The Fidelity World_Invictus

by Kylie Hillman

  I know it’s a mistake as I say it, yet I don’t even try to stop myself. “No more contract, Ida. Nothing but honesty from now on.”

  The sick churning that invades my gut is my penance for lying. If I was half the man she thinks I am, I’d stop her now and explain that her signature wasn’t required last night because she’d already signed her part of the agreement in the Infidelity offices earlier that day. It’s unfortunate for Ida that I am not as honourable as she thinks. No, I’m a scared little caricature of a man. A pussy who’s afraid of losing the first woman to make my heart skip a beat before I really even have her. A coward who’d rather lie my ass off and hope like hell that it never comes back to bite me.

  My phone buzzes where it sits on the counter next to my unfinished breakfast. The screen shows that I have an email from a Harry Marshall stating that I’m the successful applicant for the research assistant position. It takes me a second to work out what it means, but when I do it brings a smile to my face.

  I’m successfully employed for the year—and if that isn’t a giant thumbs up from the universe as it declares it’s compliance with my plan to keep Ida in the dark about my identity and the existence of the contract, then I don’t know what is.

  Maybe Ida is right, and my pure intentions and honesty going forth will be rewarded with a relationship I never thought possible?

  NINE

  Ida

  “What do you think?” I ask Marta as I spin in a circle to show her my outfit.

  “Absolutely fucking stunning,” she shouts. “Felix will be offering you a ride on his disco stick the second he sees you.”

  “Good grief, woman.” I throw one of my pillows at her. “One day your lack of filter is going to get you in trouble.”

  Marta catches the pillow and throws it straight back at me. “Tell me that wasn’t the exact reaction you were going for and I’ll apologise for my lack of filter.”

  Rolling my eyes because there’s no way I can argue the point without lying, I move to my dresser. Grabbing the little clutch that goes with this dress from the long drawer, I start packing the essentials I’ll need for the evening. Lip gloss, a tiny spritzer bottle of perfume, and two condoms. I know that I’m being presumptuous by bringing my own birth control, however I’m willing to throw my normal rules out the window for Felix. His smile does things to my body that should be illegal and I’m ready to find out the heights of pleasure he can take me to when we go all the way.

  The intercom sounds, signalling Felix’s arrival downstairs. Butterflies invade my stomach with a nauseating level of quivering. Bullets of sweat threaten to ruin my makeup and I feel unsteady on my feet. It’s only dinner at a fundraiser, yet it feels like I’m expecting a marriage proposal instead.

  “Wait here,” Marta says. “I’ll let him in. It’ll buy you some time to compose yourself.”

  “Thanks,” I croak.

  “Just get yourself laid already. This dying swan act is getting old, you frigid bitch.” She throws one of her trademark insults over her shoulder as she heads for the front door and I instantly feel better. At least one thing in my life is still normal.

  “Leave your coat on,” I hear Marta direct Felix. “She’ll be out in a minute.”

  She closes my bedroom door behind her once she’s re-entered the room. I brace myself for a smartassed comment, but she leaves me hanging. Instead, she paces in front of me. Back and forth she goes until she suddenly stops.

  “Look, I said some hardcore jaded shit to you the other night.” I incline my head in agreement. “But, I think I might’ve been wrong. Felix is in the front room looking like he’s trying not to puke while you’re hiding back here just as sick with anticipation. This thing you have might be real. It also might be complete shit too.”

  “I’m confused,” I interrupt her rambling in an attempt to lead her back to the point she’s trying to make. I don’t have time to waste on riddles.

  Marta closes her eyes. I watch her lips moving like she’s giving herself a silent pep talk. When she reopens her eyes, I find earnest concern in her expression. It sets my teeth on edge and sends warning bells ringing in my head.

  “What I’m trying to say is that I’ve changed my opinion of Felix.” Marta lets out a sigh from between her clenched teeth. “I want you to forget everything I said about fairy tales, princes, and poison and just be you—the eternal optimist who is waiting for her knight in shining armour. If the green gills on the man in our living room is a true indication of his intentions, your prince has arrived, Ida.”

  My eyebrows rise, unheeded. They’re almost touching my fringe. That’s how much her admission surprises me. At just twenty-seven, Marta is as set in her beliefs as a crotchety, eighty-year-old man so any backpedalling she does needs to be listened to. Not only because it’s as rare as hen’s teeth, but because she’s as serious as a heart attack when she does it.

  “So, what you’re saying is?” I venture lightly, seeking clarification.

  “I was wrong.” Marta grabs my clutch and the sequinned bolero that I plan to throw over my shoulders as a shield from the cold night, then spins on her heel and heads for the bedroom door. “Jesus, you don’t need to revel in it. It’s been known to happen once or twice.”

  Silently laughing, I follow her into the living room, smoothing down the front of my dress as I go. Felix stands quickly when he sees us. His dark eyes widen, and he drops into a low bow before I can say anything. Unsure what to do in return, I try to affect my best curtsey. Marta snorts at our behaviour. She lays my things down on the back of the armchair and heads for the kitchen without another word.

  “Is she okay?” Felix asks.

  I shrug. “She’s wrestling with herself. It’ll pass.”

  It seems that it’s my turn to be cryptic about things, and it doesn’t sit well with Felix. He stares at me with questioning eyes that I choose to ignore. I’d feel bad, but the memory of how I felt when he and Lydia were discussing their issues in riddles right in front of me, hasn’t faded enough for me to willingly break girl code and fill him in on one of Marta’s many quirks.

  “Shall we?” I gesture to the front door as I pose the question.

  Felix places my bolero over my shoulders and hands me my clutch. I wait for him to pull the door open and when he doesn’t it, I check to see what’s delaying him. He’s looking around the living room like he’s searching for something.

  “Have you lost something?” I ask.

  “No,” he says. “I’m looking for your coat. It’s cold out and that flimsy thing won’t keep you warm.”

  With a sharp look at my bolero, he sums up his feelings about my idea of winter warmth. He might have a point, except I’m a woman and we’re known for putting fashion over comfort.

  “I’ll be fine. It’s a quick walk from the front door to the taxi and then into the restaurant.”

  My assurances aren’t good enough for him. He takes his heavy overcoat off and holds it out for me. I turn my back to him and let him help me slide my arms inside. The soft cashmere engulfs me, making me feel small and precious. His unique scent—sandalwood, musk, and male—sends the butterflies that had died down in my tummy back into full flight. The nervousness that had invaded me with his arrival disappears and my excitement at what the night might bring returns in full.

  I’m ready to explore this thing with Felix. Right bloody now.

  “I appreciate your sacrifice,” I murmur. “I hope you won’t be too cold.”

  The smouldering look that covers Felix’s face incinerates the butterflies and sparks the intense attraction that is always present between us. I do my best to tamp it down, but Felix is no help.

  “Keeping my eyes on you will provide all the warmth I need.” Taking hold of my hand, he leads me to the elevator that will take us to the ground floor. “You look smoking hot in that dress. I’m afraid I’m going to spontaneously combust from standing too close to you.”

  The open way that he speaks to me leaves me spee
chless. My face begins to heat so I duck my head and let him draw me out of the elevator when the doors ping open. We leave my building and I expect to be led toward a yellow taxi. Instead he signals for a driver to open the door of a stretch limo and helps me seat myself inside.

  “This is a surprise,” I say. The limo is luxuriously appointed, complete with crushed velvet upholstery, oak panelling, and an assortment of expensive alcohol. “A cab would have sufficed.”

  Felix laughs. The sound is music to my ears, although I do detect a note of awkwardness in its melody. “Ida, I’m sure you’ve realised that my life isn’t exactly normal. Limousines, fancy restaurants, and Black Pearl Cognac is just the beginning. I have a lot more planned to spoil you.”

  Most girls would jump at his seductive promise. Not me. It reminds me of all the things I left Georgia to escape. My skin itches, almost like an allergic reaction to the extravagance he thinks I’ll enjoy, while my feet burn with the desire to leap from this limo and join the real world with its yellow cabs and subway trains.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Felix breaks the silence that’s fallen around us.

  I scramble through my jumbled thoughts in search of an appropriate answer. One which isn’t going to sound like judgement or offend him. My issues are my own—most people revel in their wealth without becoming overwhelmed by the house of cards that props it up.

  “Ah, no. Of course not.” I plaster a smile on my face. “I’m just nervous about dinner.”

  Felix runs his thumb over the back of my hand. “Me, too. Although, dinner is the easy part. I’m more worried about how we’re going to handle dessert.”

  He lifts my hair from my shoulder and nips at my neck with his teeth. A shiver runs the length of my spine, increasing to a visible tremor when he retraces the path with his tongue. I twist toward him, pinning him to the seat and hiking my dress up so I can straddle his lap. Nibble fingers undo the buttons on his shirt and I push it as far off his shoulders as I can manage. Using my fingernails, I explore the even ridges of his muscled stomach and hard chest, then take his bottom lip between my teeth and bite down with a sharp-edged gentleness.

  Need for Felix pulses through my veins. It heats my blood and burns my skin. I’ve never felt like this before—as cliched as that sounds—and I’m scared that giving into my desire will rob me of my ability to continue with my empty life once Felix has had his fill.

  My worries douse my passion like a bucket of ice water thrown over a fire. I pull my mouth from his, and stare down at him. Our chests heave in unison, our hands trembling where they touch, our expressions filled with a matching hunger. We didn’t know the other existed less than sixty hours ago, yet I can see in Felix’s gaze the same thoughts that I’m having.

  This thing between us is either going to be for life or it’s going to flame because we can’t maintain the oxygen required to sustain our burning attraction.

  “How about we skip dinner and head back to my penthouse?” Felix gives life to the question we’ve been dodging.

  “Yes,” I reply. The answer is on the tip of my tongue and out my mouth in an instant. I don’t want to think about the pros and cons of this choice. For once, my heart is taking charge.

  I’ll deal with the consequences tomorrow.

  TEN

  Felix

  Seeing Ida in my bedroom allows all the daydreams I’ve been having about her to fly free. My cock hardens in an instant while my minds eye enjoys the carnal display my imagination has created.

  I’ve pictured her bent over the vanity in my bathroom, naked and wet in my shower, and my personal favourite, on all fours in the middle of my king-sized bed. Imagining the feel of her mouth around my cock has kept me awake at night, thoughts of the way her skin will yield to my teeth when I bite down has intrigued me since she pushed my head into her cleavage, the sensation that will engulf me when I thrust my dick inside her warm body has been hinted at with a whispered promise of ecstasy I never thought possible. To say that I’ve been driven mad over the course of two and a half days by the idea of Ida Montoya wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all.

  She fell in front of me and captured my attention in a second. Now, I’m on the cusp of finding out if she’s going to come close to living up to my expectations, and it scares the living daylights out of me because either way I lose. This is going to be all or nothing.

  “This is a beautiful room, Felix,” Ida says my name in that special way of hers.

  “It is,” I agree in a low voice. “Although, your presence makes this room appear dull and lifeless. You outshine everything I see, and I want to worship you like the goddess you are.”

  Is my sentiment overkill? You bet ya. Are the words I speak honest? Most definitely. I’ve had my share of women. I’ve even had a few who captured a tiny part of my heart and led me to believe that I cared for them. Yet, the mere promise of Ida shows me that any feelings I thought I had in the past were nothing but child’s play.

  “The way you speak,” Ida murmurs. “It matches how I feel about you, but I lack the ability to put it into words. Thank you for being so open and honest. It makes this much easier.”

  She hangs the shiny cape that she tried to pass off as a coat over the back of my chair. Perching daintily on the edge of my bed, Ida unstraps her heels. I lower myself to my knees and help her remove her shoes all the way. One foot at a time, I lift the red-bottomed heels from her feet and run a trail of kisses over her arch and up her ankle. Almost all signs of the injury that brought us together has gone, only smooth, supple skin and painted toenails remain.

  Standing, I remove my jacket and tie. I take hold of Ida’s hands and pull her to her feet. With the added height of her heels gone, the top of her head barely grazes the bottom of my chin. Her form is a contradiction, both tiny yet ample, with a slim waist in the middle of a large chest and curved hourglass hips.

  She is perfection.

  In my normal life, I would never have met someone like her. The women who navigate my circles are carbon copies of the typical standard of beauty whereas Ida takes society’s expectations and turns them on their head with her unique loveliness and exquisite features. I’m a lucky man to have the opportunity to taste Ida tonight.

  Using my hands on her waist to turn her until her back is to me, I unzip her dress and push the soft fabric from her shoulders. It falls in one swift motion, pooling at her feet and leaving her clad in a matching bra and panty set. The satin that covers her lushest assets are no match for my hands. They disintegrate beneath my touch, leaving her bare before me.

  “Breathtaking,” I breathe my compliment around a suddenly-thick and awkward tongue. “And, all mine.”

  “Felix, I—” Ida tries to protest as I tug on her hands to make her face me. I pull her arms to her sides when she attempts to hide her body from me, lowering my mouth to hers for a reassuring kiss.

  Pulling away when I’ve had my fill—for now—I refuse to allow the shyness I can see growing with her to overcome her lust for me. With sure hands, I lift her in the air and coax her to wrap her legs around my waist. Once she’s in place, I walk to the edge of my bed and lay her in the middle. The gold covers are in stark contrast to her pale skin. Her nearly-black hair is a cloud of decadence that surrounds her heart-shaped face while her almond eyes stare up at me with passionate need glowing from their depths.

  If I was struck dead now, I would die a happy man.

  “You are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever had the privilege of laying eyes on.” I stop speaking long enough to strip the rest of the clothes from my frame. “Tonight, I’m going to worship you like you’ve never been worshipped before.”

  Ida opens her arms to me and pulls me close when I lay my body over hers. We fit like two puzzle pieces. Made for each other—by lucky circumstances and assisted by a little deceit. The reminder of my temporary dishonesty gives me a lump in my throat and I promise myself that I will tell her the truth in the morning. I don’t know Ida properly, but I’
m certain that if she feels half of what I feel for her, she’ll understand why I lied by omission.

  Moment of uncertainty abated, I dip my head down to her breasts, nuzzling them with affectionate wonder, then taking the hard peak of her right breast into my mouth. I lavish attention on it with my tongue, swirling and nibbling gently. I move to her left breast and repeat my ministrations. With each lave of my tongue, Ida grows more vocal in her enjoyment. I run my hand down her side, over her ribs, dipping into her belly button, then finding the honeypot between her legs. My middle finger parts her tender flesh while my thumb rubs the sensitive nub that is her clit.

  “Felix.” Ida moans, wrapping her arms around my neck and arching her back. “Please make love to me.”

  I don’t need to be asked twice. Using my knee, I knock open her willing thighs. Ida lifts her hips and drops her hands to my shoulders. I position myself at her entrance and slowly thrust my cock into her hot heat. Ida takes me with unbridled enthusiasm, clenching tight and drawing me further within.

  Gritting my teeth, I begin to move, ever so slightly. Teasing her with my body. Giving her a taste of how it will be between us. Showing Ida that what she’s feeling now is only just the beginning. Proving to myself that daydreams can never compare to reality.

  “Hold tight, mein Liebling,” I whisper in Ida’s ear. “I’m only just getting started with you.”

  ELEVEN

  Ida

  Waking up, wrapped in Felix’s strong arms, with the soft covers cocooning us in our own little world, is extraordinary. Replaying in my head the night that we spent together is mind-blowing. I’ve been intimate with men before, but never on the level I was with Felix. He managed to take every expectation I had and turn it on its head with his tender intensity and overwhelming enjoyment of my body. I’ve never felt so special in my life.