Joseph Fallen (The Estate Series) (5 page)

Two years had passed since Joseph had taken control of
Estate Acquisitions.
 
Within those
two years, Joseph had amassed a small fortune, tripling the size of the company
and growing more powerful than even the most elite within his field.
 
He’d reconsidered doing business with
his newfound associates after the night he’d scared his wife, but not being
able to shake the idea of the wealth they could bring, he continued his
dealings in private, hiding information from her and allowing her to believe
that he’d declined their offer.
 
He
felt guilty for lying to her, but he knew that her mind was not capable of the
ruthless skill required for business.
 
He also saw nothing wrong with the arrangement he’d made with the men
and he’d convinced himself that his decision was well-founded when gazing on
the home he was finally able to provide for his wife.

He’d allowed the men to use his company as a front to filter
money in order to hide the profits of their crimes.
 
In exchange for the use of his company,
Joseph was able to keep a percentage of those funds for himself.
 
Within a year’s time, rumors spread
through the underground channels regarding the success of their arrangement and
more high-powered men had approached Joseph requesting that they be allowed to
do the same.
  
By the second
year, Joseph no longer had to buy and sell companies to make money, thanks to
the business dealings with the criminals he assisted.
 
He tried not to think about what these
men were doing and where the money was coming from, focusing instead on the
growth of his wealth and his power within the community.
 
He knew he was dealing with questionable
characters, but his knowledge of their crimes was not enough to sway him from
his decision.

Standing back from his newly acquired property, Joseph
placed his arm around Arianna, delighted to finally give her the home he felt a
woman like her deserved.
 
The large
mansion stood proudly at the center of a 100 acre piece of land.
 
Its center was domed, the foyer and
connected ballroom flanked by two large wings that ran along its sides.
 
Each wing contained two large gourmet
kitchens, multiple common areas and various apartments that acted as small
homes within the building.
 
It had
once been a hotel, but Joseph had purchased the property with the intent of
selling off the assets and creating a home for Arianna and himself.

“Don’t you think it’s a little big for us, Joseph?
 
I’m afraid I’ll get lost just trying to
locate a bathroom.”
 
She joked at
his side, but her attempt at levity was lost on him.
 
He’d wanted to see her face beam at the
sight of it, but instead she appeared reserved, undecided on whether she was
pleased with the present he’d given her.

Annoyance laden in his tone, Joseph responded, “I thought
you would be happy.
 
There will be
plenty of room for everything.
 
I’ll
never have to leave the house again if I use the west wing for my business and
the right as a home for you and I, and a child when we are finally successful
in our attempts.”

He knew he hit a nerve by bringing up their inability to
conceive but he was also hurt by her lack of enthusiasm over the home he’d
bought her.
 
His need to strike out
was not easily contained due his desire for an heir that had become an unending
obsession hidden deep within the confines of his mind.

Arianna remained quiet and he knew she was keeping her
thoughts to herself, a habit she’d developed over the few years they’d been
married.
 
A fake smile across her
face, she looked up at him.
 
“Let’s
go inside, maybe if I look around, its size won’t intimidate me as much as it
does from the view outside.”
 
It was
a weak effort, but one Joseph could appreciate.

Walking her inside, he became eager to show her the best
part of the mansion.
 
Covering her
eyes with his hand, he led her into the center ballroom.
 
“Are you ready for this, my love?
  
When I uncover your eyes, look
up.”

Slowly he peeled his hand from her face.
 
Her attention immediately traveling to
the ceiling and her breath leaving her in an astonished puff of air when she
first saw the sophisticated and intricate design of the crystal chandelier that
hung in the center of the room.

Breathlessly, she said, “Joseph…”

He smiled, placing a finger over her mouth to silence her
words.
  
Looking deep into the
boundless blue of her eyes, he said, “I promised you years ago that I would buy
you a home with a crystal chandelier.
 
This building is yours to do with as you please.
 
I know that with your touch, it will be
the envy of every person lucky enough to set eyes on it.”

Arianna nodded, glancing around the room. Her eyes brushed
over the gaudy floral wallpaper and the chair rails that could use a darker
stain so that they matched the dark wood beams that ran in lines, converging at
the ceiling’s curved center.
 
Although her annoyance with Joseph’s intrepid purchase still nagged at
her mind, she looked forward to redecorating, adding her personal touch to the
space Joseph had chosen as their home. She was also thankful for a project of
the mansion’s magnitude to distract her during the long days while Joseph was
at work; because, over the past few months, she’d been saddened at how Joseph
had put in more hours and spent larger portions of time away.

Pushing herself up onto her toes, she kissed Joseph on the
cheek, smiling earnestly up at the man who intended to give her the world.
 
“Thank you.
 
Where would you like me to start?”

An lustful idea flicked through his mind and he smiled slyly
when he answered, “Start with our apartment at the end of the right wing.
 
It’s one of the largest suites in the
entire mansion.
 
I’ll take you there
now.”
 
Gripping her hand, he led her
through the large wooden doors of the ballroom out into a long corridor.
 
The sound of their steps against the
stone floors echoed through the halls as they traveled the distance to their
suite.
 
Pulling a key from his
pocket, Joseph unlocked the rounded double doors, pushing them forward to
unveil a massive, unfurnished room.
 
Arianna stepped inside, her eyes immediately moving over the built in
bookshelves on the left of the room and the dining area and kitchen on the
right.

Crossing the room, Arianna pushed open the large double
doors that led into an office, her eyes traveling over the tall built in
shelves.
 
Her eyes alight with
excitement, she spun towards Joseph.
 
“Will you be working in here? Will I get to see more of you now that you
can work from home?”

He chuckled.
 
“We
could make this
one
of my offices,
but as I said earlier…”
 
He strode
to her, wrapping his arms around her waist, swaying her back and forth. “…I
thought the west wing would be a good place to deal with business affairs.
 
Once our child arrives, I’d like to keep
the two halves of my life separate from one another.
 
Your spirit and that of our future child
will be too precious to be muddied
 
or weighed down by the dealings of men and their money.”

Arianna’s brows furrowed, but she knew her husband was
attempting to guard her in the only way he knew how.
 
“Where are the bedrooms?”

A salacious smile lining his lips, Joseph winked before
grabbing her hand and leading her towards the opposite set of doors across the
living room.
 
“I love how you can’t
wait to get working on that child.”
 
The shift in his thoughts was sudden, the vision of her beauty in the
low light of the room drawing his attention, stoking his need to dominate her -
to possess her.

An enchanted and melodic laugh floated through the air as
Joseph dragged his unsuspecting wife through the corridor to the back
bedroom.
 
When he pushed open the
doors to the master suite, Arianna gasped to see how much space was hidden
within the room.
 
She moved quickly
through the unfurnished space, her hands brushing across the chair rails and
textured red paint on the walls.
 
“I
love this color.
 
Would you mind if
I use it throughout the building?”

His chest pressed against her back, Joseph brought his mouth
to her ear, lightly sucking on the sensitive lobe before responding, “Promise
me to make our home as beautiful as you, and you can use any color you
like.”
 
Joseph observed his wife,
his pants tightening in response to the sudden onslaught of erotic images of
her in his head.
 
He could care less
if she wanted to paint the entire house green at that moment, his pride
creating within him a masculine desire to stalk and conquer the woman in his
arms.

His hands smoothed down the sides of her body, causing her
to tremble against his skin.
 
Her
breath caught when he aggressively took her hand, pulling her into the large
connected bathroom.
 
“Are you
feeling dirty, my love?
 
Perhaps a
shower would benefit us both.”
 
Seduction dripping thick from his words, his eyes moved over her body, a
fire sparking within him after he focused on the soft curves hidden beneath the
modest clothes that she wore.

She turned to him, surprise touching her features; but
before she could voice her reply, Joseph covered her mouth with his hand,
backing her towards the sunken shower at the corner of the room.
 
With her back pressed heavily against
the glass wall, he put his mouth to her ear, enjoying the way her body
responded to the whisper of his breath against her skin.
 
Reality shifted and his basic drive took
over.
 
His need for her at that
moment went beyond love, beyond anything that could be considered sweet or
romantic.
 
It was a driving, carnal
desire that made every muscle in his body tense, that caused his blood to
forcefully surge through his veins.
 
Holding her motionless against the wall, he was quiet for a few moments
before finally saying, “You are mine, Arianna, never forget that.
 
You’ll never have to be away from me
again.
 
I’ve given you a home and a
piece of land that will provide you with everything you will ever need.”

“Am I trapped here, Joseph?
 
Is that your intent?”
 
Her words were spoken in jest but a
grain of truth was buried within the question.

Softly, his chest rumbled against her, his humor towards an inner
thought made apparent by the movement of his body and the twist to his
lips.
 
“Such a sweet and beautiful
creature you are.”
 
His finger
reaching up to softly slide along her cheek, his grey eyes locked to the cobalt
starbursts within hers.
 
“You’ve been
trapped since the day I met you, but if it is my intentions that concern you,
just know that the only plan I have at this moment is to take your naked body
in every way possible, over every solitary inch of this home.”

His teeth found the sensitive skin just beneath her ear
while his hands slid along her back, drawing the zipper of her dress down until
resting just above the curve to her ass.
 
As the material fell from her shoulders, flowing gracefully down along
her torso, his lips followed along, nipping at the sensitized flesh, his tongue
flicking out to take in the salt taste of her skin.

When the dress finally pooled at her feet, he caged her
against the walls with his arms.
 
His forehead pressed against hers, he demanded, “Undress me, Arianna.”

With eyes the color of fiery mercury, he watched as her
slender fingers worked over the buttons of his shirt, each one opening to
expose his heated skin to the cool air in the room that wound itself between
their bodies. Her fingernails clicking against each other, his heart beat
harder at the thought of the feel of those nails trailing down his back.
 
He covered her body with his while she
worked lower, finally freeing him of his pants before reaching up again to push
his shirt off his strong shoulders.

Quietly he led her down the steps into the shower.
 
Flicking on the water, she shouted out
when the frigid temperature met with her skin, the tips of her breasts
instantly hardening into points that he took no time covering with his mouth
and hand.
 
Shoving her against the
stone tiled wall, his hands gripped her legs, roughly pulling her legs around
his waist before violently spearing himself inside the warm heat of her body.

Driving himself within her, his teeth clamped down where the
skin of her neck met her shoulder.
 
She cried out, her body shuddering against him while the muscles of her
core milked him hungrily of everything he had to give her.
 
Forcing her towards a painful peak, his
hand reached up to grip her around her neck, just below the line of her jaw.
 
With his mouth pressed against hers, he
demanded, “Tell me who owns you, Arianna; tell me to whom you belong.”