by Jani Kay
Or was this a clever ploy by Philippe to get rid of me?
“Save face and leave now. Tell Alain you don’t love him. Set him free. I implore you. He will get you out of his system with time. I know; I’ve been there myself.” His guard slipped and for an instant I saw raw pain, pity even, in his eyes. But before I could even blink, aloofness had shifted over his face again.
Did I imagine it?
“Nothing good can come from a union with Alain. Trust me, this is best for him, and you.” He narrowed his eyes as he appraised me. His eyes traveled over my face, and down my body. I could just as well have been naked under his piercing eyes.
“I have a proposition for you. But, only if you promise to break all contact with Alain.” His lips twisted into a laconic smile as he closed the safe distance between us and gripped my upper arms. “I spend nearly two weeks of every month in Paris. I will put you up in an apartment there. I’m a virile lover. Redheads are feisty—I like that. I’ll fuck you senseless. You will want for nothing, I’m a wealthy man.”
How the fuck dare he?
The mug I’d been gripping all this time crashed to the floor. With superhuman strength I shrugged his hands off me and lunged forward, slapping him across his face with every fiber in my body.
“You snake. I wouldn’t touch you if my life depended on it. If Alain knew what you just proposed, it would crush him. You disgust me.”
Trembling, I turned on my heels and ran back upstairs.
Alain could never know what just happened. Yet I needed answers. He had a lot of explaining to do. And this time I wanted the naked truth. I would settle for nothing less than brutal honesty.
Chapter 64
How would I live under the same roof as Philippe du Bois for the rest of my life? If only he really were an old man, with one foot already in the grave, instead of a fit and energetic man who’d probably see in the next two or three decades.
I couldn’t tell Alain what happened in the kitchen without hurting him and exposing the lecherous man his father really was. My head hurt.
Instead of returning to Alain’s bed, I settled in front of the window in my room, staring into the distance as I tried to make sense of this new information. Was there truth to it or was the duke trying to scare me off?
Is there a solution to this fucking mess?
Alain would agree to live elsewhere with me, but one thing I did know with certainty, was that he’d miss his home and the vineyard. It was part of who he was. I hated to acknowledge that the duke may be right. Over time Alain could grow to despise losing his heritage, and in the process, hate me for it.
Could I take that chance?
The ring of my phone plucked me out of my deep thoughts. I groaned as I saw the caller ID. Maxwell Grant. I hadn’t been in contact with him since Alain carried me out of his hotel room. To be honest, I didn’t really know how to deal with him, it was so awkward.
I'd pushed any thoughts of that night back into the far recesses my mind, not allowing myself to analyze or dwell on it; the thought of the connection between us, scared me. I’d felt it and I knew he did too.
My nerves got the better of me, and I let the phone ring out. He could leave a message. It was less intimidating. The phone started ringing again. My God, he was a persistent man. Annoyed, I rolled my eyes as I pressed the green button.
“Miss Clarke. How is your ankle?” My stomach lurched at the sound of his smooth voice. A fine layer of perspiration broke out on my skin. Did he really just call to ask about my injury?
“My ankle is fine. Thank you for asking.” I kept my voice as steady and formal as I could.
“The next part of your contract, we need to discuss it. Can you talk now?”
“Yes.” Could he hear the relief in my voice that he only wanted to talk about business?
“Set up the Munich workshops. The venue is booked and the participants are ready to begin. I want you in Munich this week to see if everything is to your satisfaction. Lock in the dates. Are you able to do that?”
“Y...yes, I can go to Munich this week. Please email the details through to me.”
“Great. Thank you.” A click then silence. I stared at my phone. Brief and business like. That’s what I wanted, right?
A trip to Germany was perfect. I needed time and distance to figure things out and decide on my plan for the future.
My fear of crossing paths with the duke again would keep me a recluse in my bedroom—with the door locked—when Alain wasn’t there.
I needed to escape. And to think, hard.
Chapter 65
The duke beckoned me inside. He was talking to a strikingly beautiful woman. Poised, elegant, petite. Confidence oozed from her pores. Very French.
Everything I was not.
I narrowed my eyes. What had I just walked into? Who the fuck was this woman and where the hell was Alain?
Alain was not in his room when I returned there after the kitchen episode with the duke. I quickly dressed and decided to search for him. I needed answers only Alain could provide.
The smirk on his face was a warning I couldn’t ignore. “Let me introduce you, Mademoiselle Clarke,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “This is the countess de la Ray, Alain’s fiancée and soon-to-be wife.”
My head started spinning. I nodded toward the countess. Her hazel eyes appraised me curiously. I smiled awkwardly, trying to keep myself composed.
“Mademoiselle Clarke,” she said with her eloquent French accent. “You must be Alain’s new friend. He told me all about you.” She smiled sweetly at me, her eyes cold.
Well he sure as hell didn’t tell me about you, lady. Fuck!
Was this a joke? Sick to the stomach, I rubbed at my heart.
He certainly hadn’t told her everything.
Friends?
That wasn’t how I’d describe our relationship.
Alain hadn’t expected her either. He sucked in a breath as he entered the room, stopping dead in his tracks. He blinked a few times, his lips drawn in a grim line, sweat on his brow.
The duke turned to his son, his lips twisted into a sardonic smile, his eyes hard and unforgiving. His voice was icy. “Alain. Your fiancé has joined us for lunch.”
My palms were clammy, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I mustered a smile even though my knees were trembling. The countess and I were standing opposite one another. Both of us had our eyes trained on Alain.
Which way would he go first?
My stomach turned. Alain made his way over to the countess and planted a formal kiss on each of her cheeks. But, she wasn’t having any of that. She slipped her arms around his neck and drew him down to her, kissing him on the lips, her kiss intensifying by the second as she pushed her breasts into his chest.
I couldn’t watch any longer, shuddering as I turned my head.
What’s going on?
My heart squeezed in a vice-like grip, my breath was being sucked from my body.
He chose her. His fiancé. Soon-to-be wife.
My knees felt weak.
Alain loosened her arms from around his neck and crossed the space between us. “Can I have a moment?” he said, as he gripped my arm. My throat tightened. I could only nod.
He led me outside. I was on autopilot, my legs barely able to function.
“Breathe. Just breathe,” Alain mumbled, his eyes hooded. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to himself or to me.
“Is it true? Oh Alain, when were you going to tell me?” I whimpered.
He held me by both arms. I wasn’t sure if it was to steady me or to keep me at a safe distance. My eyes searched his face for answers. The grim expression wasn’t a good sign.
“I’m so sorry. You know I love you with all my heart. You know I want you, and only you.” His voice was hoarse. He closed his eyes for a few moments.
There was a ‘but’ coming. The ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ routine. I swallowed hard.
Slowly, he opened his eyes and gazed at me, pain in h
is eyes.
“This is my heritage. My future and the future of my children. It has passed from one generation to the next for centuries. I can’t change it, even if I want to. I can’t bring shame to the family name. I don’t love her. But I have to do this to honor my family. I never planned for this to happen, you must believe me.”
I blinked hard trying to absorb it all. My mouth went dry.
You are my choice.
“You are the love of my life. From the first moment I laid eyes on you, on that plane, you stirred something inside me.” His eyes were burning into me, pleading for my understanding. “I wanted you from the very first kiss. I will always want you—”
I couldn’t trust myself to speak, the words wouldn’t come.
“Every beautiful moment we made love, I was truly loving you—with my body, my heart and my soul. I can’t bear my life without you.”
Dazed, I still couldn’t talk. He shook me softly, desperately, swearing.
Gaping at his beautiful face as if in a trance, I wanted to bury my face in his chest.
I wanted him to tear off my clothes and fuck me.
I wanted to be the one carrying his babies in my belly.
I wanted to be the one spending glorious afternoons with him in the vineyard, making love with wild abandon.
I wanted to grow old with this man loving me as much as I loved him.
I wanted to be his woman, me and only me. I wanted to be his everything.
I wanted him to kiss me and tell me it was all a sick joke.
My lips quivered as tears poured down my cheeks. He wiped them with his thumbs, caressing my cheeks with the back of his hand. His finger traced over my lips.
Had all these weeks together meant nothing to him?
“Please don’t leave me now,” he begged. He ran a hand through his hair, an urgency in his voice I’d never heard before. “We can still be together. We can still make love every day, just not as husband and wife. I will love you, I will take care of you, give you everything you need. Please, Rebecca.”
My heart ached for him. He was asking the impossible.
“No. That will never happen.” I said softly, finally finding my words. “I love you with all my heart. But if you choose to marry somebody else, I can never be with you again. I don’t want to fuck another woman’s man. I want a man who is mine and mine only.”
And just like that, my heart was shattered into a million pieces. A heart-wrenching sob escaped my lips.
“Je t’aime pour toujours,” he said, telling me he would love me forever.
It was time to move on.
Again.
This was the second man I had loved with all my heart only to have to give him up to another woman, through circumstances beyond my control.
Fuck that! This will never happen to me again.
From now on I was going to focus on my pleasure and my pleasure only. If anything, that was one thing I had learned from Alain—how to take my own pleasure.
Next week I was due in Munich. I would take my broken heart to Germany and see what lay in store for me there. My journey was far from over.
Somewhere was a man who would be only mine.
And by God, I would find him.
I would have my happily-ever-after. I deserved to be happy, just like everyone else.
*****
To Be Continued:
Firebird Trilogy — NO REGRETS (Book 2)
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Did you love Road To Destiny? Then you should read Dirty Secrets by Jani Kay!
FORBIDDEN NEVER TASTED SO SWEET.
Montana:
I’m a lucky girl.
Levi Sinclair Barrington the third and I have an exclusive agreement. Three nights a week. No more, no less.
It’s uncomplicated with no strings attached. Exactly what I need because my career comes first. I’ve worked my ass off to get to the top, and my five year plan is well on track.
I’ve vowed never to get emotionally attached to a man. It just can’t happen or else the secrets of my past will come back to haunt me.
There is one twist though: Levi and I work for competing companies and it’s a recipe for disaster if we get discovered.
Our friends with benefits agreement has to stay a secret. Nobody can ever find out.
Levi:
I work hard and I play harder. It comes with the territory of being the heir to a billion dollar empire. I’m used to getting what I want and nobody denies me.
Except Montana Marx, the sassy executive who works for our biggest rival.
I have her in my bed three nights a week. We have a good thing going. All the benefits of being in a relationship minus the bullshit.
Until it isn’t enough.
I want more. Much more than she wants to give.
*****
Book 1 in the Sex & Secrets Series
STANDALONE.
Adult content suitable for 18+
Language and sexual situations.
NB: Previously Titled Sex & Secrets
*****
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