A Father's Insistence (Dark Sovereignty Book 3) Read online

  A Father’s Insistence

  Dark Sovereignty Book Three

  Anna Edwards

  Contents

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Epilogue

  Acknowledgments

  Because He’s Perfect Anthology

  The Control Series

  The Glacial Blood

  About the Author

  Meet the Author

  Copyright © 2019 by Anna Edwards

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

  www.AuthorAnnaEdwards.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. This book is for sale to adults only, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase.

  Disclaimer: Please do not try any sexual practice without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither the publisher nor the author will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury, or death resulting from the use of the information contained in this book.

  Cover Design by www.CharityHendry.com

  Logo Design by Charity Hendry

  Editing by Tracy Roelle

  Formatting by Charity Hendry

  Proofreading by Sheena Taylor

  A Father’s Insistence/ Anna Edwards -- 1st ed.

  ISBN

  Created with Vellum

  Foreword

  ARC COPY - NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION

  Please note this is a dark romance. There will be triggers including rape and murder.

  Thank you for understanding. I hope you enjoy reading.

  Anna xx

  Chapter One

  Theodore

  “She looks just like you.” I bring my newborn niece up into my arms and gently rock her while she coos quietly. “Thank you for allowing me to come and see her.” Looking out of the corner of my eye, I can see Nicholas and William standing sentinel: one at the door to the lounge, and the other by the patio doors to the garden. These are the only exits to the newly rebuilt and decorated room I am currently sitting in, and they are being covered in case I should decide to make a run for it with baby Rose. Tamara sits opposite in a smart suit with her hand resting over the small swell to her stomach. I guess she’s here in case of any potential litigation. Judging by the size of her, she can only be a few months pregnant, but when we entered the room, William was already playing the protective soon-to-be father. I’m not here to cause trouble, though. I just want to check on my sister and my niece, but that doesn’t stop me from looking down my nose at Nicholas Cavendish for being my niece’s father. He’s not the man I would have chosen for my sister.

  “I don’t know,” Victoria muses and strokes her daughter’s head. “I think there’s a lot of Nicholas in her. I’ve seen a couple of pictures of him when he was a baby, and they look so similar. You’ll have to bring over a picture of me next time.”

  “You could come to our house?”

  Victoria looks over to Nicholas, and I see him shake his head.

  “I’m sorry. It’s better that you come here.”

  The fury I carry around with me starts to burn a fire in my veins. Nicholas Cavendish is obviously controlling my sister. I want to see her free and happy away from him without the act she’s putting on in front of me. It sickens me he’s abusing his position of power to do god knows what to my sister. My father told me about the society and why he feels the need to change it. He told me of how the previous Duke was trying to steer it away from the abuses that were being inflicted upon women, but Nicholas and William killed their father, so they could take over. He told me he’d had no choice but to give my sister to Nicholas, because Nicholas would have ruined us all and taken Victoria and killed her, otherwise. I don’t want to believe it’s true, and I have to be honest with myself and say that Victoria seems happy, but I saw the sadness behind my father’s eyes. He was a broken man the day he told me everything. He’d given his daughter away to a life of torture—it was enough to destroy any father. Something inside me snaps at Nicholas’ refusal to allow Victoria to visit her childhood home, and before I can think about what I’m saying, my mouth opens in an uncontrollable outburst.

  “And why can’t she visit her childhood home? Are you scared that by being out of your presence for a few minutes she might actually see sense and report you to the police for your crimes against women?”

  The room goes silent. Even little Rose seems to sense the tension and stops her cute baby noises. Nicholas breaks the impasse by pushing his tongue against his teeth and inhaling. The resulting hissing noise echoes in the large room.

  “Theo please?” Victoria pleads and tries to take her daughter back from me.

  “I should walk out of here now with Rose before you have a chance to sell her to the highest bidder.”

  Nicholas still doesn’t say anything, but the edges of his face are flaming red, and I know he’s trying to control his temper. William, who’s standing by the door, swipes at his ear and then his head. His mouth is moving, and if I’m not mistaken, I’m sure he’s reciting mathematical equations. I’ll never understand these two brothers. They are both insane.

  I want to test Nicholas’ limits. Maybe I can walk out of here with my sister and her daughter? Pushing to my feet from where I’ve been sitting, I cradle Rose tighter to my chest, and she whimpers a little.

  “Th-Theo...” Victoria stammers quietly.

  “William, Tamara,” Nicholas finally speaks. “I thought you had a doctor’s appointment at twelve thirty. You don’t want to be late. Hearing the heartbeat of your baby for the first time is a wonderful experience.”

  William pushes away from where he was casually lounging against the frame of the patio doors, and going over to Tamara, he assists her to her feet. Nobody says anything. I hold Rose tightly, waiting and watching to see what will happen next.

  “It was good to see you again, Theodore.” William bows his head at me and leads Tamara out of the room. She looks over her shoulder and takes a last sorrowful look toward me before leaving with her husband. We’ve never addressed the vicious lies she spouted at me the last time we met when she told me she was my half-sister, and that my father had raped her mother. It’s something I can never forgive her for, but I don’t doubt it’s the Cavendish brother’s influence that instigated them.

  Nicholas strides over to Victoria and kisses her on the cheek.

  “I need to make a phone-call to Prince John. I’ll leave you and your brother to talk. You don’t need me here.” She reaches up to him with her hand, which he takes and gently squeezes before placing a kiss on it and letting go. He comes closer to me, and my hands involuntarily tig
hten on Rose. His eyes are focused squarely on his daughter, and I know he’s going to take her with him, but he surprises me when he bends down and kisses her on the head.

  “Enjoy you time with your uncle, my little button. Daddy will be back later.” Rose replies to him with baby babble as if she understands him, which she doesn’t, of course, since she’s only a few weeks old and probably can’t even see him properly yet. Then Nicholas turns his attention back to me.

  “I’m sorry your views of me are tainted. I can assure you I have nothing but respect and love for my wife and daughter although I know you don’t believe it. I need to protect my family, however. It’s the only reason I won’t allow them to visit you at your home. You’re always welcome here though. Victoria will always be your sister and Rose your niece. My brother and I will not stop you from seeing them. I shouldn’t have been here today…it was wrong, and I’m sorry. Please, stay as long as you want.” Nicholas then bows his head to me, which is something he doesn’t have to do since he’s a Duke, and I’m only the son of a Viscount. I have no title, yet, and should defer to him. I can’t though. Despite his words, I know this is all merely a part of whatever game it is he’s playing, so I don’t show him the same respect back. He sighs heavily and leaves the room.

  “Why do you have to be this way?” Victoria immediately chastises me. “Why can’t you accept he’s a good man?”

  “Because I know differently,” I reply and hand Rose back to her when my niece starts to fuss.

  “You only know what our father has told you.”

  “Then you tell me the truth. Tell me what is really happening here,” I demand as Victoria settles Rose against her breast to feed her while stroking her daughter’s head underneath a strategically placed blanket.

  “Are you even willing to listen to the truth?” Victoria questions.

  “I just want to know you’re safe, and while you’re here, I don’t think that is the case.” I let out a long-frustrated sigh. “Tell me honestly, sister, two things: Do you have the society’s crest burned into your thigh? And has Nicholas led you around naked in front of other members of the society?”

  “That’s what he told you?” Victoria’s eyes fill with unshed tears.

  “Our father? Yes, he told me how you were paraded like a dog and had your skin permanently branded. Did Nicholas do that? Did he hurt you in that way?”

  “Yes…but...” she begins to protest to me. No doubt, she wants to tell me about how he’s a good man, now, but her words will fall on deaf ears. Any man who could do that to the woman he’s supposed to love will always be the devil to me, and my sister knows it. She stops all conversation and focuses on her daughter. There is little point in me staying here since it’s obvious I can’t save my sister today, and the guilt of that starts to twist in my stomach.

  “If you ever need me, just call. You’ll always be my sister, no matter what.”

  I leave Victoria in the room, and as I shut the door, I can hear her softly sobbing. Nicholas is standing in the hallway and on the phone as he told me he would be.

  “I’ll call you back in a minute, John.” He hangs up. I’m done, though. I can’t be in this place anymore. The burden of the suffering, which has taken place within these four walls, weighs heavily on me. Without saying another word, I turn heel and stride straight out the front door leaving it open behind me.

  It’s not until I’m home and getting ready for bed, later the same evening, that I feel remotely calm after the meeting. I want to be a part of my sister’s and my niece’s life, but while they’re under the thumb of Nicholas Cavendish, I’ve got no hope—I can’t have while imagining the cruel way he’s treating them. I might never get Victoria away from him. She’s too far under the evil Duke’s spell, but I have to save Rose. I can’t let her be raised in a household where her father treats women as sex slaves.

  I wish my father was here. I’ve had some cryptic messages from him over the last few months, but I’ve not physically seen him since the day he went into hiding because he was going to be questioned for Elsie Bennett’s murder. He didn’t kill her. My father is a good man. Okay, my mother and him had an interesting relationship—they weren’t overly affectionate, and I think that’s why they live separately now. I barely see my mother. But that doesn’t make him the man Victoria and Tamara claim him to be. He gave Elsie a home when she became a single mother with no family who could support her, and she’d nowhere else to go. He even paid for Tamara’s education at Cambridge. If it wasn’t for him, she wouldn’t be a lawyer, now. Not that she seems to be rushing to go into practice. No, she’s exploiting everything he helped pay for by using it against him in her position as the Cavendish brother’s legal adviser. It’s ungrateful and disloyal. He’s never hurt Tamara, only helped her. Even more upsetting is the fact my father was always a loving and doting parent to Victoria. I remember them playing happily together in the gardens. I know he was strict with her and prevented her from going to university, which was sometimes a bone of contention between them, but it’s not a reason for her to turn against him as she has. I guess she blames him for what she had to endure at Nicholas’ hands.

  “Ugh!” I exclaim and lash out at the wall closest to me. “Everything is a big mess.”

  I’ve drank half a bottle of brandy to try and ease my worries since returning from Oakfield Hall. I’m tired, frustrated, and just need to shower and sleep. Decision made, I undress and drop all my clothes in a pile on the floor. I’ve my own personal butler now my father’s gone, and I know even though I should pick everything up he won’t mind doing it for me when I’m so exhausted.

  My father told me I could move into his rooms during his absence, but I’ve chosen to stay in mine, preferring them to the grandeur of his decoration. I’ve always been more of a simple man. After school, I went to Oxford University and studied business. I really enjoyed my time there and made many friends who I’m certain will be associates for life, but I’ve always known I’m destined for the title of Viscount, so I’ve not tried to branch out on my own. My father has drilled it into me since birth that I’m his heir, and he wants me ready to take over his title when I’m called upon to do so, eventually. I wouldn’t be in a position to do that if I was knee-deep in running my own business. It’s a little sad, because I had a fabulous idea for a company: assisting children with learning difficulties to get better exposure to the art of the world. Victoria had always been in love with art of any kind, and I’d seen first-hand on a work experience trip at university how it inspires children. Sadly, my future wasn’t to travel down that path, though…maybe one day? Until then, I’m running the estate in my father’s absence.

  I step in the steaming shower and allow it to wash my worries away. I’m full of tension. Moving my hand down to my dick, I give it a few strokes to bring it to life. It’s the easiest way to relieve my mood. It’s completely at odds with the worries I have for my sister, but damn, I’m a man, and the way to my heart is through my dick. It’s the only way to ensure I get some sleep tonight. I had a girlfriend for a short while at university, and I bring to mind the memory of her bouncing on my dick with her perfect tits rising and falling as she rode me like a cowgirl. My hand strokes faster and faster until my boys tighten, and my cum shoots off like a bullet into the shower wall. I feel all the tension ease from my taut body, and I yawn. Turning the water off, I reach for a towel and dry myself. I clean my teeth and do a final piss for the night before heading into my bedroom. Sliding between the luxurious sheets of my massive bed, my eyes instantly shut, and presumably I fall asleep because it feels like hours later when I’m awoken by a crash in the room.

  “Theodore, it’s just me,” my father announces, and I rub my eyes still full of sleep.

  “Father?”

  He holds his finger to his lips while another man with him points a torch in my direction. Movement to my left captures my attention, and I look up just in time to see another man press a needle into my neck.

  “What
the fuck?” I exclaim. The world starts to spin as my head fogs with exhaustion again. “What’s going on?” I slur, fighting to keep my eyes open.

  “It’s ok. It’s the quickest way,” my father reassures me, and before I can question him further…the world turns black.

  Chapter Two

  Joanna

  The last few days have probably been the most peaceful of the year I’ve spent in captivity. I’ve not seen anyone apart from Camilla when she’s dropped my food off. Today’s meal was a bit more elaborate than the others. Most of the time, it’s been a standard fare of brown toast for breakfast followed by a sandwich of some sort for lunch, and then fish or chicken with vegetables and potatoes for dinner. I’ve lost so much weight the clothes I was originally given now hang off my skeletal frame. I wasn’t a big person a year ago, but I wasn’t a skinny supermodel size either. I liked my food, especially steak, and I had a terrible weakness for chocolate. My favorite dessert was one of those chocolate cakes where the middle was still like molten lava. My mouth waters at the thought of it while my stomach cramps at the richness of the steak I’ve just eaten. Why after so long would they give me a steak? I can’t help but think of myself as a prisoner on death row, and the meal I’ve just eaten is my last. If it is, I’m ready. I’ve got nothing left to live for. I don’t know what living is anymore. I’m a girl whose father gave her away only to be sold to a monster. I’ve thought often about the other girls from that terrible night and wonder what has happened to them. I know the man who bought me is the father of one of them. I guess he exchanged one woman for another in effect. He told me once that she’d married Nicholas Cavendish. I can’t help feeling sorry for her, wondering whether she or any of the other girls are still alive. No, if I’m to die tonight, I’ll welcome it. I’ve been trained to within an inch of my life to obey Viscount Hamilton’s rule, and should I fail, I’m fully aware of the disastrous consequences. I don’t want to be raped by him anymore. I just want to go to sleep and never wake up.