by Rose, Louise
I don’t think I will be able to come again tonight. I’m wrong. I feel myself building towards another orgasm, even more overwhelming than the first. Romy moves his hand to grip my hips as his movements become more frantic.
I come before him, but he quickly follows, collapsing on top of me as he finally finds his release.
We stay where we are for a moment, his weight on top of me a comfort.
There’s a knock at the door.
“Romy?”
“Shit! It’s the nurse!” hisses Romy, pulling out of me. “Quick-–hide in the bathroom.”
Trying to stifle our giggles, we hurry around, scooping discarded clothes off the floor before I run into the bathroom and Romy pulls on a robe. I listen at the door as he lets the nurse in.
“Are you okay?” I hear her say. “You look a little flushed.”
“Err… yeah,” Romy replies. “I was asleep, and I fell out of bed when I heard you knock.”
“Oh dear. You haven’t hurt yourself, have you?”
Careful not to make any noise, I get dressed as the nurse guides Romy back to bed to check him over. When she is satisfied, she leaves him, promising to be back in another few hours.
“That was close,” I say when Romy opens the bathroom door. “Do you think she suspected?”
“Possibly.” Romy shrugs. “But staff here know to be discrete. As long as my health doesn’t suffer it’s not a problem if I have a girl visiting me for a little TLC.”
“I think we both had some TLC,” I say. “I know I certainly needed that.”
“Good. I’m glad I was able to help you feel better.” He smiles sadly. “I meant it, you know. I fully intend to find a way to save you from your father and your husband. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but I’ll figure something out. One way or another, I’m going to set you free because I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I admit, knowing this is the first time I’ve really said it to him. His eyes widen before he kisses me and we both know whatever happens, we are going to fight for each other.
Chapter Fifty
The skies are getting lighter in the east as I finally climb back through the window to the rooms I share with Lucas.
“Ivy!” He rushes over to help me into the room. “I thought you were gone for good. I was trying to figure out what I was going to say to your father to explain your disappearance. I think he would have killed me-–and that’s not a figure of speech.”
“Sorry, Lucas. I didn’t mean to worry you.” As I say it, I realise it was true. I thought I didn’t care about Lucas and while it’s true I don’t feel about him the way I feel about Romy, Archer, and Declan, I certainly don’t want anything bad to happen to him. He’s been nothing but nice to me.
“How was Romy? I shouldn’t have hit him that hard. I fucked up.”
I blush. “How did you know I went to see him?”
“I didn’t.” Lucas grins. “I do now though. So, how is he? That bump on the head do any permanent damage?”
“No, he’s going to be fine.” More than fine.
“Good. The last thing this town needs is even more conflict. Maybe now Archer’s got the urge to punch me out of his system we can work together to find a way forward. They’re going to have to accept our marriage sooner or later. I’d like to think we could eventually be friends.”
“Mmm.” I keep my tone noncommittal, but somehow, I can’t see Archer ever being interested in befriending Lucas.
“You know, when I agreed to move to King Town to support your father, I really hoped you’d want to get to know me. I was really looking forward to being a regular teenager for a while, doing things that normal people do. I wanted to compete in the races, go to parties, meet girls, just be normal. I should have known that wouldn’t happen. Like I would ever be that lucky.”
“Sounds like there’s a history there.”
“You could say that.” Lucas laughs bitterly. “My parents died in a car crash when I was three. I don’t remember anything about them, although sometimes when a certain song comes on the radio or I smell a particular perfume I have vague memories of feeling loved and protected. I grew up in foster care.”
“Seriously?” I look at Lucas with a new respect. “I had no idea. I was in the system too. Fun, isn’t it?”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Lucas agrees. “You’re part of a family, only not. I always got the impression that I was there under sufferance. The people I stayed with took me to classes with their own children where I got to sit on the side while they had fun. I was only little, but I remember always feeling like I was different, the odd one out.”
“I know that feeling.”
“It all changed when I was eight,” Lucas went on. “That’s when Penelope Donatello walked into my life. She was looking for a boy to adopt and I was exactly what she wanted. I looked like I could have been related to her, so she was able to claim I was her nephew, living with her after the tragic death of her sister. She made it very clear to me that I had to support her lies or I’d be sent straight back to the foster system. I might have been young, but I wasn’t stupid, so I went along with her story. Whenever people asked me about my mother, I started crying so I wouldn’t have to give out any details that could give away the lie and it wasn’t long before they learned not to ask.
“They weren’t the only ones who learned not to ask questions. Penelope was rich. Very rich. We’re talking houses in Monaco, Bermuda, Nice. I had a private tutor as we travelled the world, staying in one exotic location after another.”
“That sounds idyllic,” I say.
“I know, right?” Lucas shakes his head. “Looks can be deceiving. As you’ve seen yourself, money doesn’t mean anything if the person who has it is evil, and that was Penelope. She was one of the nastiest people I’ve ever met. Maybe one day you’ll see the scars on my back from the beating she gave me because I got a merit in my piano exam. She told me that the Donatellos were known for excellence and if I didn’t get top marks in everything I did, she would leave a mark on my body for every grade I dropped. I’m sure you can imagine what my grades were like after that. It’s why I was able to breeze into the Academy and know that I’d be able to keep up with whatever classes you were in. I’m used to being the best at everything because I had no choice. Penelope had her standards and I wasn’t allowed to let them drop.”
“That’s awful!” I gasp.
“That was my life.” Lucas shrugs. “I was Penelope’s little fashion accessory, the one thing which demonstrated to the world that she was perfect. She couldn’t deal with the fact that she wasn’t capable of having children herself. She hated the idea that for all her ambition and money, she still couldn’t have everything, so she took her resentment out on me. It was like she desperately wanted me but she despised me because I reminded her that not even the great Penelope Donatello could conquer Nature.”
“So what happened?” I ask. “Where’s Penelope now?”
“Dead.” Lucas says it without feeling, but I was sure there was a world of conflicting emotions behind that reality. “She died a year ago after a long and painful battle with cancer, another fight she couldn’t win, although she threw everything she had into it. She paid for expensive consultants, alternative therapists, even bought a pharmaceutical cannabis company. If something was supposed to cure cancer, she knew about it, but nothing worked. I always thought that it was her passion for winning that made her live longer than the twelve months the doctors predicted. She spent three years trying to cure herself, but in the end, the cancer took her-–and it wasn’t pleasant. She left everything to me. I have more money than I know what to do with and it’s just as much yours as it is mine.”
“I don’t want your money.” I shake my head.
“I know,” says Lucas sadly. “I know you don’t want anything from me. But I hope that will change in time. What’s mine is yours.” He inhales deeply. “I know you might not believe me, but I wasn’t keen on this wedd
ing either. I don’t need Archaic money.”
“So, why did you go ahead with it?”
“One of the conditions of Penelope’s will was that I marry someone who would help grow the family business,” Lucas says. “If I didn’t, I’d lose everything.”
“So?” I ask. “It’s just money. If it were me, I wouldn’t want anything from someone who’d treated me like that. I tell you something for nothing-–I have absolutely no intention of picking up from where my father leaves off when he dies. I’ll give it all to charity. I don’t care.”
“Don’t you think he knows that?” Lucas asks. “It’s one of the reasons why he approached me to marry you.”
“Why would you care what happens to my father’s fortune?”
“I don’t.” Lucas shrugs. “But I’m not like you. There’s no way I’m going back to the kind of life I had before Penelope adopted me. Money might not buy you happiness but it can certainly rent it for a while. Working with your father, I have the opportunity to build a business which can change the world. When your father asked me if I’d be willing to help him keep you safe from the other Houses and showed me your photo, I had no hesitation. With Penelope’s money and Solomon’s mentorship I can do something which will really make a difference in people’s lives and if that means I have to marry a beautiful woman to do it, I’m okay with that.”
“Even if she’s marrying you against her will?”
Lucas has nothing to say to that.
I don’t know what to make of my new husband. He is such a curious mix of caring and cold. I love the idea of his doing something to help people, but can I believe he really means what he is saying? He could be lying, telling me what he thinks I want to hear to get me to fall for him.
While Lucas is saying all the right things, there is no way I am going to trust him. Not now, and maybe not ever.
Chapter Fifty-One
“Can you do me up, please?”
Lucas comes over to help do up the ballgown Isabella had picked out for me. I wanted to go dress shopping myself, but my father wouldn’t let me. Yet another way he insisted on controlling every little aspect of my life.
Still, Isabella has beautiful taste even if I hate the bitch. The black dress she picked out for me is tight at the waist and flows out into a full skirt, enhancing my figure in an hourglass shape. The corset top pushes my breasts up, giving me impressive cleavage. A delicate lace overlaid on the black silk gives the dress an intriguing look from all sides. It is easily one of the most beautiful dresses I’d ever seen, let alone worn.
She also booked a professional makeup artist and a hairdresser to come and make me look my best for the ball. I prided myself on my makeup skills, but I had to admit that Nola really knew her stuff. Once she is done with me, I look like something out of Vogue. Once Becky finishes teasing my hair into an intricate updo, I can barely recognise myself.
Lucas wolf whistles as I do a little turn for him, showing off my complete look.
“You are stunning,” he tells me. “I’m going to be the envy of every man there. I’m so proud to call you my wife.”
“Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
And he doesn’t. Lucas is wearing the traditional James Bond tuxedo, and it really suits him. Some men are uncomfortable in formalwear, but not Lucas. The suit had been tailored for him and it makes him look sharp. But he isn’t them.
“Are you ready, m’lady?” Lucas does a little bow, offering me his arm with a cheeky smile. I take it and let him lead me out of our suite and downstairs to my father’s study, where Isabella is helping him with his cufflinks.
He smiles when he sees us. “Lucas. Ivy. Don’t you look elegant? You are truly doing House Archaic justice.”
“You look pretty good yourself, Solomon,” Lucas answers.
“How many times do I have to tell you, Lucas? Call me Dad.”
“…Dad.” Lucas tightly replies and nods to hide his expression, but I see it.
Isabella finishes with my father’s cufflinks and steps away from him. “There you go, Solomon. I’ll see you at the ball.”
She smiles at us and leaves the study to go get ready for the ball. As my father’s aide, she is entitled to a ticket to one of the most exclusive events of the year and she’d be following us there. Tickets cost upwards of a thousand each, meaning only the wealthiest families in town could afford to go. It is an opportunity to show off your wealth and vie for dominance as you network. While on the surface it is meant to be a purely fun event, a chance to let off some steam and party as a united town, just like everything else that went on here, there was more going on beneath the surface than you’d think.
“Are you two ready?” My father beams, looking between us. The urge to smack him in the face is strong.
“Ready as we’ll ever be,” Lucas replies for me.
“Then let’s hit the road. I have a feeling tonight is going to be wild.”
He claps his hands and rubs them together before leading the way out to a massive stretch limo waiting outside for us. The driver opens the door and my father gestures for me to go in before him.
I step inside to be greeted by a bottle of champagne cooling in an ice bucket. There are seats lining three sides of the limo, across the back and down both sides. I sit down on the opposite side of the door. Lucas enters and sits next to me, while my father takes the rear seat, stretching out to take up as much space as possible. I knew he’d do it, which is why I left the space empty for him.
“Who’s for a drink?” My father doesn’t wait for our replies as he picks up the bottle of champagne. The cork pops and a little alcohol fizzes over the lip of the bottle before my father fills three flutes with champagne. He hands them out to us and holds his up in a toast.
“To House Archaic,” he says.
“House Archaic,” Lucas and I echo.
The limo driver starts the engine and pulls out smoothly as we all sip champagne, that smug smile of my father’s never leaving his face.
I sit in silence during the drive across town to the hall where the ball is being held. This is one of the rare occasions where an event is held on neutral territory, in this instance a large club which has been commandeered for the night. It is one of the few places which is large enough to hold everyone, with a big dance floor and private rooms for the more expensive ticket holders. Naturally, my father has paid for one of these and when we arrive, we head straight up to our room for the night.
A number of my father’s bodyguards are already there waiting for us. This night might be one of the most hotly anticipated of the year, but it’s also one of the most dangerous.
My father booked the best room available, which has a balcony overlooking the dance floor as well as a more private area which no one can access without going through a number of guards first. As well as the main entrance, which we’d come through, there is a small door at the back which Lucas tells me leads to an escape route out back in case of any trouble.
Lucas and I go out on the balcony. Music is pounding and there are already a number of people dancing. I think I can make out Archer in the crowd, but I can’t be sure from this distance.
“You okay?” Lucas squeezes my hand.
“Yeah.” I smile at him. “It’s just weird being out with my father, you know? I don’t feel like I can really relax until I know what he’s got planned.”
“Why would he have anything planned? Why can’t your father be here for some fun?”
“Because my father’s idea of fun means someone always gets hurt,” I say grimly.
“Don’t be so negative. You never know-–maybe he’s turned over a new leaf.”
“Ha! I wish.”
“Come on. Let’s go dance.” Lucas holds out his hand to me and we head back into our room. Isabella has arrived and her and my father are deep in discussion already. There is no doubt in my mind that they are plotting something. I just wish I knew what.
Lucas caught my father’s attention and made
a gesture to let him know we were going downstairs to dance. My father nods and we leave the room to go down to the dance floor.
We walk into the hall, just as the DJ puts on a slow dance.
“Perfect timing.” Lucas grins as he pulls me onto the dance floor and into his arms.
I close my eyes and rest my head against Lucas’s shoulder as we sway together, knowing there is no way I can escape. This is the first time we’ve danced as a married couple, and it feels weird. We don’t have the same kind of connection I do with Archer, Romy, or Declan, and I don’t know if we ever would. There is no way I could even think of trying with him. I’m not a fool, I see how Lucas looks my way, but he doesn’t know me. He never could.
“Mind if I cut in?”
As if he is able to read my mind, Romy appears next to us, tapping Lucas on the shoulder and my eyes lock onto his.
“Not at all.” Lucas steps away with a tight jaw and Romy takes his place. Lucas walks off in the direction of the bar as Romy pulls me to him.
That’s better.
“Won’t your date mind you dancing with me?” I ask as we move in perfect synchronicity.
“Who says I have a date?”
I laugh. “Come on, Romeo. It’s you we’re talking about here. You’ve always got a woman on your arm.”
“Not tonight.” He shakes his head. “How could I be here with someone else when I’d be thinking about you.”
“For real?” I laugh again, nervously this time.
“For real.” Romy gazes at me intently. “Ivy, ever since I met you, you’ve changed me. I haven’t wanted to be with anyone else. I haven’t even kissed another girl, let alone anything more. If I can’t be with you, I don’t want to be with anyone.”