by Dani René
“Yet,” he adds, knowing he has me because my father has agreed to allow Lycan to marry me. “Are you joining me for breakfast, or are you going to your room to sit alone?” Lycan asks so gently I snap my gaze to his, finding in those emerald orbs genuine concern.
“Do you want me to eat with you?” I’m not sure why, but after I voice my query, my heart gallops like a wild horse in a field, enjoying its freedom. But it won’t last long because that stupid muscle that beats wants him to say yes. Even though my mind is convinced he must say no, that I should want him to say no. I don’t.
For a long moment, Lycan watches me, taking in my hair, my face. When his gaze lands on my mouth, his tongue darts out to wet his full lips. “Yes, stay. Perhaps you’ll enjoy my company and realize I’m not as bad as you think,” he tells me as a satisfied grin forms on his perfectly handsome face.
“I doubt that,” I bite out, taunting the wolf while sitting in his den. I must be stupid, but this man brings out the childlike qualities I’ve always had. “What could you possibly tell me to make me change my mind about marrying you?”
“Besides the fact that I saved your life… That would be my brother. And he isn’t a man you want to be caught in the dark with. He’s a hunter. He enjoys making pretty girls his toys.”
My eyes widen in surprise at his confession, but quickly recover before testing, “Just like you?” I realize he could get angry. He could lock me in my room and never let me out, but I can’t find it in myself to sit quietly.
“The women I take are willing accomplices to the pleasures I bestow on their bodies. I didn’t hear you complaining while you drenched my fingers.” Lycan picks up his mug, sipping his coffee as he regards me.
The door behind us opens, and the girl from earlier appears once more, this time with two plates of breakfast, including a mound of delicious-looking scrambled eggs, two rashers of bacon, and what I can only guess is dark rye toast.
Once we’re alone, I look at Lycan before speaking. “I’m a woman. A touch from someone handsome, someone who’s just saved my life is—”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it,” Lycan throws back. “You like the danger,” he tells me with the confidence of someone who’s known me all my life. “There are women out there who crave it, who ache for the need to be taken, owned, to be submissive under a man who knows how to make them feel something.”
“I feel—”
My throat constricts when his eyes land on me, and I can’t find words because I’ve never seen such unadulterated desire like I find in Lycan’s stare. He leans back, his fork dropping on his plate with a loud clatter that echoes in the silence hanging heavily in the room around us.
“Look me in the eye. Tell me honestly that you don’t enjoy the feeling of being helpless,” he requests with a dark undertone to his voice, one that’s gritted in gravel and drenched in desire.
My mouth opens to retort some form of denial, something to tell Lycan Shaw he’s wrong about me, but I can’t. Not because I’m scared, but because he’s right. My stomach twists with the memory of what he did to me, how he touched me while holding me down on the cool surface of the vanity. And every moment of that only confirmed what I already knew—I’m broken.
“You don’t have to be ashamed,” he says before forking eggs into his mouth. His jaw works as he chews, and it’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen. His chiseled face has the makings of a perfect sculpture, and I wonder just how many women have fallen prey to the man who’s sitting at the head of the long table.
“I’m not ashamed about anything,” I tell him. “There are things that aren’t spoken about in my friend circles. In the society I grew up in, sex was something that happened behind closed doors.” It’s true. There weren’t any women who opened up about their personal lives. There were no confessions about husbands and boyfriends who were good or bad in bed and certainly no conversations about their own pleasure.
Even my best friend, as open-minded as she is, is not one for oversharing. Sometimes that’s a good thing, but other times, it’s lonely. Not to have anyone to confide in. So, I kept my secrets to myself.
“That’s the trouble with the old money society,” Lycan says as he breaks through my thoughts. “They’re far too conservative, only to do the darkest, dirtiest things in secret.” A glint of knowing sparkles in his gem-like eyes.
“Oh?” I want to know. Curiosity has always been my downfall, and right now, I want Lycan to tell me just what his desires are, what he’s capable of, but something tells me he won’t.
“I don’t think you’re ready for that conversation, little red,” he chuckles before he continues eating, and I realize the talk is over. I focus on my plate and attempt to enjoy the meal, which is delicious, but the churning in my gut has my thighs squeezing together with memories.
I recall my ex-boyfriend, a good guy for all intents and purposes, but he was also someone who never could understand how my mind worked when it came to sex. I wanted him to grip me harshly, to spank me, to make me cry out, but his sweet nature had made him soft. Nothing wrong with that, I cared about him, but he wasn’t a man who could get me off. After our dates, I would race to my bedroom to grab a vibrator to find pleasure with the dark fantasies that ran through my mind.
And now, I may have found my match, only, he bought me from my father. That’s not how I wanted to meet the man I’m going to marry. I promised him the week, which I can do. There’s no reason I shouldn’t give him a chance to prove his worth.
But I just don’t know if I’ll survive a lifetime.
15
Lycan
When breakfast ended, Scarlett disappeared upstairs. I wanted to confess everything to her. Tell her about my proclivities, and even though I’m certain she’ll be able to handle them, I didn’t. The more I open up to her, the more likely she is to use something against me.
I can’t trust her.
I shouldn’t trust her.
My office door swings open, and Kahn saunters in dressed all in black. His heavy boots thud against the wooden floorboards as he nears my desk. I watch him silently as he slips into the high, wingback chair that faces me.
“Darius is in New York. He’s been meeting with the Capo of the Moretti familia. There’s something odd going on. Why would he be talking to Alex’s cousins?”
That’s a good fucking question. I don’t respond to Kahn; instead, I pick up my mobile and hit dial on Alexei’s number. I’ll get the truth, one way or another.
“What can I do for you, Shaw?” Alex’s thick accent comes across the speaker after one ring.
Leaning back in my chair, I tell him, “My brother and your cousin seem to be buddies. Any reason why?” I’m not afraid of Alex. I’ve known him far too long to fear him, but I wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of him.
“Interesting. I’m not sure.” Papers shuffle on the other side of the line before he speaks again. “Looks like Franco has him running a job down to Miami. I can get the details on it if you’d like.”
“I would. Darius is volatile. I don’t trust him. He may be blood, but he hasn’t been family for a long time.” With the job Kahn’s doing for Alex, looking into the church and convent, I don’t want anything to come between my relationship with the mafia, but I can’t have them working with the one man I don’t trust.
“I understand. Give me an hour. I’ll speak with the cousins and see what is happening on their end. I haven’t been in the Big Apple for long enough to have met with them yet. Perhaps it’s time I pay my familia a visit.” Amusement laces his tone, but I’m too fucking wired to join him.
“Thank you. I’m with Kahn now. I’ll have an update on the convent in your email soon.”
“A pleasure as always,” Alex says before hanging up. My gaze is locked on my right-hand man, needing some form of distraction from my thoughts of breakfast with Scarlett.
“I want to go in, undercover.” Kahn’s deadly serious expression is the only clue that he’s ready t
o kill. Everything else about him seems calm, laid back. If I didn’t know him, I would’ve said he’s sitting with a friend, chatting about drinks tonight or the woman he fucked this morning.
“Give me a couple of days.” I pick up the folder and slide it over to the edge of the desk nearest to him. “The contract is signed. All I need is our little princess to agree, put her signature on the dotted line, and I’ll happily have you go do anything you need to. But she’s still a flight risk.”
“You think she’ll run?”
“I do. All the way back to grandmother’s house.” The link to an old fairytale isn’t lost on me. This, however, isn’t fiction. This is real life, and Scarlett Bardot now belongs to the big bad wolf.
“I’ll stay in the cottage until you’re ready. The team is waiting on my order,” Kahn informs me as he flicks through the information I got for him. “It seems Lorenzo has taken up residence in the convent. He’s playing the good priest while he uses the women who come to him for help as toys in a much bigger game.”
My blood runs hot through my veins. I can’t imagine what Kahn is going through. His sister was taken when she was sixteen, stolen as she was walking home from school, and we haven’t had a link to finding her for years. But it seems we’ve made a breakthrough.
“I want to be there when you take him down,” I tell him. I’m not someone who has friends, have never been, but if I did call someone a friend, it would be Kahn. “I want to watch as he pays the price for his indiscretions.”
A small, yet sadistic smile curls Kahn’s lips. Fire blazes in his dark eyes as he regards me, excitement painting his expression like the goddamned Joker. He may not have bright green hair or clown makeup on, but there’s something dark in the way his gaze brightens with dangerous intent.
“Of course,” he agrees with a quick nod. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. Unless you’re on your honeymoon by then, enjoying the spoils of a long-awaited victory,” he tells me, leaning his elbows on his knees. “I have to be honest; if you didn’t claim her, I wouldn’t mind taking her just to see the look on her father’s face.”
“I think perhaps I should have her visit Heaven,” I ponder out loud. “Maybe she’ll get a glimpse of what her father is really like. She’ll finally know the truth about just how far he’ll go to get his kicks.” And how far I’ll go to have her bound in my playroom.
“I think that sounds like a brilliant idea.” Kahn pushes to his feet. “I better get going. Have a few things to do before I meet up with some of the guys tonight. I can’t persuade you to join us. Can I?”
I shake my head. As much as I would like to let loose, have a few bourbons before coming home to Scarlett, I think it’s time I showed her what she would be giving up if she walked away. “No. I need to spend time with her, to get her to trust me before the gala.”
“Are you sure taking her there is a good idea?” Kahn’s brows furrow with worry, and I want to say no, I don’t think it’s a good idea, but I can’t keep her away from her grandmother, not forever. Because she needs to learn the truth, and I want it to come from the one person who is guilty of the domino effect that’s plagued both families for years.
“I’ll ensure she behaves.”
He nods before leaving me to think about my plans for tonight. I pick up my mobile and hit dial on another number, one I haven’t called in a very long time. I wait for the rings, counting them when they sound.
Once.
Two.
Three.
“Mr. Shaw,” comes the voice that sends anger scouring through every vein in my body.
“Grace Bardot,” I utter her name, hoping the contempt is clear to her. “Your granddaughter is quite the spitfire,” I tell her. She knows where Scarlett is. She knew the moment I brought her into the house. Horatio would have told Grace about the contract because his mommy always fixes his fuck ups, but this time, she has no way of remedying her son’s mistake.
“She will never marry you. Not because I forbid it, but my granddaughter is not stupid to fall for the likes of you.” Venom laces every word she spews. She’s trying to come across as formidable, but she’s nothing more than a wounded animal trying to throw me off the scent.
“Like you did with my father?” I challenge easily, earning me a gasp in response. I knew she’d tell me I’m bad news, even though she knows I’ve never denied it. The woman is a viper, one that can easily strike, but she has nothing on me. Whereas I know what kind of man her son is, and I can take him down without blinking.
“The past is in the past,” she warns. “But the curse still lies in wait. For years we’ve fought it, and when Conall died, I thought it would die with him.”
“A curse is a way for the elders attempting to stop us from ever loving, but you have no reason to fear. I’m not capable of love.” And it’s true. I may find Scarlett attractive, alluring even, but my heart has been solidified, and nothing will ever change that.
“Don’t ever discount the strength of a family curse.”
Anger takes over as her words ring in my ears. I’ve always wanted the truth, wanted her to admit what she did. But she never has. In all our altercations in New York, she’s never once allowed me the freedom from pain by revealing the truth. But now that I have her on the phone, just us, I ask, “Is that what you told my father when you had him killed?”
The silence on the other end of the line is deafening. There’s no denying it, and there’s no admitting it. But one day, and one day soon, I’ll find out the truth.
“Make no mistake, Grace, I will marry your granddaughter. She’ll take my name, and once that’s done, the Bardot line will be nothing more than a distant memory.”
“Scarlett will attend the gala, as planned.” The hint of pain in her voice is unmistakable. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that someone like Grace Bardot, who comes from old money, is filled with far too much pride to ever allow anything to get to her. To break her down. But she knows I’m a formidable match. And I’ll happily step into the ring and fight her to the death.
Not mine.
But hers.
“She will.” I nod to myself. “But if you even think of saying anything about our agreement, there will be consequences. And trust me when I say I always get what I want.”
“You’re just like him, you know,” she tells me, her voice lowering to nothing more than a whisper. “Charming. Handsome. And yet, you’re still trying to prove yourself.”
My chest tightens at her words. The reminder that I lost my father is a steel blade in my chest. I know what was taken from me because I was old enough to know the man who raised me, who taught me everything I know, and then the Bardots took that.
“Don’t ever speak of him,” I sneer, my free hand tightening into a fist at the thought of finding my father’s body, lifeless, blood dripping from fatal wounds. “You have no reason to even think about him. If I could remove him from your mind, I would.”
This time, she offers a sigh before speaking. “I’m sure you’re capable of it, but you wouldn’t hurt the family of the woman you’re about to marry.”
“Is that a challenge, Grace?” I can’t help but chuckle. She knows I won’t back down. And she knows I’m capable of far worse than her mind can even ponder.
“She won’t forgive you.” This is true. There’s no doubt in my mind.
“And I’ll never forgive you.”
16
Scarlett
When a knock comes on my bedroom door at six in the evening, I pad to it and pull it open before I have time to rethink it. On the threshold is Lycan in a pair of dark jeans and a light-blue button-up. The cuffs have been rolled up to his elbows while the top three buttons are undone, offering me a glimpse of smooth, tanned skin.
“Hi.” Those perfectly formed lips curl into a friendly smile before he continues, “I have dinner ready and was wondering if you’d like to join me.”
“Is that an order or an invite?” I test, offering him a
glimpse of a grin before I school my features. He could just pick me up and walk down to the dining room with me, but he doesn’t.
“It’s an invite to join your fiancé for a meal. We’ll sit on the patio. It’s a lovely evening with the fire blazing,” he informs me. “Meet me in fifteen minutes. Choose something pretty from the closet.” He gives me a slight nod before making his way down the hall, leaving me staring at the empty doorway.
Once I shut myself in the bedroom again, I race to the closet to find something to wear. Thankfully, I had time to shower earlier and wash my long, wavy, red hair. The length almost hitting the base of my spine.
Flicking through the hangers, I find simple black pants with a matching long-sleeved, red blouse. It’s as if the whole wardrobe has been designed in outfits rather than items. I dress quickly before adding a dab of pink gloss to my lips. I line my eyes with black kohl and run the brush through my unruly hair.
I’m not sure why I’m nervous, but the flurry of wings in my belly is enough to have me giggling like a teenager about to head on her first date. I wish for a moment I could talk to Aelin and tell her what’s happened. Perhaps tonight I can ask Lycan if I could get my phone. I’m almost certain she’s sent out a search party for me. But then again, she might be partying in the city with enough guys to keep her busy for months.
Once I’ve breathed deeply to calm my nerves, I leave my bedroom and head downstairs to the hall to the dining room, where we spent breakfast together. The meal was tense but seeing Lycan do something so normal was eye-opening.
When I promised to give him a week to allow him to prove he’s not a monster, I didn’t think it would be possible. Yet each interaction with him has been filled with sexual tension rather than animosity. He’s been polite, almost gentlemanly.
But even so, I’m not about to go tripping over myself because he’s nice to me. It doesn’t change the fact that he only has me here because of my father. And that’s also something I need to learn more about. I have to know what’s happened between the two men in my life.