“He just said that so you wouldn’t try to find someone. Or, heaven forbid, that you would find someone from the outside and marry her without our consent. Your father knows you have a rebellious streak, and he knows that when given the choice you’ll always go against his wishes. So he makes sure choices aren’t an option.”
“Does Father already have a woman picked for me?”
“If he does, he hasn’t told me. But I know that he’s looking. If the Seymour girls were older, he’d pick Katherine. She already likes you and her family is a perfect fit, at least in regards to helping Kensington Chemical. Katherine’s father could help us obtain new contracts that would greatly expand the business.”
“Katherine is 15. I’m not marrying a teenager.”
“Which is why she’s not being considered. And Victoria Lissfeld has already been chosen for Royce Sinclair.”
“I would never date Victoria Lissfeld. I can’t stand that woman.”
“There aren’t that many eligible women your age, Pearce. You should really consider giving Sydney a chance. I have her number. You could drop me off at home and give her a call. Perhaps invite her to your loft.”
I can’t believe my mother is telling me to have sex with a woman I just met. I want to tell her about Rachel, but I can’t. If I did, she’d tell my father and he’d have me married off to the first single socialite he could find. He’d make me marry another lesbian, if that’s all that was available. Anything to keep me away from Rachel.
We’re at the house now. I’ve chosen to ignore my mother’s comment about Sydney, but as I’m walking her to the front door she pulls out a business card. “Sydney’s number is on the back. Call her and ask her to dinner. She’s only in town for the week. And don’t tell your father about this. If he knew I was interfering, we’d be fighting for months.”
I take the card and kiss her cheek. “Goodnight, Mother.”
“Goodnight, Pearce.”
I wait until she’s inside, then get back in the car and speed off. I’m completely on edge, knowing my father is actively trying to find me a wife. What if he’s already found someone? This can’t happen. I’m not marrying some woman my father picks. If I’m marrying anyone, I’m marrying Rachel. Maybe I should. I could secretly marry her before I’m forced to marry someone else. It’s not like I haven’t considered proposing to her.
I wonder if Rachel would accept my proposal. We haven’t dated that long, but we love each other and I don’t want to be with anyone but her, so why wait?
What would happen if I married her? What would the organization do? Would they punish me for not following orders? And what would the punishment be?
I need to talk to Jack. It’s past ten, but the man never sleeps so I’m guessing he’s awake right now. I’ll just stop by his house. It’s improper to show up unannounced, especially at this hour, but Jack isn’t one to follow proper social rules so maybe he’ll be okay with it.
When I arrive at his mansion, the security guard calls Jack to see if he’ll allow me inside. He does, and I drive through the gate to the front of the mansion.
Jack greets me at the door wearing a white fencing suit and holding a face mask and a sword.
“Pearce, what a surprise.” He shakes my hand. “Come on in.”
I go inside. “It’s a little late to be fencing, isn’t it?”
He walks down the hall and I follow him. “I don’t live my life by the clock. I do things on my own time schedule.” He goes into a large open room. There’s another man there in a fencing suit. Jack waves him away. “We’re done here.”
The man leaves and Jack goes over to a table and picks up a glass of scotch. The bottle is sitting next to it, half-empty. I don’t know much about fencing, but I’m guessing it’s not good to be getting drunk while shoving a sword at someone or dodging the swords coming at you. But that’s Jack. Unconventional. A risk taker.
“Would you like a drink?” He holds up a glass.
“Actually, yes. I could use a drink.”
He chuckles. “That bad, huh?” He pours it, then hands it to me. “Let’s have a seat.”
We sit down on some chairs set up on the side of the room.
“So what brings you by this evening?” He wipes the sweat off his forehead, then takes a drink.
“I was out with my mother earlier.”
“And how is Eleanor? She’s such a beautiful woman. She should’ve ended up with me instead of your father. I would’ve given her a much better life than Holton.” He crosses his legs and swirls the scotch in his glass.
I almost drop my drink. “What are you saying? You used to date my mother?”
He waves his hand around. “Years ago. I was maybe 25, 26. I can’t remember. When you drink as much as I do, your memory fails. Most people would find that a problem, but not me. I prefer to live in the present, not the past.”
“How long did you date my mother?”
“How the hell should I know? I just told you my memory’s shit.” He stops to think. “Maybe a few months. And despite my memory loss, I do remember a few nights from those months.” He winks. “Your mother was quite the wild one, if you know what I mean.”
I cringe. “Jack, please. I don’t want to know.”
“Yes, I suppose that would make you uncomfortable to think of your mother and me that way. The point is, I would’ve made a much better husband for her than Holton. And your father knows that, which is just another reason why he hates me.”
“Why would he hate you? He married her, so he won.”
Jack huffs. “Bullshit. He didn’t win. He didn’t even have to try. She was chosen for him, and only because her father made some kind of deal with Holton’s father. The members approved it and it was done.”
“Why didn’t your father try to get her?”
“My father didn’t give a flying fuck who I ended up with.” He shrugs, causing some scotch to splash out of his glass. “In the end, it all worked out. Martha’s a good wife and given me two beautiful daughters. She’s just not Eleanor.” He winks again.
“Well, my father still ended up with her, so he has no reason to harbor any ill will toward you.”
“Holton despises me because your mother still has a spark for me. She always has.” He smiles. “In fact, we might’ve had a reunion or two over the years.”
I almost drop my drink again. I came here to talk about Rachel, not get a history of my mother’s past sexual encounters.
“My mother cheated on my father? With you?”
“I’m sure it wasn’t just me. The women are just as bad as the men, Pearce. They cheat just as much as we do. My wife certainly does.”
“My mother doesn’t seem like the type who would do that.”
“Children can never see their parents for who they really are. Anyway, you were saying something about being out with Eleanor.”
“Yes, we went to a dinner party at the Seymour residence and—”
“Is Katherine still begging for your attention?” He laughs. “Is she in high school yet?”
“Yes. To both of your questions. As I was saying, my mother had me attend the dinner with her, but only so she could set me up with Sydney St. James.”
“Ahh, yes. Beautiful woman. I’ve never met her but I’ve seen pictures of her. She went to Princeton, I believe. And she’s around your age. You two are an excellent fit. Eleanor did well choosing her.” He takes a drink.
I set down my glass. “I’m not interested in Sydney.”
“Why the hell not? She’s certainly better than anyone your father would pick. And she’s definitely better than your first wife. What was her name?” He holds his finger up in the air like he’s thinking. “The lesbian girl. What was her name?”
“Kristina. Could we stay on topic here?”
“Yes, go ahead.” He gets up to refill his scotch. “So what’s wrong with Sydney?”
“Nothing’s wrong with her. I’m just not interested in her. I already have a girlfriend.”<
br />
“Who is it?” He sits down again.
“Rachel. You know her. You went to her apartment.”
“No.” He shakes his head. “You’re not dating her. You might be having sex with her, but you’re not dating her.”
“I AM dating her and it’s becoming more serious. That’s what I’m here to talk to you about. I’m thinking of maybe…proposing to her.”
He slams his glass down on the table and shoots up from his chair. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”
I stand up so I’m on his level. “I love her and I want to marry her.”
“Yeah, well, I’d love to skydive while fucking Miss America but it ain’t gonna happen. There are some things that just aren’t possible and this is one of them. So get your head out of your ass and face reality. You’re not marrying anyone who isn’t approved. And your Indiana farm girl isn’t on the list. You have plenty of beautiful women to choose from and you’re going to pick one of them to marry. End of discussion.” He plops back down in the chair.
“Listen to me.” I remain standing, glaring down at him. “I’m marrying Rachel, despite what you or anyone else says. I thought you of all people would support me on this, Jack. You do what you want. You never follow their rules. So why should I?”
Jack bursts from his chair. “Because you’ll get that girl killed! Is that what you want? You want her dead?”
A chill runs through me. He’s lying. He’s only saying that to scare me into staying away from her. They wouldn’t kill her. Not if she were my wife. She’d be one of us. They couldn’t kill her.
“Is that what you want, Pearce?” Jack’s yelling at me, his face so close to mine I feel his spit when he talks. “Is it?”
“No! Of course not!” I back away. “But they wouldn’t do that. Not if she were my wife.”
“They sure as hell would.”
“How do you know that? Have they done it before?”
“No, because you’re the first idiot to even consider doing something like this. I may not follow all the rules, Pearce, but I do when it comes to picking a wife. We belong to a society that’s closed off to outsiders. You let someone from the outside in and you risk destroying what they’ve worked so hard to build. They won’t let that happen.”
“Other members have married women who aren’t part of it.”
“Yes, but those women are all wealthy socialites who fit with someone like you. And they’re carefully screened before they’re allowed in. Some aren’t even told about us. Their husbands keep it a secret for the entire marriage.”
“Rachel would keep quiet. She wouldn’t tell our secrets. I know she wouldn’t.”
“If she knew your secrets, she wouldn’t want to be with you. Do you really think she’s the type of girl who wants to be married to a killer?”
“I’m not a killer,” I say through gritted teeth. “The freelancers did it. I didn’t. And I was forced to give them the order.”
“Yes, but you also killed a man yourself. You shot him dead.”
“How do you know about that?”
“Your father bragged about it for months after it happened. He was quite proud of you.”
That was the one and only time he was proud of me. It took killing a man to make my father proud.
“Then I won’t tell her. She doesn’t need to know about that side of my life.”
“Do you really think you can keep a secret like that?”
“I have to if it’ll keep her safe. Do you think it will? If I don’t tell her about Dunamis, would they leave her alone?”
“I have no idea. Like I said, this has never happened before. But Pearce, keeping a secret like that will never work. As a member you can be called to fulfill an assignment in the middle of the night. How are you going to explain that? And what are you going to tell her when you have to leave to go to one of our week-long meetings?”
“I’ll tell her it’s for work. She already knows my work schedule is very demanding.”
“And when you come home after an assignment, a broken mess like you were after killing that secretary? How are you going to explain that?”
“I won’t. I’ll just revert back to my other side. The good side. That’s the only side Rachel will see. You said you’d teach me how to keep that side separate and I’m determined to do that.”
He sighs and sits down again. “You’re a damn fool, Pearce. You’re putting yourself at risk and you’re putting that young woman at risk.”
“Nothing will happen to her. I’ll keep her safe.”
“You can’t. If you do this, you’re risking her life.”
“Then help me protect her. You have more power than I do. Convince them to let me be with her.”
“That would mean putting myself at risk. Why the hell would I do that?”
“Because you don’t believe in their rules. You’re sick of them controlling us. Taking away our choices. Our freedoms.”
“That’s true, but I don’t have a death wish. I only fight battles I know I can win.”
“There are ways around this, Jack. We just need to figure out what those are. Please. I’m begging you to help me. I love this woman more than anything. I’ll do whatever it takes to be with her.”
His jaw moves side to side, his fingers tapping the table next to him. He’s thinking, so I wait.
Finally, he speaks. “I don’t know what it is about you, Pearce, but for some reason I’ve got a soft spot for you. Maybe because I always wanted a son and you’re the closest thing I’ve got to one. But you’re still fucking annoying. So goddamn persistent. Stubborn. Rebellious. You never listen. Don’t follow rules. Always questioning things. Taking risks you shouldn’t be taking.” He chuckles.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“You sound just like me. No wonder I like you.” He shoves up from his chair and stands in front of me. “Fine. I’ll help you. It’s the worst goddamn decision I’ve ever made and I’m sure I’ll regret it, but what the hell? I’m old. I’ll be dead soon. Might as well go out with a bang. Give those bastards something to remember me for. And doing this will piss off Holton, so all the better.”
I shake his hand. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me. So what’s the plan? What should I do?”
“If you’re serious about marrying that girl, you’ll have to do it before they make a rule forbidding it, and you can’t let them find out about it until after it’s done.”
“So how do I do this without them finding out?”
“Give me some time to think about it. I’ll get back to you. Now get the hell out of here. I need a shower.” He sniffs his arm. “This suit stinks.”
I leave and go out to my car, smiling the entire way. This is really going to happen. I’m going to have a future with Rachel. Now all I have to do is convince her to marry me. Soon. And in secret. And I can’t tell her why.
This could prove to be a challenge.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
25
RACHEL
It’s Friday night and I’m going to Pearce’s place to spend the weekend. He went to a dinner party last night so I didn’t see him. It was just one night apart and yet I missed him like crazy. I guess that proves I’m in love. I never missed Adam this much.
When I get to Pearce’s loft, I go up the elevator and when the doors open he’s there waiting for me, holding a bouquet of red tulips.
“Hello, Rachel.” He smiles.
“Hi.” I jump into his arms and hug him. “I know it’s only been a day, but it seems like forever since I saw you.” I kiss him, then let him go.
He hands me the tulips. “For you.”
“Thank you.” I kiss him again.
“There’s a vase on the counter.” He leads me over to the kitchen. Next to the vase is a bottle of champagne and two glasses.
“Are we celebrating something?”
He takes the flowers from me and sets them down, then slips his arms around my waist. “I’m celebrating that
you’re here.” He kisses me. “With me.” He kisses me again. “All weekend.”
“We’re always together on the weekend.”
“And I look forward to it all week.”
I smile at him. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” He hugs me, his arms tightening around me, but not too tight. I taught him that and it makes me smile each time he does it. He’s so determined to do it right, but truthfully, I’d take any kind of hug he wanted to give me.
“Are you hungry?” He points to the counter behind me. “I have some menus over there. You can pick whatever you’d like.”
“Why don’t we just go out?”
“I’d rather stay in. Restaurants are crowded on Friday nights and I didn’t make reservations anywhere.”
“You’re Pearce Kensington. I’m sure just saying that name gets you a table.”
He gives me a kiss. “I’d still rather stay in.”
I lean back and look at him. “But we always stay in. Couldn’t we just go out tonight? We’ve never been to any of the restaurants around here.”
He straightens up. “Rachel, I don’t feel like going out. I don’t know why we can’t just stay in.”
This is so frustrating. Why does he always refuse to take me out? I don’t want to start a fight over it so I let it go.
“Then let’s do something else. I’m not ready to eat yet.”
“What kind of something else?” He kisses me as he slowly undoes each button on my shirt.
“Let’s go to the bedroom,” I say as I undo his belt.
“You read my mind,” he whispers in my ear.
After being apart last night, we’re dying to be together. Our lips crash together as we undress each other on our way to the bedroom.
The sex is fast and frantic, and when we’re done we sound like we’ve just run a sprint, our chests heaving as we try to catch our breath.
“Okay, now I’m hungry,” I say.
He laughs. “What would you like?”
“I don’t know. I’ll have to go check out those menus.”
“I’ll get them and bring them in here. Would you like something to drink? I could open the champagne.”
“Water is fine. We’ll save the champagne for later.”
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