Unmatched Love

by Mary Nixon

  "What?"

  "Ten

  years ago I was more than willing to be part of this bloody company. But you treated me like shit. Now that I have my own company, you want me back. What about golden boy? Your favorite son?

  "I must admit that seeing you this successful has made me realize I chose the wrong successor. I should have picked you Lyons, not Reinaldo."

  His honesty surprised me but I tried not to look excited. I've always yearned for his approval. As much as we didn't get along, he was still my father and like any other son, I wanted his approval.

  "I'll make you a deal." He said more softly. "Take up the company and I get off your back completely."

  "Better deal, I'll take up the company if you step down entirely. Neither you or Rei will have a say in anything I do."

  His face grew even paler. It was unlike the old man to surrender control. The need to control everything was part of his anatomy.

  "Lyons, you know I can't do that." He declined.

  "Fine. Think about how much you need me to captain your sinking ship and let me know what you decide. Cheerio!"

  I left him in thought.

  It was either my way or no way at all.

  Bianca's POV

  I couldn't bring myself to believe that I was officially James Lyons's girlfriend.

  I had said yes.

  Why?

  I

  wanted to badly believe I had been caught up in the moment.

  But was that really it?

  No.

  Something drew me to that man. Something strong that I couldn't fight. The way he controlled me and I followed senselessly... It was all strange but I still was his...

  I was his...

  "How was it?"

  I suddenly turned and saw Lola staring at my hand.

  I had obviously been holding the golden key to the key hole for a while. I pushed it in and turned the lock.

  "Great." I told her.

  "That's all you're telling me?" She asked as she invited herself into the house.

  When I made my way in, I noticed the once empty house Tony had gifted me was fully furnished.

  It was perfect.

  "Wow Bianca! Looks like you landed a gold mine."

  "That's not why I'm with him. It's not for the money."

  "So you're together?

  Is it for the power? Social media presence? Popularity? Influence? Because we both know its not love. So what is it Bianca?"

  At that moment I hated Lola more than I ever have. She was obviously looking for gossip to disseminate to magazines. She was not being a sincere friend.

  "He told me he's in love with me." I told her.

  I was testing her.

  Her eyes flashed with a familiar green monster but she shrugged it off.

  "I'm so happy for you!"

  More like she could run me over with a bloody lorry if she had one.

  "Thank you. Now if you don't mind, I'm exhausted and I would like to sleep." I infirmed her.

  She sat down on the sofa instead of taking tgd hint and leaving.

  "Will you be quoting your modelling career?" She pried further.

  She was wearing me out.

  "Are you a bloody reporter? Why are you asking so many questions? What happens between James Lyons and I us none of your bloody business!" I snapped.

  I was hot tempered honestly speaking. I flared up faster than a wild fire in the summer.

  Lola's eyes widened at my outburst and she stood up picking her bag.

  "I thought we were friends. But I guess now that you have your wealthy prince, you think you can damn us all to hell. Well let's just see how long your life with James Lyons will last."

  And there she was, the real her.

  "Are you threatening me?" I asked her.

  "Just remember, you and I gave history. I know you like the back of my hand and I can destroy you if I please. I will make sure you don't have a future with the billionaire."

  She flipped her long black hair and left the house.

  I sat down on the sofa facing the backside garden. It was a cold autumn afternoon. But the cold was just not on the outside but inside as well. Back stabbing 'friends', a dark past, my own inability to figure out why I had said yes to Tony... It was cold inside.

  My phone startled me out of my miserable thoughts and I was glad for the distraction.

  Tony: Dinner tonight?

  Wasn't he tired of being together all the time?

  Before I could text back, a phone call came through.

  "Good evening Arra?"

  "How was the island? Any progress with the billionaire?"

  Arra has been hustling me to use James Lyons's influence, popularity and connections to get ahead in my career. As much as it would be great, I wasn't going to use Tony like that.

  "Fine. What do you need?" I asked.

  "I need you in Prague by tomorrow morning. I got you a runway show. Plus a famous designer would like to make you the face of her label. I'm sending you details on the flight and hotel booking."

  "I can't." I told her as I thought of dinner with James Lyons.

  "Bianca, is he trying to domesticate you? You can't be the stay at home. I want your ass in Prague tomorrow morning."

  The line went dead before I could respond.

  "Prague or dinner with Tony?" I wondered.

  "Dinner with me."

  I smiled at the sound of his voice.

  "Tony. I didn't expect to see you this soon."

  "Why not?" He asked as he shed off his coat and walked towards me.

  He looked stressed out.

  "Because this is my house. Who gave you a key?"

  My hands were settled on his shoulders. He smiled slightly but it faded soon after. He mapped my face with his fingers and finally focused on my lips.

  He dropped his head and suffocated me with a breathtaking kiss. It was deep, slow and tantalizing.

  My toes were curling in my shoes and my hands feeling his firm chest.

  He broke away slowly and gazed at me.

  "I have my own key. Don't go to Prague. Stay with me tonight."

  His words were hypnotizing me to stay.

  "I have to work Tony. I can't stop just because I'm dating a billionaire."

  "Stay with me tonight." He insisted.

  "Tony-"

  Another slow breath taking kiss followed. It was a little more demanding with his fingers digging deep into my waist.

  He was drowning my senses and muffling my thoughts. All I could feel at that moment was deep lust.

  I wanted him.

  "Stay tonight, let me make sweet love to you " He whispered seductively.

  Sweet love...

  =================

  Chapter eight: My last breath

  "At least I'm here." I told Arra but she still wore that ruthless face she had on earlier

  She was a scary middle aged woman who could make the most confident person uneasy in their own skin.

  "You're six hours late. Were playing house with your boyfriend?"

  More like he was popping my cherry all night long.

  "When I agreed to take you on, I made it clear that I expected you to work hard. James Lyons is a billionaire. He has already made it. He is a successful business man. You are a twenty one year old model with a long way to go. So remove your head from the clouds and come down to earth."

  Arra could definitely make a point clear.

  "I'm sorry. I'll get right to it." I told her.

  I wandered off into the changing rooms knowing the show was a minute away from starting. I got strange looks from the other models. It was not a secret that I was dating one of the most eligible bachelors alive.

  I ignored them and stripped down picking out a red gown assigned to me.

  There was still some soreness in my tight spot. I felt it when I walked and my back felt cramped after he had bent me in ways I couldn't have imagined possible.

  It had been painful at entry but
as soon as he soothed me into getting comfortable, it became sweeter.

  He had kept his promise.

  He had drowned me in

  passion and had gotten me drunk on ecstasy.

  He had taken me three times that night and it got sweeter each time he did it.

  The climaxes only got more powerful each time and when we were done, my legs had grown numb after the endless wild mind blowing sensations he had given me.

  I wanted more but first, I had to get my head out of the clouds and work.

  *

  I was usually hyped after runway shows. My friends and I would go clubbing and get drunk. But this time round I wasn't in the mood to party. Perhaps it was because I didn't know most of the girls I was working with.

  According to Arra, I was in a new league thanks to my sudden popularity because of being personally linked to a successful oil baron.

  I hated that my work status had improved just because of Tony and not my own efforts.

  Most of the girls had been mean talking behind my back and going dead quiet when I was in range. It was painful but then again, words are just that; words.

  I didn't let it affect me.

  But I was still a little downhearted. I hated to admit it to myself but I was missing James Lyons.

  I kept swirling the cocktail in my glass as I caught a glance of the bartender throwing me

  suggestive looks.

  I smiled slightly but it only served as an encouragement because he came closer.

  "Ty."

  "Bea."

  "What is a beautiful girl like you doing alone?" He asked me.

  Lousy pick up line. He might as well have asked me if it hurt when I fell from heaven.

  "I'm not alone." I said casually sipping my cocktail. "He's always watching."

  I would assume James Lyons was possessive enough to keep track of my movement but the bar tender was not convinced. So I scanned the room and spotted a

  man in a black suit drinking a glass of water.

  "You see that guy over there? He's my bodyguard. My boyfriend won't appreciate you talking to me."

  I had told the biggest lie which I imagined would be partly true. Tony would have probably thrown a fit if he knew the bar tender was flirting with me.

  He nodded as his smoke faded and he returned back to work. On any other day, I would have flirted with him but the hold Tony had on me was keeping me in check.

  After finishing my cocktail I tipped him and made my way to my hotel room. I was halfway out of the elevator when I saw a man staring right at me.

  Feeling my stomach knotting at the bad memories I had struggled to suppress thanks to that man, I took a step back into the elevator and continuously pressed a button so that it would close.

  "Come

  on you blasted thing!" I cursed but he was already dashing towards me.

  Before it closed, he used his muscular hands to hold it open.

  "Bea, how rude. Couldn't you hold the elevator?"

  My throat was dry. My heart was pounding so hard I feared it would burst out of my chest. My knees felt almost liquid as I held onto the metal bar for support.

  "You look like you've seen a ghost." He mattered as he pressed a button halting the elevator.

  "Ben, what are you doing here?" I finally managed to speak in a low voice that I barely recognized as my own.

  "You don't call, you don't text. Then I hear you're sleeping with a billionaire. I decided to look for you."

  "Why?"

  He angled his head to the left and his hand found my jaw. He held me firmly and planted a solid kiss on my lips.

  "Because you owe me and I'm here to collect."

  "I don't owe you anything!"

  I slapped his hand away and he slammed me against the cold steel.

  "You wouldn't be who you are without me. I saved you from throwing away your life. I was there when you were nothing and I can easily make you nothing Beatrice."

  Beatrice Brooke.

  My real name. I had parted ways with that name after my dark past.

  "What are you trying you say Ben?"

  "I made you, I can destroy you. All I need to do is

  leak a few secrets and then we'll see if your thriving modelling career will continue. Better yet, what will you billionaire boyfriend think?"

  I swallowed with difficulty at how serious he looked.

  "So what do you want from me?"

  "Come to my room and you'll find out. I'm two doors down from you."

  "If you think you can blackmail me into doing your bidding you prick then you're mistaken. I'm not that scared girl anymore." I countered bravely.

  A deep sardonic laugh filled the stalled elevator as he closed in.

  "Oh Beatrice, I'm not bluffing. I'll end you if you don't meet my demands. You have an hour to come to me or I will leak your secrets to the first reporter I can get my hands on."

  He kissed me again before the elevator opened and he stepped out blowing me a kiss as he disappeared down the hall.

  I wiped my mouth repeatedly as tears stung my eyes.

  I had worked so hard to make it this far. A glimpse into my past would ruin me. Tony would never look at me again and worse yet, I wouldn't be able to land any contracts.

  I stepped out of the elevator and made my way to my room. After soaking myself in the ordinary bathtub compared to the one golden one Tony and I had made love in before I left, I got dressed in a simple dress and flat shoes.

  I would go see the prick and get him off my case no matter the cost.

  As I reached for the door, my phone vibrated.

  "Tony?" I answered.

  I could hear him breathing heavily on the

  other side.

  "Tony?"

  "Bianca, Bianca, its so good to... to hear your voice."

  He sounded strained like something was not right.

  "Tony are you okay?" I asked unable to calm my nerves.

  "I lo-love you."

  "Tony? Are you okay?"

  There was silence on the other end. I could hear the sound of sirens in the background.

  "Tony!" I yelled. "Tony!"

  *

  2 hours earlier

  James Lyons's POV

  A lot was clouding my mind. My father's insistence that I marry Brianne De Latour before assuming my position as CEO. He was even willing to stay away from any company affairs if I married Brianne.

  Then there was Rei. He was constantly jealous about me lately. He had been to my penthouse and had started a fight that I made sure to finish giving him a broken nose.

  Then there was the woman I was crazy about; Bea Bianca.

  The night we had shared had been exhilarating. I loved how soft she felt in my arms, how she moaned my name deeply , how tightly she had clung to me as I made love

  to her three times in one night.

  I usually could go once or twice but with Bianca, I could have gone a dozen times if she allowed it. But she was sore, tired and overwhelmed by the time we were done.

  What annoyed me was her insistence to go to Prague. Why did she feel an urge to work when I could offer her the world?

  Maybe she was just feeling overwhelmed by my presence. But I adored her, couldn't she see that?

  I had been drinking for almost an hour in hopes of blowing up some steam.

  "Are you driving home?" Bruce asked.

  "Yes."

  "That's your sixth bottle. Slow down." He warned.

  "Last time I checked my father is at Bellingerre Manor. Leave me the hell alone." I warned him pointing an empty bottle at him.

  Bruce sighed and glanced at his watch.

  "Got somewhere else to be?" I pried.

  "Yeah."

  Bruce was never one to divulge information. It was either yes or no with him. Maybe it was his time in the Navy. He got used to answering orders with one word answers and he had brought the habit home.

  "I'll call Simon to come get you. Give me his number." He insiste
d.

  I finished up my drink and stood up.

  "I don't need a bloody chauffeur. I'm more than capable of driving my own car."

  I was a heavy weight and it took lot to get me to see doubles. Besides that, I was steady even as I made my way out to the parking lot.

  "Will you be okay?" Bruce asked me.

  I waved

  him away and he grunted and cursed before slipping into his McLaren and speeding off.

  I was making my way to my Agera when I spotted a tall man with a ponytail circling my car. He kept running a finger along the slick white body.

  He raised his eyes to meet mine and for a long moment he just stared. He had a dark look that sent shivers through me and my mind was screaming at me to run but I remained glued to the spot.

  He slowly made his way towards me and stopped a few inches away his eyes dropping to the car keys in my hand.

  "Hand them over."

  "Is this a bloody robbery?" I asked.

  He chuckled slightly and pulled out his pen knife.

  I reached for mine but it was not in my trouser. I had had it at Bianca's place. I must have dropped it there. I cursed silently knowing it was either I hold my fists up or I run.

  As a young boy, I had always been a runner. I never stood around to wait for a fight to start. After I met Jacob, I had learned to hold up my fists. I had learned to finish the fight.

  Tonight, I should have run but instead, I was in a mood to fight. I wanted to feel my fists crushing someone's skull.

  "Hand over the keys."

  "Over my dead body."

  "Be careful what you wish for James Lyons. I can make it happen."

  I suddenly felt something poking at my spine.

  "Move and I'll paralyze you with one shot."

  I sighed in frustration wishing Bruce was here. I was clearly outgunned, outnumbered.

  It would be stupid to fight back.

  But good judgement when I've been provoked was not exactly my strongest

  suit.

  I elbowed the man behind me so hard he fell back before tackling the other one to the ground. Without any hesitation, I punched his face repeatedly trying to get the upper hand when I was yanked from him.

  Two men held me in place as the other man I was punching hit me repeatedly. Some blows got my face, others my ribs and finally I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen.

  The other two men released me as my eyes met my assailant. They were dark swirls of evil. I felt my mouth filling up with blood as he twisted the knife not braking his gaze.