“William—”
“Think about what I’m offering you, Ivy, because I won’t wait forever. Take a few days before you make a decision.” He lifted his head and pressed a hard kiss to her mouth. “Now go to sleep.”
CHAPTER 48
William
William lounged in a chaise near the window, wearing only his black boxers, with sunlight pouring in to bask him in its golden warmth.
His stare was fixed on Ivy, who was still fast asleep, lying on her stomach with the ivory sheets low around her hips. It soothed him to have her in his bed.
He scrubbed his hand down his face, feeling rested. Finally, after months of sleepless nights, he’d found comfort in her warm body. Her body that was like a furnace during the night, heated his bed and him once again, just like she had during the time she was with him before.
Only in these last couple of days had William started to understand the extent of his profound feelings for her. And while he’d prefer to lock her up in his room again, he also realized that doing so would be unwise.
He’d given her the information she needed to know. Now, he expected her to come back to him voluntarily – soon. He’d said he wouldn’t wait forever. No, he’d probably drag her back if she didn’t return to him within a couple of days.
Ivy stirred and rolled onto her back while stretching her arms, exposing her perfect breasts to him.
Blue eyes collided with his, creating a lush prison where he feared he could be locked up forever, without complaining.
She blinked, and he noted that she didn’t look straight at him. Once again, she blinked and then her eyes darted around the room. William saw a tear slip from the corner of her eye.
“Ivy, what’s wrong?”
She turned her head to the side to look at him. “Almost every day, I see less. Today is no exception.” She flung her legs to the side of the mattress and closed the distance between them, stopping right in front of William.
William palmed the back of her thighs, pulling her between his legs and looking up her naked body as her fingers laced in his hair. “What do you see?” he asked softly.
“Not much. It’s as if I’m looking through a narrow tube from one eye. And that small circle of vision I have shrinks daily.” She lovingly tucked a few strands of hair behind his ear.
William leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her belly, which caused more tears to appear. “Don’t cry, Ivy. Darkness can be overcome. I’ll be here to help you if you let me. Your confession didn’t scare me away. I’ll hire teachers and servants who specialize in helping the blind so that you can still live a fulfilling life. I’ve done some research because I needed to find out more about your condition. Your prospects aren’t as bleak as you think.”
She shot him a disbelieving look and tried to step back, but he held her firmly by her hips.
“I know that, William. If you have money, life is a lot easier. Then you can buy all the help you need. But I don’t have a penny to my name.”
“This is why I’m explicitly telling you that I’ll be here. I do have the money. Stop being so damn stubborn.” His annoyance rose. “Do you believe it more honorable to steal and cheat your way through life than to accept my money?”
“No! I don’t… But what are the conditions? If I do take your money?” she countered and lowered her arms.
Instantly, he released her thighs and reclined back. “Conditions? My fucking conditions are that you stay with me. You’re mine. Don’t ever forget that. Whether I’m with you or not, you are mine. Why are you fighting us?” He kept his angry stare directed at her. “You accused me of not fighting for us in the past, and now that I am, you seem to be hell-bent on keeping us apart.”
Nervously, she met his eyes.
How William detested it when he couldn’t read her.
“Stop thinking for me. Stop thinking that I won’t be able to deal with your blindness. I know that I can handle it. I’m offering to share everything that I have with you. Does that mean nothing to you?”
“Oh, William, it means everything to me,” she said contritely. “I’m scared, just plain scared of the future.”
William leapt to his feet and cupped her cheeks. “So was I. I was terrified to love you. You were right. God, Ivy, you were right about so many things you said on the day you ran away from me. I don’t want to waste any more time with nameless women or chasing a wealth I don’t need. But I do want to share my life with you. Let me…”
Ivy caressed her way up his chest, studying him for a long moment until she said, “I want to. I will.”
A smile lifted the corners of William’s lips.
“But give me those few days you promised me last night.”
Just as quickly, William’s smile fell, so she added in a rush, “I won’t change my mind. I need those days to discuss this with Sean. He and I have been together all my life. I can’t just leave him.”
William’s eyes narrowed. He had the distinct feeling she was still holding something back. “You don’t have to leave him. He can work in my gambling club, and if you want, he can live in this building. Remember, I do own this high-rise,” he said teasingly.
Ivy smiled, but it was tinged with sadness.
William rested his forehead on hers. “Don’t worry about anything. I’m here now to take care of you.” Then he placed a kiss on her forehead and continued on a whisper, “But don’t even think about running again. I will find you anywhere.”
She shook her head. “I promise I won’t. It’s just that I’ve loved you for such a long time without knowing if you even felt anything for me. This seems a little unreal.”
“Don’t doubt me. Don’t doubt us. I’m not going anywhere, never.” William captured her mouth in an overpowering kiss.
She answered him with passion, pressing her delectable naked body to his. His hands glided down her back, to her ass. Ivy hungrily kissed him, seducing William to take her to bed again. His blood rushed southward, but William had some business to attend to, so he pulled back.
“I need to be downstairs in ten minutes. But when I return, you’d better still be naked and in my bed.” He gave her one last hard kiss. “You must be hungry. I’ll have one of the servants from the gambling club bring you breakfast. Eggs with sausage, toast, and fruit.” He winked.
“Why the wink?” Ivy asked with a grin.
“Because I know you better than you think. You loved the food when you were with me before, didn’t you?” William remembered clearly how Ivy had devoured the food – especially the meat – he brought home.
She nodded and bestowed him with a truly beautiful smile that made him second-guess his decision to attend to business. But he couldn’t let this temptress sway him, so he hurriedly got dressed. All he wanted was to return as soon as possible.
***
Silk sat reading the newspaper with his feet propped on William’s desk when William entered his office.
Ben’s wrists and feet were tied to a chair to Silk’s right. Ben’s nose was bruised, and he was wide awake.
“You fucker!” Ben screamed. “Let me go!”
“No,” William answered and sat on the edge of his desk, addressing Silk, “What should we do with him?”
Silk directed a contemptuous glance at Ben before replying, “Did he hurt Ivy in any way?”
“He bruised her.”
“Hmmm…I say we end him. If we let him go now, he’ll retaliate first chance he gets,” Silk retorted.
“Fuck you!” Ben spat.
William didn’t move a muscle and disregarded Ben. “Where do we end him?”
“We didn’t bolt every entrance to the passageway. I’ve kept one open for these kinds of emergencies. We move him to the underground.”
William stepped to Ben and glared down at him. “I told you that you would pay for touching her, and I always keep my promises. Too bad for you that you tried to rape my most prized possession. Ivy is my woman. You will pay with your life for touching my girl.�
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“You can’t just kill me. I swear you’ll never get away with it!” Ben threatened.
“You’d be surprised at what I can get away with.” William leaned down and whispered into his ear, “You won’t get a quick death like that caretaker we killed, though. No, your death will be painful. When I think about how you attacked Ivy, I ache to rip out your eyeballs with my bare hands. I’m going to cut off your cock and feed it to you. I—”
A knock on the door interrupted William’s tirade, and he pressed his hand over Ben’s mouth before he had the chance to scream.
Silk jumped from the desk chair and opened the door slightly. “What?”
“A Sean Hunter is here to see Mr. Kade,” a male employee of the club announced.
Silk looked at William. “It’s Sean. What do we do?”
“Send him in,” William responded.
Silk held open the door and Sean came inside, and the second he spotted Ben, he strode to him. “Where—Oh, you son of a bitch!” And hit his eye. “You fucking hurt my sister!
William stepped back just in time.
William and Silk casually leaned against his desk while Sean admonished Ben, “We’ve done so much to help you. We treated you like a brother, and you dare to attack my sister at night, when she’s most vulnerable!”
Ben didn’t say a word.
Sean cracked his knuckles while calming his irate breaths, asking, “What are you going to do with him?”
It pleased William to see how protective Sean was of Ivy, but he didn’t trust him. “I’m not sure yet.”
“Sean…” Ben begged. “They’re going to kill me. Help me!”
Sean gritted his teeth as he punched Ben, making his head fly back.
“I’ll never help you again,” Sean snarled, then inquired, “Where’s my sister?”
“She’s safe upstairs, in my apartment,” William answered.
A pregnant silence followed.
“Thank you for helping her,” Sean said awkwardly.
“I’ll always help her.”
Sean was clearly surprised by William’s words. “What’s changed between the two of you?”
“Everything.” William didn’t elaborate and respected Ivy’s wishes to not discuss their relationship with her brother. However, William wasn’t going to allow Ivy to return to her unsafe neighborhood, so he wanted to talk to Sean alone.
“Silk, can you take Ben to the underground floor?” And he mouthed, “End him.”
“My pleasure.” Silk walked around William’s desk and took out a roll of duct tape. He tore off a piece with his teeth and smacked it over Ben’s mouth. Then he dragged the chair from the office with a protesting Ben in it.
When they had privacy, William sat down behind his desk as Sean stood in front of it. William opened a drawer to his right and retrieved a stack of dollar bills. He refused to let Ivy return to any place that could be dangerous for her, yet he wasn’t going to argue with her about it. He knew Ivy by now and how determinedly independent she could be, so it would be wiser to instruct Sean. In this way, William didn’t disturb the balance of their blossoming relationship.
“Sean”—he slid the bills toward him—“I want you to accept this and find better housing for Ivy – today.”
He stared at William as if he’d sprung another head. “I can’t take your money.”
“You’re not in a position to decline. Do you have your own funds? No, but you do have a sister that will probably be blind within days. I can either keep her in my apartment again, or you can take this money and move to this part of town.”
“She won’t take your money,” Sean explained, completely baffled by William’s offer.
“Then don’t tell her it’s mine. Tell her whatever you want; I don’t care as long as she lives near me and in a safe area.”
Sean’s brows were in a lasting frown, causing William’s distrust to spike. He’d expected Sean to be astounded, but not to this extent.
“What exactly happened between you and Ivy last night?” Sean asked.
“Your sister wants to talk to you first. I suggest you let her do so. You can come with me upstairs.”
William made to leave his office.
In the hallway, his employee halted him. “Mr. Kade, your guard is here to see you.”
William had forgotten that he’d come by as well to fill him in on the family Ivy was spying on. William turned his head and spoke to Sean. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
And William went into the gambling club, toward the seating area, where the man was waiting for him.
“Give me an update quickly,” William said without greeting.
“The townhouse Ivy has been going to daily belongs to an ordinary family. They’re rich, but nothing worth any money is in that townhouse. They’re regular members of high society but definitely not one of the wealthier families.”
There was a moment of reflective silence. “What did you find out about the family members?”
“Nothing of importance. The man married last year and has a baby.”
William drummed his fingers on the desk while he processed this information. He couldn’t understand why she would be so interested in that house or family. Suddenly, his movement stopped. There was one question that frequently troubled William’s thoughts. William had been fucking Ivy for months last year without any consideration of the consequences. An acute awareness of Ivy’s reluctant behavior flew through his mind.
“How old is that baby?” William inquired, feeling heat creeping over his skin.
“I don’t know exactly how old, but a newborn.”
A disconcerting hunch flitted through William, so he quickly conjured a plan. “A man is going to join us. When he stops beside me, I need you to repeat the sentence about the family members, of how they only have one child, okay?”
The guard nodded, and William beckoned Sean to them.
“What did you find out about the family members?” William repeated his question just as Sean stopped next to him so that he could see Sean’s facial expression.
“Nothing of importance. The man married last year and has a baby.”
Sean’s eyes rounded for a split-second, and he tensed up. Then his alarmed gaze shot to William. Sean whirled around to run, but William seized his collar and secured his arm around Sean’s throat, holding him imprisoned.
“Why the sudden rush?” William practically spat with simmering fury.
His instinct had been confirmed.
Sean fought against William, but William was much stronger than he was. “Speak! Tell me why you froze and wanted to run! And if you think to lie, remember that I have your sister in my apartment. I can do anything I want with her.”
William desperately wanted answers, yet he couldn’t fathom that she would betray him on this level.
“I-What do you want to know?” Sean expelled loud breaths of unease while William kept him in a death grip.
“Why does Ivy visit that townhouse?”
“I think you already know,” Sean replied.
“I want to hear the words from your mouth.”
“Because she wants to see the child.”
“Why?” William demanded.
Silence.
“Why?!” William bellowed in his ear, dreading the answer.
“It’s her child.”
“And? Say the fucking words!” William was on the verge of blowing up.
“And the kid is your child too.”
William released Sean harshly, swiveled him around, and shouted in disbelief, “She gave away my child?!”
He would kill for her, and she’d kept his child from him. She’d kept this secret from him while he’d wanted to start over with her?
This is why she had reservations about being with him. She was afraid of what would happen if he ever discovered that she’d given birth to his child and given it away.
Their relationship was still based on a lie. Nothing had changed.
“She gave away my child?!” he repeated bitterly.
“She sold her.”
William’s eyes widened in utter shock. Time froze. Feelings emerged. Her? A daughter? Ivy had lied to him – again.
Was William’s judgment so impaired when it came to Ivy? Had love blinded him? Possibly, because he now clearly remembered how Ivy’s body had changed. She was more voluptuous.
William dug his fingers into Sean’s neck. “Move.” And he heaved him forward as they bounded to the elevator.
CHAPTER 49
Ivy
Ivy inspected the ceiling while two emotions battled for attention. Partly, she was on cloud nine because William had finally admitted he loved her, which had calmed her soul. For months, Ivy had dreamed of this day. But it turned out to be bittersweet. Ivy couldn’t move forward with William without being honest. Entirely truthful for the first time in her life. And that made her nervous. No, it made her petrified.
Her musings were interrupted by a loud arrival in the apartment. Footsteps marched down the hall, and William appeared in the doorway.
“Dress,” he ordered. “Now! Your brother is here.” And he practically stomped away.
Ivy bolted up and put on her clothes. She combed her fingers through her disheveled curls a few times as she went to the living room.
Unease scorched her skin. Something was terribly wrong.
Sean stood at the sofa in a tousled state, and William paced at the door like a caged animal.
They were far enough apart that Ivy could only see one of them at a time because of her narrowed vision and blind eye. But vision wasn’t necessary; the tension and fury was indisputably palpable.
“You. Sold. My. Child?” Cool rage underlined William’s clipped words.
Ivy’s gaze shot to Sean, who shook his head in disappointment.
“Tell him, Ivy. Tell him the truth. I told you this was a bad idea from the start. He deserves the truth,” Sean advised.
William stopped to scowl at Ivy, prompting her into action.
“I-I didn’t know what to do…” she defended lamely. In actuality, she couldn’t defend her actions, because she’d regretted them the second her daughter was born and she’d accidentally seen her when the nurse carried her out.
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