by L. J. Dee
I was staring at the TV, watching the presenter talk about the ascension of Heat and Tyler Hunter in particular. He looked incredible. He was beautiful in close up, and on the screen he was absolutely smouldering. He was running his fingers through mussed up hair, looking impossibly sexy with a broad white smile and those mesmerising Hunter eyes. He had the same colouring as Lucas, but their signature expressions were worlds apart. Where a silent gaze from Lucas commanded authority and respect, Tyler’s screamed ‘Look at me’. He was a performer in every sense of the word and I barely noticed the rest of the band.
“You fucking poseur,” Charlie laughed as Tyler grinned broadly and I glanced up at Lucas who hadn’t taken his eyes from the screen and was listening intently to every word of the excitable presenter.
“They’re hyping it up,” he said proudly as Charlie nodded.
“Yeah, and they’re painting you as a real bad ass, Tyler. You’re going to have some fun living up to that reputation,” he grinned as Tyler shook his head.
“I could do with Roman’s help for that. He’s the baddest bastard I know,” Tyler quipped as Charlie’s smile faded, his face darkening instantly and there was no doubt that whatever his missing brother had done, it had affected Charlie most of all.
“Look it’s starting,” I said, trying to relieve the tension, curling under Lucas’s strong arm and resting my hand on his chest as he kissed the top of my head softly. All eyes were focused on a beautiful close up of Tyler’s amazing face, before the camera panned down to sculpted abs, peppered with tattoos and he began to sing ‘Obsession’.
I watched mutely for the entire length of the five minute video, stunned and captivated and barely able to believe that the glorious specimen smouldering on that screen and belting out this incredible track was sitting only feet away. I looked up at Lucas, noticing that he and Charlie were exchanging knowing glances, wondering what the hell that was all about.
Tyler flicked off the TV as soon as it was over. “That was truly incredible. Did you write it?” I asked excitedly as he nodded, a small smirk playing around his mouth as he looked at Lucas. “Where did you get your inspiration?” He started to laugh and Lucas joined him.
“What’s so funny?” Charlie asked, looking at me and then at his brothers.
“Where I got my inspiration,” Tyler replied as Charlie sat back in his chair, shaking his head in bemused puzzlement.
“The song is about a crazy, fucked up, obsessed sociopath – where do you think I got it?” Tyler grinned as Charlie stared at him and then at Lucas, shrugging his shoulders as I watched the situation unfold with increasing curiosity.
“Your ex inspired every word,” Tyler laughed, staring at an open mouthed Charlie.
“Scarlett?” he gasped, disbelieving for a moment until the darkness flashed across his features once again.
“Well at least something good came out of that car crash of a relationship,” he said, sipping his brandy and returning his gaze to the fire.
My ringing phone broke the silence as I pulled it from my pocket and glanced up at Lucas. “Do you mind if I take this?” I asked as he shook his head, looking over my shoulder at the caller display.
“Hey, Chas.” She almost burst my eardrum with the subsequent squeal that came out of her mouth.
“Is he there?” she screeched and I could hear Lucas’s low chuckle. God, she was so loud on the phone.
“Who?” I asked with absolutely no clue what she was talking about.
“Tyler fucking Hunter. Oh my God, I have just watched that video and he is incredible, Jess. ‘Obsessed’ - Tell him from me, I already am,” she gushed as I held the phone closer to my ear in the vain hope that they couldn’t actually hear every word.
“Yes he’s here,” I said quietly, risking a quick glance at Tyler who was staring at the fire again.
“Tell him,” she shouted as I rolled my eyes.
“It’s not really the time, Chas,” I whispered and she was suddenly subdued.
“Oh shit, yeah, sorry. How’s Charlie doing?” she asked and I could hear the change in her voice, knowing she was genuinely concerned.
“As you’d expect. Do you want to speak to him?” I asked, glancing across at Charlie who was looking back at me. ‘Chas’ I mouthed mutely as he nodded. “Yes,” she said as I passed him the phone and his face brightened instantly. He was listening intently to whatever she was saying.
“Will you come to the funeral, Chas?” he asked suddenly as I risked a glance at Lucas who seemed as perplexed with that particular question as I did. There was another long pause until Charlie burst out laughing.
“It’s not an after party, babe, it’s a wake and it’s not really supposed to be fun,” he said as his eyes twinkled with humour. He was shaking his head and even Tyler was staring now. Christ, my sister was insensitive. “Think about it, Chas, because I can’t imagine anyone else who will help me get through that day like you will.”
I raised my eyebrows, looking up at Lucas who looked just as perturbed by the comment as a dark, serious frown shaded his brow.
I knew they’d met up in the city and called each other regularly, but she’d also revealed today that she’d been to his house and I wondered again just how close they actually were. It was certainly closer than Lucas or I had realised. She’d never mentioned a relationship and I felt certain she would have, hoping the conversation would end so I could ask Charlie directly. Instead, he rose from the chair and left the room, closing the door behind him.
“Who is he on the phone with?” Tyler asked as I smiled apologetically. He definitely hadn’t missed the ‘after party’ comment, which was far from empathic and typical Chas.
“My sister and your new biggest fan,” I smiled, but Tyler’s face was serious. “Are her and Charlie an item?” he asked as the door to the room opened and we all looked up to see Charlie smirking and looking between us all, resuming his position by the fire as he threw me my phone.
“No, her and Charlie aren’t,” he laughed, looking significantly happier than he had before.
“We’re just mates, but I really like her. She’s also fucking gorgeous and that never hurts. She makes me laugh, Tyler, and no one else will on that day. It will be hard to get through, and Chas has a way of just making things easier,” he said as I smiled. I knew what he meant. Life was always more fun with Chas around.
Lucas threw a stern glare at Charlie as he put his hands up in mock defence. “I got your warning, loud and clear, Lucas. I want a hook-up and she wants a husband. I’m not going there. We’re just friends, okay?” I realised they must have had a pretty similar conversation to me and my sister, but from the look on Charlie’s face, I wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince the most.
“I’m taking my girlfriend to bed now. There is a lot to sort out tomorrow. I want the funeral scheduled quickly, and there are a lot of people still to inform,” Lucas said.
“Are you inviting Everett?” Charlie asked seriously as Lucas shook his head.
“No, the old man hated him, but I can’t stop him from coming. I wouldn’t be surprised if he brought Scarlett as well, so be prepared for that, Charlie.” My mind whirled with a dozen questions, all of which faded into insignificance as he hit me with the most dazzling gaze. Lucas Hunter had just called me his girlfriend, and it was the first time I had ever heard him say it out loud. He smiled at me and I wondered if he thought he might get some argument about it. He wouldn’t today, even if I hadn’t decided yet, which I had. Knowing Lucas, his timing was probably deliberate.
He led me to the bedroom, grasping my hand tightly and keeping me close. In the light of what had happened today, I didn’t want to bring up last night. But equally, I needed the reassurance that I’d been right to trust him before I made this monumental leap of faith and put all our hearts on the line.
“Can I ask you something about last night, Lucas?” I smiled as he held my gaze, nodding gently. “Why did you want the list?” I asked as he frowned slig
htly.
“Nothing gets by you, does it, princess?” he smiled, pulling me into his arms and holding me tightly. “I destroyed it. That man is gone,” he said simply as my heart soared and I nodded, smiling up at him.
He pulled away, stroking his finger gently down my cheek before he disappeared into the bathroom, looking all of a sudden quite pensive. I knew today had taken its toll on him. I began to unpack my bag, glancing around and marvelling at the luxury of the huge bedroom. The whole house was impeccably designed and the epitome of luxury and elegance. The room was a blend of creams and gold, huge thick flock curtains finished with gilt coloured tassels, and a hand carved bed in rich deep mahogany that I was looking forward to sinking into. I tried to tear my thoughts away from imagining Lucas gloriously naked in there, remembering I was here to offer support.
I stripped, pulling on my soft silk negligee and retrieving the card that Dexter had made, handing it to him as he padded across the plush, thick carpet, dressed only in his boxer shorts as he smiled softly. “When did he make this?” he asked as I smiled up at him.
“As soon as we got back from the presentation while I was getting our things together. He was really sad for you, Lucas,” I said as he smiled gently, reading the inside of the card. “He didn’t stay sad when he saw what you did for him, though. That room is incredible. He was speechless, we both were. Thank you, it means so much,” I said as he cupped my face gently in his hands.
“I thought you could stay at my place more,” he said with an undeniable hint of hope in his voice as I nodded quickly.
“I’d love to,” I grinned as his smile broadened.
“I had a really good time doing it, Jess.” He pulled me hard against his solid, muscular body and I could feel his heart pounding quickly beneath olive skin.
I pushed up on my tiptoes, kissing those soft, firm lips, knowing that tonight I would tell him how I truly felt. There would be no more holding back. I prayed that my words would ease some of the troubles clouding those incredible eyes. He would know he was supported and I loved him with everything I had. Lucas was a part of me now, a solid fixture that strengthened my fragile heart, and he’d been there long before I’d even realised it myself. He was there for everyone else, and I was there for him, an emotional support through torrid times and I’d love him as much as he’d let me.
I pulled away, smiling gently and awash with emotion as I made my way silently to the bathroom. I needed a moment to gather my thoughts. Tonight I would be strong for myself, and even stronger for Lucas.
CHAPTER 35
LUCAS
The pain in my chest was crushing and I still couldn’t believe he was gone. From my very first memory the man had seemed indestructible, strong and forceful with a will of iron and an unswerving loyalty to the family he loved.
He’d been firm, there was no doubt about that, but he’d always been fair and a constant source of good advice whether I acted on it or not. I could do with some now. I hadn’t spoken to him about Jess. I never had the chance and didn’t want to risk it until I was certain of how she felt. He’d have understood, I knew that much. With one smile my mother could melt the heart that looked to the outside world like it was made of stone.
He took what he wanted in life, but he never took my mother for granted. I remember him telling me when I was only a child that men don’t fall in love, they plummet. I was probably four at the time, but it stuck with me. I’d never known what he meant, but I fucking knew now as I paced the floor, listening to her move around the bathroom.
I’d felt it again, the instant I heard the news, that overwhelming need to be in her arms. Hers was the only voice that could soothe away the crushing hurt, my emotions so raw and devastating they consumed me whole, just as they had that day in Hyde Park.
The strength of feeling then had been as surprising as the events of the day itself, hitting me harder than I’d ever thought possible. Seeing her that way had crucified me, and I knew I had to protect her with everything I had. If someone was out to hurt her or her son, they would have to get through me first. When I’d seen him standing there I’d wanted to kill him; squeeze the last breath from his body for what he’d done and only one thing had stopped me. Dexter.
Everything else had paled into insignificance when I saw him standing there, smiling and running to me, calling my name as the old guy looked on in bewilderment. He’d jumped into my arms and the joy I’d felt in that moment electrocuted me in a jolt of realisation that had left me reeling. I loved her; loved them.
I knew what I had to do, but I was here again, lost in that unfamiliar territory of uncertainty and wondering how she’d managed to put me on the back foot. No one else had ever done it, but it was every time with this girl.
I’d wanted her the moment I set eyes on her and tried to trace her straight after that fateful party. My P.I. had been through every name on the staffing rota for Elite Entertainment that night and not come up with a match. I’d kicked myself for not making my move then, but picking up waitresses at parties was more Tyler’s style than mine and how I’d regretted that decision.
It hadn’t even registered when I heard the name Evangelista. The photo I’d seen was of a girl called Chastity and she was a brunette. There was no one that came close to matching the incredible blonde who’d knelt before me with deep chocolate eyes and the face of a fucking angel.
I was pacing around the office on my first day at Capitol, arguing with the lawyers and trying to get rid of the very woman I was paying someone else to look for, and the irony didn’t escape me. I’d almost fallen at the first hurdle when I’d accused her of screwing Turnbull. She’d caused me problems from the first time I laid eyes on her. It was fair to say that Jess had been absolute revelation.
Sexually, she was blissful and sinful, and that I wanted to fuck her hadn’t come as a surprise. When she’d crouched on that decking, her curvy tits almost falling out of that tiny bikini, it was all I could do to keep my cock under control. When she’d agreed to be my submissive, kneeling before me, giving me her trust like some fallen horny angel, I felt like a fucking God. Emotionally though, she was a minefield.
I knew she wasn’t doing it on purpose like so many before her. She wasn’t living by the rules laid out in some women’s magazine, trying to set the ‘man-trap’ or manipulate me into feeling something. I recognised that kind of behaviour immediately, and took great pleasure in thrashing it out of them with a firm hand or the crack of the whip, and that was if they were worth the effort, which mostly they weren’t.
With Jess, everything I thought I knew and controlled had been turned on its head and I hadn’t even seen it coming. She was everything I’d fought against since Roberta. I prided myself on my ability to disassociate; sex without commitment and certainly without the complication of love. My life had been ordered and perfect, or so I thought, the willing submission of a string of beautiful women feeding my need.
I cared, but never too much. I wasn’t sure how she’d done it, but she’d got in; broken down my defences with nothing more than a smile. She’d slain me with her innocent naivety from that very first night, and the need in her eyes she tried so desperately to conceal.
Jess had reversed the roles without even knowing what she’d done. In the bedroom I was her Dom, but outside it, I was on my fucking knees, never knowing what was next.
My little Cinderella who wouldn’t even accept a date. Jesus there’d been times when she wouldn’t even accept a ride. She’d dived out of the car before we reached her door, or left with her sister before the twelfth stroke of midnight, and it had been the most infuriating, frustrating fucking thing I’d ever known. She had no idea of the dinner dates I turned down, but I couldn’t get her to accept one. Almost every woman I’d ever met wanted something. Every sub wanted more or longer. But not her.
Then there had been that disastrous New York trip and I didn’t even want to remind myself of that debacle. When Melody turned up at that airport, for the first ti
me in my life I’d lost control. I had it all planned out, the perfect seduction of Jessica Evangelista and she’d blindsided me again. I’d never needed to punish anyone as badly as I did that day. Knowing I couldn’t drove me half insane.
The club had been a stroke of genius, born of desperation; a simple ploy to get her alone and it had worked like a dream. I knew she wanted me, but I’d never expected her to be so open to the idea of submission and she’d surprised me again. Even at that point, the work thing was an issue for her. She was sticking by her principles and assumed I was doing the same. I wasn’t.
It wasn’t the fifty grand that had stopped me from firing her, it never had been. It was an easy excuse to sit behind, shielding my feelings from Charlie and anyone else who asked me questions about keeping her on my payroll. I didn’t want to fire her because I couldn’t risk losing her, and then she’d asked me to; those seven words that stirred my soul and I was getting hard now just thinking about it.
‘I want you to fire me, Sir’.
I sat on the bed, manoeuvring my stiff cock, remembering how I’d felt when she told me she hadn’t kissed anyone for five years. I was a selfish bastard; I was glad. I wanted to be the first man who kissed her like she deserved to be kissed, and I want to be the last.
I thought when she put her signature on those contracts that I’d hit the jackpot, that I had it all. She’d sent me stratospheric when I screwed her over my desk, only to blindside me again before the fucking ink was dry. When I found out the real reason she refused to go on a date I was reeling.
I’d been furious at first. I hated lies and being kept in the dark, Roberta had made a fool of me, and I was determined it would never happen again. As I realised what she’d been through, I knew this wasn’t about me and when she sat in my apartment, trying to explain herself, it all made sense.