“Now, we’ll leave,” I said to the staff standing by, no doubt ready to escort me from the room if necessary, and we went to see the Principal.
I handed in my resignation, effective immediately and asked that Candy not be punished, that she be allowed to graduate, and that I would stay away from the graduation ceremony. I didn’t want to, but for Candy and her family’s sake, I needed to.
My resignation was accepted, but Principal Lancaster warned me that Candy’s family might want to take legal action against me.
Then there was a knock at the door, and it opened revealing Candy’s parents.
“What the hell is going on here?” Her father asked.
“I’d like to explain.” I stood up.
I should have anticipated the punch before it came and the blow hit me straight in the jaw.
We left the venue and went to Candy’s home where she explained that we’d been in a relationship since after her eighteenth birthday. To say her parents were shocked was an understatement. I listened as Candy explained that what she had said happened with Julian that night hadn’t been the whole truth and that shortly afterward we had started a relationship. I noticed she kept up the fabrication that Larissa had stayed with her after the events with Julian, and realized that she was determined to protect her best friend.
“I’m finding it hard to process all this,” Her mother said.
“I love your daughter,” I told them both. “I’ll look after her with every bone in my body for the rest of her life. I wouldn’t treat her like Julian did. I proposed to Candy tonight. She had agreed to marry me.”
“What?” Her father almost choked. “We have standards in this house to adhere to, and so far, you have shown no respect for any of them. Get out of our house.” He roared.
“Mr. Appleton, I-”
“Get out before I hit you again.”
Candy looked up at me, and I saw the resignation in her eyes. She wanted me to leave. Whether it was just for tonight or for forever, I didn’t know.
I stood up and picked up my jacket.
“I’m at my apartment if you need me,” I told her, and she nodded.
And then I left her house, returning to my apartment with no job and the possibility I’d lost the love of my life as well on the same night.
Chapter 13
Candy
I had spent the next few days lying around in my room like I was sick. I had still felt off anyway. Embarrassed, I refused to go to school on Monday. I’d heard nothing from Parker, despite repeatedly checking my cell. I wondered what I’d expected to happen. He’d told me where he was if I needed him; was I expecting text after text? Larissa had called, but I’d made a big deal out of still feeling sick because as sympathetic as she was, she was still high on being the Prom Queen and Jeff had suggested setting a wedding date later that same night. I could hardly tell her Parker had proposed to me; that would have been stealing my girl’s thunder. Anyway, as I’d said, it was true anyway. I felt weary like all I wanted to do was sleep. I had no appetite either; everything made me feel nauseous. I was love sick.
My mother had kept checking on me but had mostly left me alone. That was all about to change though as I woke from a nap to find her sitting in one of my purple velvet chairs.
“It’s time for us to talk about the future, darling.”
“Oh, mom.” I groaned. “I don’t want to.”
“You can’t pretend none of this has happened, Candy, and you need to make some decisions. You have a man going demented wondering whether or not you still want him.”
I turned to her. “What do you mean?”
“He’s called here several times a day but asked me not to tell you. He said he wanted you to make up your own mind with no influence from him, but I can’t sit here watching you check out of life, pining for him when he’s doing the same over you.”
I sat up. “He is?”
“Yes. Candy?” My mom paused. “Do you really love him? Do you see a future with him?”
I started to answer, but she held up a hand.
“With no pressure or influence from him, sweetheart, just from your own heart. We can be on a plane out of here this afternoon and go to a spa until you feel ready to face the world again.”
“I love him so much my heart is breaking,” I told her, and I started to sob.
My mom got to her feet. “Then get in that shower. Get yourself washed and breakfasted and then go and tell him that.” She said.
“What about Dad?” I asked.
“I’ve spoken to your father. He’s better or rather; he’s coming around, to the fact his little girl is not a little girl anymore. Just promise me one thing. That Parker did not start anything with you while you were underage.”
“I swear on my life, Mom, he didn’t, and I pursued him, Mom. I love him so much.” I swung my legs out of bed and went dizzy, reaching for the edge of the bed to steady myself. “You’re still not right are you?” My mother said. “Stay there while I go to get you something to eat.”
She returned fifteen minutes later with a tray, but there wasn’t only orange juice and a croissant on it. There was also a pregnancy test kit.
“I think you ought to do that.” She told me. “To be certain as to whether or not you truly have a virus, as I’m not so sure.”
Reassured by the test, having enjoyed my breakfast and showered and feeling fresh, I got in my car and drove to Parker’s apartment.
I rang the doorbell and waited.
The man who answered the door made my heart sink, and I wanted to cry. He was unshaven. Dark shadows looked like bruises underneath his bloodshot eyes.
“Candy.” He exclaimed. “Oh my God, you’re here. Come in.”
“I need to talk to you,” I told him, and I walked past him and sat down on his couch.
“Oh.” He said, his head bowed, and he pulled up a dining chair to sit across from me. “Come on.” He said. “Just say it. We’re breaking up right?”
“We’re pregnant,” I told him.
I thought he was going to fall off his seat.
“We’re what?”
“We’re pregnant. I have no idea how far along I am. I just did a test like an hour ago. And then another two because I couldn’t believe the results. But, yes, we’re pregnant.”
“And how do you feel about that?” Parker asked me tentatively.
“Well, let me see. I have the most handsome and sexy fiancé in the whole world, and now I’m having his baby. I think I feel pretty damn fantastic.” I told him. “Apart from occasionally feeling like I have the flu.”
He launched at me from his seat, crushing his mouth to mine but being careful not to crush me. “I thought I’d lost you. I love you, Candy Appleton.” He sat back and placed a hand on my stomach. “And you, little one.”
I started to laugh.
“Could you please take a shower and shave, your stubble is giving my face an itchy rash,” I told him.
“Yes. I’ll be right back.” He leapt from the room and straight into the shower. And then we spent the next few hours making up for lost time.
EPILOGUE
I attended my graduation. It was a lovely way to say goodbye to my High School days. The ring on my finger shut down any gossip that Brandy had tried to fire my way. Everyone was bored with her drama by now. We’d all grown up, and she needed to do the same.
Saying goodbye to Larissa as she headed off to University with Jeff was heartbreaking, but we’d had an amazing time when she’d been my bridesmaid.
Parker had visited my father, alone, and following that had re-proposed to me in the middle of Central Park, on a carriage ride. He’d placed on my ring finger a spectacular ring from Tiffany’s with a large center diamond surrounded by a double row of bead-set diamonds. I had no idea how he had afforded it and hoped my parents hadn’t given him the money. I didn’t want to start our married life with misconceptions that I needed to be surrounded by wealth, and I’d told him so.
; Which was when he’d confessed that he was the heir to a huge publishing company. I was shocked. He’d told my parents when he’d visited to ask my father for my hand in marriage, but as my mother had apparently told him, just as she had me, it was love that counted to her, not money. Of course, later in conversation with me, true to form, she’d said she was damn happy he was loaded though, and I wouldn’t have to strive for anything in my life. She’d never change, but she was my mom, and I loved her. When we’d told my father I was expecting a baby; I seriously thought we were going to have to call 911. My mom later told me that realizing his baby was growing up was enough of a shock. To find out that his baby was having a baby had almost caused a coronary.
We had an elaborate wedding held at the Waldorf. It was what we wanted. We wanted to show the elite of Manhattan that we’d done nothing to be ashamed of and I wanted my fairy tale. I had my prince, and I wanted to be a princess for a day. Everything I had read about in my romance novels was becoming part of my real life.
“You’re daydreaming again.” My husband’s voice whispered next to my ear. “I swear you spend as much time in your imaginary world as you do in the real one.”
I smiled at him. “Well, I do have a novel to write.”
“Yes, and can you hurry, because I know the team is waiting to read it.”
I laughed. Parker had gone to work at the family firm and found out he enjoyed working there. He said he had been as obstinate as his father and had refused to work there because his father told him he had to. Once we had a baby on the way, he’d lost his stubbornness. We had submitted my first novel to them blind. They’d offered me a two-book deal, and now they were waiting for the second book. Parker had also helped to set up a reading charity after I’d told him my dream to help people less fortunate.
My days were spent in our home in Manhattan, between writing words in a fictional world and living the dream of real life with my handsome husband and our beautiful daughter, Posey.
Parker licked the tip of my ear. “Have you been writing any sexy scenes in there lately?” He nodded towards the manuscript.
“Maybe…” I teased.
“Well, I think we should go try them out, you know to check for authenticity. I wouldn’t want you to write something that wasn’t doable in real life.”
“What about our daughter?” I asked him.
“Fast asleep in her bed.” He said smugly. “Daddy has the magic touch.”
“Anyway,” he said. “You promised me we’d have babies every two and a half years and she’s fifteen months old now, so we need to start making more.”
“I did, didn’t I?” I saved my file and closed my laptop. “Well, it just so happens that I need to write a scene where the woman sits right on a hot man’s cock on a seat in the middle of her vast library, surrounded by books.”
“Hmmm, I think my wife is lying as this has already happened in real life many, many times.” Parker nibbled my neck.
“I’m writing it in this novel because it’s my favorite scene. It should be immortalized in ink forever.”
“Well, after that, later tonight, can we play naughty teacher, because that is my best fantasy come to life.”
“Yes, Sir,” I answered, and with a groan, he lifted me off my feet and ran with me into the house.
Uncover
Chapter 1
Pete
I looked out my office window onto the street as the rain poured down. It was New York at its most disgusting and I was grateful to be indoors, even if I was about to have a conversation with my business partners that I had no desire to follow through with.
“What’s up?” Jake asked as he strode into my office and threw himself into one of the leather chairs like he owned the place. Well, he did own a third of the place, but not my office.
I shrugged slightly. “We’ll wait for Neil before we get started.”
As if conjured from the ether, Neil appeared in the doorway. “You rang?”
“Have a seat,” I said, gesturing toward one of the other chairs opposite my desk. I waited until they were both seated, but kept my place where I stood. They were both alpha as fuck, something that made working together difficult at times, but I wanted them to remember who was the brain behind Club V and that without me the whole thing could fall apart. I kept my stance by the window, arms folded across my chest. I knew I struck an imposing figure and I wanted them to keep that in mind as I told them what had come to my attention.
What my college friends and now business partners didn’t realize was that we were currently sitting atop a house of cards that could collapse at any moment. One wrong move and we could come crashing down. I had been putting out fires, paying people off, and maintaining our exclusive vetting policy for a long time now. But there had been a few close calls recently and it was time they knew what had been going on behind the scenes and what I suspected was coming our way.
“I’ll cut right to the chase,” I began. “Remember the agent that we caught in the auction room a few weeks ago?”
They both nodded in unison.
“Well, that’s taken care of. Let’s just say he was looking for a discount on our wares.”
“Problem solved then,” Neil said with a wave of his hand.
I shook my head. “Not so fast. That’s the third one in as many months. We’re attracting their attention and I have a feeling that we’re an open secret amongst many in the bureau. We’re going to have to be on top of our game and make certain we keep this place locked down tight. We’ve got to really push the ‘exclusive gentlemen’s club’ angle for a while. Keep promoting to the right sort of people. The more important and influential, the better. People with something to lose are less likely to talk about what’s going on behind the scenes here.”
Jake nodded. “I’ve got a few events coming up. The Met Gala. A couple of charity auctions. I have a feeling we’ll pull in a few more members—of the sort you’re looking for—through those.”
I scratched my chin. “We’re staying ahead of this. I’m not too concerned about the FBI or any other agencies busting us—keep in mind, nothing we are doing here is against the law. It’s just…how they might paint it in the media.”
“We’ve got too much tied up in this—time, money, our livelihoods—to let anything go wrong now,” Neil added.
“I just wanted to make sure you both were aware of the status of the agent and that we are moving forward as if nothing happened there. I’ve taken care of the details and I think we’ll be fine for now. We’ve got to handle our PR a little more carefully though,” I said.
“What’s the plan with that?” Jake asked as he smoothed back his ponytail. The dude was still as slick as ever and groomed himself constantly, even when there were no women around to impress.
“Well, I’ve got an article lined up with a magazine. It’s really still in the planning stages, but I’ve been contacted by one of their feature editors. It’ll be good exposure to the sort of clientele we’re looking for and I think it will go a long way to convince the neighborhood we’re legit. The circulation isn’t very large, but it hits the demographics in this area that we want to reach.”
I cracked my knuckles and looked out the window again, less certain about the magazine proposition than I was letting on to my business partners.
“Anyway, what’s on the agenda for you guys this week?”
Neil leaned back in his chair. “I’ve got to be in Las Vegas this weekend for a large combined bachelor and bachelorette party that’s happening at that location.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Bachelorette party? We don’t have many of those. All club members?”
Neil nodded. “The bachelors are and it looks like the bride-to-be is interested in joining the club as well. She’s bringing her bridesmaids along for the ride and we’re hoping to secure a few of them as new members this week as well. A couple of actresses and a model. They’re into the open sex idea: we just have to sell them on what we’ve got to offer.”
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“If anyone can do it, it’ll be you. What about you, Jake?”
Jake yawned and folded his hands behind his head. “Taking my girl to the Atlanta club. I want to show her around a little, let her see what we’re all about down there. And I think she might be interested in checking out some of what we have on offer down there.”
“Is this the girl you met here?” Neil turned to Jake and asked.
He nodded. “And after a month on my collar, she is wild and ready to enjoy the lifestyle.”
I rolled my eyes. “Good for you. Just make sure and take care of some business while you’re down there as well, okay?”
Jake winked. “I’ll take care of business.”
“I guess that covers it then,” I said, shaking my head. “I won’t take up any more of your time.”
The guys exited the office, leaving me to my thoughts. As much as I had tried to reassure them, I still had lingering questions about what was going to happen with the FBI and local cops. We were doing everything we could to keep things on the level at Club V all over the United States, but I could feel the walls closing in. I knew that soon someone was going to want some money on the regular in order to keep quiet. It wasn’t that we couldn’t afford that sort of thing, but our business was legitimate and I hated that we were having to fight tooth and nail to keep the authorities out of the place.
It all came down to the virgins. It had been my greatest idea, the one that put Club V on the map. In the midst of all kinds of exclusive sex clubs popping up all over the country and around the world, we were the ones doing something different. Well, we weren’t the first club to offer virgins, nor were we the first to have an elite auction block, but we were the first to do it all above board.
The contracts were key. It had taken me months to iron it all out with some of the best attorneys in the city. Everything had to be in writing and it had to be perfect. There was no way that we could leave loopholes. God only knew that the sort of men who wanted to buy virgins was the kind who also tended to have buyer’s remorse and ask for their money back, no matter what their experience was. The contracts insured that whatever happened, happened. We were responsible for the transaction on the auction block. We provided them with verified virgin women of legal age who wanted to step up on the block and wear the collar. The men agreed to a code of conduct, which was loose but made clear what was expected of them in the treatment of the women they bid on.
Rule Him: A virgin student/teacher forbidden romance (School of Seduction Book 1) Page 9