Chapter Seven

Ava’s POV

The house felt different without him in it.

After Corren left, the dining room fell into a heavy silence that made my skin prickle. I sat at the long table for several more minutes, staring at the half-eaten food, his order still ringing in my ears. *Don’t touch yourself while I’m gone. That pleasure belongs to me now.* The words had settled between my legs like a brand. Every time I shifted in the chair, the soft green dress whispered against my thighs and reminded me how wet I already was.

I finally stood and forced myself to move.

The estate was even larger than it had seemed last night. I wandered slowly through open doorways, past sitting rooms filled with dark furniture and expensive art, past a library with floor-to-ceiling shelves and leather chairs that still held the faint scent of his cologne. Everything was polished, controlled, and quiet. Staff members appeared and disappeared like shadows—nodding politely, never meeting my eyes for long. They already knew I belonged to the man of the house in some new way. The thought made my stomach tighten.

I found the pool by accident.

It stretched out behind the mansion, pale blue water glittering under the late-morning sun. Loungers lined one side. A small cabana sat at the far end. No one else was there. I stood at the edge for a long time, the heat of the sun on my shoulders, the green dress clinging lightly to my skin. Part of me wanted to strip down and slide into the cool water, to feel something clean against the restless ache Corren had left behind. But his rule sat heavy in my chest. Even alone, I felt watched.

I didn’t go in.

By early afternoon the tension under my skin had become almost unbearable. I returned to my room, closed the door, and sat on the edge of the large bed. My hands rested on my thighs. I could still feel the exact place where his palm had rested at breakfast. The memory of his voice saying *Daddy* made my breath shorten. I wanted to slide my fingers between my legs and take the edge off. I wanted it so badly my thighs trembled. But every time I started to move my hand, his command stopped me cold.

*That pleasure belongs to me now.*

I lay back on the bed instead, staring at the ceiling, pulse throbbing between my legs. Time dragged. Every distant sound in the house made me flinch. I hated how much space he already occupied in my head. I hated how my body had started answering to him faster than my mind could protest.

A soft knock pulled me upright.

One of the maids stood in the doorway. “Miss Ava, Mrs. Sybil has arrived. Mr. Corren asked that you come downstairs.”

My heart slammed against my ribs.

I stood on unsteady legs, smoothed the green dress, and followed her. Each step down the grand staircase felt heavier than the last. By the time I reached the foyer, I could already hear my aunt’s familiar voice.

Sybil stood near the entrance in a cream blouse and tailored pants, looking perfectly composed. When she saw me, her face lit up with genuine warmth.

“There you are,” she said, opening her arms. “Let me look at you.”

I walked into her embrace and let her hold me. She smelled like the same perfume she had worn for years. For a moment I was eight years old again, newly orphaned and clinging to the only family I had left. The guilt that rose in my throat almost choked me.

“You look well,” she said, pulling back to study my face. “A little tired, but well. Has Corren been taking good care of you?”

The question was innocent. The answer was anything but.

“Yes,” I managed. “He’s been… kind.”

Sybil smiled, satisfied, and linked her arm through mine. “Come. I want to see the room he gave you. He told me it’s one of the nicest in the house.”

We walked upstairs together. I showed her the large bedroom, the windows, the view of the gardens. She ran her hand over the soft bedding and nodded in approval.

“This is better than anything I could have given you,” she said quietly. “I always worried, you know. About money. About whether you felt secure. Corren never let you lack for anything, even when you were little. He’s a good man, Ava. Strict, but good.”

I stared at the floor. The same man who had bent me over a restroom sink and made me come on his tongue. The same man who had ordered me not to touch myself and made me call him Daddy at the breakfast table. Heat crawled up my neck.

Sybil kept talking—about how relieved she was that I was here, about how Vance had called her earlier sounding upset, about how she hoped I would take time to heal properly. Every word landed like a small stone in my chest. I smiled when I was supposed to. I nodded. I said all the right things. Inside, the secret burned.

We were still in my room when the door opened.

Corren stepped inside, still in his dark suit, the silver at his temples catching the light. His eyes found mine first, then moved to Sybil. The temperature in the room seemed to change.

“Sybil,” he said calmly. “You’re early.”

“I wanted to see her,” she replied, walking over to kiss his cheek. “She’s settled in beautifully. You’ve done well.”

Corren’s gaze flicked back to me. Something unreadable passed through his eyes. “Ava has been obedient.”

The word slid under my skin. My aunt heard only a compliment. I heard the claim.

Sybil stayed another hour. We sat in one of the formal sitting rooms while she and Corren discussed ordinary things—business, a charity event, a cousin’s wedding. I mostly listened, hands folded tightly in my lap. Every so often Corren’s eyes would rest on me, steady and knowing, and my body would respond with a fresh pulse of heat. By the time Sybil finally stood to leave, my nerves were scraped raw.

At the front door she hugged me again, longer this time.

“Call me if you need anything,” she murmured. “And be good for him.”

I watched her car disappear down the long driveway. The moment the gates closed, the atmosphere in the foyer shifted.

Corren stood behind me, close enough that I felt the heat of his body. He didn’t touch me. He didn’t need to.

“You did well,” he said quietly. “She suspects nothing.”

I turned to face him. My voice came out thinner than I wanted. “She thinks you’re taking care of me.”

“I am.” His eyes moved over my face, then lower, lingering on my mouth. “In every way that matters.”

The space between us felt charged, dangerous. I could still feel the ghost of his hand on my thigh from breakfast. I could still hear the rule he had left me with. My body ached with the need he had forbidden me to relieve.

Corren glanced at the watch on his wrist.

“It’s only four-thirty,” he said. “You have hours before you’re expected in my study.” He stepped closer, lowering his voice. “I suggest you use them to think carefully about what you want to happen at nine o’clock, Ava.”

He walked past me toward the hallway that led to his office, leaving the faint scent of his cologne in the air.

I stood alone in the foyer, pulse racing, the green dress suddenly feeling too tight across my chest. The house was quiet again. The secret was safe for now.

But the pressure inside me had only grown sharper.

And nine o’clock was getting closer.