to wait for our acknowledgement to
enter before the door swings open and my father and mother are gliding into
the room. My father’s shocked gaze lands on me and then quickly turns to
anger as he tries to control his impending explosive temper. His face
immediately resembles an ugly tomato the more he stares at me in disbelief.
My mother sweeps her disapproving gaze over my wedding attire but keeps
her mouth glued shut, just the way my father likes it.
“Stella, what is the meaning of this? Where is your wedding dress?”
Thomas Jefferson Penticton is a menace and a tyrant in a well-dressed
custom tuxedo. He stalks towards me, rage vibrating with each heavy step.
My meek mother trails behind him in her light pink chiffon dress, head
bowed and hands grasped together. Ever the dutiful and submissive wife.
“Whatever do you mean, father?” I smirk my most mischievous smile, the
one I know causes his blood pressure to rise. I want him to explode, I want
him to acknowledge this fucking tragedy that he is putting into motion.
“I’m in my wedding dress.” The reminder that this dress just cost him over
fifty thousand dollars, only to bring him nothing but rage brings me
immense satisfaction.
“It’s black Stella, a wedding dress is white.” He states with irritation like
I’m some incompetent imbecile that didn’t know she was supposed to wear
white to her own wedding. Fuck that shit! He wants a sacrificial virgin lamb
in white, but I have no intentions of playing the part of the lamb or the
virgin for him.
“Yes, well since I didn’t ask to be married and am being forced into a union
with this horrendous, malignant creature before me. I thought it was best to
dress as if I was going to a funeral. After all, father, this will be the death of
me. You have sold me off to the highest bidder and killed any possible
happiness I could have ever had. I think the color is very appropriate.”
A harsh grunt leaves his lips and he moves to grab my arm, no doubt to
drag me across the room. His usual brutish tactic of making the women
around him cower in fear. Before he can get more than two feet from me,
Jaxon slips in front of him and blocks his access to me with his large wide
shoulders. The move has my father stopping in his tracks. “It doesn’t matter
what she wears Thomas, as long as she makes it down that aisle. She could
be naked or wearing a brown paper bag for all I care. She will be a Stratford
by lunch, and no one touches a Stratford, not even you.”
The large ugly vein on the side of my father’s head is currently doing
jumping jacks, a sure sign that the volcano of his temper is about to
detonate to the absolute misery and misfortune of everyone around him.
“Are you threatening me, Jaxon? I can still pull out of this arrangement.” A
trickle of sweat drips down my father’s face, he is so overflowing with rage
that he physically trembles before Jaxon.
A whimper escapes my mother, its sound pitiful and timid in the air, just
like the slave she is. My mother only seems to fear for herself. I can’t say I
blame her, my father is Hades personified and she is an imprisoned
Persephone, except without the love story to match. She too, was sold off
by her father. One can say the sins of the father always tend to be repeated
in our bloodline and I will be no exception it seems.
“Let’s not bluster Thomas, we both know there is no way you are pulling
out of this deal, the humiliation alone would be social suicide. You need this
deal, you need a legitimate heir to the mighty Penticton throne, and you
want that heir to be a Stratford. Your desire to see your precious little dark-
haired princess as the reigning queen of our elite society, motivates your
actions. Don’t try to play with me Thomas, you are not the biggest predator
in the room.”
Jaxon turns back in my direction, his dark slate irises meeting mine. A
devious smirk quirks at the side of his lips and the fucker winks at me. I
think he might actually be enjoying this whole situation. After all, it’s not
every day that someone gets the upper hand on Thomas Penticton. I have
been trying for years and look where I have ended up and what it has cost
me.
“My little ice queen, if you are not down that aisle in the next ten minutes, I
will find you, throw you over my shoulder and drag you down with your ass
red and on display for all our friends and family to see. Do not make an
enemy of me Stella, you will regret it.” He turns, shoulder checks my father
hard, causing him to stumble into my mother and I watch as the both of
them get tangled in her dress and fall on their wealthy, privileged asses.
Holy shit! I don’t know whether to be livid at his threat or slightly aroused.
The door slamming is loud in the space and causes my heart to clench
tightly. SHIT! What should I do? Do I try to run? Where would I be able to
run to, that Jaxon Stratford won’t be able to find me? Nowhere, my mind
immediately provides.
“Stella, please, darling. Maybe we can have someone run out and grab a
white gown.” My mother cries, as she tries to help my overweight father
back to his feet. It’s almost comical, really. She’s barely five feet and a
hundred pounds wet and he’s a hulking giant, at five foot eleven and three
hundred pounds. I would laugh, except right now all I feel like doing is
sobbing at my unfortunate demise.
“No, mother. I will not change and there is no time. You two made this
bargain without my consent and have sent me to be a lamb at the slaughter.
You can now watch me walk to my death.”
I don’t bother to assist either of them, walking towards the full-length
mirror in the room. When I reach it, I take one last good look at Stella
Penticton, an hour from now she will no longer exist. I lower my expensive
French lace veil in front of my face, square my shoulders back, raising my
head held high.
If they want a powerful reigning queen, I will give them one. I will set fire
to their world and grab as much power as I can. No man will ever be able to
control me or my fate again after this. I will be the rocky cliff that rich men
break themselves upon.

OceanofPDF.com
2
Jaxon

“An angry woman is vindictive beyond measure, and hesitates at

nothing in her bitterness.” Jean Antoine Petit-Senn

I WALK DOWN THE aisle, greeting the elite of the world’s wealthiest
sycophants with a fake smile across my face. The room may be full of
the most beautiful and richest people of this world, but underneath all that
glitter and shine they are nothing but toxic, decaying reptiles willing to
destroy each other at a moment’s notice, and I am their new king. I hold my
head high, my gaze glittering and ice cold. I will bask in their worship and
glory, ensuring that each one of them becomes another tool to help me
achieve my plans. After all I am no different from them, evil and
ruthlessness speaks to each other.
My blood is still pounding in my ears from my encounter with Stella and
her fucker of a father. I should have knocked him on his ass when his fat
mouth offered that threat. No one threatens a Stratford and lives. Didn’t
Stella just threaten us too? My mind exclaims with glee. She’s different,
she’s about to become a Stratford and my property. I will take distinct
pleasure teaching her some new found respect, preferably with a collar
around her neck and chained to my fucking wall.
Once again the nagging in the back of my mind starts to try to wear me
down. We shouldn’t be forcing her to do this. She’s a young woman with her
own dreams and aspirations. We are taking everything away from her with
the placement of a ring on her finger and the slash of a pen on paper.
A snort leaves my lips at the thought. Even though I know all of these
things are true and my consciousness tries to move me, it will find no
purchase here. She is fucking mine now, her life and dreams belong to me. I
keep moving forward toward where the priest and my best friend, Ajax, are
standing before the ornate golden altar. The thought that God could smite
me for being the devil in his house of worship makes a chuckle leave my
lips. Go ahead and try fucker.
I’m a ruthless cunt and there is nothing that will stop me from achieving my
goals, not some deity from above and certainly not Stella Penticton and her
misery. She’s about to learn that first hand, living in my depraved and
power-hungry world. A sick part of me hopes to see tears trailing down her
pretty face as she walks towards me and her demise, just the thought makes
my cock harden. Stella is proud, but I will make her bend and bow at my
feet, preferably with my cock shoved down her throat while those arctic
eyes stare up at me with tears streaming down her face. Do you hear that,
God? She will be praying at my altar going forward.
When I finally reach Ajax, his intense hazel gaze meets mine and I see
fierce anger in their depths. His hands are shoved into the pockets of his
pants, no doubt to prevent him from wrapping them around my neck. From
the looks of it, he’s going to need dental work with how hard he’s clenching
that fucking jaw of his. I know he disapproves of this whole situation. He
doesn’t want me to force Stella to marry me for my own personal gain. He
has made his opinion of the subject known to nauseating lengths and
frankly, I am tired of hearing it. He’s lucky we haven’t come to physical
blows in the last couple of days over the subject. Not that the fucker could
take me down if we did.
Ajax forgets that we have been friends since the fifth grade and I know his
mercurial heart. He has had a childish infatuation with that viper I am about
to marry since we were in our sophomore year of high school and she was a
freshman. His adamant objections are not about me forcing Stella to marry,
they are about me forcing her to marry me. He would have taken her for
himself, no doubt, had her father not approached me first. You snooze, you
lose, motherfucker.
“Stella?” He questions with a raised eyebrow and a whisper as he removes
his hands from his pockets, looking for all before us like the proud and
supportive best friend that he isn’t.
“About to be a blushing bride.” I taunt, wanting to get a rise out of him. I
know it’s a dick move, but what can I say, I’m a fucking dick and I’m not
apologizing for it.
I don’t miss the tightening of his hands into fists and the scowl that crosses
his face before he schools his features. The piano and violins start to play at
the end of the room. The music starting out slowly and then building in
volume and strength. What the ever-loving fuck? These fuckers are playing
“Chopin’s, Funeral March,” if I am not mistaken, and not the wedding
march, my new father-in-law insisted on.
It doesn’t take long before I hear the gasps and whispers all around the
room and they bring a smirk to my lips. I survey the crowd and their faces
are shocked and horrified. I have to give her credit, she is a devious and
dramatic little hellion. At least I know things with Stella will never be
boring. These maggots better get used to her doing as she pleases, she’s
about to become their queen. The thought of my conquest of Stella
Penticton brings a smile filled with satisfaction to my face.
Stella has always been untouchable. The cold ice queen that men crave, if
only to tarnish her appearance and convince themselves that she is but a
mere mortal and not some beautiful fae, brought here to tempt man into
destruction. I have never been immune to her, I’ve just hid it better than
others. Now all that beauty and strength is about to be all mine. My wife, a
Stratford queen, one that I plan to tarnish over and over with all my
darkness and depravity.
Stella stands at the end of the aisle next to her robust father. The man’s face
is still bright red and getting redder by the moment with the song the
orchestra is playing. He holds his arm out stiffly for Stella to grasp and they
move steadily forward together. Stupid fucker has no idea what treasure he
just bargained away, but I do, and I have no intentions of letting it slip
between my hands. His quest for unending glory and legacy will be his
undoing but will cause mine to soar to undeniable heights.
Stella’s features are partially obscured by the black lace veil so I can’t see
those threatening blue arctic eyes. The ones that cut right through me every
time she glares at me. She looks stunning in the dress, regardless of it being
black, a full strapless ball gown with lace cutouts and embroidery. The front
meets in a sweetheart neckline that shows off the swell of her round, full,
creamy breasts and that gorgeous, elongated neck that I dream of wrapping
my hands around nightly. Her head is held high and her shoulders are back,
my reigning elegant little queen filled with malice and defiance. My cock
jerks in my pants at just the thoughts of breaking her and making her beg
for my mercy.
I was hoping that she would have given me a reason to chase her and spank
that perky uptight ass of hers and then drag her down the aisle kicking and
screaming. My cock pulses again at just the thought of having my hands on
her creamy skin and marring it with my touch. If I’m not careful I’m going
to have a raging hard-on here in front of all these well wishers.
There is no conceivable world in which Stella wouldn’t be mine once I set
my mind on her. A Stratford always gets what they want and we always
win. I hope my ice queen wife learns that lesson early. Actually, scratch
that, I might enjoy teaching her that lesson over my knee a few times. Stop
fucking around before we bust the zipper of our pants, motherfucker! My
mind screeches at me.
As the two of them reach the end of the aisle, her father places her hand
dutifully on mine after the priest asks who gives this woman away. I hold
my breath for her objection or snide comment, but she seems to hold her
tongue as her hand settles in mine more firmly. From the side of my eye, I
watch as Ajax attempts to catch her eye. I know what he’s trying to do, but
there will be no stopping this wedding. I give him a harsh glare, my fingers
tightening into a fist at my side and turn my attention to the priest who
starts droning on about love.
Love. What does love have to do with two of the wealthiest families in the
United States marrying? This is not a love match, there aren’t too many of
those made in our world. No, in our world you marry for power or wealth or
sometimes both. Stella always knew this, she was brought up in this world
just like I was. We have a duty to strengthen our families. Love plays no
part in that.
I catch her peeking at me from the corner of her eye through the lace veil.
Her stunning blue eyes are large and her hand is slightly clammy in my
grip. My ice queen, it seems, is a bit nervous. You would never know it
looking at her. Stella Penticton has always exuded class, sophistication, and
coldness. I wasn’t the one to give her the nickname of “ice queen,” even
though it is an apt description of my soon-to-be wife. That name has
followed her since we entered high school and she never did anything to
discourage it, quite the opposite actually. Right now if I wasn’t holding her
hand, I would never know she was feeling anything at all.
This is the woman I need by my side in order to grow the Stratford name
into a dynasty that will never be forgotten. The woman before me with her
name, money and countenance will help me build a kingdom that will
outlast us all. Whether she wants it to be or not, her fate and mine are tied
together and anyone who tries to impede that will be met with swift
destruction.
“Do you, Jaxon Philip Stratford, take this woman, Stella Rachel Penticton,
to be your lawful, and cherished wife?” The priest questions. Cherished?
Will I cherish Stella? I’ll cherish the power she brings me. As for the viper
herself, I don’t plan to ever hurt her. Well that’s not exactly true either, I
plan to enjoy myself vigorously between those toned thighs of hers. If in the
process my hands end up wrapped around her slim neck and stop her from
breathing a time or two, well, I own her now, I can do whatever the fuck I
want with her.
Once she provides me with an heir or two, I will leave her to her coldness
and the solitude she seems to prefer. I have no intention of spending the rest
of my life having to deal with her sharp, wicked tongue. Even if she makes
my cock hard just by opening that pretty mouth of hers. I can pop in every
once and awhile and fuck her throat raw as a reminder of who she belongs
to. After all, we don’t have to live together forever in order to make this
work. Marriages in our world are all about appearances but behind closed
doors spouses rarely have anything to do with each other.
It’s one of the reasons I haven’t given up my man-whoring ways, despite
telling Thomas that I would. I don’t see Stella warming up to me anytime
soon and honestly other than filling her frigid belly with a child and forcing
her to submit at my feet, I am not interested in spending any more time with
her than I have to. Sex should be pleasurable and passionate. Stella gives
off a cold, in the dark, missionary vibe. Breaking her might be enjoyable for
the short term, but I will tire of her quickly. No fucking thanks, my tastes
run a lot more kinkier and darker and I don’t plan on giving them up for
Stella.
The priest clears his throat just as I feel the sharp heel of Stella’s shoe dig
into my toes and I have to bite the inside of my cheek to muffle the pained
sound that wants to escape my lips. Damn it. My mind ran away with my
thoughts about Stella’s frigid cunt.
“I do,” I raise my voice and meet the priest’s gaze.
“Do you Stella Rachel Penticton, take this man, Jaxon Philip Stratford, to
be your lawful and cherished husband?” I almost feel sorry for the priest.
He’s holding his breath waiting for whatever Stella will do. It’s been no
secret amongst those intimately involved with this wedding that the bride
wanted no part in it. It’s a good thing no one took her objections and desires
into consideration. I’ll probably be paying for that fact for the rest of my
damn life.
Stella never turns her eyes towards me, she stares straight ahead and past
the priest. I can almost see the scales in her mind as she undoubtedly
weighs the consequences of refusing me. It’s no use. She, like I, knows
there is no changing our fates. I am power hungry and she is a prize I am
determined to take. The crowning jewel in my new empire. I will have her
by any means necessary.
Silence fills the air, and we all stand like statues afraid to move, waiting
with baited breath for the ice queen’s words. I can feel a trickle of sweat
down my back. The desire to wrap my fingers around her impertinent throat
seizes me. I grind my back molars to prevent me from doing anything
further to embarrass myself. Just as I turn my face towards her with a raised
brow and the look of retribution on my face if she denies me, her words
ring out, loud and reserved.
“I do.” Her cultured voice is strong in the silence of the church. The
congregation releases a breath they all seemed to have been holding. I
watch out of the corner of my eye as Ajax stiffens, his eyes riveted on Stella
before lowering to the ground with a grimace on his face. That
motherfucker better wipe that grimace off his face before someone in the
crowd catches on that the best man was cheering for the groom to be left at
the altar. Fucking traitor!
The need to slam my fist into his pretty boy face is almost overwhelming.
Heat is rising along my body, prickling my skin, as my temper tries to get
control of me. My foot takes a step in his direction, before I pull myself
back to the here and now. A smug grin crosses my face with the realization,
it doesn’t matter what Ajax wants or feels. I already fucking won, she’s
mine.
The priest continues on for a few more minutes about the sanctity of
marriage but I tune him completely out. My thoughts race ahead to all the
power plays I mean to make in the next couple of months. I tune back in
just as Stella tightens her grip on my hand, squeezing my fingers in a
bruising embrace. My glance returns to her and even through the veil, I can
see her displeasure. Her lips are in a tight line and her nose is flaring with
obvious rage. Well, shit.
Ajax moves forward and places two platinum and diamond encrusted bands
in my hand before moving back to his spot. I hold up the smaller of the
rings and slip it on Stella’s finger, pushing the square Stratford diamond I
sent her by courier weeks ago further back as I slip the band in next to it. I
know it was a dick move and not one that won me any brownie points with
her, but I just couldn’t be bothered to play up the charade of two bestowed
lovers. Stella takes the band from my hand and slips it with bruising force
on my finger, sinking her nails into the skin of my knuckle before releasing
my hand. Fucking bitch.
The words I have been waiting weeks to hear are finally uttered. “You may
now kiss your bride.” Hell, I’ll willingly kiss the ice queen, after all she just
became my most valuable possession. I reach forward and lift her delicate
black veil up and over her crown, revealing her beautiful features to me.
The breath in my lungs momentarily stalls. She is a stunningly beautiful
woman. If it wasn’t for her viper tongue and arctic personality I would be
beside myself with glee at having such a stunning wife. Instead I am
constantly weary and waiting for her to plunge a blade into my chest.
Before I can lean forward and take her lips in the obligatory kiss, she
shoves her bouquet of blood red roses at me, makes an unlady-like snort
and turns away from me to walk back up the aisle alone, head held high and
back rigid.
Gasps, murmurs, and giggles are breaking out around the room and the poor
priest looks mortified. My beautiful, uncontrollable bride just left me
standing at the altar like an irredeemable asshole holding her flowers rather
than allowing me to kiss her.
She’s going to pay for that.

OceanofPDF.com
3
Stella

“Anger is a violent emotion, vindictive, and as dangerous to he who is

driven by it as to anyone on whom it is turned.” Dean Koontz

I LEAVE HIM STANDING at the altar holding my damn flowers and

walk out on him. He doesn’t bother to give chase, after all now he has
what he wanted, I am a Stratford and his possession. I make it to the black
chauffeured vehicle outside of the church that is meant to take us to our
reception lunch with hurried steps.
The back of my mind is shouting miserably that I am weak, running away
from my monsters, but I try to ignore those tempestuous thoughts. The
driver rushes around to open the door and to help me quickly get inside
with this overbearing dress. Once I’m safely in the confines of the vehicle, I
instruct him to take me directly to the Stratford estate rather than the
country club where our reception is to be held. I’m finally able to release
the strangled breath that has had my chest tightening for the last hour. It’s
done, there is no turning back now.
All my personal belongings were transferred to his home this morning.
There is no point in returning to the Penticton estate, I am no longer a
Penticton. At least at the Stratford estate, my father will not be able to get
his furious hands on me. His rage was palpable and I know if the world
wasn’t watching he would have wrung my neck for my show of defiance. I
close my eyes and try to calm my racing heart from the ordeal of the
ceremony.
Jaxon, the fucker, couldn’t even pay me the miniscule amount of respect of
paying attention to our wedding vows. Not that any vows he makes to me, I
would put any weight in. I could tell he was lost in his thoughts, probably
already scheming, now that he has his desired prize. He has another thing
coming if he thinks I will just sit back and let him use me.
The look on his face was priceless when I refused his kiss, shoved my
flowers at him, and turned and walked away. I could hear all the gasps and
murmurs all around the room. The disappointed sheep, bleating that their
new queen will not fall in line with what is expected. They hunger for the
type of power that we now have together. The one my new name provides
me. I will not put on a show for any of them if it does not benefit me. I am
the untouchable ice queen, why should marrying Jaxon formally change
that. If anything, it fills me with more disdain and fury that they all watched
as I was forced to the altar. A sacrificial lamb, sent to the slaughter at the
hands of powerful men.
I know that most of the women in that room have slept with my new
husband. Whether they themselves are married or not. Nothing in our world
is truly a secret. That man is despicable and can’t seem to keep his dick in
his pants. I have heard rumors of his various kinks, ones that cause a
shudder to race down my spine. Will he try to force those on me now? He
pursues women relentlessly and even in my self-imposed glass castle, I hear
the stories of his exploits. I will not be one more notch on his belt. He can
force me to take his name, but he cannot force me to desire him and
willingly let him touch me in intimacy. What if he tries to take it by force?
My mind questions. Then it will be the last thing he does alive on this earth
before I slit his delectable, evil throat.
I almost feel sorry for my pathetic father who so desperately craved a male
heir that he sold his only daughter to a monster in order to get one. He did it
for nothing. I will rip out my own ovaries and set fire to them before I
provide him with what he and Jaxon want. No, as far as I’m concerned, the
Penticton’s and Stratford’s line will end with us so that we don’t force the
next generation into the same predicament.
The gates open upon the approach of the vehicle and I watch as the large
gray stone house appears, a short drive from sixty-second street. It’s
ridiculous the opulence in the middle of the city, not that the Penticton
estate isn’t as grandiose. We are all living in a rich man’s world, regardless
of what is happening just outside of our gates.
The limo rolls through the gates and they immediately close behind us. One
can never be too careful when one comes from a powerful wealthy family. I
know there are those that mean to do my father and my new husband harm.
I will be fighting enemies at every turn going forward. That thought should
scare me, instead it fills me with anticipation. I was made for war, just like
the goddess Athena, I welcome the blood of my enemies.
I’ve never stepped foot in Jaxon’s family home, having preferred to live in
complete denial that there wouldn’t have been a way for me to extract
myself from this mess. Now that I have failed, I need to accept that this will
be my new prison for the foreseeable future, or at least until I make myself
a willing widow.
The limo stops before the large Grecian styled columns on either side of the
resplendent wood and glass front door. It opens and a butler and
housekeeper, both in navy uniforms, make their way outside to the
driveway. As I extract myself from the car, tearing the train on my fifty-
thousand-dollar dress as I get out of the vehicle and almost end up in an
undignified heap on the cobbled driveway. Fucking hell! I am so glad I
wasn’t in love with this dress, otherwise I would be in tears right now. As it
is, it is one more shackle confining me to this miserable life. I will be so
relieved when I never see the despicable thing again and I would love to be
a fly on the wall when my father gets the bill.
“Mrs. Stratford, it is a pleasure to have you home, ma’am. We were…not
expecting you…before the completion of the…bridal lunch. I am Fergus,
the Stratford family butler and this is Mrs. Pox, the housekeeper.” His lined
face seems kind and I can see that I have caused both of them agitation with
my untimely and unexpected arrival. I feel horrible for causing them stress,
but I just couldn’t take another moment of pretending to be content with the
wedding and since this is my new home, there was nowhere else to go. I
would have boarded a plane for anywhere, had Jaxon not taken my passport
days ago, to prevent that very thing.
“I am truly sorry for causing you any distress. I was exhausted from the
ceremony and decided to come to my new home for a reprieve.” I watch as
they both take in my black attire and the use of my word reprieve. Yes,
that’s right, this wedding was an execution of myself at the hands of my
father and Jaxon Stratford. There is no point in mincing words anymore.
The deed is now done.
“Ma’am? Uh…Mr. Stratford is not with you?” Fergus seems perplexed by
the fact that no one else has vacated the vehicle other than me. I nod my
head no and start moving towards the front door.
“He stayed with his guests. I am sure there are lots of people that want to
offer their congratulations or…” I bite my lip hard to keep from laughing.
“Condolences to the groom.”
“Yes… ma’am.” They are too well trained and polite to call me out on my
crazy and instead lead the way into my new home with blank expressions.
Great, not even ten minutes in my new home and the staff already think I’m
insane. Great going Stella, you will need allies here, try playing nice for
once in your miserable entitled life.
I step forward into the grand foyer only to be accosted with oil paintings of
past generations of Stratford’s and a silver knight uniform on display. The
foyer floors are all black and white marble with inlaid details that meet a
dark sprawling wood staircase which leads to the second-floor landing and
a large embankment of windows. The multiple crystal chandeliers give off
prisms of light across the champagne-colored wallpaper and all the deeply
rich toned brocade and velvet upholstery.
Great, we are living in the middle ages instead of the end of the 20th
century. I roll my eyes at all the pretentiousness of wealth on display and
turn my attention back to Fergus and Mrs. Pox. I guess redecorating will be
one of my very first tasks as lady of the shitty manor.
“Mrs. Pox, if it wouldn’t be a great inconvenience, may I have a pot of tea
and some assistance removing this dress?”
“Yes, ma’am. Of course. I will put the kettle on right away. Your belongings
have arrived and I have taken the liberty of hanging most of your clothing
in the master suite. Fergus will show you and I will be up shortly with the
tea to assist you.” She turns as if her backside is on fire and rushes down the
hallway in the direction of what I’m guessing is the kitchen.
A deep sigh leaves me and I turn my attention back to a waiting Fergus and
indicate with my arm that he should precede me on the stairs. The man must
be in his mid to late sixties, there is no way I am risking taking him down
that flight of stairs if I fall with this dress on. He gives me a look of
displeasure but turns and walks up the stairs. “The master suite is in the east
wing, ma’am. The west wing holds all of the guest suites.” I admire all of
the beautiful priceless art on display and the exquisite artifacts that should
adorn a museum but are instead here in the private home of a tyrant. I
wonder how angry I could make him if I donated them all to charity?
All of this is now as much mine as it is Jaxon’s. My cunning father insisted
there be no prenup, both of our vast wealth to be amalgamated into one
entity, therefore ensuring the survival of the Penticton’s and the Stratford’s.
Too bad I mean to end it all and ensure that the only one who survives is
me.
We reach the large double doors of the master suite and I get my first
glimpse of the space. A large dark wood canopy bed meets my gaze,
decorated lavishly with creamy white linens and rich navy accents. I
wonder how many of my female acquaintances have been draped across
that thing? Disgust curls my lip as I look away. Large windows allow
natural light into the space and there is a beautifully furnished sitting area
with a chaise for reading or lounging. I walk further into the space and push
open two double doors, which lead to a massive walk-in closet.
The space is divided into his and hers and I can see that Mrs. Pox did
indeed put away my belongings across from Jaxon’s fine Italian wool suits.
The space smells like him, a mix of citrus, musk, and spices. I breathe in the
scent and rather than agitating me, it helps to calm me and bolster my
confidence.
I leave the room and walk directly across the hall into a large ensuite
bathroom with a massive glass and marble enclosed shower, huge sunken
tub, and his and her pedestal sinks. Everything in the space is white and
gray marble with touches of navy accents. It’s beautiful and I can picture
myself spending some luxurious time in that tub. That is after I dispose of
my wretched husband.
I re-enter the master bedroom area, just as Mrs. Pox is walking into the
space with a tray filled with tea and pretty little cookies. I give her a small
smile and reach for one of the cookies. Taking a quick bite, a moan leaves
my lips. Oh my god, the cookie melts in my mouth. Maybe living here won’t
be so bad if Mrs. Pox keeps supplying me with cookies! Can one have an
orgasm from a baked good? I watch as she sets everything down on the
coffee table in the sitting area and moves back in my direction. She nods
her head at Fergus to leave and motions with her finger for me to turn
around.
Before I can do that, a wicked thought on how to further mess with Jaxon
enters my mind. I bet the fucker thinks he’s going to have his wedding night
and pillage the blushing bride. I would rather slit my own throat than allow
that man inside of me.
“Fergus, wait. You mentioned that there are other suites in the west wing?”
I raise an eyebrow and a smirk makes its way to my lips as he eyes me
questioningly.
“Yes ma’am. There are six suites on the other side.” He stands there
completely confused at my question. I catch Mrs. Pox’s eye and notice that
she’s trying to suppress a smile. It looks like she and I may end up
understanding ourselves perfectly. Maybe we can be allies. It would be
lovely to not have to watch my back the whole time I am here.
“Fergus, as quickly as you can, please have Mr. Stratford’s clothing and
personal belongings moved to the largest of the suites in the west wing.”
His bushy gray eyebrows meet his hairline at my words and his mouth goes
slack. “If there is no one else that can assist you to complete the task
quickly, I will change, and Mrs. Pox and I will help. I would like it
completed before Jaxon returns home.”
I watch as his Adam’s apple bobs up and down, and his mouth opens and
closes, then he seems to shake himself. “Yes Mrs. Stratford, right away. I
will get the two maids to help me while you are changing.” He quickly
leaves the room and a snort escapes Mrs. Pox. “Oh deary, I hope you know
what you are doing. Jaxon tends to have a hellish temper.” She motions to
the ensuite bath and I follow her in after grabbing clothing from the closet
to change into.
“I’m not worried Mrs. Pox, he needs me too much to really do me any
harm. He can rant all he wants, he asked for this reckoning.” We quickly
make work of removing my dress, veil and crown and I slip into a pair of
blue jeans and an off the shoulder cashmere sweater.
We re-enter the room to the bustle of Fergus and two maids quickly
removing Jaxon’s items out of my new space. I hope he enjoys being the
master of nothing. He’s about to learn that the queen is the most important
piece of the board and kings just don’t hold the same power.

OceanofPDF.com
4
Jaxon

“On wrongs swift vengeance waits.” Alexander Pope

I ’M LIVID AND MY face hurts from all the fake smiling I have had to
do all day. Once Stella dramatically snubbed me at the church and
disappeared with my damn limo, I had to commence damage control. I can’t
allow these wealthy families around me to believe that my… wife, god I
hate that word. My wife can walk all over me.
Stella has no idea the rage she has awoken in me, but she’s about to find out
when I get home. The only thing that is giving me a measure of calm is the
knowledge that my little ice queen will be paying me back every slight and
insult on her knees.
I had to hitch a ride with my new in-laws to my wedding reception lunch, as
if the humiliation of being left standing at the damn altar holding my wife’s
flowers wasn’t enough. Stella’s mother, Rachel, tried unsuccessfully to start
a conversation in their limo, but I barely uttered two words. My thoughts
solely on my ice queen and what I am going to do with her spiteful ass
when I next see her. The picture of me spanking her with my full palm over
and over until her ass is red and her cunt is dripping while a ball gag is
wrapped around her face, races through my mind and gives me a semi right
at the most unfortunate of times.
Thomas Penticton was unusually quiet in the vehicle. The man likes to
boast about his business conquests at length, but other than to agree that the
priest did a splendid job, he hadn’t uttered another word. Thank fuck for
that. He did however stare at me with rancor and displeasure the whole way
to the country club. Maybe he was regretting his choice of grooms after all.
Regardless, there is no way back for any of us now. We are one miserable
wealthy family now.
The country club was just another horrendous and humiliating affair to
endure. How does one have a wedding lunch without a damn bride? Her
parents made a toast to the beautiful missing bride, much to mine and
everyone’s amusement. I will be on every gossip newspaper across the
country by morning and all because my little hellion of a wife was
displeased with the hand fate played her.
She went through with the ceremony and for that I am grateful, even though
I will never admit it to her. There were a few moments there when I thought
that for sure she would deny me or better yet slap me. But she didn’t and if
I’m honest with myself, that has me worried. Stella doesn’t seem the type to
roll over for anyone. Case in point, leaving me at the altar after completing
our vows. She’s a planner just like I am. A planner with access to an
unlimited fortune and massive amounts of power now that she carries the
Stratford name.
I have no doubt that we are about to go on a rollercoaster ride of trying to
punish and tame each other. The thought alone of how I will bring her to
heel has my cock hardening in my tuxedo pants, which is unfortunate as the
company around me won’t appreciate the desire for my new wife. Maybe I
can warm up that frigid temperature inside of her, melt some of that ice so
my cock doesn’t end up with frostbite.
I tune back into what Ajax, Thomas Penticton, Fisher St. John, Jeffrey Cain
and River Stanton are discussing. The discussion centering around buying
up low-income housing in the south and revitalizing it into condos for the
rich and wealthy. Fools, the lot of them. Don’t they realize the housing
market is about to crash? How about the fact that they will have to deal with
the local gangs?
I should let them invest in whatever scheme will cost them vast amounts of
their wealth and then sweep in and buy up all their assets. I can use my
underworld connections with those very same gangs to make their lives
miserable. That’s what my father would have done before me. He would
have gone so far as to have their buildings burnt to the ground and then
benefited from his soiled hands. The apple doesn’t fall very far from the
tree, I have no issues with getting my hands muddy.
Patrick Stratford was a ruthless, conniving business shark before his
untimely death to a heart attack two years ago, leaving me the sole heir and
inheritor of the Stratford line. I wonder if he’s up there somewhere smiling
today at my calculated move to expand our empire. All I have ever wanted
to do was make that man proud of me. Make him see the value in me, after
years of ceaseless disappointment. I was unable to do that before he
abruptly passed away but I am determined to make it my life’s mission and
Stella Penticton Stratford is going to help me achieve it.
“Are you even listening, Jaxon?” Ajax inquires with annoyance in his
voice. I know he’s still mad I married Stella and he seems to really be
enjoying my humiliation at her hands at the moment. The urge to break his
perfect nose fills me and I have to restrain myself from reaching out with
my fist. Some best friend, this fucker is.
“He’s too busy dreaming of his little ice queen of a wife, isn’t that right
Jax?” River asks with amusement and wagging eyebrows.
“That and all the empires I’m about to destroy, maybe even yours River.” I
smirk and excuse myself from the conversation. Having had my fill of their
obnoxious bullshit and sly jokes at my expense.
I’m just about to walk back to the bar to grab another much-needed drink
when Stella’s mother stops before me. Her large blue eyes are reminiscent
of her daughter’s, but where Stella’s are arctic, Rachel’s are pools of sunny
skies. “Jaxon, may I have a word, in private please?”
My eyebrow arches at her request. I watch as she steels her shoulders and
determination fills her delicate features. I nod in the direction of the balcony
and we make our way out to the fragrant chilly area. “What is this about,
Rachel?” I inquire as I lean my body against the railing, my mind filled
with curiosity.
“Jaxon…Stella…” She takes a deep fortifying breath. “Jaxon, please don’t
hurt my daughter.” I go to interrupt her but she raises her hand between us
indicating I should remain silent. It irks me to comply but I do. “My
daughter is fearless, strong, and frighteningly intelligent. Had she been born
a man in this world; she would have had all of you on your knees as your
king. Unfortunately, that was not her fate, and her father could not see her
worth as anything other than a pretty chess piece to maneuver on the
board.”
I watch as her features darken at the thought and her small hands clench at
her side. Interesting, Rachel Penticton is not the meek little thing she
portrays herself to be. “She will not bend willingly and if you try to force
her to her knees she will set fire to your world, Jaxon. You don’t realize it
yet, but my idiot husband has given you more than a prize, he has given you
an asset. If you are the intelligent man, I believe you to be, you will work
with her to build the empire that you crave. Make her a willing part of the
conquest, or you will never achieve what you desire without her.”
She moves closer to me and grabs my chin tightly in her delicate pink
tipped fingers. I stare at her in surprise at her bold move. “If you hurt my
daughter Jaxon, I will have you murdered and decapitated in the middle of
the night, leaving my daughter as the sole heir to all of our fortunes. I am
only weak because I have to be, but I refuse to allow you or anyone else to
turn my daughter into me. Do we understand each other?”
She tightens her hold, her fingernails slightly digging into the skin just
below my jawline. Holy fuck, Rachel is a little spitfire. I am not sure why I
am even surprised, after all, Stella had to get her spirit from somewhere. I
meet her eyes and see the sincerity blazing there. She will have me
murdered; I have no doubt about it. A wealthy woman like her, I am sure
can arrange a murder without much of an effort.
“Understood. I have no intention of hurting her, Rachel.”
“Good,” she releases my chin, takes a step back and turns towards the open
doorway. “Oh and Jaxon, leave her wild and free. Do not try to control or
contain my daughter, you will scorch yourself in the process.” She moves
forward and away from me leaving me stupefied and with revolving
thoughts in my head.
God damn it! Are there no meek women left in the godforsaken privileged
world? Are they all secretly demented banshees just waiting to cut off the
heads of the men that cause them displeasure? I wonder if Thomas
Penticton even truly knows the strength his wife hides? Probably not, he
would have beaten it out of her by now if he did.
I crack my neck and shrug my shoulders to try to relieve the fucking stress
that threatens to drown me. I won’t be making his mistake. I know I’m a
dick forcing her down the aisle and trapping her for my own ambitions.
Hell, the thought of forcing her to submit to me, the ice queen of Manhattan
makes my cock throb, but I’m not her father. I don’t want to beat that spirit
out of her. I plan to know my wife in every way, to ensure she never hides
her true self from me and that I don’t one day end up with a blade in my
back. I may not love Stella or even like her at the moment, but I can respect
her fierceness and determined spirit. Her mother is right, Thomas never saw
Stella as anything more than a prize to hand off to the highest bidder but I
see the fire within her.
She will be my queen and rule alongside me and together we will master
this world and ensure my name lives on for hundreds of years. I just have to
convince her that I don’t mean to break her spirit and that I see her as an
equal first. Good luck with that! My mind roars.
Stella Stratford, I am coming for you and you will be mine in every way.

OceanofPDF.com
5
Stella

“Rage became a layer of my skin.” Soraya Chemaly, Rage

Becomes Her: The Power of Women's Anger

I T’S ALMOST MIDNIGHT AND a storm is brewing both outside and

in my veins. There has been no word from Jaxon since I left him at the
church hours ago. Nothing from my parents either, which I don’t know
whether to be relieved or concerned about. Deep seeds of resentment are
building inside of me. Now that both my father and Jaxon have what they
desire I am once again an afterthought, easily discarded like a pair of dirty
shoes.
A part of me that I don’t understand hoped Jaxon would chase me back to
the house and argue with me. The need to push all of his buttons until he
veritably detonates is a humming deep in my blood. Is it just the need for
spite and vengeance or is it something more?
The desire to hurt him first before he can inflict pain on me wars with my
common sense. Other than agreeing to the terms that my father set out and
forcing me down the aisle, he hasn’t really hurt me. If anything he just gave
me unlimited power to play with. He just doesn’t realize it yet.
The thought alone of all the wealth and power that I now have lights a fire
inside of me. I always wanted to take over Penticton Industries from my
father. Our family dynasty started in the late seventeen hundreds when we
came over from England to colonize the American east coast. My family
were wealthy merchants back in England and we set up trading posts across
the eastern United States, buying and leasing goods and land to all the new
hopeful European immigrants. The beginning of the Penticton dynasty, take
something that doesn’t necessarily belong to you and make it profitable
selling it to someone else. We have never looked back since. Now most of
our wealth is in real estate holdings and industrial acquisitions.
I’ve heard rumblings about how my father doesn’t have the drive or
business mind of his forebears and how the company hasn’t grown at the
rate expected under his tenure. I imagine that was why he was so
determined to tie us to another tyrant of industry to ensure our survival and
Jaxon was all too willing to be a part of it. If only my father had given the
slightest thought to my worth as anything other than a piece he could
bargain with, he would have seen that I have a shrewd business mind and
understand how the game is played, even more than he does.
I would have led Penticton Industries into the future, growing our already
vast fortune to unprecedented wealth and power. He could have been proud
of having a daughter, rather than lamenting the lack of a son.
He did educate me in the finest schools, and although I have a business
degree from Browns, he saw no future where I wouldn’t be just some rich
man’s wife. A pretty trophy on a man’s arm, much like my mother. For that
I will never forgive him. His lack of faith in my abilities has long been a
wound in my soul, one that he continuously inflicts without mercy.
I watch out the window as a dark green Porsche races down the lit driveway
of my new home before coming to a sudden screeching halt in front of the
columns. Both doors open and my new husband slides out of the passenger
side of the sports vehicle still in his wedding attire, but looking disheveled
and if I’m not mistaken inebriated. That however, is not what catches my
interest, it’s the blonde female with the low cut, short red dress that pops
out of the driver’s side and laughs at whatever he is saying. Kalista Cain,
one of the most beautiful women of the Manhattan elite and my new
husband’s ex-girlfriend. By the look of their current touchy interactions,
that term may not be entirely true. My teeth grind together as I watch them
through the glass without a care to who their audience might be.
Kalista is beautiful in a way that puts supermodels to shame. Her features
are delicate and refined with high cheekbones, deep emerald, green eyes, a
perfect nose and pouty lips, finished off with a body made for sin and every
man’s wet dream. By the way Jaxon is looking at her, he is no exception to
that sentiment. I watch with a flash of irritation as he rounds the car, still
laughing at whatever they are saying to each other. He grabs onto her
elbows and pulls her into his embrace, wrapping his arms tightly around her
as she tilts her head back to stare up at him. Their eyes meet and I can sense
the scorching desire from my perch at the bedroom window. I watch as
Jaxon licks his lips before lowering his head to the side of her neck, kissing,
and dragging his tongue along its length as his hand squeezes her breast in
his large palm. She digs her hands into the dark, thick tresses of his hair
before arching her back and giving him further access to her sun kissed
skin.
My sight is mesmerized as his lips trail a path down her neck to the low-cut
neckline of her dress and kiss a path over the swell of her breasts before
returning to her neck, then her jaw, and finally his lips seal over her own red
painted lips in a fierce kiss, that even from a distance is giving off heat. I
watch stunned with my pulse pounding in my veins as both his hands reach
around Kalista’s waist and grab handfuls of her ass cheeks, lifting her off
the ground, until she wraps her toned bare legs around his waist and rubs
herself against his cock.
A gasp leaves my lips, my mouth goes dry at the scene before me. I have
never been kissed the way he is kissing her, never experienced that
unrestrained passion. It looks like he is consuming her and she is in
paradise. I should be furious, I should be running down there and stabbing
both of them. How dare they disrespect me in my new home, on my fucking
wedding day!
However, my feet remain planted watching the vision play out in front of
me as if they have grown deep roots. They are so lost in each other and the
lust between them that they are oblivious to me watching them. If I ever
held the slightest hope for something more in my wretched life, the image
before me just decimated all of it. This will truly be a faux marriage in
name only. Jaxon thinks to humiliate me, by bringing women to the home
that we share, unabashed and unworried about the consequences.
He might as well have just declared war with me. The sting of betrayal
makes its way across my skin and my heart hardens further towards him.
For every small sliver of rage that he makes me feel, for every hurt that he
inflicts going forward, I will pay him back a hundredfold. I vow it to my
soul. I will not allow any man to destroy me.
An emotion that I have rarely felt before rises as I continue to watch my
husband kiss his gorgeous girlfriend with lustfulness. Jealousy. For a
moment it rises within me and I wish it was me he was kissing with such
passion. That it was me draped in his arms and feeling the scorching heat
from his kiss. Then reality settles back in and I know that it will never be
me. He doesn’t want me, just my name, wealth, and an heir. I am an ice
queen and he prefers his women hot blooded, witless, and putty in his
hands. I swallow down a fresh surge of rage and it burns and swells in my
belly and courses through my body, reminding me that I am alive and still
in one piece. This will not break me. I will not shatter at the sight of his
disdain and obviously intended disloyalty.
A large bang emerges from somewhere in the house and must vibrate
outside as Jaxon breaks the kiss and steps back from Kalista. His gaze rises
over the house and meets mine through the large window, the bright light
behind me doing nothing to disguise my presence. A look of shock crosses
his features before he masks them. He steps back further from Kalista and
opens the door to her vehicle, waiting until she once again returns to the
driver’s seat. Once the door is closed, she braces one of her arms and head
out the window. She says something to him with a smile that he doesn’t
return before reversing and turning the car around and driving back down
the driveway.
My new husband once again meets my gaze through the window before
turning towards the front door of our home and moving out of sight. I brace
myself for the interaction about to happen. I push down the feelings of
jealousy and any other emotion other than rage and humiliation, allowing
them to fuel me. He wants a war, I will fucking give him one.
It doesn’t take him long before his rapid hard footsteps are making their
way down the hallway towards the master suite and he’s pushing the door
wide open. He stands there in the glow of the hallway lighting, a well-
dressed menace that just willingly inflicted pain on me without the slightest
concern for the consequences.
“Wife.” He raises a dark eyebrow in question, and wipes at his mouth with
his fingers, no doubt trying to remove Miss. Cain’s red lipstick. It’s too late
for that fucker. Irritation pricks at me at the action. Does he think I am
stupid? How about easily manipulated? I move away from the window as if
to confront him. He braces his body as if in fear of flying projectiles.
Oh no, I have no intention of being one of those women that throws things
and cries. Jaxon Stratford has no idea what I am capable of, but he’s about
to learn that I can be patient and ruthless. He will pay me back in blood for
that little scene on the driveway and so will his little whore.
I feign an unbothered calmness I do not feel and move further away from
the window, taking a seat in the chaise, and pouring myself a glass of wine
from the decanter at my side. I’m projecting the image of being unperturbed
by what I just saw outside and his unkempt appearance. “Did you enjoy
your wedding reception, husband?” I question with a haughty glare, raising
the glass and taking a sip of the rich red wine. How I wish I was spilling his
and Kalista’s red blood right now. Patience Stella, good things come to
those that know how to plan.
“Our wedding reception, Stella. Despite your lack of appearance, it was
quite enjoyable.” He strolls into the room, removing his tuxedo jacket and
draping it on the back of a chair and taking a seat. His body slouched down
and his legs wide open and bent. My eyes are drawn to the spot that Kalista
was rubbing herself against on his pants and mercifully, there is no mark
present. I’m not sure I could contain the anger thrumming inside of me had
I seen a wet spot on the fabric.
“I’ll just bet it was. Did Miss Cain feel the need to continue the festivities?”
I arch a dark brow, malice dripping from my tone.
For a fleeting moment I think I witness regret across his features before he
schools them into his unreadable mask. “Kalista just gave me a ride home,
someone took our limo.”
“How generous and kind of her.” I grit through my teeth. “Please remind
me to reward Auggie, our driver, with the same reward when he brings me
home.”
A scowl crosses his features at my threat. “Stella…it was nothing. Just two
old friends parting ways.”
“Yes, well don’t part ways on my account Jaxon. I have no intentions of
stopping you from being the manwhore you really are. After all, you will
need to get your needs filled somewhere. It certainly won’t be here.”
He jumps to his feet and stalks angrily towards me. “What are you talking
about Stella? You’re my wife. My needs will be filled by you.”
A snort leaves my lips and his words send both fury and heat down my
body. His wife. His needs. “Yes, well you seemed to have forgotten you
have one, mere moments ago, Jaxon.” I let an evil grin cross my lips.
“Don’t worry husband, whatever you do I will follow your lead. If it’s good
enough for you to do without thinking of the consequences, it is good
enough for me to do too.” A smile graces my lips and the malice I feel
towards him drips into my eyes.
He reaches down, grabbing my arm and pulling me to my feet, causing me
to drop the glass of wine all over the cream area rug. Before I get the
chance to react he crashes into my body, the impact has a grunt leaving both
our lips. “You think you are so clever, my little ice queen. I wouldn’t make
idle threats Stella.” His deft fingers slide into my darken waves and yanks
hard, bowing my neck as a gasp of pain leaves my lips.
His soft lips skate down the skin of my neck and goosebumps erupt across
all of my skin. A shiver racks my suddenly heated body as his lips suck
hard on my pebbled skin, no doubt leaving a mark behind in his wake. For
the briefest of moments, I want to give into the sensation and pleasure that
he is creating across my body. Wisps of heat and shudders skate up my
limbs, my core clenches in response to his lips sucking and licking my skin.
I’ve never felt spontaneously turned on by anyone, never wanted to give in
immediately into wanton behavior. Then my mind comes to a devastating
halt and reminds me that not mere moments ago his lips were on another
woman’s lips and it’s as if a bucket of ice-cold water is poured over me,
welcoming me home.
I raise my knee hard between his spread legs and slam it into his cock,
while digging the fingers of my right hand into his hair and yanking
forcefully on the strands. My other hand wraps around his throat and
squeezes, my nails digging into the soft warm flesh until I feel them
puncture the skin. He releases a pained cry and starts to fall to his knees
despite the hold I have on his hair which has dark strands ripping out in
chunks between my fingers. “My threats are never idle Jaxon, you had
better learn that now. Do not ever touch me, I am not one of your willing
whores.”
I squeeze his neck once more as his fingers reach up to crush mine while he
still tries to get himself under control from the knee to the groin. He’s
breathing heavily and sweat has dotted across his forehead. His eyes are
two twin pools of the darkest flint and the fury featured in them brings a
thrill to my heart. “You’re a fucking cold bitch Stella.” He grits, pushing
himself back to his feet while still cupping his crotch.
“I have never denied being one Jaxon.” I move further away from him
towards the crystal candle holders on the console by the far wall. I need to
get myself under control. His touch momentarily made me lose my wits and
I cannot allow that to happen.
“I would like you to leave my room Jaxon.” I state with rancor, meeting his
eyes with defiance.
“Our room Stella, this is our room now.” He stands up straight to his
imposing six foot one height, yanking his loosened bow tie off and starts
unbuttoning his shirt, heading in the direction of the walk-in closet. A
sinister smirk crosses my lips as he opens the door and walks into the space.
I hear him loudly shout, “What the fuck!” before he reappears in the room.
“What have you done with my things, Stella?”
“My room, Jaxon. This is no longer your space. You have been moved to
the west wing, as far away from me as possible. I will not share a room or a
bed with you.”
He strolls towards me, his shirt completely undone and his large muscled
golden skinned chest on display. I see the hint of black ink just off to the
side, but I can’t make out what it is behind the parted sides of the shirt. His
abs clench as he moves and have my eyes transfixed on the area that leads
to a dark happy tail and a defined “V”. Fuck, he is a gorgeous specimen of a
man; too bad he is the devil himself. “We’ll just see about that Stella.”
I reach over and grab the heavy crystal candle holder, brandishing it in front
of me like a weapon. “Get out Jaxon. I don’t want to even have to look at
you.”
“I could force you Stella, you know that right? This little game you are
playing, there are no winners.” He stops before me, his dark gaze meeting
mine. He bites down on his full bottom lip as he reaches out and trails a
finger slowly down the side of my cheek. “How could something so
beautiful be so disturbingly vicious?” His words are soft and a flash of heat
makes its way into his eyes. I feel traces of fire everywhere that his
fingertip has been.
I pull my face away from his touch, the effort harder than I would have
liked, raising the candle holder between us, I make my intent to hit him
with it present. “If you try to force me into anything further Jaxon, I will cut
off your cock and make you swallow it before slitting your miserable throat.
Get the hell out of my room.”
For a moment or two neither of us move. The air around us ripe with scorn.
He doesn’t look like he will back down from my threat and I start to worry
that I may actually have to bludgeon him with the weapon in my tight
grasp. My mind is a whirling mess of sensation and thoughts. Will he force
me? Do I want him to? What will I do if he refuses to leave?
It’s not like anyone in this house will come to my rescue if he decides to be
violent with me. He is a stranger to me; I don’t even know if he has violent
tendencies and Mrs. Pox mentioned he has a temper. If he raises a finger to
hurt us, we kill him. My mind screeches like an unhinged banshee. My
hands are starting to get clammy holding the candle holder and soon enough
I won’t be able to continue to hold its heavy weight at this angle.
Just when I think he is going to reach for me, he steps back, giving me a
final perusal from my bare feet, over my body and to the top of my dark
head, then his eyes meet mine once again before he turns and walks out the
door.
The air that was trapped in my lungs finally leaves in a ragged breath and I
lean my body against the wall behind me. I slide down the wall until I am
on my ass and release my tenuous hold on the candle holder which makes a
dull thud as it meets the floor. Trailing both my hands down my face, I
wonder what I have just gotten myself into.
Is this to be my life now?

OceanofPDF.com
6
Jaxon

“Youth is a blunder; Manhood a struggle, Old Age a regret.”

Benjamin Disraeli

F UUUCK! MY COCK IS still throbbing from Stella’s hit. Fucking

bitch! Who does she think she is moving me out of my own room?
THIS IS MY GODDAMN HOUSE! The threats leaving her villainous lips
only stir up my fury and my ardor more. The intensity of resentment
scoring through my veins is close to exploding if this beauty of a bitch
keeps this shit up. How can something so pretty be so fucking destructive
and violent? She’s like a tsunami in her destruction, so horrifyingly
beautiful you can’t take your eyes away from it and you wait too long to
realize that she means to drown you in her depths.
The devious viper fucking attacked me and I just know she would have hit
me with that candle holder if I pushed any further. My body is strumming
with fiery rage, the desire to go back in there and wrap my tight fist around
her swan-like throat and force her to her knees before me is burning in my
veins. I want her to submit, I want her to acknowledge that I own her, every
fucking inch of that delectable body and that ice cold heart.
You started it, by bringing Kalista here. So what if I brought my ex-
girlfriend home on the day of my wedding? This is my fucking house, mine
not Stella’s. Just like this house, she belongs to me now. She’s one of my
fucking assets. I can do whatever the fuck I want. It’s not like Stella doesn’t
understand the score, she’s fully aware of how our world works. I don’t owe
her shit. Fuck her and her miserable coldness, even a chainsaw couldn’t cut
through it. Thoughts run at rampant speed through my mind, causing me to
yank on my own hair. Bringing with them fury, but also the sprinkling of
unease. That’s not exactly true, I do owe her at least some respect, she is the
new Stratford queen.
Did you need to hurt her like that? Be a fucking callous dick right out of the
gate? As if forcing her to marry you wasn’t enough. I drag my hands down
my face as I lean against the wall outside of my master bedroom. The one
my new wife has seen fit to steal and bar me from.
DAMN IT! How could I have been so fucking reckless? Messing around
with Kalista on my wedding day right after Stella’s mom threatened to
murder me if I hurt her daughter. Fuucckk! Stella’s mom is going to shank
my ass.
How would you have reacted if she pulled that shit on you? Irateness and a
ferocious fury fills my body at the thought of watching Stella cuckold me
from a window with another man in my fucking house. I would strangle her.
I would make sure she watched as I tore her lover to pieces in front of her.
She’s fucking mine and I don’t share.
Yeah asshole, exactly! Is it a wonder, her reaction and the knee she slammed
painfully into my groin? Fucking hell, she had every right to be enraged
with me. I’m a stupid cunt, that does reckless shit with no thoughts of the
fallout. A good man does not hurt his wife the way I have. I disrespected
her in her own home by bringing Kalista here. A home she has been forced
to. I am a fucking walking moron. I can’t even claim I wasn’t aware of what
I was doing when Kalista cornered me outside of the country club and
kissed me brazenly. I should have walked away then; I should have stopped
it from going any further. Did I however, do any of those things? Nope, the
fuck up that I am, I went recklessly forward into the abyss without a care.
My displeasure with Stella at humiliating me at the altar and leaving me to
have to face all our friends and family alone, made its way to the forefront
of my mind and I wanted to repay her in kind. My slightly inebriated state
didn’t help matters either. It’s why I agreed to allow Kalista to drive me
home, knowing we wouldn’t be able to keep our hands off of each other.
Somewhere on the drive home, I actually forgot about my little ice queen
waiting for me back at the Stratford mansion and the whole burden of the
stress of the last couple of weeks began to melt under Kalista’s flirtations
and wicked hands. Especially when those hands stroked and gripped my
hard cock through my pants, making it weep and stand at attention for her.
Shit, I almost had her pull over on the side of the road so I could fuck her
pretty face. Thank fuck now, that I didn’t.
Shit, when that bang startled me out of my passionate infused drunkenness
and I looked up into my wife’s arctic blue eyes, promising me a world of
fucking pain, my stomach dropped and my body went ice cold. Even my
breath stuttered in my lungs at the disappointed and hurt look on her face.
The one I put there with my callous actions. How could I have allowed
things to get so far outside of my front door in the house my new wife now
inhabits? On her first night in this house no less.
I never thought about Stella actually seeing us, but I also did not discount
the possibility. The truth is I didn’t care. I let it play out like the entitled
piece of shit I am and now will have to deal with the fall out. Why do we
care now?
The thought has me stopping in my tracks. Stella is not the forgiving type
and I was already on her shit list for forcing her down the aisle. This one
reckless action of mine will cause irreparable damage to our non-existent
relationship. She’s going to make life even more difficult now. She will
make sure I pay her for the hurt inflicted. Stella is a dark vengeful force,
just waiting to be unleashed on the world, and the fucker that I am, I just
gave her a target to aim at.
Her threats to repay me in kind for my actions skate across my mind. Would
my little ice queen even dare? Would she allow another man to seduce her
where anyone could see? Let passion ride her sexy little body as another
man touched and kissed her? Just the thought has anger racing through me
that has me seeing nothing but red.
Fucking hypocrite! My mind blares. A red haze slides across my eyes as my
fists clench at my side. She is mine! No one will take my fucking prize, and
I will destroy anyone foolish enough to try.
I continue walking down the hall towards the guest wing, cracking my
neck, anger and jealousy riding me. Mrs. Pox climbs the stairs and as I meet
her at the top, I immediately notice the look of disapproval on her features
before she schools them away. “Mrs. Pox.” I nod towards her, but she won’t
look me in the eye and instead looks over my shoulder. Fucking great! Is
every woman in this house mad at me right now? When it rains, it fucking
pours.
“Sir. Congratulations to you on your…nuptials. I hope everything was…to
your enjoyment.” Her lips grimace into a straight line. I know she’s not
thrilled with me forcing Stella to marry me. She refused to play an active
role in my wedding because of it. The woman has been with me since I was
ten years old and my mother died. She is the only real mother figure I have
ever known; I can always tell when I have done something to disappoint
her. Right now she doesn’t only look disappointed, she looks hurt and
disgusted with me. The feeling of remorse crawls across my chest as I stare
at her. “You saw.”
She releases a deep sigh, her shoulders slumping and her dark brown eyes
meeting mine. I see a whack of emotions there, ones that cause my chest to
tighten painfully. “Yes, Jaxon, all of us witnessed through the windows how
you just humiliated that girl up there on her wedding day, after forcing her
to marry you with that…that woman you brought home.” She moves to go
around me and I reach for her arm. “Where are you going?”
She recoils back before my touch reaches her; displeasure evident in her
eyes. “To ensure she is alright, in her new home, Jaxon. Something that you
should have done instead of causing her pain. I raised you better Jaxon
Stratford.” She turns away from me and stalks down the hallway towards
the master ensuite. “You are in the largest of the west wing guest rooms, I
suggest you make yourself comfortable. I don’t foresee you moving back to
the master anytime soon.” With that imparted over her shoulder, she moves
out of my sightline.
FUCK! Does everyone in this house hate me now? Mrs. Pox being ashamed
of me is devastating. She’s right, she didn’t raise me to be this selfish, my
father however, did. I grip the handrail tight, wanting to rip it off and fling it
at the wall. I grab a painting off the light beige wall and throw it down the
stairs, watching as it crashes and splinters, a priceless artifact destroyed
much like my first day as a married man. I literally couldn’t give a shit what
anyone but Mrs. Pox thinks of me. She has always been a constant in my
life and strength at my back. What about Stella? Do you care what she
thinks of you? The thought whispers through my mind.
No…fuck, yes. I should care what Stella thinks of me if we are going to
build an empire together. How could I have lost myself like that in Kalista?
I was reckless, led by my hard cock instead of my brain. I told Kalista
yesterday that we were over, that once I married Stella that she would have
to be my priority, at least until we had conceived an heir or two. That she
should move on to someone else, someone that wasn’t trying to actively
build an empire with another woman. That I would never be able to give her
what she wanted because I was marrying Stella. Yet not even a mere
twenty-four hours later I allowed her to give me a hand job over my pants
in a moving vehicle and kissed her passionately in front of my new fucking
wife and all of my household staff it seems.
I drag both my hands through my hair as I make my way down the stairs to
the den. I need a fucking drink or maybe ten to get through what remains of
this day. I am an idiot, a disappointment just like my father always claimed.
I can never think clearly about the weight of the consequences of my
actions. An attribute leftover from my spoiled, rich boy, motherless
childhood.
The mere thought of how my father would be chastising me over my
actions makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He would no
doubt be berating me endlessly with his loud voice about how my reckless
actions may have just jeopardized all my plans and ambitions for the future
of the Stratford empire. The empire he left begrudgingly in my hands, the
heir he hoped to shape into an image of himself. Sometimes I feel like his
ghost is trapped inside of this house, determined to haunt all my waking
moments, and oversee all of my resounding failures as a man. At twenty-
eight I should be wiser, more decisive in my thinking and more aware of my
actions. I am no longer a school boy out there playing the field and making
mistakes that someone else will clean up for me. My actions now are my
own and they will have dire results if I am not careful.
As I pour myself two fingers of amber scotch, my thoughts return to the
beauty currently holding court in my master suite. Her rage was palpable as
was her intent to maim me with that crystal candle holder. I hurt her
mentally and emotionally and she in turn inflicted physical pain on me.
Fuck, that’s hot. That knowledge makes my already throbbing dick rise,
causing a harsh groan to leave my lips in the empty room. My neck is still
smarting from her tight grip. I rub my fingers over the punctures left from
her nails and my fingers come away streaked with my blood. Fucking sexy,
vicious cunt.
The vision of an enraged Stella makes my temperature rise and my heart
quickens in my chest. The way her eyes seared into my very soul and the
pretty pink flush across her chest, neck, and cheeks after I kissed her soft
skin, hell, I need more of that right now. The smell of her, something
tantalizing and delicate that called to my senses still surrounds me. Fuck,
Stella Stratford is a dream and a nightmare all rolled up into one. One that
now carries my name and is irrevocably mine. The knowledge brings me
heated pleasure and satisfaction.
As I down the scotch and pour myself another, I wonder if there is any way
that I can remedy the havoc that I have already created. It will take a
substantial gesture to make it up to her. For a moment, I stop and question,
why do I even care? It’s not like I have feelings for her, well at least ones
that don’t revolve around her choking on my thick cock when I force it
down her throat. I wonder if it’s even worth it to try. I own her, she’s already
mine. I will never release her from this marriage while she’s still breathing.
Even then, Stella can try to run off to hell, I’ll drag her back by her fucking
hair. Do I really need to do anything here? Sure Mrs. Pox is mad, but she’ll
get over it. Do I really care if Stella is up there in my fucking suite upset at
my actions? She should realize who she married, after all.
She’s our wife, dickhead. My mind seethes. I hurt and disrespected her and
despite everything that happened today, she didn’t deserve that. This will
make it so much harder to get her to cooperate with my plans. I need to put
a baby in that frigid fucking womb of hers right away, without her ripping
my cock off.
I plop myself in the oversized brown leather wing chair to think through
what I can do as a grand gesture for my wife that is short of walking
through glass naked on my hands and knees or making her a widow. The
only two gestures she probably craves at the moment. As I close my eyes
and allow the smooth scotch to warm my core, arctic blue eyes flash in my
mind.
OceanofPDF.com
7
Stella

“Women have discovered that they cannot rely on men’s chivalry to

give them justice.” Helen Keller

I CAN FEEL THE morning sunlight penetrating through the open

window curtains on my face, the orange glow behind my shuttered
eyelids bringing me a sense of much needed peace. I burrow further under
the deliciously warm and luxuriously soft covers. A moan of appreciation
escapes my lips as I keep my eyes tightly shut, needing a few more minutes
before I have to face the unrepentant world.
“You keep making those sounds Stella, and I will crawl right under there
with you.” The deep voice filled with humor has me jolting up in bed and
pulling the covers all the way up to my neck. Jesus fucking Christ! Jaxon is
sitting in a chair next to the bed watching me intently with a coffee mug in
his hand. The devious smirk across his face has the hackles at the back of
my neck standing on end.
“What the hell are you doing in here, Jaxon?” My voice comes out sharper
than I intended and I can feel the heat of his eyes on my skin, causing a
blush to rise up my neck. Those slate gray-blue eyes track every exposed
inch of skin that I haven’t covered with the sheet. The knowledge that I’m
only wearing a scrap of lace and silk underneath has my stomach cramping
in mortification.
Last night when I went looking for my night clothes, I was horrified to
discover that my mother had all of my comfortable sleeping shirts removed
from my things and only silk and lace nightgowns, and frilly undergarments
placed in my trousseau. What the hell was she thinking? That I would need
to seduce the man that is already my husband? How outrageous! I don’t
need to seduce Jaxon; he already bought the damn cow so he could have the
milk!
“I’m here to bid my wife good morning, Stella.” I watch as he places the
mug on the side table, those elegant long fingers trailing over the edge of
the table before languishing comfortably in the chair. He looks like a sleek,
sexy panther, all long limbed, sinewy, and seductive in his dark gray dress
pants and royal blue dress shirt. His dark hair shines in the sunlight and his
eyes sparkle with mischief. The corner of his mouth rises as he notices my
perusal of his body. My blood is rushing so loudly in my veins that I can
hear it in my ears and my core tightens at the way he is staring at me. Like
he wants to take a bite of my flesh and sate himself on my taste.
“Get out Jaxon, you are not welcome in my room.” I break eye contact,
needing a moment of respite from the onslaught of his gaze that is trying to
read my every thought. I don’t understand the effect that Jaxon has on me.
Why does this man cause heat to rise throughout my body? Yes, he’s
handsome, but he’s not the only attractive man that I have ever been around.
I’m not some wilting virgin, like my parents like to believe.
The way he glares at me, like he wants to take a huge bite of my flesh, and
the way his gaze lingers on my skin, mixed with the tone of his voice has
me fighting my own mind. My mind and heart war with each other in his
proximity, one wanting to decimate him, the other wanting to jump on him
and ride him like a damn beast. The train of my thoughts coupled with his
presence has goosebumps racing across my skin and my nipples hardening
painfully against the lace of the negligee. The sensation of the raspy
material against my hardened sensitive tips forcing me to have to bite on the
inside of my cheek to swallow the moan that wants to escape.
“Our room, Stella. This is our room, one which we will share together. That
bed you are so seductively lying in with all that gorgeous skin on display is
our bed. One I plan to share with you, wife.”
A snort escapes me at his audacity. How dare he slither in here without my
knowledge, watch me sleep like some devious pervert and then announce
that he will be sleeping with me. Jaxon Stratford has a lot to learn about
women. Maybe the bimbos he sleeps with fall at his mercurial feet, but I
won’t be so easily persuaded.
“You find that thought amusing, Stella?” He shifts forward in the chair, his
body leaning closer to mine, and causing his tantalizing scent to reach my
nose. Why does this man always smell so delicious? I try not to inhale a
deep breath of his citrusy, musky, and spicy scent. His eyes focus on my
mouth and I can’t help biting down on my lower lip at the attention. “You
are a beautiful tease, Stella.” His words come out soft and with a deep
growl that has me almost dropping my hold on the precarious sheets.
“Nothing about you being in my room like some sort of deviant watching
me, is funny.” My body tenses waiting for whatever he’s about to do. I
tighten my grip on the sheet until my knuckles are white. The way his long
limbs are positioned like a cat about to pounce, I can tell that Jaxon
Stratford is about to invade my personal space.
A sharp laugh escapes his full lips, and a blush rises on his high
cheekbones, making the few light freckles that he has across them darken
and become more pronounced. In the next moment, he grabs all of the bed
linens between two tight fisted hands and stands, pulling them off of me.
The power behind his move forces me to relinquish my hold on the sheets
or come tumbling down to the edge of the bed.
I wrap my arms quickly around myself after pulling down the nightgown
that had ridden up while I slept, the one that barely covers my crotch. Fuck
my mother and her meddling ways right now. I am intimately aware that I
have a ton of skin on display. As his eyes skate over my bare legs, my body
does the unthinkable and shivers as if he was physically caressing me.
“I enjoyed watching you sleep, you look so peaceful, soft and warm, so
unlike the ice queen you are when you are awake.” He moves one knee onto
the end of the bed and my breath stutters in my throat. “I especially enjoyed
looking at your creamy round breasts and those sexy pink nipples against
all that lace. Did you buy that nightgown for me, Stella?” Another knee
makes its way onto the mattress, and I get ready to bolt off the bed.
“What do…you want?” My voice sounds breathless and whispery in the air
between us and I immediately regret my display of weakness. My heart is
pounding in my chest and I know he can see it. His eyes travel down my
face and lock onto my heaving chest before making their way back to my
gaze. My skin feels like a trail of fire has been left in the aftermath of his
study.
“I came with noble intentions to beg your forgiveness, Stella.” A smirk
crosses his features. “Did I bruise your ice cold heart with my actions or
just your pride?” He shifts his body forward a little more, his pant covered
thigh now touching my bare toes. I send him a cold scathing look, watching
as his chest rises and falls, just waiting to try to trap me, like the weak
captive that he believes me to be.
“It’s funny that you think you are the only wronged party here, my little
viper. After all, you left me standing at the altar like a goddamn fool, stole
my fucking limo, and forced me to attend our wedding reception without
my fucking bride and do damage control.” He licks his lips and the image
makes me think of a hungry wolf about to devour its prey. Except he hasn’t
realized that I am not his fucking prey, I am just as much a hunter as he is.
“One would say I deserved a little something in the way of re-
compensation, Stella. To help soothe my rage and prevent me from coming
back here and strangling you.” A look of doubt crosses his features, his
shoulders slump forward and his posture relaxes. I push at his thigh with
my toes, trying to force more distance between us. I clench and unclench
my clammy hands, the need to rake my long nails down his face and gouge
his eyes calling to me. Whispering that I should hurt him, before he hurts
me.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have brought my prize home on our wedding night, it
wasn’t my classiest of moments, but I didn’t think it would have affected
you as it did. You are an ice queen after all, is that frigid heart capable of
feeling real emotions? Why are you so angry Stella? Is it the thought of me
with another woman that has you so upset?”
A snort leaves my lips, he thinks I am weak and purely ruled by emotions.
That jealousy is the catalyst for my actions last night rather than the
disrespect he paid me by bringing that whore here. My will is forged in
steel, I am resilient as he will learn to his own detriment. I try to calm my
racing heart, to project the image of aloofness. I will never let Jaxon see
how much that hurt me last night. “I thought you came here for forgiveness
Jaxon? It doesn’t seem like that is your true intention. I don’t hear any
remorse in your words.”
“You want me to beg for your forgiveness Stella? Will you beg for mine?"
Beg him for his? Is he deranged? I have nothing to beg forgiveness for.
“Forgiveness Jaxon, you think you deserve some after trapping me in this
marriage against my will. Forcing me to be your unwilling wife and trying
to parade me around as the prize you think you won? Then bringing your
bimbo girlfriend to the home we are to share and rubbing your insolence
and disrespect in my face.”
I watch as his eyebrows furrow and his jaw clenches at my words. Remorse
briefly flashes across his face as his teeth trap his bottom lip, biting into it.
Dark pools of ash meet mine and I can see the lust in their depths.
“There’s remorse there, baby, and my intention is to make peace between
us.”
“How do you expect peace between us, when you started this with deceit
and betrayal, Jaxon?”
He sighs and drags his fist through his thick dark hair, disrupting the strands
and making them look disheveled. I can see the bulge clearly defined in his
pants, he’s not even trying to hide that he’s aroused. “You’re right Stella,
I’m a cunt. Last night was wicked and reckless of me. As for forcing you
down the aisle, at this moment looking at your sexy, creamy breasts, I don’t
regret shit about that.” His thigh pushes against my toes once again and I
feel the thick hard muscle clench. “What can I do at this moment in time to
allow us to move forward? There is no going back.”
“Beg my forgiveness, Jaxon.” My mouth is dry, my nipples hardening
against the lace and my core clenching at his words. They shouldn’t cause
that reaction in me, but the look in his eyes that promises nothing but a
raging inferno of lust has my blood ringing in my ears. I’m playing a
dangerous game here, egging him on to get a rise out of him. My mind is
muddled on why I even want a rise out of him, we should be pushing him to
leave the room, not tempting him to lose control.
A chuckle leaves his lips followed by a growl that has him baring his teeth
at me like a feral animal about to attack. “Before I beg on my knees, Stella,
to soothe your viper heart, I think I will have a taste of my wife.”
He lunges at me before I can even move to the other side of the bed, his
large muscular body landing across my chest and lower half, trapping me
underneath him with his weight. I try to buck him off of me with my hips
and push at him with my legs but he bears down hard on me with his hips
and crotch. I can now definitely feel that he’s enjoying this whole
interaction. His hard dick is pressed up against my panty-clad pussy and
nudges my needy clit with every movement. His hands reach out and grab
onto my wrists pushing them flush against the mattress as I try to force him
off of me.
Jaxon leans forward and brushes his warm lips along my jaw, stopping my
thrashing movements and causing a whoosh of air to leave my lips and
prickles of heat to rise on my skin. His teeth leave little nibbles as he makes
his way to the space where my ear and neck meet, his tongue slowly licking
down the side of my neck before he blows warm air on it. FUUCCKK!
Goosebumps break out across my body causing my arm hair to stand on
end. “Just a little taste Stella.” He whispers in my ear before sucking hard
on my neck and causing my core to tighten and my pussy to clench on
nothing but air. The traitorous bitch is weeping for him as his lips continue
to cause havoc with my senses. I should fight to remove him, but heat is
invading all of my limbs and the press of his body feels delicious against
me. Just a moment, I’ll enjoy it just for a moment, then I’ll throat punch
him.
He moves his way down my neck to my collarbone leaving nibbles and
kisses along the way, and no doubt leaving marks as claimed territory. The
knowledge that he is marking me should infuriate me, but instead it has my
core heating and my pussy clenching with desire and the need to be filled.
Once his lips reach my heaving chest, he laves the swell of my breast with
his warm tongue, a moan escapes his sinful lips. His gaze returns to mine as
his tongue strokes the hardened tip of my nipple through the confining lace.
A whimper escapes me, causing me to arch up into his body and I stop
fighting against his hold. The sensation of his warm, wet tongue and the
rough lace are aphrodisiac to my senses.
His warm lips seal over the lace encased tip and he sucks deeply, a moan
rumbles up his throat and my body arches further into the embrace. He
pushes his fabric-covered hard cock against my swollen pussy. The thick
crown nudging my clit over and over and causing moisture to seep from
inside of me and soaking the thin fabric of my panties, no doubt leaving a
mark on the front of his pants coated in my wetness. His tight hold on my
wrists releases as one of his hands moves to stroke and squeeze my other
breast, kneading it roughly and causing the most delicious lust induced
pain. His other hand makes its way to the base of my neck, his fingers
spanning the delicate space and teasing the skin.
For a moment my breath is trapped in my throat. My body and mind
warring with the hope that he tightens his grip and stops my breathing. The
possibility turning me on and causing me to rub harder against the erection
pressing against my opening but being denied by the confines of his pants
and my silk panties. “You taste like heaven Stella.”
A mumbled breath fills the air as he groans deep in his throat into my breast
and I shut my eyes, allowing myself to fall into the sensation of his mouth
on me. I should be pushing him away, I should be kicking and screaming at
him, not allowing all my bones to turn to pliant mush under his touch.
His hand grips and pulls on the nightgown and I feel the thin spaghetti
straps give way across my breasts, then his lips are sealing over my hard
nipple without a barrier. My hands slips into the dark hair at the back of his
neck, and I pull on the strands, causing a low moan to leave his lips. Fuck,
that sound has my toes curling.
“More.” The word leaves my lips without my permission as my body arches
again into his, seeking friction on my clit and his mouth on my other breast.
His sultry wet mouth releases my nipple with a pop and moves over my
skin, licking and sucking a path across to my other breast as his hand trails
down my ribs and to my hip. He slides his warm fingers into the band of my
panties just as his teeth nip my nipple. A sharp cry leaves my lips and I
grind hard into his thick cock. “Fuck Stella, you keep doing that and I’m
going to fuck your needy cunt.”
His fingers tighten around my neck at the same time as he pulls his bottom
half away slightly from my body and makes room for his fingers to trail
over my soaked pussy lips, moving the drenched silk of my panties to the
side to give him full access to my swollen lips. “God damn Stella, bare.
Look at those pretty plump lips.”
A deep guttural moan leaves his throat and it has my blood singing for him.
His deft fingers strum over my clit, playing me like a delicate guitar. The
sensation causing fire to burn across my body and an electric current to
sizzle down my spine. My breathing is coming in huge harsh pants, my
head moving restlessly against the wood headboard and pillows behind me.
One of his thick, long digits makes its way to my slick opening and his
mouth pulls back from my breast as he sinks it inside of me in one
pleasurable go. A cry leaves my lips at the sudden invasion. “Jaxon.” His
name leaves my lips in a gasp, and my fingers pull hard on his strands. A
pleased and animalistic noise vibrates from his chest as his head pulls back
into my tight grip.
“You’re soaked Stella, your cunt is craving my touch, little wife. That soft,
bare pussy wanting to be filled up by my fingers and my cock. My thick
cock is going to stretch this tight hole, baby.”
His dirty words have me biting down hard on my lip as his finger strokes
inside of me, thrusting slowly in and out as my traitor of a pussy clenches
around it. I need and want more, my body not satisfied with the thickness
he’s providing. He senses my need and a second finger slides inside of me
as a groan leaves his and my lips, simultaneously. The digits slide across the
front wall of my heat, reaching a spot that has my toes curling and my legs
opening wider for his touch as surge after amazing surge of pleasure races
through me. “So fucking tight Stella…I’m going to enjoy destroying this
pussy with my cock.”
The sounds of wetness fill the air around us, I’m so drenched that it’s
embarrassing. His fingers move with thrust after thrust that causes my
impending orgasm to race through my body and barrel down my heated
channel like a runaway freight train. My grip on his hair releases and my
fingernails scratch down his neck and shoulders, causing a pained moan to
echo in the room. He tightens his grip around my neck until not a whisper
of oxygen is making its way past his thick fingers and light-headedness
starts to make my vision swim. At the same time his thumb creates slow
circles on my throbbing clit and my body detonates with a sharp cry. A gush
of warm liquid coats his fingers still deep inside of my pussy as a deep
growl leaves him. He releases his tight hold on my throat and oxygen soars
back into my lungs with a jarring breath.
“Look at what a good girl you are, cumming all over my hand. My pretty
little slut.” His dirty words have a wave of heat flowing through me. No one
has ever spoken to me that way, disrespected or degraded me. I want to be
angry, horrified even, but the truth is they turn me on and I want more of
them.
Jaxon continues to stroke me through the shattering waves of my orgasm
and the aftershocks that are singeing all of my hypersensitive nerve
endings. I open my eyes to half mast and watch as his hooded eyes are
riveted to where his fingers are still providing shallow thrusts and my body
is still clenching around them. He licks his lips like a man desperate to eat
his favorite meal and it makes my pussy clench down tightly on his digits.
A low moan leaves my lips and his hungry gaze rises and meets mine. His
eyes are bright with lust and need. There’s pink tinged color across his
cheeks, his lips are swollen and he’s biting down on his lush full bottom lip.
I’ve never craved sucking on anything before, but right now I want to suck
on that lip. No man has ever looked sexier than he does at this moment with
passion and vulnerability riding him. Now that my orgasm is subsiding, I
immediately feel self-conscious and acutely aware that his fingers are still
deep inside of my pussy and there is a wet spot underneath me.
“Jaxon.” His name leaves my lips on a moaned whisper that has me sealing
them tight in both embarrassment and desire.
“Oh no, Stella. Don’t hide from me now.” His thumb strums once more
over my clit as his fingers slide from inside of me and I watch as he raises
them to his lips, his tongue sliding out to lick at the digits coated in my
release. A moan leaves his mouth as he slides both digits in between his lips
and sucks them clean. The image in front of me is both obscene and molten-
lava hot. I watch as he sucks every drop of me off, his eyes never leaving
mine. “You taste like the richest nectar I have ever tasted Stella and I mean
to satisfy my hunger for you daily.”
Mortification and awareness finally has me spurring out of my orgasmed
bliss and shoving him off of me. What the hell is the matter with me? I just
let Jaxon Stratford finger fuck me the day after he forced me to marry him
and brought his girlfriend home on our wedding night. My hand rises of its
own volition and slams across his jaw. The sound of skin smacking skin is
loud in the space. For a moment both of us stare at each other in shock at
my actions. I roll away from him and off the bed, getting to my feet and
putting space between us.
“How fucking dare, you!” I shout with indignation, my legs trembling and
threatening to give out on me.
“How dare I, what? Give you a leg trembling orgasm that had you cumming
all over our bed?”
“Get out, JAXON!” I’m quickly losing all control, my blood rushing in my
veins and pounding in my ears. I move to round the bed, but he quickly
stands in my way. I can’t keep my eyes from staring at the large erection
that is now tenting his gray dress pants. The size alone causing my mouth to
go dry. Jesus, does he have an anaconda in those pants?
“Stella, fucking stop trying to beat on me! Stop running from me and what
we just had, baby, let me make you feel so good.” He tries to step towards
me, but I tighten up both of my hands prepared to punch him if he attempts
to touch me again.
“Get the fuck out, Jaxon! You came here to play games, not to show the
remorse you lack.”
He holds up his hands in a gesture of platitude and submission and takes a
step back giving me more room. I watch him wearily not trusting that he
won’t reach for me again. Jaxon drags one of his hands through his dark
hair, his shoulders slumping and his body deflating before me. “I really did
come here to apologize, Stella. I’m not, however, going to apologize for
giving you that orgasm. Consider it a wedding gift.” He smirks.
A wedding gift? For a fucking wedding I didn’t want? Some gift that is. I
roll my eyes at him and move across the room, while trying to convince
myself that I am not in fact running from him. That I am stronger than that
and lust cannot weaken me. He doesn’t move from his spot, and for that I
am grateful. I can’t trust my body right now; it has betrayed me by enjoying
that interaction a little too much.
“We need to talk, Stella. To figure out how we move forward…together.”
His expression is still heated but I see determination there too. Fuck, I need
him gone, my body is still trembling with the remainder of my post coital. I
need to be able to breathe air that is not saturated in his scent.
“Please leave Jaxon, so that I can get dressed in peace. Then if you would
like to speak to me, I will attempt to listen.” I wait to see if he will comply
with my request. I can feel heat traveling over my skin as his gaze lingers
on my body and the ardor never leaves his eyes.
“I’ll meet you in the breakfast room, Stella. Ten minutes or I am coming
back up here to grab you.” He walks past me towards the door, stopping
with his back to me. “You are a beautiful woman, wife.” Then he opens the
door, walks out, and closes it behind him, leaving me with a pounding heart
and the after effects of one of the best orgasms I have ever had.

OceanofPDF.com
8
Jaxon

“A society that does not respect women's anger is one that does not
respect women; not as human beings, thinkers, knowers, active
participants, or citizens.” Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes
Her: The Power of Women's Anger

I CAN STILL TASTE Stella’s cum on my tongue and I relish the flavor
as I make my way down the hall towards the guest wing. I need to
bottle that shit up, it’s about to become my drink of choice. Who knew my
little ice queen of a wife was passionate and hot-blooded underneath that
frigid exterior. My tented pants definitely tell a different story. Fuck, I
cannot go downstairs and risk running into any of the household staff like
this. I’m already on most of their shit lists with the crap I pulled yesterday.
I make my way into the first guest room in the hallway, locking the door
and moving quickly into the bathroom while already unzipping and pulling
out my stiff cock. I’m so painfully hard from rubbing against Stella’s
perfect bare, pink cunt that tears of precum are leaking down my shaft and
my balls feel full and achy. The memory of how tight and swollen her pussy
was as I slipped my fingers inside of her and the little moans that escaped
her lips has me stroking myself hard and fast.
The image of Stella with her back arched, her lithe body moving in time
with my thrusts and her little gasps when I tightened my hold around her
slender throat as she gushed all over me has my heart galloping in my chest
and my legs feeling weak. She was so deliciously wet and when she came I
knew I had struck fucking gold. That tight little pussy is going to need to
stretch to take all of me, and she will take all of me. The only thing that
could have made it better would have been if I had shoved my hard cock
into her tight holes. Fuck, that pretty pink pussy and the tight puckered hole
were a temptation I almost couldn’t resist.
I brace myself against the vanity and increase the tempo of my fist, while
pulling on my balls with my other hand. FUCK ME! The orgasm races
down my body like a tsunami and cum spurts out of the end of my dick, all
over my hand and down on the floor in thick creamy streaks. My breathing
is coming in harsh pants and my vision is a kaleidoscope of colors. I just
came like a fifteen-year-old boy to daydreams of his crush and I’m already
semi hard again at just the thought of getting to touch her once more.
Images of all the depraved things I want to do to her flash through my mind
and I have to brace myself against the counter. How fucking sexy would she
look with her arms tied above her head, forcing her body to stretch while I
pumped my cock into her ass or down on all fours with a belt wrapped
around her neck, while I fucked her hard and deep from behind? She would
look amazing covered in my bites and marks, the impression of my fingers
across all that creamy skin.
Fuck, I’m painfully hard again. Once again I tighten my hold on my cock,
stroking it quick and hard until I cum all over the counter and sink. My
breath is coming in ragged pants out of my chest and sweat is beading along
my hairline. I have never cummed so hard from just an image.
I turn to the vanity and wash my hands, trying to settle my breathing and
the erection that even now just doesn’t seem to want to quit. As I stare at
myself in the mirror a pang of regret fills me when the thought of
yesterday’s actions cross my mind.
If I hadn’t brought Kalista here and behaved like a callous cunt, would I
have been enjoying my wife’s bed last night? Would I have found the same
scorching passion between her creamy thighs? How could I have been so
wrong about her? There is nothing frigid about Stella, if anything she is like
the sun, hot, destructive, and devastating.
Fuck, I am such a miserable mess. How am I going to fix this with her?
There is no way, now having had a preview of the type of heated, sexually
responsive creature that Stella is, that I am not going to desire that
permanently. What am I willing to give her, to make peace? What penance
can I pay that will appease her righteous anger?
As I leave the guest room after cleaning my own cum from the floor and
vanity, I make my way to the breakfast room. I realize that my cunning little
wife is testing me. I told her ten minutes and I would come and get her. I
know I was in the bathroom cumming like a school boy for more than ten
minutes. A grin crosses my face at the realization that maybe, just maybe
she wants me to chase her and punish her. The thought, of course, does
nothing to help the current predicament of my rapidly hardening dick.
As I enter the breakfast room, the sun shines through the windows and the
table is immaculately set for two. The thought that this is now my married
life, having breakfast daily with the spitfire that is my wife after having
woken her up with an intense orgasm. I’ve gone to fucking heaven! Why
did I wait to get married? I should have fucking rushed her to the altar the
same day her father proposed the marriage.
“Good morning, sir.” Fergus nods as he enters the room carrying a coffee
pot, which has my naughty thoughts abating. I notice he won’t look me in
the eye, in fact he is doing everything he can not to meet my gaze. Damn it,
another one that is obviously upset with me about last night. The old man
has been with my family my whole life and has never been ashamed of my
actions before and trust me I have given him plenty to be ashamed about.
He’s watched me stumble my way into adulthood and never given me the
look he’s wearing now. Hell, if I wasn’t regretting my actions last night,
thinking that I don’t owe anyone shit. I’m regretting them now in the light
of day.
Just as I am about to open my mouth to apologize for my behavior to
Fergus, Stella walks into the room, her dark brown hair cascading down her
shoulders in thick waves. She’s dressed in a fitted white pencil skirt, a navy
and white off the shoulder puff sleeve blouse and a thick belt accentuating
her tiny waist. Fuck, was she always this hot and I just never noticed? She
consistently looked beautiful at every event she attended with her parents,
her classical beauty always giving off a pristine and out of reach air. She
was never this fucking arousing before. Is it the knowledge of what she
hides behind that cold exterior that is causing this reaction inside of me?
As she moves tentatively into the room, she graces Fergus with a smile that
lights up her face and reaches her stunning eyes. “Good morning, Fergus.”
The poor man blushes beet red and gives her a shy smile back as he pulls
out her chair. “Good morning, ma’am.”
The swinging door between the kitchen and the breakfast room opens and
Mrs. Pox enters carrying a platter of eggs and pancakes followed by Molly,
one of the maids, with hashbrowns, bacon and fruit. Jeez, they went all out
this morning. Each of them exchange good mornings with Stella and
pointedly ignore me. I watch helplessly and with envy as all three of my
staff fuss over her until she gives each of them a bright smile. No one
bothers to serve me any breakfast. After a moment or two of waiting and
having each of them look away, I understand that this is part of my
punishment for yesterday. Well fuck you too, I’ll serve my fucking self.
I should be outraged that my staff is giving me the deliberate cold shoulder
and treating my new wife like she’s the best thing since sliced bread. But
honestly, I am relieved that they like her, that they are on her side and have
gravitated to protecting her. Even if it’s against me as it seems.
They all vacate the room after ensuring that Stella has everything she needs.
Mrs. Pox is the last one to leave and she provides me with a warning look
that had I been a weaker man would have had my balls shriveling up and
tucking my tail inside of my body. I am going to be seriously outnumbered
in my own home if they continuously take her side in everything. Maybe we
could stop doing stupid, harmful shit? My mind questions.
I stare at my new wife as she takes a dainty sip of coffee and avoids my
direct gaze. As she pushes her hair back from her face I notice the marks
blooming on her neck from this morning. Each of my fingertips clearly on
display on her soft skin and a sense of pleasure and achievement races
through my blood. She didn’t even make an attempt to hide them. That
pleases me even more, to know that everyone that looks at her neck and
collarbone today will see them. My brand of ownership, clearly evident on
her skin. Then they will know that she belongs to me. SHE IS MINE! The
beast that lives inside of me roars.
Clearing my throat, I realize that I’m a bit nervous. What the ever-loving
fuck is wrong with me? Man up, motherfucker! I’ve taken a bat to a man’s
head and never been nervous before. Shit, I have decimated whole
companies and not broken a sweat. One little wisp of a woman, just over
five feet, has me over here doubting myself. Doubting actions, I’m not even
a hundred percent convinced I regret. I’m sorry that I disrespected her,
especially since the staff saw it too. I shouldn’t have brought my ex here,
there are classier ways of doing shit like this. I wanted to hurt her, but I
went too far with shoving her face into the lust I feel for Kalista.
Especially since my cock is still semi-hard at just the thought of Stella’s
pink pussy. I bite down on the inside of my cheek, the realization of how
much I want to drive my hard cock into the tight hole my fingers got to
experience, making me force the groan in my throat down. God, her pussy
was so tight and plump. Fuck, I need more of that.
I know I have to apologize to her in a way that she senses my sincerity and
forgives me for my trespass against her last night or I’m doomed to live in
purgatory, knowing heaven is just out of reach. Now that I have seen and
experienced her taste and the feel of her cunt, I want more. I need more.
“Stella…” Her beautiful arctic blue eyes lift and meet mine and I watch as
she schools her features, hiding her thoughts from me. “Stella…about
yesterday…our wedding, and then what happened afterwards.”
A perfectly sculpted dark eyebrow rises as my words tumble awkwardly
from my lips. She’s not going to give me an inch here, making me work for
this apology. Would you have so quickly forgiven her, if the tables had been
turned? The question slithers across my mind, bringing with it an
unfounded rage at the mere thought of Stella bringing a man back to our
home and kissing him. God damn it, I am a fucking hypocrite. Here goes
fucking nothing. I’ll be lucky if she doesn’t knee me in the balls again.
Fuck, I should have asked Mrs. Pox to remove all the knives from the room.
“Look Stella, I am a giant fucking ass. What I did yesterday was uncalled
for and unconscionable. I know I have no right to ask for your forgiveness,
but I am here asking for it nonetheless.” I don’t know what to make of her
expression. Is she pensive, conflicted, or enraged? She hides her thoughts
so well from me. Her perfect mask on display before me. The picture of a
beautiful ice queen.
“You’re right Jaxon, you do not have the right to ask for my forgiveness,
and not only for your activities last night, but for all of it.” She breaks our
connected gaze and takes another sip of her coffee, her fingers clenched
tightly around the cup. “Regardless, I will not grant it without penance.”
“Penance?” I question with a raised brow of my own, the word feeling like
acid as it leaves my lips. My hellion of a wife it seems is out for blood.
“What type of penance, Stella?”
She places the cup down carefully and crosses her hands over her plate, her
expression stern and her lips in a grimace. I have a feeling whatever my
little ice queen is about to say is going to have me losing my shit and
probably flipping this fucking table over. How can one small woman have
such volatile emotions traveling through me without the slightest hesitation.
Does she not fear for her safety, constantly provoking me? Remember the
knee to the groin and the smack you still feel the heat of on your face? Yeah,
she doesn’t fear you fuckhead. My mind laughs sarcastically at me.
“The way I see it, Jaxon. You have two options. Two ways that you can
make it up to me.” She leans forward towards me on the table. “And you
will repay me Jaxon, one way or the other.”
My eyes are riveted to the smirk starting on her pouty red lips. Stella
Stratford is sitting here prim and proper, dressed immaculately with not a
stitch of makeup on her stunning face, but she’s a shark underneath all that
beautiful exterior. All of it is a facade, one she uses to disarm others into
thinking she’s emotionless, an ice queen without a heart. My wife is out for
red hot blood and I am the idiot that put myself in her shark infested waters
to begin with.
“Firstly you can pay in blood and sacrifice, Jaxon, or you can pay in
sacrifice and wealth. The choice is yours, but choose wisely, there will be
no refund on your pound of flesh.”
I lean forward towards her, tempted to wrap my hands once again around
her slender neck and choke the fucking life out of her for sitting there and
threatening me. Her exterior is calm and unfazed but I’m watching the pulse
in her neck jump. She’s aware that she’s pushing my buttons and the
restraints on my limited patience. She should fear me, my control is
precarious at best, violence is always my go to answer when pushed to the
depth Stella is closely reaching. “Explain, Stella. What are the terms for
your pound of flesh?”
“Let’s begin with blood and sacrifice, shall we?” She doesn’t wait for my
response before licking those delectable lips and proceeding without
caution. How fucking amazing would they look wrapped tightly around my
cock while I choked the life out of her? I shift my throbbing cock at the
image my mind provides me with and try to focus on her words.
“The blood will be yours, husband, and any women that you come into
contact with. I will actively destroy any female that you try to cuckold me
with by any means necessary. You will remain faithful to me, regardless of
whether I allow you in my bed or not. If you don’t, you will suffer my
wrath each and every time and I will repay you in kind with your closest
friends and business acquaintances.” She watches as my hand tightens on
the breakfast knife before me at her threat. “The sacrifice part will be easier
to bear. You will relinquish all the shares of Penticton Industry and the seat
on my father’s board to me, that you just received as a dowry for marrying
the Penticton heir.”
Rage fills my blood and heats it with her threats. How dare she try to strong
arm me into giving away my prize. Those shares and the seat on the board,
were spoils won for marrying her. Her little threat about fucking my friends
in retribution is another matter all together. I will murder any man that
touches her and make sure their bodies are never found. She is mine. “And
the other option, wife?” The word “wife” leaves my lips with venom. I drop
my hold on the knife and it clatters on the fine china before me, loud in the
tense and silent room. Her eyes never leave mine, she doesn’t even
acknowledge my little threat to stab her. The balls of fucking steel on this
woman amaze me.
“The other option is no less daunting husband, but perhaps my favorite
pound of flesh. The sacrifice perhaps at this very moment is not as harsh to
bear but will have lasting consequences for your empire. The one you are so
desperate to build and expand, that you would trap me into marriage against
my will. You will forfeit the right of an heir. I will give birth to none of your
children, Jaxon. None. Your name will die with you and me. I will
guarantee that I have my ovaries medically removed to ensure you can’t get
me pregnant ever. I will never willingly lay with you, but you can keep your
little whores. The wealth part, perhaps harsher to stomach. All of the assets
and fortune that I entered into this falsehood of a marriage with will be
signed over to me alone or I will divorce you. You will not benefit from this
marriage financially, Jaxon.”
I’m out of my seat in a flash, the chair tumbling behind me with a large
thud. My hand wrapping around the column of her swan-like neck and
squeezing the delicate organ as she stares at me with no fear in her
conniving, spiteful eyes. “You think to play with me, Stella, to threaten me?
You belong to me now; you are a possession.” I tighten my grip until her
color starts to rise on her creamy skin and her nails dig into my flesh. She
doesn’t fight me though, she doesn’t try to force me to release her. My
brave little viper of a wife.
I release her and stand back, watching as she takes a gasp of air, her eyes
never leaving me. “You hurt me first, Jaxon. You put all of this in motion,
forcing me to marry you, then daring to humiliate me. What did you think
would happen? That I would be some weak little wife, bending over for you
and looking the other way while you had your cake and ate it too?” She
stands from the chair abruptly and it falls backwards as she stands unafraid
before me. She is the image of pure power and strength. It’s startling in the
sunshine streaming through the window, how much I misjudged her and
this situation. Here I thought a few words of platitude, some declarations of
faithfulness and maybe some new jewelry would have her giving her
forgiveness willingly. How fucking wrong I am.
This little ice queen of mine will never bow or bend to me. I will be fighting
the daggers in my back everyday of my goddamn miserable life. That’s if
she doesn’t slit my fucking throat in my sleep. How could only an hour ago,
she have been so warm and inviting with her perfect little body and now be
coiled and ruthless? Which one is the real her? Are they both, each one a
different side of the same coin?
Her threats echo in my mind, each threat harsh and punishing in its own
way. How could this have happened? Are you seriously questioning that
fuckhead? My mind seethes. Fucking hell! I could just disregard her threats,
believe them idle and wait to see if she will make good on them. If she will
destroy my whole world. I close my eyes tightly, trying to get my harsh
breathing under control and to stop the desire to murder my wife not
twenty-four hours after we have just been married.
Stella isn’t threatening me lightly, every cold and punishing word out of her
mouth was well thought out. She didn’t just randomly come to these
consequences. The little viper probably stewed on them all night, coming
up with the harshest way of repaying me for my offenses. She won’t sit
back and not retaliate; I can feel it in my bones.
Can I have her locked up somewhere so she can’t cause harm to herself or
my empire? Are we going to chain our new wife to a cell? My mind
questions with rancor. Stella wouldn’t even hesitate hurting herself,
knowing it would hurt me in turn. Her threat about having her ovaries
removed carries terrifying implications. Would a woman really do that to
herself just for vengeance? Stella would, she won’t back down. She means
to take away the one thing of true value to me, my empire and legacy.
Without an heir, the Stratford line will end with me. I will be the downfall
of the Stratford’s legacy just like my father predicted and feared. Fuck,
what do I do? She really has left me no choice here, backing me into a
corner, like the cunning cold snake that she is. Instead of being my
beginning, she will be my end and she will do it with that malicious cold
smile on her face.
Molten anger rolls through me and the desire to throw the table into the
wall fills me once again. With a sweeping arm gesture, I send all the china
flying off the table and crashing onto the floor. I bare my teeth at her like a
fucking wolf that would love nothing more than to rip her apart. She’s
standing there unafraid and sewing seeds of resentment between us, as if
her very life and our future doesn’t hang in the balance.
I don’t believe for one miserable second that her threats can be taken idly. I
will have to swallow my pride and choose the lesser of the evils she has
proposed, if I want to keep her and have some semblance of a future and a
marriage. One that I very much doubt right now can ever truly formulate
when both parties have nothing but disdain for each other. Fuck this
vindictive cunt for making my life harder than what it needs to be.

OceanofPDF.com
9
Stella

“Revenge is an act of passion; vengeance of justice. Injuries are

revenged; crimes are avenged.” Samuel Johnson

I WATCH CAPTIVATED AS various emotions trail across his handsome

features. The most prominent being rage. I can still feel the ghost of his
hands squeezing tightly around my neck. I swallow and the tightness in my
throat tells me I will have the imprint of his hand as a bruised necklace
within hours. He could have done further damage to me at my threats, but
instead he relinquished his hold as if my skin seared him. Does he hate me
now? Does he regret his moment of passion in the bedroom?
His flash of rage decimated our breakfast but the look he just gave me
indicates he’s holding himself back from doing me further physical harm.
He looks like a predator, his lip curled back in a snarl, his jaw clenched and
teeth bared. His neck is corded and his body tense, on the verge of springing
towards me. Does he want to hurt me? Perhaps slam me into the table or the
wall and take me by force, to show me that he is in charge here? That he is
a man and I am just a weak and fragile woman. My eyes glance down at the
sharp knife near my foot. If he tries to force me into anything I will stab
him in the fucking eye. He has no idea of the fury that lives within me, the
abuse I have already suffered at the hands of a man that thought he owned
me. One that was supposed to protect and cherish me, yet sold me to
another monster.
I wonder what is going through his mind at rapid speed. Does he think my
threats are idle? They won’t be. I have every intention of hurting him the
way he has hurt me. I spent a large part of the night going over my options
and the weapons at my disposal. Part of me hopes he doesn’t choose at all,
so that I can make good on all my threats, taking the choice away from him.
Jaxon Stratford needs a reckoning and I mean to be the weapon.
I’m enthralled as I watch him begin to pace back and forth in front me,
periodically raising those stunning eyes and stabbing me with the malice I
don’t doubt he’s feeling towards me. The memory of his touch this morning
on my skin brings heat to my flesh. Have I just forsaken that forever with
my threats? Will he always look at me from this moment onwards with
hate? Will I be able to live in the falsity of a marriage without ever feeling
the warmth and pleasure of his touch?
Part of me wants a repeat immediately, knowing that sex with Jaxon will be
mind blowing. The other part of me is screeching that I keep my wits about
me, not letting this man corrupt my intentions for my future. Too many men
have now laid claim to owning and controlling me. I will stop at nothing to
be the master of my own fate. Jaxon Stratford is an obstacle I mean to
steamroll right over if he gets in my way. Fuck him and thinking he owns
me, no one owns me.
He stops before me, raising a finger to my face and trailing it softly down to
my cheek and over my lips. The sensation causes the hairs to rise on my
body as my eyes meet his intense ones. “You are a viper, Stella, cunning
and cold. You mean to try to control me, but you’re mistaken if you think I
will allow it.” His finger continues down my chin to my jaw and down my
neck where his fingers lightly trail and caress across my warm flesh.
“You will have your pound of flesh. I will transfer the shares and the board
seat to you. I will however, require an amendment to your vicious and
calculating demands. One that you will not negotiate if you’re as smart as I
believe you to be.” His fingers press into my skin, causing my breath to
stop in my throat. “You will sleep in the same bed with me every night
starting tonight. I will fuck you raw in any way I want, use you for my
pleasure and lose myself between your creamy thighs. You will wake up
every morning to my cock lodged in your fucking throat or you can take
your chances at going to war with me, Stella.”
His hand tightens, not stopping my airflow but in a subtle warning that he
could if he so desired it. My throat aches from his mistreatment but I don’t
dare ask him to relinquish it. His other hand snakes behind my back, pulling
me forward until my body meets the hardness of his and his warm coffee
scented breath skates across my lips. “I will fuck you over and over, Stella.
My cock bottoming out ruthlessly inside of you nightly. My cum filling you
until you’re drenched in my scent.” His fingers tighten, this time ensuring
that my breath struggles to leave my lips.
“You will wake to my hard cock every morning in that vicious mouth of
yours or that sweet dripping pussy. I will fuck that tight puckered hole and
stretch it with my thick cock until you can barely fucking sit down. I mean
to get my money’s worth out of you, Stella. You are about to be my constant
cum whore.” He leans forward letting his lips briefly rest against mine,
allowing me the option to pull back from him.
My body is a riot of nerves and sensations. Heat is coursing through my
skin everywhere that our bodies meet and my pulse is racing, which I am
sure he can feel in my neck. His dirty words having the instant effect of
soaking my panties and turning me on at his demands. I’m not afraid at all
of Jaxon or his threats. If anything, my body is soaring at the thought of him
using me for his pleasure and providing me orgasms in return. He means to
make me a slave to passion, but I have no intentions of falling down that
rabbit hole alone. I’ll be taking his ass right along with me.
Is it really a penance to sleep nightly with him? To let him invade my body
with the hard cock that I felt through his pants earlier? To allow him to use
me for his own pleasure, while providing me with mind blowing orgasms? I
could do much worse in a negotiation, and he knows it. He could have
refuted any and all of my threats, instead he agreed to give me the shares
and the board seat to my family’s company. Although he hasn’t expressly
indicated that he will be faithful to me, his amendment makes me believe
that as long as he is getting laid here at home, and finding pleasure between
my legs, he will not wander. I might be foolish to believe that, but I trust
that Jaxon understands the consequences if I find out he has defaulted on
our agreement.
Regardless, I will have my pound of flesh from the whore that he brought
home last night. My wrath will not be so easily assuaged with her. She will
pay me in spades for the humiliation she caused me. I know that all of the
household staff witnessed Jaxon’s interaction with her on the driveway. I
also plan to make an example and warning of her to other women that
would think to try to seduce my husband. Stella Stratford will be the queen
of their nightmares and I mean to haunt them all.
I press my lips against his, my tongue lightly tracing his bottom lip, before
demanding entry into his mouth. I mean to make a point to my new
husband. I will never back down and I will never cower from him. He had
better learn that lesson now.
He deepens the kiss with a groan, his tongue meeting mine in a fierce dance
that has a moan leaving my lips as he pulls me closer. His soft lips consume
mine and his grip on my neck tightens before suddenly releasing. He breaks
the sizzling kiss and takes a step back from me. His eyes alight with passion
and his breathing heavy. The color has once again risen in his cheeks
making him look younger than his age. He really is an extremely sexy man
and he’s all mine now.
I clear my throat, never breaking eye contact with him. “I agree to your
amendment, Jaxon. Do not think to manipulate me with your dick. Better
men than you have tried and failed. I will have your monogamy or you will
suffer the repercussions.”
A devious smirk crosses his lips. “Oh little ice queen, when I am done with
you, you will have a permanent imprint of my cock inside of you. Every
waking moment you will feel me and the memories I intend to leave you
with. Any man that has been there before me will be a forgotten memory, of
that I promise you.”
He leans forward his warm breath skating across the skin of my neck and
my exposed collarbone. “A warning Stella, one that I suggest you heed. I
am a possessive and jealous man, and you are mine. If I discover that
another man has laid a hand on you, in any way.” His tongue trails out and
licks a line up my neck to the soft flesh of my ear lobe. “I will have all of
his fingers sawed off from that hand.” He bites down on my lobe, the sting
making my core tighten deliciously in response and a little whimper leaves
my lips. “Do I make myself clear?”
When I nod in confirmation to his bloodthirsty warning, he places one more
hot kiss just below my ear lobe, the spot causing my toes to curl up inside
of my shoes. Holy crap, that feels amazing. He pulls back, his steely gray
eyes hooded and meeting mine. He takes a step back, his chest rising and
falling in rapid movements and his cock tenting the fabric of his pants.
He slides past me towards the breakfast room door and I turn to watch him
go with a raised eyebrow. Is he running from me already? Perhaps he
cannot stand to be in the same room with me any longer, knowing that he
does not in fact hold the upper hand in this situation. He stops at the
threshold of the room, his shoulders stiff and his head held high. “I never
intended to hurt you, Stella. I didn’t think it would have mattered to you. I
am truly sorry for my actions yesterday.”
He leaves the room and disappears from sight, leaving me feeling empty,
horny, and confused. His apology was sincere, I can feel it in the caliber of
his words and in his tone. Regardless, the fact is that he did hurt me and
will continue to do so if I allow it. I need to draw the line in the sand now of
our future relationship or I will have failed to free myself from the hands of
yet another man that believes himself my superior and captor.

OceanofPDF.com
10

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Deep vengeance is the daughter of deep silence.” Vittorio Alfieri

“G OOD AFTERNOON MRS. STRATFORD, what a pleasure it is

to have you with us.” The man before me is almost salivating at
having me in his presence. I wouldn’t put it past him to get down on his
pathetic knees and grovel at my heeled feet. His round face, red and
coupled with sweat dotting his cheeks shows me his unease. Good, let him
worry about displeasing me. My father and Jaxon wanted a new reigning
queen of the Manhattan elite. I mean to ensure that all here fear their new
monarch.
“My table, Jepson.” I indicate with a nod of my head for him to lead the
way. I’m impatient to get this show on the road so I can move on to more
important things. More important than ensuring your husband doesn’t
cheat? My mind laughs at me.
When I called earlier to inform the country club that Jaxon and I would be
requiring a new permanent table as well as some much-needed assurances
to ensure our continued patronage, they were immediately accommodating.
Of course they would be, I am now one of the richest women in the United
States, some would say top ten in all of the world with my union to Jaxon.
Power and money call to places like this, wanting to attract and keep
membership exclusive and for the uber rich. Maggots and corruption, that’s
what surrounds my privileged world. Perhaps it needs a cleansing by fire?
I watch as other patrons nod and smile at me as I pass them on my way to
my highly visible and coveted table by the window. My head held high, and
shoulders back with an air of aloofness surrounding me. Sheep, the lot of
them, paying me civilities now that I have married their most eligible
bachelor and one of the most powerful men in the east coast.
None of them were outright rude to me before yesterday, my father and
mother have always been part of the top of the food chain, but none of them
ever made any effort either to befriend me. They nicknamed me ice queen
and then left me to my fortress of ice. I foresee a change in that as I take my
seat and allow my eyes to trail over those in attendance here for lunch. A
red head gets up and starts to approach my table but at the harsh, cold look I
direct her way, she turns around and sits back down. My resting bitch face
is on point and very useful for situations like these. Although I need to be
here to put my plans into place, I don’t relish the idea of being around fake
people. I am not naive enough to believe any of them will ever truly be my
friends. There is no such thing in this world of privilege, where you keep
your enemies close.
The country club is a giant fish bowl surrounded by glass windows and
views of Central Park with its lush green grass and blooming trees.
Springtime in Manhattan is one of my favorite times of year. The rich
Japanese cherry blossoms are in bloom outside of the confines of this room.
How I wish I was out there inhaling their rich scent instead of in this awful
space. The country club’s decor is artfully modern with too much glass,
chrome, and bright flashy red booths. I detest coming here, always have.
Even when my mother and father demanded it of me so that they could be
seen by the elite. Now I have come here willingly to sit and be admired by
these assholes that take pleasure in the misery of others.
It grates on my nerves to be forced by Jaxon’s actions to be as malignant as
everyone else in the room or the reality that I will actually have to be much
worse then them in order to be feared. My only solace is that I will enjoy
tearing this miserable world apart. No doubt my social butterfly of a mother
will be hearing of my attendance before I even leave the building. Will she
be proud I wonder, or will she burst into pitiful tears for having raised such
a willful and cold-hearted daughter?
A pretty waitress fills my glass with water and then takes my order,
scurrying off no doubt to ensure that I do not wait long for my food. It
wouldn’t do to displease the new queen, now would it? An un-lady-like
snort leaves my lips at the very thought and I watch as the woman seated
closest to me, eyes grow large at the sound. I let my eyes roam over the
tables closest to me, meeting the gaze of various women, that no doubt
would change places with me in a second as Jaxon’s wife. I purposely left
my neck and collarbone exposed with the marks Jaxon left on my skin. Let
them note that my husband has laid claim to me. They need to be
forewarned that he is mine and I do not fucking share.
After a few minutes of meeting various pairs of eyes with a look of utter
distaste on my part, my annoyance at having to even be here starts to rise.
Men don’t have to play these games with each other, they provide warning
with their fists and words. Women however require more subterfuge to
obtain their goals. Just as I am rethinking whether or not I am in fact
interested in having lunch here, I hear a loud commotion at the entryway of
the restaurant. A devious smirk crosses my lips before I wipe it off my
features and school my face so those around me cannot read my thoughts.
My ice queen mask.
A blonde woman is pushing harshly and loudly against the manager’s round
body and one of the uniformed waiters, trying in vain to force her way into
the restaurant and no doubt towards me. I sit back, crossing my hands in my
lap and giving off a relaxed vibe, one that I don’t realistically feel, but no
one in this godforsaken room needs to know that.
“You cold, conniving bitch. How dare you!” She screams in a high-pitched
voice and pushes past the waiter who tries to block her, moving towards
where I am sitting at my new highly coveted table.
I raise an eyebrow in her direction, my jaw locking tight and displeasure
evident on my features, nodding to the manager to let her continue to move
past and closer to me. She is creating a spectacle of herself and all eyes in
the country club are now on us. What is happening here will be on the front
page of every gossip paper by morning and spread on the lips of every
member of the elite within hours. I counted on it, after all it’s why I am
sitting here, subjecting myself to this fishbowl. “How dare I what, Kalista?”
“How fucking dare you blacklist me from my entire life! Who do you think
you are? You had me barred from all of the spas. The elite nail salons and
the hair salons have all notified me that I am no longer a client. All my
accounts have been closed at every fashion house in the city. I have been
fielding calls all morning, Stella. You ensured that all my sponsors and
client labels have now parted ways with me, you vicious bitch! You even
had my assistant resign with no notice, terrified for her own life.” Her
beautiful face is filled with ugly rage, red blotches making their way across
her skin and if I am not mistaken, she’s been crying. “You have destroyed
my life and livelihood! Why have you done this!” The feeling of
satisfaction fills my blood. If she thinks it’s bad now, just wait, it’s about to
get much worse.
“Ma’am, I must insist that you leave immediately. As I explained at the
door, you are no longer a member here and cannot enter the country club.”
The obtuse manager speaks through gritted teeth all the while looking at me
from the corner of his eye as beads of sweat trickle down the side of his
face.
“You frigid whore! He will never be yours! He bought you like a prized
horse and when he’s done playing with you, he will return to me.” Gasps
fill the space around us, but I don’t bother to take my eyes off the woman
falling apart before me. Her comment about being a frigid whore bounces
right off of me. I guarantee that my new husband would not agree with her
assessment after this morning.
“Your words have no impact on me Kalista. Go ahead and make more of a
spectacle of yourself.” I allow the tiniest of a smile to grace my lips. My
gaze, cold and filled with malevolent energy. I don’t bother to look around
at those surrounding us, knowing from the hush my words are bringing, that
everyone is watching and listening to what is transpiring in front of me.
“I will give you no further warnings Kalista. The world you built up around
you.” I motion with my finger, pointing dramatically at the table top and
then snapping my fingers. “Is gone, poof! Up in smoke it went this
morning. All of your modeling and endorsement deals, gone. Even Walmart
won’t touch you now. Your life is done.” A full devious smile crosses my
lips as I sit back comfortably in the booth. “Your parents, I am sure, are also
trying to reach you. They too will have found that their access to certain
amenities will have been denied.”
“Why? Why would you do this to me? He married you.” Tears trickle down
the side of her gorgeous face. The sight should move me, perhaps even
make guilt rise inside of me, after all she is a woman trapped in the same
world as I am. But all I see is the vision of her kissing my husband in my
new driveway on my wedding day. Her hands trailing over his body and the
smear of her lipstick across his lips.
“You are an unfortunate warning to those around us. You are learning first
hand the consequences of crossing me, Kalista. You thought that I would
allow what happened between you and Jaxon to continue, unfettered?” I
lean forward, my words leaving my lips in a harsher, lower tone. “You
thought what happened last night would have no consequences, that I was
weak? How weak am I now, Kalista?”
“He doesn’t love you.” She wipes at the tears trailing down her cheek with
the palm of her hand, smearing more of her makeup across her face. She
really does look a tad disheveled, no doubt from running from one place to
another all morning trying to stop the destruction I caused with mere phone
calls once Jaxon left the house.
“He doesn’t need to, I am his wife. A fact that you seemed to have forgotten
in your haste to bring my husband home last night from our wedding
reception. I am Mrs. Jaxon Stratford and with that comes responsibilities.
Like the removal of trash from my husband’s presence and acquaintance. “ I
let my eyes trail over the faces of those watching the destruction and chaos
I am engineering before them. Let them feel my anger, hate, and
determination to destroy each and every one of them if they cross me. I am
fucking dark vengeance reincarnated into Stella Penticton Stratford.
I nod to the manager and he pulls on Kalista’s arm, attempting to pull her
from my presence as she tries to pull out of his tight grasp, spittle flying
from her perfect lips. “I hate you, Stella. Jaxon will never leave me for you,
he loves me. You think he will stand for the way you are treating me?” She
continues to screech all the way to the door before being ushered out of the
building.
I don’t bother to hide my thoughts or feelings from those still watching me
with stunned looks on their faces. I place my elbows on the table and
steeple my hands in front of me. A thrill of energy making its way through
my system at the look of fear on their faces and the feeling of power that
surrounds me. I don’t raise my voice, there isn’t a sound being made in the
room right now and I know they are completely enrapt at my every word.
“Those of you that thought you would continue with having certain…
relationships with my husband. Fair warning, Miss Cain is an example of
what will befall you should you raise my ire. If she attends any of your
events or crosses your thresholds, consider yourself barred from mine and
Jaxon’s presence. I suggest you not present yourselves in my path, I am
completely without mercy.”
I dismiss them all with a nod, indicating to the nervous waitress holding a
tray laden with my lunch to serve me. I have no appetite right now, in fact
my stomach is tight as a knot, but I need all of these cockroaches to believe
that I am in fact the ice queen that they named me. They should begin to
fear me, it will keep them away from my husband and ensure they don’t
meet with my wrath.
I raise a sip of the glass of white wine the waitress poured me to my lips in
toast to the first day of being Mrs. Stratford.
What is that term they use to salute a queen? Long may she reign? I fucking
intend to.
OceanofPDF.com
11

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Don't mess with her, she isn't delicate like daffodil, she is delicate
like dynamite.” Amit Kalantri, Wealth of Words

I ’M FURIOUS AS I drive home in my scratched up gray Aston Martin

Vantage Volante to the Stratford estate, my blood pressure is
skyrocketing and the desire to wrap my fingers around my wife’s slender
neck is so strong that my grip on the steering wheel has my knuckles white.
Someone took a sharp tool to the sides of my two hundred-thousand-dollar
vehicle and carved the words “cunt & man whore” into the front doors. If
that wasn’t bad enough the giant phallus painted on my hood is the cherry
on fucking top. Of course no one saw a damn thing in broad daylight, in a
private company parking lot. As if I wasn’t already on the verge of
exploding, the images of the day play out before me and distract me from
my drive. The one I am currently doing at a speed guaranteed to get me a
meeting with my maker.
Kalista entering Stratford Industries and my office in a blind panic, with
make-up smeared across her beautiful face and begging me on her knees to
stop my wife’s destruction of her life and livelihood. I couldn’t make sense
at first, of what she was even rambling about. She was so hysterical that
every other word was an anguished sob.
Then the phone calls from acquaintances started to pour in rapidly. It wasn’t
lost on me that it was mostly women calling me to beg me to keep my wife
from destroying their lives. Shit even certain husbands that had enjoyed me
cuckolding them in the past were calling, desperation and fear laced in their
voices.
Apparently, my little ice queen of a wife, decided to flex her power muscles
as the new reigning queen of the elite. Her first target, not really a surprise,
Kalista Cain. She decided to teach both Kalista and me a lesson it seems.
One that everyone watching the utter destruction she has caused won’t soon
forget. The vindictive little cunt, even after I agreed to her pound of flesh. I
should have realized that she would retaliate, I underestimated my wife,
something I don’t plan on doing again.
Stella is not taking chances with my faithlessness, and instead has stacked
the deck in her favor. Ensuring that any woman I would have dabbled with
is now utterly petrified of her wrath and the majority of husbands that
would have previously looked on indifferently to their wives’ dalliances are
now paying strict attention, not wanting my wife to come after their
empires. I almost want to applaud her in her deviousness, that is if it wasn’t
my life she was playing with.
To add insult to injury, my assistant refused to come within a ten-foot radius
of me all day and her face paled every time I spoke to her. All the other
women in my office scampered off and hid as if I was the devil coming for
their souls anytime I stepped out of my office. Word has apparently reached
everywhere of my wife’s ruthlessness.
As angry as I am, I have to acknowledge that it was a well played out
offensive move. My wife is cunning, cold, and calculating. She also doesn’t
seem quick to forgive, a warning that I am taking very seriously.
I had the shares and board seat transferred to her name this afternoon, per
her new assistant’s request, which she didn’t even bother to acknowledge. I
am sure she was too busy ruining others’ lives. Thomas Penticton will have
a coronary when he realizes how many shares his daughter now holds. My
shares combined with hers, almost gives her the majority shareholder
position with forty-nine percent. He should fear my wife, it seems he has
underestimated her brilliant mind and she will no doubt make him pay for
using her as a bargaining chip. She’s out for blood and all of us should be
wary of her.
I pull past the opening gates of my home and try to calm my enraged
breathing down. I can’t go in there with my temper ready to explode and try
to deal with Stella. She will no doubt be expecting my wrath and will have
a way to push my buttons further so that I don’t proceed with plans to fuck
her little cunt raw. The only thing keeping me sane at the moment is the
knowledge that I will be punishing her with my cock later. Ensuring that
she submits to me in every way. The thought has me rock hard in my pants
as I pull into the vast six car garage.
I immediately notice a little blue Lamborghini Countach parked in one of
the slots in the garage. A vehicle that was for sure not there when I left this
morning. It seems my wife is full of surprises; I know for a fact that she
didn’t own that car before our marriage. All of her assets were listed in the
marriage documents. She’s been shopping and it doesn’t seem like she
showed restraint.
I trail my fingers over the hood of the car, it’s sleek and sexy like my wife
and made for thrill seeking, smooth riding, and speed. I wonder if my Stella
will give me half the same experience tonight between her creamy thighs.
Her tight pussy this morning and the way she rode her passion to
completion, makes me believe she will.
As I enter my home, no one greets me. What the fuck is going on here?
Where is Fergus or Mrs. Pox? I move quickly from one room to the other
on the main floor and find not a hair of my usually well behaved and
attentive staff. As I make my way to the dining room, I notice that the table
is in fact set for dinner, but the room is empty. My agitation is rising further
as I play hide and seek with the members of my household.
“Stella!” I bellow, the vibrations of my shout echoing off the walls of my
vast home. I take the stairs to the second floor two at a time, unable to stop
myself from losing the precious control I just admonished myself to keep
on the way into the estate. As I slam open the door to the master suite, I
hear the low murmurs of jazz music playing. The room is shrouded in
shadows except for some well placed candles giving it a muted and warm
glow. My eyes trail across the expanse and I locate my wife, sitting
comfortably and utterly at ease in the upholstered chaise with a glass of red
wine in her manicured hand.
She watches me stalk towards her, her face a careful and blank mask so I
can’t determine her feelings or thoughts. She’s changed from earlier and is
sitting there in nothing but a flimsy red sheer nightgown even though it’s
later afternoon. One that leaves very little to the imagination and sets
against all that beautiful and velvety skin, making it appear luminous and
warm. Her dark hair trails down her shoulders and thick wavy strands curl
around her round breasts, just tempting me to run my fingers through them.
Shit, she is a fantasy come to life, a life size doll for me to play with.
I trail my eyes up from her red painted toes, over her toned calves, up past
parted and bent knees to her thick thighs. Ones that I want wrapped around
my head, and to the prize of her core, still partially covered by the flimsy
material. My heated gaze continues over her tiny waist and to the round,
full globes of her breasts with their erect dark pink nipples. My mouth
waters instantly with the desire to suck them deep into my mouth and trail
my teeth along their hardened tips.
I pull my eyes away with difficulty up her chest, along the long, graceful
column of her neck, that still bears my earlier marks causing perverse
pleasure to rise inside of me and my hands to itch with the need to wrap
themselves around and squeeze the delicate skin once again. My gaze
continues upwards to trail over her beautiful face. One that has my breath
momentarily stalling in my chest. She is gorgeous. No, that doesn’t even
seem like a strong enough word to describe the creature before me.
A small smile graces her red tinted lips and her arctic blue eyes are
unreadable and steady on me. She raises the wine glass to her full lips,
taking a small sip but her gaze never leaves mine. I can feel my pants
tenting in front of me, my erection so painfully hard at the vision before me
that I worry that my zipper is leaving an imprint. My wife is a goddess
before me, who comes to destroy and tempt me with carnal thoughts and
pleasures of the flesh. Peitho has nothing on Stella. Does she mean for me
to worship at her feet?
I almost give in to the desire to rush her, part those toned legs and bury my
cock into her sweet heat in one forceful go. Laying claim to her and
ensuring she knows and feels my brand on her skin and in her core. That
however, is what she wants. She wants me to lose complete control, be
enthralled by her, losing myself in her so that she can continue to
manipulate and control me.
Stella seeks to make me a puppet king, while she makes the moves behind
our empire. A lesser man would allow her, maybe even thank her as he
reaped the benefit of the pleasure she no doubt can provide. Unfortunately
for Stella, she married a Stratford, we are made a little differently. If my
gorgeous wife wants power, she will have to earn it on her knees with my
cock down her throat.
Stella Stratford does not play fair and uses any advantage that she has
available. Right now the most powerful tool she has in her arsenal against
me, is herself. I want her and she knows it.
I have to try to reel in my desire for her. I refuse to be a puppet on her
strings. I want her, but I am not alone in the sentiment. She wants me too
and I mean to make her beg for my brand of passion. To make her needy for
me just as much as I am for her.

OceanofPDF.com
12

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“The flame of anger, bright and brief, sharpens the barb of love.”
Walter Savage Landor

I FORCE MYSELF TO move closer to her in measured steps, taking the

seat opposite of her and watching as her chest rises and falls with deep
breaths. Her blue eyes watch every move I make with rapt attention. Her
gaze causing my skin to heat and longing to fill me.
Stella may appear calm on the surface, but it’s nothing but a mirage. Her
pulse beating rapidly in her neck confirms my thoughts. The pretty bruises
left from my fingers along the surface caIl to the animal inside me, daring
me to add more to her flesh. I watch as she moistens her lips with her pink
tongue. The desire to take it into my own mouth filling me. The
remembrance of her taste from this morning makes my cock throb in the
confine of my pants.
Stella plays a great pretense, but I’m almost positive my little wife has
limited experience with seduction. In fact, I am not even sure if she’s not a
virgin, despite her passionate behavior this morning. The thought of being
the first to breach her channel and lay claim to her warm and wet cunt,
makes precum leak from the tip of my cock and coat the inside of my tight
boxers. Fuck, I hope that tight pussy bleeds all over my cock when I slam
myself home. The desire to see her red blood streaked across my dick all
encompassing.
“Where are the staff, Stella?” I question with a raised eyebrow as I watch
her part her legs slightly giving me a more enhanced view of her bare cunt.
Fuck, look at those pretty pink lips, just ripe for me to run my tongue and
fingers through. I shift my cock in my pants and almost groan at the painful
sensation of how hard he is. Down boy, you will get your turn shortly!
“I gave all of them the night off.” Stella’s voice breaks through the
unadulterated mesmerizing effect her pretty pink pussy is having on me and
I force myself to meet her gaze. A slight pink blush streaks up her neck and
across her high cheekbones. She’s not as unaffected as she’s trying to play.
Stella is turned on and it’s a beautiful thing to witness. I bet if I ran my
finger through her plump pussy lips right now, it would come away
drenched.
“I see, and who will be serving us dinner?”
A small, crooked smile graces her lips and her eyes alight with mischief,
causing my chest to tighten at the way it transforms her face from being
beautiful to earth shatteringly stunning. Again the thought crosses my mind
of how I never noticed that this woman, that I agreed to marry for wealth
and power, was so devastatingly gorgeous. “I’m sure we can find something
to eat Jaxon,” her breathy response has my balls tightening painfully and
my cock begging to be let loose.
Her sultry voice and words are a seductive force trying to lure me closer
and to my knees. No doubt where my little wife would like to see me and
keep me. As I stare at her, the thought of getting on my knees and giving up
some of my power doesn’t repulse me, in fact it starts as a deep yearning. I
would love nothing better than to suck and lick that sweet cunt right now.
My pride however understands that this is a game that Stella is playing. A
move on the chessboard of which she is now the most valuable piece.
A queen, one that will lay waste to rooks, knights, and kings to get what she
wants. What is it that my little, devious viper truly wants? Freedom?
Power? The heads of the men that bargained and negotiated for her without
her approval or assent?
I knew this morning when I agreed to her terms that she would make me
pay for my trespasses against her. I just didn’t realize I would be paying so
soon and that the tools she would use would cause me to want to be
willingly on my knees. I bite down hard on my bottom lip, trying to use the
momentary sharp pain to break this hold that she is having on me. Jesus
fucking Christ, she is a seductress, just tempting me to fuck her against that
chaise.
“You have been busy today, Stella. Care to tell me about your day, wife?” I
spew the word “wife” out with as much spite as I can produce. I want her to
hear the displeasure in my words and tone. She caused chaos and
humiliation on day one of being my wife, starting by leaving me standing at
the altar like some useless cunt.
Day two has seen utter fucking destruction at her hands and our world
trembling with fear at her feet. As much as I am starting to admire her
cunning behavior, I also need to be cognizant that she is trying to use those
same skills against me. I won’t have it. She is mine and she needs to
understand that I am her master, and that I will demand her obedience and
respect. Like the respect you showed her last night? My mind questions
with snark.
“I went shopping and bought myself a little car.” She grins deviously.
“I see, anything else other than the new hundred-and-fifty-thousand-dollar
car parked in our garage?” I thread my fingers together to prevent myself
from reaching for her. The desire to run my fingertips along her soft as silk
skin is a thudding craving in my bloodstream. How pretty will she look
with fingerprints marked red across that perky ass of hers when I spank her
for being deceitful and prideful?
I watch as she places the wine glass down on the small marble table to her
side, her breasts moving underneath the sheer material and causing me to
have to bite down on the inside of my cheeks. She smooths her hand down
the front of her negligee causing the material to press into her skin and the
appearance of her perky nipples to become more pronounced. Temptation
beacons to me, the wisp of lust calling my name and daring me to fight its
thrall. I watch as she once again parts her knees, her red painted toes
digging into the material of the chaise and her elegant feet arching. Fuck,
even her feet are pretty.
“I might have done a little housekeeping and removed some trash to get our
house in order, Jaxon.”
Her insolent words have my temper erupting and I’m out of my seat and
straddling her in the chaise in a brief second. I bear down part of my weight
on her thighs and grab onto her wrists, pinning them against the back of the
chaise as her breathing stutters.
“You little viper. Do you know the destruction and chaos you caused
today?” I tighten my grip until a pained flinch crosses her features. Her eyes
meet mine without even the slightest hint of fear or remorse.
Her features this close up are pure perfection, not a blemish or mark. Her
stunning eyes heat at my restraining manner and a pink tinge stains her high
cheekbones. Her tongue skates out wetting her lips before her front teeth
bite down on her pouty bottom lip, urging me to take it from her and use my
own teeth on it. Is that fire that I see in her eyes? Is she enjoying my tight
hold? Maybe my little ice queen likes to be restrained? That definitely has
possibilities, once again the image of tying her up and collaring her pops
into my mind and I have to swallow the moan that tries to escape me.
My teeth grind together as I tighten my punishing grip on her flesh. She will
have the imprint of my fingers when I am done, a circle of bruises on her
flesh to remind her that I am her master and she is my possession.
“Did you have to be so petty going after Kalista, Stella? I had already
agreed to your pound of flesh.” I bear all my weight down on her thighs and
waist, trapping her beneath me. The sensation of her breasts pressed against
my chest is not helping my raging hard-on, and I am sure she can feel my
cock pressed firmly against her soft skin. It throbs painfully wanting to rub
against that velvety skin and stain her with my precum. Yet I refuse to relent
and give in to my baser needs.
She doesn’t bother to respond to me, just raises her eyebrow at me in a
taunting manner and shrugs off a response. “I am sorry that I hurt you,
Stella. I already apologized this morning. Was it really necessary to destroy
her and provide the spectacle that you did to all of those around us?”
She leans forward as much as my weight will allow her. Her lips barely a
hair’s breadth away from mine and the sweet scent of rich wine and her
own vanilla and floral scent making its way to my nose. “Oh Jaxon, did
your little whore go crying to you on her hands and knees, like the trash she
is?” She pulls on her wrists trying to release them from my hold. “Did you
really think that your brief words would be enough to satisfy the harm you
caused me? That somehow I would forget your humiliation just because
you apologized? Maybe you truly believed that she would walk away
unscathed, Jaxon?”
Her warm lips meet mine in a crushing embrace that has me immediately
parting my lips so that I can get a taste of her. All my good intentions to
resist her go out the window at the brush of her tongue against mine. Fuck,
her personal taste along with the rich wine is a heady combination and
makes me crave more of her. I release my hold on her wrists, allowing my
hands to dive deeply into her thick tresses and begin pulling on the silk
strands of her hair. My other hand wraps around her soft full breast, where
my fingers pull on her hardened tip until a gasp leaves her lips. My chest
rises and falls in an erratic rhythm as the noises escaping her cause my cock
to throb in its confinement.
I know I should be holding back. Trying to show restraint against my
crushing hungering for her, but right now all I want to do is have a taste of
her. Scorching heat surges through my chest and groin and my heart slams
against my ribs. I need her. I need to dominate her, to control her. To make
her fucking mine. Fuck it. I will teach her a lesson with my cock, one I hope
that she doesn’t learn so that I can repeat it daily. I have a feeling once will
never be enough with Stella.
I pull away from her lips, trailing my own down the side of her face and to
her jaw, my tongue slipping out to lick at all her creamy flesh and then
continuing its path down the column of her neck and to her chest. Where I
leave open mouth kisses, sucking the flesh tightly as she trembles below
me. I move back further on her legs until I am sitting on the chaise between
her toned thighs. My fingers kneading her soft breast and eliciting
whimpers from her mouth that I am not even sure she knows she is
releasing. She arches into my embrace, her breath hitching as I apply
pressure to the soft globe and pull her nipple between two fingers. The
sounds are music to my ears. She is so receptive to my touch. Who knew
that below all that frigid exterior, hot, scalding lava resided.
“I mean to discipline you Stella, for your reckless behavior today.” I
mumble into the soft swell of her breast. My teeth nipping the skin and her
flesh pebbling underneath my touch. Her skin smells delicious with hints of
vanilla and notes of rose mixed with fresh citrus. She is an aphrodisiac that
I mean to consume regardless of the consequences. “I have a feeling
though, that you will enjoy it, my little wife. Are you going to be a good
girl for me now, Stella?”
My voice is husky and filled with the desire to make her mine as I tighten
my grip on her hair, a whimper leaving her lips. I pull on the scrap of fabric
that is keeping her other breast from me and it tears easily, exposing the
beautiful swell of both her breasts to my waiting mouth. I take her hardened
tip in between my lips and suck deeply on the delicate flesh until a moan
leaves her mouth and she moves restlessly before me. Her hands make their
way into my thick hair and her fingers yank harshly on the strands, causing
me to groan in pleasure. “Don’t threaten me husband, I’m not afraid of
you.” She moans seductively, her voice low and filled with pleasure.
My cock is trying desperately to poke its way out of my pants and to find
the warm oblivion of Stella’s cunt. I move back, removing my lips from her
soft flesh and stare at her. Her eyes are heated, large, and such a dark blue
that they remind me of troubled ocean waters. They call to me to give in
and continue to give her pleasure, to awaken every nerve ending in her
body, and make every part of her mine. Her red lips are parted and there are
marks already starting to bloom on her fair skin from where my mouth
traveled. More, my mind demands, every inch of her needs to know she’s
mine. Her deep pink nipples stand at attention before my gaze, just daring
me to suck them deep into my mouth.
I will my control back into place. I want to have her, but I need to ensure
that she understands that she will not top me. I am her master, not the other
way around. She will submit to me and stop this foolish game of trying to
win over me. “Are you wet, Stella?” My voice comes out thick and filled
with heat as I move my fingers down the front of her abdomen towards her
pussy.
When I reach my prize, I shift the flimsy material out of my way and her
bare pussy lips sit glistening before me. The skin is all pink and swollen and
so very tempting. Stella has the prettiest, most delicate looking cunt I have
ever seen and a part of me wants to mark it up and leave my personal brand
on it. The only thing that would make it prettier still, would be my cum
dripping down and coating it. I part her folds with my fingers, revealing her
clit to my eyes and my mouth waters, needing a taste of her.
“Up, Stella.” I demand, grabbing her underneath her arm and pushing her to
a standing position before me. She looks a little shocked and confused at
my intentions and she stumbles for a moment before righting herself. Good,
I want her off balance, I want her to wonder what I will do to her next. How
I will control and devour her.
“You’re going to stand there with that pretty cunt above me, spreading your
legs wide and riding my face, Stella, while I eat that delectable pussy of
yours.” My words cause a gasp to leave her lips and her body to sway. I can
tell she enjoys my dirty words as much as the promise behind them. I wrap
both my hands around her calves to steady her on the chaise, while moving
into position just below her juicy pussy. I slide one of my hands up her legs,
over her soft folds and around her waist, holding tight to her hip and pulling
her down towards my salivating mouth. She smells fucking delicious, her
arousal musky and sweet and has my eyes rolling to the back of my head in
anticipation of her taste. MINE.
The first lick of my tongue across her folds has a moan leaving both of our
lips and her swaying slightly. I lick through her folds up to her clit and suck
hard on the little nub, then lash it back and forth with my tongue, breathing
against her molten center. Her hands make their way back into my hair,
pulling fiercely on the strands as she lowers herself more fully on my face,
and pushes my face harder into her needy cunt. I move my tongue down her
folds and spear her tight hole to a harsh gasp from her lips. “Jaxon!” The
way she moans my name has my tongue thrusting harder into her core,
wanting to elicit more cries from her lips.
She tastes amazing, a rich nectar and a flavor that is all Stella. I rub my
nose, lips and chin across her folds, coating myself in her wetness while
whimpers leave her parted lips. My gaze rises up to meet hers. Her heated
eyes are at half mast, her pupils blown, and pink tints her cheeks. I watch
with satisfaction as her lip is once again firmly between her teeth, trying to
restrain the moans from leaving them. Naw fuck that baby, I want to hear
those screams, they’re mine.
I fuck her over and over with my tongue, in and out of her tight hole while
her body rides my face from above. I slide my hands slowly up the inside of
her thighs, caressing the skin on the way to my ultimate destination. Once I
reach the soft folds of her pussy lips, I pull my tongue out and lash her clit
over and over while slipping two of my thick fingers deep inside of her,
scissoring my fingers.
“Oh my God!” Her whimper is the sound of music to my ears. Her ragged
panting is the most beautiful sound I have ever heard. Move over Mozart,
my wife’s cries are the best concerto. I pull back with a smirk, “your God is
right here Stella, eating this soaked pussy.”
I feel her body tightening above me as her breathing increases in speed. I
pull my face back to watch her expression but continue to fuck her with my
fingers, and dare to slip another one inside of her until her pussy grasp is so
tight and her moans are so loud that I know she’s about to come. I hook my
fingers upwards, finding that delicate spot inside of her and caressing it
with my digits. “Fuck.” The word leaves her lips over and over as her head
tips back and her dark hair cascades down her back and over her shoulders.
A breathy chant as her orgasm races through her.
Jesus, she is the sexiest woman I have ever seen. She comes undone over
my face, with my fingers deep inside of her. Soaking my digits and her cum
dripping down my hand. I reach forward with my tongue lapping up all her
wetness, not wanting a single drop to be wasted. She slumps over me, her
body deflating and boneless. I slowly remove my fingers from her pussy
and help her to lie back down on the chaise before me. The desire to fuck
those pretty lips of her almost overwhelming me. I would love to watch my
hard cock choke her and move in that tight throat.
I drape my body over hers, grabbing her chin. Her eyes are dilated and she’s
still in that amazing euphoric state. “Open.” I pull on her lips, forcing her
mouth to part for me. Then I spit some of my saliva with the taste of her
cum into her mouth.
“Swallow, Stella. You taste delicious.” My eyes narrow on her mouth as she
closes her lips and then swallows my spit. Fuck, that is so sexy. I want her
to taste herself so she knows how intoxicating she is.
I pull back, unbuttoning and unzipping my pants. My cock desperate to be
freed from its confines. The tip peeks out over the band of my boxers, all
swollen, flushed red and dripping with beads of precum.
“Do you see what you do to me Stella, with that pretty cunt of yours and
those vicious lips?” I stand up and pull my pants and boxers down, stepping
out of them and standing next to her face. Watching as her eyes widen at my
size and proximity to her face. Oh baby, you’re about to choke on my snake.
I’m not a small man and she will be feeling every inch of me come
tomorrow. That is if I leave her breathing.
“Have you ever deep throated a cock before, Stella?” I thread my fingers
through her hair, yanking on the strands, harshly and tilt her face upwards
towards my cock. When she opens her pretty mouth to reply, I don’t
hesitate pushing my cock through her lips and to the back of her throat. I
hold tight to her hair and the side of her face, forcing her to take me into her
tight throat, even though she gags on my cock and uses her hands to
frantically push at my legs. Her struggle is just another level of seduction
for me. I want her to panic with my hard cock down her throat. I want her to
feel the air draining from her as I control her breathing and close off her
airway. She should realize that I am her everything. Her master, husband,
and the asshole that decides how much air she will get into that sexy
treacherous mouth of hers. She is fucking mine, a fact she will learn.
“You’re going to be a good little slut for me and swallow my cock deep
down into your pretty little throat. I’m going to fill it with my cum until
you’re choking on it.”
I pull back only leaving the tip inside her lips, spittle coating my cock and
dribbling out the side of her lips. Her eyes are wide and a tear trickles down
the side of her face from my harsh treatment. Fuck, I want to see more tears
running down her face. She looks beautiful like this, ready to be used for
my cock’s pleasure. I push back inside her warm, wet mouth, not being any
gentler than I was the first time and hitting the back of her throat. Forcing
myself once again down it and keeping her face and head held in my tight
grasp. Her gagging noises are music to my ears. I start a punishing rhythm
of fucking her mouth hard, each time I plunge in hitting the back of her
throat and making her gag loudly and choke on my hard length. “Relax
your throat Stella, you need to swallow all of me.”
Her hands grip me in desperation trying to slow my onslaught of her mouth
and throat, but I will not be denied. The sounds of her slurping, gagging,
and her harsh breath are a symphony of sounds to my ears. Beethoven,
Chopin, and Bach have nothing on the music my Stella is making. The only
thing that could make this even better would be her cries of pain. I grasp a
fist full of her hair and yank, ripping out strands as she screams around my
cock.
The orgasm starts to race down my back, a live current soaring through my
skin and causing heat and sweat to break out across my body. Her
fingernails dig into the back of my thighs and that little pinch of pain causes
me to go right over the edge and roughly cum down her throat. I push her
head forward until her nose is flush against my pelvis and spurt over and
over down her tight throat as she tries to swallow as much as she can. She
struggles in my hold, scratching up the back of my legs with her sharp nails.
I don’t release her until the final rope of cum has left me and even then I
hold her face tightly in my grasp. Her struggles continue to excite me as
aftershocks race back up my spine, and she continues to gag on me.
Pulling back, I watch as my cock vacates her mouth, inch by inch, covered
in her spit and my thick cum. “Swallow every last drop Stella. Lick those
pouty lips of yours to make sure you get all of me inside of you.” I yank
hard on her hair and tears slide down the side of her cheekbones as I watch
her do exactly what I have instructed her. She is so exquisite when she obeys
me.
I let my hard cock slap her lips and then her cheek, coating both in my cum
and her spit until she looks a mess. I release my hold on her and back up a
step to stare at her. She’s an alluring wreck, her hair in complete disarray
from me fucking her face and pulling on it. Her lips are red and swollen,
spittle and cum is coating her chin and splattered across the top of her chest.
Her arctic blue eyes are reminiscent of a tempestuous storm about to make
landfall. She’s breathing heavy, her chest moving harshly like she can’t
catch her breath.
I reach down and run my fingers through the mess on her chin and chest,
bringing two fingers up to coat her lips. “What a messy, good girl you are
Stella. You take cock in your throat like an expensive whore.” A whimper
leaves her lips and her tongue comes out to lash at my fingers, cleaning
them of her spit and my cum. I watch as her thighs tighten, no doubt her
pussy is feeling needy for another orgasm.
One I wish to give her, but instead I pull back and away from her. Needing
to get myself under control and my bearings around me. I can’t allow Stella
to seduce me into being her willing puppet. The point of fucking her mouth
ruthlessly was twofold. One just because I wanted to see my cock shoved
hard down that pretty throat of hers and two, to make sure she understands
that I own her. She is mine to do with as I please. Her little manipulations
and maneuvers won’t alter the fact that her father essentially sold her to me.
“You are mine Stella, to do with as I please. You will be my whore for the
rest of your life. You had better get used to me using you.” I lean forward,
my lips touching hers and tasting myself on them. I lick and nibble her
bottom lip. The combination of her taste and mine, fucking delicious.
“Don’t try to control me Stella and manipulate the rules of the game. You
will find that you are outplayed and inexperienced every time you come up
against me.” I move back another step, watching as her eyes narrow no
longer in pleasure but in anger. “I will allow your move today, wife. Take
care you do not overplay your hand.”
I turn and walk out of the room, the bottom half of my body bare and my
cock standing erect and hard. Fuck, I’m ready to go again, just like I
guessed, once with Stella would never be enough. My cock is already
craving the tightness of her throat once more. I force myself to walk away
from my little viper of a wife before she becomes an addiction for me. The
desire to keep fucking her over and over until she can’t stand or breathe,
running through my limbs and causing me to want to backtrack into the
room.
I keep forcing myself forward though, heading to the guest room I slept in
last night. I need to teach my little ice queen a lesson. I will use her like she
was meant to be used, as my wife, my queen, and my whore.

OceanofPDF.com
13

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Women are just as motivated by the desire for power as men; it's
just that our cultural ideas about power don't associate it with
femininity.” Soraya Chemaly, Rage Becomes Her: The
Power of Women's Anger

S HOCK IS RUNNING THROUGH my system as I watch Jaxon’s

tight, muscular ass walk out the door after fucking my throat raw and
giving me one of the most intense orgasms of my life. I should be appalled
at his harsh treatment, but the reality is my pussy is drenched and I almost
begged him to fuck me. Begged him to use me and degrade me further.
You’re a weak, dirty whore. My mind whispers, reminding me that the
desires I hide are weakness in a man like Jaxon’s hands. He will have me on
my knees as a willing slave if I allow it. Despite how much his filthy words
and his domineering and controlling treatment turn me on. I need to
remember that he is a tool to get my vengeance and independence over the
men in my life that would subject me to being some rich man’s possession.
His possession.
Didn’t he himself just utter those words? Ones that should have rage
flowing through my veins. Yet instead I am lying here sprawled on the
chaise, like a sex doll that he used and abandoned, covered in cum and spit.
Contemplating slipping my fingers back inside of myself, so that I can ride
them to another orgasm.
Jaxon Stratford is dangerous! My mind and self preservation seethe. I have
to be careful with the hands I play against him. I lost control of myself in a
moment of pure lust. I thought I had my move down pact for seducing him
and bringing him to his knees. Instead he turned it quickly around on me,
gave me another body shattering orgasm and used me savagely for his own
pleasure. Then he left me here, like the slut he named me, without a look
back.
I rise from the chaise on trembling legs, heading in the direction of the
bathroom to clean myself up. I can still taste his warm, salty cum in my
mouth and the slight musky taste of myself. I want more of that taste and
the feel of his hands on my skin. I just need to figure out a way to play him
and get him under my control before he does further damage to me.
I will never allow him to treat me like a possession, bought and paid for.
But you will allow him to treat you like a whore, correct? Is that not the
same goddamn thing? My mind questions. I falter in my steps at the
thought of Jaxon forcing me to my knees before him. Fuck! My core
clenches painfully at the thought of how brutish he was and how I wanted
him to be even more vulgar with me.
Get your shit together Stella or you will end up in a worse situation than
you left. Do you want to just be some rich man’s plaything? A whore for his
amusement? How will he ever respect you if you fall to your knees or
spread your legs willingly for him?
As I step into the large glass shower, turning the water to scalding hot and
washing the feel of Jaxon’s hands and cum off of me, thoughts start to roll
through my mind on how I am going to turn the tables around on him. Fuck
you, Jaxon Stratford, I will never belong to you, not as your prize,
possession, or whore.

OceanofPDF.com
14

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“If you don't challenge things, all you have done is passed it onto
the next woman to deal with.” Julia Hardy

T HE SUN IS SHINING through the large windows out here in the

wide cream paneled hallway. It’s warmth across my skin, a soothing
sensation for the nerves that are playing havoc on my body. I take a deep
breath as I prepare myself to do battle with one of my strongest adversaries.
For just a moment a deep pang of regret fills me. I wish I didn’t have to do
this. I wish my father had seen me not just as a pretty delicate prize to
bargain with but as a proud extension of himself.
One that he could have helped shape to rule his empire. Instead, I have to
face the hand that I have been dealt, I am a woman, only valued for what
men seek as a trophy. My value is in my looks, name, womb, and the zeros
in my bank account. Well fuck that shit, I am more than that!
Determination fills me once again to set this world on fire. This world that
would have me believe that because I am a woman, I am worthless and
incapable of ruling. That men are the stronger of the species and destined to
control women forever. They will watch as I burn their world down to ashes
only to reshape it in my image. I am a queen with a king for a consort, not
the other way around. Once I am done proving my point to these other men
that would have seen me kneeling, and simpering at their entitled feet, I will
go after Jaxon Stratford with all my strength for thinking he could buy me
and treat me like some wanton whore. My new husband will learn what it
means to be conquered at my hands.
I nod to my new assistant, Tyson. He’s a young, good-looking man with
dark brown hair and a slim build. His dark brown eyes exhibiting an
eagerness to learn and rise in this world of privilege and wealth. He had no
objections to working for a woman and seemed to salivate at the concept of
tearing this male dominated and chauvinistic world down. At first I was
hesitant, thinking that perhaps I would be better suited with a woman as an
assistant, but quickly realized that I was playing the same double standard
game as my father. Here Tyson stands by my side, strumming with nervous
energy, ready to assist me in tearing my father’s whole world down. I look
forward to taking him with me into the many battles to come.
He opens the dark wood double doors to the boardroom wide and stands
aside as I enter the space with my head held high and my shoulders back.
All conversation ceases as I move within the space. Cream walls greet me
with photographs of all the board members’ faces framed and hung on the
walls. Large windows allow the New York sunshine to filter inside, giving
me strength for what is about to happen. I meet my father’s stunned eyes
across the large dark wood board table without flinching.
“What is the meaning of this Stella?” His loud voice bellows through the
room. I watch as a few of the men seated at the table flinch in response to it,
but I hold firm, not giving him the satisfaction. Weaklings, the lot of them.
“Father.” I nod my head to him, never taking my eyes off him as Tyson
moves into the room, depositing dark navy folders on the boardroom table
in front of each of the four board members present. “This is a board meeting
for Penticton Industries is it not?” I feign indifference that I don’t feel and
shift further into the room, assessing the situation for any further threats or
weaknesses.
“You do not need to attend these meetings Stella, as I have reminded you in
the past. You have meager shares. Your husband will attend on your behalf
if he sees fit and deal with his own shares.” Meager shares, this fucker
really thinks he’s fooling anyone. Even before my marriage to Jaxon, I held
twenty percent of the shares of this company. No one would call that
meager, but him. There are board members sitting here with less shares than
I own, and he treats them with respect. The only difference is the cock I
wasn’t born with, but make no mistake my balls are bigger, as he’s about to
find out.
A smirk crosses my face and I watch as the large vein in his forehead starts
to throb. He’s angry at me for the interruption, perhaps even a bit
embarrassed that his only child decided to attend a meeting of her family’s
empire. A woman, no less, one that he has deemed inferior to him and those
present. This will make this whole situation even sweeter for me, I will enjoy
inflicting pain on him as he has on me in the past.
I tear my eyes away from my father’s outraged and disappointed ones and
look over each of the preceding board members. All men in their mid to late
forties, fifties and sixties. Not a single woman is present on the board of my
family’s company, even though both my mother and I are share owners.
That will need to change. I have no intention of allowing this toxic male
superiority to remain at Penticton Industries or at Stratford Industries. The
world is changing and these men are about to experience a rude wake up
call. Hey assholes, the world is half female and it’s our turn to shine.
“Is that so?” I move closer to the end of the oval board table, directly
opposed to my father and stare at the man sitting in the plush chair. “It
seems father, that you may be unexpectedly and unmercifully misguided.
My husband will not in fact be present for any board meeting for Penticton
Industries as he owns no shares.”
The gray-haired idiot before me, opens the folder that Tyson dropped in
front of him, which contains only one document. The one that clearly shows
how many shares I currently own. He stares at the document in disbelief
and then raises his brown eyes to meet my unrelenting ones. “I suggest you
move; you are in my seat.” My words leave my lips in cold, calculated
malice.
“What are you babbling about, girl! Of course your husband has shares in
the company, I myself provided him with them for your matrimony.” A
dowry of course, he provided my husband with a dowry to marry me like
we are living in some medieval world. Thomas Penticton’s face swells up
with anger and agitation, he reaches over and rips the folder from the board
member next to his hands. The room is silent as he contemplates what he is
seeing before him.
I quirk my lips as I take the newly vacated seat, crossing my hands before
me on the desk. The perfect picture of a dutiful queen, one that he ensured I
knew how to play the part of. He should congratulate himself once the fury
has settled down a bit. He is partially responsible for making me the woman
I am today. Without his mistreatment, lack of support, empathy and general
sexism, who knows what I may have become.
“As you can see from the document before you, father.” I sneer the word
out, making sure that all present hear my disdain for it. “Jaxon generously
signed over his shares and his board seat to his wife yesterday. That would
make me, his wife, the majority shareholder in Penticton Industries, not
you.“ The biggest surprise was that my timid mother also signed over her
shares to me when I requested them, without any hesitation or questions.
My father slams the folder down on the desk before him, rising to his feet
and leaning over the table, his large belly protruding over the belt of his
black dress pants. His face filled with rage, blotchy and red, sweat dotting
his receding hairline. I’m almost sorry that I am hurting him, he is my
father but the mistreatment and disdain over the years at his hands stays any
sentiment that rises within me. He will be the first of many that I will have
cowering at my feet when I am done. I don’t think he will enjoy the trip
down to the bottom. To be subjected to my rule, and my control, but oh
well, life is never fair. After all, I should fucking know first hand, I’m a
woman.
“This is ludicrous. You cannot have the majority shareholder’s position
Stella!” He slams his fist down hard on the tabletop ensuring that the water
in the glasses before each of the shareholders sloshes out and wets the
tabletop before us. His breathing is harsh and his chest is rising and falling
with angry pants. He is working himself into one of his rages. The ones he
subjects my mother and me to. The ones that portray a less civilized version
of Thomas Phlip Penticton than the world gets to see. The tyrant is actually
an abusive monster behind closed doors.
“Why is that father?" I raise my eyebrow and meet his affronted glare.
“Could it be because I am a woman?” I sit back in my chair, demonstrating
to all those before me a rational, collected and serious countenance. I will
not allow any of them to judge or misalign me with the stereotypes
attributed to women. I am not prone to hysteria, fear or tears and I will not
cower before a group of men.
“What have you done Stella? You think this little stunt will change
anything? You are a woman, your place is at home running your husband’s
house and ensuring that he is taken care of, giving birth to the next
generation. Not in a corporate office and certainly not heading Penticton
Industries.”
Indignation fills me and I have to stop the outraged retort that wants to
leave my mouth. How dare he insinuate that all I am good for is being my
husband’s property, breeding and running his home. I tighten my fingers on
the edge of the table until they are bloodless before me and take a few short
breaths through my nose, glowering at my father. The man I once
worshiped with a little girl’s admiration for her poppa. He never deserved it,
even when I was a child. Always lamenting the lack of a son and making
me feel small and unwanted.
“Regardless of your opinion father, the fact is right there in black and white
before you, and undisputable. I am the majority shareholder, with even
more shares than you. I have my shares, Jaxon’s shares and my mother’s
which gives me fifty one percent. Which means that I will be heading this
company going forward from today onwards.” I raise my hand to silence
whatever wrathful words are about to leave his lips. “Be wary father, I have
no qualms about taking my shares public and selling our family legacy to
the highest bidder if you try in any way to stop my takeover.”
“You would destroy over two hundred years of Penticton legacy in spite,
Stella?” Spittle flies from his mouth as he moves around the table towards
me. A huge lumbering presence seething with wrath. I feel Tyson move
forward at my back and spy the other board members moving further away
from the table at my father’s approach. They are smarter than they look,
bastards. He is a volcano about to explode and they don’t want to be in his
immediate vicinity when he does.
“I would burn it all to the ground and sleep well at night. Your legacy, your
name, and the empire that our family built.”
He reaches out with his large hand and grabs my chin in his tight grasp,
tilting it so that I have no choice but to meet his ferocious gaze. The sweat
that at first dotted his forehead is now trickling in drips down the side of his
face and his nostrils are flaring. He looks like an enraged bull, ready to
attack. His large body is locked tight, perhaps with the restraint of not
raising that meaty paw in punishment. If he were to slap me here, like he so
often does, these men would know what type of man Thomas Penticton
really is. The type that uses his hand and fists on his wife and daughter to
ensure obedience and fear.
Someone clearing their throat behind me catches everyone in the room’s
attention and has my father releasing his tight hold on my chin. I move my
jaw back and forth to loosen up the feeling of his fingers. I have no doubt
that his meaty fingerprints will be present there tomorrow. Motherfucker!
“Thomas, I thought that I had already warned you about touching a
Stratford. In particular the one your fingers were just on.” Jaxon’s voice
rings out behind me filled with cold malice and a vibrant threat.
I watch enthralled as my father swallows painfully, his face rising with
further color as he moves away from me. His body is almost trembling with
the resentment he is trying to suppress. His hands are now clenched at his
side and he’s grinding his large meaty jaw. I don’t bother to turn in my seat,
I can picture the look of malicious intent on Jaxon’s face. He did warn him
and even though I don’t need him to fight my battles, a warm satisfaction
fills me at the look of abject fear on my father’s face.
“She is my daughter.”
“She is my wife, Thomas. That trumps being your daughter. She is also the
majority shareholder at this company and you will show her the respect that
both those titles require or…I. Will. Destroy. You.” Jaxon’s voice never
raises with the threat but the deadly intent behind his words has a shiver
racing down my spine. He moves further into the room, his scent reaching
my nose and helping to release some of the tightness in my chest. I should
question why his mere presence is having that effect on me. Something to
ponder at a later opportunity when I am not surrounded by enemies.
“How could you have done this Jaxon? Have you lost your mind?” Thomas
seethes.
“Done what exactly, Thomas? Given my wife the shares that rightly belong
to her as Penticton Industries is her family’s legacy? Provided a highly
educated and business savvy woman the right to lead her own empire?
Which part vexes you the most? That she will be your superior and run the
company or that she is a woman and outsmarted you?”
OceanofPDF.com
15

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“There’s something special about a woman who dominates in a man’s

world. It takes a certain grace, strength, intelligence, fearlessness,
and the nerve to never take no for an answer.” Rihanna

A S I AWAIT MY new father-in-law’s reply to my question, my eyes

fall over the young man at my wife’s back, positioned as a sentinel.
No doubt this is the new personal assistant she hired. It seems my wife and
I will be having words about hiring good-looking young men as her right
hand.
Hypocrite my mind whispers. I know that it’s a double standard, I have no
qualms about attractive women working for me at Stratford Industries but I
don’t want my wife surrounded daily by handsome men. The little kernel of
emotion rising within me has a vibrant green tinge to it and I don’t for one
second enjoy it.
“She will never be my superior; you are misaligned and insane for even
suggesting it. You need to get firm control over my daughter, Jaxon.” I snort
at his comment and his attempt at reminding me of ownership. Stella is no
longer his, she’s all mine now. The fucker is insane. He obviously doesn’t
know the first fucking thing about Stella, if he honestly believes anyone can
get control over her. I have no doubt that she will fight me tooth and nail for
the rest of our lives over control, and I may never come out the victor. Yet
the thought of all the battles I am going to face and all the ways I’m going
to try to force her to submit to me, make me feel alive.
“Of that, you are correct father. I will not be your superior. In fact, as of this
afternoon you will be entering retirement. You will no longer be an active
member of this board or have any say in the daily actions of this company.”
A smirk crosses my lips at the way she spews the word “father’. She has no
pity for the man, just disgust. Gasps fill the room around us and the side of
my mouth quirks up at their reactions to my destructive viper of a wife. God
she’s a sexy little thing when she’s being ruthless. I’ve got a semi just
watching her. If these fuckers weren’t in the room, I might even have
slipped under that skirt she’s wearing and eaten her pussy, while she tried to
boss me around.
I observe as Stella meets her father’s furious gaze without hesitation. She is
a queen sitting court and utterly unafraid. Desire races through me at the
show she is putting on. The power that she is demonstrating to all these
men. I want to kneel at her feet and be the man at her back. Too bad I can’t
do both at once. I move closer to my wife, giving her assistant a harsh glare.
For a moment, I don’t believe he will back down but at the last minute he
tips his head and steps back, allowing me to position myself at my wife’s
back. I will have to watch the sly fucker. If he thinks he will be spending
any time reaping the rewards between my wife’s thighs, he is fucking
mistaken and I will have him murdered and dismembered. She is fucking
mine, and I don’t plan to share her. I lay my warm, tense hand on her
shoulder, a show of support but also of possession, one I have no doubt she
will make me suffer for later. Other than tensing minutely she doesn’t even
acknowledge its presence.
“I will be doing no such thing! How dare you even suggest that!” Thomas’
voice echoes through the room. He is losing control of his emotions and my
wife is purposely pushing his buttons. She wants the world to see what type
of man he really is behind the expensive exterior. After all, is that not why I
am here? I knew there was a board meeting today, the invite was hand
delivered and crossed my desk yesterday, mere hours after I transferred my
shares to my wife.
The memory of the way he behaved with her the morning of our wedding
played as a nagging thought all morning in my mind. Would he have struck
her if I hadn’t been present? Has he hit her in the past? The mere thought
has rage bubbling in my veins and the desire to knock him on his ass filling
me.
I had a feeling that Stella was going to pull something today at this board
meeting. Her assistant was very insistent that the documentation of the
transfer be completed and sent immediately to her. My wife is out for blood
and as much as I don’t appreciate the tactics that she uses when used on me,
I can’t but admire her determination to slay her demons. Even if I happen to
be one of them.
Do I believe my show of support will diminish her ire towards me and the
forced marriage? No fucking way. I will still be paying with blood and flesh;
of that I have no doubt. Will I allow anyone else to hurt her though? The
fuck I will. If anyone is going to bring Stella Stratford to her beautiful knees
it will be me, and me alone.
An adorable snort of amusement leaves her and for a brief moment a smirk
crosses mine at the sound. She is such a cyclone of contradictions.
Beautiful, elegant, and sophisticated meshed with viciousness, cold, and
calculating. So many layers to my little ice queen.
“The fact that you still don’t understand that you have no power here, that
your time as ruler of this kingdom is over, shows that you are not fit to lead.
Let me put this in layman terms, father. You have been dethroned and
conquered; the empire is now mine. You will leave with your tail tucked
between your legs and head into retirement or I will use the full force of my
inheritance, plus the Stratford name, you forced on me to ruin you and your
legacy.”
There are gasps of shock once again across the room. The men in
attendance feeling the full power of her words and intentions. She will not
back down and her threats are not idle as witnessed by poor unfortunate
Kalista yesterday.
I could intercede. I could in fact refuse her the power behind the Stratford
name, but why would I? She is helping to ensure that all of these minions
go forth and spread the word of the might of the Stratfords. My father is in
his grave, clapping for her right now. She is probably more the son he
always wanted than I am. She will bring the world to heel at the might of
the Stratfords and help me to build the empire that I crave. That is if she
doesn’t destroy me too in her quest for power.
Her father’s mouth opens and closes, like some demented blowfish. His
eyes meet mine and whatever he sees there has him realizing that I will not
stop her. I will, in fact, ensure that her threats are carried out. He gave her to
me without realizing the power that he once held in his hands. I won’t be so
ignorant.
He shifts to move past me towards the door, his breathing heavy and his
body filled with frustrations at being bested by my viper of a wife. Just
before he makes it to the door, Stella pushes back from her chair, dislodging
my hand in the process and turns towards her father’s back.
“If I find out that you took any of this out on my mother, if even a miniscule
scratch is found on her body, I will not only be displeased, I will ensure I
retaliate in kind. Do not touch her.” Her words are strong and uttered
without a hint of any other emotion than the promise of retribution. Her
words cement my previous thoughts that her father has laid hands on her
and her mother before in anger. The strength her mother presented me at
our wedding reception makes a shiver race down my spine. Thomas
Penticton is lucky that his wife and daughter haven’t had him murdered yet.
Thomas storms out of the room and the rest of the board scampers up
immediately and leaves the room behind him, none of them meeting her
gaze or even uttering a word. Cowards! Little wealthy mice running away
from my lioness of a wife.
“Tyson, ensure he vacates his office immediately and does not take
anything of value with him. Have security posted on each floor of the
building, the board members are also to leave the building today without
any files. Have their access to top tier documents restricted and their
passwords cloned. I want to see everything they are doing.”
“Yes, Mrs. Stratford.”
I move forward and take the vacated seat next to her. Appraising her
appearance and expression as I do. She looks lovely dressed in a hunter’s
green business suit. The cream silk shirt underneath her suit jacket showing
the barest amount of cleavage. My mouth salivates with memory at how
delicious she tastes and how full her breasts were in my hands yesterday.
I can almost see all the thoughts and plans circulating through her mind.
“That was quite a takeover, Stella. Well done little ice queen.” I let the pride
and desire I am feeling show on my face. There is no point in trying to hide
it. I want her and I will have her, over and over. That pretty pink pussy that
torments my waking and sleeping moments will be laid before me and used
for my pleasure.
“Why are you here, Jaxon?” She turns her arctic gaze on me, her expression
is reserved and I am unable to read her thoughts. Is she truly displeased that
I came? For some reason that I can’t fathom, that thought upsets me. That
she didn’t want me here to witness her victory and support her. She is my
wife, does she not understand that I will always have her back, even if I
don’t agree with her methods?
“I came to bear witness to your destruction and rise in power, little ice
queen. Does it displease you that I wished to watch you humble your father
while you seized the company that is rightfully yours?”
Her arctic eyes meet mine, flashing with emotion. Is that satisfaction or
need in their depth? Does she finally understand that she is mine and I am
hers and together we will build an empire? “You are an extremely sexy
woman when you play with power Stella.” I lean forward, my lips a hair’s
breadth away from hers. Her lips open and her warm minty breath trails
across my lips. My eyes meet hers, gray fighting a losing battle against the
blue arctic night. “Does it turn you on?”
I run my finger up the smooth, creamy skin of her bare calf. “Are you
soaked right now, Stella? Does conquering men and striving for power
make you wet, baby?”

OceanofPDF.com
16

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her
eyes.” Victor Hugo

H IS TOUCH AND WORDS cause goosebumps to rise across my skin.

Those slate-gray eyes meeting mine with heated seduction and
promises of debauchery. His charcoal suit is perfectly tailored to his large,
powerful body. Those wide shoulders stretching the material and that broad,
powerful chest pushing against the fabric of his crisp white dress shirt
causing saliva to pool in my mouth. I watch as he first licks and then bites
his full bottom lip, tempting me to lean forward and take it into my own
mouth. Did he come here to tempt me like the snake did to Eve in the
garden of paradise?
He is temptation, and the promise of sin all rolled into one, and he knows it.
The sexiest, most intriguing man I have known, waiting to destroy me and
bring me to my knees. Everything about him is designed to entice the
female race. He was crafted by divine hands to be our downfall, and it
seems I am no more immune than any other woman.
He leans further into my space, his scent tickling my senses and causing my
body to soften for him. His fingers slide further up the inside of my leg and
below the hem of my dark green conservative pencil skirt. They don’t stop
until they reach the trim of my panties and I can’t seem to force myself to
end his actions. I tell myself that I just want to see how daring he will be.
That this is a game we are both playing, but the truth is I want him to touch
me. I want him to ravish me over and over and then I want to drag him to
his knees before me so that I too can have a taste of power. Power over
Jaxon is a drug and I am about to be a willing addict.
“Open wider, beautiful wife. I want to feel how drenched that pretty pussy
of yours is right now.” There’s a rose flush starting on his jaw, his gaze is
locked on mine with tantalizing intent and suggestive of all the enjoyment
he can provide me. The look of longing and desire across his features has
me doing his bidding and opening my legs as wide as the skirt allows.
His fingers slip under the leg band of my panties and caress my warm flesh
as my core clenches tightly and weeps with the anticipation of his touch.
“Jaxon, someone could walk in.” I exclaim in a low tone and try to reason
with him as well as with myself. I shouldn’t be allowing this to happen, and
certainly not here where I need to command the respect of the men around
me, and not be seen as just a woman with a pussy to be used. Shut the fuck
up, we need this! Even though the rational part of my brain knows all this, I
still don’t stop his wandering fingers from gliding across my wet skin.
“Soaked Stella. Your cunt is weeping. Is she drenched for me or for power,
little wife?” He lets out a groan that makes his chest vibrate. “Who cares if
anyone sees, let them bear witness to your power. I am not here to take from
you but to serve you, Stella. Tell me what you want, and I will provide it
my little ice queen.”
His finger grazes my hard, swollen clit and a moan escapes my lips. I close
my eyes, leaning my head back against the leather chair and contemplating
his seductive words. The pull of his command reaches into the darkest,
deepest part of me. The part that hides the needs for anything but power.
He starts rubbing methodical circles over and over on my sensitive nub,
quickly causing electric currents to rush through my body. The thought that
anyone could walk back into the room and find us causes more wetness to
seep from inside of me. A thrill shoots through me at the possibility of
being caught, exposed, and being watched.
I want him to continue, to bring me to completion but I also want to ensure
he knows his place.
Today is about me, Stella Stratford, not him. It’s about my rise to power and
my empire. I want him to subjugate himself at my feet and prove to me he
understands that. I want to use him like he did me last night. I crave control
and power over him. I reach out and grab a fist full of his dark, thick hair,
pulling him forward as I take his lips in a rough impassioned kiss, that is all
teeth and tongue and heated ardor.
He groans as he comes willingly into my kiss, his fingers never ceasing
their exploration of my pussy and playing with my clit. I need more than
that however. I want to cum with a desperation that I can’t control. I break
the kiss and use my hold on Jaxon’s hair to pull him from his seat, and
down to his knees before me.
“Pull my skirt up Jaxon and my panties to the side.” My voice sounds
wanton and filled with passion to my ears and I watch as his mercurial eyes
dilate. Need and hunger crosses his features as he licks his lips like a man
starved before a banquet.
He slides his fingers away from my pussy and a whimper leaves my lips at
the loss of his touch. He grabs the crotch of my drenched silk panties and
yanks hard on the material, a tearing sound retching the air around us. Then
his warm, large hands skate down the inside of my thighs until they reach
the hem of my skirt and he pulls it up, his eyes never leaving mine.
I lift my ass to allow him to pull the tight material over and up to my waist,
leaving me naked and exposed from the waist down to him and anyone else
that may enter the room. The thought of someone catching us, of seeing my
heated and drenched flesh on display causes my pussy to clench and a
tempoed throbbing to start inside my core. My wanton need for
exhibitionism on display. I would have imagined I would be feeling shame
at the prospect of being so thoroughly on display. But instead all I feel is
searing heat rising, excitement, and power flowing through my veins.
Power at having this man on his knees before me. He waits for further
instructions, his fingers lightly stroking my heated flesh.
My grip on his hair tightens further until a grimace crosses his handsome
face as I pull him closer to my sex. His warm breath skates across my
scorching skin and a shiver trickles down my limbs, leaving goosebumps in
its wake. “Do you want me to eat this drenched cunt, Stella? Right here
where anyone could see?” His words have a moan leaving my lips before I
can trap it.
“Shut up, stay on your knees and worship the queen you helped create,
Jaxon.” A harsh breath leaves his chest at my words. He grasps onto both
my legs just below my knees, pulling me slightly forward on the seat and
raising my legs to drape over each of the chair’s arms.
I am wide open and exposed for him. My pussy, slick and on display like
some wanton creature for his heated inspection and the warm breath leaving
his lips. The way he is staring at my center has butterflies filling my
stomach and heat rising through my body. He looks like a lion that wants to
devour me and I am his willing victim and his next kill.
The first warm lick of his tongue through my pussy lips has me clenching
tightly on nothing but air and a whimper leaving me at the empty feeling.
His tongue strokes through my wetness up my swollen and throbbing clit
and he lashes it with his tongue until I am starting to see nothing but bright
colors before me. I pull on his hair, wanting him to get closer and be
rougher with me. Needing more of him, the longing to explode on his
mouth and all over his face, creating wave after wave of pure lust and
energy inside of me.
“Patience little queen, I mean to savor this delicious cunt.” He moans into
my flesh, the rumble of his words causing shocks of electricity to rise
within my core. His tongue makes its way into my needy hole, and his eyes
meet mine as it slips inside causing a moan to leave both our lips. His
thumb takes up the relentless stroking of my clit and I have to close my
eyes to try to catch my breath. I’m moving restlessly in the seat, my legs
trembling over the chair arms. His other hand comes to lay flat across my
pelvis, forcing my movements to still so that he can fuck my tight hole with
his ruthless tongue. His palm raises and slaps my clit hard, causing a gasp
to leave my lips and my eyes to shoot open in shock.
“Jaxon” I moan as he repeats the action, slapping my poor swollen clit with
the meaty part of his palm. The sound of flesh meeting flesh coupled with
my whimpers are obscene in the large empty room.
His eyes are heated pools of gray metal and form to slits as he studies my
reaction to his tongue penetrating me over and over. He removes his warm
tongue only to replace it with two thick fingers that have my ass rising off
the seat, a deep groan leaving my lips.
“You’re so sweet and wet baby, this pussy wants to be ruined by me,
doesn’t she?” He licks my clit with his tongue flattened at the same moment
he slips a third finger inside of me. The stretch and bite of pain feels so
good as I tighten my hold on his thick digits. His unoccupied hand slips up
my body and squeezes my breast causing another gasp to leave my lips.
“Jaxon, harder.” The words leave my lips in harsh pants. The orgasm is so
close that my whole body is tingling. His grip on my breast loosens as his
hand makes its way to my throat and his fingers tighten around it, causing
the air flow to stop and a ragged gasp to escape me. His fingers move with
harsh, deep strokes inside of my clenching core and rub against the spot
deep inside of me that has me crying out my release and gushing all over
his mouth and chin. He pulls back from my clit. “You crave darkness like
the one that inhabits my soul, Stella. Let me push you into the dark, let me
corrupt you.”
His fingers tighten around my throat until the edges of darkness start to
crush my vision as he returns to feast on my pussy like a mad man, causing
aftershocks to roll through me on an unending loop. My body stiffens
completely and he grazes his teeth against my sensitive clit and rolls me
into another shockwave of an orgasm. My hands pull on his hair and I gasp
for air, mewling sounds escaping me. My body is completely rolled under
his unmerciful treatment and begging for more as darkness calls to me.
Finally his grip releases on my throat and air rushes back into the abused
organ, causing me to suck deep gasps through my mouth and cough. He
licks me once more through my swollen pussy lips and then pulls back on
the fierce hold I have on his hair and removes his fingers from inside of me.
I watch as he brings all three digits to his mouth and sucks them deep, his
passionate eyes never leaving mine. Jesus, he is so erotic and fucking hot.
He groans as he sucks my taste off of his digits and then removes them
from his mouth, reaching forward and laying a gentle kiss on the soft skin
of my pelvis. “I will gladly bow at your feet Stella if I get to eat this juicy
cunt.”
He pushes back up from his knees and stands before me. A king dressed in
expensive finery staring down at his prize. He may have subjected himself
to his knees and my whim, but the expression on his face indicates he thinks
he has won. His large cock is tenting the fine fabric of his dress pants and
there is no way to hide his substantial size or affliction.
For a moment, I want to reach forward and pull down his zipper. Let my
mouth trail across his hard length and suck him back into my abused throat.
I want to watch him come undone like last night, knowing I have complete
power over him when I do.
“Congratulations Stella, you seemed to have brought every man within the
vicinity to their knees.” He wipes the palm of his hand across his glistening
lips and chin, wiping my moisture off of its surface. He leans down and
picks up the scrap of silk that I am sure are my panties, slipping them into
his dress pants pocket. “I look forward to seeing what you will do next,
little ice queen.”
With those parting words, he moves away from me and leaves the room
with his raging erection on display, a smug grin across his lips, leaving me
fully exposed and spread open in the boardroom chair, like the brazen slut I
am becoming for him.
My body is completely liquefied as I try to force myself to sit up and pull
down my skirt. Little aftershocks are still racing through my system and my
core is sore and throbbing. He fingerbanged me so exquisitely, two orgasms
later and my demanding core is still begging for more. She wants his huge
cock deep inside and frustration is once again setting in at being denied the
feel of him within me.
His words repeat inside my head. “I will gladly bow at your feet Stella, if I
get to eat this juicy cunt.” Fuck, his dirty words, and that expression on his
face will have me cumming again just from the memory. Jaxon Stratford is
a distraction and threat that I should be worrying about how to handle. He
will not go meekly before me, regardless of his claim to want to bow at my
feet. I need to get control of myself and not fall into a puddle of orgasms at
his touch.
I will bring you to your knees Jaxon, and then keep you there.

OceanofPDF.com
17

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Jealousy is a dog's bark which attracts thieves.” Karl Kraus

“Y OU LOOK STUNNING, STELLA.” Jaxon’s slow steps greet me

and his words cause a flush of pleasure to rise within me at the
compliment. I have never been swayed by pretty words, especially ones
from men, but I can tell that his words are sincere by the look on his face.
His gaze moves down to stare intently at my feet, the red five-inch heels
giving me much needed height against Jaxon’s six foot one frame, but also
making my legs look impossibly long. “Later, I’m going to fuck you with
those heels up by my ears, Stella.”
Every filthy word out of his delectable and sinful mouth causes shivers of
anticipation and need to cascade through me. His gaze shifts over me with
heat and admiration from my feet to my short black dress and over my
waist until his gaze centers on the deep “V” neckline that is showing off a
large amount of the swell of my breasts. The dress is daring for me and
completely out of my comfort range.
The reason behind wearing it causes me even more discomfort than the
amount of skin I am currently exposing to the eyes of strangers and my new
husband. When he suggested that we dine out together at one of the top
restaurants in the city. One that is frequented by most of the elite and top
models. Models that have had previous sexual relations with my husband.
I decided that I wanted to prove to them and to myself that I was not just a
woman he got saddled with in this arranged marriage. That I could hold my
own against them and keep Jaxon’s attention on me all night long. I know I
will never be Kalista Cain beautiful, but I know I’m not an ugly hag either.
Men do look at me occasionally with heat in their eyes.
The only man’s attention I’m interested in capturing tonight is Jaxon’s. I
want him to desire me, to look at me with longing and sexual attraction.
The reasoning behind why I want those things, confusing, and causing me
to doubt my sanity. Regardless of my crumbling willpower and mental
instability, I might have gone a bit overboard and let the woman at the
exclusive Fifth Avenue boutique talk me into this dress. One that I would
never have even considered under normal circumstances. The one she
guaranteed would have my husband drooling over me all night long, so far,
she was right on the money.
Jaxon takes a step closer, leaning his upper body towards mine, his scent
wafting over me as his warm breath slithers over my bare shoulder and
neck. “I’m going to fuck those perky tits too, Stella.” My core throbs
painfully empty at his words and my nipples pucker tightly with
anticipation. His warm palm slides up the side of my waist, over my ribs
and cups my breast, the thin material of the dress offering no resistance
against his hand. “I can’t wait to cover these beauties with my cum.”
His words are shocking, erotic, and filthy and turn me on immediately. The
scrap of lace I’m wearing as panties is now drenched and any minute my
arousal will be dripping down the inside my thighs. He must sense how
ramped up I already am, a devious chuckle leaves his lips and his hand
slides back down to my waist, pulling me closer to him. His lips skate
across my cheek, before meeting my lips in a quick peck. The heat from his
body doing delicious things to my already over-stretched nerves.
“Let’s go eat, I’m fucking starving and the faster I feed you, the sooner I
can go home to my own feast.” He pulls me forward and we walk into the
fine dining Italian restaurant together. All eyes are on us. I can feel their
gazes like little ants crawling across my skin. Jaxon seems completely
unperturbed with the attention and other than nodding to a few
acquaintances here and there, he gives no one any serious attention. As I
trail my gaze across the room, I notice the longing on various women’s
faces as they stare at Jaxon, before quickly averting their eyes when my
warning glare lands on them.
The maître d seats us in a small round upholstered booth, fresh white linens
adorn the table and various candles are lit and surround us. The whole
atmosphere gives off a very romantic vibe, one that I should be wary of but
instead for tonight I’m throwing caution to the wind and enjoying myself in
the company of the sexiest man I know. When Jaxon phoned me at the
office to ask me to meet him here tonight after our interaction in the
boardroom of Penticton Industries, I wanted to refuse him. The words were
on the tip of my tongue, but instead I found myself agreeing.
Has all the orgasms this man has been pulling from my needy body, finally
fried my brain? I found myself thinking about him throughout the day.
Remembering how it feels to have his skin against mine. His fingers deep
inside of me and the taste of his cock in my mouth. All the sensations have
me in a constant lust filled fog. I’m struggling to concentrate on my own
plans to conquer the world around me and bring it to its knees. The only
man I seem interested in bringing to his knees before me, at the moment, is
the one sitting across from me, eyeing me like I’m a slice of heavenly
cheesecake.
“How did the rest of your power domination go today?” He inquires with a
smirk and a raised eyebrow. I roll my eyes at him, knowing he’s baiting me
to get into an argument with him. Just as I am about to reply, the waiter
appears before our table. His dark eyes meet mine, taking his time to peruse
my face, frame and dress before even acknowledging Jaxon’s presence. The
guy is hot, like magazine cover hot, and come to think of it, I may have
seen him inside of one or in a commercial or something. An embarrassed
blush rises on my skin at the overwhelming and intense way he’s staring at
me. He looks like he would like nothing more than to have his way with
me, regardless of our current company.
Jaxon clears his throat and the blond-haired handsome waiter finally turns
his attention towards him. “Good evening, welcome to Santa Lucia. Can I
start you off with some wine? Perhaps a special drink for the lady?” Jaxon’s
jaw locks tight and I try to hide a chuckle at his irritation with the waiter.
His hand is clenched on the fine white table cloth and he is grinding his
molars. Is my new husband perhaps a little jealous of the attention I am
receiving from another male?
“The lady and I will have a bottle of your Domaine de la Romanee.“ Jaxon
raises an eyebrow, almost daring the waiter to utter another word. The man
nods and quickly slithers away but not before trailing his eyes once again
over me. I’m starting to feel self conscious; do I look like a slut? I don’t
want that type of attention from anyone but Jaxon. It doesn’t matter what
you wear, you could be sitting here naked, people can only make you feel
uncomfortable with yourself if you allow it to happen, my brain admonishes
me. My eyes shift to Jaxon and I notice his gaze is still on the brave waiter.
I try to defuse the situation and bring his attention back to me by answering
his original question.
“We had to forcefully escort one of the board members out with security.
The idiot really thought he would be able to leave with classified
documents in his briefcase. He caused quite a scene, kicking and screaming
and threatening me with a lawsuit.”
Jaxon’s fingers slide across the table, his long fingers tapping the table top
and meeting mine. His middle finger skates over my ring finger and the
massive square cut Stratford diamond that now resides there. “Fuck 'em,
Stella. You see this shiny rock here, this means you can destroy and ruin
whoever the fuck you want to, anyone but me.”
My breath leaves my lips in a staggered exhale trying to hold in the chuckle
that wants to escape and a sheepish smile crosses my face. “Anyone but
you? Why not you too, Jaxon?”
“Oh little viper, you know that diamond means you're mine, in every way.
That’s my name and ownership plain for everyone to see across your
delicate finger. Although, I am open to much more creative ways of
demonstrating that you are my possession.” His eyes linger on the length of
my neck and collarbone, the one still demonstrating the marks from his lips
and fingers.
Irritation fills me once again at his crude words indicating I am nothing
more than an object to him, a possession he coveted and then won. “I don’t
want to be your possession Jaxon. I’m your fucking wife and your equal.” I
get ready to stand and move out of the booth, annoyed that once again I
have been diminished to nothing but an object. His fingers tighten on mine,
holding me firmly in place before I can rise.
“If you move out of that seat and try to leave me here like some fuckboy, I
swear to you Stella, I will have you down on your knees with my cock
shoved painfully down that pretty throat in front of all these fellow diners.
Do not tempt me to take you here. I am barely holding onto my precarious
restraint with that dress you’re wearing.”
His threat is shocking and makes me pause, would he really attempt to do
that to me here? If he tried I would stab him with the cutlery currently on
the table. Would you though? Let’s be real here, you enjoy when he makes
you come where others could get a peek. The cynical bitch in my head
replies. Our gazes clash in a standoff, the heady threat of punishment if I try
to leave a live wire between us. A part of me wants to push his buttons just
to see if he really will comply with his threat. The other part of me, the
logical side that has a shred of self preservation left, argues for me to sit my
ass down and avoid this confrontation. This will not end well, I could end
up being front page news tomorrow with Jaxon’s cock in my mouth.
The waiter returns with our wine and some complimentary appetizers,
placing them down and filling my glass just as a man approaches our table
and gets Jaxon’s attention, totally disregarding me, like I’m not even
present. Jaxon turns his attention towards him with a scowl across his face.
The waiter takes the opportunity to lean a little forward and whispers near
my ear. “You’re the hottest woman in here tonight, what are you doing with
the overbearing tyrant?” His fingertip skates down the length of my arm,
causing goosebumps to form and the hairs to stand on end. “I’m off in a few
hours, I could show you a better time, beautiful.”
My mouth opens and then closes in complete disbelief. This guy is either
really daring or really stupid trying to pick me up while my husband sits a
mere two feet away talking to someone else. Something drops in my lap
lightly and my fist closes around it. It’s a piece of folded paper, no doubt
with this idiot’s number. Should I say something to Jaxon? Should I even
acknowledge this fucker's attempt? Maybe I should punch him in the dick.
The thought of how that will completely ruin the rest of our night stops me
from doing anything. I drop the folded paper next to me on the seat and
disregard it.
The menacing and cold look I give the waiter has him taking a step back
and realizing his mistake. I’m not one of these rich bored wives here to
make arrangements to fool around behind her husband’s back. “Step back
and take our order or I will dick punch you.” I whisper so that I don’t
interrupt Jaxon’s ongoing conversation with the rude guy that didn’t even
greet me.
Jaxon’s conversation finishes up and we proceed to order our food, the
earlier conversation seemingly forgotten. For the remainder of the meal, the
waiter finally behaves professionally and luckily I don’t think Jaxon even
noticed the man’s blatant attempt to pick me up. Jaxon’s quieter, the
flirtation gone from our night and leaving me on edge. We speak about
trivial things, two strangers enjoying a meal.
As we are leaving the restaurant and approaching our waiting limo, Jaxon
suddenly stops and glares at me. “What did I tell you about what’s mine,
Stella?” The question throws me off a bit. I can see he’s angry, his fists are
clenched and his jaw is locked, the muscles in his neck strained and his eyes
flashing molten silver.
“I have no idea what you are talking about Jaxon. Can we just get home?
I’m tired and this night has become tedious.” I shiver from the cold air
around us, regretting wearing this napkin of a dress and even coming
tonight.
“Get in the fucking car Stella, I’ll be right back with a little reminder.” He
stalks off back into the restaurant and I am utterly confused about what is
going on here. Has he lost his mind? What the hell is he even going on
about now? The night I envisioned for us has gone down the toilet and once
again I am left feeling less than. Why did I even try to make this night
work? It’s not like I need to seduce him for my plans to work.
Just as I’m getting into the limo and seriously contemplating demanding the
driver leave without Jaxon, a pained shout sounds from the entrance of the
restaurant. I pop my head back out of the open doorway of the limo and
watch as Jaxon roughly drags the waiter that served us by the hair and neck
kicking and screaming towards the vehicle.
“Jaxon, what the hell are you doing? Have you completely lost your mind?”
I screech as I pop back out of the vehicle.
A sinister grin crosses his face as his hand leaves the guy’s throat clenching
into a fist and landing on the waiter’s cheek in a hard crack. He pulls back
once again and swings, this time landing on the guy’s nose with a crunch
and I watch horrified as blood gushes down his face. The guy is trying to
pull away with frightened eyes but Jaxon’s hold on his hair has him falling
to his knees on the sidewalk. Jaxon starts kicking his abdomen and back.
He’s lost complete control, he looks insane and unhinged right now. Hitting
the waiter over and over.
“Jaxon! STOP!” I beg and try to pull his grip away from the guy’s hair, but
he shoves me and I’m forced to step back or fall in the stupid shoes I’m
wearing.
“You thought you were so slick touching my wife and dropping your phone
number in her lap.” Crack. “You thought I didn’t notice.” Crack. “I saw
when you touched her arm, motherfucker.” Crack. “NO ONE TOUCHES
WHAT’S MINE!” Crack.
“Jesus! Jaxon, stop, you’re going to kill him! Please stop!” I beg.
The guy can barely open either of his eyes, he’s groaning in pain and I’m
pretty sure a couple of his teeth have popped out. Yet Jaxon refuses to
release his hold on the man’s hair. The waiter weakly tries to use his arm
and hand to push Jaxon back and away from him. In a moment so quick I’m
not even sure I’m seeing it correctly, Jaxon releases his hold on the man’s
hair, grabs his hand and snaps it back until the horrific and sickening sound
of bones breaking fills the air. A high-pitched screech sounds loudly and I
think I’m going to be sick, my dinner lurching up towards my throat.
“She is mine, fucker. MINE! I don’t share and you touched her. You tried to
take her from me!”
I wrap my arms tightly around my waist to hold myself up from falling to
my knees and purging everything I ate tonight, just as Jaxon yanks back on
the waiter’s arm and I hear the bone snap, breaking his arm and most likely
dislocating his shoulder. I can’t hold the bile back any longer, turning to the
side and vomiting everything I had for dinner on the sidewalk.
Sirens can be heard coming towards us and our poor driver Auggie tries to
usher me back into the limo without ever touching me. “Mrs. Stratford, we
have to go, please get inside.” Then I watch as he shouts something at
Jaxon and finally breaks through to him. I can’t hear the words, it feels like
a million bees are currently residing in my head. How could this have
happened? Is he insane?
Jaxon drops the waiter to the ground, gives him one final kick, spitting on
him before moving into the open door of the limo. We are in motion before
the door is even closed firmly. I move as far away from him as I can inside
the confines of the limo, fear skating down my spine and my heart racing in
my chest. Jaxon’s breathing hard, his outfit splattered in the guy’s blood.
His knuckles are split open and covered in blood and his chest is rising and
falling in dramatic exhales, while he grinds his jaw over and over.
The only thought running nonstop through my mind is that I have married a
deranged, violent psychopath. His eyes meet mine and I see no shame, no
regret in their depths. He stares at me with fury across his handsome
features and dread fills my body. My mind is screaming for us to get away
from him, to run as far as we can. He is fucking dangerous!
“Let that be a reminder to you Stella, you are fucking mine, and anyone
who tries to take you will meet with the same fate, if not worse.”
We don’t utter another word to each other all the way home. I slip the heels
from my feet and abandon them inside the limo. The minute we pull up to
the front porch, I’m dashing up the two steps, and pushing through the front
door. I pass a shocked Mrs. Pox, but I don’t stop to acknowledge her. I take
the stairs two at a time and run for my room as if the hounds of hell are
chasing me. Once I’m behind the locked door of the master bedroom, I let
my body slide down the wall until I’m sitting on the plush area rug and
tears are pouring down my face.
He’s insane. He could have killed that man and for what? Flirting with me,
trying to give me his number. The horror of the situation fills me. Jaxon
Stratford is violent and unhinged. I have left one violent man only to be
placed with another.
How am I going to get out of this mess? How am I going to protect myself
from him and build a world for myself that will never have me cowering
like I am right now.

OceanofPDF.com
18

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretense of

keeping it alive.” Havelock Ellis

M Y POWER-HUNGRY WIFE HAS been avoiding me for over a

week since the restaurant incident. She rises and leaves before I do
in the mornings. My naughty staff have been running interference between
us, so I never know when she is home. I am sure, at her request, the traitors.
She has taken to locking the master suite's door firmly at night, and unless I
want to cause a spectacle of myself and break it down, there is no breaching
it. Last weekend the little viper disappeared to Portland to check on one of
Penticton Industries holdings and didn’t even bother to tell me. I only found
out that she had left the goddamn state from her assistant. The smug bastard
enjoyed my ire and surprise just a bit too much, if you ask me. I think I
might need to break a few of his bones to make him understand that Stella
is not the only one he should fear.
My behavior was a bit unhinged at the restaurant; I will admit that to no one
but myself. I lost complete control of myself in that situation after watching
that stupid fuck try to seduce her while I sat a mere foot or two away,
talking to that asshole that didn’t even bother to greet her. I’m not usually
such a jealous man, after all, I am guilty of sleeping with other men’s wives.
Something about the way that fucker was even looking at her had rage
boiling inside of me. When I noticed out of the corner of my eye his finger
trailing over her soft skin, skin that fucking belongs to me, I almost lunged
at him. Then when he dropped the paper into her lap, thinking he was being
discreet and sly, I watched her shocked expression. I wanted to plunge the
steak knife on the table into his throat and watch the blood pour out of him.
I don’t know what she said to him, but whatever it was had him stepping
back and acting right for the rest of the dinner. The damage was done,
though. I couldn’t get the red haze to leave my vision. I needed him to pay
for touching and daring to try to take what was mine.
Her response in the limo and then at the house to run from me like I was the
devil incarnate hurt my pride a bit. I wanted her to see me as an avenging
knight—a husband defending her honor and his territory. My words were
harsh and unrestrained, and I know that I frightened her. Shit, I frightened
myself, if I’m being honest.
Auggie, our driver, did some follow-up and let me know what happened to
the fucker. I put that guy in the hospital with a broken nose, dislocated jaw,
broken wrist, and arm. The fucker, for sure isn’t going to be so handsome
going forward or chasing after any more pretty wives. I would be worried
about a lawsuit coming my way, but my contacts on the dark and shady side
of the business have it handled for me.
Now Stella is running fucking scared both from my unhinged behavior and
from this mutual attraction we share. She’s playing a very dangerous game
with me and my patience. One that I am determined to win at all costs.
Stella Stratford had better finally recognize that I own every part of her. I
want her to bend for me while I drive my hard cock into her cunt until she
begs me for mercy. Even then, I have no intention of granting it. She is
fucking mine.
I drive up my driveway, having left the office early due to my lack of
concentration and rising frustration, all stemming from this situation with
Stella. Why does she have to be so fucking stubborn? Right now, we could
be enjoying our honeymoon somewhere tropical, and I could be face-deep
in her pussy. Instead, I’m here filled with anger, longing, and sexual
frustration, which my own palm does not seem to alleviate.
As I reach the end of my driveway, I notice a familiar car parked in front of
my front door. What the hell is Ajax doing at my house in the middle of the
day? I quickly park the car and enter the house through the garage. For
some reason, I cannot explain, my mind urges me to be silent in my steps. A
feeling of unease skates down my back as I enter the mostly silent home. I
can hear very muted voices coming from the direction of the den. Looking
around, I don’t see any of the household staff as I move down the corridor.
Where the fuck are they?
I make my way to the door of the den which, is partially ajar. I can see
through the crack that Ajax is standing before my wife, his hands placed on
her upper arms, and she doesn’t seem to be trying to move away from him.
A red mist of indignation fills my body, my heart pounds in my chest, and I
have to clench my hands tightly. The desire to punch Ajax first and ask
questions later enters my mind. Fuck it, I will rip both his fucking arms off
and beat him with them, then ask questions.
“Stella, be reasonable. You have gotten what you needed out of this
arrangement. You now have the controlling shares in Penticton Industries,
and you will walk away with half of Jaxon’s fortune when you leave.”
Ajax’s voice is filled with the telltale sounds of frustration. I can only see
the back of him from the angle I am standing in. His back is taut in his
navy-blue dress shirt, his shoulders rigid and filled with irritation as he
holds on to my fucking wife. I am going to take pleasure in breaking every
one of his fingers before I dislocate his fucking jaw. He shouldn’t be
touching what is mine, and she shouldn’t be allowing it. I warned her
beforehand about men touching her. Did she learn nothing from the
restaurant?
“Ajax, please.” My wife’s voice sounds small and restrained in the room
filled with emotion. What the fuck is she begging him for? I force myself to
remain where I am rather than storming the room and breaking my best
friend’s face, and wrapping my fingers around my little ice queen’s throat.
The desire to hurt her too, fills my veins. Is she being deceitful with me?
Trying to play me for a fucking fool?
Was this all a game to get the shares back? How could that be though? I was
the one who forced her into this marriage, didn’t I? Thoughts are a tornado
in my mind, throwing out possible scenarios and clashing against what I
think I know as reality. One thing is for sure, these two fuckers will suffer if
they think they can fuck with me.
“Please, what Stella! He doesn’t love you! He will never love you like I do.
You are a game piece to him. A fucking prize to be won. He will never
desire and love you like I have for all these years.” Ajax leans his forehead
against my wife’s, and I watch as she closes her eyes. My stomach clenches
tightly at the image before me. The image of two despondent lovers. How
can this be? How did I fucking miss this? What the ever-loving fuck is
happening here behind my back? Has my best friend been cuckolding me
behind my back this whole time?
“I am his wife.” Her voice sounds small as she grasps onto Ajax’s arms,
preventing him from pulling her further into his embrace. The anguish on
her face has my breath trapping in my throat. Does she have feelings for
him?
My stomach feels like a boulder is sitting inside it. I can hear my own blood
rushing in my ears, the sound loud and causing nausea to rise. I have
walked into a fucking nightmare, one where my wife, the woman I crave
above all else right now, might be in love with my best friend. The fucker
that has been my very best friend since my childhood, playing me for a
fucking moron. Both of them, lying to me, probably laughing at my
obliviousness at what is happening right under my nose, in my own damn
house.
“You were mine before you were his. I was your first Stella. It’s me that has
claimed you. It’s me that has always wanted you.” Her face tips up to his,
and I see the emotion in her eyes, no longer filled with arctic fire but with
tears. Ones that trickle down the side of her delicate face like shimmering
diamonds.
“Have you fucked him, Stella, or is it still only my dick that has been inside
of that pretty pussy of yours?” The emotion and dread in Ajax’s voice has
my hands clenching and unclenching at my side. How fucking dare he ask
her that! Her cunt is fucking MINE! Every part of Stella Stratford is mine,
and my fist is going to make sure that Ajax is made very aware of that.
She pulls out of his embrace and takes a step away from him, wiping the
glistening tears from her face with the palm of her delicate hand. Tears that
are for another man other than her husband. Tears for a man that has already
had the treasure that I seek. My traitorous best friend, the one who I have
always trusted, had her first and never mentioned a word of it. A man I am
going to enjoy breaking every bone in his miserable body before I end his
life and leave him in an unmarked grave.
He loved her first, my mind whispers. I don’t fucking care! She is fucking
mine! His cock has been inside something that is mine and defiled it.
When? When were they together? Before the wedding? Have they been
fucking each other since the day we exchanged vows? Is this why she won’t
let me near her? So many questions are stampeding through my mind at
once.
His pleas to walk away from her before our wedding, then his rage at my
proceeding with it now makes sense. It wasn’t just that he had some high
school infatuation for her. He had fancied himself in love with her all these
years, and she was resistant to him or any other male’s attention. He had her
first. She had already given him her virginity. Who knows how long they
were together behind everyone’s back? I feel like an imbecile. How did I
not see what was going on here? Bile races up the back of my throat, and I
have to force myself to swallow it down.
She was forced to marry me at her father’s demand. She didn’t want to
proceed with the wedding, even daring to wear a black wedding gown to
her own wedding in protest. Did Thomas know that she was in love with
Ajax? Would he have forced her into a marriage with me even if he did
know? Yes, my mind replies. I was the better catch, the Stratford name more
powerful than that of Ajax Pickering.
Sweat breaks out along the back of my neck as I watch Ajax reach for her
again, and she takes another step away from him, putting distance between
their bodies. I release a harsh breath of relief at watching her putting much-
needed space between them. I may not have to kill both of them after all.
“It is irrelevant whether he has or hasn’t. Jaxon is my husband now; I am
his wife. Don’t touch me again Ajax. This has to stop.” She takes another
step backward. “You can’t keep trying to see me and convince me that I
should leave him. We ended months ago; you need to move past this. You
can’t keep trying to pull me into your arms, I don’t belong there, and it’s
wrong. I won’t cheat on Jaxon with you or anyone else. You are his closest
friend; he would be crushed to know you are trying to take his wife.” Her
hands clench at her side, her shoulders straightening to her formal posture.
The one she uses to put distance between herself and everyone else. She is
closing herself off from him, just like she does with me and anyone else she
interacts with.
“You are wrong, Stella! The fact that you haven’t allowed him into your
body speaks volumes about how you feel. You know he doesn’t love you,
and never will.” Ajax paces back and forth as Stella watches with a blank
expression. Desperation is etched across his features, and his eyes keep
returning to my wife, pleading with her. “He will always belong to Kalista
or some other woman. He will never be faithful to only you. He is incapable
of monogamy, and once you bear his children, he will discard you.”
Ajax’s words are daggers penetrating my skin and hitting their intended
targets. Is he right? Is that why Stella has kept me at arm’s length despite
the heated passion towards each other that we both feel? Does she wish I
was Ajax? Just the thought makes wrath and desperation fill my body.
Desperation to hear her deny that she doesn’t want me. I want her to tell
that fuck face she is mine in all ways, not just as my named wife. Every
part of her is mine.
As for his comment about Kalista, is he right? After all, I did bring the
woman here on my fucking wedding day. Will I never be faithful to Stella?
Will I grow tired of her and her games? I want to deny his accusation. I
want to run in there and punch him in the throat for putting those thoughts
into her head. However, I can’t, he may be right. I don’t love Stella. I am
not sure I have ever loved a woman, but I know the closest I ever got was
with Kalista.
Would I discard Stella after she had my children? Didn’t I have the very
same thought on my wedding day? Didn’t I plan to go on with my life
separate from hers once she provided me with an heir? That was when you
thought she was frigid and harsh. My mind reminds me, and nothing could
be further from the truth where Stella is concerned.
She is neither frigid nor cold in the bedroom. In fact, she is the polar
opposite and the hottest, most sexually satisfying woman I have ever been
with. She makes me crazy with thoughts of her day and night. I can feel the
ghost of her soft skin against mine. Her smell and taste are my constant
companions, driving me insane to have another hit of her. I am now a
willing addict of Stella Stratford’s, and there is no way I want to be cured of
the addiction.
Can I let her go? If she wanted to be with Ajax, could I release her from
this marriage? NO! She is mine! She is a Stratford now, my wife, and
regardless of her feelings towards Ajax, I will never release her from this
arrangement. My body will lie cold in the ground before I free Stella from
my grasp.
Just as I am about to crash into the room to knock my best friend out and
fuck my wife into the rug in front of him, I see a dark shape in the window
directly behind her. The glint of metal reflects off the sunlight, and my heart
races into my throat as I run into the room without thinking. I manage to get
in front of her and pull her body behind mine just as the shot shatters the
glass and hits me in the chest instead of her back. The air whooshes out of
my chest, and a harsh grunt leaves my lips.
There’s a fire burning in my chest and loud sounds all around me, but they
somehow seem muted, like I’m underwater. I stare down at the red
blossoming across my white dress shirt, making a macabre abstract print.
Hands grab at me, pulling me forward. Somehow I end up in one of the
chairs, and I can finally focus my eyes on my wife and the noise in the
room.
She’s shouting at someone around us, and tears are sliding down her
beautiful face. She has blood splattered on her chin, and her fingers are
pressing a pillow hard into my chest. “Jaxon, oh my god! Please speak to
me!” She demands in a high-pitched voice. Her beautiful arctic blue eyes,
ones that I have grown to desire and look forward to seeing, are so wide on
her face. Is the expression on her face only fear, or is there a tinge of regret?
Even in her panicked state, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever
seen, and knowing that she is mine, fills me with lingering satisfaction.
“The ambulance is on its way, and so are the police. The shooter is gone!” I
can hear Ajax’s panicked voice around me, but he’s out of my sightline.
Thank fuck! I still owe the bastard a punch to the throat for touching my
wife. However, the pain in my chest and my ragged breathing suggests that
it will have to wait.
“She…is…mine!” I pant the words through the searing pain ripping
through my chest. I watch as Stella’s eyes meet mine, a look of shock
across her features. She pulls back from me like I have hit her. Good, now
she realizes that I heard them, that I know. There shall be no more secrets
between her and me. I raise my trembling hand, reaching for her beautiful
face and cradling her chin.
A sharp pain rumbles through my chest, and I drop my hold on her. A
ragged breath leaves my lips, and it feels like spittle is dripping down my
lips and chin. Stella’s panicked eyes zero in on it, and whatever she sees
there must be bad, a tear trickles out of her eye, followed by another one,
and they cascade down her beautiful face.
“Jaxon, we need to stop the bleeding. You need to stay conscious. Stay with
me!” She begs, her voice shaking and her hand trembling as she reaches for
my face, cradling my cheek in her palm. The feeling of her skin on mine
brings me a sense of peace I have never felt before. She calms the racing
thoughts inside my head. I need her. The thought races in my mind.
“Don’t…worry…Stella, I… refuse… to free you… and make you… a
widow. You… are mine… for all… eternity.” The words leave my lips in a
slur as I try to focus on her beautiful features. Ones filled with worry for me
and not Ajax. The look of pure anguish on her face is the last thing I see
before darkness takes me.

OceanofPDF.com
19

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Regret doesn't remind us that we did badly. It reminds us that

we know we can do better.” Kathryn Schulz

“D ON’T WORRY, STELLA, I refuse to free you and make you a

widow. You are mine for all eternity.” His words run on a vicious
cycle in my mind as I pace back and forth in the corridor of the hospital
outside of the surgical wing awaiting information on Jaxon’s condition.
Jesus fucking Christ, why has there been no news yet!
He was rushed by an emergency helicopter to the private hospital favored
by the wealthiest patrons of Manhattan and straight into surgery. The fear
that the bullet may have hit an artery and he is bleeding out internally is of
the utmost urgent concern.
I have never been so frightened as I was holding that pillow to his chest and
trying to stop his blood from seeping out of him. Then he uttered those
words, “She is mine!” like some commanding force, and my heart clenched
in my chest. In that moment, I wanted to reassure him that I was, but the
words would not leave my lips. I couldn’t utter falsities as my last spoken
words to him in case they were the last thing I ever got to say to him.
He had heard Ajax's and my conversation. Shame filled me in that moment,
and I felt like the worst traitor for even allowing Ajax to enter our home.
How long was he there before he ran into the room and put himself in front
of me, taking a bullet for the woman that was listening to another man
trying to convince her to leave him? Why did he even risk himself after
hearing Ajax’s words?
“She is mine!” Once again, his voice echoes in my mind, and I can’t stop
the tears from cascading down my face or the trembling in my hands. My
limbs feel weak, and my stomach is filled with wretched acid and the
knowledge that Jaxon now knows I slept with his best friend. Regardless if
it was a year ago, it was still something that I should have told him, not let
him find out in that horrific way. Then he took a bullet for me, after
everything he must have been feeling.
He took a fucking bullet for me, the lunatic! I drag my hands down my face,
unable to understand why he did it. My hands that are still tinged in his red
blood, despite wiping them. The knowledge that someone was trying to kill
me is not even of the slightest importance when balanced against the
actions of my possessive husband. My husband, the one I have been
avoiding and running from. The one that terrified me a week ago and had
me contemplating leaving him.
I watch as Ajax once again tries to approach me. His hands held before him
in a placating and soothing manner that indicates that he means no harm,
his shoulders hunched in and fear across his features. Pure rage like I have
never felt before fills me just by looking at him, just by his mere presence
here in this corridor. Outside of where my husband is fighting for his life.
How dare he try once again to confront me after Jaxon just took a bullet
intended for me. How dare he even be here right now after betraying Jaxon
and attempting to convince me to leave him.
My hand slams out before I can think clearly, connecting with his chiseled
face. The sound is loud in the empty hallway as he stumbles back a step
from my attack. It’s not enough. I need to hurt him like we hurt Jaxon! I
move forward and slap him again and then again. Unable to stop hitting him
as my body and mind loses control to my rancor. “Stella, fucking STOP!”
He shouts, using his arms to cover his face to prevent the blows I am
raining down on him from landing.
“You traitor, you despicable man!” Smack. “How dare you come here!”
Smack. “How dare you come here after you tried to convince me to leave
him!” Smack. Ajax grabs onto my arm and pulls me hard into his body, the
air momentarily rushing out of my chest. I try to fight his tight embrace,
pushing and shoving against his body. I raise my knee to try to hit him in
the crotch, but he sidesteps me at the last moment, preventing the blow
from landing.
“He took a bullet for me!” I scream. “He…took…a…bullet…” I can’t even
get the words out. They devastate me, breaking my heart into fragile pieces,
my lips tremble, and I press them together.
“I know Stella, I know.” He tightens his grip and cradles me into his body.
The smell of his cologne and the feel of his hard chest against mine causes
the bile I was trying to suppress to race up the back of my throat.
“No! Fuck, no!” I push against him, and he loosens his hold, releasing me
so that I can take steps away from him. My head is spinning, my chest is
tight, and I feel like I am having a panic attack. I can’t stop the trembling
that is taking over my whole body. My body sways back and forth as my
legs turn to Jell-O. I try to take deep breaths but end up with my body
doubled over and my hands on my knees, panting harshly as vomit races
from my throat.
“Jesus, Stella.” Ajax tries to approach me, but I lift my hand warding him
off. I don’t want him to touch me. I don’t want to feel his skin on mine.
Both of us are traitors for what we were doing. I am a Judas for allowing
Ajax to even speak those words to me.
Once I have nothing left to spew up, I lean my head and shoulder against
the cool white tiled wall, taking deep breaths to clear my head. “You need
to leave, Ajax,” the words come out raspy and on panting breaths. My
stomach clenches painfully once again, threatening to bring me to the
ground.
I turn my glare toward the offending figure before me. He’s all light in
direct contrast to Jaxon’s darkness. The sunlight through the windows glints
in his golden hair. His dark brown eyes are filled with emotion and pain.
His lean, tall body encased in the fine fabric of his dress shirt and pants
with my bloody fingerprints as macabre splatters across it. Fingerprints that
are coated in my husband’s sacrificial blood.
Ajax has always been handsome, and his spirit was always peaceful to me.
Never causing me distress or volatile emotions, unlike his best friend. It’s
why I gave him my virginity all those years ago and then kept seeing him
quietly without my parents knowing, but that ended months before my
father gave me away as a prized pig to Jaxon.
I couldn’t find any joy with Ajax. Yes, he brought me peace, but I craved
passion. I felt something was always lacking, and because of it, I forced
myself to end it. Ajax never stopped pursuing me, never accepted it as our
ending. Even now, he refuses to accept it while wearing Jaxon’s blood.
Looking at him now, he no longer brings me peace, just torment that I was
even in that room with him. That I allowed him over the last week to appear
at Penticton Industries and the estate trying to convince me to leave Jaxon.
Like there was ever going to be a possibility of that. Jaxon would have
never let me out of our marriage. “She is mine!” His voice once again
bellows in my mind causing sobs to leave my lips.
“Get out of here, Ajax. It’s over! Whatever our past was, it’s over. I am his
wife. I will never fucking leave him!” The words spew from my mouth in a
scream so high-pitched that it sounds ripped from a deranged animal. He
takes a step back, his eyes wide and shock across his face. “I never want to
see you again. Do you hear me! NEVER AGAIN!”
A noise from the end of the corridor catches my attention, and I raise my
eyes to see Mrs. Pox and Fergus rushing toward me. Fergus reaches Ajax
and pulls him away toward the elevators, and Mrs. Pox envelopes me in her
arms. “It’s going to be alright now, dear.” Her voice is soothing and
commanding, and I burrow into her warm embrace. Hoping that her words
are correct and I haven’t just caused my husband to go to his grave thinking
I betrayed him.
It’s been eight hours since Jaxon was taken into surgery, and still no word
from the doctors in the operating room. I lean my head against the back of
the chair of the private waiting room I am currently sitting in. Mrs. Pox left
thirty minutes ago to find us food, despite me indicating that I had no
appetite and there was no way I could stomach anything. Nausea is still
plaguing me, and my stomach is tied up in knots of apprehension.
My mother is somewhere in the hospital trying to procure tea for us. She
came immediately once she heard of the shooting, my father absent from
her side. No doubt he is sitting somewhere with a drink in his hand, hoping
that Jaxon succumbs to his injury for siding with me against him. The
fucking selfish, bastard.
Once again, the thought of who could have shot at me or sent someone to
shoot me runs through my mind. The officers that questioned me earlier had
no leads as of yet. Just that it appeared to be one shooter and that he wasn’t
an amateur as he left very little evidence and somehow knew how to get
past the cameras on the estate.
Someone hired a man to shoot me. Could it have been my father? Perhaps
one of the disgruntled board members that I had terminated in the last
week? Was it Kalista Cain? I did ruin her fucking life and take Jaxon from
her. So many new enemies at my door. Great job, Stella, your first eleven
days as Mrs. Jaxon Stratford, and you have ruined lives, been shot at, and
almost become a widow. Great fucking start!
“Darling, I couldn’t find a proper tea latte, but this pitiful excuse for a tea
was available. I will have Stanley deliver us proper tea shortly.” My mother
walks back into the room, holding two Styrofoam cups of steaming liquid.
She looks so distressed and disheveled that it’s almost comical. I don’t think
I have ever seen Rachel Penticton with a hair out of place, yet here she is,
wrinkled, hair falling out of her chignon and makeup smeared. If the
situation wasn’t so dire and I didn’t feel like my heart was being ripped
apart with guilt, I would wrap my arms tightly around her.
“I am sure it is fine, mother.” She hands me the cup, sits beside me, and
reaches for my hand. My mother has never been overly affectionate,
knowing that my father disapproved of that. Today it seems, far from
Thomas Penticton’s eyes, she has decided that she will be motherly.
Emotions clog my throat at her act of soothing compassion. Right now, I
need her unwavering strength to help keep me together. I know I have to be
strong, I am a Penticton, but I am also a Stratford, and Jaxon would be
disappointed to see me falling to pieces here. I have caused him enough
pain. I refuse to add to that by being weak.
I clear my throat, holding the cup in my hand and meeting her distressed
gaze. “Do you think it could have been father that sent someone to shoot
me?” I hold my breath, awaiting her reply. Part of me honestly believes he
would be more than capable of issuing an order like that to assuage his
bruised pride over being ousted at Penticton Industries. The other part of me
hopes with all my might that despite us never seeing eye to eye on anything,
he wouldn’t attempt to murder his only child.
“No, Stella, I don’t. He is too desperate to continue the Penticton legacy,
which would end if you died. He has no one else to pass on this curse of an
empire to.” She sighs and takes a sip of her tea, grimacing at the subpar
taste.
I let out a relieved deep breath at her words. If it wasn’t my father, then who
was it? Who would dare send a shooter to my home, to Jaxon’s home, to
attack me? Who would have even had the knowledge that I would be there?
“Stella, what was Ajax doing at the estate? Was he there with Jaxon? I saw
him down in the entryway, he is beside himself with worry and covered in
bloody fingerprints.” My mother raises her beautiful eyes, ones that are
identical to mine, and waits for my answer.
I shut my eyes and bite down hard on my lower lip. I don’t want to ruin this
mother-daughter moment we are having, but I also don’t wish to mislead
her into thinking that Ajax was there with Jaxon. “He was there to see me.”
My voice sounds small and guilty even to my own ears. I watch my
mother’s expression carefully. She raises a concerned eyebrow and takes
another sip of the hot tea. “I see. It seems he has not managed to move past
his infatuation for you, regardless of your marriage to his best friend.”
The shock of her words must be evident on my face as hers fills with a
devious smirk. Her features lighten, smoothing out the fine lines and
appearing younger than her years with the expression. “You knew?”
A very unladylike snort leaves her full lips. “Of course, I knew. I have my
little spies everywhere, and I am not oblivious to the comings and goings of
my only child.” A chuckle sounds in the air between us. “That man has
been sniffing you out since you were fourteen years old. Even after he left
high school, he would find a way to be in your company.” She raises both
of her eyebrows and narrows her eyes at me with a disapproving
expression. “Honestly, dear, give your mother some credit. If I believed for
one second that you were not interested in his attention, he would have been
floating in the Hudson River.”
I open my mouth, but no words leave my lips. Who is this woman before
me? She is so different from the meek and frail woman I see when my
father is around. One that I can’t stand as she cowers in his presence and
caters to his unreasonable demands.
“All this time you, knew I was sneaking around with Ajax behind dad's and
your back?” I don’t even know what to think. Perhaps we weren’t as
discrete as we thought we were. “Does father know?”
“That you two were sleeping together, and his precious princess was
compromised? Of course not! Ajax petitioned your father for your hand
when this whole mess with looking for a family to tie ourselves to started,
but your father immediately denied him. His family is not wealthy or strong
enough to further the Penticton lineage.”
Lord, how many things are going to be revealed to me today? I sit
dumbfounded at her words. I never knew that Ajax had attempted to get my
father’s agreement to marry me. Would I have said yes, had he asked me?
The answer immediately rises within me and not just because of my current
outrage with him. I would have never married him, not willingly. He never
saw me as anything but an object to cherish. There is no way Ajax
Pickering would have enabled me or supported me to run Penticton
Industries like Jaxon has.
He also wouldn’t have brought another woman home on your wedding
night. My mind reminds me. Regardless of what Jaxon did to me that first
night. I know that Ajax, despite believing that he loves me, wants a wife
like his own mother. One that is dutiful and remains at home raising babies.
Just the thought of that life forced on me raises my hackles and makes me
want to run screaming.
“Jesus, mother. I feel like a complete fool. You knew all this time.” I release
my hold of her hand and stand, pacing before her as she watches me with
rapt attention.
“You are not a fool, Stella. You do not understand the inner workings of this
life. Especially for wealthy, privileged women like us, but you will have to
learn quickly, daughter.” She releases a deep, tired breath, one that I feel in
my own soul. “Someone meant you harm. You have power now, Stella. You
are one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in the world. You
married a man other women covet. That comes with various threats.”
She stands up, places the tea next to her on the side table, and reaches for
mine, placing it next to hers. Then she pulls me into her embrace and
squeezes me tight. “I could have lost you today, Stella—my only child. I
beg of you, daughter, show some restraint moving through this powerful
world. You are making waves when you should be making ripples.”

OceanofPDF.com
20

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our

light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.” Marianne
Williamson, A Return to Love

I ’M SWIMMING IN WHAT feels like deep molasses. I can barely move

my limbs; they feel so heavy and weighed down. I struggle to open my
eyes, but they feel glued shut and like a ten-ton truck is holding them
closed. There’s a searing pain in my chest at each forced breath entering my
lungs. I am not even sure if I am actually breathing on my own anymore.
Muted noises surround me, but I can’t make any of them out clearly. Where
am I?
Rapid images flash before my eyes in technicolor, causing my body to lock
up tight at their dizzying speed and ferocity. The first image to assault me is
of me arguing with Stella through our closed-door last night, where I raged
against it to no avail, and she refused to open it to me. I felt fury and defeat
as I walked away.
The image changes quickly to me driving angrily back to my estate because
I couldn’t keep my wandering mind or unfortunate hard dick from thinking
about my little ice queen. The desire to strangle her while my cock choked
off her airway was all I could think about.
The image flips once again, causing my stomach to lurch, this time to Stella
in the den with Ajax. Her tears and the devastated emotions across her
beautiful face as he declared his love for her and urged her to leave me. My
fucking best friend is a traitor. I should have strangled him at that very
moment. Instead, I stood there like an idiot, allowed his words to reach
Stella’s ears. Words urging her to leave me, to be with him, to take my most
valuable possession from me. I have allowed myself to become weak over
that woman when I should have been strong.
At that thought, I can hear loud beeping happening around me through the
deep fog I am currently anchored in. “His blood pressure is rising, he’s
going into cardiac distress.” Who the fuck are they talking about? Who’s
going into cardiac distress? The pain in my chest feels like it is exploding
into the rest of my limbs. My head is swimming, and the darkness is once
again calling me. I want to scream for Stella. To demand her presence
before me, but my body refuses to obey and traps me once again in the utter
void of nothingness.

“Will he eventually wake up?” The voice sounds small and hesitant, making
my body want to wrap around it and bring it comfort. To protect it with all
of my strength and being. The sound calls to me from the darkness I am
residing in. I try to wade through the thick void that is keeping me trapped,
but I’m losing the war against it. The urge to fight rises but is immediately
drowned out as if my body has no energy and I am completely spent.
Once again, images accost me at rapid speed, blinding lights making me
shudder from the racing streams in my mind. This time the image that
greets me is of my father when he was still alive—the look of
disappointment across his stern features at my constant rebellious antics.
“You need to grow up, Jaxon, and behave like a Stratford and a titan of
industry, not some spoiled playboy plowing through all of the spread legs
available to you. You need to prove to me that you are worthy of the
Stratford legacy!” He downs the scotch in his hand, dismissing me like he
always does. He can’t bear to be in the same room with me for long. I am
such a miserable failure of a son. Such a disappointment to the Stratford
name, a fact that he never hesitates to point out. The weight of that
sentiment and knowledge crushes me until I’m struggling to breathe.
The image switches, and now it’s of a small dark-haired boy dressed in a
black suit, holding fiercely to an older woman’s hand before an ebony
casket, laid with red roses cascading down its sides. The smell of the roses
permeates through the air around them until it’s an almost suffocating smell.
“Don’t coddle him, Mrs. Pox. He needs to learn that death is a part of life.
Pain and suffering will make him stronger.” My father’s harsh voice causes
the boy to flinch and cower, hiding his face in the woman’s abdomen.
“Sir, he just lost his beloved mother.” Mrs. Pox’s grip tightens on the boy’s
hand, and she shifts more of her body in front of him to block my father.
“Yes, well, I lost my wife. You don’t see me here sobbing, do you?”
“Doctor! Doctor! FUCK! Someone help!” I can hear the shrill sound of a
female shouting through the darkness, stopping the images of my father
from running through my mind and bringing me nothing but pain. My chest
feels so tight, like a balloon someone keeps blowing into that is ready to
pop. Once again, my limbs feel weighed down, and the pain that I was
feeling in my chest increases until I can’t think or feel anything else.
“Dammit, he’s having another heart attack. Mrs. Stratford, you need to get
out of the way!” A male voice is yelling.
Who the fuck is he yelling at like that? Is he yelling at my Stella like that? I
will get up from this darkness and beat his fucking ass. No one talks to my
Stella like that. She’s a goddamn Stratford. In just a moment when I can
catch my breath and open my eyes, I am going to break the jaw of whoever
this fucker is, talking to my wife like that.

“Stella, you can’t remain here like this. It’s been a week and he hasn’t
woken up. The doctor is not even sure that he will, in fact, wake up.” The
soft feminine voice sounds distressed at the words she is uttering. She is
speaking to my wife and I can hear her through the nothingness that I am
residing in. The void that keeps me trapped with constant memories and
harsh truths.
I have heard Stella at my side begging me to wake. Then losing her temper
and demanding that I come back to her. My awareness of time is
nonexistent. Has it really already been a week that I have been trapped in
this hell? That can’t be correct, can it? Even though I would like nothing
more than to open my eyes and pull her defiant, stubborn ass into my arms.
Something is keeping me a trapped prisoner here. Perhaps it’s my fear that
she will readily leave me when I wake. Will she leave me for Ajax? Does
she love him? A sharp burning pain accosts my chest at just the thought.
“He will wake and come back to me. He will not leave me here alone, I
know it.” I can hear her precious defiance in the tone of her voice. Stella
Stratford will walk into hell and fight the devil to get what she wants. My
wife has strength and a will that will not be defied, even by me. Her angry
tone calls to my soul, insisting I return to her. The urge to go to her is so
strong that I feel myself pulling against the barrier keeping me a prisoner
here and away from her.
“Stella, perhaps it’s best if he doesn’t. We have no way of knowing in what
condition his mind will be once he awakens. He’s had three heart attacks
and been in a coma for a week, daughter. You may end up with an invalid
on your hands.” The voice reasoning with my wife sounds miserable but
resolute at the prospect.
Have I really had three heart attacks? Holy fuck! Am I in a coma, is that
why I can’t seem to rise from this miserable darkness, but can hear every
word spoken? The one that has me trapped with my past and my demons?
The one trying it’s hardest to break me.
Will I be a burden to Stella instead of the formidable man at her side? The
one determined to rule an empire and create a lasting legacy that causes fear
in the hearts of our enemies. Will I never get a true taste of my stunningly,
wicked wife? Never have the chance to bury my cock deep inside of her
and produce a spawn that is half her and half me. A new line of Stratfords
to rule this world? Who will protect Stella from the threats coming at her
from every direction?
“Jaxon Stratford is not weak nor a coward. He will not leave me here alone
to face the Stratford & Penticton empires without him. He will return to me
or I will go into fucking hell and pull him back from the devil's hands. He is
mine and I refuse to lose him now.”
Her words cause heat and fire to lick up my body. The desire to see those
arctic eyes filled with fury fill me up. She wants me by her side to rule our
empire. She is demanding my return to her and the living world. Who am I
to deny my ice queen?
I fight harder against the nothingness, knowing that I must return to her and
when I do, she will submit to me in all ways. Mine for all eternity. I will
never let her go and if she tries to leave me, we will both end up in hell
together.

OceanofPDF.com
21

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Hope... is the companion of power, and the mother of success; for

who so hopes has within him the gift of miracles.” Samuel Smiles

I ’M FILLED WITH A restless energy and an anguished heart that I do

not understand. It’s been over a week since Jaxon was shot in the chest,
missing his heart by mere millimeters. A shot that he received in order to
save my life. I had to watch helplessly, an emotion I do not fucking enjoy,
as my husband of almost two weeks suffered three heart attacks in my
presence. Ones that, by all accounts, should have ended his life. Yet he
persisted and fought to stay alive. He is a warrior, and no one can keep him
down, not even death with its clawing hands.
My eyes once again return to his pale face, his normally golden skin has an
ashen tinge to it now. My eyes linger on the long white tube that is affixed
to his mouth. He looks broken and weak before me. The total opposite of
his cocky, frustrating, and determined self. I watch with trepidation as his
chest rises and falls with the machine’s forced breaths.
Is my mother right? Will he never wake up, or if he does, will he be an
invalid? How will I cope with that on top of everything else? Do I want to
be trapped with a man that can’t take care of himself? In sickness and in
health…remember you made that promise when you married him, my mind
whispers. I let out a harsh breath that feels like it’s strangling me, and my
hand shakes in my lap.
No, fuck that! I refuse to believe that Jaxon Stratford, the man that forced
me down an aisle to grow his empire, would be reduced to such a pitiful
existence. Not even the devil can keep Jaxon Stratford against his will. He
will cheat death each and every time. You are mine…His words once again
vibrate through my mind. He will come for me, his prize, his possession. I
have to remain strong; I have to fight for him, just like he fought for me.
What if he ends up with a broken mind, unable to think and function
clearly? What if he is incapacitated of body, then what? Are you prepared
to take on a man that will depend on you for everything? What about your
plans? My mind questions. The thoughts race through my mind, but I keep
returning to the same thought. I will do what must, to ensure that both our
empires grow and survive. I will not allow anyone to take that away from
us, not even Jaxon Stratford himself. He will still be my husband, no matter
what. I will ensure he lives out his days with me at his side. He risked his
life for me, and that is a debt that I will pay until my very last breath leaves
my body.
I stare at my mother, sitting in the chair against the wall in rumpled
elegance. The woman has refused to leave other than bathe and change
daily. She has been by my side here, holding vigil for Jaxon ever since he
was shot. Even going as far as to disobey my father and incurring his
malignant wrath when he demanded her presence back at the Penticton
estate. Her beautiful hair shines in the natural light from the window, her
complexion pale and drawn, and her beautiful eyes filled with pain, no
doubt at the situation I find myself in.
I never realized the strength and determination that my mother hid behind
her frailty. She is someone to admire and learn from. How to be both fragile
and strong at the same time, without having to sacrifice one for the other. I
wish I had more of her inside of me, that I wasn’t filled with this urgency to
be successful, to prove others wrong about me. To show them that I am so
much more than just a spoiled, rich woman. Who knows, I might have
already found peace and happiness if I had been more like her.
A flutter of motion catches the corner of my eye. For a moment, I’m
convinced that my tired eyes are seeing things. I drag my hands over my
exhausted face, my back and shoulder aching with the stress of dealing with
this situation and not knowing what will happen next. I have barely slept in
the cot the hospital provided next to Jaxon’s hospital bed. Unable to rest
easy while my husband fights for his life in the same room.
It’s not only the stress of Jaxon being in a goddamn coma that has anxiety
rising inside of me and threatening to have me screaming like a lunatic. The
amount of paperwork Tyson has been bringing me daily from Penticton
Industries and Stratford Industries is overwhelming. How am I going to run
both of those companies alone? The thought once again presses harshly
down on me. You wanted this; you wanted to be the head of an empire. The
thought slithers through my mind with malcontent. I know, but fuck I didn’t
think it would be this difficult, this all-consuming. The desire for power
seems lackluster in light of Jaxon lying in a coma next to me.
My eyes focus back on Jaxon, his body covered by the stark white sheet and
blanket on the bed. The golden skin of his arms are a high contrast against
the crisp material. His tattoo is just peeking over the sheet; the Stratford
crest imprinted on his skin. As I watch him with a pang of regret in my
chest, his right arm twitches, lifts a bit off the bed, his hand clenching into a
fist, and then lands on his thigh. What the fuck? I watch as once again the
limb lifts, this time higher, his hand unclenching and fingers reaching out as
if grasping for something or someone. I rush to his side and grab onto his
fingers with my own, clutching his hand tight and squeezing it. Hope soars
through my body like a blazing light, banishing the shadows that have been
oppressive weights on my shoulders. He is fighting to come back to me.
“Come back to me, Jaxon.” I lean forward and whisper to the side of his
face, laying my lips on his clammy skin. His fingers clench mine tightly at
my words and have me pulling back. I watch with excitement as his eyes
flutter rapidly before opening a crack. “Holy Shit! Mother, go get the
doctor; he’s waking up!” My voice leaves my lips in a high-pitched noise.
My heart is pounding like a drum in my chest. Is he finally waking up?
“Jaxon, can you hear me?” I move my body across his. His grip tightens
once again on my fingers as he starts to struggle, trying to release my hold
on his fingers. His other hand reaches toward the tube in his mouth that is
helping him to breathe. He moves to try to dislodge the tube, and panic
seizes me as I press my hand down on his, preventing him from tearing the
tube from his lips.
“Don’t, Jaxon, it’s helping you breathe! Come back to me, Jaxon!” I beg as
tears race down my face. A surge of relief floods me, almost causing my
trembling limbs to give out before me. Get your shit together, Stella. You
are a fucking Stratford now. You cannot behave like some weak-minded
female. My mind chastises me rudely for my overly emotional response to
Jaxon's awakening.
“Step aside, Mrs. Stratford.” The rude fucking doctor that is about to get my
fist in his face demands, pushing me aside roughly and dislodging Jaxon’s
hold on my fingers. This motherfucker is going to get a rude awakening,
treating me as he has for the last couple of days. I have bitten my tongue
over and over because he is one of the best heart surgeons in the country,
but I am at the end of my patience. He’s about to discover why they call me
an ice queen and a viper.
“Mr. Stratford, I need you to remain calm. You have a breathing tube
installed in your mouth. We need to remove it and check your vitals. Please
stop trying to dislodge it.” I watch as he roughly swats Jaxon’s hand away
from his face, and my blood pressure rises. I move without thought and
grab the back of his neck, digging my nails into the skin and causing a high-
pitched cry to leave Dr. Bernard’s mouth.
“You will treat my husband with respect and humility motherfucker, or I
will ensure the only place you are practicing medicine is at a fucking third-
world zoo.” I tighten my grip as he stiffens at my threat. “Do we understand
each other?”
“Yes.”
“Yes, what?” I demand, my fury getting the best of me and my emotions
riding me.
“Yes, Mrs. Stratford... ma’am.” The words leave his lips on a trembling
breath. I watch as he bites down on his lower lip, trying to stop it from
quivering. His eyes are prominent in his ruddy, blotchy face, fear is clearly
present on his features. The way he is cowering before me fills me with
instant satisfaction and glee. Maybe I am a psychopath, after all.
“I am so glad we understand each other.” I release my hold and step back,
moving to Jaxon’s other side as he stares up at me with frightened slate
eyes. “You are alright now, Jaxon. I am here with you.” I grasp onto his
fingers and squeeze, trying to calm my own erratic heartbeat and breathing.
The doctor clears his throat and brings his attention back to Jaxon. “Mr.
Stratford…sir…we…I am going to remove the tube now.” He gently pulls
the tube from Jaxon’s mouth as gagging noises fill the room.
Jaxon takes a few harsh breaths, the sound loud and raspy. I tighten my hold
on his fingers, knowing I am almost crushing them in my tight grasp. His
eyes never leave mine, despite glassing over and a tear trickling down the
side of his face. I watch as he opens and closes his mouth, but no words
escape his dried lips. I reach forward, wiping the tear with my thumb, my
skin connecting with the thick dark stubble on his face—the one I long to
press my lips against in relief.
“Mr. Stratford…sir, please do not try to speak yet. Your throat will be
ragged and parched. We are going to commence some vital checks. Please,
can I have your focus on me for the moment?” The doctor peeks at me from
the corner of his eye. I guess my threat worked, and now the fucker is
afraid. Good, he should be, my threat is not idle. I will destroy him.
Jaxon tears his gaze away from mine and peers up at the doctor, following
his instructions to nod to the questions asked. I watch with a sense of relief
as he understands the commands and questions that the doctor is uttering.
His gaze returns to mine every few seconds as if he can’t stop reassuring
himself that I am here. His mind is working at least on a fundamental level.
The tightness in my chest lightens a bit, and I feel my mother place her
hand in comfort at my back.
Once the doctor has completed his questioning and checks, he leaves the
room, and I bring a straw with refreshing cold water to Jaxon’s parched lips.
“Drink slowly, Jaxon.”
His eyes meet mine steadily as he sucks on the straw. Fuck, I have never
been envious of a damn straw before, but I am now. The color is returning
to his cheeks, and he’s not looking so ashen as he was. He must have an
inkling of my inappropriate thoughts because the fucker winks at me as he
sucks harder on the straw. Mischief temporarily appearing in those
gorgeous gray eyes of his. There he is…the thought brings a streak of joy to
me.
“Stella…” His voice sounds strained and raspy, as if he had been screaming
and lost it. He pushes the cup away with one hand while his other reaches
up tentatively to my face. His cold fingers make contact with my cheek, and
a rattled breath leaves his chest.
“Safe?” He questions, his eyebrow rising and his lips forming in a stern
line.
“They haven’t found him. There is security outside of the room and around
the hospital. I added additional security measures to the house to keep Mrs.
Pox and the staff safe, just in case.” I watch as he nods, his eyes flickering
over my features. What does he see when he looks at me? Does he see a
woman filled with ambition and regrets? Does he see a betrayer who
repeatedly allowed Ajax to try to convince her to leave him? Who am I in
Jaxon’s eyes?
It’s almost like he can sense the direction of my thoughts. His fingers reach
up and touch my face, one cold finger tracing across my lips. His intense
gaze meets mine, turbulent slate gray meeting arctic blue. My eyes are
riveted to his sinful lips as he licks them. “Mine, Stella.” The words leave
his lips not in question but in a demand. A demand for submission,
acknowledgment, and obedience. For a moment, my rebellious and
independent spirit balks at the demand. I belong to myself; no one fucking
owns me. Are you sure about that? My mind questions quietly.
Various sensations fill my body and creep into the shadowed areas of my
heart and mind. Acceptance, need, and desire. The need to be wanted and
accepted the way Jaxon is demanding. The desire that his two softly spoken
words accelerates inside of me, causing havoc with my very thoughts. He
wants me despite hearing the traitorous words that left mine and Ajax’s
mouths.
My emotions give rise to new fears. I don’t want to lose who I am to this
need for Jaxon. I don’t want to just be his wife, some woman behind the
powerful man. Jaxon is strong, capable, and demanding. His mere presence
is able to overshadow anyone. Do I want that to happen to me? The desire
that is running through my veins for him, is it enough to give up my dreams
to lead my own empire? Does he mean that much to me, or is it the guilt of
him being shot that is causing these emotions to rise inside of me?
All these questions run rampant through my mind while Jaxon stares up at
me with an emotion I can’t read. Is it fear or hope that is crossing his
expression? His fingers move towards the side of my face, cradling it in his
cold embrace, and I welcome the chill they bring. His grip tightens slightly,
and his eyebrows furrow. “Mine.” He declares with more strength behind
the word than I would think capable of a man that just awoke from a coma.
A part of me wants to deny him. Laugh off his demand as delusional, but as
his word skates across my mind, a fierce look crosses his features. My core
tightens painfully at the force and ownership of the word. Yes, I am his, just
as much as he is mine. Will that cause both of us to destroy each other?
Time will tell, I guess.

OceanofPDF.com
22

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Control your anger, before your anger starts controlling you” Atef
Ashab Uddin Sahil

F UCKING HELL, NOT AGAIN! I try to quietly shift about in the room
before Mrs. Pox and the antichrist of a personal nurse my wife hired
find me once again. I am a goddamn powerful man, yet all the females in
this house, my fucking house, treat me like a wayward naughty child.
Coddling me and forcing me to take medicine and eat foods that taste like a
donkey’s ass. They tell me when to rise, when to exercise, when to fucking
nap. And even disturbingly, when it’s bedtime, shit, I’m surprised none of
them tuck me in and read me a bedtime story. Like I am not the master of
this home. Ha-ha; that’s funny, you think you are still the master here! My
mind laughs like a deranged hyena at me. I am, aren’t I?
It’s been three weeks since I left the hospital. A whole month since I came
out of a coma that, by the doctor’s account, I should have never woken
from. My demand to be released from the hospital fell on silent ears for the
first couple of days. Then it was only granted by Stella and that fuck-face of
a doctor, based on getting a personal nurse for round-the-clock care to help
at home, like I am some sort of invalid, too weak to even wipe my own ass.
Let’s be fucking clear; I still wipe my own ass.
I hope that damn doctor doesn’t think I have forgotten the way he spoke to
Stella while I was in my coma. I mean to go back there and beat his
miserable ass for his harsh tone and disrespect. A Stratford never forgets an
insult and always pays his due. Dr. Bernard better pray for the meager time
he has left before I come after him.
A shadow crosses over the window blocking the meager sunlight we are
getting today. I watch as the new security guards, dressed in all-black
tactical gear, patrol the perimeter of the Stratford estate. Also, something
my lovely wife established without a word to me. We now have a small
private army of armed guards protecting us at all hours. This place feels like
a fucking prison and not a residence.
Stella neglected to inform me that the very painful and devastating bullet to
my chest has not been the only incident of threatening behavior to her life.
According to Fergus, who was persuaded to tell me with a few glasses of
my most expensive scotch, someone left a dead headless chicken on my
wife’s desk at Penticton Industries three weeks ago. Then, most recently,
someone tried to attack her in the massage room of the local spa. Luckily
for her, the new security detail she hired was just outside the door. The
assailant managed to escape, but the poor massage therapist ended up with a
knife wound to her side instead of my wife.
Once again, the fear of who is after my wife fills me with anger, worry, and
helplessness. How can I protect her from whoever is daring to come after
her from the inside of my estate? Stella has made it almost impossible for
me to leave, using my recovery as an excuse to keep me under lock and key.
The knowledge that my ice queen of a wife is very much my keeper right
now grates on my damn nerves. How dare she treat me like I’m weak! She
leaves the estate daily to head to either Penticton Industries or to Stratford
Industries, running our empires, while I remain here, trapped eating fucking
homemade applesauce like a chump.
When she does decide to grace me with her presence at the end of the night,
she treats me more like a child rather than her husband, who desires to take
her over his knee and spank the shit out of her. Fuck, just the thought of my
palm warm against her soft flesh has my cock hardening in my pants. It
seems that lately, just the mere thought of my wife’s creamy perfection is
all that is needed to have my cock weeping pearls of cum in my pants. A
very unfortunate effect that I have to continuously hide from the staff so
they don’t think I am some degenerate.
The fact that she is still sleeping in the master suite while I have been once
again relegated to the guest suite in the opposite wing grates on my nerves
and causes me endless sessions with my own fist. She won’t go anywhere
near me, and she refuses to be in a room alone with me. We always seem to
be chaperoned by either Mrs. Pox, the nurse from hell, or Fergus. If I didn’t
know any better, I would say my little ice queen is afraid of me and
uncomfortable around me. I mean to change that immediately; Stella is
about to be reacquainted with my hands, mouth, and cock.
After I awoke that first day from the coma, she never again spoke to me
with such affection and need as she had while I was asleep. Does she regret
calling for me? Demanding I return to her and not leave her here alone?
Perhaps they were moments of weakness that made her demand I return to
her and not blatant affection for me? No. I refuse to believe that. She is
mine, and I mean to have her at all costs.
“Mr. Stratford, you must return to your room for a nap, sir.” The shrill voice
of Sebastiana, the nurse from the fucking underworld, meets my ears,
causing my shoulders and hackles to rise. I turn slowly from my position at
the window of the library and stare back at the behemoth of a woman
entering the room. I try to give her my most haughty and frightening stare,
but it seems to just bounce off her six-foot-one frame. She is one hundred
percent a demon from the beyond; there is no other explanation for her lack
of fear when I stare her down. I have flayed powerful men with the look I
am giving her, yet she looks at me like I am a loathsome child under her
care.
I would bet any money that my wife hired this particular nurse just to vex
me. She is impervious to my charms; I know because I have already tried to
use them on her. She ushers me around like a naughty two-year-old and not
a grown man who is a billionaire and owns half the goddamn country. It
seems like she always seems to know where I am at all times, despite me
trying my best to avoid her. I have had enough! My pride and manhood can
only take so much! One of us has to cave, and it won’t be fucking me, of
that, I am sure.
“No, I will not, in fact, be doing that. I will be heading into the office to see
to my affairs.” I raise my hand harshly to stop the words that are about to
leave her thick lips, the hairy mole above her eye rising with her eyebrows
in disdain. “You may think you are in charge here, nurse, but you are
wrong.”
“Actually, sir, your wife is in charge here.” Sebastiana throws back at me
with no doubt glee. I watch with rancor as she moves further into the room,
unperturbed by my obvious dislike of her. Is every woman I meet lately
certain to make my male ego shrink in upon itself? I can feel my balls
wanting to shrivel up, tuck tail, and hide inside of my body at her miserable
disposition and approach.
I roll my eyes at her words and move toward the doorway to pass her. “Sir, I
really must insist! Shall I contact Mrs. Stratford?” Her threat breaks what
precious little hold on my civilities I have left. I stop before her, my breath
coming in angry pants. I can feel my neck and face getting hot, and I know
my nostrils are flaring like an enraged bull about to knock her on her ass. I
have never struck a woman, never desired to even raise my hand in anger at
one, but this bitch is trying my fucking sanity. I clench both my hands at my
side to avoid grabbing this insolent woman and shaking her until her
fucking teeth rattle out of her head or put holes in the walls of my house.
“If you ever want to work again, never mind take another breath; you will
do no such thing. No one is my master, not my wife, and certainly not you.”
I move closer until my body is mere inches from hers. “If you alert my wife
that I have left the estate, I will ensure that you meet with a regrettable
accident on your way home, nurse Sebastiana. Oh, and your precious cat,
Snuffles, will disappear off the face of the goddamn planet. Don’t for one-
second doubt that I can make that happen with a quick call.”
A gasp leaves her lips, and I watch with satisfaction as she swallows
whatever words were bound to leave her miserable mouth. I turn away from
her, trying hard to keep the smirk off my face. Fuck, that look of fear in her
eyes made me feel good; I want more of that. Two arctic blue eyes appear in
my mind, ones I would love to see cowering before me or, better yet, filled
with molten passion. One I know she is more than capable of. Stella
gagged, bound, and on her knees before me is the shit fantasies are made of,
and I am about to make mine a reality.
Yes, I think it’s time I paid my little viper a visit at the office and determine
how our empires fare. Perhaps the little ice queen will be made to drop to
her knees in front of her king and apologize with her villainous lips for her
actions. Just the image of all the ways I want to shove my cock inside all of
Stella’s holes has me hardening painfully. I might need to stroke one out
before I head off to see her. I wouldn’t want to terrify the office staff,
walking around with my cock tenting my pants.
After that, my first stop is to teach a doctor some bedside manners. I hope
he doesn’t learn quickly. I have a huge amount of pent-up anger to work off
before I wrap my fingers around my wife’s pretty throat.

OceanofPDF.com
23

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“It was pride that changed angels into devils; it is humility that
makes men as angels.” Saint Augustine

M Y OFFICE DOOR SLAMS open with a hard bang, hitting the side
wall and embedding the handle into the plaster. The framed art
rattles on the walls loudly before one of them crashes to the ground,
shattering upon impact. Panic fills my body as I push back my chair and
grab onto the blade I never have far from my grasp anymore. When my
eyes lift and meet cold slate gray ones, I almost drop the damn knife and
end up cutting myself on its sharp edge. A red blood drop wells up on my
skin before sliding down and landing on the fabric of my navy-flared skirt.
Fear and annoyance fills me and threatens to take my very breath away.
Fear because, for a moment there, I thought another assailant had arrived to
finish what the last two hadn’t been able to manage. Annoyance, because
my unwanted husband is standing there looking smug and delicious with his
hands in his pockets instead of at home, where I left him under lock and
key.
I watch as my assistant Tyson rushes in with an alarmed look on his face
and the armed security guard right behind him. They both look ready to
attack my husband at the slightest provocation. Jaxon gives both of them
such a menacing stare that they each take a step back, and then their gazes
meet mine in question.
I roll my eyes at the spectacle Jaxon is creating and nod my head no when
Tyson’s face questions whether I need Jaxon removed from my presence.
As I shift my eyes from the two men sworn to protect me, back to the
menace before me that has already sacrificed himself for me, I hear his
threats to Tyson. “I’ll deal with you later, fucker.” Tyson smirks back at
Jaxon without the slightest hint of fear and shuts my office door behind
him. He is a brave fellow; it looks like my decision to keep him on was a
smart one.
“Hello, little viper. Not happy to see me?” I watch as he strolls nonchalantly
into my office, the picture of power and entitlement. His head is held high,
his nose crinkled in amusement, and a devious smile across his gorgeous
face, disrupting my already taxing day. He’s a Greek god of the underworld,
here to tempt me and make me lose my precious sanity. Fuck, he really
needs to stop looking so delicious; my lady parts do not need the
temptation.
“Jaxon, do I need to fire the nurse or send a search party for her?”
I sit myself back down in my office chair and try to avoid meeting his glare
while pressing my trembling hand against my thigh out of his sightline.
Ever since he woke up from his coma, it’s getting harder and harder to be in
his presence and resist my need to touch him and reassure myself that he is,
in fact, alive. Guilt eats at me every time I look at him, knowing that he was
shot and almost died, saving me—a sacrifice I don’t deserve.
Fuck deserving it; we should take him up on the promise of tremendous
sexual gratification. . It’s there in every line of his body and in the heated
looks he keeps sending me nightly. He almost just died; we can’t just jump
on him…can we? Bitch, if he dies while we ride him, he dies! My inner
voice cackles which has a small smirk crossing my lips at the naughty
thought.
He looks amazing standing there in his dark gray dress pants and crisp
white shirt. Wait…what the hell is that splattered up his arms and on the
waist of his shirt? Is that blood? What has he done now? Did he actually
fight the bear of a nurse I left in charge of him? I wouldn’t put it past him.
The thought makes a smile want to break across my face, but I fight the
urge to let him see any of my emotions. We are both psychos; is there a
wonder we ended up tied to each other? Fate and karma are two
destructive bitches.
“She’s alive and well. You should have known better, though, Stella. I
won’t be managed or controlled.”
A sneer crosses his handsome chiseled face and it has me biting the inside
of my cheek. Jaxon Stratford is one of the most stunning men I have ever
had the misfortune to meet, never mind marry, even when he is practically
growling at me. He is temptation and sin, all wrapped into a glorious and
exquisite package. One that I want to unwrap with my teeth.
Yet I force myself to keep my distance from him every night when I return
to our estate. The task becoming more challenging to force myself to
endure. As for controlling or managing him, it seems an impossible feat.
Even almost dying has done nothing for his possessive, demanding
personality. I don’t think there is a being on this earth that could force Jaxon
Stratford to do anything he doesn’t acquiesce to, not even me.
“I see; so fired then.” I shrug, my eyebrows furrowing and my jaw tensing
as I return my gaze to the document before me on my desk. I’m trying hard
to look dismissive of the man that has corrupted my every waking thought
and caused havoc with sinful dreams in my sleeping ones.
Every time I close my eyes, he is there. Calling to me, tempting me with his
naughty words, demands, and the promise of sweet ecstasy. The memory of
the feel of those lips and fingers on me haunts me and causes a flame to be
lit from within. Slowly burning all my willpower and good sense. One that I
can’t seem to extinguish on my own, it seems, despite my frustrating
attempts. My body craves his touch like an addict, willing to do anything
for another hit. Just one more taste…my heated blood begs.
I close my eyes and force myself to take calming breaths. I cannot let Jaxon
see the overwhelming need I have for him. One that is frightening me down
to my very core. A man like him will use it to control me. He is still weak
from his ordeal with the chest wound, but he won’t be for long and it would
be a horrendous mistake to give him power over me. Would it though…to
let him control us, to bend to his will? I bet he would make it feel so good.
My mind teases me.
He strolls to the side of my desk, his intoxicating scent of spicy citrus and
musk filling my senses and almost causing me to moan out loud. Damn it! I
am becoming a wanton whore, just like the ones that always chased him
around. We want to be his dirty whore…my mind tries to tempt me with the
thought. I almost choke on my own saliva at the thought of being just that,
Jaxon’s whore.
He perches that outrageously firm ass of his on the corner of my desk, and
his finger reaches out, caressing my cheek before titling my chin up to meet
his dark, anthracite gaze. What might be amusement along with desire is
featured in his sultry depths, and it has my breath hitching in my throat: just
one taste, one lick. My mind begs of me as a shiver races up my spine.
“That’s better little ice queen. I prefer when you are looking up at me,
Stella.” His tongue peeks out as he licks his bottom lip, making my core
clench painfully and the rest of me wishing it was me he was licking. “The
only thing better would be if you were looking at me from your knees, with
those pouty red lips wrapped around my cock.”
My eyes momentarily shut as the image of his words are projected into my
mind. Desire to do exactly what he is describing fills my body, and heat
rises, like flames licking at my skin, while my needy core throbs to be
filled. I reopen my eyes, and my gaze meets his heated one and roams over
his sexy features before dropping to his chest, watching the deep inhales
he’s taking and lowering still to the tented fabric of his slacks. He’s hard
and thick in his pants, the shape of his cock pushing against the fabric. His
own words and my response has him sitting there looking like a deviant
warrior king off to collect his spoils.
A sharp exhale leaves my parted lips, and heat rises up my chest and neck.
Jaxon Stratford is the definition of “big dick energy, “ and luckily for me,
he has the goods to back that shit up. Not so lucky for me. I can’t seem to
control the fiend. .
“Hmm, not as unaffected as you’d like to make everyone believe, my
devious little wife.” He leans forward until his breath is mere inches from
mine, and I can feel the heat coming off of his body and smell his fresh
minty breath skating across my skin. Desire races through my body, and my
own breath sounds loud to my straining ears.
“You like the idea of having my cock so deep in your throat that you can’t
take a breath without me, don’t you, little wife?” His long warm fingers
smooth over the skin of my cheek before reaching my jaw and tightening
around it. An edge of pain makes its way across my skin as he pulls me
towards him. The gap rapidly closing between us. “Oh, don’t worry, Stella,
I plan to have my cock deep inside all of your holes, and when I’m done,
you will never forget who you belong to.”
His tongue licks along the side of my jaw, warm and wet, causing
goosebumps to break out across my body and a traitorous moan to leave my
lips before I can stop it. My hands trail across the soft fabric of his dress
pants, feeling the thick, strong muscles beneath. I grab a fist full of the
material on his thigh in order to ground myself. His lips move down my
neck, rotating between soft kisses, licks, and his teeth scraping along my
heated flesh. I tilt my neck, giving him further access without a thought.
He’s creating a volcano of heated lava inside of me. One that begs to erupt
and takes us both to the unrelenting void of hell and heaven combined. With
Jaxon Stratford, there will never be just one pinnacle to reach..
“You belong to me, Stella. I escaped the fucking darkness and near death to
return to you. There is a hole near my heart that has your fucking name on
it. You will stop trying to manage and control me. I am not your enemy; I
am your keeper.” A deep groan leaves his lips as he bites down on the
sensitive flesh of my ear lobe, causing my back to arch and a gasp to leave
my parted lips. My pussy is spasming and weeping for him. His touch and
words are an enticement that it does not want to resist. “This pretty cunt is
mine, Stella.”
My breath comes out wispy and faltering. My nipples are two hard pebbles
in my bra, and my panties are soaked. How can he do that to me with just
his words and lips on my ear? The rasp of his voice and the threat in his
tone has me almost bending to his will. I want him with a desperation that I
reserve for only one thing…power.
I crave power and control. The two items that will have me determining and
managing my own future. Jaxon would have me giving up both to have a
taste of him between my thighs. Why can’t we have both? Power and
Jaxon? My mind questions with a faltering breath.
I pull back until his lips are forced to part from my heated flesh, and I can
look into his graphite gaze. “I belong to no one but myself, Jaxon. If you
returned from death at my call, it must mean that you belong to me.” I let
my fingers skate up the fabric of his chest, reaching the open neckline of his
shirt and slowly unbuttoning the first two buttons, then the next. I watch,
transfixed, as his powerful throat struggles to swallow, and his breathing
quickens as I unbutton another two buttons until his shirt is almost wholly
opened and gaping before me, and all his beautiful golden skin and the ink
along his ribs are exposed.
My fingers skim over his warm flesh, which pebbles with goosebumps at
my touch. When I reach the pink puckered bullet wound in his chest, I
slowly slide my finger over it—admiring the texture and the sacrifice this
man made for me. That bullet went straight through but caused so much
damage. He almost died because of it, because of me.

OceanofPDF.com
24

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Only a struggle twists sentimentality and lust together into love.”

E. M. Forster

I LEAN FORWARD, MY lips gently touching the mark as his breath

leaves him in a shuddering gasp, and I feel his body tighten. The tip of
my tongue traces over the freshly soft, pink skin as his hands shift up my
back. One of his fists makes it into the hair at my nape, and his fingers
tighten around the strands, a small whimper leaving my lips at his harsh
treatment.
I breathe in his scent and lean more of my body towards him until I am half
out of my seat, half-standing before him. My hand slides down his waist
and over his strong and lean hip, following the groove between where his
leg encounters his pelvis. My fingers meet and stroke over his hard cock,
tenting the material of his pants and marking its presence and demand to be
unleashed known.
I slowly wrap my fingers around his fabric-encased girth, a shudder running
through him as a growly moan leaves his lips. “Unzip me, Stella. I want to
feel those fingers wrapped around my skin.” For a brief moment, I hesitate.
My heart is beating rapidly in my chest, my senses all filled with nothing
but Jaxon. My mind is at war with my desire for him. I should pull back
from what is happening here. I should deny him and myself; nothing good
can come from giving in to him other than a fleeting moment of pleasure. I
refuse to be one of those simpering women that become dickmitized. I don’t
care how long and thick Jaxon’s cock is; I am not going to be controlled by
it.
He almost died for you. My brain screams with frustration. The thought has
me closing my eyes tight and once again kissing the soft spot on his chest.
The one that will forever be a symbol of his heroic action. There has to be a
way that I can make it up to him and honor his sacrifice without losing my
power to him. I can control myself; I just have to be firm with Jaxon. I have
to keep my head focused and my heart out of our shared moments. This can
just be about mutual gratification. I can pleasure him and myself without
ceasing my control or power.
I slowly unzip his pants, and warm flesh greets me. Fuck me; this man did
not come here, commando. I trail my fingers along his length, tracing my
finger over the wide, velvety crown that is wet with moisture. His cock
jumps at my touch, and a gasp leaves his lips. My fingers wrap around his
girth, and they aren’t even enough to cover half the length of his cock. A
moan escapes my lips as I realize how my body would have to stretch to
encompass him, and the needy slut inside of me can’t wait to feel the burn. I
move my hand up and down for a few deep strokes; pulling back from his
cock, I lean my face forward and spit on his cock, then retighten my grip on
the upstroke as little animalistic grunts leave his lips.
“That’s it, my little viper, tighter. Show me how you enjoy taking control of
my cock.”
My eyes leave his cock and make their way across Jaxon’s face. I admire
the blush across his high cheekbones, the way his lips are parted and slack,
and his eyes are at half mast, filled with pleasure. His hips move forward
into my grasp, forcing my strokes to be tighter and longer. His other hand
reaches out and caresses my breast through the soft fabric of my shirt,
which does nothing to disguise how hard my nipples are. The desire to
watch him come undone before me fills me; it’s a craving that I don’t want
to deny.
“I want to see all this creamy skin, Stella. I want to taste the perfection of
your soft skin and leave my marks all over you so that when you look at
yourself, you realize who owns you.” His hand tightens on my breast and
pulls at the fabric of my blouse, sending buttons flying everywhere with his
rough handling. “That you are a Stratford, and the only man that will ever
touch you is me.”
Suddenly his hand leaves my breast, and his fingers encircle my throat,
tightening his grasp until my breath is trapped in my throat. I try to pull
back from the hold, but he just tightens it further in warning. His words are
gritted through clenched teeth, and my grip on his cock tightens.
“There will be no other men, Stella. Not fucking Ajax or any other fool that
tries to convince you to leave me.” My face is going red, and I’m starting to
see white spots in front of my eyes. “I will slit your fucking throat if you are
ever even slightly swayed. Then follow you into hell because even the devil
can’t have you. You’re mine.” I can’t take my eyes off of his enraged face,
the menace and promise of violence and danger in his features. “Do you
understand me, Stella?”
I release my hold on his thick hard cock, and I wrap both my hands around
his wrist and pull, hoping to dislodge his hold. I can feel the darkness
calling me; my chest is so tight with the air trapped inside me. I slap at his
grasp, but other than making a sharp sound, it does nothing to release his
hold. I believe he might kill me for a moment, that he’s lost control. I’m
fumbling on the desk, trying desperately to grab onto anything I can use to
break his hold. My fingers grasp the blade's hilt, tightening around its rough
material. I quickly slide it up against his chest and point the sharp edge
against his skin. I watch as he realizes that I have a blade to his heart. His
grip releases until his fingers are just merely encircling my throat, stroking
my delicate and bruised flesh as a raspy breath enters my lungs, and I
swallow the saliva that had pooled in my mouth.
“You would stab the heart that barely survived the last attempt to save
you?” His voice sounds bleak and weathered as his head lowers until he’s
staring at the blade in my tight fist. Sorrow fills me with his pain-filled
words. I watch as my hand trembles, holding the blade, the tip against his
skin, causing a bead of blood to rise along its surface. A few meager inches
to the right and I would be right over the healing bullet wound. I watch,
entranced, as a drop of blood races down his golden skin and disappears
into the fabric of his shirt, another bead of blood rising to replace it. “Have I
not shed enough blood for you, Stella? Would you have more?”
His hand grabs the blade hilt still in my grasp, and he tightens his fingers
over it, pushing the tip deeper into his skin. A sharp exhale leaves his lips,
and a cry leaves mine as we both watch more of his lifeblood drip down his
chest. His other hand releases my throat, and his fingers run through the
trickles of blood now coating his abdomen. He slides them through the
bright red mixture and raises them to my parted mouth, outlining my
shocked lips before slipping his finger in between them. “Taste what I am
willing to sacrifice for you, Stella, so you understand that there is nothing I
won’t do to have you, no length I won’t go.”
The rich taste of salty copper fills my mouth, and my tongue lashes at his
finger, cleaning off all of his life-giving fluid. My eyes raise to his heavy,
pewter ones, fringed with long dark lashes. His eyes widen and gleam as
my lips close over his flesh, and I suck deeply. My hold on the blade
loosens until he pulls it away from his chest. My eyes meet the small cut on
his chest, and the urge to lick him there, to claim him in such an animalistic
way, fills me. I move my lips away from his finger and slide my tongue
across his chest, licking up the small drops that remain on his golden skin.
“Fuck, Stella. You will be my undoing.”
His hand grabs onto my mine, and he lifts it to his lips. His soft, warm lips
make contact with the palm of my hand before his tongue is sliding across
its surface, and a growl of satisfaction leaves his mouth. I look away from
the perfect expanse of his chiseled chest and meet his eyes that sparkle with
desire and the need to consume me. His tongue peeks out once again, and I
notice that he has blood on his lips, blood from the palm of my hand. I must
have sliced it as I grappled with the blade. He eagerly licks, groaning in
satisfaction as if he is eating the finest of desserts, before he pulls back and
stares at me. His handsome features are filled with hunger and desire. I no
doubt am mirroring the same look back at him.
His hand strikes out and yanks the ripped shirt from my shoulders, causing
it to slide down my arms and trapping me as he pulls on the fabric and
forces my arms behind my back. His other hand grabs a fist full of my hair
at the top of my head and pulls me forward until I am bent at the waist, and
my mouth is inches from his proud hard cock. He doesn’t utter a command,
just tightens his hold on my strands and pushes my head closer until the
beads of precum coat my lips like some macabre lip gloss. I open my lips
wide as the crown of his cock slips into my wet mouth. The taste and feel of
him hitting my tongue has my knees almost buckling. His hold tightens on
my arms, forcing me to remain where he wants me. Controlling me, like he
does indeed own me.
I trace my tongue over his slit and down the ridges of his thick head,
sucking on the very tip until a moan leaves his lips. I let my tongue stroke
over the large vein on the side of his thick dick, lashing it over and over. He
allows me to have my way for a moment, learning his taste and the feel of
all that hardness in my mouth before he starts a slow rhythm of stroking
into my mouth. The thick head hits the back of my throat, and I gag, saliva
filling my mouth along with his heady taste. My eyes water as he picks up
speed and force, hitting the back of my throat and going deeper with each
stroke. Loud and vicious choking sounds fill the room, along with his soft
growls. The combination of the sounds helping to edge me towards an
orgasm of my own. Fuck, if I could just get my fingers under my skirt and
on my clit, it wouldn’t take much to make me explode. The noises he and I
are making are a symphony of erotic passion and sweet music to my ears.
“That’s it, my little viper, milk me, suck me down hard.”
I have never enjoyed giving head and gagging on cock like I am right now.
My few experiences with Ajax were never like this, never all-consuming
and filled with molten heat. I never allowed anyone to manhandle me like
Jaxon is doing and certainly never thought that I would enjoy and crave the
rough and forceful way he is making me suck his cock. Jaxon’s punishing
grip on my hair is ripping out strands of my hair. The air is momentarily
trapped in my throat every time he forces his cock deep into my throat. The
feel of the tears sliding down the side of my face and saliva pooling on my
chin. It’s degrading, forceful, controlling, and sexy as fuck the way he’s
forcing me to take his cock, without questioning if I want him. I would
never willingly put into words how much I want and need this, but that’s the
thing about Jaxon; he somehow knows.
“What a good little slut you are gagging on my cock; look at the mess
you’re making of yourself.” He drags a finger along the side of my
stretched lips and down my chin, running the digit through the spit that is
trickling out of my too-full mouth. “Mine!”
He pushes my head down hard until my nose is flush against his pubic
bone, forcing me to take as much of him as I can down my tight throat and
holding me there so that I can’t push back up. I struggle in his grasp,
choking on his length, desperation for air filling me. A loud groan leaves
his lips as his cock spasms deep in my throat, and warm salty cum fills my
mouth. I try to swallow as much as I can around his thick cock, but there is
no way I can swallow enough, and it slips out of my mouth and down the
side of my face. “Swallow me down, my ice queen whore; every drop is
yours.”
When he finally stops shuddering, he pulls my mouth off of his cock with a
pop, threads of spit and cum trailing between his hard dick and my swollen
lips. How the fuck is he still hard? I barely get the question in my mind
before I’m face down on the desk, and Jaxon is moving behind me, his grip
still tight on my arms and his movement so quick that I don’t even have
time to register what is happening.
He grips the hem of my skirt, throwing it up and over my lower back, and
his strong, rough hand pulls my panties down off my ass. I feel them pool at
my ankles before he forces me to step out of them with his tight grip on my
thigh. His knee slides in between my thighs, forcing them to part and my
feet to widen my stance. His fingers caress softly over the inside of my
thigh, rising higher and higher until he meets the soft wet skin of my pussy
lips.
“This cunt is soaked, Stella. Is it craving my hard cock deep inside? Does it
want me to claim this needy pussy?” His warm labored breath pants near
my ear, causing a shudder to go through me. His finger slips through my
moisture and makes its way up to my puckered hole. “Maybe you want me
to fuck this tight little hole and stretch you wide, my little whore.” He rubs
his finger over and over across my tight hole as I clench my ass cheeks. His
hold on my arms releases suddenly, but before I can lift my upper body off
the desk, a harsh slap rings out across the space, and the flesh of my right
ass cheeks feels like it’s on fire.
“JAXON!” The shriek leaves my lips with shock.
“Did you know I wanted to murder you and my best friend, Stella? That I
heard every fucking word.” Slap. “That I knew you had been alone with
him. Were you planning to betray me, little wife?” Slap. His finger pushes
slightly into my puckered hole, a sharp pain tears through me, and a cry
leaves my lips at the strange feeling of being filled back there. Jaxon slaps
my other ass cheek hard, causing fire to be branded across my skin. “All
your holes belong to me, Stella, and I plan to fill them with so much of my
cum that you will never be empty.” Slap. “You will never be rid of me, my
dirty little slut.”
Tears are sliding down my face and landing on the hard surface of my desk.
The pain is euphoric, causing my breathing to pick up and electricity to race
through my body. My clit is throbbing and begging to be touched. Jaxon
slips the finger in my ass further inside of me and starts a slow rhythm of
fucking my puckered hole with it. “Jaxon…oh my God.” The words leave
my lips in a moaned cry.
“Tell me who you belong to?” The ringing sound of another slap on my
heated flesh is music to my ears. I have never been this turned on in my life.
I can feel my moisture slipping down my pussy lips and coating my upper
thighs and probably leaving a wet spot on the desk. I bite down hard on my
bottom lip to try to quiet my cries.
“Tell me, Stella, who does this ass and cunt belong to?” He slides another
thick finger into my ass, stretching me further. Another hit of pain races
through me, yet as he plunges deeper and starts thrusting in and out of my
tight hole, he has me seeing stars. My body tightens painfully, aching for
the release that Jaxon is just keeping out of my reach.
I can feel bliss just within my reach. A part of me just wants to give in and
let him use me like the wanton whore I am when he takes charge of my
pleasure. The other part is feeling defiant and wanting to push him over the
edge, so he, too, loses control. I have a feeling Jaxon Stratford completely
unhinged and consumed by pleasure, will be my favorite version of him.
“Myself, Jaxon,” I mumble through the pain of another slap.

OceanofPDF.com
25

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Women have to be extremely careful about choosing something that

they consider an act of defiance that can really be used to further their
enslavement.” Alice Walker

“Y OU DEFIANT LITTLE ICE queen. I should fuck you in this

tight hole, teach you what it truly means to be owned and used.”
I’m losing control of myself. Stella’s warm flesh and scent pushing me
close to the edge of insanity and reason. Her puckered hole tightening
against my fingers as I fuck her ass with them. The soft red flesh of her ass
cheeks just begging me to sink my teeth into them. Fuck, I want to mark her
up, leave my teeth as a tattoo across her beautiful creamy skin.
Her defiance even now, while I have her spread face down across her office
desk, amazes me and pushes me forward to take from her delectable little
body all that I can. She won’t relinquish control without a fight, even
though she enjoys it when I take it by force from her. Her soaked cunt is
proof of that. As are the moans of pleasure that are leaving her lips with
each slap of my palm on her soft skin.
Prickles of heat are racing across my skin as I push my fingers as deep as
they will go inside of her, and a soft, mumbled cry leaves her lips.
Controlling and dominating Stella is a longing I can not seem to deny
myself. “I wish you could see my fingers thrusting deep inside this ass,
Stella. How beautifully you clench them.”
A groan leaves my throat as I spit down in between her ass cheeks,
watching as it travels between her crack and inside her tight hole that I’m
stretching. Fuck, I want to shove a third finger in there and make it gape for
me, stretch her wide so that my thick cock can fit inside of her. I let spit
leave my mouth again and watch as her hole swallows it as I slide another
finger inside her ass. A desperate moan escapes her lips, and her neck bows,
her forehead pressed against the top of the desk. Fuck I wish I had a collar
to wrap around it so I could choke her out as I spank and fuck her holes. We
definitely need to get her a collar for the future.
My cock is rock hard and begging to be included in the fun. Precum is
dripping from the tip and sliding down her creamy thighs, coating them
with the part of me that I desperately want to see leaking out of her. Fuck, I
want to cover her in my cum! Squirt all over her body and in every one of
her holes. The thought has me pushing the crown of my cock between her
swollen pussy lips. I slide back and forth through her wetness, bumping her
clit each time I stroke forward. Little moans leave her lips as she begs under
her breath, my name a symphony on her lips. “Jaxon...Jaxon…oh my
God…Jaxon.”
My fingers continue to fuck her clenching hole and I trail my other hand
over her thigh, squeezing the soft skin before moving around her body and
rubbing her hard nub. A sharp cry leaves her lips and fills me with deep
satisfaction and hunger. I need more of that fucking sound. I need to hear
her scream my name.
Stella cumming and deeply enthralled by the desire my body can create in
her is my new favorite music. I wonder if she even realizes that she’s saying
the word “Please” repeatedly, like a prayer. One that is filled with
desperation from the vortex of pleasure and emotions I’m creating in her.
Her body arches and pushes back into the feel of my cock at her entrance,
the tip barely breaching her tight hole each time I shift forward. I slide
forward an inch, a groan leaving my lips as her pussy tightens around the
head of my cock. “Please, Jaxon…please! I need you!”
Her moans and cries are my undoing. I wanted to be gentle with her the first
time I fucked her. My good intentions go out the window when I feel her
ass clench down hard on my fingers as more of my throbbing dick makes its
way inside her wet channel. My forefinger and thumb pinch down on her
little nub, and I propel the rest of my long length inside of her in one go.
“Shit, you’re so fucking warm and tight!” I hit the end of her and bottom
out inside of her. My balls slap loudly against her perfectly plump pussy
lips and cause my fingers to slip deeper into her puckered hole. A strangled
cry leaves her lips, and her core clenches me so tightly that sweat breaks out
all over my body. She tries to push back, to dislodge my hold on her and my
cock’s deep intrusion. “Too much! Fuck Jaxon! Please! You’re going to tear
me in half! Fuck, get it out!”
Her cries of pain amuse me, and a chuckle leaves my lips as I fuck her in
deep strokes, her body both welcoming me and trying to push me out. She’s
so wet I can feel her arousal dripping down my balls. “That’s it, baby,
baptize me in your fire, strangle my cock.”
Her pussy is so hot and tight; my dick feels like it’s in a tight vise. I can feel
my cock moving inside her with my fingers in her puckered hole. The thin
membrane between her pussy and ass allowing me to feel each stroke and
non-stop spasms in her pussy. I pull my body back slightly so I can watch
where our bodies are connected and how my cock slides inside of her,
drenched in her wetness. She’s creaming for me, her arousal coating my
dick, and what a beautiful sight it is. A growl leaves my lips, and I bare my
teeth. No one will ever take this away from me.
“Jaxon…holy…fuck!” She’s panting hard, her body shaking underneath
me. I drive into her with deep, hard strokes, making sure she feels the entire
length of my cock with each thrust in her tight hole, hitting the end of her
and knowing that she’s mine. “Jaxon…fuck. I can feel you so deep…omg
too deep!” She moans.
I can feel her core tightening further, her pussy spasming and getting ready
for the orgasm that is about to take her. My strokes become harsher and
rougher until we are moving the heavy desk across the room with our
motion. The sound is loud and jarring, combining Stella’s screams and my
moans. My cock is impaling her in deep strokes as she pushes back to meet
my thrusts. I don’t doubt that everyone outside her office can hear her
moaning and crying out. The thought that we have an audience spurring me
on to fuck her even harder. I want them to know I’m fucking her, that every
part of her is mine.
I drape myself over her, my slick skin meeting hers, my lips connecting
with the side of her face and I lick up all the salty tears that are skating
down her face. God, she is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen when
she cries. My lips greet hers in an open mouth kiss that threatens to
consume me and drag me under. I pinch her clit one more time, and she
explodes, squirting all over my hand and cock. I swallow her cries into my
mouth, her body clenching hard and dragging me into another orgasm with
her. My cock throbs and spurts hot cum deep inside of her warm cunt. It
feels like I have entered heaven at this moment, and I never want it to be
over. I never want to leave this paradise.
I rest all my weight over her, crushing her into the table. My heart rate is
through the roof, and I can’t really catch my breath. Fuck, I am starting to
see prisms of light before my eyes. Maybe fucking Stella this hard after
almost dying wasn’t the smartest thing I have ever done. Totally fucking
worth dying over. My mind whispers contently back at me. I try to take
calming breaths through my nose and exhale through my mouth.
My fingers are still knuckle deep inside of Stella’s tight ass, and my cock is
experiencing the most delicious aftershock spasms inside her clamping
pussy. She’s breathing hard too; her eyes are closed, and her body is
completely flattened against the desk.
“Jaxon…please don’t die inside me.” Her voice is light and filled with
humor. I raise my head slightly to stare down at her causing a wave of
dizziness to hit me. Fuck, that can’t be good. I have no desire to make this
woman my widow, especially now when I have entered heaven between her
thighs.
Once my vision isn’t seeing two of Stella, and I am sure I won’t collapse
back on top of her, I lift my upper body off of her and pull my fingers from
her ass. A moan leaves her lips, and her pussy clamps down on my cock.
I’m already semi-hard again, but I think if I go another round with her right
now, she may get her wish and become a widow. Death by orgasms, what a
way to go…my body cheers loudly.
I pull out of her cunt and move my body entirely off her, stepping back and
falling into the chair behind me. Stella’s pink cunt, is on display before me
and glistens with her own arousal and my cum that is dripping out of her.
Fuck that’s a sexy sight. I roll the chair forward on its wheels and lean
forward using my fingers to spread my cum over her pussy lips and up to
her puckered hole, slipping my cum inside of her there. She cries out, and
her body shakes with the feeling of my fingers once again inside of her.
Fuck I need a taste of her.
I slip the three fingers of my other hand inside her seizing core, and my lips
latch on to her swollen clit, sucking it hard and then using my teeth to graze
the overstimulated bundle of nerves.
“JAXON! FUCK!” Her cries are loud as she thrashes against my fingers
and mouth. I suck harder and fuck her with my fingers, pushing her into
another orgasm. When she detonates, her arousal leaks out of her covering
my face and dripping down my chin, and satisfaction races through me.
“Please…no more! I…can’t! No…more!” She begs and I finally relent,
removing my digits from inside of her. I lean back in the chair, completely
blissed out and feeling like a king that just plundered the kingdom. That
right there is my kingdom, my paradise, and I mean to enjoy it every chance
I get.
I watch with a grin breaking across my face as Stella tries to regain feeling
in her legs, looking like Bambi trying to take her first steps. She falters hard
against the desk, her body trembling, and it causes delicious shivers to skate
across my heated flesh. She’s boneless, ravished, and wholly undone, and I
am a proud peacock for having caused her condition.
She turns towards me, her eyes sparkling with mischief and satisfaction as
she braces herself against the desk. Her skirt lowers so I can’t see her
beautiful cunt, but her breasts are still displayed through the flimsy blouse I
ruined and her sheer bra. The desire to slip my semi-hard dick between the
two creamy globes fills me, but just as I move to grab her, a sharp pain
racks my chest. Fuck, what was that? Was that my heart? Well, you did
almost die a fucking month ago, you savage heathen. Then you rutted your
wife like a goddamn animal—my mind sneers.
“Jaxon, are you alright?” Stella’s hands land on either side of my face,
concern races across her stunning features, and fear is immediately evident
in her arctic eyes. I know her being scared shouldn’t fill me with fucking
joy, but it does. What the hell is happening to me? How did this woman get
so far under my skin?
“I’m fine, beautiful.” I wrap my arms around her body and pull her towards
me so my lips can meet hers in a tender kiss. When I break the kiss after a
few moments, a pink blush is across her cheeks, and her lips are swollen
and red. She pulls back, taking a few steps, sitting atop the desk, and staring
back at me. Whatever she is going to say is one hundred percent about to
piss me off. I can already tell she is reigning in her emotions and putting up
her frosty walls.
I pull myself to my feet, happy that the dizziness has subsided, and I don’t
immediately fall on my ass. Before she can open her little viper mouth and
take some of the glow off our amazing fucking sex, I kiss her lips and move
away from her, tucking my cock back into my pants as I shift towards her
office door.
“Where the fuck are you going, Jaxon?” She calls out with annoyance. A
grin crosses my lips at her tone. I love it when Stella is angry and annoyed
at me. I look forward to enraging her over and over for the rest of our lives
together. Another sharp pain in my chest seizes me, and I almost falter in
my steps toward her door. For however long that may be, I look forward to
make up sex with my little ice queen. Better be a fucking long time, I’ve
only just begun claiming and leaving my marks on her body, don’t you quit
now, motherfucker, I admonish to my heart.
I look back just as I open the door and stare at the disheveled and satiated
mess that is my wife. “I’m off to plunder the rest of my kingdom, little wife.
Make sure you return home early tonight. I feel like enjoying more of my
spoils with that pretty cunt of yours.” I walk out the threshold of the door
and turn back around. She’s standing there with her hands on her hips,
looking irate and like she wants to throw something at me. Maybe even the
damn blade in my back. “Little viper, there will be no more separate rooms
from this moment forward.”
Then I walk away, My shirt still wide open and blood drying on my chest,
passing the shocked face of her assistant and the smirk on the face of the
armed guard, who both no doubt heard me loudly fucking and spanking my
wife. I wink at her fucking assistant and lick my lips obnoxiously until a red
flush appears on his clean-shaven cheeks. That’s right motherfucker; she
belongs to me. All in all, this has been a glorious fucking day.
Just one more stop before I can head home. I need to teach a traitor about
touching my fucking prized possession.

OceanofPDF.com
26

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“I have learned to hate all traitors, and there is no disease that I

spit on more than treachery.” Aeschylus

A S I WALK THROUGH the front door of my house, the house I share

with my asshole husband that left me boneless this afternoon,
anticipation is sizzling in my veins. The thought of seeing Jaxon after this
afternoon’s activities and his promise of more enjoyment has kept me
company and distracted all afternoon. It didn’t help that he left me filled
with cum, pantiless and in utter disarray. I had to ask Tyson to grab me
another shirt, as mine was utterly ruined.
The embarrassed look on his face when he presented me with a new shirt
had my blood pressure rising. I don’t want men looking at me with sly
smirks or knowing that I was a brazen whore for Jaxon. You were a brazen
whore, you even let him fuck you with his fingers up your ass, and you
enjoyed it. You cummed over and over like his very own porn star. The snide
bitch in my head replies.
Shit, the memory of the feeling of his fingers and that hard long cock inside
of me has me clenching my thighs tightly. I should be embarrassed, never
mind, I should be horrified with myself, but all I care about right now is
getting more of that hard dick pounding that Jaxon teased me with. He has
created a fiery need inside me, one I mean to satisfy with his long cock.
“Mrs. Pox?” I call out loudly. Usually, the staff is present the minute I pull
into the driveway at night. Tonight seems to be an exception; where are
they? Did Jaxon send them all off tonight so we could have the estate to
ourselves? Maybe he plans to fuck me in every room of the house. A
whimper leaves my lips at just the possibility. I should try to show some
damn restraint. I saw the way he looked pained after he fucked me so hard
across my desk.
The one I will never be able to sit at again without picturing myself getting
pounded into. The one I had to have Tyson and the guard move back into
place with complete mortification as it was almost across the room when
Jaxon finished with me.
I need to rein in my desire and needs. Jaxon is just barely out of the woods
from his injury and heart attacks. The doctor said no strenuous activity for
two months, yet I let him rut into me like a lion marking his territory this
afternoon, and I want more, so much more. Maybe he can lie back and let
me take over all the hard work tonight? A smile crosses my face at the
anticipation of the power and control that will give me over him. I’ll ride
him into the fucking ground and cum all over his face again. I can’t wait to
watch the heat rise in his dark gray depths as I take charge of our intimacy.
Maybe he’ll even let me tie him up?
“Fergus?” I call out but get no response. I climb the stairs to the master
suite, needing to get out of these clothes and have a shower before anything
more happens with Jaxon tonight. I enter the bedroom, slipping my heels
from my feet, and come to a dead halt.
What greets me has shock racing across my face and my mouth hanging
wide open. Ajax is gagged and tied to a wooden ladder-back chair next to
my bed in my bedroom. His face is battered and bleeding. One of his eyes is
partially swollen shut. His clothes are torn and bloody in various places,
and he’s struggling fiercely in his bindings.
If that wasn’t enough of a horrifying sight, Jaxon is sitting across from him
on the edge of my bed with a glass of red wine in one hand and a bloody
knife in the other. Jesus fucking Christ, he’s lost his mind!
“What the fuck is this, Jaxon?” I question and move further into the room.
Fear is sliding up my back and my brain is trying to comprehend what it’s
seeing. What the hell is happening here? Has he completely lost it now?
“This, my lovely viper, is called retribution.” Jaxon snarls and takes a deep
sip of wine, looking relaxed as if he doesn’t have a man bleeding and tied to
a chair next to him. “My best friend here tried to take something of mine. In
fact, he tried to do more than that, didn’t you, Ajax?”
As I move closer, I realize that Ajax’s left hand is hanging limply and oddly
in his lap, and all four of his fingers are broken and bent backward. Holy
shit! I have to swallow back the cry and the feel of immediate nausea at
their grotesque appearance.
“Release him, Jaxon. Have you lost your fucking mind?” I scream and
move towards Ajax to try to release his bindings.
“I wouldn’t touch him if I were you, Stella, unless you want to see me break
more of him before we have our fun. Every piece of your delicate flesh that
comes into contact with his will have me carving his flesh right off of him.”
His words have me stopping in my tracks and staring wide-eyed at a
screaming Ajax. His cries are muffled by the thick gag in his mouth. Tears
trickle down his battered face, and his brown eyes plead with me to help
him. I don’t know what to do here. Jaxon has obviously lost his mind. He’s
behaving unhinged and possessive again, and I genuinely fear for what else
he will do to Ajax and what end result he’s trying to achieve.
“This is sick, Jaxon; you’re deranged. You can’t hold him here like this.
You can’t punish him like this for trying to take me from you.”
Jaxon stands and moves towards me, a graceful predator, the blade still
grasped tightly in his hand. He discards the wine glass on the side table,
where I notice another one is already poured, and the bottle is placed. Is he
really enjoying a glass of wine while his best friend bleeds before him? I
don’t know what to make of this Jaxon before me. Should I be afraid that
he’s going to hurt me next in his quest for retribution? Have I married a
psychopath, after all?
“You see, little ice queen, I can hold him here like this, and I can punish
him. In fact, he has gotten off lightly so far. My blood is calling for further
vengeance, and it will have its price. He tried to take something of mine not
only with his words, not only by trying to convince and seduce you, Stella
but with his reprehensible actions.“ He trails his warm fingers down my
cheek, cupping my jaw and leaning forward, his breath skating across my
lips. “He almost took your life with his callous actions, and that Stella, is
unforgivable. Your. Life. Belongs. To. Me. Alone.”
My gaze is riveted on Jaxon’s strong jaw and Roman nose, the way he parts
his full lips, and the swirling anger in his dark slate eyes. His hand wraps
around the back of my neck, and his fingers tighten, pulling me forward
into his hard chest. His firm lips land on mine, forcing mine to part for him
and give him entry to plunder my mouth. For a moment, I lose track of my
very wits and kiss him back, small whimpers leaving my open mouth with
how thoroughly he kisses me. My temperature is rising, and my nipples are
puckering in my bra. Jaxon pulls back from the kiss and trails small open-
mouthed kisses along my jaw and down my neck, shivers and goosebumps
rising everywhere he lingers.
My eyes meet Ajax’s tortured ones over Jaxon’s shoulder, and I return to
myself, pushing Jaxon away from me. He takes a step back, a smirk of glee
on his face; then he turns to stare at Ajax. “Explain what the hell is going on
here, Jaxon. If you have done all of this in a jealous rage, you have wasted
your time.”
“Oh, Stella.” He sighs deeply and takes a step back away from me and
closer to Ajax. Ajax whimpers and flinches in the chair the closer Jaxon
moves towards him while still holding the blade in his hand. “You always
think of me as the villain, don’t you?” He slides the blade's edge down
Ajax’s cheek, and tears cascade down his face. “This time, though, I am not
the heinous villain you portray me as. I’m not a saint either, but I will be
your avenging angel in this instance.”
He yanks the gag down from Ajax’s mouth until it sits just below his jaw
and places the sharp blade across his Adam’s apple. “You get one chance to
confess to her what you did. If you try to stray from the whole truth, I will
slit your fucking throat like a pig at the slaughterhouse and then fuck my
wife in your blood.”
Ajax stares up at Jaxon with resentment and rage across his damaged
features. “You’re a psycho; you don’t deserve her.” He mumbles, and I
watch as a smile breaks across Jaxon’s face. He brings the blade next to
Ajax’s ears and trails the tip into his flesh until blood wells up and tricks
down Ajax’s neck. A cry leaves Ajax’s lips and has my shoulders
tightening. “I warned you, didn’t I? To stop being a fucking coward. Tell
her the truth!” Jaxon roars.
Ajax turns his gaze away from Jaxon and meets mine. The look of abject
fear and distress across his face. His eyes beg me for forgiveness, but for
what, I am not yet sure. Realization hits me and has my breath stuttering in
my chest; he’s not just scared of Jaxon and his unhinged behavior. It’s what
Jaxon is about to reveal to me that has him truly frightened.
I take a step forward towards the two men, both at this point earning my
suspicions. I don’t know what to think about what is happening here, but I
have the sense that whatever is going to be revealed will devastate me.
“What does he mean, Ajax?” My words are uttered softly, but there is ice
present below their tone.
Sweat breaks out across Ajax’s forehead, and he gulps loudly. A lone tear
trickles down his cheek, sliding down his blood-smeared jaw and
disappearing into his blotchy neck. Ajax licks his bloodied and busted lips
and stares at me with fear and trepidation. “I…I…never.” His voice stutters,
and he tightens his lips closed into a straight line. Jaxon pushes the blade's
tip back into his skin, and a whimper leaves his mouth.
“I...I never meant for you...to get hurt.” Jaxon’s fist connects with the side
of Ajax’s chest with a hard thud. A grimace and a groan make their way to
Ajax’s lips. “You were never supposed to get hurt...” He takes a deep gulp,
and Jaxon punches him again, this time causing his air to wheeze out of his
mouth, “not…more… than... a scratch.”
“What are you talking about, Ajax?” Dread fills the pit of my stomach. He’s
looking at me with such despair that I feel it right in my own bones. I’m
frozen to the spot, unable to move or walk away from the site before me.
“Tell her, you fucking, dirty cunt.” Jaxon grits between his teeth, the wrath
flashing across his face has me taking a step back.
Ajax’s eyes flash in a moment of anger and spite toward Jaxon’s before
returning to mine. “The gunman…he was never supposed to hurt you. He
was just there to…scare you. To scare you to…leave with me.”
My legs threaten to give out on me at the words tumbling from Ajax’s lips.
“What? You…you sent him to scare me? I don’t understand. Why would
you do that? You had…someone shoot at me.” Disbelief is making its way
across my mind as I try desperately to make sense of Ajax’s confession.
A look of shame crosses Ajax’s face, and he can no longer meet my own
horrified gaze. My eyes rise to my husband, whose eyes are two fiery pools
of molten steel, and his jaw is locked in fury. I can feel the current of
electricity and violence between us. He wants to hurt Ajax. No. He wants to
do more than hurt him. He wants his pound of flesh and to destroy him.
“I just wanted you to leave him…Stella. You wouldn’t listen…to reason. I
thought if you realized how…how dangerous being his wife could be... you
would leave him.”
My hands are two clenched fists at my side. My nails dig deeply into the
flesh of my palm as I shift forward until I am no more than a foot or two
away from the two men that both look like unhinged psychopaths before
me. One holding a blade to the other. Who is more dangerous to me here?
The one holding the blade or the one confessing to having someone shoot at
me and strapped to a chair?
“You paid a man to shoot at me Ajax? How could you? He could have
killed me! He almost killed Jaxon!” My hand flies out and my knuckles
meet with Ajax’s nose in an awful crunch. An anguished cry leaves his
swollen lips. “STELLA! Please! Please, I love you! I have always loved
you. He…he was just supposed to graze you. Just to scare you. Jaxon
wasn’t even supposed to be home!” Ajax’s blubbers, blood pouring from his
nostril. “Jaxon seeing him and charging into the room surprised him and his
shot went wide.”
“YOU ALMOST KILLED HIM!” I have never felt so completely filled
with burning anger as I do now. My whole body is trembling, my breath
leaving me in quick pants. I can’t control myself when I slam my fist into
Ajax’s nose once again. It’s not enough though, it doesn’t cause him enough
pain. Not nearly as much as Jaxon suffered. He almost died because this
fool tried to manipulate me and control the narrative. He almost killed his
best friend.
“Stella…I… love…you.”
“Give me the blade, Jaxon. I want to slice him open.” I hold out my palm in
my husband’s direction, my hand vibrating with energy between us.
“No beautiful wife, you will never have to dirty your hands, I will always
be your vengeance.” He moves the blade over the side of Ajax’s head,
cutting off chunks of his hair and nicking his scalp until blood runs in
trickles down the side of his face. He slides the blade down, slicing through
the fleshy part of Ajax’s ear and then across his cheek leaving cuts in his
wake.
Ajax’s screams fill the room, echoing off the walls and causing my stomach
to clench painfully. “Stella please! Have mercy!” Ajax begs loudly as I
watch my husband slice him open, one cut at a time until his face, neck and
head are covered in so much blood that it’s all you see. I should be appalled.
I should be reining Jaxon in and stopping this madness, but I don’t utter a
single word in protest to his actions.
If anything, glee fills me at seeing Ajax’s blood after knowing the horrors
that Jaxon suffered because of his reckless actions. This deranged animal
really thought that I would have run off with him after he had a trained
assassin shoot at me. That I would have been frightened enough to leave my
empire behind and run off into the sunset with him. How fucking pitiful and
weak he must have believed I was. He never valued me; he too saw me as
just a possession to steal for his own.
“She will show you no mercy, you fucker. You could have seriously hurt
her; you could have killed her. You would have rather risked her life so you
could manipulate her than see her have a future with me. I will send you to
the devil for almost taking my queen from me.” A large cut opens on Ajax’s
shoulder blade and blood slides down his chest. “She was always mine. She
will always be mine.” Ajax’s screams are getting louder and Jaxon looks
like he’s losing control of himself. The sound should be frightening to me. I
shouldn’t be standing here watching this. No normal person would just
watch as a man is tediously tortured before them, but I can’t seem to force
the objection to cross my lips or my body to move to stop Jaxon’s actions.
Maybe there was never anything normal about me. Satisfaction, pride, and
lust rushes through me watching my husband carry out painful justice
against someone who tried to hurt me, hurt us. My core clenches and
wetness trickles down my inner thigh, my nipples getting painfully hard
underneath the shirt I’m wearing at every slash of the blade in Jaxon’s hand.
I am so aroused at his anger, at him taking justice into his own hands
against the man that tried to take me from him. His nostrils flare, like he’s
scenting me, like he knows I am aroused at his actions. At the blood of an
enemy coating his hands. Make no mistake, Ajax is an enemy.
“Are you wet Stella?” The question comes out raspy and filled with need as
Jaxon halts the blade’s motion over Ajax’s heaving chest.
I want to dispute that I am, I shouldn’t be turned on by the sight in front of
me, but I can’t. I bite down hard on my lower lip and nod, a deep
animalistic growl leaving Jaxon’s lips.

OceanofPDF.com
27

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Give them pleasure. The same pleasure they have when they wake
up from a nightmare.” Alfred Hitchcock

“U NBUTTON YOUR BLOUSE, REMOVE it and your bra, and

take off your skirt, Stella.“ My command comes out gruff to my
own ears and filled with heat. My cock hardening at the sight of my wife
obviously turned on before me. She’s enjoying the torture and retribution I
am seeking on Ajax’s flesh. The color has risen up the smooth pale column
of her neck and over the creamy soft skin of her cheeks. Her eyes are
luminous and so large that they almost seem to glow with blue fire. She’s
breathing heavily, but I don’t think it has anything to do with her act of
violence or rage. She’s turned the fuck on, and I need a taste, just like a
parched man needs a drink in a desert.
Stella’s eyes are two sapphires sparkling and never leaving mine. I watch
with rapt attention as she unbuttons her silk blouse and then unlatches her
bra, leaving her glorious round breasts loose and on display. Her dark pink
nipples are hard, begging to be sucked and nibbled at in my mouth. She
unzips the skirt, and it pools at her bare feet, leaving her completely naked
before me. I had forgotten that I had taken her panties earlier, and now
seeing her like this makes me so happy I did.
Ajax releases a harsh cry, his head moving back and forth on his neck,
pitiful moans and tears escaping him. He keeps repeating the word “No”
repeatedly, but it falls on deaf ears. “Do you see the perfection that is mine,
Ajax? My wife, my queen, and my whore.” I slam the hard metal end of the
blade into the side of his head. “You tried to take that from me. You tried to
steal what was mine, and now you will fucking suffer.”
I step towards Stella, my hands still covered in Ajax’s blood as I reach out
and squeeze both of her round breasts, pulling on the hard nipples between
two of my fingers on each hand and unleashing a cry of pleasure from her
mouth. The blood leaves fingerprints on her skin against all that creamy
pale flesh and has my cock standing at attention and weeping.
Fuck I should drench her in his blood and then my cum, fucking her over
and over in every one of her tight holes. “Get on your knees, Stella, like my
good little slut, and take my dick into your mouth.” She hesitates for the
briefest of moments, her eyes wide at my command, but my hand reaches
out to yank on her lengthy hair, forcing her down on her knees.
Her breathing leaves her in ragged pants, and a pink flush crosses her
heaving chest. She’s tightening her thighs, rubbing them against each other
in obvious need, seeking friction. A need I plan to fulfill shortly, but first, I
need to make a point to our very captive guest. She lowers herself to her
knees before me and unzips my pants, sliding them down my legs and
removing my shoes, pants, and socks. Her small fingers slide back up my
calves and thighs. Her soft lips following the same path and leaving trails of
kisses in her wake that have the hairs on my body standing on end. A
rumble leaves my chest when her small fingers encase my hard dick. “My
good little whore.” I murmur.
My head falls forward until my chin is on my upper chest, the feeling of her
fingers so exquisite that it makes me tremble in my stance. I grasp onto a
fistful of her hair, yanking on the strands until a small whimper escapes her
lips. I wrap my other hand around her breast, squeezing the fleshy globe
tightly before slapping it hard with the palm of my hand. A moan
breathlessly leaves her lips, and her lungs expand and contract rapidly with
her arousal, causing her breasts to sway before my eyes.
“Did you know that my wife likes to be used like a dirty slut? That she
craves a little pain with her fucking? That degradation excites her and
makes her pussy gush?” A chuckle leaves my lips as Stella’s tongue licks
my length. “I bet you were gentle with her as if she was some fine china
doll and not made for fucking sin.” I slap her other breast with my open
palm; the sound is loud in the room, and a cry leaves her lips as she
continues to use her lips to nuzzle and kiss the veins on my hard cock. Her
lips drag from my base to my tip and back down, where she licks my balls
before sucking one into her mouth.
I yank on her hair and pull her back, and she releases my nut with a plop of
her plump lips. I slide my bloody fingers across her lips, smearing Ajax’s
blood across her mouth and cheek. “Open, my little slut.” I watch with
amusement as she opens her mouth wide, and I spit into it, forcing her
mouth to close with my fingers as she swallows. I drop the knife on the bed
next to us and wrap my other hand tightly around her throat, ensuring that
tomorrow my pretty wife will be wearing a hand necklace in my exact size.
Maybe just maybe, I’ll reward her with a cum one to match.
Her breath leaves her in a sharp gasp that has my tip leaking drops of
precum down my shaft. She opens her lips wide to beg, and I shove my
hard cock to the back of her throat until my lower stomach is flush with her
face. She struggles wildly on her knees, scratching me and trying to pull
away, but my hold on her hair and neck prevents her from moving away
from me. I fuck her mouth hard and with pent-up violence, all the while
watching my best friend’s devastated face with joy.
His world is crumbling around him now, realizing that he never really knew
her this way. This sinful, passionate creature that likes to be taken charge of
and used for pleasure. She was always mine, made for me, even if he had
her first.
I release the hold on her throat and let air make its way back inside of her
with a shuddering and pleasurable gasp. I yank her by the hair to stand up,
my cock slipping from her wet mouth coated in strings of her saliva and my
precum.
“I bet that pretty cunt of yours is drenched, isn’t it my pretty whore?” Her
tongue slips out of her mouth and licks her bottom lip, her blues dilated and
large. “Climb on Ajax’s lap Stella and rub that soaked pussy on his dick.
Let him see what a whore you are. What he missed out on with his sad dick
and kind ways.”
She stumbles as she rises but refuses my hold on her arm, tearing it from
my grasp. Her eyes flash with rancor as they meet and narrow on mine. She
looks like she’s going to slap me hard for my demand that she ride Ajax’s
lap. Her defiance intrigues me; we both know she’s immensely turned on
and that she likes to submit to my brand of control. Have I misjudged her?
She tilts her head, and I read her loud and clear. She will allow me to play
my games for now, but if I push her, I am likely to end up with a blade
pressed up to my own neck.
Her gaze turns away from me and centers back on Ajax, and I watch as the
look of pleasure races across her face. But it’s not pleasure at the thought of
being on the fucker’s lap; it’s the look she gets when she seizes control and
power. She feels powerful right now. Her gorgeous face strips me bare of
oxygen. She’s so sexy and lush, her breasts-tinged pink from my palms,
swaying as she moves. She pauses as she shifts to straddle Ajax, and I see
the look of not only of hunger but also defiance and a giant “fuck you” to
both of us cross her features. Her eyes never leave mine, even as she grinds
on his lap, his hard pant-covered dick rubbing against her clit. For a
moment, rage and jealousy fill me, and my actions backfire on me.
She is fucking mine; I don’t want my cunt touching him. Every part of her
is mine. I watch the pain across Ajax’s face, the way his breath is leaving
through his flaring nostrils, and how hard his jaw is clenching. He wants
her; even seeing that she is my dirty little whore he still wants her.
“Tell Ajax whose dirty cunt that is Stella.” She grinds again on his lap, her
head falling to the side on her shoulder, her dark waves cascading down her
back. A moan leaves her lips as she gasps, “Yours, your whore.” Her full
breasts bounce on her chest with each undulation of her waist on that
traitor’s cock.
I’m losing control, my cock leaking beads of precum, watching her get
herself off on Ajax’s restrained lap. I need to reclaim her, to rein in my
rumbling chaos. The need to drive my cock into that sweet pussy and
reconfirm that she is mine, strumming through my veins and causing an
animalistic rush to pour through me.
“Get on the bed, Stella.” She climbs up, moving slowly, her ass and swollen
cunt on display before us and her creamy breasts bouncing. I grab a fistful
of her loose, rich waves and pull her off Ajax’s lap, roughly pushing her
toward the end of the bed. “Lie on your back and spread your legs wide so
Ajax can see that pretty pink pussy that belongs to me.”
She hesitates, her eyes meeting mine with fire, and I know she’s close to
refusing me. Stella will give me control in sex but only up to a point. Power
calls to her like a seductive mistress, and right now, I am using all of mine
to teach this piece of shit a lesson and to fuck my wife raw, so she never
forgets who owns her.
Will she deny me my right to own her? To show this fucker once and for all
that she is mine in every way? If she’s as intelligent as I know she is, she
had better not. My control is precarious right now. My fury is seething
through me, knowing I am amongst a traitor and a thief. I bare my teeth at
her like a wolf, and a growl rumbles from my chest.
Her eyes dart to Ajax briefly and then down to my erect cock. She bites
down hard on her bottom lip as she leans back slowly and lies on the bed,
opening her legs wide, and bending her knees. Her beautiful bare pussy
glistens in the light with her arousal. Her pussy lips are still swollen from
me fucking her earlier, and what a beautiful sight they are.
I grab the blade off the bed and move towards her, a cry leaving Ajax’s lips
at the movement. Does the fool really think that I would hurt her? Never,
she’s mine in every way, and I have no intentions of damaging her, at least
not permanently.
I slide the handle of the blade over the inside of her thighs and then across
her swollen pussy lips, the metal sliding through her wet slit and getting
coated in her juices. She lets out a little moan, and I slip the end of the
handle into her tight hole, letting an inch and then another sink inside her as
her body locks up tight. She thrashes her head on the bed, her hands fisting
the linens beneath her. I push another two inches inside of her until I am
only holding an inch of the handle and the sharp blade in my hand. I slide it
in and out of her cunt until the whole thing is coated in her juices. “Does
that feel good my dirty little queen?”
A moan rents the air at the same time; a groan leaves Ajax behind me.
“Please, Jaxon, stop this!” Ajax begs. A deranged smile crosses my lips at
how he’s suffering, watching how wet she is for me. How her cunt is
dripping and soaking the bed below her, with how turned on she is. I fuck
her for a few more strokes with the handle, the index finger of my other
hand rubbing tight circles around her nub. Her tight pussy swallows the
handle, and I have to be careful not to slice her with it in my eagerness to
fuck her with it. I pull it out, and her cum soaks it. I move back over to
Ajax, sliding the handle over his lips, coating his mouth with Stella’s cum.
Stella leans up on one elbow to watch me while she tugs on her own nipple.
“Did she ever taste so delicious to you? Was she ever dripping for you like
she is for me?” I can see by his expression and the way he is licking her
taste off his lips that she wasn’t. He didn’t know how to make her wet like
this.
Didn’t know that the fierce, strong, and conservative Stella Stratford gets
off on exhibitionism. That she leaves her fight for feminism at the door
when she wants to get her pussy destroyed. That Stella enjoys the thrill of
getting caught fucking by strangers, pain, and sexual control. She is perfect
in every way for me, and I am going to make sure she can never leave me.
If she ever tries, I will slit her fucking throat.
I slip the blade handle into his mouth, and he sucks her taste off of it with a
greedy groan. Stella watches from her raised elbows, her lips parted, and
her thighs tightening in arousal at me feeding another man her cum. “That’s
as close to my wife’s cunt as you are ever going to get again,
motherfucker.” I pull the handle from his mouth and move back to my wife.
She spreads her thighs wide for me, and I slip two fingers inside of her
warm wet pussy, pumping a few strokes before pulling them back out and
sliding her wetness over my thick cock. I slip three fingers back inside of
her, fucking her hard and stretching her cunt wide, all the while making sure
that Ajax can see her soaked pussy being used by me, stretching and
making her gape for me.
Her breathing is getting ragged, and her hips are undulating and rising
quicker and quicker. She’s close to orgasming for me. My thumb rubs over
her hard, little nub applying a little pressure to create friction and circles on
the little ball of tissue. I pull my soaked fingers back from her cunt and slip
two inside her puckered hole without warning or prep, causing a cry of pain
to leave her lips.
“You never got to feel how tight her puckered hole is, did you, Ajax? It’s so
warm and tight, like a vise. She clenches it so beautifully. Watch how my
thick fingers stretch her.” I taunt him as I fuck her ass with my fingers,
preparing and stretching her for my cock. I’m determined that this fucker is
going to watch me take all of her holes, so that he sees that she is entirely
mine. Tainted and filled by my cum.
I grab the base of my cock and move it to her pussy hole, slipping just the
tip inside of her and coating myself in her wetness. I plunge in hard in one
go, hitting the end of her as a scream leaves her lips and she claws at my
shoulders and back with her nails. My fingers continue to stretch her
asshole wide. My other hand lifts and urges her legs over my shoulders so I
can pound into her warm cunt. “Fuck, her cunt is even tighter like this. My
fingers can feel my cock moving inside of her.”
“Jaxon, oh my God!” Stella cries out, her head thrashing on the bed and her
hands fisting the linens.
“That’s right, baby, I am your god. Pull on your nipples, and stroke that
pretty clit for me, baby.” She does what I ask, and I move my hand from her
clit up to her neck, choking her out. I fuck her cunt in hard strokes that have
her shifting up the bed with each thrust. “Are you going to come for me, my
slut?” I groan at how tight she is, her pussy is clamping firmly even more
around me, and her limbs are locking in place. I watch, amazed as she
comes hard, her breath trapped in her throat against my grip, her eyes
rolling to the back of her head, and her legs tightening around my head. She
cries out repeatedly, and the sound is music to my ears but devastation, no
doubt, to the fucker behind us.
When she finally comes down from her high, I pull out of her pussy and flip
her over onto her stomach, slapping her ass hard and pulling on her hair to
arch her back for me and forcing her to her knees. I slip my face down
between her folds, licking up her delicious cunt, over her clit, and slipping
my tongue in her tight hole before pulling out and licking her puckered
asshole and slipping my tongue inside. I fuck her for a few moments with
just my tongue and then pull back, yanking on her hair until her neck arches
for me and a pained moan leaves her lips. “Open your mouth Stella, nice
and wide.” I spit a wad of saliva, a mixture of her cum, and my cum from
earlier, and the taste of her sweet pussy. “Swallow, my little whore.”
I pull back, hawk up more spit, and let it slide between her two perfect ass
cheeks and hit her puckered hole. My hard cock nudges at the puckered ring
of nerves, and I slip the crown inside. Stella releases a cry of pain and then
a moan, her head falling forward to the bed linens. I push forward until half
my dick is trapped in her tight heat. “I can’t, Jaxon; it hurts, please!” She
thrashes. I push in another inch, and she tightens further around me. I slap
her ass again and again until her body stops fighting me, and my palm is hot
from her flesh.
“You will take all of me, Stella. This ass is mine.” I push forward, sinking
the last couple of inches inside of her until her ass cheeks are pressed firmly
against my abdomen. I thrust slowly, not wanting to tear her, but wanting
her tight ass to adjust to my size. When her cries turn into moans, I thrust
harder, her ass gripping painfully around my thick cock. I know I’m not
going to last long with how warm and tight she is. I need her to go again,
though, before I fill her up with my cum. I reach around and slip three
fingers inside her pussy until she’s impossibly full and strum my thumb
over and over on her throbbing clit.
A few more harsh strokes and her body locks tight again, dots of
perspiration and goosebumps breaking out across her skin, and she screams
into the mattress. I follow her quickly into oblivion, my cock throbbing and
pumping her asshole full of my creamy, thick cum.
When I can finally catch my breath, and my chest doesn’t feel like it will
explode, I pull out of her holes. I stumble off the bed to stand next to my
former best friend, wrapping my arm tightly around his neck as we watch
rivulets of my thick cum drip out of her puckered hole, down her pussy,
coating every part of her and dripping onto our bed. I bend my face next to
my traitorous friend’s, tears dripping down the side of his face.
“Do you see how beautiful she looks, filled with my cum? I’m going to fill
all those holes daily, and eventually, I’ll put a baby in her womb. While
you, you will live with the regret of having lost everything. Your heart, the
girl of your dreams, your best friend, and all of your family’s money. I will
take everything from you like you tried to do to me.” An evil smirk crosses
my face at the look of horror across his face.
“When you have nothing left to lose, Ajax, remember I still have her; she is
mine. Remember, you are watching the rise of an empire before you. My
empire, with my fucking queen.”
Stella sits up, wrapping the duvet around her and looking thoroughly fucked
and ravaged but incredibly uncomfortable now that her passion has been
assuaged. She stares at Ajax, and her emotions are in that mask that she
hides behind. I want entry into that mind of hers. I want to know what she’s
thinking, how she’s feeling. Everything about Stella Stratford interests me; I
will never get enough of her.
“Why the chicken and the spa? Why did you keep trying if you didn’t mean
to hurt me? That masseuse took a knife wound meant for me.” She
questions with a raised eyebrow.
Horror crosses Ajax’s features at her words. “What the fuck are you talking
about, Stella? I never sent anyone other than the idiot to the house who
ended up shooting Jaxon!”
“You didn’t make more than one attempt to scare her or go after her?” I
question, fury rising once again inside of me. I grab his neck and tighten my
grip until he is forced to look away from her and into my eyes. I see nothing
but confusion, concern, and fear there. Shit. He didn’t send anyone else.
“Fuck Stella, there is more than one person after you and I don’t think the
other person is just trying to scare you!” I release my grip on Ajax and
move back to the bed, pulling Stella sharply into my arms, and holding her
tight in my grip as my heart thuds erratically in my chest. Fear races inside
of all of my limbs now that I once again come to the realization that
someone is trying to hurt her.
Someone is trying to take what is fucking mine!

OceanofPDF.com
28

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“True love is like ghosts, which everyone talks about and few have
seen.” Francois de La Rochefoucauld

I MUST HAVE PASSED out after the shower I took when Jaxon left
with a broken, sniveling, and pitiful Ajax. I couldn’t even look at him
as Jaxon dragged him from the room by the hair, and he stumbled about. I
heard his cry of pain on the stairs as Jaxon pushed him forward. He must
have fallen the last couple of steps landing in a disgraced heap at the
bottom.
My stomach recoiled when I rushed out and witnessed how much pain he
was in and how he was begging Jaxon for mercy. A mercy that Jaxon would
not grant him. The look of complete satisfaction across my husband’s face
scared me deeply. Was there a possibility that Ajax wasn’t ever making it
home? Was Jaxon’s rage enough to have him doing something that would
cause irreversible damage?
I wanted to call out to him and ask him not to do something he would
regret, but the words stayed trapped in my throat. The truth is I wanted to
see the destruction he caused. I enjoyed his rage and possession. I craved it,
deep inside of me. I wanted to know that he would burn the world down for
trying to take what he thought was his.
It lit a fire within me and called to me like a seductive lover’s embrace,
wrapping around me tightly until I was warm and safe. I should be worried
that I am starting to think of myself as his, worried that I am as insane as
Jaxon is. That I, too, enjoy the suffering of others that have wronged me.
My mind is still reeling, trying to comprehend all that happened here
tonight. All that I allowed to happen. Would Jaxon have stopped it all if I
had asked him to? Somehow, I know that he wouldn’t have. His need for
vengeance and domination was there right before me and would not be
denied.
I’m still finding it difficult to swallow the knowledge that Ajax hired
someone to shoot at me. Regardless if his intent wasn’t to actually kill me,
only to scare me. Look at what ended up happening with his reckless
behavior; Jaxon almost died of a gunshot wound to the chest. That could
have been me; he could have killed me.
Anger once again surges like molten lava through my body; how could he
have been so stupid? How did he think hurting me was ever going to get me
back? Would I have left Jaxon if I felt I was in danger? All these questions
circulate in my mind in a never-ending cycle.
Then there are the two other matters to wrap my brain around. The first is
that a second person is out there trying to actively harm me. Someone left
the headless chicken on my desk, and someone tried to stab me at the spa a
few weeks ago. Am I dealing with multiple people, or is it just one more
enemy trying to hurt me? Enemies seem to be sprouting out of every corner,
and my mother’s warning echoes back in my mind. “You are making waves
when you should be making ripples.” Is she right? Is this all because I have
taken power, or is it because I have married Jaxon? Could these be his
enemies and not only my own? Does it matter? Any enemy to Jaxon is an
enemy to you, the thought whispers across my mind.
The last matter brings heat to my face at the slightest image of the memory
entering my mind. How wanton I was, allowing Jaxon to fuck me like that
in front of Ajax. To enable him to dominate and control me. To show Ajax
who I genuinely am behind the facade. Jaxon brings out feelings inside of
me that I don’t seem to have a way to control. His ruthlessness and power
call to me like a siren’s song. Some part of me wanted to hurt Ajax badly
for the pain he inflicted on Jaxon and all the stress and worry I had to live
through, not knowing if Jaxon was going to live. Still, I have never lost
control and never behaved submissively before, and now it’s like an
addict’s craving in my blood.
There is no point in trying to delude myself. I enjoyed the whole interaction
a bit too much. For the first time in my life, I let go of the need to control
the situation, the need for power. I allowed my inhibitions to run rampant
and just savored the experience, the intoxication that Jaxon always seems to
put me under. The pleasure that Jaxon produces with every touch, lick, and
caress of my body. The way he takes control of me, never truly giving me
an option in the matter. He used me for his pleasure, knowing that he could,
and it caused electricity to race through me.
The knowledge that we had a captive audience just intensified the whole
situation and made it sexier and more depraved. The pain we caused Ajax
by forcing him to bear witness was incredibly arousing. Knowing that Ajax
was watching Jaxon claim and control me over and over had my orgasms
ripping out of me painfully.
I’m not sure if I should be worried about how readily I succumbed to
Jaxon’s ministrations and commands. A part of me is horrified at my loss of
complete control and the fact that he called me his “dirty little whore,” the
other part of me is clenching my thighs tightly at the memory of his voice
and the look in his gaze as he said it. Am I his dirty little whore? The
thought doesn’t offend me the way it should. If anything, the desire to hear
him utter those words once again is a thrill in my blood.
Light shines through the open curtains that I forgot to draw in my
exhaustion last night. A heavy arm is wrapped around me, and a warm, hard
body is pressed tightly against me in bed. I should be shocked at the feeling
of someone in bed with me, that Jaxon took that liberty without asking me
first. He did warn you after he fucked you raw on your desk, my mind
snickers.
I open my eyes and turn my head to see Jaxon’s face up close and his jaw
nestled into my shoulder, trying to no doubt hide from the daylight
streaming across his gorgeous features. I try to dislodge his arm and move
further away from him in the large bed, but he tightens his grip, pulling me
more snugly against his hard body as a sleepy groan leaves his lips.
The silk nightgown I slipped into last night after showering is doing nothing
to stop me from feeling every rugged ridge of Jaxon’s body, including one
that is currently poking me in my ass cheek. I study his features up close,
starting with his thick dark eyebrows and the long dark full lashes that rest
like soft feathers against his skin. The light freckles spattered across his
straight nose, high cheekbones, and his delectable mouth, with his full
pouty bottom lip and upper lip, parted in sleep. He has the beginning of a
five o’clock shadow across his jaw, and for some reason, I don’t
comprehend. I find his disheveled state incredibly alluring and sexy. The
desire to run my hand across his stubble is heady, and I have to force myself
not to reach out and touch him.
“You keep staring at me so intently, wife. I might get worried you’re not
enjoying what you’re seeing.” His words are rumbled, still coated in sleep,
and he opens both of his eyes to greet mine. The deep gray depth looking
like two bright and shiny circles of silver in the daylight. He lets his lips
rest against the skin of my shoulder in a soft kiss before dragging his lips up
my collarbone and neck, leaving a trail of soft kisses before reaching for my
lips. I melt into the embrace without any thought and have to force myself
to swallow the moans of pleasure that are trying to escape me.
I pull back from him, horrified. “Jaxon, I haven’t brushed my teeth yet!”
My voice comes out shrill and filled with indignation. A chuckle leaves his
lips, and he pulls me even tighter until every inch of my back is pressed up
against his warm skin. “I ate your ass last night, Stella. I think I won’t be
the slightest bit offended if you have morning breath.”
He rolls me underneath his warm heavy body, and bears his weight down,
crushing me into the mattress. His knee parts my legs so he can slip himself
between my parted thighs, his morning wood making itself at home pushing
against my rapidly dampening pussy. His lips drift over mine in a soft kiss,
his tongue tracing my bottom lip before nibbling at it and then pushing
against the seam of my closed lips, requesting entry.
He rolls me underneath his warm heavy body, and bears his weight down,
crushing me into the mattress. His knee parts my legs so he can slip himself
between my parted thighs, his morning wood making itself at home pushing
against my rapidly dampening pussy. His lips drift over mine in a soft kiss,
his tongue tracing my bottom lip before nibbling at it and then pushing
against the seam of my closed lips, requesting entry.
I give in immediately, parting my lips, and his warm tongue meets mine,
causing a groan to leave both our mouths. Warning bells are going off in my
head that we are losing our precious control to this man. There will be no
Stella Stratford left, just Jaxon’s possession if we don’t care. Do we even
know who we are anymore? My mind questions with irritation.
Jaxon and I spend the next few moments kissing deeply like two teenagers
that can’t seem to get enough of each other. He sucks my tongue hard into
his mouth, and a growl escapes his throat that sounds like a wolf about to
devour his prey. Moans and whimpers are loud in the room, and the
temperature rises inside of me with every swipe of his tongue.
An all-consuming feeling rushes through me to submit to him and let him
take me any way he wants. To use and devour me because, in this heated
moment, I am his. We rub against each other, warm flesh against warm
flesh, causing my heart rate to increase. His hard cock pushes against the
silk of my panties until they are soaked, and my core is begging for his hard
dick. “Jaxon…” His name leaves my lips in a moan that has goosebumps
breaking out across my skin.
Jaxon pulls back from me and sits back on his folded legs, pulling the linens
with him until I am lying here spread open in nothing but a flimsy chemise
that covers next to nothing. He’s got a pair of dark gray boxer briefs on and
all that glorious golden inked skin exposed to my view. The Stratford crest
prominent on his chest, the desire to trace with my tongue, is almost
overwhelming. The wound on his chest is the only imperfection visible on
his gorgeous body, and yet, it fits perfectly with the man before me.
He is sexy, powerful, dangerous, and ruthless. All the attributes women
dream of in naughty romance books that have your heart pumping in your
chest. I brace myself on my elbow, letting my fingers run across all the hard
muscles of his chest and abdomen. I know he started working with the
personal trainer again last week to help rebuild some of the muscle he lost
while in the coma and recovering, and it is definitely paying off.
I run my finger lightly over the pink wound before skating it down his chest
across the black swirls of ink and the Stratford crest. I let my red nail graze
over the defined six-pack definition in his stomach and follow his happy
trail of dark hair into the band of his boxers. Leaning forward, I give into
the need to taste his skin and let my tongue trace the outline of the Stratford
crest before pulling back and grinning at him. Goosebumps rise across his
skin in my wake, and his breathing increases, causing his chest to rise and
fall more rapidly. Fuck, he is so sexy, all mused from sleep and desperate
for my touch. A desperation that I, too, feel. I want him, and I won’t pretend
otherwise.
“Are you hungry for my cock, Stella?" He smirks with devilish intent at me.
“Which of your pretty holes needs to be filled first, hmmm baby?”
His crude words and term of endearment have my core clenching painfully
and my nipples perking and hardening. I never realized before, Jaxon, how
sexy a filthy and vulgar mouth could be. He leans down, sucking my nipple
through the silk fabric of my nightgown as my back arches into his touch. A
whimper leaves my lips at how sore I am between my legs, but how much I
crave his cock inside of me. He sucks my right nipple while rolling the
other one between his fingers, then switches to the other one providing the
same treatment.
“Are you sore, baby?” His words are whispered into the flesh of my breast,
and the vibration against my skin makes my nipple throb. I nod my head,
not even sure I can produce words right now with how glorious he is
making me feel. “Good. I want you to always feel me inside of you, so you
know who owns you.”
His cock presses against my barely there panties and pushes against my
throbbing clit. A groan leaves my lips as I run my fingers through his dark
thick hair, pulling on the strands and forcing his head down my body
towards my core. “I need…you, Jaxon,” my voice is breathy as I moan the
words, trying to encourage him to suck on my clit.
“Is your needy cunt throbbing for me, baby? Does this juicy wet pussy need
my tongue inside of her, eating her like a starving man?” He moves further
back on the bed, until his body is sprawled between my legs, and his face is
up against my mound. I watch as his tongue peeks out between his lips and
runs up my folds through the silk and lace of my panties. A groan leaves his
mouth as he tastes my arousal on the fabric. I’m so wet that the material at
my crotch is completely and embarrassingly soaked. He drags it to the side
with his finger, and his tongue licks me from my puckered hole to my clit
and then back again. “What a pretty cunt.” He moans into my skin.
“Jaxon…” I mewl. The sound filled with surprise and heat. Fuck, he makes
my body scorch with warmth and excitement at how quickly he can get me
so close to the edge with just his mouth. Everything about Jaxon Stratford is
an enticement, his body, face, voice, and all the naughty words he lets loose
from that filthy mouth. He releases a growl that sounds more beast than
man and slips his tongue into my hot channel, fucking me over and over
with it until I am a writhing and soaked mess on the bed and yanking on his
hair, trying to ride his face to my completion.
The fire starts to build within me, a searing burn across my limbs, and
electricity races through my blood. He sucks hard down on my clit as he
slips two thick fingers inside of me and strokes my front wall. All the
sensations have my breathing coming in frazzled pants and prisms of lights
bursting behind my eyes as my orgasm races through my body. My core
tightens painfully over his thick fingers as he bites down lightly on my
throbbing nub. I lose all control, coming all over his face in a gush of fluid,
a loud cry leaving my lips with my stalled breath.
“Mmm, you taste like fuckin' heaven, Stella. I will never get enough of this
sweet pussy.” He licks me through my aftershocks and then moves up my
body, his face wet with my arousal and his lips glistening. His fingers pull
my lips open wide as a drizzle of spit leaves his mouth and falls into mine.
“See how delicious you are, my little ice queen.” I taste my salty and musky
flavor in the spit, watching Jaxon’s reaction as I swallow and lick my lips.
“Mmm…” A moan leaves my parted lips, and I watch him slip his boxers
off and part my legs wider.
“Are you too sore from my cock last night, Stella?” He holds his long,
veiny, thick erection in his tight fist, stroking it over and over until drops of
precum leak from the slit and drop on my pussy lips. Watching him touch
himself is so erotic, the way his breathing picks up, and his abs clench tight
with each stroke. “Yes,” I answer in a whispered moan, biting down on the
inside of my cheek, feeling embarrassed because I am really sore, even
slightly uncomfortable, but I’m also needy, and I’m trying to keep from
begging him to take me hard. He slides his crown back and forth over my
skin, coating himself and me in his precum.
“Good baby, I want this pretty cunt to hurt and feel its master.” His fingers
part my folds, and his cock fills me with a hard thrust. The sensation and
soreness causes me to cry out as he starts a punishing rhythm of pounding
into me hard, never giving me a chance to adjust to his length and girth. The
burn and pinch of pain both feels euphoric and stings as he thrusts
relentlessly inside of me. The sound of our skin slapping against each other
is loud and echoes through the large room. The grunts leaving his lips, the
mewling sounds leaving mine, and the sound of how wet I am, are obscene
in the otherwise silent space.
I grasp tight to his shoulders, digging my nails in before dragging them
down his back with purpose. Wanting to mark him up, so that he, too, has a
memory of me all day. “Fuck Stella, that hurts so good.” My legs wrap
tightly around his waist, and I meet each of his hard thrusts urging him to
fuck me harder. Sweat is coating his brow and chest; I lean forward and lick
up a drop that’s making its way from his neck downwards. His breathing is
rough, and his neck and cheeks are turning crimson with the exertion.
Once again, common fucking sense tries to enter my mind, and the thought
that this is too much strenuous activity fills me. I should stop him; we
should move slower. He is still recovering from three heart attacks. Fuck,
we are being so reckless. I try to push him back and off of me, so we can
slow down or stop, but his hand wraps around my throat. “I’m fine. Shut up
and enjoy the ride, Stella.” He thrusts hard into me, and his fingers tighten
further. “Open your mouth, my pretty whore.”
I open my mouth as wide as possible with his fingers still tightening on my
throat. He pulls out suddenly from inside of my throbbing core and
straddles my chest, his hard cock, the head dark red and throbbing in his
hand. He strokes himself once, twice, and on the third stroke, ropes of cum
leak out and fall into my open mouth, covering my lips, chin, and cheeks.
He’s making a fucking mess of me, covering me in his essence like some
wolf marking his mate. Once he’s done cumming he runs his thick cock
through the mess on my face, coating himself in it before slipping it into my
mouth.
“Suck baby, suck all of my cum off my cock. Be a good little whore and
swallow every drop. Lick your master clean.”
He releases his hold on my neck, and I lick every drop from his semi-rigid
dick, my tongue rubbing down his shaft and over his balls, sucking and
licking one and then the other and back up the side of his dick until I reach
the crown. I lash my tongue over the slit, cleaning off any cum, and suck it
vigorously between my lips. “Jesus, Stella, you’re going to have me
blowing my load again down that tight throat if you don’t stop."
I pull back with a smirk on my face as he watches me but notice the color
on his face has risen, and he has sweat beading on his forehead and trickling
down the side of his face. His chest rises and falls rapidly, and his breath
leaves him in ragged pants. Fuck, now that I know how much pleasure he
can give me, I don’t want the fucker to die on me. I pull him down next to
me, and he wraps me in his arms, holding me tight against his chest. I can
feel his heart thumping quickly against the palm of my hand.
“Jaxon…we need to slow down. You almost died a few weeks ago.” I try
for a soothing way to get my worries across.
“Stella, don’t ask me not to fuck your cunt dirty and hard. It’s all I think
about. I’m not denying myself any of your holes.” He releases a deep sigh
and kisses my hair. “I don’t want to talk about me almost dying. I want to
talk about how you’re still in danger from some unknown asshole and how
we are going to protect you.”
“I have the security Jaxon; no one is getting close to me.” I nestle further
into his warm embrace, leaning my cheek over his heart and feeling the
intense beating behind his golden skin. What would I do if something
happened to him? Would it really matter in the grand scheme of things? In
my quest for power, is Jaxon necessary or just a diversion? Do I have
feelings, other than gratitude and guilt for him?
Yes, I am incredibly attracted to him, but is that a place to grow a marriage
from? All these questions are a cyclone of thoughts running problematically
through my mind. I have no answers for any of them, and I try to avoid
focusing on why that is.
I am not in love with him, right? He is just a man. An incredibly sexy man,
with a fantastic body and an earth-shattering and orgasm-inducing dick. I
don’t have to like him or have feelings for him to take advantage of that, do
I? Is it the guilt that he took a bullet meant for me? For some reason, that
thought no longer convinces or validates my reactions to him.
“It’s not enough, Stella. One slip and someone could get to you.”
“Jaxon, I am not going to hide out in our home, cowering from an assailant
or whoever means me harm. I have two companies to run, two empires to
build.” The thought is not lost on me; that is precisely what I have been
doing to him for weeks. Holding him hostage here in our home while he
recovered.
“Speaking of those empires and those companies. We are building one
empire, Stella. The Stratford empire, one we can leave to our future
offspring.” He presses his lips to my neck and sucks hard. “There is no,
your company or my company. They are both ours, and I think it’s time
they became one, with you and I jointly at the head.”
“You want to merge both companies and run them together?” Fear and
excitement races through me as I pull back to stare at him. The look on his
face is so intense and severe, but I see the sincerity there. He means it. He
wants to merge the companies together and run them as one, together as
Stratfords. I am a Stratford now, no longer a Penticton. He is right; we
would be unbeatable if we merged them. Laying waste to any and all of our
enemies and anyone that seeks to challenge us.
“Stella, you have an awe-inspiring mind and a ruthless knack for business.
Your father was an imbecile not to have seen what value you bring. I won’t
make that mistake. If I am going to make the Stratford name a powerful
empire that others cower in fear of, I need you. Not just for your name or a
baby. I need your mind, your ideas, and the ruthlessness that lives inside of
you.
“I don’t want to be your husband in fucking name only Stella. This is not a
power game between you and me. It’s us against the world, baby. I want to
be your husband in all aspects, the father of your children, the man you
come to with your problems, and I want to be your business partner as an
equal.”
His words cause tears to race to my eyes, but I hold them back, refusing to
appear weak before him. My heart feels like it’s cracking open for him. All
the resentment and rage that fills me daily at being thought of as less than
starts to thaw at his words. He wants to be my equal, someone who sees
value in me, not because of my appearance, who my father is, or for my
womb.
Do I trust that he is being sincere? Do I let my guard down and meet him
halfway? I notice he doesn’t say that he is in love with me. Does that really
matter? For a brief moment, pain sears through my chest at the thought that
Jaxon will never love me. A longing fills me to hear those words leave his
lips. Will he ever utter them to me? Do I love him? I desire him in a way
that overwhelms me and makes me feel off balance, but do I love him?
This could all be a ploy to gain control. Maybe he is just saying all of this
now because it’s what he thinks I want to hear, and then he will take
Penticton Industries from me. He could have already done that; he didn’t
need to give us the board seat or the shares. Yes, but I would have made his
life a living hell if he didn’t. Did you see what he did to Ajax last night?
Jaxon is not afraid to get his hands dirty. The thought vibrates through my
mind.
Jaxon has a reputation for being ruthless in business and a manipulator. I
know that he is involved with some unsavory characters as well. His
underworld connections are well hidden from the general public, but not
from my prying eyes. I know of some of the destruction he has caused to
his enemies without the slightest indication of regret. Do I trust him, or do I
guard my heart and mind? If I let him in, will he attempt to destroy me, turn
me into some weak woman that follows where her husband leads?
I would rather fucking die than become one of these powerless women. I
think I will play it safe for now, take the pleasure he is offering, and work as
a partner to build our empire. As for my heart, I need to rein that bitch back.
She’s already softening towards him, and that is dangerous territory. I will
hold on to that piece of myself and see how this all plays out with my new
devoted husband until I know his true intentions.

OceanofPDF.com
29

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“It's so easy to be wicked without knowing it, isn't it?” Lucy

Maud Montgomery

I T’S BEEN WEEKS SINCE the incident with Ajax in our bedroom, and
I have been on the receiving end of daily and nightly pleasure from my
union with Jaxon. His threats and promises that we would be sharing
everything going forward from the afternoon when he had me ass up across
my desk have come to fruition, and my needy pussy couldn’t be happier
with the arrangement. In fact, all my holes seem to be singing his
unrelenting praises.
Jaxon has awakened a libertine in me that I didn’t realize existed. One that
craves him at all hours and never seems to have enough of the pleasure he
provides with his hard cock, mouth, and long fingers.
We have ventured out of the Stratford estate and had experiences that I
never thought myself capable of. Jaxon is insatiable, taking what he wants,
whenever and wherever he wants it. Even if it be in compromising
situations like in the parking lot of the theater we attended. Or finger
fucking me at a charity gala under the linens while we sat at a table filled
with fellow wealthy elites, and I had to swallow my moans, almost biting
through my cheek to try to contain them.
There are no limits, it seems, to his depravity. Last Sunday, he fucked me
raw in a curtained confessional while Sunday mass was happening a few
feet away. The horrified looks on the parishioners when we made our way
out of the small, confined space had both of us giggling until we couldn’t
breathe. Needless to say, my mother sent me a scathing note the same day
about showing some restraint and being a lady. Jaxon just crumbled it in his
fist and fucked me on the floor next to it.
We just completed the merger of Penticton and Stratford Industries
yesterday, to my father’s horror and vivid objections. Stratford Industries is
now one of the largest and wealthiest businesses in the world. I hope
everyone’s trembling at our feet. We are about to make history as we clear
the board of our competitors. The feeling of so much power runs through
my veins, putting me on cloud nine. I can’t wait to watch them all cower
with fear, especially those that have underestimated me.
My naughty and vengeful husband didn’t sit idle while waiting for our
merger to be complete. He decided that Ajax Pickering hadn’t received
quite enough punishment for his actions. He took apart the Pickering
family's holdings one section at a time, until there was nothing left. Buying
it up piece by piece and then selling it for pennies on the dollar to make a
point. I almost feel sorry for Ajax, but when I do, I remember what holding
a pillow to Jaxon’s chest while he nearly bled to death felt like.
Things have been going so well between us that I am wondering why I ever
resisted him, to begin with. We talk like equals, discussing business and our
future. He warms my bed every night, providing me with earth-shattering
orgasms, and surprises me at the office by bending me over his desk and
fucking me raw or hiding under mine and eating my cunt while others are in
the room. The man has no shame and gets off both torturing me and
pushing my limits. I am discovering all these different factors about him
and myself.
He is also obsessively protective and possessive of me. A fact that any man
that has come within a two-foot radius has had to learn the hard way. The
memory of the charity business luncheon we attended last week makes me
grin. I had just stepped out of the private bathroom that Jaxon and I had a
little quickie in, where he bent me over the vanity, fucked me hard and
quick, and filled my pussy with cum when a male business acquaintance
wrapped his fingers around my forearm in greeting.
My unstable and highly jealous husband just happened to come out of the
bathroom door at that moment. The next thing I knew the man was in a
headlock and being slammed into a wall. The spectacle it caused was
embarrassing and dramatic. The police were called, and the event
coordinator looked on in horror. Luckily, the man refused to press charges
despite the giant goose egg on his forehead.
We made the gossip section of every paper, and the warning was clear to
any man who would think to approach me. My husband is unstable and
territorial, so it’s best to keep at a safe distance from my body. I could say I
was enraged at his behavior, and despite raking him over the coals about
making us tabloid fodder, I secretly enjoyed every minute of it. I am the
happiest I have ever been, a knowledge that should scare me but that I can’t
seem to dial back. Am I being reckless with my heart? Only time will tell.
“Mrs. Stratford…I am sorry to disturb you, but I think you should see this.”
Tyson walks into my office unannounced, looking like he’s about to head to
an electric chair. His face is pale, and sweat is beading on his forehead. He’s
holding a tabloid magazine in his tight grip in front of him.
I watch him approach with a sense of dread pooling in the pit of my
stomach. It takes a lot to rattle Tyson, as Jaxon has come to discover. My
assistant fears no one but me and puts himself in my husband’s path of
wrath more than any sensible human would. He hands me the magazine,
and I watch him swallow harshly, his Adam’s apple moving up and down
with the movement. “I have already contacted our lawyers to get it stopped,
but I don’t know if we will be able to halt it completely before it’s released.
A contact I have there snuck this copy to me.”
I stare down at the magazine cover in complete shock. My hand trembles as
I place it on the desk in front of me, smoothing over the cover with my
trembling fingers. On the surface of the gossip magazine is my husband
dressed in a black tuxedo from last night’s gala that he attended solo and
wrapped around his body with her hands in his hair and kissing his neck is
none other than Kalista Cain in a daring silver gown that barely covers her
sinful model body.
The urge to rip the cover apart fills me, and my hands clench, my sharp
fingernails digging deeply into my flesh. The photographer caught them
unawares. You can tell by their intimate posture and the way his eyes are at
half-mast. The way his eyes are when he’s turned on and enjoying himself.
The gala signage is clearly visible behind them, so it can’t be a photograph
from the past. Instant rage and hurt fill me; the pain is so staggering that I
have to brace myself on the edge of the desk.
They look enraptured with each other, both of them stunning in their finery,
their sexual attraction and intimacy explosive. You can feel the heat coming
off the page. Heat that I thought he reserved for me alone, but foolishly, I
was mistaken. What a fucking imbecile I have been! I am the biggest fool
walking around, with my emotions on display, just waiting for Jaxon to
crush me. How easily I was convinced to let down my guard, to fall for him
and his lies.
I raise my gaze to Tyson’s, and I see a moment of pity there before he wipes
it away and schools his features. “Where is my husband now?” I question
through gritted teeth.
“I believe he is with the corporate lawyers tying up loose ends.” Tyson’s
gaze never leaves mine, and I feel the strength and anger simmering from
him to me. Is he the only man I can trust and count on? Is this young man
who took a chance on being my assistant, my general, the only male that
will never let me down and disappoint me? I stare back down at the image
of the man that just this morning made me scream in ecstasy and now
makes me want to cry in pain.
How could he do this to me? To us? Were Ajax and Kalista both right? Will
he never be faithful to me? Will he keep going back to her? With this
merger, he got what he wanted; his empire expanded to unprecedented
lengths. Was fucking me and playing me a way to get what he wanted? Was
I too naive and stupid to see that I was being manipulated? He used me; he
used my attraction for him and my willingness to grow our empire to
control me, to make me lax in my vigilance.
He went back to her, despite having me. Despite all the passion that we
share. Does the bastard think he can have his cake and eat it too? I fucking
warned him what I would do if he strayed if he tried to play with me. He
obviously took my threats as ineffectual nonsense spewed by a weak
woman. He’s about to learn that nothing about me is weak. I will have my
vengeance, my pound of flesh, and he will pay it in blood. He constantly
reminds me that a Stratford always gets his revenge and pays his due. Did
he forget that I was one now? That he himself forced me to become one. I
will have my vengeance until the only thing left of him is my new name,
and even then, I may bury that too.
“Ensure that this doesn’t ever see the light of day. Buy the fucking
magazine company if you have to.” I stand there with the proof of my
husband’s treachery in my tightly clenched hand, moving from behind my
desk and heading towards my office door, with fire racing up my spine and
the need for retribution filling all my pores. War is calling my name, asking
me to avenge the hurt that Jaxon has just caused with his deceit. I plan to
answer it with all of the might I have before me. Jaxon thinks I have given
him power over me; I can’t wait to show him how fucking destructively
wrong he is. He will regret the day he even breathed in my direction when I
am done with him.
I will take what he seems to value more than me, more than the empire we
were stupidly building together. I will bury that bitch in a shallow grave,
where he can never find her, and then I’ll take his legacy and ensure his
name dies with him. .
In my experience, only three types of fucking people ever really tell the
truth: children with their innocence, the drunk with their incapacitated
minds, and the angry through their fury. Jaxon and the world are about to
learn my truth, that I am destructive and entirely without mercy when I am
angry and betrayed.
“Where are you going?” Tyson questions with trepidation, fear across his
features.
I stop in my tracks, an evil grin crossing my face. “To start a war and teach
my husband a painful lesson.”

OceanofPDF.com
30

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Bitter people are not interested in what you say, but what you
hide.” Shannon L. Alder

W HAT IN THE HOLY fucking hell! My fucking car is on fire; flames

are erupting from all of the shattered windows. I can’t believe the
sight before me in the parking lot of my corporate lawyer's offices.
Bystanders are standing around and gawking at the sight. I can hear the
shrill noise of loud sirens heading in this direction. A loud groaning sound
leaves the vehicle, and then I’m thrown back from the explosion that rocks
the parking lot. My back hits the asphalt hard, and my breath leaves me in a
loud whoosh!
Holy shit, did someone just blow up my car? Is someone trying to kill me?
Fuck, where is Stella right now? Maybe it’s the same person trying to hurt
her. I need to get my ass up and to my wife to ensure she is safe. I sit myself
up slowly, feeling shards of glass embedded in my skin just as the fire
department races into the parking lot, and I watch them in horror as they
hook up their hoses and try to control the blaze.
“Jaxon, are you alright?” My new assistant, Jake, helps me to my feet. The
man is a grizzly bear and hefts me with such force that I bounce a bit when
I regain my balance. I stare at him with dumbfounded shock. Is he stupid or
something? How can I be alright? Someone just tried to blow me up!
“Where is Stella right now?” I demand, already moving away from the
emergency service personnel and back towards the entrance of the building.
I need to get into contact with her or that fuckhead assistant of hers, Tyson,
to ensure she is safe. Panic is clawing at my throat, and I’m struggling to
take a deep breath. Shit, she has to be alright! God, please let them have
come for me and not for her. I need her! I need her alive and well. My heart
races as my mind supplies vicious images of Stella hurt and bleeding. I
clutch at my chest, air suffocating me and causing it to tighten painfully.
“She had scheduled meetings with the marketing team this afternoon
outside of the office.” Jake replies with abundant fear. He’s finally coming
to the same realization as I am, she may not be safe right now.
“Get me there now!” I bellow.

After the tensest and most frightening forty minutes of my life, and yes, this
beats the time my former best friend had a shooter put a bullet through my
fucking chest. I finally make it to the marketing company's offices and burst
into their meeting room with my chest painfully heaving. I can’t seem to get
enough air into my lungs. I’m starting to feel light-headed, nauseous, and
sweat is trickling down my back, causing my dress shirt to stick to me like a
second skin.
“Sir! Sir, please wait! You can’t go in there!” A secretary yells at me as I
storm past her and slam open the door, completely disregarding her
objections. As I walk into the room, my eye makes quick work of going
over each of the inhabitants that are sitting there with shocked expressions
on their faces. Where the hell is Stella? She’s not here! “Where is my
wife?” I demand with agitation and impatience.
“Your wife?" The bald man at the end of the conference table questions
with fear across his features. He should be scared; I’m a moment away from
destroying this whole fucking room!
“Yes, my wife, Stella Stratford. Five foot-nothing brunette with arresting
blue eyes, Usually wearing a malicious and determined expression. My
wife! Who is supposed to be in this meeting right now!”
A timid blonde with a pixie cut raises her hand, and I can see her trembling
as she stands up. “Sir, she canceled the meeting earlier. She is not here.”
Canceled the fucking meeting? Where the hell is she now then? I turn
around to a red-faced and visibly winded Jake; my head is ready to explode.
The fear that something could have happened to her is having an almost
crippling effect on me and is triggering my need to get my arms around her.
“Get that brick of a cell phone out and find out where she is." I walk back
out of the meeting room, allowing the door to slam behind me as I head to
the vehicle I pilfered from one of my lawyers. The fucking thing is a station
wagon with brown faux wood paneling, a monstrosity, but I couldn’t be
choosy. I needed a vehicle to get to Stella; this was the closest one without
damage from the blast.
I hear Jake mumbling on the stupid phone behind me while desperately
trying to keep up with me. The man needs to get more cardio; he’s going to
have a heart attack. The irony is not lost on me, having had three heart
attacks myself this year, but I get lots of cardio daily between my wife’s
creamy thighs.
“They believe she is still at the office, sir.” He heaves as he pulls the
passenger side door open and tries to squeeze his six-foot three-hundred-
pound frame into the chariot from hell.
This fucking car is filled with children’s toys and car seats, and the God-
awful smell of grape juice is making my stomach turn. If this is what I have
to look forward to, once I put a baby inside of Stella’s womb, I may have to
rethink the whole thing. I drive back to my office at the quickest speed this
vehicle can manage, my fingers tightly wrapped around the steering wheel
and my knuckles blanched.
Once I reach the office, I don’t even bother to park the damn car,
abandoning it while it’s still running in front of the building and rushing
inside. I pass security in the lobby, who gives me a strange, alarmed look,
and then slip into the elevator up to my office. Once the doors open, I’m
practically running down the hall towards mine and Stella’s offices. People
are moving out of my way as if I was on fire. Her cunt of an assistant isn’t
at his desk as I pass, and her door is shut. I slam it open in my eagerness to
see her but am greeted with an empty room. Where the fuck is she? I have a
sinking feeling starting in the pit of my stomach and an irrational fear that
she is avoiding me, prickling at the back of my mind. .
I rush from her office to mine just as Jake runs into the room. “Jaxon, you
need to take this call! Miss. Cain is on the mobile phone, hysterical and
screaming about her parents’ house being on fire!”
What the fuck? Kalista’s parents’ house is on fire? Why the fuck is she
calling me? I don’t have time to deal with this shit; I have to find Stella.
“Tell her to call the fire department. Why the fuck is she calling me?” I yell
back, turning back into my darkened office.
“Sir, she’s screaming that Stella had her parents house set ablaze.”
I rip the brick-shaped phone from Jake’s hand, and even before I place it up
against my ear, I can already hear Kalista screaming and crying. “Kalista,
what the fuck is going on? Why are you saying Stella had your parent's
house set ablaze?” I demand, losing my patience with this whole mess.
Wretched sobs greet my ears, “She left a message Jaxon. She had it burnt
into our fucking lawn.” Another sob sounds loud against my ear. “The
message says, 'I warned you'.” My stomach feels like a ten-pound bowling
ball just landed in it. What the ever-loving fuck is going on here? Why
would Stella go after Kalista and set her house on fire? My wife’s insane,
but she doesn’t tend to do things without provocation.
“Kalista, why would Stella go after you?” Fear slithers down my back. The
image of Kalista yesterday at the gala trying to get me to kiss her, draping
her body all over mine, and encouraging me to compromise myself slips
into my mind. We were alone, though; no one was in that part of the lobby
when it happened, were they? “What did you do, Kalista?” I question
through gritted teeth, my jaw locked tight and my grip on the phone
punishing. “What did you do, you stupid, fucking, reckless imbecile!”
“You are mine, Jaxon. I…I need you back.” The need to wrap my hands
around her neck and strangle her at those words fills me. I am NOT fucking
hers, not anymore! Stella is my wife. She is my fucking everything, and
whatever this cunt has done, has triggered her. This idiot just baited a
master predator and is crying about the fucking consequences. She’s lucky
she’s still breathing. She won’t be, though, when I get my hands around her
fucking neck.
“WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU DO, KALISTA!” I yell into the phone,
completely losing my control as I make my way to my desk. There’s a pain
in my chest spreading like wildfire, and fear is literally trying to strangle
me. It can’t be what I’m thinking; she wouldn’t have been as reckless,
wouldn’t have had the guts to try something like that. My wife already
destroyed her once. My wife who has zero chill and no fucking mercy. The
one that is destructive in her fucking rage. Did this imbecile not already
learn that firsthand?
“I had a photographer hidden and taking pictures of us…in the lobby.”
FUCK! Pictures that would have appeared like I was participating and
enjoying myself with my ex-girlfriend, while my very jealous and
possessive wife was not present. This idiot has damned both of us to hell!
Ah fuck, if she set fire to Kalista’s parent's house, then she is also the one
that set fire to my fucking vehicle. She started with fire. Will the world burn
at her feet once this is all said and done? Stella is unmanageable and
relentless when consumed by rage.
My eye catches on a magazine pinned to the top of my desk by a very
familiar blade. “Don’t ever come near me again, Kalista. What we had is
over. Whatever Stella does to you, I won’t stop her, and in fact, if she
doesn’t kill you, I will.” I end the call and pull the blade handle, releasing
the magazine and falling into my seat. Right there in front of me is the
means to crash my world down around me.
The photograph on the cover of the gossip rag is of Kalista wrapped around
me seductively and kissing my neck, while my hand is braced against her
hip and my eyes are at half-mast. I’m giving the appearance that I am a very
willing participant enjoying myself and about to fuck her.
The article title is a nail in my coffin and with it I know my little wife is
about to serve me a world of pain.
OceanofPDF.com
31

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Anger kills logical thinking and logical thinking kills anger.... the
choice is yours” Ketan r Shah

F OUR DAYS. It’s been four fucking miserable days since I saw that
magazine cover, and I have spent all of that time scheming and
planning. The war I have begun has consumed me day and night. Am I hurt
that Jaxon manipulated me with his tailored lies and played me for a fool?
I’m beyond crushed; the bitter taste of deceit coats every pore in my body
and is a sharp barbed wire in my throat. He played me perfectly just as I let
my guard down and thought he had genuine feelings for me. Worse yet, I
realize that I have fallen in love with the fucker. The knowledge bringing
terror and a sense of helplessness to my soul, instead of joy.
My chest feels like someone has taken an old, rusted, and jagged ice cream
scoop and ripped out my heart, one horrendous piece at a time, while
laughing as it shatters into splintered fragments of who I thought we were
and what our relationship was turning into. We were nothing but a fucking
tragedy, a tale of caution to those watching. Oh, woe, the tale of the
Stratfords who sought to build an empire yet ended up destroying
themselves and each other.
I should have never trusted him. I should have never let him inside my body
or my heart. The mistake was mine; I bent too quickly. I gave too much of
myself, and he took it all like the greedy and unsatisfied bastard that he is.
The betrayal cuts so deep that it is a festering, oozing wound in my chest.
One that has me sobbing behind closed doors but the picture of elegance
and vengeance to all that are watching. I will not allow anyone to see my
weakness, to know firsthand of my destruction at the hands of my callous
husband. That would be the final straw that broke me, knowing that the
world sees me as weak. Let them picture me as vengeful and spiteful
instead; it paints a prettier picture. A woman with a heart made of ice; after
all, I am their reigning ice queen.
We weren’t able to stop the publication in time, despite buying the company
and firing all the executives. A wasted effort on my part trying to hide the
actions of the slimy fucker that I married. A printed retraction was issued
within hours, but the damage was done. Both to our image and to my
bleeding heart.
The elite held its collective breath waiting for what I would do, and I didn’t
bother to disappoint them. Let them worry about my wrath being directed
toward them. It will keep them all in line and under my merciless thumb.
Did I have Kalista’s parents' house set on fire, you bet your fucking ass I
did. I couldn’t very well set fire to her condo building; the rest of the
inhabitants would have perished with her.
Did I have someone blow up my husband’s precious car? Of course, I did; I
made it rain fire in front of his eyes. My only regret is the bastard wasn’t
sitting in it at the time.
Did I have a billboard placed in every prominent city, in every fucking
state, and in all the major cities in Europe with Kalista’s picture calling her
a home wrecker? You bet your tits I did. I’m a petty fucking bitch, after all,
with billions of dollars at my disposal. She wants to play games with me?
Let’s see how she likes it when she becomes one of the most hated women
in America and abroad. There is nothing like a woman trying to fuck over
another woman to get people’s ire up.
Guilt doesn’t eat at me for my actions. In fact, my heart begs for
satisfaction, for me to cause both of them even more pain. To see Kalista
and Jaxon both in ashes at my feet. I welcome the rage and the hate; it
tempers the feeling of loss and betrayal. If I can just focus on hating Jaxon,
then maybe I can plug this gaping bleeding hole in my heart.
Did I veto every single one of Jaxon’s corporate decisions in the last four
days, ensuring he can’t get anything done in our joint business and looks
like a fool? You bet my fucking billion-dollar bank account I did.
I even went as far as having half our combined bank account amount, a
staggering four billion dollars, transferred to a Swiss bank and inaccessible
to him. Did that cause him to throw a tantrum at the bank and look utterly
unhinged? It sure fucking did. I just wish I could have been there to witness
his palpable rage.
The only thing bringing me the slightest inclination of joy right now is
knowing that I am destroying Jaxon’s world around him. My desire to see
him on his knees before me is unmistakable and unforgiving.
As for Jaxon’s hostile and threatening demands for Tyson to tell him where
I am. They have fallen on deaf ears, much to my unfaithful, deceitful
husband’s frustrations. Tyson doesn’t fear him, he knows who the scarier of
the two of us are, and it isn’t Jaxon. No threat will have him giving Jaxon
my current whereabouts. My cheating husband is currently looking for a
needle in a haystack. Good fucking luck to him finding me without help.
I haven’t returned to our home since that first day, although I did let poor
Mrs. Pox know what was happening. She was understandably upset to hear
of Jaxon’s repeated dalliance with Kalista and vowed to make him also pay
for it at home. She’s been serving him nothing but fried liver day and night,
a food that he absolutely hates for the last four days. To my gleeful
understanding, all his clothing met with an unfortunate bleach incident, and
his shoes somehow ended up on the back lawn while the sprinklers were
going. I had a good laugh at her attempt at vengeance on my behalf. I miss
her and the staff dearly; it’s incomprehensible how much she and they have
come to mean to me. How the life I was building for myself and Jaxon has
turned disgustingly upside down with his reckless actions.
I also haven’t stepped foot in the office in the last four days, preferring
instead to linger at the beautiful home in the Hamptons on the ocean that I
purchased under a shell company. The one he knows nothing about. The
house I meant to surprise him with so that we could eventually start a
family, now it will do nothing but provide my refuge from our imploding
marriage. A safe haven from the tumultuous storm I am trapped in.
Some would say I am off licking my wounds, a betrayed woman. They
wouldn’t be wrong, but what they fail to see is that I am about to wage war
and use the time wisely instead of steadily drinking myself into a coma over
my husband’s betrayal. I’m not going to lie though, a few bottles have been
consumed, and a few raged-filled tears shed.
“Tyson, make sure the lawyer sends those documents through to Jaxon
today. I want the divorce papers served publicly, and my assets untangled
from his immediately.” I listen unamused to Tyson’s repeated counsel for
patience and to speak to Jaxon myself through the phone. I disregard all of
Tyson’s advice, and hang up the phone, once again going back to laying my
plans out..
I have no intention of divorcing Jaxon, although no one knows that but me.
It’s a scare tactic I’m playing at, one that will have my misguided husband’s
hair falling out in chunks. Jaxon wants nothing more than to build his
precious empire, to have the Stratford kingdom rise in glory. What will
happen to it once I threaten to take half of everything he owns? Will it
crumble and go up in smoke like my trust in this marriage and his fidelity?
I almost want to kiss my father for his foresight in demanding that no
prenup be drawn. It’s almost like he already knew that Jaxon would betray
me. Maybe he did; perhaps he was trying to protect me in his own way. Our
empire is in the billions, and if I leave, I am taking half. He can try to fight
it, but I am the wounded party. A wound inflicted very publicly, and he
would lose if we ended up in court. He’s not a stupid man; he won’t let it
get that far. Well, you didn’t think he would cheat with that cunt again,
either, but here you are. The sinister bitch in my head cackles.
Will all of this chaos destroy whatever roads we had made together in our
relationship? The bonds that I believed were strengthening us and causing
me to fall in love with a lying, manipulative snake. The ones that allowed
me to fool myself into believing that he genuinely cared for me. I am more
than willing to set a blazing gasoline-infused torch fire to them; good
fucking riddance.
My poor, sensitive, and supportive mother has been calling and threatening
to have her driver bring her straight to me. She is the only person other than
Tyson who knows where I am. The chances of Jaxon getting any
information from her is about as likely as the Toronto Maple Leafs ever
winning the Stanley Cup again. She, too, had some threatening words for
Jaxon once she saw the article. Her disappointment left her stupefied like
everyone else, I imagine. She gave me a nonsensical comment about
warning him about a blade to his throat, but I was in no condition to
question her threat.
Shame fills me at my mother, seeing me once again smeared through the
tabloids at Kalista’s hands. The wretched bitch is going to pay until there is
nothing left of her, but right now, I need to turn my attention to fucking up
my husband’s miserable life. Gone is the sympathy and guilt over him
getting shot in my place. Right now, if I could, I would personally pull the
trigger on him myself.
The knowledge that he went to another woman, with my scent still on his
body, causes wrath to pour through me. The memory of that night as we
both prepared to go to separate events plays out before my eyes again and
again like a vicious cycle, determined to bring me to my vengeful and
unforgiving knees.
I was completing my makeup, sitting in nothing but my undergarments,
when he approached me, pants wide open, his cock already hard and
precum slipping from the tip. “I need you to wear my cum inside of you,
Stella, as a reminder of who you belong to, baby.” He leaned forward and
licked the side of my neck, causing a moan to leave my lips and my core to
throb, soaking the crotch of my panties.
I took his cock between my red-painted lips, licking and sucking the crown
before taking him to the back of my throat and gagging on his veiny length.
He pounded into my throat mercilessly, his hands deep in my hair and
pulling apart my updo that took me an hour to create. He pulled out of my
mouth, yanked me up from the chair by my hair, and forced me to bend over
my makeup vanity. All the items on the surface scattering and falling to the
ground with jarring thuds.
“Fuck, Jaxon!” All the air left my lungs, with the bruising impact of my
chest hitting the table.
His fingers dug into the fragile fabric of my panties, ripping them to shreds.
His hard dick stroked my tight entrance before he slammed into me in one
go, causing a cry of pain to leave my lips and forcing me to brace against
the table or slam my face on it.
“This soaked cunt is mine, Stella. Cry for me, baby; I need to hear your
screams.” He was an intense animal, rutting into me and marking me
everywhere he could with his hands and lips. His hand wrapped around my
throat tightly as he came inside of my throbbing pussy. Then he got down on
his knees behind me and sucked me to completion until he was as much
covered in my cum and his as I was.
A deep groan left his lips as he licked me one final time and stood back up,
his fingers pushing any escaping cum back inside of me. “Good girl, now I
taste like your cunt, and you’re filled with my cum. Make sure you don’t
clean that shit up, Stella. I want your thighs coated in my cum.” He patted
my ass and walked away like he didn’t just wreck my pussy, to finish getting
dressed.
I shake the memory away; it brings me nothing but shame and pain now.
My hand slides over my neck and the lingering marks his mouth left on my
fair skin. I imagined in my naivety that he didn’t want to be without me at
that event. That he felt he needed to mark his territory because he was
possessive and falling in love with me.
Meanwhile, nothing could have been further from the truth. He was meeting
his lover on the sly and just wanted to manipulate me. How many other
times have they been together in the last four months of our marriage? How
many times has he made me feel special and desirable only to leave my side
and head to hers?
I pick up the vase filled with white lilies, the flowers symbolizing grief and
death, much like my emotions for my husband, that are next to me, and
throw it at the wall in a fury. The sound of the glass shattering is the same
sound my heart is making over and over, and a welcome accompaniment to
my grief—the destruction fueling my ever-present fury.
How could I have fallen in love with the fool? I am the biggest idiot walking
around, an acknowledgment I can no longer deny. I have fallen in love with
a man that used and deceived me. One that had no genuine intention of
spending the rest of his life with only me by his side. A liar that led me to
believe that we could build an empire and a life together. One that made me
believe that I could crave something other than power. My folly, allowing
him to become more important to me than my desire for greatness, for
world domination, and power. His transgressions have destroyed us even
before we had a chance to begin.
Now all I care about is hurting him like he’s hurt me. The wound that will
not stop its incessant bleeding, demands retribution and satisfaction. I will
hurt and destroy him until no memory of us is left.
He shattered my heart; I’m about to take his whole world. This will be the
end of both of us.
OceanofPDF.com
32

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never
carry them forward into the future with us." Lucy Maud
Montgomery

M Y OFFICE DOOR SLAMS open, causing the walls to vibrate

around me. I look up from my computer, the one I had been staring
at but not focusing on for the last hour, to greet a red-faced and angry
Thomas Penticton. This day just got fucking worse, if that’s even possible.
Is all of the world trying to test my patience and mental stability today? Do
they not realize that I am almost at the end of my rope and about to start
burning shit down? Once I lose control, there will be no going back. I can
feel myself free-falling towards the abyss, darkness, and my rage calling to
me, begging to be let loose on the unsuspecting world and set it ablaze.
My lovely viper of a wife had me served with divorce papers very publicly
at the country club this morning. Why was I at the country club having
breakfast instead of at my home, where I have staff ready to serve me and
cater to my needs? Let’s see, oh, because my staff are a bunch of fucking
traitors and are trying to drive me insane by serving me fried repulsive liver,
nonstop. A food that I can’t even stand the smell of. If that wasn’t bad
enough, I had to buy a whole new wardrobe since an unfortunate bleach
attack happened in my closet three days ago. Let’s not even talk about the
fact that I’m down to one pair of shoes and sleep with one eye open.
My life is falling drastically apart and it’s all due to my scheming and
vengeful wife. The one that won’t even allow me to speak to her so that I
could explain my side of the story. The one that every day she is gone is
destroying me little by little. My heart and emotions are taking the constant
battering of hits she’s sending my way. I have become a cautionary tale to
the married men around me, and she has become an inspiration to scorned
women everywhere.
Literally! A random woman spit on me yesterday on the sidewalk outside of
my office. She very eloquently let me know she was on Stella’s side. Then
there was the barista two days ago that spit in my coffee while I watched,
and passed it to me with a smile, telling me that I deserve everything Stella
is serving me. When I venture out my door, the women in my office sneer at
me with distaste, and even some of the men have started giving me pitying
looks. I am persona non grata; pretty much everywhere I go now, thanks to
Stella. I’m sure she’s sitting back and enjoying my misery.
Now here is her fucking father to aggravate the rest of my already miserable
day. What the fucker could want from me right now, other than to destroy
what’s left of my sanity, I don’t know. Maybe he wants to kick me while I’m
already down? Stella is close to bringing me to my knees, a place I reserve
solely for eating her juicy cunt. The one I can’t get to, because she is hiding
from me in parts unknown.
“I will have words with you, Jaxon!” He bellows, coming further into the
room and shoving the chairs before my desk aside, causing them to go
flying. He leans down, both fists braced on my desk and proceeds to bring
his blotchy, red, angry face closer to mine. So close in fact, that I can see
the large vein throbbing dangerously in his forehead, his nostrils flaring like
a deranged bull, and smell his rank breath.
“Thomas, to what do I owe the pleasure?” I try to smile, but it’s hopeless. I
can’t even feel any joy in egging Stella’s dad on. Stella has even taken that
joy away from me. It doesn’t have the same appeal if she’s not here to
witness it. Fuck, I am really falling apart here.
“You reckless idiot. You humiliated my daughter publicly with that blatant
whore. The one you reassured me you were leaving in your past on your
fucking wedding day!” His giant fist collides with everything on my desk,
including my monitor, and sends it crashing to the floor. “You have
managed to destroy everything in less than six months. How is that even
possible, you maggot?” He slams his fist down once again, making the solid
wood table shake. “I was informed my daughter publicly served you
divorce papers today, at the fucking country club!”
I shift in my seat, watching his breathing increasingly ragged. My own
leaving me in angry pants. Does he think that I, too, am not humiliated?
Does he honestly believe that I would have done that to Stella? That I
would have cheated on my possessive and spiteful wife? Of course, he
does; what reason have I given him to think otherwise?
“I thought when you took that bullet meant for her, that there was a real
chance for this marriage to succeed. That you truly understood the precious,
valuable piece I placed in your greedy hands. That you would honor my
daughter, and together the two of you would grow a legacy, ensuring mine
and your father’s bloodlines never ended.”
I try to interject, but he slams his fist down again, and the remaining items
shatter to the ground. “Shut up, Jaxon. I am fucking speaking! You had
better get down on your miserable knees and beg my daughter to take you
back. Crawl through broken fucking glass if you have to.” He leans forward
until his hot breath is inches from my own face.
“If she doesn’t, Jaxon, I will ensure that I use all of the money and power I
have left to ensure she takes everything you own. I will help my daughter
destroy you, you miserable, traitorous piece of shit!” His fist flies out and
slams into the side of my face, causing my office chair to slide back and
slam into the windows behind me. My face is throbbing, and I’m a bit
dazed. I watch him turn his back and walk towards my office door, his
shoulders rising and falling with rage.
Shock and disbelief are racing through my body, not only at the fact that
Thomas just hit me, but that he obviously cares deeply about Stella. I have
never seen this side of him. He always made it seem like she was nothing
but a prized piece to pass back and forth to get what he wanted. Has he
come to realize the value of my beautiful wife? Could he want a healthy
relationship, rather than the strained and miserable one they share now?
“Thomas, I love her. I never fucking cheated. I was set up!” I rise quickly,
making my way over to him and grabbing his arm, forcing him to have to
halt his steps and turn back around to face me. I meet his furious gaze with
mine and let him see the truth of my words. .
“I love her; I’m in fucking love with her.” I should be shocked at my own
words, at my declaration of love for Stella after such a short volatile time of
being married to her, but I feel them deep in my soul. I am in love with her,
and have been for a while now, if I’m being honest with myself. She is my
everything, and without her, I am just fucking broken.
He stares at me for a moment, still breathing heavily, and then shrugs off
my hold. “Then you had better find her, Jaxon, before she destroys you both
in her quest for vengeance. Stella can be hell-bent and determined when she
sets herself on something, and right now, that’s on destroying you.”
He leaves my office without a look back, and my heart thuds painfully in
my chest. I run both of my hands through my thick hair, yanking on the
strands and trying to come up with a way to get to my wife. I need her to
listen to me, to give me a chance to explain my side of what occurred. Do
you think it will really matter? She doesn’t love us; she hates us. My mind
whispers with vehemence. It has to; I can’t live without her. I refuse to live
without her.

I’m making my way through the underground parking lot toward my

temporary vehicle when something slams into me from behind, knocking
me off my feet and forcing me to my knees. Someone grabs me from
behind, locking their forearm around my neck and cutting off my airway. I
try to fight off the assailant, forcing myself to try to stand, only to have the
back of my knee kicked out and being forced right back down. A cold metal
object is pressed against my cheek, and I can see from the corner of my eye
that it’s a gun. My whole body stills instantly, letting the air leave me and
my frame to go slack in the assailant’s arms.
“Oh, Jaxon, how you disappoint me, after I had high hopes for you.” The
voice is feminine and sweet, coming from behind me as her footsteps echo
off the parking lot concrete. She moves before me, and I watch as she tilts
her head to one side to stare at me, disappointment and hurt across her
features.
“Ra…chel.” I try to gasp through the tight hold.
“I warned you what I would do to you if you hurt my daughter Jaxon, and
you have. You have hurt my daughter horribly. The one that sat next to you
endlessly when you were in a coma. The young woman that has done
everything to help you build your precious empire up, despite her horrid
father selling her to you like a prized cow.”
Rachel moves closer to me until I can see the flecks reflected in her blue
eyes. Eyes similar to my wife’s, yet strangely different. One’s that are
currently staring at me, filled with malice and rage. Unadulterated terror
fills me as I stare into Rachel’s eyes with the promise of retribution and
pain. She did fucking warn me. Please, God, don’t let me die at my mother-
in-law’s hands.
“Lo…ve her,” I force out through a choked breath. The forearm of the brute
behind me tightens against my throat until I am starting to see nothing but
shadows as my vision dims.
A snort leaves Rachel's lips, and she motions for her rough minion to loosen
his grip so that I can finally take in a stuttering breath. “You love her? Is
that how you think love works, Jaxon? Do you think love includes cheating
on my daughter with Kalista Cain?”
Her hand strikes forward, slapping my face and making my ears ring. Fuck!
She hit me in the same damn spot as her fucking husband earlier! My face
is going to be black and blue, that is if my cheekbone isn’t already broken
with Thomas’ hit. Does everyone in the Penticton family mean to take a
swing at me today? Shut up and be grateful she hasn’t shot you yet, idiot!
“I was set…up, Rachel. I never cheated.” I gasp, trying to shrug off the hold
of the fucker behind me. The gun is now very firmly pressed against the
side of my head; one wrong move and this fucker could blow my brains out.
“I went out…to that…lobby…alone.” I should be perturbed that Rachel
Penticton has men doing her dirty work. What the hell is she involved in?
“So you told my husband earlier. Here’s the thing though, Jaxon, I am not
so easily convinced, and my daughter will be even harder to persuade.”
“I was set up…by Kalista in a way to get back at…Stella and to try to get
me back. I didn’t cheat, she made it appear as if we were together, cornering
me and trying to compromise me, but I pushed her away. I FUCKING
PUSHED HER AWAY!” I shout in rage. “The look on my face was for my
wife. I was remembering earlier in the evening when I was with her. I
needed to step out of the room…umm…because I was…”
Rachel’s eyebrow rises at me in expectation and fuck it if I don’t feel spite
at being forced to spit my truth in front of her. “I was fucking hard, Rachel.
Hard because I was daydreaming about my wife’s pussy. Is that what you
want me to confess? FUCK!”
Everyone believes me capable of such villainy against my wife. The one I
took a bullet for and almost died for. The one I dragged myself out of the
darkness to be with. The same woman I am deeply and irrationally in love
with, despite my unsuccessful attempts to stay away from her. “Kalista
surprised me and forced that embrace. I pushed her away and told her to
stay away from me. I never knew there was a photographer present. I didn’t
cheat, Rachel.”
She stares at me with a cold blank look across her face, and I can’t tell if
she believes me. “How much do you truly love my daughter, Jaxon?
Enough to give up everything for her? Think that through for a moment;
your answer will determine whether your brains are splattered on this
floor.”
I swallow the lump in my throat and truly think over Rachel’s question.
How much do I love Stella? So much that I can no longer function without
her. No, that’s not true; I don’t want to function without her. Life has no
meaning without her by my side. She is mine, and I will not release my hold
on her. Not even death could take me away from her. I would haunt her in
the afterlife. There is no me any longer without her. I am waiting for her
very touch to bring me back to life, stuck in this gray nothingness that I am
calling living without her. What would I give up to have her back, to have
her in my arms? Everything. I would give up everything that I have, will
have, and am, to have her back. The thought should scare me, but it doesn’t.
It settles on me like a mantel of truth.
“Take it all, Rachel; without her, it means nothing to me now.” I take a
shuddering breath and then close my eyes, awaiting her order to shoot me
and end my miserable existence.
“Good, Jaxon. Then you finally understand my daughter’s worth. You will
sign over everything to Stella, right here, right now. Your life will be forfeit
if you don’t. Then I will tell you where you can find my willful daughter,
and you can try to convince her yourself that you are worthy of her.” My
eyes open quickly, and the brute behind me releases his hold, shifting away
from me but still holding the gun aimed at my head. My glare returns to
Rachel and the folder she is pulling from her purse.
A chuckle leaves my lips at the vision before me. Stella’s mother is a little
gangster, strong-arming me at gunpoint to sign over all of my assets and
wealth to her daughter. The daughter I love and would willingly have given
everything to anyway. “You know you are incredibly frightening, Rachel.
You look like this pristine little wealthy housewife, but really you’re a
mafioso, aren’t you?”
A devilish smirk crosses her pink-tinted lips. “Where do you think my
daughter got her ruthlessness from Jaxon?” She hands me a pen and the
folder and watches as I read through the document before me. It’s a legally
binding contract, one that gives my wife sole ownership of our newly
merged enterprise and all of my financial assets other than my house. I’m
about to go from being a billionaire to being just a semi-wealthy fucker
with no legacy left to leave behind when I die. How the mighty have fallen
at the hands of vengeful women.
“Did she ask for this?” I question, hoping that it’s not my wife that is
demanding this sacrifice. Let’s be clear, I will pay this pound of flesh to get
her back willingly. I just hope that it doesn’t become a thorn of resentment
between us.
“No, Jaxon, she didn’t. She doesn’t know I’m here. Stella will destroy you
one chunk at a time, enjoying herself and breaking her own heart as she
does. My stubborn daughter is as much in love with you as you seem to be
with her. I am demanding this sacrifice so that I know your feelings for her
are sincere and so I don’t follow through on my promise to end your life.”
I don’t even bother reading the next document, I just sign my signature at
the bottom of each page and hand the folder back to Rachel. She looks them
over with satisfaction, a smile gracing her beautiful face, one that resembles
an older version of my stunning ice queen wife. Is this what Stella will be
like in forty years? Naw, fucker, she is going to be so much more ruthless,
you better pray long and hard she lets you live a long life at her side. The
thought brings me so much pleasure that I can’t resist laughing out loud
again.
Rachel places the documents back in her purse and hands me a piece of
paper, an alluring smile reaching her blue eyes. “It seems my daughter
bought a house in the Hamptons, Jaxon. You might want to wear a
bulletproof vest when you try to convince her of your love. She is really
quite irate with you right now.” She turns and walks away from me, leaving
me standing there like a complete and useless dumbass. She bought a
fucking house?
I stare down at the piece of paper in my hand, with the scribbled address of
a house I knew nothing about. This paper is worth my entire fortune, I have
literally signed it over in order to have it. There is nothing I wouldn’t have
given up for this one small bit of hope.
Rachel says Stella is in love with me. Can that be possible? I fucking hope
so. My pulse accelerates rapidly, causing my chest to tighten. I’m not sure if
it’s from fear, excitement or a combination of both. Maybe after Stella is
done bloodying me, she will listen to reason, and then hopefully, I can
spend the rest of my days balls deep in all of her pretty holes.
I unlock my car and get inside, a smile broad across my face, making my
throbbing cheek hurt. Even that pain and annoyance cannot simmer, the joy
filling me. I now know where my wife is, and I’m going to get her fucking
back.
Stella Stratford is mine, and it’s time I made sure she understood that there
is no me or her; there is just us.
OceanofPDF.com
33

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Looking back, I have this to regret, that too often when I loved,
I did not say so.” Ray Stannard Baker

I LIFT THE GLASS of red wine to my lips as I lean more fully against
the island cabinets, leaning my elbow on the stone countertop. The
gorgeous dark walnut and cream kitchen I planned to share with Jaxon and
the family that we would have raised here, surrounds me, causing me
further sadness.
I take a deep sip, the aroma and taste soothing yet not fulfilling me, as I
slide my hand lovingly against the cold marble counter, cold like my
supposed ice queen heart. I wish that the rich wine would make me forget
all my problems, but nothing seems to be able to do that lately. My mind
and heart are at war with each other. One bleeding through a series of sharp
cuts and calling out for a man that has deceived and fragmented me. The
other demanding retribution and the infliction of pain on that same man.
A noise crawls its miserable way out of the depth of my chest as tears slide
down my face. I sound like a wounded animal ready to die in captivity,
knowing that there is no way to freedom. I am so tired and conflicted with
this struggle. Do I even want to continue in this petty war against Jaxon, or
do I just want to have him back in anyway that I can? Is my pride worth all
this pain? What is that proverb? “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty
spirit before a fall.”
The sound of soft footsteps on the stone floors outside of the kitchen
reaches my ears and has me turning back towards the entrance and wiping
quickly at the tears across my face. Damn it! Can’t I even be weak in the
solitude of my home?
My eyes quickly scan the counters while I wipe away the moisture from my
eyes that continuously falls like an unleashed tap, sprouting salty tears. Did
Tyson forget something here? He left not even twenty minutes ago to return
to Manhattan after delivering me the latest acquisition report and advising
me of my father’s impromptu visit to Jaxon at the office. One that
apparently has caused all kinds of gossip to spread at the water cooler and
will most likely make it to the tabloids by morning. A sob catches in my
throat as I clear it. I don’t want even Tyson to see how weak I have become.
How this situation with Jaxon is almost unbearable to me.
I don’t see anything here; as I turn back to face the kitchen entranceway,
shock and surprise fill me. My eyes widen as my breath catches in my
throat, and a chill of fear rushes down my body. I release the wine glass
from my grip; it hits the Calcutta marble counter and then slams against the
stone floor with a loud shattering sound. The sound of the glass breaking
pulls me out of my frightened and frozen state and has me spurring into
action.
There’s a man dressed entirely in black with a ski mask over his face
coming at me with a large knife in his hands. Pure terror races across me,
and my mind scrambles for what to do. Grappling with the horrific sight
before me, that’s right out of a nightmare or a horror film. How the hell did
this fucker get inside? How did I not hear him until he appeared before me?
I dart across the island, putting it between the attacker and me. My body is
trembling with a mixture of fear and anger. How dare this fucker sneak up
on me to do me harm. I launch all of the items sitting on the counter,
including the wine bottle, in his direction. My eyes dart all over the room,
while also keeping him in my sight for a way to escape. Some things hit
him; others never make contact. With nothing left to throw, I scramble
backward and reach for the chef’s knives on their block behind me.
“Who the fuck are you?” I demand, my grasp making contact with the
largest knife and brandishing it in front of me, while moving slowly around
the island and towards the open kitchen doorway. He takes a step back in
the same direction, trying to prevent my escape. My mind is running
quickly with options, searching for a way out of the room and to safety. Do
I try to fight him? Will I be able to hold him off long enough to get out of
the room?
Fuck, if I fight him, he might be able to corner me or bring me down, and
then I will be at his mercy. I don’t think he’s here only to scare me. The way
he’s stalking me around the room tells me clearly that he’s going to hurt me,
even kill me.
I only have one chance to escape if I can make it through that doorway.
Otherwise, I am going to die here in my beautiful kitchen. I need to try to
get to the front door and out of the house, or try to get up the stairs to the
small closet-sized panic room I had installed and lock myself inside. My
heart thuds loudly in my ears, and my hands feel wet with sweat. A feeling
of revulsion and fear shudders through me. This man is here to kill me, and
I’ll be damned if I am going down without a fight. Fuck him; I’m a
Stratford; nobody’s taking me down without me raining hell on them.
He doesn’t answer me but tries to lunge across the island to slash at me,
catching me in my bicep with the edge of his blade, just as I slash at him
and catch the side of his face covered in the mask. The fabric gives way
instantly and bares a glimpse of bloody skin below. “Fucking whore.” He
shouts at me, as he pulls back.
The sting of the cut on my arm is sharp and has my breath catching in my
throat as I move out of his way, sliding around the other side of the island
and making a run for it out of the room. Panic is threatening to suffocate
me; I have to try to keep my fucking head, or this guy is going to kill me. I
slide across the stone floor, almost losing my footing, and race towards the
solid wood, white front door.
The nearest house is still a half of a mile down the road. I’ll never make it
with him chasing me. I don’t think I can outrun him. No, I refuse to die here
at the mercy of this man. FIGHT STELLA! My mind screams at me. I grab
onto the large vase I have at my front door and launch it back at him,
grabbing the table lamp on the console and doing the same thing. I scramble
with opening the door, the locks still in place. As I turn the deadlock and
pull on the knob, I can hear his heavy breathing as he’s coming towards me.
Finally, the door opens, and I try to dash out, but just as I do, he gets a
gloved fist in my hair and pulls me roughly back, my body jarring and
hitting his with a pained grunt, and I lose my grip on the knife, it goes
skidding across the floor. A scream escapes my lips as I kick back, trying to
hit him in the crotch and using my elbows to ram his face. My attempts to
dislodge his precarious hold on me have him loosening his grip slightly. I
take the opportunity to tear out of grasp, ripping strands of my hair from my
scalp as I run in the opposite direction towards the stairs. A grunt leaves his
lips, and he tries once again to grasp onto me and fails.
“Whatever they are paying you, I will triple it!” I scream as I lunge up the
first step.
I make it up to the landing, pushing benches, art, and anything I can get my
hands on at him as obstacles to prevent him from reaching me. If I can
make it up to the main bedroom, I have a gun in there to defend myself. I
can lock myself in the room and call for help. The panic room is in the other
direction and further away, and I am not sure I can make it in there without
him tackling me.
He lets out a panic-inducing chuckle. “They want you dead cunt. I don’t
bargain with dead whores.”
Who is this man? Is he still the same person that tried to hurt me before?
Fear and dread skate up my spine. Tears rush down my face as I climb the
stairs two at a time, stumbling in my attempt to escape from him and to
safety. I let down my guard, thinking I was safe here with no security. That
no one knew where I was, but I was wrong. Deadly wrong, and I am about
to pay the consequences if this man gets his hands on me.
“I’M COMING FOR YOU BITCH!” He shouts behind me.
I race down the hallway towards my room, pushing through the door and
slamming it shut. I manage to just turn the lock as he slams into the frame,
making the door vibrate loudly. It’s a thick solid wood door, but it will only
hold him off for so long. I scramble across the floor to my dresser and reach
for the gun, taking the safety off and pointing it at the door with a shaking
hand as I reach for the phone on the nightstand. He’s slamming his
immense body against the door repeatedly, trying to break it down. I can
hear wood splintering; in moments, he will be inside. Jesus! Fuck! What
should I do?
I press the numbers, nine-one-one, but there’s no dial tone. The phone is
dead in my tight, desperate grip. He cut the phone lines. Tears cascade
down my cheeks, and my arm throbs from the knife wound, blood dripping
down my side, soaking my shirt and abdomen and hitting the floor. My
breath is coming in ragged pants, so quickly that I’m wheezing. I bite down
hard on my bottom lip to try to contain the scream that wants to leave me.
I’m going to die. This man is going to get in here and stab me to death.
He thuds against the door again, and I see it buckling inwards. One or two
more shoves, and he will be inside the room. I should have headed straight
for the panic room. I should have run in that direction instead of here; that
door was made of reinforced fire-proof steel. I could have locked myself
inside the small room and been safe. For how long, though, he cut the
phone lines, and no one knows you’re here but Tyson and your mother. You
would have eventually died inside, there. He wouldn’t have left.
No! Fight! This is not the end of us! My brain demands, filling me with
strength and adrenaline. If we die, we die here, standing our ground, not as
a coward hiding. I point the gun at the door, steadying it with both my
hands and wait for him to come through the broken door.
I don’t have long to wait; with one more hard slam against the door, it gives
splinters allowing him entry into the room. He moves quickly into the
space, his arm raised with the large blade and coming at me menacingly. I
don’t hesitate, pulling the trigger once and then again. The bullets make an
impact with his body, one in his shoulder and the other in his abdomen,
causing him to stagger back. A cry of pain leaves his muffled lips, and he
reaches down to place his hand over the wound in his stomach.
Blood is pouring from the wounds and making wet splotches against the
dark material of the black shirt he is wearing. He looks down momentarily,
stunned at the fact that I shot him, but then recovers and continues moving
forward toward me with the knife. “You fucking bitch! You’re going to die
slowly for that!” He slashes once again in my direction, making contact
with my side and forcing me to take a step backward, giving up ground. My
hand is shaking and sweating, and I’m losing my grip on the gun. He moves
to knock the gun from my hand, but I pull the trigger at the last minute, and
the shot goes wide, grazing him as it embeds in the wall plaster.
“You’re… going… to die… cunt!” He breathes heavily into the mask, his
steps and movement slower. Blood is pouring quickly from his wounds, and
he can’t seem to catch his breath. NOW STELLA! My mind screams at me
to shoot him again. I lift the gun again and press the trigger, watching as the
bullet leaves the gun in a blur and embeds itself in his chest, forcing him to
take a step back and then collapse on the ground.
I watch in petrified horror as he tries to get back up to his feet and come at
me again. END IT STELLA! My mind screams over and over until it’s the
only sound I can hear. Turning my face away from the sight, I pull the
trigger again and again until the gun clicks empty. My breaths are loud
exhales coming from my mouth, as my blood rushes in my ears. Tears trail
down my face like little rivers, and my body releases a shudder with all the
adrenaline still running through me. My whole body is shaking, my teeth
rattling in my mouth. I force myself to turn my gaze back to the attacker.
He’s lying there, a rattling noise leaving his body and his limbs jostling
against the once-cream carpet.
My knees give out on me, and I fall to the plush ground, the sound muffled
as I hit it hard. A deep red blood stain is soaking it and making its way
towards my shaking limbs. A cry leaves my lips, and I drop the empty gun
at my side. A horrific noise leaves him, and then the only sound in the room
is my whimpers, harsh breathing, and cries.
Tears continue to slide down my face rapidly and soak the neckline of my
shirt. A sharp pain catches my attention, and I glance down to see that
blood has soaked my shirt in a sizable pattern. I lift the hem up to see a
significant, deep slash across my abdomen, one that is streaming blood out
in thick trickles. My vision blurs, and my head feels dizzy. I shake my head
to try to clear my vision, and it helps for a brief moment.
I need to get out of here, I need to put pressure on the wound, or I’m going
to bleed to death. I sluggishly rip the shirt off my body and push it as hard
as I can against the wound. The minute I apply pressure, I feel the injury on
my arm, which is slowly dripping blood down my bicep and creating a
trickle down the other side of my abdomen. The pain makes me flinch and
cry out. I try to get my feet under me to stand up, but my legs tremble and
give in, refusing to hold my weight. I’m going to die here. I’m going to
bleed to death, and no one is going to even know for days. The thoughts
race through my mind on a loop.
I’m going to die here alone, without Jaxon. The only man I have ever loved.
Now all the games I have played, all the moves I made, and the petty ways I
hurt him, seem ridiculous and childish. I loved him, and then I left him, and
now I will never even get the chance to tell him how much he means to me.
How much I desired our life to work. That I wished to one day be the
mother to his children. That all I wanted was for him to love me back and to
build a life with me, an empire we could rule together. All my dreams are
crumbling before me, brought crashing down by a lie and a blade.
It’s too late now. I won’t survive, but maybe I can still tell him. Let him
know that my final thoughts were about him. I release my hold on the shirt
and slide my fingers through the thick blood coating my stomach and
dripping down my waist and hips. I reach out to the carpet at my side and
press my bloody fingerprints into the carpet. I drag my fingers through the
thick fibers and back to coat them over again through my blood until words
form before me like grotesque red smears. Once the final letter is spread
across the carpet, I pull the shirt back hard against my wound and lay down
in my own cooling blood and wait for death to take me.
Maybe in my next life, I won’t be so headstrong and willful, and I will get
to tell him those words in person. Jaxon, my love. I’ll meet you in the next
life. My eyes flutter close and darkness takes me into its heady embrace.

OceanofPDF.com
34

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“With pride, there are many curses. With humility, there come
many blessings.” Ezra Taft Benson

I ’M SPEEDING LIKE A fucking lunatic through the hills, a feeling of

impatience and fear coating my whole body. The need to see Stella and
wrap my arms around her is all I can think about; it’s an urgency in my
veins. “Jaxon, you need to slow down! We are going to crash in this tin can,
and you’ll never reach Stella!”
Jake holds on tight to the inside handle of the doorframe and braces for the
next curve I take at over a hundred miles an hour. I’ve ignored his
complaints for the last hour. I’m determined to make the trip that would
usually take over two hours in just over one. My need to get to Stella is all-
consuming and frightening. She has to hear me out; she has to forgive me. I
will fucking tie her ass down until she listens to my side of what happened.
Are you ready to be bludgeoned when you attempt to tie her down? My
mind snickers.
“What are you even going to tell her once you get there?” Jake grits through
his clenched teeth.
“I don’t fucking know. I’ll think of something when I get there!” I take the
next curve and feel the back wheels come off the asphalt for a moment and
then slam back down, making the car skid across the two-lane highway and
causing me to bite my own tongue. The coppery taste of blood fills my
mouth as a sniggling feeling of dread skates across my neck, causing the
hairs to stand on end.
“You don’t know? Boss, I think you should slow down a bit. Maybe even
stop and get your thoughts together before you go storming in there and
Mrs. Stratford hands you your ass, no offense meant.”
I chuckle at his words; he’s probably right. Stella will hand me my ass, one
way or another, regardless of whether my words are practiced or spur of the
moment. I wouldn’t even put it past her to react with violence. She craves it
as much as I do. I know it turns her on when I’m forceful with her, and I
make her submit to me. Maybe I’ll go in there and wrap my fist around her
neck and force my cock into her tight pussy until she mellows out a bit and
then agrees to listen to what I have to say.
The thought of doing just that, of Stella fighting against me, and the sounds
that Stella makes as she takes my cock to the hilt, has my dick thickening in
the constraint of my pants. I take the next bend wide, and a small little blue
Mercedes sports car almost collides with my new Porsche. I slam on the
brakes causing dirt and rocks to fly around us. The other idiot slams hard on
his brakes, fishtailing, losing control of his vehicle, and slamming into the
weed-infested embankment. For fuck sakes! I shift the car into park and
climb out to see if he’s hurt. I can hear Jake complaining loudly behind me
as he exits my vehicle that if I was going a little slower, none of this would
have happened.
I reach the vehicle just as the driver’s side door opens, and my wife’s
fucking asshole of an assistant pops out. “Are you fucking crazy, Jaxon!
You almost killed me!” He shouts, his face red and his blue eyes wide with
shock. He stumbles towards me, unsteady on his feet, and we turn to watch
his car slide further down the embankment. “Ah, hell!” I shake my head
with irritation; I guess he’s lucky he wasn’t still inside of it. Not going to
say I wouldn’t have liked it if the little prick disappeared, though.
I don’t have time for this shit; I have to get to Stella. I turn to walk back to
my car as two different voices shout after me. “Jaxon, where the fuck are
you going?” “Jaxon, you can’t leave me here like this, fucker!”
I turn back around with rage filling my veins. These two fuckers, are trying
to stop me from reaching my goal. To get to my lovely viper of a wife. I
won’t fucking have it! I will leave them stranded on the side of the fucking
road if I have to, but I am getting to Stella. “Get in the fucking car and shut
up, or I’m leaving both you fuckers behind.”
They both race across the asphalt and into the passenger side door. Tyson
squeezes his long-fit body into my back seat, and once again, I am
reminded that I don’t trust the handsome fuck around my wife. After we
reconcile, she needs to fire his ass and find an ugly-looking assistant,
maybe one covered in moles with a droopy eye.
“Where are you going, Jaxon? She’s going to be furious if you charge up
there!” Tyson questions in that voice that annoys the fuck out of me. The
one that suggests he knows my wife better than I do. Fuck you, asshole! I
know every part of her intimately, and all my parts are about to be
thoroughly reacquainted with hers.
“He’s going to get his wife back. He hasn’t quite figured out how he’s going
to do that or even what he’s going to say, but he’s determined to get her
back.” I hear the humor and sarcasm in Jake’s voice as he replies to Tyson. I
should fire his ass at the same time I have Stella fire, Tyson. We can share
the ugly, mole-covered new assistant.
“You’re not serious? Please tell me you actually have a plan on how you are
going to get her to listen to you?” Tyson inquires with exacerbation. “Jaxon,
she is beyond hurt. She’s crushed with everything that happened and she’s
angry. She’s really, really angry.”
“I didn’t fucking cheat! I was set up by Kalista. She forced that
compromising-looking situation and had a photographer hidden to take
photos. I didn’t touch her; I wasn’t with her. I would never fuck around with
another woman behind Stella’s back, especially Kalista Cain. Give me a
little credit, assholes; I know my wife. She can be a vengeful demon when
she wants to. Why would I put myself in that position where someone could
catch me?”
A pang of regret fills me at my words, because they are lies or at least not
complete truths. I did fuck around that very first night of our marriage, and
with Kalista. I brought that cunt home on my wedding night. That shame
and regret lives inside of me of how stupid I was. That was before, though,
before I really knew Stella. Before I realized the precious gift, I had in my
wife. In the past, before I came to the realization that I am deeply in love
with her.
As for being led into the compromising situation, I should have realized
what was happening. I should have seen the signs of vengeance in Kalista’s
face. While I didn’t go out there with her, and I pushed her away, I still
should have known better. I had a duty to have stayed away from her and
refused to speak privately with her. I ought to have realized that she would
do something to try to hurt Stella. I’m an idiot; I readily admit it. Some part
of me never believed that Kalista would try anything against Stella. My
wife is the boogeyman of the elite; who would be stupid enough to go
against her? Well, now I know who.
I’m a fucking mindless imbecile, one who placed himself in this situation,
not once but twice now, and caused my wife and the love of my life
devastating pain. I don’t even know if Stella should forgive me, even if I
grovel on my knees, which I fully intend to. I have now given her
everything; the only thing left I have to offer is my heart and my sincere
apology. Part of me feels like that won’t be enough, and I may lose her
anyway. The other part of me refuses even to acknowledge the possibility of
ever having to let her go. Fuck that shit; she belongs to me. She’s mine.
“I have signed over all of Stratford Industries to her. I will give her anything
that she wants, anything that she needs in order to punish me further, other
than a divorce. I will spend the rest of my fucking days making it up to
her!” I shout in the enclosed space, finally causing both these fuckers to
shut their gapping traps.
“Boss, you really signed over the whole company to her?” Jake asks in a
quiet voice.
A sigh leaves my stiff lips; my jaw is clenched so tight, I’m pretty sure I
have cracked a molar. My hands tighten on the steering wheel, and I take
my eyes momentarily off the road to meet his astonished brown ones. “You
still don’t understand. None of that matters if I lose her. She’s my
everything.”
“Fuck! Okay, well, she’s up at the new house, probably still crying into that
bottle of wine she was drinking before I left. She’s for sure going to throw
something at you, and I wouldn’t put it past her to call the cops and have
you charged with trespassing. Hopefully, between the three of us, we can
get her calmed down enough to hear you out. But whatever you’re going to
say, it better be good. I don’t think she will give you more than one
opportunity.” Tyson sighs and leans between the two front seats, fierce
determination reflecting back at me from the rearview mirror.
“Jesus, she’s going to maim all three of us.” Jake groans.
“It’s a good thing she doesn’t have security up there with her, she probably
would have had one of them shoot Jaxon.” Tyson spits out with humor. I
almost take my hand off the steering wheel and backhand the fucker for
enjoying the thought of someone shooting me.
I round the last quarter mile, pressing my foot down to floor the accelerator
and causing both men to slam back in their seats. “It’s the blue one, coming
up! Slow down, Jaxon, before you miss it!” Tyson grabs onto the back of
Jake’s seat with a white-knuckled grip.
I spot the house and pull up the long narrow driveway until I’m stopping in
front of a wide white porch surrounded by square white columns, dark blue
cedar siding, large windows, and a massive white front door that is
currently wide open into the rapidly fading evening light. What the fuck?
That doesn’t look right.
“What the hell, I made sure that was locked before I left.” Tyson’s words
have me rushing out of the car and up the porch. Tyson and Jake are on my
heels. We enter the foyer to complete chaos, furniture, and pieces of pottery
everywhere. A struggle clearly evident from the destruction. Terror races
through my body, someone is here. Someone that is trying to hurt Stella,
and clearly, she fought back. I race through the house, Jake taking the left
and Tyson the right corridor, each of us moving with caution as we search.
“Jaxon!” Tyson calls, and I follow the sound at a run entering the
impressive large kitchen to see more destruction and blood across the
Calcutta marble island. My stomach drops at the smears of red blood across
its surface. Is it hers, is Stella injured somewhere?
I race out of the room and up the stairs, seeing more evidence of
destruction, and struggle up here. I follow it down a wide hallway to where
I assume the main suite must be located. The large wood door is barely
hanging on its hinges and looks like a battering ram has been taken to it.
There are no sounds coming from anywhere in the house other than Jake
and Tyson’s footsteps rapidly approaching behind me in the hall. I hesitate,
reaching for the door, a sense of trepidation filling my bones. My stomach
lurches and tightens painfully as my heart spasms in my chest. Please be all
right; please be all right. It’s a mantra going over and over in my mind. I
push the door open, and the sight that greets me has me falling to my knees.
“No!” The anguished sound is ripped from my body and sounds like an
animal roaring.

OceanofPDF.com
35

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Love grows. Lust wastes by Enjoyment, and the Reason is, that
one springs from an Union of Souls, and the other from a Union
of Sense.” William Penn

T YSON PUSHES PAST ME on my knees and heads towards Stella,

while Jake rushes to check on the masked assailant lying a few feet
from her. I can’t make my legs work, can’t seem to force my body to stand
up and obey me, so I crawl towards her. My heart feels like it’s going to
explode in my chest. NO! No, this can’t be. I can’t have lost her. I can’t
have come this close to having her, to having my whole world, only to lose
her.
“No, no… please baby, no.” I beg as I approach her, the knees of my pants
soaking up some of the cooled blood drenching the carpet.
“This one’s dead, shot multiple times!” Jake shouts from behind me.
“We need to get an ambulance!” Tyson screams and reaches for the
discarded phone on the floor. My eyes focused on Stella’s beautiful pale
face. Her dark feathery lashes make contact with the creamy skin of her
cheekbones. Her lips are tinged a purple-blue, and blood is streaked across
her skin. She looks like an angel, lying there so still. I reach my finger and
stroke it across her chilled skin as tears stream down my face. I stare at my
heaven and realize that I was too late. That someone has taken her from me.
“Jake run back to his car and use the car phone! Call a fucking ambulance!”
Tyson yells and pushes me aside. Pulling the shirt that is soaked and up
against her pale skin back. I look down in shock and realize that she’s just
wearing a bra, and every part of her abdomen, waist, and hips are drenched
in her blood. Where the hell is all the blood coming from? “Fuck, she’s
bleeding out, and I’m not sure she’s breathing!” Tyson shoves me hard.
“Get it together, Jaxon! Put pressure on her wounds to slow the bleeding
while I start CPR.”
My mind is slow to process his commands, and he shoves me hard once
again, forcing my hands to hold the balled-up soaked fabric at her side. I
watch in horror as he removes his own shirt and wraps it around her
bleeding arm tightly.
I shake my head to clear the fog and watch as he starts compressions on my
wife’s chest, counting loudly before tilting her head, checking her airway,
and then giving her mouth-to-mouth. I want to be enraged that he has his
lips over hers. That he’s shirtless, and her blood is streaked across his skin,
but I am so scared right now. I just want her breathing; I just want him to
tell me she is still alive. Is she alive? She has to be; there is no world that I
can live in without her. The fates would not be that cruel, giving her to me
and then taking her from me before we even had a chance.
My head tilts to the side, and I see blood streaks across the pale carpet next
to her. At first, my mind can’t make out what it’s seeing. There’s so much
blood underneath her and on her. Then slowly, the shapes seem to form into
words, and I realize it’s a message. A message for me streaked in my wife’s
blood.

The words cause both a thrill to enter my soul and terror to fill my heart.
She knew she was dying and wrote those words in her own blood, with fear
that she would never get to speak them to me in person. Sweat breaks out
all over my body, and a furious roar leaves me sounding like a wounded
wolf, one that has lost his mate.
NO! I refuse to lose her, not now, not fucking ever. She is mine, and I will
follow her into hell & fight the devil for her. I can’t fucking breathe; my
chest feels like it’s caving in on itself, and I can hear my blood rushing
loudly in my ears. Saliva pools in my mouth, and I feel like I might just get
sick. Every part of my body is trembling, snot, and tears sliding down my
face. I can’t lose her, please; I can’t lose her!
I watch as Tyson repeats the process over and over again, time seeming to
slow to a fucking crawl as I hold tightly to the wound on her side and do
something I haven’t done since I was a little boy and my mother was dying.
I pray. I pray to a God I’m not sure I believe in and promise him anything
that he wants if he lets her live. If he will just give her back to me. Please, I
can’t live without her.
“Ambulance is on their way, two minutes out. I left the door wide open and
cleared what I could from the stairs.” Jake rushes back into the room, but I
can’t look away from Stella and the compressions Tyson is performing on
her chest. Breathe, baby, please, just breathe, I beg.
Loud voices fill the space, and a stranger tries to pull me away from Stella’s
side. I react by throwing my fist at him before Jake yanks me back and
restrains me. “Let him do his job, Jaxon; he’s trying to save her!” I watch as
the paramedic takes over for Tyson, checking Stella’s vitals. He removes
the bloody shirt and tries to clean the wound before placing gauze on it and
wrapping it painfully tight, lifting her upper body to wrap it securely around
her. She’s limp in his grasp, her head tilting on her neck like a rag doll. Holy
fuck, is she even breathing? Please, God, please let her be breathing!
“She’s breathing, but barely. We gotta go now.” You! Are you the next of
kin?” He directs his question to Tyson, and finally, my senses return to me.
“I’m her husband!” I shout and pull away from Jake’s grasp. “Okay, let’s
go; you’re going to put pressure on the wound while we get her on the
stretcher and down the stairs. Do not stop, press hard, don’t worry about
hurting her; she’s bleeding out.” He doesn’t wait to see if I comprehend his
instructions, he and his partner move forward and lift Stella as if she weighs
nothing and place her on the stretcher they brought with them. I race to her
side, using the palm of my hand to put pressure on her wound, and we move
out of the room and down the stairs in a complicated and quick maneuver
that almost has me falling down the steps.
The police arrive just as we are getting to the foyer and try to talk to me, but
I disregard them and go with the attendants into the ambulance. I can hear
Tyson speaking with the police behind me but I couldn’t tell you what his
words consisted of. Everything right now is a buzzing sound in my brain.
We get Stella into the ambulance, and I sit by her side. The paramedic
moves back and forth with different machines and straps an oxygen mask
on her. The vehicle pulls away and races down the road at a fast speed,
sirens blaring.
She looks so small and delicate on the stretcher, her beautiful dark hair
fanned out behind her and matted with blood. An angel with all of her
creamy skin marred and stained with her life essence. I don’t know what to
do with my hands, the paramedic took over applying pressure to her wound.
I grasp her cold fingers, threading them through mine, and hold tight,
kissing the palm of her blood-tinged hand. “I love you, Stella. Please don’t
leave me.” I whisper into her palm.
The ride to the hospital feels like I blinked, and we were pulling up in front
of the emergency bay, doctors and nurses already waiting on us. The
ambulance doors open, and the paramedics work quickly to get her out,
giving her care over to the doctor, who is impatiently waiting. He rambles
off some words I am not even sure of, the only thing I catch is her pulse is
low, and she’s bleeding out.
The nurses grab onto the stretcher and rush her inside. The doctor in dark
blue scrubs who was barking orders grabs onto my arm as I move to follow.
“Are you the husband?” I nod my head yes, my mouth unable to form
words. “Does she have any allergies? Could she be pregnant?” He questions
urgently.
“I…I don’t know. We…are newlyweds.” I stammer at the knowledge that I
actually know very little about my wife, the thought horrifying me. I don’t
know if Stella has any allergies, I never thought to fucking ask. What kind
of piece of shit husband doesn’t know what his wife is allergic to? I drag
my fist through my hair, pulling on my strands. Could she be pregnant?
Fuck, I don’t even know if she’s even on birth control and we have been
fucking like rabbits!
The doctor doesn’t bother waiting for me to come to my senses. He runs off
after my wife and leaves me standing there like the useless turd I am in the
emergency bay. I can’t breathe…I can’t breathe! My chest is too tight, and
my vision is dimming; my breathing is becoming shallow and erratic. I
stagger forward; I need to get to Stella. I take a step and then another and
collapse forward onto my knees. I can’t seem to get any air into my lungs;
my chest feels so tight. A sharp pain is coming from my left side. I need to
get to my little ice queen. I have to make sure she’s alright.
“Shit! Get a gurney, this one’s going into cardiac arrest!” A woman’s voice
yells around me. I don’t know who she’s talking about. Is she talking about
me? Am I having another fucking heart attack? Now?
NO! I need to get to Stella. She’s mine! I try to get back to my feet, but this
time I fall forward and land on my face, my chin hitting the dirty concrete
as my vision dips out until darkness consumes me. My last thought is of
two beautiful arctic blue eyes and words written in blood. I love you, Stella
Stratford, fucking fight for me, fight for us. STELLA!

OceanofPDF.com
36

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear,
too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for
those who love, time is eternity.” Henry Van Dyke

“U GH…FUCK!” MY MOUTH TASTES like a donkey’s ass and is

dry like the Arabian deserts. What the fuck did I eat? My lashes
flutter but feel stuck together and my eyes are crusty and gritty. I rub my
hand across my face and force them open. Bright overhead lights greeting
me and momentarily blinding me.
“Jaxon, thank fuck, you scared the shit out of me, bud!” My assistant Jake’s
voice greets me. I narrow my vision and stare at him standing in front of
whatever the hell I’m lying on. What am I lying on? My eyes dart across the
space, and annoyance fills me instantly, another damn hospital room. What
a fucking surprise, not! I’m going to have to have words with this fucker
about talking to me like I’m one of his drinking buddies and not his boss.
Why am I once again lying in a hospital bed? This shit is getting ridiculous
and starting to get old as fuck. Maybe we are getting old motherfucker; my
mind snickers at me. Fuck that shit. I’m not even thirty yet!
My glare returns to Jake just as the memory of Stella lying in a pool of her
own blood accosts me and my body goes icy with panic. “Stella, where the
fuck is Stella?” I shove the blankets back, push my legs quickly off the side
of the bed and try to stand up. Wiring across my chest and tubing in my arm
pulls me back down and I reach forward to rip it from my body while
dizziness attacks me and my stomach cramps. “Hey boss, slow down. You
can’t rip that off!” Jake tries to grip my hands and prevent me from
removing the heart monitor currently attached to my skin.
“Stella, where is she?” Why is he not answering me? A scream crawls up
the back of my throat and threatens to choke me. My shoulders curl forward
and I wrap my arms tightly around myself. My chest feels like it’s caving
in, bile races up the back of my throat and I have to force myself to swallow
to keep it from spewing out of my mouth. A wave of dizziness hits me at
the same time. Is she dead? Is that why he won’t answer me? No she can’t
be! Stella is a fighter, she would have fought to stay alive. She wouldn’t
have left me, not like that.
“Hey, Jaxon, breathe buddy! She’s alright! She’s alive!” His ruddy face is
filled with concern, and sweat dots his massive forehead and upper lip. I
reach forward and grasp onto the front of his shirt, pulling him closer to me
in a tight grip. The material making a ripping sound at my harsh treatment.
“She’s alive?” I question in desperation, my mind refusing to hope while
my heart thuds painfully in my chest.
“She lost a lot of blood, but she’s alive, Jaxon.” Jake pulls back, trying to
dislodge my grip. “You had a mild heart attack when you got to the hospital
with her. The doctor thinks it was all the stress of the situation. You’re
being monitored right now just in case you have another one, so you need to
stay calm.”
I had another heart attack? Like shit, how many can a man have before his
heart gives out? Am I a cat with nine fucking lives at this point? Honestly, I
hope that’s the case, I have a feeling I’m going to need more than one life
with the way shit is going with Stella. She’s alive but lost a lot of blood. I
need to get to her, to be by her side when she wakes. My little ice queen is
fighting for her life and mine will mean nothing if she doesn’t survive.
“How long was I out?” Panic surges through me, and my stomach clenches
tight at the thought that I have been unconscious for hours while she has
been alone. What if someone tries to get to her here in the hospital? The
thought has me pulling the intravenous from my hand with a sharp yank.
Blood trickles down my hand and drips onto the white hospital linens as
Jake stares on in horror at my actions.
I need to know who attacked my wife and why? My thoughts are a chaotic
mess. “Do we know who the attacker was?” I fidget with the electrodes on
my bare chest and as I unhook one, the monitor lets out a shrill beep.
Fuck, that will have the nurses charging in here any second. I don’t give a
fuck what they have to say, my place is next to my wife. If I need to be
monitored, they can do it from wherever she is right now. I refuse to be
separated from her for a minute longer. The fear that something could still
happen, somehow I could still lose her, runs through my mind and causes
my body to lock up tight, and my heart to lurch. Terror stabs my heart, and
more alarms go off around me. Damn it! I need to stay calm. Apparently, I
now have the heart of an eighty-year-old mother fucker.
That’s going to suck big time when I want to pound into Stella’s perfect
cunt. Don’t think about Stella’s pink, juicy, tight, pussy right now asshole.
We need to bring our heart rate down not up, plus we don’t want a boner
when the nurses walk in here. My mind screeches in irritation at my
stupidity. That would be fucking humiliating, not to mention hard to explain
without looking like a deranged psychopath. Yeah, my wife is in critical
condition fighting for her life and I’m standing here thinking about sliding
my cock inside of her. I roll my eyes at just the thought.
“The police believe he was hired to attack her. There was a vehicle found a
block away with her picture and a picture of Tyson’s car in the glove
compartment. They think that he followed Tyson and that’s how he knew
where she was and that she was alone once Tyson left to return to
Manhattan.”
“Who? Do we have any leads on who might have hired him?” Who the fuck
would be brazen enough to hire someone to kill my wife? Who hates her
enough to do that? Could it be Kalista? Would she have been able to
organize something like this? She hates Stella for sure, especially after the
incident with her parent's house burning to the ground and the billboards all
over the place. She would still have the financial means to hire someone,
but somehow even with all the malice between them, I can’t see Kalista
having the audacity to go after Stella that way. She wouldn’t have had the
ruthlessness nor the brain power to pull something like this off. No, it has to
be someone else other than Kalista, but who?
Originally, I had thought that it might have been Thomas Penticton that was
trying to hurt his own daughter. To get back at her for taking his board seat
at Penticton Industries and forcing him into an early, unwanted retirement,
but then that information about Ajax suspiciously fell into my lap and I
didn’t know what to think. Did he give me that information? He could have
still been responsible for the other two threatening incidents, but after his
display in my office where he clocked me, I’m less convinced that it was, in
fact, him. He seemed to finally have realized the true value of his daughter.
A little too late, because now she’s fucking mine, and I have zero intentions
of giving her back.
Who the fuck is out there trying to hurt my Stella? Now that this attacker
has failed, will they stop or will whoever they are, keep coming after her?
How many new enemies are out there just waiting to plunge a dagger into
her chest? I need to be more vigilant, no matter how irritated Stella gets
with me. I need to keep her safe and in order to do that, I need to be by her
side. I rip the last of the monitor wires off and pull myself to my feet just as
a nurse and a doctor rush inside the room.
“Mr. Stratford, you need to get right back in that bed sir, you just had a mild
heart attack three hours ago. You shouldn’t be up and walking around yet.”
The doctor tries to corral me back into the hospital bed, but I’m not having
it.
“Get the hell out of my way and tell me where my wife is!” My voice is icy
with panic and fear. I take another step away from the bed and watch as
Jake shakes his head at me in disbelief and, no doubt, annoyance.
“Sir, your wife is in stable condition. She is being looked after, there is no
need for you to rush in there.” The doctor, who no doubt wants my fist
down his fucking throat, utters and then takes a rushed step back when I
direct my furious and malignant gaze in his direction.
“No one is going to keep me from my wife, not you, not fucking death,
motherfucker. You had better just point the way before I wrap my hand
around that thick fucking throat of yours.”
I make a move in his direction and he lets out the most undignified squeak
and hides behind the nurse, who supplies him with a look of utter disbelief.
Fucking coward. “Nurse…take Mr. Stratford...to see his wife.” The doctor’s
voice comes out at an octave that would suggest the fucker’s balls never
dropped.
She moves away from the trembling coward and leads me out the door with
Jake quickly at my heels. “Great job boss, threatening violence in a place
trying to keep you and Stella alive.” Jake whisper-shouts from behind me.
I follow her down a long corridor, wearing nothing but the boxers I was
wearing this morning and the shitty thin hospital gown that is wide open in
the front instead of the back. No doubt to allow them to have all those
electrodes attached to me, and that is way too fucking short on my six-foot-
one frame. I keep my head held high as I pass gawkers on my way down the
hall, giving everyone a menacing look that has them lowering their gaze. I
can hear Jake trying not to laugh behind me, but I don’t give the slightest
fuck.
Nothing matters except getting to Stella. Not these people’s opinions of me,
not if my ass is hanging out, nothing. Nothing can touch me as long as she
is still breathing. My impulse to protect her, to keep her safe, is so strong
that it is becoming an obsession, and the only means I have for satisfying it
is to get to my little viper.

OceanofPDF.com
37

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

"A woman is like a teabag – you can’t tell how strong she is until
you put her in hot water." Eleanor Roosevelt.

M Y BODY IS SO sore that even the slightest movement brings pain

and fire ricocheting through my limbs. My fingers are tightly
imprisoned in someone else’s hand and going numb. My eyes flutter open
to the mirage of Jaxon slouched down in a chair opposite of where I am
lying. His eyes shut in slumber, a grimace painted across his haggard and
pale features. His arm is fully extended, and his long graceful fingers are
intertwined with mine.
How can this be? How can he be here with me? I look around in a panic at
where I am and the tell-tale beeps and distant noises confirm my suspicion
that I am in a hospital. A groan leaves my parted lips at the pulling
sensation from my side. I cheated yet another attempt on my life. I.
Fucking. Survived. Somehow, I survived bleeding to death on the floor of
my room. How did I? Who found me? Did Jaxon find me?
“Ja..xon” I try uttering his name, but my voice comes out raspy and dry. He
twitches in his sleep but doesn’t wake. I pull on our intertwined fingers, and
a groan leaves his lips before his eyes open at half-mast.
“Stella! Jesus, thank fuck you’re awake.” He quickly leans forward in the
chair, a moan of pain leaving his lips as he clutches his chest and focuses on
me. He brings our intertwined hands to his pouty full lips and kisses my
knuckles. The sensation of his warm lips across my skin makes the hairs on
my body stand on end and warmth fill my limbs. He is so beautiful to look
at, so stunning even when he is a disheveled mess.
“Tried…to…kill…me.” I force the words out after clearing my parched
throat. Jaxon reaches over to the bedside table for a cup and a pitcher,
filling it with water and a straw and bringing it to my lips. I study him from
below my lashes as he holds the cup steady. He looks exhausted,
bedraggled, and pale. Dark shadows mar his handsome face, more than a
few days worth of facial hair graces his jaw, and he’s got a massive bruise
on the side of his cheekbone, just below his eye. One that makes me
irrationally mad that someone has hit him, someone other than me, that is.
He’s wearing a hospital gown opened in the front, which is weird, and
patches of his golden skin and hidden ink tempt me as he moves. He pulls
back once I’ve had my fill and his slate-gray eyes meet mine, filled with
fear.
“I almost lost you, Stella. Someone tried once again to take you from me.”
The memories of what happened flash through my mind. Running for my
life while I was chased by a masked intruder through my new home, while
he threatened me with a knife. Rushing upstairs to the master bedroom and
locking myself inside with a gun, only to have the intruder break down the
door in an attempt to reach me and end my life. Pressing the gun’s trigger
over and over, while bullets landed in his body, causing macabre red spots
to appear. The sound that he made as he took his final breath, a noise that
will forever haunt me. A cry leaves my lips and tears cascade down my
cheeks. I killed someone; I murdered the man that was trying to kill me. I’m
now a murderer.
Jaxon moves to sit on the side of the bed, pulling both my hands into his
and leaning down, his lips kissing each of my eyes and then my forehead.
“You are safe now, baby. No one is going to hurt you.”
“I killed him.” The three words leave my lips but feel like acid in my throat,
corrosive and sharp, the knowledge devastating. I always knew I was
ruthless and cold, but I never imagined I was capable of murder. Now I
know that my soul is truly tarnished and that I am the ice queen that they
have named me. I want to regret my actions. I want to say that I would
change what I did if given the opportunity, but the truth is I would pull the
trigger again and again if that man came at me to hurt me. I am an
unredeemable sinner.
“You protected yourself, Stella. You saved yourself. You saved what’s mine.
Don’t fucking ever regret that, baby.” His words are fierce and filled with
anger. He pulls back from me, and the look on his face has fear skating
down my spine. He looks unhinged and filled with wrath, like he’s just one
moment away from setting the whole world ablaze. Is he angry that
someone tried to kill me or that I had to save myself? Perhaps his alpha
caveman tendencies are hurt, knowing I didn’t need a white knight as my
rescuer, that this ice queen saved her damn self. His lips open, but before
words escape, the hospital door crashes open with a jarring noise.
“Get the fuck away from my daughter, you heathen!” My father’s loud
voice booms into the room as he makes his appearance in the doorway
evident. His frame, large and intimidating, as is the scowl across his
malignant face. A part of me, the little girl that always feared him, wants to
cower back into the bed, but Jaxon tightens his hold on my hands,
preventing any movement.
I can see my mother in the small space behind him, her worried expression
evident as she holds firm to his arm, preventing him from charging into the
room and no doubt accosting Jaxon. It’s almost comical, their difference in
height and body size. She is David restraining Goliath.
“Thomas, calm down!” My mothers stern voice rents the air.
“Don’t tell me to calm down, woman! Someone almost killed my daughter,
AGAIN!” He shrugs off her hold and charges into the room as Jaxon stands
up, like a knight putting himself before me and danger. It gives me the
chance to get a good look at him. He’s in nothing but a pair of tight boxers
and an open hospital gown, which does nothing to hide his body from
anyone’s view. He has electrode stickers across his chest that I didn’t notice
before.
What the hell happened to him, was he attacked too? Panic that he has once
again been hurt fills me and I move my body forward to reach for him,
causing a sharp pain to sizzle up my side and a cry of pain to leave my lips.
Jaxon turns his head to stare back at me, his eyes locking onto my hand,
holding tightly to my bandaged side, and his nostrils flare and eyes widen,
showing the whites of his eye, speaking to the anger and panic he’s feeling.
“Thomas, I won’t have you coming in here and upsetting Stella further! She
needs rest. Whatever your feelings for me, I had nothing to do with this! We
can take this outside like men!” Jaxon faces off with my father, his spine
rigid and his hands tight at his side, the veins in his forearms protruding
with restraint. Have his arms and veins always been that sexy? I shake my
head to clear my mind, that is obviously in the gutter, and focus back on the
two raging bulls before me. The ones my tiny mother has put herself in
between to try to calm down.
“Upset her? You have got to be kidding me, boy! Ever since I gave you my
daughter, the world has ended up upside down and on fire. Someone has
been actively trying to kill her the whole length of your marriage! You are a
danger to her!” My father’s face is beet red, and sweat is dotting his
forehead. I have never in all my years of being alive seen concern for me
across his features. Most of the time all I see is regret and disdain in his
eyes. Right now, he looks like a terrified man. Is his fear genuinely for me
or for the remainder of his legacy? After all, if I had died, the Penticton line
would have died with me.
“Thomas, I am sure Jaxon had nothing to do with this.” My mother places a
firm hand on both of their chests and pushes them apart. I can see the
determined look on her face. To my surprise, my father steps back and
acquiesces to her demand to move away from Jaxon. His large body is tight
with frustration, and he cracks his neck from side to side in a blatant effort
of intimidation. I’m watching two fucking wolves trying to outdo each
other. God, give me strength to deal with the foolishness of men.
“In fact, I know it.” She gives Jaxon a chilling stare, one that has a shiver
racing through Jaxon’s large body. What the hell was that? Is Jaxon afraid
of my mother? The thought of Jaxon being afraid of my five foot nothing,
hundred-pound, timid mother is laughable, but still very evident in his wary
look.
“Folks! I need you all to vacate this room immediately!” A gray-haired
older nurse in light pink scrubs enters the room, arms crossed against her
large chest, and gives each of us a determined glare. “Mr. Stratford, you just
had a mild heart attack. You need to be in bed under observation.” She turns
her angry glare in my direction. “Mrs. Stratford, you were just stabbed and
lost a lot of blood, ma’am. You need rest!” Her fierce dark eyes turn
towards my father, and I watch as she straightens her posture, preparing to
do battle with a grizzly bear. She must be used to dealing with wealthy,
obnoxious tyrants up here in the Hamptons. She doesn’t even blink an eye.
“You sir, need to lower your voice and calm down! This is a hospital, not a
boxing match. If you cannot keep your voice lowered and your tone
respectful, I will have you removed.”
My father stares at her in horror, while my mother does her best to try to
hide the satisfied smirk on her face. If I had the energy to give this woman a
high-five for putting my father in his place, I would. My father is not used
to women talking down to him, and right now, he looks like he swallowed
something sour and his anger is eating him alive from the inside out. I have
no doubt though, that if he replies back to her in rudeness, she will have his
ass forcibly removed from this room. Whoever she is, she’s my new fucking
hero.
“We will all be leaving shortly, and they will behave themselves with
respect, nurse.” My mother nods at the queen of nurses, while raising an
eyebrow in my father and Jaxon’s directions. Her glare almost daring each
of them to dispute her words.
With one last look at each of the testosterone-fueled idiots in the room and a
wink at my mother, the warrior nurse steps back out of the room. My
mother shifts away from Jaxon, and my father approaches me on the bed.
Her fingers reach out to cradle my cheek and tears glisten down her face.
“Stella, my darling. How scared I was that I almost lost you.” My hand
cradles hers against my skin, and I feel her warmth and strength in the
touch. Strength that I desperately need to get through this ordeal and
process all that has happened to me.
“I’m alive, mother.” I reassure her, the thought of the alternative, causing
my breath to stutter in my chest.
“No thanks to this asshole here.” My father seethes, glowering in Jaxon’s
direction. I can see Jaxon’s chest rising and falling rapidly as he takes deep
breaths to try to calm himself down at my father’s accusations. They are
two alpha male gorillas, moments away from beating on their chests. I roll
my eyes at the amount of male toxicity in the room.
“Do we know anything, Jaxon? Who the assailant was? Why he was after
my daughter?” My mother questions, her hand dropping from my face to
reach for my hand and squeezing my fingers in support and reassurance.
My mother’s support strengthens me to speak my thoughts aloud.
“Ajax?” I question, although that doesn’t feel right. Somehow my gut
knows that Ajax wasn’t involved in this, despite what Jaxon and I did to
him. Despite his attempt to scare me into leaving Jaxon. No, this attack was
vicious, premeditated and meant not to scare me, but to end my life. Ajax
truly believes that he loves me, I don’t believe he would try to have me
murdered. What if it was the only way to keep you from Jaxon? Would he do
it then? The thought whispers through my mind, but I dismiss it.
“No my darling, this wasn’t Ajax.” My mother replies with conviction.
“How do you know that, Rachel? He’s tried to scare her once before. I’ll
fucking kill him with my bare hands.” Jaxon drags his hands through his
dark hair in frustration, leaving it standing in all different directions with his
aggravation, and gives my father a side-eyed look that I am not sure what to
make of.
A snort leaves my mother, and her eyes twinkle with mischief. “Because I
have had him… occupied, where he wouldn’t have the ability to make
another move against my daughter. Well, at least, since you maimed and
punished him viciously for his last one.”
“What?” My father’s voice echoes in the silent space.
Mine and Jaxon’s mouths hang wide open in shock at my mother’s words.
What does she mean she has had him occupied? How does she even know
about Ajax’s betrayal? My father has a look of miserable confusion across
his face, like he’s missing a large piece of the pie.
“It was you. You sent me that information, not Thomas.” Jaxon stares at my
mother in astonishment. I can see respect blooming in his eyes as he stares
at her and maybe a tad more fear.
“Yes Jaxon, I was the one that let that information drop into your lap. I
wanted to see what you would do with it. If you would avenge my daughter,
before I took matters into my own hands.” She smirks in his direction. “As
for Ajax being behind the current assassination attempt, it’s highly unlikely.
He’s been a guest of a… friend of mine, for the last couple of weeks since
Jaxon dropped him off beautifully broken on his doorstep. The man can
barely speak and certainly wouldn’t be able to make the arrangements
needed from his current location. This was someone else.”
“What have you done, Rachel?” My father questions with horror and fear.
My mind wonders who her “friend” is. My mom is a wealthy socialite,
attending charity galas and spending time at the spa. What friends does she
have that could keep a man under lock and key? I’m starting to see that my
mother is a prism, one I took at face value, when I should have been
looking at all her refractions.
My mother turns her cold, vengeful glare on my father, moving away from
the bed and grabbing his fat chin in her pink-tipped fingers. “What you
should have done, Thomas protected our daughter.” She squeezes tight until
a small cry of pain leaves his lips and then releases her grasp, wiping her
hand across her pant leg, as if the mere feel of his skin underneath her
fingers disgusts her. For the first time in my life, I watch my father stare at
my mother in abject fear. The woman that he often took his frustrations out
on with his raised hands. She is no longer a cowering, whimpering mess,
but a terrifying militant queen rising.
“If not Ajax, then who?” I question, my eyes darting a glance at each of the
inhabitants of my room, confusion at what is happening with my parents
adding to the muddled mess in my mind. The realization of why I am even
in a Hampton’s hospital rises, Kalista. The cunt, she’s the reason I hid in the
Hamptons like a vengeful deity.
Kalista and Jaxon, intimately embracing on the cover of that magazine,
unaware that they had been caught. How he humiliated and deceived me,
after all, we had been through together. How my last thought before I
passed out from blood loss was how I loved him. How I stupidly and
weakly wrote that message to him in my own blood. Did he see it? Did he
lay witness to my weakness, when I thought I was going to die?
A chorus of emotions makes their way through me all at once. Betrayal,
loathing, sadness and love. Jaxon must see the direction of my thoughts; he
braces himself as he lowers himself to his knees on the floor by the side of
the bed. His features rapidly turning over with different emotions. I watch
as his eyes widen and he licks his bottom lip nervously. He takes my hand
forcefully in his and smooths out my clawed fingers, the ones that want to
scratch his and Kalista’s eyes out.
“Stella, I swear to you…I swear I never cheated. She set me up, with a
hidden camera and made it appear like…like we were together.” His words
race and stumble from his lips, his eyes never leaving mine. “She wanted to
hurt you, to get back at you…and I was an idiot that walked right into a
trap.”

OceanofPDF.com
38

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Love is the wisdom of the fool and the folly of the wise.” Samuel
Johnson

“I WAS AN IDIOT that walked right into a trap.” The words make bile
rise up the back of my throat. I have never felt such shame at being a
man, and not seeing what was happening right in front of me. The truth is I
was weak, I should have known better than to let Kalista even approach me.
I didn’t see the warning signs of being led into a trap. I should have been
more observant and noticed what was happening around me instead of
daydreaming about Stella’s perfect cunt. I ought to have realized that she
would want to hurt Stella. To get retribution for my wife’s vicious
smackdown, and the best way to do that was through me. I was a blind,
dumb fuck.
My male ego, though, was flattered, like a fucking preening peacock. Even
though I knew what I had with Kalista in the past was over and could never
compare to the intensity of what I have with Stella. For a tiny moment, a
split second in time, I was flattered that two beautiful women wanted me,
that they would fight over me. Isn’t that every man’s grotesque fantasy?
Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that my little ice queen
would be so deep under my skin. That she would be a dagger in my heart
that I could not live without, unless I wished to bleed to death from the
gaping hole that she had carved.
I should have realized it the first time, when I placed myself between her
and a bullet. But it took her leaving me, destroying my sanity, and ensuring
that I couldn’t function without her to realize the depth of my true emotions.
Finding her bleeding to death on that bedroom floor, her blood written
declaration next to her was the ass kicking that I needed to realize that
without her, there is no point in living.
Had she died from her wounds, I would have found a way to follow her into
the next life. She will never be rid of me now. Stella Stratford will call to
me even in the ether, her soul is forever intertwined with mine. We are
bound as one, and I will never release her from my hold. Not in this life or
any of the next ones. I will murder anyone who tries to get in my way of
having her. She. Is. Mine.
“Stella…”I meet her intense blue gaze and have to swallow the lump in my
throat. My eyes dart to my in-laws and I watch as my mother-in-law raises
her eyebrow at me with expectation, while Thomas looks like he’s getting
ready to throttle me with my next words. I really fucking wish I didn’t have
an audience for this. This should be a moment just between Stella and me
where I beg like the loser I am for her forgiveness. I can see though, that no
one is going to give me that option, so fuck it. I have to man up and tell her
exactly how I feel.
“Stella, I swear to you…I…never cheated. I was done with Kalista after
you and I started our relationship in earnest.” Thomas lets out an
unintelligible response behind me and grunts in pain from the swat Rachel
gives him with her hand. For fuck sakes…this is not going well at all. Like
how the fuck do I confess to the beautiful woman in front of me that she is
my everything?
“I…I care for you deeply, Stella. I would never have done that to you…” I
stumble on my words, my tongue feeling thick and the words I’m desperate
to utter clogging my throat.
“Oh Jaxon, you fucking coward, spit it out already. Tell her the truth!”
Rachel’s harsh words have me staring back at her with rancor. I watch as
confusion crosses Stella’s beautiful features. She parts her lips, no doubt to
refute the words I have said so far. A deep painful breath leaves my chest
and with desperation, I spit it all out, “I’m fucking in love with you, Stella!
I couldn’t have cheated because there is no one but you for me. Not Kalista,
not any other woman, just you.” Eloquent as ever asshole, my mind laughs
at my expense.
My fucking knees are starting to hurt, and so is my pride. I watch as my
words wash over Stella, and the disbelief on her face is evident. She thinks
my words are insincere, that they are platitudes of a man caught with his
pants down. How do I make it crystal clear to my beautiful little viper that
she is my everything?
A green file folder flies over my head and lands in Stella’s lap to my shock
and her confusion. I watch as she grabs it, pulling her hand from my grip. I
feel the loss of her touch, my hand craving hers back in its grasp
automatically, with the desperation that my whole body is feeling to ensure
that she is mine. “What is this?’ Her voice comes out restrained and small
as if she thinks whatever is in that folder will hurt her.
“Proof of his true feelings and intentions, daughter. He’s not lying, he does
love you. More than even I could have imagined. He has signed everything
over to you solely, Stella. You control Stratford industries and all its assets.”
“YOU DID WHAT!” Thomas shouts behind me. I ignore his shock at
Rachel’s words and keep my eyes pinned to my wife as she opens the folder
and reads the documents. Sweat combined with dread drips down my back.
What if that’s not enough to convince her? I have nothing left to give her
but my very life. If she asks for that too, I will gladly hand it over to her.
What am I without her? Nothing, I am nothing.
Thomas is swearing a litany of profanities behind me, but I could care less
about his opinion of me. He deems me weak for signing over everything to
Stella. What he fails to understand is none of it matters without her. She is
what I want.
“Thomas, let’s leave these two alone.” From the corner of my eye, I watch
as Rachel yanks on his arm and pulls him from the room. The door closes
quietly behind them, and finally, I am alone with my heart’s greatest desire.
My greatest possession, the one that has yet to utter a word.
“Stella, I know…I have wronged you. That I’m a callous fucking idiot, but
I swear to you. I love you, Stella, with all of my being, with my dark and
tainted heart. With everything that I am, I swear I love you and I will never
let you go. You will never walk this earth alone without me. I will be your
shadow and your sword for all of eternity.” I pull her hand into mine,
turning it over and kissing her warm palm.
“Jaxon…I don’t understand…the picture?” Stella doesn’t finish her words
and I can see the questions across her features and maybe still a bit of
doubt. Can I really blame her? If the table were turned, would I readily
believe without an explanation?
I drag my hand back through my hair, her palm still clutched in my other
hand. I’m afraid to let her go, that somehow something else will try to take
her from me. “I hated going to that gala without you, but I knew it was our
responsibility to do our duty for Stratford Industries.” I inhale a deep
breath, and push the rest of my words out, praying that Stella gives me a
chance and just listens to me.
“I couldn’t focus Stella, I was in that room, but you were all I could taste on
my lips. Your pretty pussy all that was on my mind. I couldn’t keep my dick
from going painfully and embarrassingly hard at the thoughts of you. So I…
I excused myself to the empty lobby, trying to calm myself down. Kalista
followed me, she…ah fuck! She caught me rubbing one out over my pants
and took advantage of the situation, pressing herself to me and trying to kiss
me. I moved my face away from hers and she got me in the neck.” I pull
Stella’s hand tight to my lips, kissing her knuckles. My hand clammy,
holding her intertwined fingers and sweat trickling down my back, making
the hospital gown stick to my body.
“I pushed her away, Stella, so hard that she almost landed on her ass. I told
her to stay away from me. That what we had was in the past, and all I
wanted was you. That you were my future. I never knew there was a
photographer hiding and taking photos. I underestimated what lengths
Kalista would go to, to try to get me back and to hurt you.” I meet her gaze,
deep blue blazing into gray. I watch as she pulls her bottom lip between her
teeth and bites down on it. The desire to pull it from her and suck it into my
own mouth almost overwhelms me. “I was naive, stupid even for not seeing
the danger, but I swear Stella, you are everything I want, all that I need.”
I stand up and move my body next to her on the bed, pressing my forehead
to hers, and she allows it. The look of trepidation is still warring in her eyes
and I know I have to clear all doubts from her mind about my feelings for
her. She needs to understand that this is real, this is everything. “I love you,
Stella Stratford.” The words leave my mouth, as I press my lips to her skin.
When I pull back, I see the tears in her eyes, waiting to cascade down her
beautiful face. The face that belongs to my future. “There is nothing I
wouldn’t give you; everything I am belongs to you. My wealth, my name,
our empire, and my heart, without you, there is nothing worth living for. My
miserable, weak heart would fail without you. It only beats for you, Stella.”
A tear slides down her right cheek, followed by another, and a whimper
leaves her pouty mouth. She reaches for my face tentatively. Her touch is a
balm to my soul and thudding heart. “Take everything, Stella. It’s yours, it’s
all yours.” I kiss her hand and then lean my face closer until I’m just a
hair’s breadth from her lips.
“You are mine. You were always meant to be mine. You are my possession,
my greatest desire, my heart and my soul. I will never let you go, Stella, so
please don’t run from me. Don’t run from us.”

OceanofPDF.com
39

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“When a woman is talking to you, listen to what she says with her
eyes.” Victor Hugo

T HE SHOCK OF HIS words and the documents before me are making

me feel light-headed. Jaxon loves me? Truly loves me and has signed
over all of his legacy to me. How is this possible? Am I still in a dream
state or did I die, and this is all some fucked up place my brain has been
transported to. One where I get everything I have ever wanted all at once,
only to realize that I am dead?
Could this be real? I feel the weight of all this information and his
declaration of his feelings coming at me so suddenly. It makes me feel like I
am suffocating or drowning under its weight. While I had hoped that he had
feelings for me as more than just a warm body to spend the night with, I
never for a moment imagined the depth of his feelings. Not even after he
took that bullet for me.
Did I think he that he enjoyed fucking me any way he could and got off on
controlling my pleasure? Sure, fucking did. Did I acknowledge and
welcome the fact that he’s a bit unhinged and insanely possessive where
I’m concerned? Yes, but did I think that in any way meant he loved me? Not
for a second.
Now lying here in this hospital bed, hearing him declare his feelings and
intentions for me and his denial of what happened with Kalista, I am not
sure what to think or feel. Can I trust that his feelings are true? He just
signed over his fortune to you! My mind screeches with disbelief.
“Stella, my little viper, that mind of yours is working overtime and smoke is
pouring out of those pretty ears. Stop trying to overthink it.” He leans
forward, his warm lips brushing against mine. His taste lingering on my
lips, and his scent invading my senses. He doesn’t try to deepen the kiss,
letting me decide how we are to proceed. My eyes are wide open, blue
staring into molten silver. Is he what I want? Do I believe him?
Maybe I am the biggest fool that has ever lived, but I do believe him. I
believe that he loves me in his own possessive and demanding way. That he
wouldn’t betray me with Kalista once he realized that he had a true
affection for me. The sacrifice of his legacy and empire, the two things he
has always desired above all else and is consumed with, proves to me that
he wants me more than he wants that future that he originally married me to
create. Can we move forward together and end up creating our joint destiny,
one where I am his world, and he is mine?
I press my lips firmly into his and open my mouth to allow his tongue to
enter and rub against mine. The kiss begins soft and gentle, but with each
stroke, Jaxon adds fuel to a fire that will not be held back. The kiss deepens
and we are ravenous for each other. Little whimpers leave my lips and
groans leave his as our tongues tangle, teeth clash, and our breath is passed
back and forth between us. Right now, Jaxon is my air and strength and at
this moment, I cannot imagine a world where he is not mine and I am not
his. Please let all of this be true and real, I will not survive the heartache if
it’s not.
Does all of this fix all our problems? Not even a little bit. Great, we love
each other, but we still don’t trust or respect each other. Although we do
hunger for each other as if we were two ravenous beasts. We are still two
strangers tied together by fate, the will of wealthy men, and a massive
fortune. Not to mention our most pressing issue. The one there is no way of
avoiding or ignoring, someone out there is still trying to kill me. I pull back
from this kiss, both my palms flat against his heaving chest.
“Jaxon…I believe you about Kalista, but this doesn’t solve our problems.
We started this marriage with coercion and untrue emotions…I can’t help
but think that we will never be happy…”
“STOP! Stop right there Stella, don’t utter another fucking word. If you are
about to tell me we should not be together because of the way we began our
relationship, don’t even bother my little ice queen.” His lips peck mine once
more and he leans back to stare at me. “You need to understand a few
things, Stella so that we have no misunderstandings going forward from this
moment on.”
He groans as he shifts next to me on the small bed, making himself
comfortable and causing a smirk to cross my face. He grabs both of my
hands and puts them in his lap. I bite down on the whimper that struggles to
leave my lips with the shift in my torso. I think this fucker has forgotten I
was just stabbed in his overwhelming need to confess his love for me. He’s
adorable when he’s behaving like a love besotted sap, so I hold in the
snappy words that want to leave my lips.
“You are mine, Stella Stratford, now and forever. I will allow nothing and
no one to take you away from me. No man or woman, no test of fate, no
fucking deity in the sky. Hell, if the devil tries to take you, he and I are
going to have a big fucking problem.” He releases my hand, and his fingers
stroke my cheek tenderly. “You are mine. Every part of you, from that
pretty dark head to those sexy arctic eyes, right down to that pretty pink
pussy and those delectable toes. No one Stella, gets any part of you but
me.”
His declaration has my chest expanding, the breath I was holding exhaling
and relief pumping through me. I needed to hear these words expressed
from his demanding lips. To know that he feels as much for me as I do for
him. His words are a soothing balm to my soul and a lit match to my
passion. My hand reaches out and grabs the back of his neck, pulling him
closer.
“I will not share you, Jaxon, not with another woman, not with the fucking
world, not even with your precious legacy. You are mine just as much as I
am yours. If you ever hurt me again, ever make me suffer as you have, I
will sink a blade into that heart of yours and meet you in hell.” I crush my
lips to his, and the raging fire travels once again between us until I cry out
in pain from jolting my side.
He pulls back, his features filled with heat and amusement sparkling in the
polished silver of his eyes. “As much as I want to fuck every one of your
sweet holes right now, my little viper. It would probably kill both of us.” A
groan leaves his lips as he pulls away and retains the seat next to the bed,
putting distance between us.
“I need to know about the intruder, Stella. Someone out there wants to hurt
you. Someone knew to follow Tyson to get to you. You are not safe until we
kill whoever is after you.”
His words cause a shiver to race down my spine. He doesn’t mention
stopping them or apprehending them, he wants to kill them. Can I kill
another person? Can I let Jaxon be tainted with someone’s death to protect
me? I don’t want to think about what happened. About how my actions led
to a man riddled with bullet holes taking his last breath in my presence and
me almost bleeding to death alone. There’s no avoiding it, though; Jaxon is
right. Someone out there will try again to hurt me. Possibly using him or
even my parents to get to me. I need to figure out if this is just about me
seizing power or about us. We have too many enemies hiding in the
shadows, waiting to do us harm.
“He somehow got into the house without me sensing he was there or any of
the alarms going off. I realized someone was there, when I heard footsteps
on the stone floor and he was already making his way towards the kitchen. I
thought at first that it was Tyson coming back for something he had
forgotten. He tried to trap me in the kitchen and attack me with a blade, but
I managed to escape and run for the front door. There he once again tried to
trap me, but I managed at the last second to thwart him off and run for the
master bedroom and lock myself inside.” I watch as anger races across his
features, his eyes turning to hard flint and his jaw tensing with the grinding
of his teeth. “I had a gun in there, and when…when he broke the door…I
shot him.”
“Did he give you any clue as to why he was there? Did he say anything that
would give us an idea of who hired him to hurt you?”
I rack my brain, going through each of the memories from the attack, scene
by scene. It’s like a vibrant movie reel in my mind. Did he say or do
anything that would give an indication of who wants me dead? The memory
of the stairs keeps coming back to me over and over. What was it he said to
me as I tried to escape him? Did he mention a name? No…he never said
any names, he just called me a cunt and a whore…
“Fuck! He said they! He said “they” want you dead, cunt.” I stare at Jaxon
with shock. The memory once again rolls through me until I am certain that
those were the words that he uttered. “Jaxon, do you understand what that
means?”
“FUCK!” He shouts, stands up, and kicks the chair until it falls backward.
“Yeah, Stella, it means baby, there’s more than one person after you and we
need to know who the fuck they are so I can kill all of them.”

OceanofPDF.com
40

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Your biceps, six-pack abs, and daring attitude are of no use if you
cannot protect and respect women!” Avijeet Das

T HREE WEEKS LATER…

I watch Stella from the doorway of her office, she’s a vision of power
and confidence. Her sexy slate gray suit offset by the pop of red in her shirt,
making her skin look luminous. The desire to slip under her desk and
tongue her pretty cunt, a vicious craving in my bloodstream, one I am
finding difficult to control, much like the woman herself.
My beautiful, relentless wife refused to stay home to continue recuperating
from almost bleeding to death and leaving me in this miserable world alone,
despite my very best attempts at teasing her with my hard cock. I should
feel dejected that she still insisted on coming to the office after all the effort
I put in this morning. I can’t stop the smirk from crossing my lips at the
memory of her expression when I pulled out my cock and made her choke
on it before she even had a sip of coffee. Fuck my balls are already pulling
tight into my body just with the thought of fucking that tight throat of hers
again. Once a day is never enough with Stella, I need inside of one of her
delicious tempting holes all day long.
Stella is determined not to hide from whoever is trying to hurt her. I get it, I
do. She’s a little hellion that pushes through her fear and refuses to cower.
The knowledge that someone wants to end her life causes me endless hours
of panic and fear. The nightmares I relive every night of finding her lying in
her own blood causes me to wake, shaking and gasping for breath. The only
thing that calms me down after having one is pulling her tightly into my
arms and feeling her breath skate across my skin. Holding her as tightly as I
can so that I can reassure myself that she is still alive and here with me, that
no one has taken her from me. How can I protect her if she won’t stay
behind the walls of our fortress? Would you hide? My mind questions.
FUCK! My grip tightens on the doorframe. No, I wouldn’t hide. I would
taunt whoever means me harm in hopes of baiting them and forcing them
out from hiding so that I could kill them. The same thing my lovely ice
queen seems to be doing. I look over at the new head of our security team,
standing in full tactical gear like a sentry just outside of her office. The guy
is one huge, scary motherfucker. A shiver runs down my spine at the
thought of having to fight the fucker now tasked with my wife’s life.
Clark Abbotts came highly recommended, but not from law enforcement
like you would have expected. Oh no, Clark has an array of talents. Ones
that those just outside of the bright lights of the law prefer. His skill set is
not exactly legal in this country, but that’s the appeal of having him work
for us.
I needed someone just as ruthless as I am to protect Stella at all costs.
Someone that would not hesitate to do what was necessary by any means,
legal or not, to keep her alive. A killer to protect my wife from other killers.
My underworld connections led me to the young man from Canada. A
ruthless mercenary with an honor code. Within a day, he had taken charge
and overhauled all of our security measures. New ex-military guards were
hired, ones that shoot first and ask questions later. The Stratford estate is
now a state-of-the-art fortress. Every window and door is bulletproof.
Weapons and panic buttons hidden on every floor. Our gate now sports high
voltage electricity, one that will kill a human that tries to climb it instantly
and can be armed from inside our home. There is surveillance all around the
perimeter of our estate, with someone always monitoring it. Fuck even
Fergus is now walking around with a gun strapped to him, much to Mrs.
Pox’s horror. Fort Knox, who? My estate is locked up tighter than a devoted
catholic nun’s knees.
We even had Stella’s parents temporarily moved into the estate to ensure
that they can’t be used against us. Let me tell you how much fucking fun it
has been trying to fuck my wife raw with all these people in my house and
with my father-in-law giving me death stares, every time we are in a room
together.
The one time in the last two weeks I managed to make Stella scream from
me eating her perfect juicy cunt under her home office desk, I ended up
with a gun pressed to the back of my fucking head. Let me tell you how
quickly my boner disappeared. Poof, motherfucker.
Yet here we are at the fucking office, because Stella won’t stay put! “Stella,
are you almost done?” I walk into her office and she looks up from
whatever she is reading on the screen in front of her, a look of confusion
marring her perfect features. God, I want to bite down on that plump lip and
make her bleed for me. Unfortunately, we are supposed to be attending a
charity dinner tonight to benefit the “Widows of Fire Personnel.“ A function
that Stella refuses to miss and one that I am attending with a bowling ball of
dread in my gut.
This will be our first public appearance since that magazine cover came out
and she was stabbed. Not that anyone knows that happened. No, the home
invasion and her killing her assailant was made to disappear with a lot of
zeros from our bank account. We wanted to make sure that there was no
mention anywhere of the attempt, let whoever hired that fucker wonder if
he’s still out there or if he’s six feet underground.
“Just one more moment, Jaxon. I am just going over this acquisition. Did
you authorize this purchase two months ago of a bunch of construction sites
in the south that had taken over an area of low-income housing?” Her
eyebrows furrow, and she bites down on that lip I’m craving to suck. “The
developers have gone bankrupt and lost millions of their investors’ money.
The sites have been overrun by gang violence and set ablaze. Why did we
buy this?”
At first, I have no clue what she’s even talking about. It doesn’t sound like
an investment that I would have made. Why would I have acquired
construction sites in a low-income housing area? I rack my thoughts and
move closer to her desk, making my way around and leaning over her to get
a look at the document on her screen. Her glorious scent invades my senses,
and I lean down to rub my lips against the warm column of her neck. I’m
just about to suggest we skip the dinner and lock the door of her office,
when the memory of my wedding reception niggles at the back of my mind.
A devious smile crosses my face as I remember fucking over those cretins
weeks after my reception that were bragging about being able to steal low-
income housing from the poor for pennies on the dollar and transition them
to condos for the wealthy. Leaving all those poor people displaced and
without suitable housing. I wanted to fuck up their plans and throw a
wrench into their progress, so I called in a couple of favors from the local
gangs and had the construction sites terrorized and set ablaze. I paid off
local law enforcement to look the other way and the insurance adjusters to
refuse payment. When their investor tucked tail and ran for the hills, I
bought all the properties up for basically nothing. My plan was to transition
that area back to affordable housing and even build a few schools and some
daycares. Ones that would help the people of those areas prosper rather than
continue to struggle daily while rich fucks like me prospered on their
hardship.
Nothing brings me such joy as being able to fuck over and destroy other
wealthy assholes. Do I make enemies that way? Maybe. Are they too
chicken shit to do anything about it? You bet.
“I was playing a little game of chicken and bulldozer with a few of our
wealthy friends. It’s nothing to worry about, love. We are going to make an
investment to the community and earn some goodwill and some tax
incentives from the government. Even build a school that is dedicated to my
father.” I kiss her neck again, swirling my tongue over her soft skin and
then sucking hard on her flesh to leave a mark. Fuck that has my dick
hardening in my pants. I love to see Stella covered in my marks.
“Jaxon, this is not a small investment, we are talking about over two million
dollars.” She shoves me away from her. Her eyebrows raised closer to her
hairline, and a grimace across her beautiful face. Fucking great I have once
again displeased my little ice queen. Just with that look of annoyance across
her features, I know there is zero chance I’m getting into her panties. Damn
it! My fucking cock is already hard!
“It’s chump change. Nothing to worry about. Now let’s go and get this
fucking night over with so I can go home and fuck your ass.” I drag her up
from her seat and kiss her soundly until her breath is leaving her in harsh
pants and a pink color is streaking across her cheekbones.

I’m fucking angsty sitting here while my wife is steps away, shaking hands
with different widows. All I want to do is get this night over and done with.
Stella’s supposed to be making some fucking speech in a few minutes and
handing over a check for a million bucks to this charity.
I don’t know what it is, but a feeling of unease is skating up and down my
spine. My eyes keep tracing over all the different people in the room. I
don’t see anything out of place, but my gut is telling me something is
wrong.
I must not be the only one, cause Clark is no more than two feet away from
Stella looking menacing at anyone that approaches her. His eyes on
constant patrol through the room and meeting the other security personnel
across the space. They communicate soundlessly with each other and each
go back to patrolling the room’s inhabitants.
I shake hands with another acquaintance, but don’t focus on any of the
words he’s blithering out of his mouth. My attention is solely on the dark-
haired beauty that I want desperately to wrap my arms around and take
home. She looks up over her shoulder, feeling my eyes on her. Her blue
eyes are bright and filled with mischief as they meet mine, a small smile
graces her pretty lips. She doesn’t look worried, Stella always projects
strength even when she doesn’t feel it. It’s one of the qualities I most
admire about my little ice queen.
The event organizer leads her away from the crowd of recipients and to the
side of the stage area, Clark follows right behind her, ever her faithful and
lethal shadow. My eyes skip once again over the room and I feel the hairs
on the back of my neck standing on end. I begin searching for whoever is
staring at me and giving off the malevolent energy I can feel in the room.
My glare centers on three of my acquaintances off to the side deep in
conversation. They are sending me dirty scathing looks. I gift all three of
the fuckers with a snarky smirk.
Fisher St. John, Jeffrey Cain and River Stanton. The same fuckers from my
wedding reception that were so smug and the very ones that Stella and I
were discussing earlier about that investment I made. I stare them down,
daring them to approach me and reprimand me for sweeping in and fucking
up their investment. None of them will meet my glare, fucking cowards.
Jeffrey Cain looks agitated and unkempt, a look of malice across his
features as his eyes track Stella across the room.
The look and anger radiating off of him has me paying closer attention to
their little group. I nod at Clark in their direction when his eyes meet mine
from across the room. Jeffrey Cain has every reason to hurt Stella. Kalista’s
father has suffered the brunt of my wife’s temper, after all, she did set his
house ablaze and destroyed his daughter’s credibility and future. I want to
feel sorry for the man, but even after all these years as his acquaintance, I
never liked the fucker.
The organizer is now walking across the stage and tapping on the
microphone to get our attention and requesting for everyone to return to
their tables. I sit my ass down, still feeling out of sorts and watch as my
gorgeous wife walks across the stage after her introduction in those sexy as
fuck heels. The ones that are going to be up by my ears later on if I have
anything to say about it. I don’t see Clark, but I know he can’t be far and
will be positioned in the best way to protect Stella.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it’s an honor to be here tonight and bring light to
the Widows of Fire Personnel Fund. On behalf of myself, my husband
Jaxon, and Stratford Industries, I would like to present this check for one
million dollars to the director of FPF…”
She doesn’t get another word out before someone is yelling from the back
of the room. The words “die you fucking whore” are shouted and then it
sounds like fireworks are erupting throughout the room. Except it’s not
fireworks, it’s fucking bullets! Various people are shooting from different
parts of the room. People are getting hit and falling to the ground, others are
running in panic. Some have fallen to the ground screaming and are hiding
under the tables.
It’s pure fucking chaos! Where the hell is Stella? I push away from a man in
front of me who took a bullet and stumbled into me. His heavy body
knocked me into the table behind me and caused me to lose my balance. His
blood gushes from his neck wound, spraying me. Screams are all I can hear
coming from every direction. I crouch down and start to move between the
tables, making my way towards the stage and the last place I saw Stella
standing. There are casualties everywhere, the shooters are still hailing
bullets throughout the room. A large grunt greets my ears as the man hiding
below the next table gets hit and stumbles backward. Holy fuck! I have to
get to Stella. Where is Stella?
I spy a glimpse of gray and red and move toward where I think Stella is
hiding off the side of the stage. I’m just a few feet away from her when the
shooting suddenly stops, and a loud voice thunders through the room.
“Stratford, you had better come out if you want your little whore of a wife
to live.”

OceanofPDF.com
41

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of

throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
Buddha

O H MY GOD! Someone is spraying bullets across the room. My eyes

land on the event coordinator, Sasha, lying prone on the floor a few
feet away from where Clark has me crouched. Her eyes stare sightlessly up
at the ceiling, blood streaming from the wound in her forehead that ended
her life too short.
Who the hell is attacking us? My eyes try desperately to dart around Clark
and search for Jaxon. I lost track of him when the shooting started, and fear
slithers across my whole body. My throat is clogged with sobs, and tears are
sliding down my cheeks unchecked. I need to get myself under control and
be strong. I can’t break down when I need to protect Jaxon and myself.
There seems to be multiple shooters throughout the room, gunning people
down without reason. Is this some sort of terrorist attack against the
wealthy, or is this someone after Jaxon and me? My questions are answered
with a loud shout from across the room that has me trying to stumble to my
feet in horror.
“Stratford, you had better come out if you want your little whore of a wife
to live.”
Clark grabs my wrist painfully and pulls me back down to the ground.
“Mrs. Stratford, I need you to slowly start moving backward, crouch as low
as you can.” Clark’s hushed words meet my ear. His dark suit jacket is wide
open, the array of weapons strapped to his body on display. He slips a dark
gun into my hand and tightens my grip around it. “You press the trigger
until it clicks empty if anyone other than me or Jaxon approaches you. Do
you understand?”
My frightened eyes meet his, and I nod in understanding, my grip
tightening on the weapon. I back away slowly, crouching so low that I
might as well be a worm slithering on my stomach. Screams and sobs are
still echoing off the walls in the confined space. My eyes meet a scared
waiter’s who is hiding under a table as I keep moving in the direction Clark
is pushing me towards.
“JAXON, YOU FUCKER! COME OUT FROM HIDING!” A man’s irate
voice screams over the chaos. “Find the whore, he will come out of hiding
to protect her.”
“Stella, listen to me, when I signal, I want you to run towards the
emergency exit at the back of the stage. Don’t look back and don’t stop
running, even when you are outside. You head to our designated area. Our
team is outside, they will protect you with their lives.”
“What about Jaxon?” My voice comes out in harsh gasps. The pain from
my wound is a stitch in my side at the crouched position I am in. My hand
gripping the gun trembles and I keep my finger away from the trigger with
fear that I will accidentally shoot Clark or myself.
“Let me worry about getting to Jaxon. You do exactly what I tell you. They
want you so they can hurt him.” Clark’s face is thunderous, his eyes so cold
and frightening that it has me backing up a further step. Fuck I should have
listened to him and Jaxon about not attending this event. I was so reckless,
putting all of us in danger just because I refused to cower in my own
fortress. How many people have died because of my decision? My eyes
once again shift over to Sasha’s body, I did that, I caused that to happen.
“Now! Go!” Clark pushes me back and stands from his crouched position,
with a gun in each hand, raining bullets across the room towards the
assailants. I get up and run towards the emergency exit sign I can see in the
distance. My legs feel like two wet noodles that want to cave in on me as I
sprint in the direction of the red words and beacon of hope. I don’t look
back, even though my heart is begging me to go look for Jaxon. Clark is
right, they will use me to hurt him, I need to put myself out of their reach.
A grunt from behind has me turning and looking over my shoulder just as I
hit the bar on the emergency door. The waiter that was hiding had tried to
escape after me and is down on his knees clutching, his abdomen as red
blood soaks his white dress shirt. “Please help me!” He begs with
frightened eyes.
I almost turn back around to help him, to try to drag him with me to safety
but another shot rings out and he falls face down onto the ground. Fuck, I
got to run now! I slam my arm into the door, and it opens with a shriek. I
don’t hesitate running out the door, my heels hitting the hard concrete of the
side entrance. I keep moving, trying to use the shadows created by the
overhang of the building and the darkness of the night to hide in.
I make it almost to the front of the building when another shot rings out in
the night air. “You’re going to die you fucking whore!” Footsteps are
rapidly approaching behind me. I duck down between two dumpsters,
trying to control my ragged breathing, my hand tightening on the gun. “You
can’t escape whore; we have Jaxon and we are going to put a bullet between
his eyes while you watch.”
I bite hard down on my lip until I can taste rich copper to stop the whimper
that is trying to escape my throat. I have to trust that Clark got to Jaxon, that
this fucker is lying, and trying to get me to come out of hiding. Crunching
sounds greet my ears as he approaches my hiding spot. I quickly slip off my
heels, knowing I will have one chance to run and I won’t be able to do it
with them on. A shot fires into the night air a few feet away from me and
echoes off the wall of the building. “Come out little Stratford whore, I plan
to fuck that icy cunt of yours before I put a bullet into you!”
I don’t recognize the voice of who is stalking me, but it doesn’t matter who
he is. I am not going to allow him to hurt me. What about if they actually
have Jaxon? My mind cries, and my chest tightens painfully. The best thing
I can do for Jaxon is to make it to safety and get help. They want me, they
want to hurt me, and maybe if I can get away, they won’t kill him yet. A
large noise comes from behind us and startles the attacker; he turns and
fires back into the darkness. I don’t hesitate, jumping out from my hiding
spot and firing the gun in his direction. I don’t stop to see if my shot hits
him. I run towards the opening of the alley, lights and the racing cars I can
see beyond.
Another shot fires into the night air, and shards of brick rain down on my
head from just above me. A scream leaves my lips, and I fall to my knees
and look back. He’s quickly approaching in the shadows. I still can’t see his
face, but I can hear his ragged breathing. “Fucking cunt!” He grunts with
pain.
The street light is mere feet away, I have to fucking get out of here. I jump
back to my feet, point the gun at the shadow approaching me, and pull the
trigger. The sound is so loud that my ears ring, and the blowback has me
banging back into the brick wall before I stand up and run.
I make it out of the alleyway and into the light just as another shot rents the
air and I feel it impact with my shoulder. I stumble forward, slamming
down to my knees once again, the gun going limp in my arm. Pain sears up
my back and down my arm. Fuck, he shot me. I grab the gun in my left
hand, stumbling with it, as adrenaline fills me and I gain my feet and run for
my life. Cars are whizzing by quickly on the road, people are running in
different directions trying to get away from the shots being fired. I make it
further down, hiding behind a dark parked vehicle just as the shadow
morphs into the body of a man.
River Stanton stands at the end of the alleyway holding a gun in one hand
while his other hand clutches at his side. Momentary satisfaction fills me
and spurs me on with the knowledge that I did hit him with that shot. His
eyes look over the parked vehicles as he searches for me. He’s grunting in
pain and shifting slowly forward, the look of crazed obsession and fury
across his face.
Why is River Stanton after me? I have never done anything to him, to my
knowledge. I don’t even know the guy personally. I don’t have time to
analyze his reasoning behind wanting to kill me as he approaches my hiding
spot. My shoulder is on fire. The pain making sweat slide down my back
and bile to rise up my throat. I hold the gun awkwardly in my left hand,
trying to get a firm grip on it. Another shot echoes in the air, and the
windshield on the car behind me shatters, raining glass shards all over me.
I’m going to die if I don’t shoot him. He’s going to kill me out here on
Madison Avenue, and no one is going to stop him.
Flashes of my life with Jaxon rapidly cross my mind. His smile this
morning as he tried to entice me to stay home with him. His words of love
last night as he held me tightly in his arms as we fell to blissful sleep. His
declaration of love in my hospital room back in the Hamptons. My mother’s
kind smile and warm embraces and my father’s attempt at trying to have
real discussions with me in the last couple of days flicker through my mind.
Fuck it! I refuse to die now! I refuse to cower before this man and let him
take my life. If he wants to kill me, I will fight until the last breath leaves
my lips, and I will take him on the journey to hell with me. We can go meet
the devil together.
I stand from my crouched position, moving around the other side of the car
and approaching him from behind. His deranged eyes are searching for me
everywhere. I can see people running away from us and other’s crouched
down trying not to get hit with bullets. Sirens are loud in the distance and
approaching rapidly.
A shout from behind us, has him turning rapidly and gaining his attention. I
don’t hesitate, lifting my shaking arm, the gun grasped tightly in my fist.
My eyes meet his for a moment and then I pull the trigger, my finger
squeezing as shots rain out across the space between us.

OceanofPDF.com
42

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”

Napoleon Bonaparte

“J AXON, YOU FUCKER! COME OUT FROM HIDING!” Jeffrey

Cain’s voice screams over the chaos. “Find the whore. He will come
out of hiding to protect her.”
From the corner of my eye, I see a brief flash of gray and red before it
disappears further into the backstage area. A whoosh of panicked air leaves
my lungs. I have to hope that Clark is managing to get Stella out of the
building and away from these crazy assholes that want to kill us. It’s all that
matters right now. I don’t care if I die, but if I do, I am taking all of these
fuckers with me. None of them are going to harm Stella if I have anything
to do with it.
My chest tightens painfully, and my breath stutters in my throat. Naw fuck
that shit, not right now, useless weak heart. You don’t get to act the fuck up
right now. We have to protect the one thing we love the most. We have to
save Stella.
My attention returns to Jeffrey Cain, Fisher St. John, and two other men I
don’t know as they open fire once again into the room. The hail of bullets
are hitting wall plaster, furniture, and people running for their lives. I slowly
move from one table to the next, using the linens to cover my tracks as I
make my way towards Fisher St. John.
I have never been so happy that I let Clark talk me into carrying a gun
strapped under my suit jacket. While I have never actually killed anyone
with a gun before, my fury is racing through me, knowing that these
lunatics mean to harm Stella and me. Nothing will stop me from ending
their lives before they attempt to end ours. My grip on the gun tightens and
I release the safety, moving my finger into position.
Jeffrey Cain moves further into the room, shooting at people trying to run
away from him and screaming incoherently. Fisher is holding his gun high
in his hand like some criminal vigilante in a comic book movie. The look
across his middle-aged face is unhinged, his eyes wide, the white
pronounced, his face red and sweat sliding down his ridiculous comb over. I
never in a million years would have guessed that this guy would be
involved in trying to harm Stella and me. He has always been soft spoken,
awkward, and restrained in his business dealings with me. I would never
have thought that he would have the courage to be shooting at innocent
people and trying to kill me. I guess losing millions of dollars can make
even the most restrained person lose their mind.
Just as Jeffrey moves towards the backstage area, shots ring out over and
over, echoing off the walls and the ceiling and causing further panic
amongst the trapped room’s inhabitants. I take Fisher’s moment of
distraction, jump up and land my shoulder into his abdomen, tackling him
like a linebacker and taking him down hard as his finger presses the trigger
of his gun. The shot goes wide, and the gun slips from his grasp and skates
across the floor under a table. I rain blows down on his face with the butt of
my gun over and over until I hear a crunching sound and he stops trying to
fight me. His grip on me goes slack before his eyes roll into the back of his
head. Blood is pouring from his nose, mouth and temple, and his face looks
like ground hamburger meat. My lungs are filled with fire as I straddle his
large body while trying to catch my breath.
A woman hiding beneath a chair cowers before me, her eyes wide and
terror across her face. She watches with tears drenching her face and her
hands covering her mouth to silence her sobs as I move off of Fisher’s body
and crawl towards his gun.
“Get the hell out of here, go! Move under the tables towards the exit.” I
pant at her. She trembles like a leaf but follows my instructions, crawling on
her hands and knees under the table next to her.
I return my attention again to Fisher lying in a bleeding mess on the floor
next to me. He’s still breathing but out cold. The desire to put a bullet in his
brain fills me. This fucker came after my little viper and me with intentions
of hurting us. I would be doing the world a favor by ending his miserable
life. My hand clenches on the gun, my finger tightening on the trigger as
another shot rings out across the room and grabs my attention.
Clark is fighting Jeffrey Cain on stage, his fist raining blows to Jeffrey’s
head. Just when it looks like Jeffrey will go down, he fires a shot that hits
Clark in the thigh and his leg buckles, but not before landing a hard punch
to Jeffrey’s temple. The man goes down like a ton of bricks, hitting the floor
of the stage with a loud thud. Clark drags his bleeding leg across the stage,
raining another blow to Jeffrey’s head. I watch, mesmerized as his head
rises and slams again into the floor, and the back of his skull cracks, blood
gushing from the wound.
“Jaxon, are you alright?” Clark bellows from the stage.
I move quickly in his direction, my eyes scanning the room for any further
shooters. There are injured people all across the space, some begging for
help while others try to crawl out of the room to safety. Just as I am about to
make my way to the stairs leading to the stage, the hard barrel of a gun is
shoved into the back of my neck and has my body stopping cold. Ice-cold
fear fills me, fuck did Fisher get up again? I showed the fucker mercy, and
look where it has gotten me.
“You picked the wrong woman, Jaxon. Look at all the damage she has
caused.”
“Kalista…” The name leaves my lungs in a whoosh of air. My shoulders
tighten painfully and rise towards my ears. I can hear my own blood racing
through my ears, replacing all the sounds of chaos surrounding us.
She taps the barrel against my neck again, pushing forward against my skin
and causing sweat to break out across my back. Her other hand brushes the
side of my neck, her nails trailing down my skin, causing the hairs on my
body to stand on end and disgust to flow through me. I try to hold perfectly
still in fear that she will accidentally press the trigger and shoot me. “You
loved me first, Jaxon. I would have given you the world. I would have been
the perfect wife to you, but you wanted that whore to grow your empire.
Now look at you, you will die here with a bullet lodged in the back of your
skull. A name forgotten except when they speak of tragedies. But don’t
worry, I am going to make sure that bitch dies a painful death with you.”
I try to turn around, but the barrel of the gun pushes into the nape of my
neck more tightly. I’m still holding my gun firmly in my grasp, but there is
no way I can use it in my current position. Another shot echoes through the
space from behind the curtain, Kalista’s body jumps behind me at the
sound, and her gun moves away from my skin. I take advantage of the
moment and turn sideways, pushing my gun into her breast as hard as I can.
She quickly resets her hold on her own gun, pointing it back at my head.
“Drop your weapon Kalista, or I swear I will blow a fucking hole in your
overpriced tits.”
Tears slide down her pale, distraught face, her mascara is in dark clumps on
her lashes and running in black rivers down her cheeks. Her hair hangs
limply down the sides of her head and looks unwashed and disheveled. Her
lips are bleeding and looking ragged and chewed. She looks like she’s lost a
ton of weight, her shirt hanging off of her, and bones visibly protruding
across her collarbone. She’s a fucking mess and looks deranged standing
here holding a gun on me.
“How could you have done this to me, Jaxon? You let her ruin my whole
life! She destroyed me! You walked away from me as if I was nothing?”
Snot runs down her face and over her lips.
She looks utterly pitiful and a mere shadow of the woman I once cared
about. The woman I once thought I might have loved but never understood
the true meaning behind the emotion until Stella. Now I know with
certainty that I have never loved another person like I love Stella. She
consumes every part of me, her being intertwined with mine. Two hearts
beating in separate bodies but one in every way possible. She is my heart
and my home and this bitch and her father are trying to take her away from
me. To shatter with a bullet, my heart’s desire and my one reason for living.
“You did this to yourself, Kalista. You tried to fight a war with a wolf, when
you are nothing but a fucking worm. She is a queen, and you are dirt under
her feet.” Anger rages through me to pull the trigger, to fire bullets into her
body. “It was you that left the chicken and tried to have her stabbed, wasn’t
it?” A whimper leaves her lips at my harsh tone. I press the gun further into
her large breast, and a look of pain crosses her features. How could I have
been so deceived? I thought her incapable of orchestrating this, of going
after Stella. I believed her to be too weak, but I guess she found the strength
when she had nothing left to lose.
“I wanted you back…I wanted my life…back. She took everything from
me!” A shuddering breath leaves her as more tears cascade down her face.
“You are mine!”
A snort leaves my mouth and my upper lip curls in disgust, my warm breath
trailing over her haggard face. “You are a cunt, and were a plaything,
Kalista. Something pretty to stick my cock in. You were never going to be
my queen. You are nothing to me. She is my everything, my heart and my
soul. I will never return to you, you never had me. It was always her.”
Kalista’s hand trembles, the gun still gripped tightly in her hand and pointed
at my head. I take a deep breath, prepared to die here in this moment with
the knowledge that I love Stella. That I caused all of this, put all of it into
motion the minute I accepted the deal with her father. The minute I forced
my little viper down the aisle, I began this tragedy that would be my bitter
end.
All my hopes for expanding the Stratford empire, all my original reasoning
for doing all of this, was in the end, worth nothing. None of it of the
slightest importance or significance in light of the love I have for Stella.
Loving her will be the greatest accomplishment of my life and the only
thing of value that I leave behind into the world. My only solace is that I
will take Kalista with me into hell. Hopefully, if there really is a god worthy
of my prayers, he has seen fit to save my little ice queen and get her to
safety.
“NO!” Rage crosses Kalista’s face and her finger tightens on the trigger. My
eyes meet arctic blue eyes, filled with emotion, terror, and sorrow. My heart
is ready to explode with fear and devastation. How could this be our end?
The story had just begun for Stella and me. A fucked up fairy tale to end all
tales.
I close my eyes, prepared to die here and now, the vision of Stella crossing
my mind. How beautiful she is, even when she’s irate with me. Fuck it,
especially when she’s breathing fire in my direction. I love her, I will
always love her. I squeeze my finger, just as the sound of another shot rents
the air around us.

OceanofPDF.com
43

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“In a world that wants women to whisper, I choose to yell.”

Luvvie Ajayi

M Y ARM VIBRATES WITH the bullets leaving the gun. I pull the
trigger until it clicks empty and watch as River falls backward to
the ground, blood quickly soaking the dirty concrete around him. My ears
ring loudly, the sounds of bells in my head so deafening that I feel like they
will explode. I shake my head vigorously, trying desperately to clear my
vision. I drop the gun to the ground, falling to my knees and trying
desperately to catch my breath. My chest burns with the breaths that I was
holding back. Tears fall down my cheeks, making my vision blurry again.
“NO!” The scream is loud in my ears from the cunt in front of me. I watch
as my husband, my soulmate and the only man I will ever love, closes his
eyes as a tear trickles down his high cheekbone. “MINE!” Time seems to
stand still and my finger presses down on the trigger, before the gun goes
limp in my arm.
He’s dead. He’s lying mere feet away from me dead. I killed another person,
another man trying to kill me. When will this all be over? Will they keep
coming for me, trying to end my life? Will I ever be safe? I am a
murderer…I am a murderer. There will be no redemption for me now. My
heart and soul were already stained with the first man’s life that I took, and
now another. How many more stains before I am done?
My sightless eyes focus on my surroundings, and the ringing in my ears
settles down to a more bearable level. I can hear the shrieking of sirens
around me and flashing lights are visible out of the corner of my eye. There
are men’s voices loud surrounding me, shouting orders. Ones I can’t make
out. Are they here to kill me too? I have nothing left to fight with. My hand
moves to the empty gun on the ground next to me. My fingers don’t seem to
connect with it, missing its shape by mere inches as a searing cold sensation
fills my body, and I force myself to swallow the scream that is desperate to
escape my throat. How many more will I have to kill, so that I can live?
“Mrs. Stratford! Mrs. Stratford, ma’am. I need to get you to safety and
medical assistance.” My eyes meet dark green ones in a face I vaguely
recognize as one of Clark’s men. He’s crouching down next to me and
applying pressure on my shoulder. I didn’t even feel him touching me until
now. His face is laced with worry, his features stern as he stares at me.
“Stella, you are in shock and losing blood. We have to get you to the
hospital!” He tries to lift me from the ground and get me to stand, but my
legs refuse to hold me and I crumble in his embrace. Shock, yes I must be in
shock. It’s why I feel so cold, shivers taking over my body and making my
teeth rattle.
“Jaxon…” His name leaves my lips, and dread fills me. Where is Jaxon? Is
he still trapped inside with the rest of those madmen? My hand clutches the
chest strap of the man in front of me tightly. “Where is Jaxon!” The words
are ripped from my lips in a panicked scream.
“He’s still inside. He hasn’t made it out yet.” He tries once again to lift me,
but this time fire fills me with renewed strength and I make it to my feet.
Jaxon is still trapped inside with the men that want to kill him. I need to get
to him. I can’t let them hurt him. I turn in his grasp and push away from
him, stumbling on my feet a few steps.
“Stella! Where are you going? You’re hurt, we need to get you medical
attention.” He tries to grab onto me again, but I push backward, sliding in
River’s blood in my bare feet. No! No one is fucking stopping me from
getting to Jaxon. There is no way I will allow them to take me away from
here to get medical attention, while Jaxon is still trapped inside at the mercy
of psychopaths.
My eyes catch on the glint of metal inches away from River’s hand, his
sightless and empty eyes greeting me as I bend down and grab his gun,
lifting it in my left hand and gripping it tightly. I point the gun at the man
moving slowly towards me. “NO! I am going to get Jaxon, and if you try to
stop me, I will blow your fucking brains out.” I don’t wait for his reply or to
see if he will make a move. I turn and run back into the dark alley and the
way I had escaped from.
“STELLA, WAIT!” I hear shouted behind me, but my blood is loud in my
ears and adrenaline is rushing through my body. I make the dash quickly
across the alley and back towards the emergency exit door that is still
partially ajar. Grabbing the door, I slip through it, my feet sliding across the
floor and almost making me fall. I have to get to Jaxon! The thought races
over and over through my mind until it is a staccato beat along with the
sound of my heart.
I move slowly through the backstage area, trying to get my ears to
cooperate and stop ringing and my teeth to stop shattering. I don’t hear the
sound of shooting, just screams of fear and panic bouncing off the walls. I
approach the curtained area just as Clark’s man makes it to my back. He
goes to grab onto me, but I point the gun at his head with a warning look.
He will not stop me. If I have to shoot him, I fucking will. He raises his
hands in a gesture of surrender, backing up a step. My eyes shift over the
stage in front of me just as a shot rings out in the space and gets my
attention. I move forward, and the guy slides in front of me with his gun
drawn, ready to protect me. Over his large shoulder, I see Clark on the
stage, his leg bleeding and drenching the ground around him as he slams his
gun over and over into Kalista’s father’s face.
“Clark…” I don’t even know if words are leaving my lips, but panic fills
me. Clark is shot and bleeding. Where the hell is Jaxon? Who is protecting
Jaxon? The guy in front of me motions for me to step further into the
curtained area and move slowly and silently towards the side of the stage
and the steps leading back into the main room area. “Clark's bleeding out. I
have to get him out of here. You need to come with me so I can keep you
safe.” He whispers and grabs onto my right wrist, and shooting pain rises up
my arm, over my shoulder and across my back. A harsh pained cry leaves
my lips as I pull back from his grasp.
“For fuck sakes. Stella, we have to get you to safety!” He tries once again to
grab onto me, but I move away from him, quickly pointing the gun at his
neck. “Get Clark out of here. I have to find Jaxon.”
He looks like he’s going to try to force me to go with him towards Clark,
but a shout catches his attention and mine. Clark is yelling Jaxon’s name
frantically. I peek out from around the curtain and spy my husband looking
ragged a few feet away from the stage.
A breath leaves my chest harshly at seeing him alive before me. It’s
replaced quickly with cold fury as I watch Kalista slip up behind him, a gun
in her grasp and pointed at the back of his neck. Jaxon stops cold in his
forward movement, panic evident across his features even from the
distance, I’m standing in. I grip my gun tighter and move slowly forward,
using the curtain to once again disguise my movements and slip down the
first couple of steps, crouching low and making my way to the first table,
ducking below it and using the tablecloth to hide me. My shoulder aches
with each of my movements, fire burning up and down my arm. I grit my
teeth and keep moving forward. I need to get to Jaxon, nothing else matters.
I look back and watch as Clark’s man stares at me with horror and
frustration before moving stealthily towards an injured Clark. He takes off
his belt and wraps it tightly around Clark's leg, and drags him back into the
curtained area and out of view. My attention is drawn back to Kalista and
Jaxon. He’s egging her on, the ruthless idiot, as if he is trying to force her to
shoot him. Their words echoing over the space clearly.
“You did this to yourself, Kalista. You tried to fight a war with a wolf, when
you are nothing but a fucking worm. She is a queen, and you are dirt under
her feet.” OH. MY. FUCKING. GOD. This man is an idiot, baiting her with
his words, causing her to get angrier at him and lose control. Does he have a
death wish? Does the fucker want to make me a widow after all? I swear if
we make it out of this, I’m going to dick-punch him for all this shit.
I slip under the table next to me, my body meeting the dead one of a man on
his side. Shock races through me at the acknowledgement that I knew him,
he was a friend of my parents and always so kind to me, and now he’s
needlessly dead under a table because of these assholes.
I’m going to end that fucking cunt once and for all. How dare she and her
psycho father come in here and hurt all these people in an attempt to get to
Jaxon and me. The recklessness and anguish of so many innocents suffering
for her deranged perceived loss of my husband. I’m sure your actions
against her didn’t fucking provoke her, huh? My mind screams at me. Well,
I am as much to blame I guess, but not for killing innocents. That is all on
them. Murderer…my mind whispers back and I shake my head trying once
again to focus on Jaxon and Kalista’s conversation.
“I wanted you back…I wanted my life…back. She took everything from
me!“ A harsh breath leaves Kalista’s lips as I watch from my position
underneath the table. Tears are ugly black rivers down her face, making her
look grotesque. “You are mine.”
Her words make even more rage bubble up inside of me. How fucking dare
she say that! Jaxon doesn’t belong to her, he never has. He is and will
always be mine. Only fucking mine! She has never understood that she
would have never been enough for him. Not in this lifetime or the next.
Jaxon has always needed a strong woman by his side. One that would
challenge him and see that his legacy rises. She could have never offered
him more than a warm cunt to satisfy his hunger. A hunger I stoke with the
fire I create in him. Jaxon is an inferno, and I am his lighter fluid. He was
put on this earth to be mine and I his. We are both made of the same thing,
him and I. That eternal cloth that lets us push forward, be ruthless and
demand more than this world ever bargained for. He is my beginning, and I
am his eternal end.
“You are a cunt, and were a plaything, Kalista. Something pretty to stick my
cock in. You were never going to be my queen. You are nothing to me. She
is my everything, my heart and my soul. I will never return to you, you
never had me. It was always her.”
His words, while reckless, given a mad woman is holding a gun on him, fill
me with the strength I need to move away from the table and stand slowly. I
raise my hand, clenching River’s gun tightly in my grasp and point it at the
back of her blonde head. Jaxon’s eyes widen momentarily, catching mine,
the look of desperation and fear on his features. Features that cause my
heart to clench painfully, ones that I have grown to love with everything
that I am.
In this moment, I see what our future could have been had fate been kinder.
We could have grown an empire the likes of which hadn’t been seen since
the time of the Roman Empire. We could have had children, a little girl
running around with Jaxon’s mischievous smile and gray eyes, causing
havoc on the male world around us. We could have grown old together,
hand in hand, heading to the afterlife. In no world would I remain if the
fates decided to take him. How could I when he is my heart and soul? A
body cannot live without either.

OceanofPDF.com
44

OceanofPDF.com
Jaxon

“Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.” Aristotle

S TELLA’S EYES MEET MINE from such a close distance, but it

might as well be miles. I watch as fear flashes across her blood-
streaked face. Her arctic blue eyes are panicked, blood is soaked across the
front of her jacket, and she bites hard down on her lip. She trembles before
raising her arm in the air between us, pointing a gun at the back of Kalista’s
head.
Kalista doesn’t realize that my predator of a wife is behind her, about to end
her life as she ends mine. Pride fills me knowing that Stella is my ice queen
who can defend herself against all comers. My wife never needed a prince
on a white horse to save the day. She is her own savior.
I stare into the eyes that bring me so much pleasure and pain. The ones I
would have never been prepared to live without, before shutting mine for
what could be my final time. “MINE!” The battle cry rents the air with its
fierceness. Two shots ring out loudly in the air, and I flinch waiting for the
bullet to penetrate my brain and cause me to take my last breath.
Seconds stretch before us and then a body lands with its weight against
mine, causing me to stumble backwards, before dropping down at my feet.
My eyes fly open and meet two pools of blue mercury, a fire swirling from
within them.
I watch as Stella drops the gun from her hand and sways before me. My
gaze flies down to the body at my feet. Kalista is face down on the carpet,
the gun still in her tight embrace, but the back of her head is completely
blown away, and brain matter is splattered everywhere and dripping down
mine and Stella’s faces. Kalista’s abdomen has a large splash of red
appearing and soaking the fabric of her shirt.
My panicked eyes look around for where the second shot came from,
prepared to put my body in front of Stella’s to protect her from any more
shots being fired our way. My eyes meet the dark green eyes of Trig, one of
Clark’s men a mere two feet away. It’s then that I realize he shot Kalista at
the same time as Stella. Jesus fucking Christ, either one of them could have
missed and I would be meeting my father no doubt in hell to hear all about
my failings.
I tear my gaze away from his and back to Stella, whose arm is hanging
limply at her side, her breathing rapid and her eyes dilated. “Mine!” She
repeats over and over, her voice barely making it across the space between
us. Her gaze stares down at Kalista, and her whole body shudders before
me. I take a step forward, needing to wrap her in my arms and convince
myself that she is real, that this is real. That we are both alive.
“Jaxon, she’s bleeding from a gunshot wound. We need to get her to the
medic right now!” Trig moves closer and approaches Stella. “Stella, it’s
over. I need you to give me the gun now.” He approaches her as if she was a
feral animal, and her eyes dart across his face before fear and confusion
crosses her features. Her body is starting to shake, her teeth chattering
loudly in the space between us.
“Jaxon, I have to save Jaxon.” Her voice comes out weak and breathy.
“I’m here, my little ice queen. You saved me. You saved me, Stella.” I
approach her, my hand sliding carefully to her face, my fingers caressing
her soft cheek as her blue eyes meet mine, finally without the haze. Tears
race down her face, and a sob wrenches from her chest.
“You are mine, Jaxon.” It’s the last words she utters before she sways, her
legs giving out and her body trying to collapse before me. I reach for her at
the same time as Trig does, and he catches her, lifting her lifeless body in
his arms bridal style. Anger fills me at seeing her draped across another
man’s arms. The beast that lives inside of me wants to be let loose from his
cage to reclaim what is his. She is fucking mine!
“Jaxon, we gotta move right now. She’s been bleeding for too long.” I shake
the fury away from my mind and move with Trig towards the exit door just
as the police force their way into the room with their guns drawn. “Police!
Put your hands up in the air!” They shout, but Trig doesn’t hesitate to
continue moving forward and I follow his lead. My only concern is the limp
woman in his arms.
Emergency personnel rushes through the room and approach us with a
stretcher. Trig lays Stella down gently on the surface and begins cataloging
her injuries quickly while they assess her. “In and out wound” and “Lost a
lot of blood” makes its way through the buzzing in my brain. I finally get a
really good look at Stella. She’s barefoot, and her feet and legs are covered
in blood. Her suit jacket is blood-soaked and ripped, the fabric of the
shoulder of her right arm barely present. Her face is so very pale and
streaked in more blood. She has chunks of brain matter on her hair and dark
streaks of mascara and dirt smeared down her face.
She has never looked more like an avenging angel, a violent queen than she
does now. My little viper, the one that just saved my life despite having a
bullet wound and bleeding out. I move quickly with the EMTS as they
move towards the doors of the building. Trig moving with us, still on high
alert. My eyes never leave Stella’s, but the memory of Clark being hurt
enters my brain. “Clark, he was shot.”
“Being taken care of now.” His huge, frustrated sigh catches my attention
and finally has my eyes moving away from my wife. “Jaxon, you should
know, she was out of the building. She made it out. She killed River
Stanton, then turned back for you. Refusing to allow me to get her medical
attention and to safety.” I can see the look of self-recrimination across his
features. He’s blaming himself for not forcing her away from here.
The awareness hits me like a brick to the chest that if he had managed to get
her out of here, I would be the one lying dead on the floor of that room
instead of Kalista. If my determined and stubborn wife hadn’t come back to
save me, Kalista would have murdered me in cold blood and I would have
never seen Stella again. My little viper truly did save me. I owe her my life,
and I plan to make sure she holds it in the palm of her hands for all of the
rest of our years together. She truly is mine, and I am hers.
I stare down at her features once again as they load her into the waiting
ambulance, and I climb in beside her, holding tight to her hand and
interlacing our fingers. I lean forward and let my lips brush tenderly against
hers. “You are mine, Stella, and I will never let you go.”
OceanofPDF.com
45

OceanofPDF.com
Stella

“Love doesn't make the world go 'round. Love is what makes the
ride worthwhile.” Franklin P. Jones

I WAKE WITH A groan and fire racing down my body, every part of me
aches right now, this is becoming a common freaking theme in my life.
“Fuck, that hurts!” The words tumble from my dry lips as I crack my eyes
open. A chuckle greets my ears as my eyes open more fully and center on
the man sitting next to me. “What did you expect when you behave like
fucking ' Rambo,' Stella?”
“Jaxon…” His name leaves my lips with relief. Relief that my idiot and
reckless husband is still breathing despite tempting fate time and time
again. I shift on the hard surface below me, and pain radiates down my
back, forcing a gasp to leave my lips and a cold sweat to break across my
neck. I swallow the sour bile that is just begging to leave my mouth.
“Easy, my little viper, you were shot in the shoulder a few hours ago, No
sharp movements.” Jaxon moves closer, pushing my sweaty hair back from
my face and leaning forward to kiss my forehead tenderly, his hand
grabbing and holding mine.
The memories of shooting River and then Kalista flash through my mind
causing me to grimace and cry out. I killed two more people. I really am a
murderer now, there is no disputing the truth. He must see the turn of my
thoughts, his other hand coming up to cradle my face gently.
“Stella, baby, look at me. Everything is going to be alright. We are safe, it’s
finally over.” Jaxon’s platinum gaze bleeds into mine intensely. His fierce
words and tight grip on my hand has me leaning back into the mattress and
staring at him with hope.
Hope that this might finally be over and we are safe. Safe from the villains
of the world, well other than ourselves, I guess. Hope that we won’t have to
keep fighting off people that want to hurt us. That I won’t have to dirty my
already filthy soul with more murder in order to stop anyone who comes for
us. Hope is a dangerous thing for someone with dirtied hands and a stained
soul.
“Clark?” The question leaves my lips with fear. He got me out of there and
turned back for Jaxon, only to be shot himself by Jeffrey Cain. “Alive, in a
room down the hall.” A relief I didn’t know I was craving fills my tired
body at Jaxon’s words.
“Jeffrey? Kalista?” Their names leave my lips and burn like acid across my
tongue. Rage once again fills me with the knowledge that they were behind
all of this. All those people were hurt and died because of their actions.
Deeds of revenge against Jaxon and me. Conduct caused by our own
actions in retaliation. I will have to forever live with the stain of all those
deaths on my heart.
“She’s dead, Stella. She can never hurt us again.” He stares at me with
compassion in his gaze as I struggle to swallow the sour saliva pooling in
my mouth. The memory of her head blowing open and her brain splattering
across my face from the bullet I put in her skull at close range flashing
before my eyes in vivid technicolor. A shudder races down my spine, the
sensation of still feeling parts of her clinging to me, making me nauseous.
“Jeffrey is alive, but in police custody. He confessed to it all.”
“Why? Why did they do this to us?” My voice sounds pitiful to my own
ears, a woman broken from the experience of bringing death to others. I
need to comprehend how someone could cause all of this destruction and
pain. I know that my actions were petty, burning down his house and
robbing Kalista of her livelihood was indecent and harsh, but was that really
a reason to kill all those people? What about River and Fisher? I never even
did anything to provoke those two. What reason would they have had to
join in Jeffrey and Kalista’s cause to harm me? None of this makes sense. .
Jaxon releases a deep nervous, sounding sigh, pulling his hand from my
grip and dragging both his hands down his face. Remorse and shame is
written across his features. “What did you do, Jaxon?” My voice is a
strangled scream, my heart pounding like a loud drum in my chest.
“Ah, fuck!” He shakes his head and meets my gaze, blue meeting silver in a
harsh embrace. “I’m going to tell you Stella…but first….first I need you to
understand how much I love you. I need you to promise you’re not going to
run from me.” His gaze is so intense, the fear in the room is palpable and
clawing at my throat, warning bells are sounding in my head.
I swear to God if this man tells me he slept with another woman, I am going
to rise from this bed and end his fucking life. There is a limit to how much I
can take right now before I completely lose my sanity. Any more betrayal,
and I am just going to give into my primal urges for darkness and allow it to
turn my heart completely pitch black. I need his answers like I need my
next breath for why this all happened.
I swallow the bile rising in the back of my throat and grind my back teeth.
“I won’t run.” I don’t bother uttering any other words. If the next words out
of his mouth involve his dick, he’s a dead man, and it won’t matter how
much I love him. He must see it in my cold gaze. He sighs and grabs a fist
full of his hair, pulling on it tightly.
“Remember the deal, the one we were looking at right before we went to
the charity gala? The low-income housing acquisition?”
I nod my head but am utterly confused about where he’s going with this.
“Stella, I stole that out and under from River, Fisher, and Jeffrey. They lost
millions of their own money and investors’ money.” He tugs harder at his
dark hair, his eyes wild with fear and remorse. “I had the local gangs
terrorize the sites and set fires to the developments. I made sure that they
couldn’t collect on the insurance.” I watch as he clenches his fists and
forces them into his lap.
“What I didn’t know was that Fisher and River had sunk all of their fortunes
into it… hell Stella, all of it is now gone. Jeffrey didn’t invest as much but
coupled with everything you did to Kalista and the savage way you burned
his house to the ground, well he wanted just as much revenge as the other
two, maybe more. Kalista has always been very close with him.”
His words penetrate my thoughts, and finally the situation starts to make
real sense in my muddled mind. My thoughts race and my stomach clenches
tightly when I realize what we have done. He destroyed their lives as much
as I did. He was the catalyst, and I was the goddamn spark. Together we
were an inferno burning their world down to the ground. Unfortunately, in
our need for control, we took innocents down with us. I close my eyes, tears
sliding down my cheeks at the realization that we together are a destructive
force.
“Stella, please say something. I love you, Stella.” For a moment, I wallow
in the thoughts and knowledge of how much pain we have caused not only
to ourselves but to others. “No baby, none of that shit.” He grabs me around
my waist and pulls me forcefully into his lap, a gasp of pain leaving my lips
as it jars my shoulder.
“You don’t get to do that, my little viper. You don’t get to wallow in self-
pity. There is no such fucking thing for a Stratford. You are my queen, and
queens do not fucking bend, they do not break Stella.”
“Jaxon…”
“NO, STELLA!” You are mine. MINE! Do you fucking hear me? I own
you as much as you own me. I will not watch you break over some pieces
of shit that did not have our strength.” His hold on me tightens painfully;
his eyes are rabid and filled with fury. “You will not bow, you will not
break, and do you know why, Stella?”
I meet his intense gaze, fire starting to burn from inside of me at his anger.
“Why?” The word sounds so small leaving my lips as I drink in his features.
Jaxon’s eyes beam brightly at me, molten silver threatening to drown me in
their depths as his hand drags up the front of my chest. His fingers ghosting
over my collarbone before meeting the front of my neck. They circle the
delicate organ, and my breath stalls in my chest as his fingers tighten. Not
enough to stop my breath, but enough that I read the warning loud and
clear. He is in control right now, and he wants me to let him have his way,
to let him exert control over me and my body.
“You, my little viper, will be the reason the Stratford empire survives and
flourishes. You will give birth to the next generation of Stratfords that will
burn this world down around their feet if it does not bow. Your strength will
be our shield, your mind, the reason we prosper, your desire and will, our
weapons. You are my mother fucking queen, Stella. I will worship at your
feet for all of my living days and even into the afterlife. You are mine.” His
fingers tighten as he pushes me back on the bed and falls down to his knees
between my parted legs.
“Let me worship at your throne Stella, so you know how much you mean to
me.” He doesn’t wait for me to give consent, his other hand ripping the
loose hospital gown up around my waist. I’m completely bare underneath
and his words have started a raging cyclone inside of me causing my core to
heat and weep for him. He skates his thick finger down the middle of my
slit and I bite down on my tongue, the taste of copper filling my mouth. A
groan leaves my lips, even though I am fighting to silence it.
A quick glance behind him shows me the door to my hospital room isn’t
even shut completely. Fuck, anyone could walk in at any moment and find
us. Excitement coils in my stomach at being caught with Jaxon’s face
shoved up against my pussy.
“You’re soaked, my little viper.” He slips his finger inside my tight hole and
rotates it before pulling out and pushing a second one inside of me. A
whimper leaves my lips at the sensation and my core tightens around the
thick, long digits. The heat of pain in my shoulder makes me grimace, but
it’s not enough to have me stopping Jaxon’s actions. I need him to claim
me, to make me feel how much he wants me after everything that has
happened. To know that my dark soul and tainted hands don’t repulse him,
but make him want me more. That my actions call to the sickness and
darkness in his soul as much as they do to mine.
His gaze meets mine, and a devious smirk crosses those sinful lips, the ones
I crave to taste. “Does my little slut get wet at the thought that any minute
someone could walk in here and see me finger fucking her perfect cunt?”
He pulls his fingers out of my needy pussy and spreads my moisture across
my throbbing pussy lips before rubbing wet circles on my hard bundle of
nerves.
He leans forward, his tongue swiping at my clit and causing my hands to
clench in his hair. An animalistic growl leaves his lips as he sucks down
hard on my nub and grazes it with his teeth, forcing a scream to want to
leave my lips that I have to swallow down. His wet tongue slides down my
pussy lips until it finds my tight hole, and he slips inside with a groan. Both
his hands grab onto my flesh, his fingers harsh and demanding as he
spreads my inner thighs wide so he can press into my core. His stubble rubs
against my over-sensitized flesh and adds another level of intensity. My
hips undulate below him, pushing my pussy further into his face and
coating it with my juices.
“Fuck Stella, I want to drown in this pussy.” His nose skims along my
pussy lips as he coats it in my scent. “Fucking perfect cunt, so pink and
pretty.”
The groan that leaves his lips has heat rising in my core and the hairs on my
body standing on end. Shivers rack my body as he slips his fingers back
inside of me while pressing his thumb over my puckered hole. He pulls
back, his mouth slick with my wetness, and spits on my pussy, the sound
making a moan leave my lips. The spit slides down between my pussy lips
and into the crack of my ass, where his waiting thumb rubs it across my
tight hole.
“I need to fuck all your holes, to have you creaming and filled with cum
spilling from inside of you.” His thumb pushes inside of my tight hole and
his mouth and fingers return to my pussy. The feeling of fullness causes my
breath to stall, goosebumps break across my body as his fingers curl, and
reach up, meeting that spot inside me that has me seeing stars. The orgasm
tightens all of my limbs, the pain in my shoulder long forgotten as I rub my
nipples and pull on them, the hospital gown confining them and rubbing
against their sensitive and tight flesh.
My breathing picks up, I’m so close, so very close. “Jaxon…fuck…close.”
The moan leaves my lips just as all my body lights with a fire from within,
tightening until I can’t breathe and then gushing as I cum all over his face.
He continues to lick me through my orgasm and the aftershocks, his fingers,
and thumb still moving in slow strokes inside both of my tight holes. “Look
at how pretty you squirt, baby.” He pulls his fingers out of my pussy and his
thumb from my puckered hole before replacing it with his tongue, thrusting
inside of the tight ring of muscle. My head is thrashing on the linens as I
feel the sparks grow inside of me once again. He pulls back and stands,
leaning over me, his face in line with mine. His winter storm gray eyes,
heavy-lidded and fringed with dark lashes, meet mine, and I can see that
he’s losing the battle for control of himself. “Open your mouth, my little
whore; taste how delicious you are.” He spits into my mouth, my saltiness
and musky taste filling my senses.
“Do you want me to fuck this tight pussy, Stella? Do you crave my big cock
filling all your holes?” He leans forward, rubbing his nose down my cheek,
along my jaw and down my neck. “Tell me whose queen you are?”
Breathless moans escape my lips as my body flails below him. Fuck as
much as I want control, nothing ever feels as good as sweet submission to
Jaxon. He is the oxygen I breathe and I am the blood that makes his
heartbeat. One depends solely on the other. He is mine, and I am his.
“Yours.” My voice is husky as it leaves my lips, and I watch as he pulls
back from me, satisfaction in his eyes and a sinister smirk across his lips. I
watch, transfixed as he unbuttons his pants, slowly pulls down his zipper
and releases his hard cock. The crown is a deep red and engorged with
drops of precum slipping from his slit. He rubs his thumb across the slit
capturing a creamy drop and rubbing it across my parted lips. He wraps his
arms around my waist, lifting me up, cradling my overheated body against
his and switches places so that I am now draped across his body. My core
connects with his hard cock as he thrusts upwards, his tip meeting my
needy clit. His chest rises and falls in an erratic rhythm that meets mine.
Both our breaths sounding harsh in the otherwise silent room.
His hands grip my hips, and he moves me forward, my legs straddling
either side of his body. Bolts of pleasure rack my body and skate down my
spine as I drag my throbbing clit along the length of his hard cock. “Slide
that pretty pussy over my hard dick and ride me, my dirty little whore.” The
pull of his command and the enthralled look across his face has me lifting
and then sliding down his dick slowly, filling my hot, tight hole, one inch at
a time. When he’s finally balls deep inside of me, we both release breathless
pants. My shoulder aches, but the bite of pain just seems to add to my
euphoric state.
“Show me you belong to me, Stella, that you are mine.” I start slowly,
building up momentum between us and making sure my clit rubs against
the skin of his pelvis. His hand slides up my back and around my body until
he squeezes the globe of my breast in his large hand. The pink tinge across
his high stubbled cheekbones and the redness of his lips make me bite down
hard on my own with how gorgeous he is. He is the sexiest man in the
world to me, and I will never not be turned on by the way he looks. He lifts
his head and stares down to where we are connected, a groan leaving his
lips.
“Look at how pretty your cunt stretches around me.” His hand darts out and
slaps the lips of my pussy as I pick up the pace and ride him hard.
I falter in my motion, my body sagging slightly with my thundering breaths
leaving my chest, and he takes over, thrusting between my thighs and
driving into me in deep, long strokes that have me biting down hard on the
inside of my cheek. Jaxon takes full control over my languid body, his
fingers tightening on the flesh of my hip with a hint of pain. He makes sure
to hit the end of me and ensures that I feel every inch of his long cock as he
thrusts in and out of my tight hole. The sensation makes my toes curl and
heat swirl through my body. I am so close, so very close and ready to go
over that precipice with him.
“No matter how many times I fill this sweet cunt, it will never be enough,
Stella.” My pussy starts clenching tightly around him at his words. “That’s
it, baby, keep gripping my dick with that perfect pussy. Milk the cum from
me, be my good girl, my perfect slutty queen.” His words are my undoing
as he picks up speed pounding into me while his grip on my hip ensures I
feel every single hard thrust. His other hand leaves my breast and makes its
way to the column of my throat, his fingers wrapping around it as he pulls
me forward toward him. His full lips meet mine in an earth-shattering kiss,
one that has me seeing stars before me.
He deepens the angle of our connection and it hits my g spot hard, causing
me to moan loudly and tighten down hard on him as my body gives over to
the sweet intense orgasm that erupts across it. He follows me down into
euphoria, a moan leaving his lips as his teeth bite down hard along the skin
of my neck.
He holds my body flush against his, our hearts thumping against our chests
as we try to catch our breaths and come down from that exquisite release. “I
love you, Stella Stratford. This heart only beats for you, and it is determined
never to let you go. You are mine forever.”

OceanofPDF.com
Epilogue Stella

"If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the

world that can’t be erased.” Maya Angelou

T WO YEARS LATER…
I try to hold back the smirk that wants to grace my face as I make my
way barefoot and in my silk nightgown down to the den. I know Jaxon is
currently sitting in there drinking his scotch and sulking like an overgrown
child. My parents left an hour ago from having dinner with us, and of
course, my father couldn’t hold back asking Jaxon when he was going to
man up and place a baby in my womb. As if that was his only purpose in
life, my how the tables have turned.
I watched as the love of my life restrained himself from throwing a dinner
knife across the table at my overbearing father in response. My mother and
I tried and failed to hide our laughter from the two male idiots in the room. I
swear the male toxicity whenever they are near each other is nauseating.
His response was mumbled under his breath, but I still heard it. “Not for the
lack of fucking trying.”
While Jaxon has tried to make peace with my father. Even going as far as
involving him back in our merged company and asking for his opinion on
different business ventures. My father is harder to placate. His stubbornness
knows no bounds, and he just can’t seem to forgive Jaxon for Kalista and
Jeffrey Cain, and their attempts to kill me.
His relationship with me changed dramatically in the months after the
whole ordeal. Gone was the man that wished for a son and only saw his
daughter as a chess piece to move across the board. It took killing both
River Stanton and Kalista Cain and taking his company away from him for
him to finally see me, the real me. The one that is ruthless and will do
everything she can to protect what’s hers.
His new understanding and appreciation hasn’t swept all of our past under
the rug. I still feel resentment at the memories of every time he raised his
hand in anger at my mother and me. The only thing that makes me feel even
the slightest retribution is the way my mother has taken charge of their
lives. She stopped cowering to my father the same day I killed Kalista. The
gun she later pulled on him when he raised his voice at her, helped to show
him that she was not weak and afraid of him. Not to mention the realization
of who my mother’s “friends” are, but that’s a story for another time.
While I was cleared of all charges, the stain of the deaths could not be so
easily wiped from my hands or the minds of the public and the elite that
surround us. If they were hesitant and fearful of me before I murdered two
of their own, now they are downright terrified of even breathing the same
air as I do. My father’s pride swelled with the knowledge of my
ruthlessness. Finally, realizing he had everything he ever wanted right there
in front of him, in his daughter.
Jaxon the fucker started calling me the “killer ice queen“ whenever we were
amongst company to remind them how truly horrifying I am. The name has
stuck and now carries with it a weight of warning to those that would risk
going against us. Nothing and no one will stop me from protecting myself
or my family. I am a Stratford, the top of the food chain, and we do not
forgive easily.
The Stratford empire has grown under mine and Jaxon’s combined
ministrations over the last two years, becoming even more powerful than it
was. In the next ten years, we will have expanded across the world,
acquiring companies and assets in every country on the globe. No small feat
for two people that were forced into an arranged marriage and had near-
death experiences in the first six months of wedded bliss.
Our love too has grown, not only from the passion that we still feel but also
from our mutual respect for each other. Jaxon has become my best friend,
and I, his. We enjoy every minute that we are together and look eagerly
towards our future. Well, that is when he’s not moping around in a pissy ass
mood or acting like a deranged possessive nut.
We discussed having children after I left the hospital from my shoulder
wound, both of us agreeing that it wasn’t the right time. We were greedy
and selfish in our need for each other and not ready to share that with
someone else. We also wanted the opportunity to grow our empire before
we brought another Stratford into the world. Jaxon left the decision up to
me for when we decided to start our family. “It’s your body Stella, and as
much as I want to see this tight little body stretch with my child inside of it,
it has to be your decision.”
Instead of focusing on kids, we focused on pleasure. Experimenting with
what brings us the most intense gratification, where our limits are, and how
to bring each other to their knees. Jaxon and I practice hedonism in our own
way. We both came to realize quite early on that I enjoy a bit of exhibition,
voyeurism, and degradation with my sex, and Jaxon enjoys controlling all
of my pleasure and depriving me of my sanity and air. While we don’t
actively go out and fuck in public. We have gotten caught in a few
compromising situations that have needed greasing of other's hands in order
to be made to disappear from the tabloids. After one too many incidents, we
started attending private establishments catering to our particular type of
kinks and offering exclusivity and of course, discretion.
“Still sulking, Jaxon?” I make my way over to him as he sits back in his
oversized leather wing chair in front of a blazing fire.
“Your father’s a fucking dick, Stella. He’ll be lucky if I don’t lose my shit
one of these days, and he ends up swallowing that malicious tongue of his.”
I watch as he takes a deep sip of amber liquid, his tongue sliding across his
full lower lip to lick up a drop that slipped from the cup. Fuck, I want to be
that drop.
Desire pools in my core at how handsome he still is. I can never seem to
keep my hands off of him. His gaze finally lifts from the fire and meets
mine in a slow perusal, starting at my bare feet and legs. To the black
nightgown that barely covers my pussy, over the mesh fabric that is tight
across my chest, and up my neck sporting his hand necklace from last night,
to my face. I watch as he slouches further down in his chair, his eyes
heating into twin peaks of silver, and watching as my chest rises and falls
with my quickened breath.
I had elaborate plans to take him to our house in the Hamptons this
weekend, shackle him to our bed and have my wicked way with him, but
now I’m thinking I might have to move up that timeline. My poor baby’s
ego is bruised, and his feelings are hurt. A snort leaves my lips at the very
thought. That ego is the size of New York State.
I know he has been feeling restless for the last couple of months, although
he tries to hide it. Jaxon’s desire for a child has increased, I watch him as he
stares longingly at our friends’ children. Of course, my father constantly at
his throat about our lack of spawn has started playing havoc with his mind
too. It’s one of the reasons I didn’t tell him that I took myself off birth
control three months ago. I didn’t want to add any pressure to our already
busy lives and figured if it happened, then it was meant to, and if it didn’t,
then maybe we needed to look into alternatives.
“Stella, have you come down to let me eat that perfect pussy for my
dessert?”
I quickly neutralize my face as I move closer to him in the room, stopping a
few feet away from his sexy frame. “Only if you want me to suffocate you
with it.”
“Don’t threaten me with a good time, Stella.” He smirks, the light from the
fire causing his gray eyes to glow and a look of smugness to cross his
features. I take another step closer, and his scent of spicy citrus and musk
fills my senses and has me trying to swallow a moan.
He stands from the chair, his glass in his hand, and moves toward me like a
graceful panther stalking its prey. His fingers trail down my shoulder,
sliding over the mark left from the healed bullet wound before causing the
strap of the nightgown to slip down and expose my breast. He repeats the
action with the other side until the nightgown is pooled along my chest and
barely hanging on. With a quick movement, he slices through the straps
with the blade I didn’t even notice was his tight grip. The one he always has
hidden on him in case someone tries to hurt us. The silk slips down my
body and pools at my feet as he repockets the blade. I almost pout seeing it
disappear from sight. I have become very fond of that particular blade
making its way across my body.
“Fucking sinful.” He moves around me until I feel his thickness pressing
against my ass, and his hand reaches around my body to palm my heavy
breast and tug on my hard erect nipple. The sensation of him pulling and
rolling the sensitive tip between his thick fingers has bolts of pleasure
singing down my spine. His warm breath meets the side of my neck, and his
lips drag a blazing path to my ear lobe, where he sucks deeply before
finding his way back down my neck and leaving marks along the way. It’s
one of his kinks, marking as many places on my body as he can and
claiming me as his. As if anyone would be insane enough to try to take me
from him.
His hand fists my loose hair, and he pulls tightly, pushing me forward.
“Bend and touch your toes, Stella. I want to see my favorite holes gaping
for me.” I bend my spine forward, my dark waves cascading down in front
of me as I reach for my red-painted toes.
“Fuck.” He growls the word, sounding animalistic as it drops from his lips.
Jaxon’s hand skates down my spine, leaving shivers and goosebumps in his
wake. His hand grabs one of my ass cheeks tightly as he squeezes it firmly
in his grasp, before releasing it and doing the same to the other side. I watch
between my parted legs as he lowers himself to his knees, his lips trailing
down my spine. He tips up the glass of scotch, and I release a whimper as
the cool liquid slithers down my lower back and in between my ass cheeks,
and his tongue follows its path, licking it up from my skin.
“Grasp your pretty cheeks, baby and spread them wide for me like the dirty
slut you are. I want to lick that pretty cunt and eat that sinful ass.”
I slide my hands slowly up my legs to the back of my thighs and grasp onto
my cheeks, pulling them apart as a growl leaves his lips before I feel his
breath hot against my center. He licks me from my puckered hole down my
weeping slit and to my bundle of nerves just waiting to be teased. His
thumb grazes against my tight hole before slipping inside, and I can’t
contain the moan that leaves my lips. “Jaxon…Jaxon, oh…my…God.”
“Forget about calling for him, baby. I’m all the God you need.” His tongue
slips inside of my pussy at the same time his thumb strokes and moves
inside of my ass, making my cheeks clench, and my legs tremble. Jesus,
that feels so good. The combination of his dirty words and that masterful
tongue will be my undoing if I am not careful.
As much as I want to cum, I also want to play, and teasing Jaxon is one of
my favorite things to do. He fucks me with his tongue as he pours the rest
of the scotch down my crack and licks me until I’m panting and breathing
heavily. The glass drops to the area rug next to us just before a loud crack
sounds in the air, and my right ass cheek feels scorching hot. A moan rips
from me at the feel of my skin throbbing.
“Do these holes need to be filled by my hard dick, Stella? Do you crave a
pounding baby?” A second slap follows quickly to the same cheek, all
while he never stops fucking me with his thumb and moves his tongue in
and out of my holes. The sensation of being filled in both holes and the pain
and heat of the slaps are almost too much for me, and my orgasm starts
racing up my spine. I hear him chuckle as he watches my body tense in
front of him, aware of my body’s cues.
“Oh no, my little viper. You don’t get to cum yet.”
He pulls back from me, and I almost stumble forward, straightening my
body and turning around to stare at him still on his knees before me. His
pupils are dilated, his mouth and chin wet from my arousal and a lock of
unruly hair messily across his forehead. He is sex personified, a sinful
dream, and he’s all mine.
“Give me your belt Jaxon.” His eyebrow rises, and a smirk graces his face
as I watch riveted as he removes his belt from his pants, unbuttoning and
pulling down the zipper, and freeing his giant veiny cock. His hand tightens
around his length as he strokes himself from root to tip, his thumb gracing
over the drop of precum already present. The sight causes my legs to
tighten closed and my mouth to water.
I take the folded belt from his hand, sliding it across his forearm, then up
his bicep, to his shoulders still encased in fine linen, and down his back.
“Strip Jaxon.” A shudder runs through him, and his eyes spark as he does
exactly what I have demanded. When he returns to his knees before me,
completely bare, I move closer, putting my abdomen and breasts in front of
his mouth, my nipple dragging across his full bottom lip.
“Suck.” His lips wrap around my hard nipple, and he sucks deep, as my
hand slips into the thickness of his hair, fisting his locks and holding him to
me. I pull back, and he releases my nipple with a pop before giving the
second one the same treatment. His eyes remain locked on mine, staring up
at me from his thick lashes. There’s no mistaking the heat in them, he’s
enjoying me bossing him around.
I can feel the stirrings of my orgasm racing towards me, the electrical
current along my skin causing all of my hair to rise on my arms. I pull back
and move behind him, pulling first one arm and then the other behind his
back before using the leather belt to wrap his wrists and forearms together
tightly. “Are you craving control, my little viper? You want to dominate me
tonight?” I can hear the laughter in his words, and I roll my eyes at his
attempt to bait me. We both know if anyone likes to be controlled and
dominated during sex, it’s me.
Tonight is different, though. I want to not only take my pleasure from Jaxon
but also to own him completely in a way that only I can. As I move my
fingers away from his confined wrists, my charm bracelets make a little
sound, capturing my attention and making a smile grace my lips. The
various charms catch the light from the fire. One of a gun, another a
diamond heart, a skull, a little diamond house, and the letter “J” move
together. My gift from Jaxon on our first Christmas to celebrate our survival
and our marriage. I adore it and never take it off, much to his pleasure. To
him, it might as well be a handcuff or a declaration of ownership, one that I
am increasingly happy to let him have.
My long nails trail across his back and up his shoulders, leaving marks as I
go until my fingers wrap around his neck and tighten slightly. “You talk too
much, Jaxon. I have better uses for that mouth.”
I pick up the silk nightgown from the floor and wrap it tightly around his
eyes, taking away his sight. His breathing has picked up. His chest rises and
falls heavily, showing me exactly how much he’s enjoying this little
reversal in our roles. The large tattoo of my name across the left side of his
chest that surrounds the bullet wound that almost killed him catches my
eye, and I lean down, running my tongue across his flesh. Further proof that
his heart is mine and only beats for me. If the bracelet is his ownership, the
tattoo is mine.
I move away from him towards the desk, opening a drawer and pulling out
what I hid here earlier. I make my way back to Jaxon. My fingers raking
through his hair and yanking on the strands. I force him to crawl on his
knees before me until I am sitting spread open on the sofa behind me. Like
a queen before her paramour, a devious smirk crosses my lips at just the
thought of Jaxon being my sex slave.
A pained grunt leaves his lips as his cock bounces before me, dripping
precum along its length. “Stella, release me. I want to see that pretty pussy
that belongs to me.” I ignore his demand and pull his face harshly into the
cunt that he craves, forcing his lips and nose to be flush against my soaked
skin. His lips open, and his tongue licks my wet folds before meeting my
hard nub and rolling it with his tongue.
I watch him for a moment. A man starved before me at a feast. He sucks
and licks every part of me, sliding his tongue between my lips, dipping in
and out of my hole, and returning to my puckered hole to suck and lick.
Harsh groans are leaving his lips, his chest rising and falling, a pink streak
flushing across his skin. “Fuck Stella, this pussy tastes delicious. I can
never get enough, baby.”
I slide my fingers down my stomach, holding on to the item I retrieved from
the desk, shifting it over my throbbing clit and my soaked pussy lips before
nesting it between them and pulling Jaxon’s head away from me.
Excitement races down my spine at what I am about to do. He cries out as I
release my hold on his hair and pull the nightgown off his eyes and away
from him. His heated gaze meets mine, hunger clearly evident as he licks
his lips. I tilt my head to the side, a smile gracing my lips, and wait for him
to see the gift that I brought him.
His eyes skate over my face, down the column of my neck, and over my
breasts. They continue down their path, leaving heat behind in his wake.
His gaze trails down my stomach and over my soft hips. The minute he sees
it, his whole body stiffens, and his eyes rapidly seek mine. My lips quirk,
trying hard to contain my smile. His jaw tenses, and he bites down on his
lower lip, his eyes glass over with tears, looking vulnerable and adorable.
He bends forward, his lips gracing my stomach before kissing it with such
sweetness that it has my heart aching. “Stella fuck…I…is it real? You’re
not playing with me right now?”
“No, Jaxon, I’m not playing with you.” He yanks on his tied wrists, his
muscles bunching below his golden skin, but the leather doesn’t release
him. “Baby, please let me touch you.”
“I thought you wanted dessert, Jaxon? My cunt is not going to lick itself.”
A giggle leaves my lips at his irate glare before he leans forward and slips
his tongue back inside of me. Fucking me with it and rubbing his stubble
across my folds. I move the item from between my swollen pussy lips and
up my stomach, Jaxon’s eyes never losing sight of it. I skate my fingers
across my nub, rubbing circles, and with the friction of Jaxon’s facial hair
and his tongue fucking me ruthlessly, I come hard across his face in no
time. My wetness drips down his chin as he licks every drop off his lips. He
pulls on the restraints again with frustration.
He turns around and gives me his arms to release him from the captivity of
the belt. For a moment, I do nothing, ignoring his request while I lie here in
my blissed-out state.
“Stella, release me. Fuck! My cock wants inside of his pretty cunt.” A
giggle escapes me at the desperation in his voice and features. I finally
release the buckle, and he pulls his arms free. The moment he does, he
grabs the item as if it were the rarest diamond. He holds it close to his face,
reading the symbol clearly marked before turning back to me.
“We’re having a baby! Holy fuck Stella! We are having a fucking baby!”
His cry of joy makes my heart jump along with him. I’ve been keeping this
secret from him for three weeks, not wanting to disappoint him if it didn’t
last more than a few weeks. I was going to make a huge production out of
telling him, but somehow right now, in this room, with him on his knees
before me feels perfect.
His hand trembles as it clutches the side of my face tenderly. “Baby, I love
you! This is the best gift you could ever give me. I’m going to love this
little girl just as much as I love you, and I promise you right here, right now,
I will protect her with my life.”
That right there is why I love this man more than I love air, more than I love
power. He wants a daughter rather than a son. To Jaxon, a woman is never
second best, she is his equal. He will raise a daughter to rule the world
around us. She will be powerful and fearless, our daughter, if that is what
we are blessed with.
The rise of the Stratford empire has begun, and it’s time for the reign of the
queen.
Keep going; you don’t want to miss the next part, trust me.

OceanofPDF.com
Bonus Epilogue Stella

"Because I am a woman, I must make unusual efforts to

succeed. If I fail, no one will say, "She doesn't have what it
takes." They will say, "Women don't have what it takes." Clare
Boothe Luce

The sun shines brightly as I walk into the room, the glorious rays warm on
my skin. Today has been a fantastic day all around. The acquisition we just
made will ensure further prosperity for the Stratford empire. One that has
grown to a fifty-billion-dollar empire under mine and Jaxon’s control. We
are untouchable, and the world fears us, as it should.
Jaxon looked perkier at breakfast this morning, a welcome change from his
pale pallor of late. I have to try to convince him to see the doctor again.
Maybe I could give him something he wants in exchange for going?
Perhaps a weekend away, just the two of us, where no one can reach us. It’s
been a while since it has just been us indulging in each other freely.
Memories of when we were first married and couldn’t keep our hands off of
each other warm my heart and keep me going, despite the fear in the back
of my mind that something is wrong with him.
My husband is still the only temptation that I freely indulge in. His body,
mind, and soul are a balm to my spirit at the end of each day. A smirk
crosses my lips when I think of how we started and where we are now, and
the incredible life we have lived together. The fact that we are still together
after all these years and our very rocky, contemptuous beginning amazes me
daily. Who would have thought that Stella Penticton would fall madly and
deeply in love with a demanding, possessive playboy like Jaxon Stratford?
One that forced her into marriage, kicking and screaming. Certainly not me,
if you had asked me thirty-five years ago. I would have told you to get your
head examined.
As I walk into my family room, silence immediately greets me, and two
little dark heads turn toward me. Two pairs of blue eyes meet my appraisal.
One pair so much like mine that it’s like looking in the mirror, the other,
ocean blue and filled with trepidation. I stop before them, my face a mask
hiding my emotions and thoughts from those watching. My ice queen
persona is firmly in place. I catch Jaxon smirking at me from the sofa. I
would love to wipe that smile off of his devious face, but right now is not
the time. He knows I am not happy about this situation, and the only saving
grace in this whole mess is standing before me in a pretty pair of yellow
overalls.
My gaze meets the little girl to the right. She’s holding on tightly to
Isabella’s hand, but her gaze is fierce when it meets mine. Hmmm, do we
have a little fighter here? She’s hiding behind her thick, wavy dark hair.
Her face is a tad pale and she still has her baby round cheeks. She
resembles a little cherub, if that cherub had a fierce will. I can work with
that anger I see just below the surface. Ensure that she channels it correctly.
I tear my gaze away from her to Isabella. My dark-haired princess who
resembles a little porcelain doll. Her skin is so pale, it’s luminous. Her red
lips lift in a semi-smile, knowing that despite whatever mood I might be in
she brings me such happiness. This one is deceptive, looking like nothing
but sunshine and happiness, but below the surface is an iron will that she
has no doubt inherited from the women in my family. My poor little
Isabella, who has already suffered at the hands of fate, but shows me every
day that she is strong and will not be brought to her knees. She turns and
whispers to the other little girl, and they both giggle together before staring
down at the ground.
Yes, these two will be thick as thieves in no time. The thought brings me
immense pleasure, knowing that they will be able to depend on each other
for the battles yet to come. I stare at the heads of the two young women that
will inherit my empire. The girls I will turn into fierce queens that will take
on a male-dominated world and burn it to ash if anyone tries to harm them.
I will raise them and shape them to know that they are powerful beings.
That being a woman is a blessing, not a curse, and that no matter where
they go in life, they are mine. My granddaughters, my kin. Stratfords. Ones
that fear nothing and bow to no one.
“Who is this?” I question, trying to keep the affection out of my voice. She
meets my gaze with a little fear, but then I watch as she raises her head and
pulls back her shoulders. She may be frightened, but she refuses to let me
see it. She refuses to cower before me. Good. She will need that spirit in the
future. Our enemies are many and would drag her down to hell if she allows
them. I am here to ensure they will never get the chance.
My gaze travels over to my son, standing awkwardly to the side with his
new bride. He knows very well that he’s on my shit list. Running off and
marrying a waitress without even discussing it with his father and me. On
top of it, with a waitress that already has a child. The woman, my new
daughter-in-law, won’t meet my gaze, and it makes irritation slide up my
spine and my hands clench at my side. I can see what attracted my son to
her. She’s beautiful, her body slim and well proportioned, and her long dark
hair an enticing feature. Unfortunately for us, she is weak and not a true
Stratford. I can already see it in her demeanor. She will always cower to me
or anyone else with strength. So unlike the little version of her standing
before me, the daughter has obviously not inherited her strength from her
mother.
That won’t do, though. We are Stratfords, we fear no one. I will have to
keep an eye on her. I am not convinced that this is a perfect love match, as
my son claims. Although she readily signed the prenup and adoption papers
that Jared presented her with before getting married at some backward little
southern town’s city hall. Imagine that, a Stratford, getting married before a
justice of the peace with only county clerks as witnesses. I have no doubt
my dearly departed mother is rolling in her grave right now. I was livid
when I discovered what he had done, but the deed is now done, and we
have to move forward, even if it is with care. Before me stands the new
Mrs. Jared Stratford. She may bear my son’s name, but she will not lead my
legacy. No, these two little girls will.
I have had investigators digging into Catherine’s past. She has lived a hard
life, one of sacrifice and pain. She was left all alone to raise that child
without any assistance, while the father served time for horrific crimes.
Ones that I cannot even envision her and her daughter surviving, but here
she is, alive and married to my son. From the sounds of the reports, she is a
hard worker, doing all she could to keep a roof over both of their heads.
Now that they are both Stratfords, they will never want for anything ever
again. I will make sure of it, just like I will assure that the child grows up
from here on under my tutelage to guarantee she survives the perils in her
new world.
I meet my handsome son’s eyes, ones that are identical to his father's, and
love fills me. For a moment, my resolve weakens to be dissatisfied with his
behavior and actions. He, too, has been dealt a harsh hand by fate. Losing
his first wife within three years of marriage and leaving him a widower and
a single father. I understand his need to find someone to share his life with
and bring him happiness. If Catherine is that woman, then so be it. I will
attempt to be civil to her and welcome her into the Stratford fold. The one
thing his spontaneous actions have brought me that I welcome readily is
another granddaughter.
My inability to give Jaxon more than one child has always plagued my
heart, and then to have my own child only have one as well has always
brought me heartache. I always wanted a house full of Stratford children,
ones we could leave this vast empire to. If I am being honest with myself, I
always wanted a daughter and lots of granddaughters. Women I could shape
and teach how to navigate this world and the empire I have helped build.
It looks like some divine being up there was listening, as before me are two
little women that will rule long after I am gone. Ensuring that the Stratford
name continues for years to come and that the Stratford strength will be felt
for eons.
“Amelia…Ham…Amelia Hamilton.” The little voice responds, at first low
and unsure but then stronger.
“Wrong.” I return my gaze to her and meet her beautiful eyes, ones that
remind me of the Caribbean Ocean. I hope that they are deceptively
beautiful, just like that ocean, and behind their stunning beauty hides peril.
I watch as anger momentarily crosses her features, her nose flaring and her
jaw tensing. Hmm, we will need to work on that. She will need to learn how
to hide her emotions from those that would seek to manipulate her.
“What do you mean? That’s my name!”
“No, it is not. That person no longer exists. Amelia Hamilton has
disappeared, never to be heard from again. Do you understand me, young
lady? Your name is Mia Stratford. You are a Stratford now.” I bend down
until my face is inches from hers, meeting her fierce eyes filled with fear
and distrust. I sense confusion in her little mind, fighting against the
knowledge that my son has adopted her, and that her name has been
changed to prevent predators from searching her out and causing her harm.
“From this moment forward, you are Mia Stratford, a Manhattan princess,
and my heir. With that comes responsibilities, Mia.” I gently reach out a
tentative hand to her jaw, taking it in my grasp. “Let me make it clear to
you, child. You are not of my blood, but you will be of my heart. I am your
grandmother, and you are a Stratford.” I meet her wide eyes.
I know she was bullied back in that shitty backward town that she came
from. I heard all about what those wealthy sons of tyrants put this child
through. I am determined to build her strength so that one day she can
avenge herself on her enemies. I will ensure she has all the power she could
ever need to destroy their worlds down to the last stone. A Stratford never
forgets and always demands her pound of flesh.
“You are a Stratford now, and no one will ever hurt you again. You have my
promise.”
The end.
You can learn more about the Stratford Princesses in the first book of
Casbury Prep, Reign of the Queen.

Long may a Stratford reign.

xoxo

OceanofPDF.com
Acknowledgments

Lovelies!
Let me start by saying how I am incredibly grateful and honored that you
read my books!
Reign of the Queen was a labor of love for me. Fall of a King was a way to
help me purge some of my internal demons. Rise of a Kingdom took chunks
of my sanity with it. Stella would not release me from her vicious hold,
without her story being told. In typical Stella fashion, it had to be told now,
before I could move on to Corrupted Kingdom.
To the readers - thank you from the bottom of my heart and soul for
reading my books. I am humbled and honored by each kind word, post, and
video. They keep me going! Know that without you, there are no books!
Thanks for giving this Canadian indie author a chance!
To my mother and mother-in-law, who will never read this book. Thank
you for being the inspiration behind Stella. Two women that refuse to bow
and refuse to take shit from anyone. You are both vicious little queens, and I
love you.
To my ride or die, I am so sorry that I lost chunks of my mind writing this
book. Thank you for putting up with me and bringing me copious amounts
of chocolate! I love ya, Pooh! You are my rock, shield, and sword.
To my daughter, Katie. I know how difficult the last couple of weeks have
been. Thank you for being a mountain of hope and inspiration. I could not
do this without you. Thank you for reading another one of your mom’s
dark, depraved romances and not disowning me. Your input always makes
me a better writer, mom, and human. I love you, little momma!
To my handsome son, who ignored me through this whole book, while
leaving candy out for my consumption. Thank you!
To my four-legged demon spawn, who suffered with less pets and walks
while mom wrote this story and sobbed. I’m sorry, and I’ll make it up to
you with treatos! I love you, handsome fur demon.
Anna, Lillie, Katelin, and Tawny - thank you for reading this book during
editing. You, ladies, have kept me sane, kept me from DNFing this whole
book, and rooted for me! You are amazing women, and I am honored to
have you in my life.
Mia Fury & Darcy Bennett, you two are amazing women. Thank you for
jumping in and helping me with this book. I could not have done this
without you!
My lovely members of the Queen’s Lair on F.B. - You make me smile &
keep me sane every day, and I am honored to have met you! Thank you for
putting up with my cray-cray and still coming back daily!
To my arc team! I love you! Thank you for putting up with me and
watching me stumble like a newborn calf at this. I promise I will be more
organized going forward (at least, I hope!). Thank you for sharing my books
and supporting me!
To the group of Bookish Girls and Issa, who keep giving my books a
chance, making me smile, and sharing my worlds with other readers, I can
never thank you enough. You have my gratitude & heart forever.
Thank you, to the other amazing book community authors, PA, and readers
who have been very supportive, inclusive, and patient with me.
Thank you, Cady Verdiramo, for making this gorgeous non-discrete
cover!
Thank you, Mark Suan, for the stunning discrete cover, amazing
formatting, and beautiful graphic details in this book.
Thank you, H.E. from B&R edits, for helping to polish my words, and
reducing down my vivid profanity!
I have so many new worlds and books to be published. I hope you all stick
with me and continue on this amazing journey.
I love ya, lovelies!
A.L. Maruga, xoxo

OceanofPDF.com
Resources

I recognize there were certain themes within this book that could have been
triggering, please see available resources below. Together we are stronger
than our demons.
If you or someone you know needs help for assault crisis, please view the
following resources.
isurvive.org USA & CANADA
endingviolencecanada.org Canada
safehelpline.org Universal
myawayout.org Universal
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health crisis, please
see the links below
wellnesstogethercanada Canada
mentalhealth.gov USA
988lifeline.org USA
checkpointorg.com/global Universal

OceanofPDF.com
Come stalk me!

Be sure to subscribe to her newsletter: https:// www.authoralmaruga.com/

This will keep you updated on her craziness, book releases and giveaways!

Come join the naughty fun in her author’s Facebook group!

A.L Maruga's Naughty Queen's Lair:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/httpslinktr.eeauthoralmaruga

Stalk her on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/authoralmaruga/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@almarugaauthor?lang=en or check out

her LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/authoralmaruga

OceanofPDF.com
About Author

A.L Maruga grew up in the big city of Toronto in Ontario, Canada, reading
romance novels and watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She now lives in a
tiny suburb outside of one of Ontario's largest metropolises, with her two
spawn, fur demon, and soulmate.
Her love of all things romance and paranormal has stayed with her over the
years and now she devours books at an alarming rate! Why she seems to
always fall in love with the villains of the stories is anyone’s wonder.
Drinker of gallons of coffee, lover of all things chocolate, and an avid
gardener. You can find her wandering around her small town in
Southwestern Ontario, with her trusty writing assistant, the four-legged, fur-
demon, binge watching Netflix, hands deep in the dirt of her gardens, or
spending time with her two grown kids and her soulmate.
She writes about demanding, possessive, morally gray and ruthless dark
alpha-aholes and the strong women who bring them to their knees in her
spicy dark romances.

OceanofPDF.com
Also By

Reign of the Queen, A.L Maruga's debut, dark enemies to lovers, why
choose/RH, bully romance. Available in Kindle Unlimited, paper back and
coming soon in hardback!

Get your copy today! https://books2read.com/u/mgPLn0

Fall of a King, the second book in the Casbury Prep series. Available in
Kindle Unlimited, paper back and coming soon in hardback!

Get your copy today! https://books2read.com/u/4ARvq0

Corrupted Kingdom, the 3rd book in the Casbury Prep world will be
available in May 2023. Pre-order here now!

OceanofPDF.com