Kingdom Come

by Terri E. Laine

  “Wait here,” I said to him, following her.

  She entered a store, and I sighed. As we waited for someone to appear, she declared, “What this fake wedding needs is a wedding dress.”

  “We don’t have time for this,” I muttered.

  “I’m not getting married not properly dressed.”

  This wasn’t the Lizzy I’d grown attached to. The stubbornness, yes. But the way too bright eyes and over excitement as she danced around the room was a side of Lizzy I hadn’t seen. Drunk Lizzy.

  When the salesperson showed up, my fake fiancée jubilantly described what she needed and why. She was whisked off to the back, and I dropped into a chair up front. I called the driver and advised him to circle the block a few times or find a legal place to park until we were ready.

  Twenty minutes passed—I’d been eyeing my watch—before they came from the back. My breath caught. Lizzy was a beautiful woman—that I’d never denied—but the dress she wore took it to another level. Lace clung to her curves, hiding everything from her neck to her hands, but managed to be sexy as hell. It ended at mid-thigh with a short flare, leaving her long legs bare. I grew hard at the sight.

  “You like?” she asked.

  I nodded because damn if I wasn’t tongue-tied.

  “I’ll buy it,” she said to the woman, handing her a card.

  “Go get the rest of your things,” I suggested, wanting to distract her.

  When she left, I swapped cards with the woman. She grinned and rang up the purchase using mine. When she handed Lizzy her card, my girl wasn’t the wiser. The woman took the dress Lizzy had worn to work and put it in a garment bag, sending us off with Lizzy wearing her fake wedding dress and a big smile for the small fortune I’d spent.

  I had my phone in my hand when she tugged me forward toward Roberto Cavalli. “Your turn.”

  I made a beeline for a different store. “We should go here.”

  Her eyes found the signage above the door. “Harry Winston.”

  “We need rings,” I said, grinning because her smile was infectious.

  She chortled. “They don’t have sales here, you know.”

  “You never know.”

  When we walked in, her glittering eyes focused on the jewelry cases in the middle of the room, and she headed in that direction. A salesman walked over.

  I said, “Go with everything I say.”

  He eyed my jeans and scuffed leather jacket. I pulled out my wallet and handed him my black card and his tune changed. He followed me to where Lizzy practically had her nose against the glass display.

  “What are you looking for?” the man asked in an arrogant tone.

  “That’s pretty,” Lizzy said, almost slurring. The bridal shop attendant had given Lizzy champagne I couldn’t pry from her hands. “But we can’t afford that. Something simple please.” When the guy waited for more information, she added, “Bands. Simple wedding bands.”

  He nodded and went to work, waving us over to a desk with two chairs in front of it. We sat, and he took out a tray. Then he laid out a few sets of bands spaced out precisely as if invisible lines were there as a guide.

  Lizzy sighed dreamily. “I like these.”

  She pointed at what the sales guy called, “An infinity band. Excellent choice.”

  Diamonds wrapped the band in an endless loop. Lizzy sighed while touching it, then she looked at a different set. “It’s too much. We’ll go for these.” The set was simple with no gems. She focused on me. “Are you sure you can afford this?”

  “Yes.”

  She waved me off. “I forgot. I’ll pay for this.”

  “No,” I said.

  “Yes. It’s tradition for the bride to pay—”

  “For the groom’s ring,” I finished with a frown, and she nodded. “Fine. You can pay for mine and I yours. But we also need an engagement ring.”

  “No, we don’t,” she pressed.

  “It’s tradition,” I said, tossing tradition back at her.

  She gave the sales guy a glare. “Keep it simple and small.”

  The guy eyed a woman waiting off to the side. They traded knowing looks before she disappeared in back. She returned with a tray and removed the other after our salesman had removed the bands we’d chosen.

  “This is the Classic Winston.” He went on to explain, “This ring embodies Harry Winston’s timeless elegance and signature style. It’s an exceptional engagement ring featuring a brilliant round center diamond flanked by two tapered baguette stones on a platinum band.”

  “Sounds expensive,” she said as he slid it on her finger. “It fits.”

  His smile was filled with pride. The man had nailed her ring size without even measuring it.

  “We’ll take it,” I said.

  “No way,” she said with her eyes glued to the sparkler on her finger. “It probably costs the same as some cars.”

  “No. You’ve made our budget very clear. I’m sure this ring is on sale.” The guy winced but didn’t deny my statement after a stern look from me. “You have my card. Ring it up.”

  I should have been sweating. I’d just bought rings for a fake wedding. When he returned with a folded invoice in an envelope, I saw Lizzy had been right. A small domestic car wouldn’t cost much more.

  He handed me a nondescript black bag with HW embossed on one side. “The bands are in here. The box for the engagement ring is here too. Thank you, Mr.—”

  I cut him off before he could say my name. “Thank you. Come, princess. We’re already late.”

  “Don’t think you’re going to get out of getting a suit.”

  I groaned as she dragged me into Roberto Cavalli. I gave a slice in front of my neck to the sales guy who’d been the one to deliver my suits the past week. He understood and choked off calling me by name.

  “He needs a suit. Something formal, but not a tux. And make it blue, not black. I don’t want him looking like an undertaker for our wedding.” Then she was off, flitting about and humming to herself.

  I gave the guy an excuse about her wedding comment as we went to the fitting rooms. Lucky for me, the average Cavalli suit fit me off the rack.

  That’s how I ended up waiting in a suit in the judge’s office for him to come in, because we were late. Lizzy helped herself to some whiskey she found in a cabinet.

  “You shouldn’t,” I warned.

  “I should, and you should too. We’re about to get married.” Then she was quiet and thoughtful. “Do you think it’s legal for him to have this stuff here?” She pointed at a mini bar in the cabinet, including crystal glasses and an ice machine.

  I was in the middle of trying to wrangle the glass from her when the judge walked in.

  “I have to say, I hadn’t filled one these out in over twenty years. But here you go.” He placed the marriage license on his desk.

  I walked over and inspected it. Lizzy wasn’t far behind.

  She giggled. “James.”

  I waited for her to figure out the rest.

  “O’Con-co-b-hair” She butchered it.

  “O’Conchobhair is pronounced o-con-chob-hair,” I said slowly.

  Her laugh wasn’t just filled with amusement as she continued to butcher my name.

  The judge eyed me. “Maybe you should wait until she sleeps it off.” He looked at his open cabinet and the bottle of whiskey sitting on top.

  “Sorry about that.” To her, I said, “Come on, princess. We have to try again to get married tomorrow.”

  “Wait? What? Why?”

  By the time I got her into our waiting SUV, she was far gone.

  “Sorry, Uber driver, I’m horny,” she said as she worked at my pants.

  I raised the privacy glass before she got my dick free. It sprang up, and before I could stop her—though I probably wouldn’t have—she was sliding down my cock.

  “I love your dick.” Though I stilled her hips, she managed to wiggle around, stirring my primal desires higher. “Now say it back.”

 
; I raised a brow in question.

  “No, silly, say you love my pussy.”

  “I love your pussy.”

  She threw her head back on a squeal of delight and rode me in earnest.

  If I’d only known what tomorrow would bring, I might have done things a lot differently.

  Twenty-Four

  Lizzy

  Light poured through the window and I blinked away the brightness, grabbing my throbbing head. I glanced around, disoriented. Images of yesterday played in my head as a sickly feeling boiled in my gut. I barely made it to the bathroom before I spewed out the contents of my stomach.

  I brushed my teeth before I entered my room and realized Striker was nowhere to be found. Had yesterday really happened? Praying to a higher being, I promised eternal sobriety as I went to get a glass of water.

  Slouched in a chair, Striker sat with his eyes closed. His parted shirt revealed the slow rise and fall of his chest. My eyes dropped to his boxer briefs.

  That was when I noticed my lack of dress. I wore a garter belt of all things. The thigh highs hooked to them had rips. I didn’t remember putting them on. I let my mouth curve upward as I picked up the trail of clothes that started at the door and led to the bedroom.

  When I got his pants, something tumbled out. I bent and saw it was his wallet. It had opened with his license on full display. I picked it up, wanting to see the picture better. He looked like a model. I was about to tuck it away when I saw his name. Everything else spilled out of my hand as I read it again.

  Connor

  Water woke me with a splash, and I jolted upright. My hands were up prepared to fight until I realized where I was. I wiped away water as it dripped down my face. When I could focus, my ID was shoved in my face before it flicked from Lizzy’s fingers to bounce off my face and land on my chest.

  “Who the fuck are you, Connor with a K?”

  “James Konnor O’Conchobhair King,” I said. “Mom named me Konnor with a K to get back at my dad. The joke’s on her not researching more because that spelling is mostly used by the Scots. And she hates Dad’s first wife.”

  Instead of laughter, I saw the end in her eyes. “Don’t you mean Liar, Connor with a K?”

  “Lizzy, let me explain.”

  She leaned back and crossed her arms. “It’s a little too late to explain, don’t you think?”

  As everything crumbled around me, I felt the walls of my defenses rise.

  Lizzy

  While I felt righteous in my anger, I watched his gaze harden.

  “You set the rules. I had every intention of telling you the truth. But you stopped me with a finger to my lips. Remember?” he declared, then wiped water from his face.

  I had to square with the truth of his statement. “What about the other times you could have told me?”

  “You didn’t want to know,” he yelled, matching my volume.

  I didn’t regard his truth as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Especially when I felt foolish for believing everything he’d ever said or done. “I guess you just laughed your ass off as you flirted with me in the emails. It makes sense now why you didn’t call me. I would have recognized your lying ass, Striker.”

  Connor

  She cursed me with a name I’d gotten from someone long ago but stuck.

  I stood, feeling my prone position was aiding in me losing ground. “Does it really matter what my name is? You only wanted a good fuck.”

  The verbal slap hit her square in the face as she stumbled back a few steps. I ran a hand over my face, wishing I could take it back. I was flailing because I didn’t know what to do or say to make this better. An ache in my chest built as I felt her slip further away.

  “What I want is for you to leave.” I reached for her, but she jerked away. “Just go.”

  Instead of reminding her it was my apartment, I picked up my clothes and left. For the first time in my life, I understood how the women from my past felt as they cried and begged for us to work things out.

  Karma was a bitch.

  Lizzy

  As soon as the door shut behind him, I fell to my knees and sobbed. I clutched my chest as if I could stop the bleeding even though I wasn’t physically hurt, despite how it felt. I’d allowed another rich prick to use me.

  I’d been such a fool, hadn’t I? I’d let my guard down and now I felt as if I was drowning. Somehow, through the racking sobs, I sent Anderson a text explaining I wouldn’t be in today.

  I hadn’t felt this way since Beau. He’d ripped my heart to shreds, and I now felt that same way. I didn’t understand how I’d become so attached to a man I obviously didn’t know. Was Karma teaching me a lesson? Was this how Hans felt?

  That was when a sparkle on my finger caught my attention. I ripped the rings from my finger and threw them across the room to clatter away.

  I looked after them, wondering what I’d done.

  My sobs only got harder as I felt betrayed by a man I thought I could trust. What was I supposed to do now?

  Twenty-Five

  Connor

  The bottle of Johnnie Walker stared accusingly back at me. I’d never been a heavy drinker, but over the last few months, I’d tried to find my soul at the end of several bottles. So far, I’d failed.

  Just like I’d tried and failed to move on without Lizzy.

  I hadn’t sent flowers. I knew her well enough to know that they would end up trash like their sender.

  I hadn’t sent her the paintings she’d requested. My reply to her email requesting more work had gone unanswered.

  I hadn’t sent texts begging for forgiveness. I had my pride and I wouldn’t be like those other guys who’d failed at winning her.

  What I had done was left her alone as she’d requested. Respecting others’ wishes was a big thing for me. If she wanted to let go of the possibility of us, who was I to stop her?

  I might have gone to the apartment in the last few days with the excuse of getting some things, hoping to get a glimpse of her. She wasn’t there. All her things were gone.

  Kalen wouldn’t tell me where she was, asking me to leave it be.

  That didn’t mean things were good, or even as good as they were before her. When you meet someone you click with, you realize when they leave how pathetic your life was before you met them. Who did I have outside of Eliza? My brother had Griffin. My mother had no use for me, besides being a buffer between her and Dad. He only needed me to fill in as he tried to find the work-life balance his doctors said he needed if he wanted to see another year of life.

  Lizzy had broken me—something I hadn’t thought possible after I’d rebuilt myself from an unthinkable childhood. Sex wasn’t the same after her. Not that I’d been interested in any since her, including a one-nighter or a new sub.

  “Boss.”

  I looked up to see Eliza in my office doorway. If anyone had profited from Lizzy’s abrupt exit from my life, it was her. I’d planned to fire her. But after the Lizzy storm blew my world apart, I’d needed someone to fill in as I tried to find the piece of myself I’d lost.

  “Yes,” I snapped, but Eliza wasn’t the target of my anger. The ever-present ghost haunting my memories was. Lizzy.

  Sadness filled Eliza’s eyes. My guess was even though she remained my number two, she’d felt the distance between us. “We have a situation which bears watching. I know how you like to be made aware of these situations.”

  I nodded then swallowed the rest of my drink before getting to my feet. It wasn’t often we had situations that needed my personal attention because the rules were clear. Anyone who broke them was out. My team could handle it. But if I was around, I liked to be notified. Not all situations were problems. But there were times when the lines of consent could be called into question.

  When I’d remade the place after I’d bought it from the previous owner, my goal had been to make sure it was a safe place for every member to be themselves while respecting everyone else. Once the word was out a premier club had replaced the fo
rmer one, I’d had no problem filling my membership quota.

  On a side stage, A man stood above a sub with a flogger in the air, ready to strike. Since I made it my business to know all the members by face, I recognized them both. Tears smeared the makeup on the sub’s face as she begged him to stop.

  Eyes glazed with the gleam of a true sadist, he barked, “You haven’t said the safe word.”

  Security could have handled it. If she’d said the safe word and he hadn’t stopped, they would have interceded. But when the lines were blurred like this, we paid attention in case we needed to jump in. If I was in, I was usually called to diffuse the situation.

  The woman continued to cry but said nothing. I watched her carefully. She hadn’t passed out. She was conscious and able to speak. Though I didn’t get off on causing others pain like this, I did nothing because no rule had been broken.

  When he was done, he spoke to his sub. She nodded before he walked off the stage unapologetic for his actions. I had a team who would go in and take care of our subs if the dominants didn’t. Tonight, I took that honor and kneeled next to the woman.

  “Sweetheart,” I said instead of her name, for privacy’s sake. I wouldn’t assume she gave out her real identity here. “Are you okay?”

  She choked out, “Yes.”

  But I knew it wasn’t that simple. I made quick work of her bindings and took her gently in my arms as if she was a baby. I stalked past the gawkers and back to my office. I settled us on the sofa and let her cry as she curled into me. Before long, her tears turned into a need I didn’t feel.

  When her hand slid down my chest, I caught it before she embarrassed us both. It wasn’t that I was unsympathetic of her need. I would have loved nothing more than to move on with a willing partner, but my cock was having none of it.

  What she really wanted was to be close to someone, or maybe what we both needed was just to be held. Or I was projecting my own need on her as I clung tighter. I kissed her head as she cried harder. Her tears represented something I’d felt all my life. A deep-seated loneliness I only acknowledged now. Until Lizzy’s abandonment, I’d been able to ignore it. Not anymore.