The uncertainly in his answer makes my heart ache. “If something happens to her…”
His hands hold my arms, and he looks steadily at me. “I’m gonna make sure Emma is safe, okay? No one is gonna hurt her.”
Taking a deep breath, my head dips down a bit, anxiety blurring my thoughts. I know Emma is a big girl, but still. I can’t imagine something happening to her and not being able to prevent it. Then, my gaze goes up to him, and looking him in the eye, all I can say is “Make sure she is safe.”
Throughout the day, I try my best to focus on my online classes, but Emma’s voice message is all I can think of. Leaving her in New York with Eric, my parents, and Dr. Nel terrifies me. Maybe I’m exaggerating, I tell myself. After all, Emma knows how to get herself out of any difficult situation better than anyone else I know. Plus, she’s a Hasenfratz, which means she’s pretty much untouchable. And unlike my dad, Mom can’t threaten to ruin her reputation, since she’s not a public figure. I look at my laptop screen as the prof speaks, but I can’t process his voice. I can only hear Emma’s. He’s the attorney general of New York, in case you didn’t know. Yeah… it’s pretty fucked up. Those words play again in my head like a broken record. And they don’t seem to stop. Does Eric know things about Emma that could compromise her? Impossible.
“Ms. Van Gatt?” I peer over at the stewardess walking in my direction. “Your fiancé is calling you. He’s upstairs on the flybridge.”
As I look behind her, I see land from afar. Land! Finally! I close my laptop, leap off the lounge chair, and trot toward the staircase that goes to the flybridge.
“Wow,” I utter as I take in the panoramic sea view. Being on the highest part of the boat, the breeze is much stronger here, and the sunlight too. Standing beside Alex, my eyes alight on what seems to be a distant long sandy beach that stretches for miles, with vast green scenery behind it. Looking a bit more carefully, I can spot a small dock on the beach, which gives access to a villa with a white-tiled roof perched right there amid the lush vegetation.
I feel Alex peering discreetly at me, probably to look at my expression as I stand admiring the view. “Welcome to Bermuda.” And he takes my hand, giving it a kiss.
Squinting my eyes, I notice there are a few people standing on the dock and waving in our direction. I look around but don’t see any other boats nearby. “Who are those people waving at us on the dock?”
“My dad and his staff,” Alex replies.
My jaw drops instantly. “Your dad is in Bermuda?” Let’s say Hendrik is far away, I remember Julia saying at Christmas. “Wait, that’s where he’s been living since the separation?”
Alex gives me one of his irresistible smiles. “Not too bad, huh?”
My jaw remains hanging open as I realize something. “So, he already knew we were coming?”
“Oh yeah, he has got an entire reception planned for us.”
And I keep gaping at his comment. “But what if my parents find out?”
“No one knows we ran away. If anyone asks you, just say we came here to pay my dad a visit, alright?”
We hear footsteps approaching, and as we turn, we find a steward who says, “Mr. Van Dieren, the tender will be ready in about twenty-five minutes.”
“Thanks.” The young man nods before going back downstairs. “Let’s go. It’s a white party. We should get ready.”
Oh, there is even a dress code? “How many people will be there?” My heart starts racing as I think about crowds, inquisitive eyes, noise…
“Relax, just a few close friends of my dad’s.” Alex tries to appease me with a quick peck on the top of my head, but all I can think about is if I have a spare box of Xanax in my bag. Then, we leave the flybridge and go to our bedroom, where I start wondering if I also brought a white summer dress for the reception.
After closing the door behind us, Alex goes to the closet, where he takes a gift box from the shelf and a hanger with a long asymmetric linen dress.
Oh, I forgot how he plans everything ahead. He lays the dress on the bed and gives me the box.
“What is it?”
There is a trace of a smile settling on his lips as he says, “Your underwear for the evening.”
Oh boy… It reminds me of when he asked me to wear the black lace thong at his family estate and then the red corset for our night there. “You really love lingerie, don’t you?” As he cracks a quick chuckle, I pull off the ribbon and open the box, and I can’t help but raise my brows in total surprise. “You bought a white lace set?”
“I should’ve brought it to Aspen, but…” Oh, he’s had this since Aspen? “I think it’ll go well under your dress.”
After we shower, I realize it’s the first time during our trip that we’re getting dressed together. I really love seeing my fiancé putting his shirt on and closing every button one by one as he looks at himself in the full-length mirror. There is something extremely intimate about it.
“Um, this lingerie does everything but cover my skin.” I note, checking out how the lace bra has a lot of transparent fabric, which barely covers my nipples. Alex turns to face me, and his gaze travels from top to bottom without saying a word. He remains speechless, but his eyes are still glued on my body. At this point, I feel like I’m a Greek sculpture in an art museum.
“That set was really made for you.”
“Really?” And just when I thought I was looking bland in it. After all, I have very fair skin and small breasts—I never would have thought a white floral lace bra with no push-up would look good on me. All of a sudden, Alex takes me by the hand and brings me in front of the mirror. As he stands behind me, he kisses my shoulder and observes me in the mirror. “Lingerie is not meant to cover your skin…” Then his fingers linger softly around my right nipple in circular movements, and I shiver a bit at his touch. “It’s meant to enhance it.” His gaze then drifts all the way down to my butt. “Are you wearing the L?”
Oh, oh…
A blush comes over my cheeks at his question. “Um…”
“You are still wearing the M?” he asks with censoring eyes as he observes my expression in the mirror. “Today is the last day.”
“I know, but I’m just…”
“Scared?”
“Well, that plug is big.”
Alex turns me around, and I’m now looking him in the eye. “You’ve had way bigger inside you. What are you afraid of?”
I just shrug my shoulders. “It’s not the same.”
“It is. Remove your plug.” He moves to the nightstand and opens the box, where he takes out the biggest one—the one I have no idea how it’ll feel inside. Jeez, when I thought I could get away with just wearing the S and M…
As I see him holding the big plug in his hand, I can’t help but ask, “Why do you want me to wear the big one at your dad’s party? Are you insane?”
“Petra!”
“I prefer to keep the one I have in now. This one I’m used to, and it’s better to wear in public,” I press on.
Without saying a word, Alex beckons to me.
Fuck… Letting out a breath of annoyance, I take a few steps in his direction before coming to stand beside him.
“Remove it now,” he insists. “Or else I will do it myself.”
Squinting my eyes, I consider his request for a second. Since I prefer to do it myself, I bend slightly, a hand on the nightstand, and force myself to pull out the plug that has been inside me since this morning. I press my lips tightly together and close my eyes, as I’m not used to having him watch me. Once I take it out, I see Alex applying a lot of lube on the new plug, and my heart starts pounding anxiously as I watch him doing so.
“Why are you insisting on this one the day I’m meeting your dad?” I ask him once more, nerves running through me.
“I’m sure you’re gonna be just fine.” He rubs some more lube in between my butt cheeks and then in my hole, and starts pressing the tip of the plug inside me. “Now, just take a deep breath in and out.” His
voice soothes me, and I focus on my breathing as much as I can. “Relax…” The lube helps greatly, but the girth of this plug is something else. Jeez! I can really feel the difference. “Ah…” I let out a quick gasp as it slides all the way in.
“It’s inside. See? You managed.” I remain bent over, still focused on my breathing as I get used to the new size. Meanwhile, Alex starts rubbing my back and leaving a trail of warm kisses from the lowest part of my back all the way up. “Is it that bad?” he whispers close to my ear.
“Um, it’s really… filling.” And it is. Of course, it’s not like having him inside me, but it’s not like the smaller plugs either.
“Good.” He gives me a quick peck on the temple. “Now get dressed.” And then a sudden smack on my butt before walking out of the room.
“Ah!” I flinch a bit at the blow, but stand up and take the dress laying on the bed.
As I put it on, I can’t help but feel the pressure of the new plug filling my hole. Jeez! How am I supposed to walk normally with this in my ass? Then I take a quick glance at myself in the mirror as I wrap the ribbon on the dress around my waist. I must admit, Alex does have an eye for finding dresses that fit me well. I put some gloss on my lips, brush my wavy hair, and head outside.
I find Alex waiting for me in the living area, dressed in white pants and a white linen shirt, sleeves casually rolled up to his elbows.
“Hey…” I greet as I stand beside him.
His gaze lands on me, and his face lights up immediately. “That dress…” He lets his words trail off while observing me. “You are a vision.” And he takes my hand to give it a kiss.
I smile at his compliment, and I can only hope that this plug won’t make any difference during the evening. Then I take his arm, and we are escorted to the tender boat, which will take us to the dock on the beach.
As we sit inside, I take in my surroundings and realize we are right in time for the sunset. With my eyes set on the horizon, I watch the glowing sun, already half bathing in the ocean’s meek waves, while painting the sky and its wispy clouds in a palette of oranges and reds.
Then, reaching the dock, my eyes alight on the tall, old man dressed very similarly to Alex and accompanied by a younger woman at his side. His eyes are a crisp blue, surrounded by tired lines, his light gray hair just as tousled and thick as that of my fiancé, and while his beard is longer, his charm is just as unmistakable. A smile pulls at my lips when Hendrik runs a hand over his wild hair, the locks falling on each side of his temples.
“You guys are so alike,” I whisper to Alex before we arrive.
Once the tender is tied to the dock cleat, Alex gets out of the boat first, taking a quick jump, then offers me a hand to help me out. In that moment, I’m glad my dress is long enough and that my panties cover the base of the plug enough for me to take a big step and leap onto the surface.
“There he is,” Hendrik greets, his arms wide open to welcome his son.
“Dad.”
Hendrik gives his son a quick pat on the back before they exchange a few words. Then his eyes go in my direction, and I hear him say, “Ms. Van Gatt…” I wonder how I should greet him, but Hendrik just takes my hand, giving it a kiss, and I giggle a bit as he does so. They are just the same. It’s incredible. I must confess, despite his age and the wrinkles on his face, Hendrik is just as charming as his son. And most likely, also a well-known heartbreaker on the island. “What a pleasure to finally meet you.” His deep, husky voice is joyful and magnetic, just like the vibe of this place, and a big grin settles on my lips.
“The pleasure is all mine,” I tell him. “And please just call me Petra.”
“Petra, what a beautiful name. And I’m Hendrik, the father of the luckiest man on earth.” A quick laugh escapes me, and I’m so glad that I can call him by his first name. After all, I’ve called Alex by his last name so many times that it’d be awkward for me to do the same with his dad. Then Hendrik looks at the woman standing beside him, and putting a hand at her back, he says, “And this lady here is Mona, my best friend and the angel of my life.”
Mona shakes her head in amusement. “Hi, Petra, welcome to Bermuda,” she greets me with a broad smile, before we exchange two cheek kisses. “Is this your first time here?”
“Yep,” I reply. And as I glance around the sandy beach and take a deep breath of the fresh sea air, all I hope is that we can stay here long enough to explore the whole island.
We start walking back to the pathway that leads to the villa, when Alex leans closer to me and whispers, “I’m gonna have a quick chat with my dad. Mona will show you around. She’s really trustworthy. I’ve known her for, like, eighteen years.” And he presses his lips to my head as he always does.
Chapter 37
Bermuda, October 29, 2020
Alexander Van Dieren
The last thing I wanted is to be here at my dad’s place asking him for help. But alas, he’s the only person I trust enough to fight against Roy and Tess. And if I recall correctly, Roy still values my dad a lot. He invites me to his favorite part of the house—his study. Despite the windows being wide open, there is still a lingering smell of sex and cigars. And as I glance around at the Chesterfield armchairs and sofa, I wonder if there is any surface that hasn’t been fucked on. Glad he followed my advice and got a vasectomy before leaving the Netherlands. One bastard in the family is already insulting enough.
“Well, I don’t think I need to tell you this, but damn! What a fine woman you brought with you.” Jeez, at seventy-two, he still talks like he’s twenty.
“Thanks.” I pace slowly around his office while Dad serves us some whiskey.
Then I stand still in front of an oil painting that hangs above his sofa. Holding two glasses in his hands, he walks toward me and gives me one. I take a first sip, my gaze steady as I continue observing the nude portrait. “Mona?”
“A gift for my birthday,” Dad replies, a smile on his lips as he gives it a quick glance.
“She treats you well.”
“I can’t complain.” Then he gestures for me to sit in the armchair behind me, while he takes a seat on the sofa. “So, what brings you all the way from New York?” And I knew he wouldn’t waste any time asking me just that.
“I told you. I just wanted to introduce you to my future wife. Sounds reasonable, no?”
“Bullshit,” he replies just as fast. “What kind of trouble are you in?” I can’t deny that he knows me well.
“It’s Roy…” I start cautiously.
His eyes widen instantly in shock. “Don’t tell me you proposed to his daughter without his blessing?”
“Well, I asked him last year, and he was okay with it then.” I pause for a beat. “But not her mom, and now she’s blackmailing us.”
“Ah,” Dad just utters right before taking a sip. “Her mother is that politician who denounced Julia on TV, right?” I’m impressed he even knows that. Dad doesn’t watch TV, and Julia doesn’t even talk to him. It must have been Sebastian who told him.
“Tess Hagen, yeah. Julia told me she enlisted with the CDA for the elections next year, and I don’t think it’s to become a member of parliament.”
Dad tries to contain his laugh. “She hates Julia, doesn’t she?”
“And me, and Roy, and everyone involved in that incident.”
Dad’s gaze drifts away, knowing exactly what I’m referring to. “Does she have evidence?”
Letting out a sigh, I say, “Mom said she does.”
He nods pensively, his eyes staring at nothing, before they land on me again. “You are in deep shit, son.”
Classy.
“Well, I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.” I shouldn’t have been so blunt with him, but the words came out of my mouth before I could even do anything about it.
Dad crosses his legs, an ankle resting over the other knee. “So, let me see if I’ve got this straight: you steal my best employee, vote me out of my own company, force me to leave my country, and now you c
ome here all the way from New York with your barely legal fiancée because you need my help?”
I take a quick sip before blurting out, “Pretty much, yeah.”
Blowing out a breath, he starts shaking his head in disgust. “What a son of a bitch you are.” And yet I can’t stop laughing at his comment. Coming from him, it nearly sounds like a compliment. “It’s gonna cost you a fortune.”
And that was expected. “How much?”
“Oh, this is not about money.” He pauses, his smirk growing. “This is about family.”
I observe him attentively, my brows pinching together. “What do you want from me, Dad?”
He keeps the smirk on his lips as he revels in my situation. And after a brief silence, he says, “Your indisputable… loyalty.”
Yet he knows perfectly well my answer. “I’m afraid I can’t afford that. Anything else?”
Dad thinks something through then promptly demands, “I want to attend your wedding.”
But I protest just as fast. “Mom will kill me if I let you come.”
“She doesn’t need to know.” He pauses, studying me. “I can just… invite myself.” And since I don’t appear convinced, he adds, “Just give me the details, and I will take care of the rest.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I insist.
“I won’t miss my son’s wedding.” His voice carries a severity that moves me. After all, Dad wasn’t invited to Maud’s or Yara’s weddings. And I know how much it affected him not being there.
“If I tell you the details, it stays between us, are we clear? Not a single word to anyone, including Mona. No one can know you are attending the ceremony.”
“I give you my word.” Dad raises his glass, as if holding his whiskey up gives him more credibility.
I ponder for a moment as I look at him. His tired blue eyes are craving what he lost a long time ago: love and acceptance. Love and acceptance from us—his children. For a long time, I was the only one who would send him photos and videos of his family and the birth of his grandchildren. Until I managed to persuade Sebastian to get back in touch with him. “It’s the fifth of December, on Petra’s birthday, at the St. John’s Cathedral in Den Bosch.”
Lured into Love (Blossom in Winter Book 2) Page 36