TW: explicit language, sexual explicit scenes, sexual assault, drugs and alcohol, explicit violent scenes, gun violence, emotional and physical manipulation, dub-con, mentions of cults, blood and blood play, knife play (I'll update the list as the story goes on, please feel free to point out if I've missed one, thank you and enjoy!)
9.
The wedding dinner dragged on forever, I was still a little shocked by what had happened in the gardens that I wasn't feeling very hungry. Yet, Sukuna made it his night's mission to ensure I'd finish the food on my plate each time a new course was served. For once, I was thankful for his obsessive ass, if not for him, I would've been either hurt or at best, passed out somewhere.
When he wasn't looking though, I kept refilling my glass with wine and emptying it, maintaining a constant level of drunkenness, enough to be smiling like an idiot through the entire meal, but still conscious of whatever conversations were going on.
Before the cake, we were told there'd be a break and the DJ turned the music up again, instructing everyone to go back to the dance floor. The lights dimmed and the room came alive once more. I smiled at Sukuna, raising my eyebrows playfully.
"Do you dance, by any chance?" I said above the loud music. He looked at me just as playfully before untying his bowtie and throwing it on the table, the lines on his chest peeking through his now unbuttoned collar.
I grinned at his playfulness, holding out my hands for him to take and led him to the crowd in the middle of the dancefloor, thinking that would encourage him to let go. But little did I know, he didn't need one bit of encouragement - the moment we stepped in, he began dancing and my jaw fell to the floor.
The man knew he was charismatic, he fucking knew it. Of course he had the hottest moves I had ever seen, not afraid to move those sexy hips or keep up with me. I couldn't stop grinning, I never had such a good dance partner in a while. Ever, probably. I swayed to the music while looking at him, grinning and cheering on him before he grabbed me by the hips and demanded that we danced pressed against one another.
The fact that we were at a wedding, surrounded by some of the most important people in the city didn't stop him from spinning me around in his arms, my butt pressed against his crotch - and the very hard length tucked in there. The alcohol in my system was making me braver than I was, leaning into him, head resting back on his shoulder, giving him access to my body as we danced together.
We could've been alone in that room for all I knew, aside from the vibrations from the music, all I felt was him. His hands on my body, his face buried in my neck, right where the rose used to be, his teeth grazing my skin before biting gently. My eyes snapped open as I held back a moan from the bite. All I got as a response from him was a frustrated groan and another bite, this time on my shoulder and much harder.
My traitorous body got electrified and Sukuna got exactly what he wanted - I hid my face in his hair and let out a moan that only he could hear. His body vibrated from him chuckling but made up for it by kissing the spot he had bitten. Several times.
The music suddenly slowed down and he spun me around in his arms again, one hand on his shoulder and the other in his as he led the slow dancing. He kept glancing at my shoulder, at the exact spot he had bitten, where a small bruise was forming.
"You're really happy about that, aren't you?" I told him and his smirk widened into a grin.
"One day, I'll mark you forever," he promised, making me laugh before I realized he was dead serious about it.
"Like I'd let you," I teased, a little frightened by how certain he was about it.
"Not only will you let me, you will beg for it," he leaned over and kissed my cheek, putting an end to the discussion.
Moments later, we were back at our table after Amy and Ben had cut their wedding cake and handed us slices of it. Sukuna and I were alone at our table, most people had gone back to the bar or the dancefloor and I glanced at him as I shoved more cake in my mouth.
"What is it, Ellie?" He wiped his mouth gracefully and I remained silent, looking at him still.
I told him to wait before I stood up and headed for the bar where I asked for three shots. I needed some liquid courage to be blunt with him and I had eaten enough not to fear getting sick. I took one shot and headed back to the table carrying the other two.
"How nice of you," he said as he went to grab one. I slapped his hand away.
"These are for me," I pointed at the small glasses before sitting in my chair, turning it to face him. "Why are you pinning after me?" I asked bluntly. "You might be obsessive but you don't strike me as the type to have crushes on random girls," I had no filter anymore and I was determined to have answers.
"You're right about that," he grinned as he sat back, crossing his legs and leaning his head against his closed fist. "I don't have crushes, I'm not in high school anymore. And you're anything but random, Ellie."
"Then why? What have I done to you?" I frowned, confused. "I didn't even know you before Amy's bachelorette party. I feel like I still don't know anything about you," I looked up at him.
"And I know a lot more about you than you think," he said, slowly reaching out for his glass, sipping Champagne, his lips parting around the rim of the glass and distracting me momentarily.
"That wouldn't surprise me, you've been stalking me," I continued. "But you still won't tell me why, and that scares me," I sighed before taking another shot. I winced at the taste, Sukuna's eyes scanning mine before he chuckled and sat forward.
"I have been stalking you from the moment Ben gave me the guest list for both parties," he finally admitted, causing my heart to beat a little faster. "The club is a very exclusive place, we do a background check for every single person who's invited. Pictures, criminal records… birth certificate," my blood was boiling.
"And what did you find out about me that piqued your interest so much?" I asked, hesitant, holding his intense stare as I knew he was about to land his most lethal bomb.
"Your name stood out to me, but I couldn't believe it. So I looked a little further, where no one else looked before," he chuckled, evil, triumphant. "You're full of surprises," he began, picking up his glass before staring intensely at me. "Gabrielle Young."
I stared at him quietly, my jaw locked tightly. I hadn't heard my full name in years. More than I could count. My last name was famous in town, lots of people pretended to be related to my family because that name was so common, anyone could be a part of it. A part of the empire. Sukuna stared at me, observing my reaction.
"Who knows about you?" He asked quietly, still glowing from his win.
"Amy and Brad," I replied dryly. "How did you figure it out?" I asked, my hands shaking.
"Your birth certificate, which was the only proof I found that linked you to them," he calmly explained. "And that made me wonder what could make a man as powerful as Mark Young to erase any trace of his only daughter?" His smirk was permanently glued to his face as mine fell. "That is why I became obsessive over you. My biggest enemy in this city had a secret and when I found out that his secret was about to walk inside my club, I couldn't hold back," he shrugged, licking his lips.
So this was him. This was the reason why he had been toying with me. To taunt my damn father who couldn't give a single fuck about me. I looked down at my hands on my lap.
"What have you done, Ellie?" He purred, his morbid curiosity aimed towards me. "What did you do that was so bad your Daddy cast you out of the holy Young clan?" He bit his lip, and if I hadn't been so upset, I would've given in and kissed him.
"He didn't cast me out, I left," I frowned, not really knowing why it mattered that he knew the truth. "I ran away from them and my father disowned me."
"Tell me why," he ordered, leaning in even more. "Why did he do it?"
The last thing I wanted was to hand him ammunition to use against me and trap me even further in his hold. But the alcohol and a decade old feud got the best of me.
"He… He wanted me to marry him," I swallowed the knot in my throat and took the last shot. "He wanted me to marry Brad. I said no, that I'd agree to marry anyone else but him," I huffed, feeling relieved to finally share this with someone other than Amy. "He knew what had happened, that this asshole had roofied me one night and if not for Amy, he'd have raped me and let his friends have their turn too. She made me press charges and-" I couldn't fight the disgusted look on my face at the blurred memories I had of that night.
"There were no records of you being assaulted," Sukuna's voice was harsher. He was angry again.
"Of course not, Brad is from old money, like me," I laughed, bitter. "Neither of our fathers wanted that to become public knowledge. So everything got wiped and his record was back to being squeaky clean," I shook my head as Sukuna observed me. "Anyone would think that after that, a father would call off any arranged marriage, mine didn't."
He stared at me as if he was truly seeing me for the first time. He took in my past and slowly reached for my cheek, cupping it gently.
"You ran away from them, got disowned and you're still alive," he said and I couldn't tell if he was asking how I did it or if he was actually impressed.
"That's the only thing they did for me, for the sake of being bound by blood, they said," I huffed again, not amused as my father's voice replayed in my head. "I haven't spoken to any of them in ten years, I'm sorry to disappoint you but if you wanted to piss off my father, you should've gone for either of my brothers," I said before standing up and heading back to the bar. He didn't let me. The next second, I was back in my chair.
"I've met your father twice over the past year," he began and I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to the rest of his story. I was done with my family. He looked up at me, intrigued. "It's a wonder you're even related to him. The man has no heart whatsoever."
"And you do? Have a heart?" I mocked, feeling a little too brave.
"I did the one thing he never could. I kept Brad away from you, twice now," he cockily said. "Am I wrong, Bunny?"
I froze at the pet name, which made him chuckle darkly. I had no idea how he figured that one out, the same nickname my father used to call me as a little girl, but if anything, it only proved that the man sitting in front of me already had his claws and fangs deep into me. And he was three steps ahead of everyone. I looked away from him.
"What now?" I asked, looking over at Amy and Ben dancing in the center of the dance floor. "I suppose I'm part of an evil masterplan to get something from my old man," I sighed, feeling like the last ten years of peace had disappeared in an instant. I gave Sukuna a sad smile. "I'm worth nothing to my father," I shrugged. But he kept looking at me, smirking.
"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Bunny," he grinned. "Because the second I mentioned you, our dear Mark Young got so angry I had to leave our meeting prematurely."
"What did you tell him?" I asked, a little curious as to what could have triggered my father that bad. He used to rarely get angry, my progenitor being one of those silent rage type of men.
"That one day, you'll stand by my side and you wouldn't so much as blink an eye if I took down your family's empire while you watched," he confidently said, as if he could already picture it. And I had to admit that this was the single hottest thing anyone had ever said to me.
"Bold claim, really," I said, teasing him. I grabbed his Champagne glass and emptied it. "You said it yourself, my father is a ruthless, heartless asshole. What makes you think you have what it takes to take him down?" I crossed my arms over my chest.
Instead of replying, he leaned over, sliding his hands under me and pulling me to him, onto his lap. I hung onto his shoulders for stability as he sat me down and without losing a second, licked my neck possessively, making my entire body tremble, before he pressed his lips to my ear.
"Because I have his little girl wrapped around my finger," he whispered. "Whether she likes it or not."
"Not after tonight, you don't," I whispered back, my cheek pressed against his. He chuckled.
"Sure thing, Bunny," he replied, one second before going back to my neck like a vampire and I eventually admitted that something was deeply fucked with me because I shouldn't have enjoyed the way my father's nickname for me sounded in his mouth.