Bought A Lover, Got A Butler: The Demon CEO’s Secret Chapter 08

Bought A Lover, Got A Butler: The Demon CEO’s Secret Chapter 08

I spent the whole day out with Ethan and didn’t get home until well after dark. The apartment was quiet when we walked in – the lights were off, and there was no sign of Liam.

He must have gone to bed already.

I kept my voice down while I helped Ethan pack his things. “Sleep in your own room tonight, okay? And stay put tomorrow morning – someone’s coming to pick you up.”

Ethan nodded, flashing both little fangs one last time. “Goodbye, Master.”

Goodbyes always stung worse than you expected. My throat tightened, and I ducked into my bedroom before it could turn into anything more.

I’d run myself ragged that day, and the second my head hit the pillow, I was out.

Sometime deep in the night, I drifted half-awake to warm breath against my neck. I grumbled and rolled over,

still more asleep than awake, and rolled straight into a body that radiated heat like a

furnace.

That woke me the rest of the way up. I opened my mouth to scream, but before I could make a

sound, a mouth closed over mine.

The kiss was heavy, slow, and wet, and it swallowed every thought I had. By the time he finally

pulled back, I could barely remember which way was up.

I couldn’t see his face in the dark. All I could feel was his forehead pressed against mine, and all I could hear was my own ragged breathing.

“Wait

– are you Ethan?” I managed between breaths.

He didn’t answer. His eyelashes brushed my skin, trembling. I pushed at his chest and tried to tell

him to stop.

“It’s me,” the man said, cutting me off. “Master. It’s Ethan.”

Something about the voice didn’t match, but before I could place it, he kissed me again, and the rest

of the night dissolved into heat, motion, and the feeling of being pulled under by a current I didn’t want to fight.

I woke the next morning sore in places I didn’t even want to think about, my body aching from head

to toe.

I must have overslept, because Liam knocked, then came in with breakfast when he realized I

wasn’t up yet. I asked him where Ethan was.

My voice came out wrecked – shredded down to almost nothing. Liam’s reply was measured,

deliberate, each word set down like a brick.

“I don’t know.”

I cleared my throat. “Let’s just eat.”

I told him to sit and have breakfast with me, and when he did, I saw them – a trail of hickeys

climbing up the side of his neck.

I set my fork down with a sharp clatter. “What is that on your neck?”

The question came out like an accusation, and before I knew it, I was unraveling. He hadn’t been

here last night – he must have slipped out the second I’d left.

If he could go to someone like that – if he could give someone else what he’d always denied me

then what had I even been to him all this time?

Anger crashed through me so fast it left me shaking. I barely recognized myself.

Liam kept his head down and said nothing. The man who usually kept his composure flawlessly was

suddenly unable to get a sentence out.

“Answer me,” I demanded. He finally looked up and met my eyes, steady and clear, holding my

gaze without looking away.

Then, just as quickly, he turned away. A slow heat crept up his neck.

I stopped asking. I understood.

Liam had feelings for someone. I didn’t know who, but it certainly wasn’t me his insufferable, clingy owner, the one he never wanted.

I ate the rest of my oatmeal in silence. I’d taken the morning off because Ethan was supposed to be

picked up, and I’d planned to wait with him until the company came.

But Ethan’s door stayed shut. It was locked from the inside, and no amount of knocking got any

response.

“Ethan?” I called, knocking on the door. “Are you up? Open the door.”

Nothing.

Liam’s hand closed around my wrist. “Stop knocking. He’s not going to open it.”

I froze. “What did you do to him?”

–

The customer service agent’s warning flashed through my mind – lethal conflict and dread curdled in my stomach.

Liam’s expression was dark, unreadable. “Do you care about him that much? What if I made him disappear?”

I wrenched my hand free. “Are you out of your mind? What did he ever do to you?”

We stood there locked in a standoff, neither of us willing to break. The silence stretched until the doorbell cut through it.

The company pickup was here. I moved toward the front door, and Liam caught me by the arm.

I stumbled backward into his chest. His arms locked around me, and his voice was rough and

desperate against my ear.

“Don’t open it. Please. I don’t want to leave you.”

The words didn’t make sense. Before I could process them, Liam dropped to his knees.

His eyes were rimmed in a raw, frightening red. I stared at him for a few stunned seconds, then lunged to haul him back to his feet.

“What are you doing? Get up

He wouldn’t move. His hands were shaking, veins standing out over his knuckles, and his lips

trembled around every word.

“I know you like him better than me. But if I can’t stay with you, then no one else can either.”

“Hate me or ignore me, I don’t care. I’m not leaving with them today.”