“Totally your effect…and that of your superhuman penis. She’s a bitch mostly.” He laughed. “As for the rest, our time together is o-over. I’ll be fine. I haven’t had a chance to process. I sketched the entire trip to keep my mind occupied.”
Wiping at tears she resented, she asked cheerfully, “Where’s your lovely wife, by the way? I’m gonna hug her hard enough to break her.”
“Darling.” She glanced up to see Natalia descending in a silk robe. “I drastically overslept. I’ve taken your advice too far.”
Jumping up, she met her at the bottom of the stairs and hugged her as hard as she could.
“You smell like brown sugar and oranges. How I’ve missed you, Gabriella.”
“You smell like Hudson. I’ve missed you, too.” Brie managed to hold back her tears but had a hard time controlling the way her body shook. “Help me be strong,” she whispered.
“Always, darling.” Wrapping their arms around each other, they returned to the bar.
Hudson answered his phone. “Hmm. That was quick.”
Disconnecting, he placed Brie on the barstool and handed her the glass of wine. “They made excellent time. Steady.”
The elevator doors slid open and Leonard moved deliberately to stand behind Brie.
Elijah and Harper stepped from inside, took in the scene, and walked to her. Harper had a dark bruise along his jaw and she could see his tension.
Their eyes slid over her slowly.
Leaning in, Elijah took a deep breath, growled, and glanced over his shoulder at Hudson. Her best friend sipped his wine with a wink.
Setting down her glass, she lifted her shirt, inhaled, and laughed despite the stress she was under. Shaking her head, she hopped off the barstool, walked around the men, and went to kiss Natalia.
Bending, she inhaled the fabric across her breasts and confirmed it was coated heavily in Hudson’s cologne.
“I’ll call you later and that wasn’t nice. Funny but not nice.”
Natalia cupped her face. “Then they must stop acting like you’re a tree in their yard that they can mark whenever they happen to pass.” She kissed her lips.
“They still don’t quite understand how your heart works. Don’t you dare settle for less than every goddamn thing you deserve or I’ll spank your pretty ass myself.”
Forcing a smile, she hugged Hudson. “I smell more like you than you do. Love you guys. I’ll be around. You have to tell me everything about your honeymoon.”
“We’re returning to Washington tonight.” The cold statement from Harper made her still. “You’ll have to reschedule.”
“Harper. So help me god.” The words from Elijah had a clear effect on his lover.
Brie faced him, her heart heavy that he’d push at her again. “Perhaps you are. I’m staying in New York.” He started to speak and she clasped her hands in front of her tightly. “Submission is the will, not the rules. I willingly submit to Elijah but make no mistake. No one owns me.”
Swallowing past a painful lump, she said as firmly as she was able, “You’ve made your feelings about me clear, Harper. I won’t wait around an abandoned estate for weeks waiting for the two of you to show up to fuck me. I know that’s all you’ve offered from the beginning but I have a life, friends, clients, and a company of my own. It’s time I get back to them.”
Grabbing her bag, she walked to the elevator and pushed the button. “I can play house by myself. I’m not a fucking call girl, damn it.” Stepping inside, she kept her eyes on the floor. “You didn’t have to do this, Harper. I told you I’d leave when you let me know it was time. You didn’t have to be cruel.”
The doors closed and she choked down a sob. Back in her apartment, she ran a tub and stripped down.
Sliding into the warm water, she let herself feel the chaos from the last hours. That Harper treated her in such a way between the three of them was bad enough. That he’d done it again in front of her friends was embarrassing and hurt so much worse.
It looked like he wasn’t going to let her keep the good memories in the end.
Brie cried hard.
Chapter Forty
Elijah struggled not to physically hurt the man he’d sworn to protect. The man he’d loved more than half his life.
Natalia stared at Harper with a frown as Brie left the penthouse. “Do you understand that you are three couples as well as a threesome?”
“We aren’t three couples. We are one couple and a threesome when opportunity presents itself.” Harper straightened his jacket. “In case you’re wondering, I’m not part of the couple. There is Elijah and Gabriella. On occasion, I’m included.”
His smile was bitter. “Forgive me, Natalia. You wouldn’t have stood for that shit either.”
“You regret less access to Elijah but not to Gabriella.” She sighed. “Let her go now. This isn’t going to work.”
To Elijah, she added, “Harper refuses to love her despite her obvious love for both of you. Her safety and happiness are your responsibility. You have to let her go.”
He gave a single nod, the thought of losing Brie caused him unbelievable pain. He doubted he hid his emotional turmoil.
Hudson raked his hand through black hair, he walked to the elevator and hit the call button. “You’ve gone too far, hurt her badly, Harper. Now she must save herself.”
Harper raised his chin. “Gabriella is fine. We’ll smooth things over and Elijah will have what he so desperately wants.”
Winters snapped. “She is not fucking fine! Unlike the next woman you’ll bed, Gabriella has class and self-respect. She was attempting to retain her goddamn dignity.”
Looking directly into Elijah’s eyes, he added, “You cannot make him submit in this. I’m truly sorry for the pain I know this will cause you, Elijah.” Exhaling roughly, he said, “We’ll help her pick up the pieces.”
As the doors closed on them, Elijah remained silent.
“You fucking win. You’ve made it clear I’m to have no access to you without Gabriella’s presence.” Harper laughed bitterly and it hurt Elijah’s heart to hear it. “I concede. I’ll put everything I am on the line to be able to touch you again. You choose to blackmail me to receive my consent. I choose to pay the ransom.”
“Harper…”
“I’m alone. I’m fucking trying but you keep me at a distance as if I’m goddamn new.”
“I said I will let her go.”
“Elijah…”
“It’s what you want. It’s the only way to keep you from repeatedly hurting her. I’ll break you both if I don’t.”
The elevator opened and he stepped into the lobby, signaling the team. “Escort Mr. Delkin to his apartment and stay with him.”
“Elijah!”
He went through the doors and started to run. He ran for hours. He ran until he knew he was on the verge of damaging his body.
Staring out at the river, he gripped the railing and accepted that letting Brie go would be similar to carving out a piece of his flesh. He was unsure he’d survive it.
Much like the day his father shattered his violin and made him watch, chained to the wall, as it burned.
Harper was not like his father. So many mistakes had been made where their relationship was concerned. Elijah didn’t know how to fix them but he knew one thing was real and true.
Brie would eventually break under the pain of Harper’s methods of retaliation. He knew the best ways to wound her and lashed out in anger, sadness, and neglect.
There were so many sins at his door. Brie would be the one that hurt the worst.
* * *
Harper paced the floor as the Elijah entered the apartment and stilled when he saw the condition he was in.
Soaked to the skin with sweat and more exhausted than he’d ever seen him.
“Elijah…”
Without looking at him, he said, “I’m going to shower and talk to Brie.” The door to his bedroom closed quietly.
By the time he came out, Harper wondere
d if he could lose his mind with the worry, the regret, he felt. Elijah emerged, showered and in clean clothes. He held his violin case.
“Elijah…”
“When I return, it will be done. Give me time to heal and things will be back to what you need.”
“Wait. Wait and let’s…”
“No, Harper. I waited too long to end it. I pushed when I should have pulled back.” Bowing his head, he whispered, “I wish you’d never noticed Brie. I wish I didn’t know the beauty of her. I wish she’d never touched me.”
Then he was gone.
When he hadn’t returned by morning, Harper texted Natalia for information. Her immediate response chilled him. “Elijah left Brie at midnight, she’s with us. I’m sorry for you, Harper.”
None of the security team had contact with him. Elijah disconnected from his life and walked away.
Harper begged every being in the universe to bring him back.
* * *
The knock didn’t surprise Brie. She opened it to Elijah and stepped back to let him in. He wouldn’t use the key to do what had to be done. He placed his violin case on her foyer table.
As the door clicked shut, she rested her forehead against it.
“Before you say anything, I know and I understand.” She swallowed hard. “You tried to make me fit. I know you wanted it to work and that you didn’t think it would come to this.”
Turning to him, she took his hand and he gripped her fingers hard. “I knew Harper wouldn’t accept me and I don’t blame him, Elijah. There were a few times I hoped but…”
“I’m sorry, Brie.”
She met his eyes. “He never lied to me. He never pretended. He was honorable. I knew the price and I paid it willingly to…to have the memories.”
Sliding his palm along her neck, he brought her to his chest. “I won’t ever touch another woman, Brie.”
“Don’t…”
“You have my word.” She hugged him hard and stifled her sob. “You’re the only woman I’ve ever loved. The only woman I will ever love.”
Fisting his fingers in her hair, he pulled her head back and kissed her. She held him, shaking apart on the inside, and wished for so many things to be different.
“Once more, Brie. Let me love you.”
Right or wrong, she nodded and he carried her to her bedroom. Removing his own clothes, he took his time removing hers, worshipping revealed skin.
When she was naked, he knelt at her feet and hugged her with his face pressed to her stomach.
Allowing herself the freedom to take everything she could from the last chance she would have, she stroked her fingers through his hair and held him to her.
Laying her down, Elijah kissed and massaged every inch of her body, front and back.
She knew he was memorizing her by touch and the similarities to the last moments she spent with Natalia and Hudson sent her pain to the bone.
When he rolled her to her back and slid deep, she sighed in pleasure. Tears slid silently into her hair but she held his gaze and shared everything she had, all she was, with the only man who’d truly wanted it.
He thrust slowly, steadily as she watched him, touched him, loved him. Strong hands touched as much of her as he could reach and she soaked up his warmth and the love she knew he wanted to give her but understood why he couldn’t.
The first climax rolled over her in a gentle wave and she sighed his name. His arms went around her and held her tight.
Best hugs ever.
Rolling to his back, he held her while she rode him. His thumb smoothed over her clit while his cock hit deep, filling her completely. When she came again, her head dropped back on her shoulders and she prayed she’d survive without him.
He sat up and lifted her from him, gently placing her on her stomach. Entering her from behind, he held her and planted kisses on the side of her face as another orgasm stole her ability to hold back her sob.
On and on Elijah made love to her and Brie somehow loved him more with every touch he gave her to say goodbye.
When she was sheened with sweat and shaking, he held her tight and fucked her hard.
The resulting climax made her scream his name, gripping him tight as he filled her with his come. He never broke eye contact and she whispered, “I’ll always love you, Elijah.”
“I’ll always love you, Brie.” Rubbing his face against hers, he told her, “I’ll play for you.”
She nodded against him and the tears fell faster, harder. He pulled from her body and she wrapped her arms around herself at the loss.
From her bathroom, he brought a washcloth and gently cleaned her as he kissed her face.
Tucking her in snugly, he went to get his violin. As he played the first notes, he murmured, “Let it carry you to sleep, Brie.”
For more than hour, he played for her and she fought sleep to watch him, to hear him. The pleasure he’d given and the emotional upheaval of the day took the choice from her hands.
The last thing she remembered was the image of Elijah playing his violin naked as he sat on the side of her bed. It was the most beautiful sight she’d ever seen.
A beautiful gift from the man who saw her.
* * *
The first rays of sunlight filtered into Brie’s room and she opened her eyes knowing he was gone. Rubbing her heart, she turned her head.
Elijah’s violin rested on the pillow. The combination of the instrument and the note he left on her bedside table made it impossible for her to see to find her phone.
This belongs with the woman I love.
Forgive me, Brie.
Elijah
On her knees, fumbling for it blindly, she managed to dial. It rang once before it was answered. “Please…please, Natalia.”
“I’m coming, darling.”
Moments later, her friends picked her up from her bedroom floor, helped her dress, and held her while her heart shattered.
Chapter Forty-One
Elijah watched Brie fight for a long time and even when he knew she was deeply asleep, he continued to play for her. As the last note faded into silence, he placed the violin on the pillow beside her.
In her studio, he wrote her a note on a piece of heavy parchment and took in art projects she’d been working on before they took her to Washington. There were dozens of quick sketches of him, Harper, and the two of them together.
It was telling that Brie never placed herself in them.
Returning to her bedroom, he wanted to kiss her but he didn’t. If he had to look into her eyes, he’d never have the courage to walk away.
When he realized she continued to cry in her sleep, he backed from the room before he started screaming.
Taking the cash he concealed in his violin case, he descended using the service elevator, ducked under the loading bay door, and walked into the morning pedestrian traffic of Manhattan.
* * *
End-August 2015
Harper thought he would lose his mind with worry.
He’d cancelled every business meeting until further notice and turned every personal resource to locating Elijah. He dialed his last resort and was surprised the man answered his call.
“Hollow.”
“Help me find him. I’ll do anything you want.”
“He doesn’t want to be found, Harper.” There was a pause. “He’s bleeding out internally. Let him stop the hemorrhaging and he’ll resurface.”
“Tell me where the fuck he is!”
“I’m not telling you shit. You never learned to share a goddamn thing. Firstborn, royal heir, protected at the cost of everything and everyone around you. That me first, mine attitude is what got you here.”
Calming his thoughts, he asked, “Is Elijah safe?”
“Yes. He’s the most lethal human on the planet. He’s not likely to get mugged, Harper.”
“You know what I fucking mean.”
The silence drew out. “He’s doing penance.”
Oh, fuck no. “Get him out. Get him
the fuck out!”
“I’m going to need you to calm down. He’s fine and winning every round in under ten seconds.” There was a bitter chuckle on the other end of the line. “Once again, the international champion. Betting against him is just stupid but people continue to do it. I’ll never understand.”
“Get him out or I find him myself.”
“Like you could find it…”
“I don’t have to. I found you. Shall I recite your address?”
“Harper, I swear to god.”
“You get him out. Give him a message from me. I submit, Elijah. You fucking tell him and get him out of there.”
The line went dead and Harper nodded at the security team. “There’s a hard lock. Do we prepare to breach, sir?”
“Are you out of your fucking mind? Elijah trained him.” Turning to the window, he stared out at Manhattan. “Besides, I promised my mother I’d look after him.”
* * *
In all his years of guarding Harper, Elijah had only removed himself from active duty twice willingly.
The first was when he executed his father at seventeen.
As a child, not excelling meant penance. Most of the time, his father delivered it personally.
After he turned ten, he decided to let his son’s skills earn him some cash. He’d take him during breaks from school and bring him back barely standing.
There was a time that the matches were to the death. However, people trained like him weren’t easy to replace. When the betting pool dwindled, it was changed to incapable of continuing.
In all the matches he’d fought here, only one involved a man the underworld now knew as Hollow.
His shock when the boy of eleven was thrown into the ring with him turned to cold-blooded rage when his father smiled smugly from the spectator railing above.
Scaling the pit wall faster than the fight promoters could prevent, he grabbed his father by the back of the neck and power bombed him to the dirt floor twenty feet below. He dropped easily there himself.
To the boy, he growled, “Look away.” With blank eyes, he refused. “So be it.”
Radiance Page 33