by Mary Nixon
What made me cringe was the woman beside him. She was tall with a model like body. She rocked a killer grey dress that was sheer except for some cleverly concealed places. It had a killer slit on the side that ran up to high and showed her long tanned legs. Her jewellery was exquisite almost as good as mine. She had her hand wrapped around Tony's arm and the smile she wore was as killer as Tony's. Her hair seemed to flow each time she turned and those silver eyes could start fires just by one gaze.
Every man was looking and so was the duke up until I elbowed him.
"Whose that?" I asked the all knowing duke.
"I don't know my ruby princess. I don't know."
Tony must
know her. They looked all cuddly together.
Yuck!
An old jealousy awoke in me and I wanted to Jamesh up to them and separate them.
I hated how Tony laughed with her like they had known each other forever.
"Let's sit Bianca, you're starting to frown."
I barely heard him as Tony and I locked gazes for a second or two before he gave her his full attention.
The duke led me to our table and we sat. Jacob's name tag had been switched up with Tony's and I froze. I spotted Jacob looking my way from two tables away and he just smiled.
This would be a bloody long night!
Tony and his gorgeous date joined us and I watched as Tony pulled out a seat for her. She looked glorious and regal. She was perfect. When her silver eyes settled on me I felt like I was looking into Tony's eyes. She had that mysterious and dangerous look that Tony and Wayne Bellingerre had.
Who was this woman?
I couldn't get that question out of my mind.
"Your Highness, Bianca. I trust you are enjoying your evening?" Tony asked so casually as his eyes settled on me.
"We are. Thank you for asking." Pierre was quick to answer.
"Meet Cheryl. Cheryl meet Bianca and Pierre Deveraux."
She smiled brilliantly.
"Pleasure." She said in a deep husky voice.
The sultry look in her eyes was enough to make any man beg for her attention. She was intimidating in a dangerous way and had an arresting presence much like Tony. She and Tony would make the best power
couple.
Were they a couple?
She made me feel small in her presence even without saying a word to me.
Tony settled down beside his date after the name introduction. It was not enough.
Who is she?
That question lingered in my mind as the gala carried on. Awards were handed out and even Tony received his. Jacob bagged business man of the year for the third year running. Pierre received an award for most stable business.
Afterwards we gathered for cocktail drinks as some more introductions were made. That is when I caught Cheryl gazing at me. The gaze was far from innocent but it was not spiteful. I couldn't read this woman just like I couldn't read Tony.
Who was she?
As soon as Bruce led her away for a dance, I made my way towards Tony. Pierre was busy talking to other business men.
As soon as Tony saw me, he walked my way meeting me half way.
"Bianca you look ravishing tonight."
"Congratulations for your award tonight." I said as he kissed my cheek.
He smiled and glanced at Cheryl before focusing on me. If she was Tony's new girl, he had very high standards. His bar was set too high.
"Thank you love."
"Who is she?" I asked Tony.
He glanced at her again and she winked at him making me even more uneasy.
"Cheryl. I know where this is going love. But didn't we agree that we are now platonic friends? That who each of us chooses to be seen with is none of the other one's business?"
I recalled that crapy deal and regretted agreeing to it.
Tony was replacing me...he already replaced me... with that drop dead gorgeous diva!
I felt offended. How was I supposed to compete with a woman like Cheryl?
But before I could utter another word, the duke came up to me and took my hand.
"Excuse us James Lyons but Bianca and I have a dinner to get to." He stated.
A dark look flashed in Tony's eyes but it faded as fast as it appeared.
"Don't let me get in the way. Enjoy your night."He said and walked away.
Why wasn't he annoyed about me leaving with Pierre? Why was he so passive? Had he really cut the rope and let me go? Was this Tony moving on?
I hated it! I missed my jealous and over possessive Tony.
Once we were in the car, I kept frowning at the thought of Tony and that woman he was with.
"Are you okay Bianca?" The duke asked.
"Yes I am but I just lost my appetite." I announced and he sighed.
"No problem. How about a drink at my penthouse suite then?"
I just nodded so that he could leave me to my thoughts. I had to get that bloody woman away from Tony. She made him so passive and abnormally calm. She was a threat.
Pierre's penthouse was perfect. It was large much like the one Jacobolas Bale owned in Manhattan. He offered me some wine which I downed in a second and demanded another. He kept them coming as per my demand. I was hoping to erase the image of Cheryl from my mind but the more I recalled her husky voice and her goddess like beauty, jealousy surged through me.
Pierre kissed my cheek and moved down to my neck. His hand trailed down my bare back until he cupped my bum. I gasped and almost dropped my glass of wine.
"Relax my dear." He said.
Relax... his kisses felt so good.
I hadn't been with a single man since Tony. I had missed this contact.
Would it hurt to give in if he was going to make me forget all my misery even if it was just for the night?
Didn't Tony have Cheryl?
He worked my dress and it fell down to my feet exposing my body to him.
"James Lyons was a fool to let a beauty such as yourself to slip through his fingers. I love what I see." He said as he lifted me into his arms and carried me towards his bedroom.
I agreed and allowed myself to be thoroughly loved by the seductive French duke.
=================
Chapter twenty two: Siblings.
A week slipped by and the word in town was that the Duke was my new catch. After we mad love he had been calling and texting a lot. I liked the attention but I preferred Tony's attention. I was glad he was leaving for France tonight.
Meanwhile Cheryl was still with Tony each time a picture of them leaked. I had decided to stalk Tony and find out who the bloody annoying woman was.
I was parked outside Bellingerre Consolidate waiting for Tony to leave. He had cut off communication and was not texting me back. I saw his Rolce Royce emerging from basement parking accompanied by a black Land Rover which I imagined to be his security detail following.
I followed at a distance until he pulled up in front of a popular hotel. He walked in as his car left. It was late in the evening but I was determined to know what he was up to. An hour later he came out with Cheryl following behind him. I gripped my steering wheel angrily.
I swallowed bitterly and banged my fist on my steering wheel. After he left, I followed to one of the most expensive streets in London. This street housed nobility!
He disappeared through a tall gate with iron bars. The wording at the top of the gate made it obvious that this was his home.
"Bellingerre Manor." I read out loud.
So this is where Tony lived. He lived like a King.
***
Sleepless nights were bad enough.
Sleepless nights with bad moods were worse.
I was in my new shop sorting through documents and orders. Afterwards I grabbed a sharp pen knife and began cutting thorns off some roses with my assistant. I had retained her from her previous employer.
Her name was Kerry.
We made small talk about the weather and our work when the front door bell rang. A custom
er had just entered the shop. Kerry left me to check and I continued trimming the roses.
"Bea Bianca." I turned and saw an all too familiar face.
Cheryl.
She looked classy in a red knee length coat and knee high boots.
Her mysterious silver eyes settled on my knife and I hoped she knew what I was thinking.
I wanted to cut her pretty neck.
Where was this aggression coming from?
"Put that away love." She said pointing to the knife.
Love...
Did she just call me love like Tony did?
I placed it down and gazed at her spitefully.
"Calm down love. I'm not here to fight. I just want to talk and properly introduce myself s that we are clear on where I stand with Tony."
"Where do you stand with Tony?"
She approached me and cornered me against the wall in between her hands. She was slightly taller than me. She closed the distance between us and leaned close to my ear.
"You are a hot thing aren't you!" She said.
I felt uncomfortable but she went on. Her proximity was intimidating.
"Bea Bianca, my name is Cheryl." She said as she moved away from me.
I released a sigh and she turned to face me.
"Cheryl Bellingerre." She concluded.
My eyes widened.
"What?" I asked. "Are you Tony's wife?"
I had to just tell her what I was
thinking. The sooner we got it out of the way the better.
She laughed out loud and even her laughter was graceful. She walked over to a bouquet of yellow peonies.
"No love I'm not. In another life, maybe but I am only his sister."
Sister... sibling. They are siblings! That explains the bloody resemblance and that look they had in common.
I turned red at how I had jumped to a million conclusions.
"You are his sister, that's all?" I asked.
"Yes love. That's all there is to it. We are very close so sometimes if you aren't aware you can mistake us for a couple like you did on the night of the gala."
I frowned and rubbed my temple. Tony had never mentioned he had a sister.
"I heard about the boys. I'm sure they would have been a replica of Tony. I'm sorry for the loss love."
My heart constricted.
Tony had told her about the boys? How much did he tell her?
She approached me again and ran her finger down my face.
"You are beautiful." She said. "If I played both sides, I would fight Tony to have you. Good thing I'm straight... maybe... although sometimes I stray a little." She said as she whispered in my ear. "Just a little."
A jolt of electricity surged through me as she literally kissed me. She kissed me right on the lips and it was not a peck, it was a full kiss.
I got kissed by a girl!
Strangely it felt good. Almost like Tony. Bloody hell what was wrong
with me?
She laughed a little moving away and raising her hands. I was as red as a tomato as I felt my lips with my fingers.
Tony's sister had just kissed me.
"I'm not that conservative love... I'm liberal. Don't be scared, Tony would be jealous if I touched you any further."
Any further? She could go further? How far?
"How far?" I asked.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.
"All the way love. All the way to bog O."
I swallowed hard as she smiled at me.
"Got to go love."
She waved and walked out.
I released a breath I had been holding. That was one hell of a woman.
My phone buzzed soon after and it was Tony.
Tony: Good morning love, has Cheryl cleared the discrepancy you had?
Me: She's your sister?
Tony: Yes. I hoped you saw the resemblance.
I did but I was too jealous to accept it.
Me: I think she was hitting on me.
Tony: She's like that love. She loves everybody. Especially pretty girls.
Was she bisexual?
Me: She scares me. Good looks run in your family.
Tony: She scares me sometimes as well. She's a wild card. Don't let her affect you love, she is just a female version of me. Good looks? I wonder if we had a daughter, what would she look like? If
she looks like Cheryl we will have to lock her up to keep the boys away. How have you been?
The thought of a baby with Tony warmed me.
Me: Spying on you and Cheryl. Having a daughter with you would be exciting.
Tony: Especially if she had your green eyes love.
Me: And your dark hair and killer smile.
Tony: I want to try again.
Me: Try what?
Tony: To try and have another baby Bianca... I want to try it with you.
I almost dropped my phone.
***
James Lyons's POV
I studied my father's reaction as he examined his only daughter. He cupped her gorgeous face in his wrinkled hands and looked at me.
"Where have you been hiding Cheryl?" He asked.
"That is for me to know and you to find out daddy." She said as she kissed my father's cheek.
I glanced at my phone and noticed Bianca had not offered me a reply.
"You are still a wild little fire cracker aren't you?" My father asked his daughter. "I thought as the years progressed you would calm down."
"Then you clearly don't know me daddy." She said as she sat on my father's lap.
"Perhaps a husband would tame you." My father suggested.
"No man can contain me." She said with a warning look in her silver eyes that could turn hot and cold quickly.
"Jacobolas Bale almost tamed you."
I recalled Jacob's whirlwind romance with Cheryl. It had been epic... Jacob had a kind of criteria for his women. He liked them intelligent, tall, mysterious and dangerous. He had a thing for a woman that
challenged him. Cheryl was his project. The two of them were intense. Jacob liked her enough to want to own her but then she turned him down when he proposed.
Cheryl like Cole feared commitment. She preferred casual sexual flings with no strings attached. She, Brianne De Latour and Coleen Harrington were cut from the same cloth. Jacob's poison was Cheryl and after she got disinherited and banished by my father for turning down Jacob, Coleen became Jacob's new poison.
I wonder if Cheryl knew that Jacob has been banging Coleen.
"Almost daddy. I saw it coming and I walked. I will never be pinned down."
My father scoffed and looked at me.
He had hoped to unite Cheryl and Jacob in an effort to bring together two very wealthy and powerful families. Merging Bellingerre Consolidate, Bale Industries and Berlotelli Winery and Vineyard would have been epic. Cheryl ruined his plans by refusing Jacob's marriage proposal.
He had been so angered about it that he gave her an ultimatum to marry Jacob or leave. She chose to leave. That is how much my sister would never commit.
"What about Cole Harrington?" My father asked as he stroked Cheryl's long dark hair.
"He's too nice... I love bad boys like Tony and Jacob. If he wasn't my brother I would marry him." She said as she winked at me.
I winked back and our father just laughed.
"You two were made for each other."
I just smiled and walked away allowing the two to catch up. I needed to talk to Bianca since she was not calling me back. I got into my Rolce Royce and instructed Simon to take me to her.
I got
to her place and texted her.
Me: I'm down stairs, can I come up?
I waited patiently in my car and a few minutes went by.
"Sir, are we at the right place?" Simon asked.
"Yes. Why do you ask?" I responded.
"You are just sited in the car sir."
"I'm waiting for Bianca to invite me up."
"Since when did you need an invitati
on sir?" Simon asked.
He was a blunt man, speaking his mind whenever I give him leeway.
"Since I decided to be a better man Simon."
Bianca: Okay you can come up.
"I will call you when I'm ready to leave. Head back home for now."
"Yes sir. Have a jolly evening." Simon said as he drove off once I was out of the car.
I made my way upstairs and found Bianca waiting by the door. She smiled at me and allowed me in.
"Love, did I offend you?" I asked her.
"No Tony, I'm just not sure you trust me enough to get me pregnant again. I'm sorry but I don't think you meant what you said." She said to me with a straight face.
I meant it but I couldn't blame her for feeling reluctant. I decided not to push anymore.
I sat down on the couch and stretched my legs as she joined me.
"Can I make you some dinner?" She asked.
I hadn't eaten.
"Since when did you start cooking love?"
"I have picked up a few skills in the last two years Tony. I took cooking classes."
"Really? Why? I could have hired
a chef for you."
She just smiled and took my hand.
"I think it's good if a woman can cook for her man."
Her statement made me stir... she just referred to me as her man. Bianca had been very passive and I wished she could tell me that she wants me as much as I want her.
Would it hurt to ask her straight up?
"Love, am I your man?"
She turned a little red and released my hand.
"Tony, you are my man and will always be my man. I got so jealous when I saw you with Cheryl. I thought you had replaced me already."
"I would never replace you love. Can I ask you something?"
She nodded.
"Do you want us to start over love? Will you be my girlfriend?"
She beamed at me.
"Yes Tony! I would love to!" She said cheerfully.
I moved towards her and I crushed my lips on hers kissing her like it was our first time. It felt so good... so heavenly... so right. We kept at it for a while taking a few seconds to catch our breaths. My hands wandered feeling her most intimate parts but I kept reminding myself that sex was not an option. I didn't want to rush things. I would take it slow with her.
When her hand wondered to my belt I caught her hand.
"No love, not tonight. I want us to take our time and do this properly. I love you."