The Sculptor's Seduction (The Gentlemen's Guild Book 2)

by Dr. Rebecca Sharp

  The difference was that he had over ten years to put a leash on his anger which is why, even though his hands ended up around Pierce’s throat, he had the wherewithal to release him.

  “Sloane?” Pierce’s voice broke through his trance. “I don’t mean to bring up past shit, but I need you to know that I’m serious when I say I know I fucked up.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Sloane rasped. “I don’t even think I knew how I felt about her until I saw her.” He glanced at his friend and quickly said, “Don’t…”

  Sloane knew what was coming – the taunts about how he had feelings for this woman. In spite of the fact that Pierce was in the middle of apologizing, that wouldn’t stop him from taking advantage of the opportunity.

  Pierce let out a bark of laughter. “I’m not going to do it. I don’t have to.” He sighed. “First Tristan, now you. All my fuckin’ wingmen are dropping like flies.” Sloane scowled as Pierce winked at him. “Seriously, I don’t need to ask you how you feel. I don’t need to harass you about it; you’re suffering enough. Because that’s what love is – suffering.”

  “I don’t—” He stopped. He couldn’t say it. He couldn’t disagree and say that he didn’t love her because, God help him, it wasn’t the truth. “It doesn’t matter how I feel. I can’t be with her. I won’t hurt her like that.”

  “Oh, cut me a break,” Pierce grumbled. “And cut your fucking self a break, Sloane. You aren’t perfect and you certainly aren’t your father. I told you, love is suffering, but you might as well suffer happily together because the alternative of pushing that love away… well, there are no fucking words for how painful that is. It will destroy you, just ask Tristan.” He sighed. “‘Doesn’t matter how you feel’… bullshit. Then again, I think I’ve done enough to your relationship, so I’ll let you fuck that one up all on your own if that’s what you really want.”

  Sloane glared at him, hating how his words struck a chord of truth inside of him. They stared at each other for a second, waiting to see who would back down first before Pierce continued, a smile breaking over his face, “I’ll tell you what I felt though – her strong as shit arm as she smacked me across the face the other night.” Sloane’s head jerked to his friend, his stare widening. “You mean she didn’t tell you?” The dark devil chuckled. “My jaw still fucking hurts from it. She got me good. I deserved it though.”

  “Well, I won’t argue with you there,” Sloane replied, still stunned that Cyn had slapped him.

  “So,” Pierce cleared his throat. “You need me to take Tash over to Morgan’s? Does he know what’s going on?”

  “Shit. No.” He hadn’t thought that far. “I’ll call him on our way. I’m sure that at least Ana is there. I think we should move her away from anyone that Sanchez might be able to draw a connection to – and we are the furthest people from that. And probably more highly secured.”

  “Right.” They began to move towards the door.

  Pierce opened the door and paused, preventing them from walking into the hallway. “We good?” He asked tightly, a pained expression on his face.

  Sloane sighed. “Yeah, we’re good.”

  “Shit, now you’re making me live with two women overseas for God knows how long. I don’t know what’s worse – losing a priceless Monet or that. Morgan might as well just lock me in the Tower as soon as we land…” Pierce grumbled as they left Sloane’s apartment to head back to Terri’s.

  Chapter 24

  Sloane knocked on Terri’s door for the second time that day while Pierce stood behind him, brooding. The closer they came to the apartment, the more his mood shifted from dismal to intrigued, most likely because he was going to see Sloane and Cyn interact. Sloane exhaled forcefully just as the door opened.

  “Hi.” Cyn stared up at him, a mélange of emotions swirling in her eyes.

  “Hey,” he returned gruffly. “Pierce is here. We need to move Tash.”

  “Oh… ok. I…” She glanced behind her. “I didn’t realize we’d be moving her so soon.”

  He and Pierce walked into the apartment, noticing Terri in the kitchen making a cup of pour-over coffee. He nodded at Sloane and then addressed Pierce, “Mr. Lane. Good to see you again. Can I get you some coffee or tea?”

  Pierce walked over to the other man and Sloane watched over Cyn’s head as they shook hands and Pierce said, “Only if one of them comes with alcohol,” he replied with a smirk.

  Sloane focused back on Cyn. “They were at your apartment.”

  Her eyes went wide and even Terri set down his cup with a loud thud. “What?” She blurted out in stunned fear.

  “Two cars out front, tinted windows, parked in a ‘No Parking’ zone.” Cyn’s hand came up to cover her mouth. He toned down his voice, not wanting Tash to hear; there was no reason for her to know this right now – not in her condition. “They were inside. The lock was broken and both of your rooms were completely destroyed. I don’t think they knew whose room was Tash’s, so they wrecked both.”

  “Oh my God,” Cyn whispered. Her eyes dropped down and Pierce could practically see her brain process through what this meant.

  Julian moved fast which meant that he could have found out she was Tash’s roommate by now and after that, it was only a few more connections before there was someone else knocking on Terri’s door.

  “Cyn!” He grabbed ahold of her shoulders, immediately having to fight the instinct to pull her against him and reassure her that everything was going to be ok. “We need to move Tash. Pierce is going to take her to stay with Morgan and his sister. I’ve already called them and they are waiting at Morgan’s.”

  “Ok.” She nodded frantically. “Yes. Ok, let me go help her.”

  She had tears in her eyes and she was trying to hold them back, trying to be strong. But he couldn’t; he couldn’t believe what Pierce had said. He couldn’t believe in hope.

  So he stood there, clutching his fists instead of clutching her. He made the mistake of looking at Pierce who was scowling at him, having overheard the whole conversation.

  Cyn looked up at him for one more second, waiting for the comfort that she desperately needed. And when he continued to stand stagnant, she turned, her hand brushing a tear from her cheek.

  “Cynthia.” Pierce’s voice rolled smoothly through the room. “We’re going to get Tash out of here. She’s going to be safe. And then we’re going to get the bastard that did this.” His tone was hardly emotional – which was a huge step for Pierce, but his subsequent dark glare told Sloane that he was saying the words that Sloane should have. Emotional or not, they were comforting enough to where Cyn’s restraint cracked, a sob escaping her.

  “Oh, honey!” Terri rushed around to her, gathering her in a hug. “It’s going to be ok.”

  Pierce and he were locked in a staring contest and Sloane was just grateful that Terri had come to hug Cyn because he didn’t know how he would have responded had she reached to hug Pierce.

  “I’m… sorry,” she said thickly, pulling back from his embrace and wiping her face off. “Do I look ok? I don’t want Tash to worry; she shouldn’t have to know about this, it will only make her feel worse about the situation.”

  Terri squinted at her, his hands coming up to brush away a stray tear that she had missed and then smoothed her hair down. “Ok, sweetie, I think you are good.” She nodded and walked into the bedroom.

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Pierce mumbled underneath his breath at him.

  Sloane glared back in response. “Just stay out of this, Pierce. She’ll be hurt otherwise.”

  Cyn re-entered the room and their conversation was severed.

  “Pierce,” she began, “if you want to go in and talk to her, she wants to make sure that this is ok with you. She feels guilty for such an imposition.”

  Like magic, the dark disapproval on his face was wiped into an affable expression. “Of course. I’m looking forward to our Eurotrip together,” he replied and strolled past her.

  Just
before he was completely out of the room, Sloane turned to Terri.

  “Terri,” he began gruffly, purposefully keeping his gaze off of Cyn, knowing that her response to what he was about to say could cripple him. “I think we can assume that Cyn shouldn’t return to her apartment any more. Would it be possible for her to stay with you for a few nights? I’m going to go to my office and look at what available apartment listings we have and see what I can procure for her in a more secure building.”

  Terri’s eyes widened, darting over to Cyn and then back to Sloane, realizing that there was something more going on here and wondering why Sloane didn’t want her staying with him.

  “I… of course, that’s not a problem at all,” he said with a smile. What else could he say? She was his friend, of course she could stay with him even though it looked like she’d been expecting Sloane to offer her refuge.

  “Thank you, Terri,” he heard her respond, her voice tightening with frustration and hurt. “Sloane, can I speak to you for a moment in private?”

  Shit.

  “I’m going to go see if Tash and Mr. Lane need any help,” Terri excused himself.

  He turned to Cyn, one hand coming up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

  “I should go. I need to let Tristan know what is going on and then I need to go speak to the police about your apartment and look into finding you a new place.”

  “Sloane, please.” She came up to him, love pleading in her eyes. She grabbed his hand and the fact that he didn’t pull it away was a small concession to his heart. “What is going on? Don’t beat yourself up over this morning; I’m fine. Just tell me what’s going on… what’s going through your mind? Let me help you.”

  “You can’t help me, Cyn,” he replied, harshly. “There is no helping me. I’m only going to hurt you. So, this… it’s over. Stay with Terri and I’ll have someone contact you when I find you a new place. If you find anything that you need done at the studio, contact my assistant, Amie, at RSP and she can get you whatever you need.”

  His stomach burned as he watched her hurt manifest into liquid form, spilling out over the edges of her eyelids.

  “Sloane, please don’t shut me out. I love you…” she whispered.

  No. No, no, no… Goddammit, no.

  He pulled his hand back from her. His restraint was almost gone, the only thing he could think was that it was because he loved her enough that he had to let her go before who he was destroyed her.

  “Well, I don’t love you,” he bit out coldly, continuing quickly before he broke down and admitted to the lie that that was. “Whatever was between us is over. I’ll send a check here for the time that you’ve spent with me for the sculpture and everything else.”

  They were cruel – the words that he’d used – to make her feel like everything that they’d experienced, everything that she’d felt, and everything that he’d shared, were nothing more than services rendered. But, he’d needed it to be a clean break – one where her love for him would turn to hate; because the only way to make sure he didn’t find his way back into her arms, was to make sure that she never again wanted him there.

  His punishing words worked; Cyn recoiled from him as though he had struck her. Her beautiful face became scarred with hurt. For a second, she let him see her pain – her weakness – and then her expression hardened and she slapped him.

  Well, Pierce was at least right about one thing – she had a hell of an arm.

  “Screw you, Sloane,” she said, her voice filled with anger. “I don’t want your damn money, I just want you to leave.”

  With one hand rubbing his injured cheek, he took one last look at his angel before she turned and left him, walking into the room where her friends were and leaving him to find his own way out – which he did expeditiously before Pierce saw her face and decided to scold him again.

  Maybe it was a mistake to walk into a room full of people – most of them close friends of hers who would be able to see that something was clearly not right. Well, a blind person could have probably seen that something wasn’t right. The thing of it was that she couldn’t stay in Sloane’s presence a second longer.

  How could he have said those things? After everything…

  Her heart was beating so fast she thought it was going to burst from the agony-filled adrenaline that kept it pumping.

  “Cyn, what’s wrong?” Tash immediately asked, hoisting herself up onto the crutches that Terri was holding for her.

  She shook her head, her throat too closed off from the pain to answer. Pierce was watching her, his expression hardening with anger. His face quickly blurred as she couldn’t hold back the tears that drenched her cheek as Tash maneuvered around the corner of the bed to embrace her.

  Terri grabbed her crutches before they fell as Tash wrapped her arms around her friend.

  “What the hell happened, Cyn?” She heard Tash whisper in her ear.

  She wanted to cry and scream. She wanted to confess everything. But Tash needed to go – she needed to get to somewhere safe. So, Cyn let out a few shaky breaths, trying to find the will to speak.

  “I just… I’m going to miss you,” she breathed out, holding Tash tighter so that her friend couldn’t pull back and see the lie written on her face.

  “I’m going to miss you, too,” Tash responded hesitantly. “I know that’s not all this is though…”

  “It is!” Cyn tried to lamely reassure her. “I’m so afraid for you, but I know you’ll be ok. I know everything is going to be fine… I just wish it was fine already.”

  “Cyn, I—” Tash was cut off as Pierce cleared his throat.

  “We need to get going,” he said. The girls both turned to look at him as he raised his gaze from his phone. “Morgan moved up our flights. We leave in two days.”

  “Yes, you should go. I’ll feel better once I know you are someplace secure,” Cyn agreed, keeping her face still turned away from Tash to hide her pain.

  Tash grabbed her crutches back from Terri, kissing him on both cheeks and thanking him for letting her crash there last night.

  Pierce moved to let Tash leave the room first, followed by Terri. As Cyn moved to leave, she felt his hand grab her elbow.

  “Whatever he said to you,” the surprisingly caring asshole said to her, “it’s not the truth. “If you know about his past, which the love written all over your face tells me that you do, know that he’s just being a fucking idiot right now because of it.”

  Cyn just stared at him.

  “He loves you – that’s why he’s trying to leave you. And don’t ask me how I fucking know that, just know that I’ve known Sloane for a long time; I’ve seen him interact with people, I’ve seen his relationships – or lack thereof. Just like I know that I don’t have a heart, I know that Sloane’s belongs to you. Give him time.”

  For a brief moment, her pain dissipated as his words were a balm over the open wound in her chest.

  She couldn’t respond – her thoughts were all over the place. She just nodded, allowing a small, grateful smile to peek through on her face as she turned to walk through the door. Pausing, she faced him again.

  “I’m sorry for slapping you the other night,” she murmured.

  He smirked. “Nothing that hasn’t happened many times before. Most of which weren’t half as deserving as this one was though.”

  “Thank you…” She couldn’t say for what – there were so many things that she was grateful to him for, not in the least of which was what he was doing for Tash and the words that he’d just spoken to her.

  “Don’t mention it.” He walked forward and they both went into the living room where Terri and Tash were waiting. “Alright, Miss Gimpy, let’s get this show on the road.” His light nickname brought a playful frown to Tash’s black-and-blue face.

  Cyn was grateful that, if for nothing else, Pierce’s poking banter would keep Tash’s mind off of her predicament and her current physical state.

  “Terri, I’ll let you know when we get
there.” She heard him say as they walked to the door.

  “Thank you for everything, Cyn,” Tash said as she hugged her awkwardly again. “I don’t know what would have happened without you… without everything that you’ve put in motion. I don’t know that I would survive if it wasn’t for you. Love you…”

  Cyn held back her tears as she replied, “Love you, too, Tash. Be safe.”

  And with those parting words, Pierce held the door as she hobbled through, shutting it behind them.

  Cyn stared blankly in front of her for a moment before Terri’s hand on her shoulder pulled her from her paralysis. She turned and looked into her friend’s face before she collapsed into tears in his arms.

  It was all too much.

  Every feeling, every thought. She didn’t know what was real or not anymore. As much as she wanted to believe Pierce’s words, all she could hear in her mind was Sloane – over and over again – as he said ‘I don’t love you’… ‘Whatever this is between us is over”…

  Even if Pierce was right and he was just trying to push her away, she wouldn’t have believed he could make himself say that he didn’t love her. Even now, hurt as she was, she couldn’t bring herself to say that she didn’t love him out of anger.

  And then when he’d mentioned about paying her for their time… That twisted the knife that he’d just plunged into her heart. He’d taken everything that happened between them – the way he hadn’t treated her like every other man, the way he encouraged her to find her way back to her dream and then gave her the means to do so, the way he’d finally opened up about his mom and what happened to him, and how, because of what he felt for her, he’d stopped punishing himself for one night to be with her – to be with a woman for the first time – all of that reduced to nothing more than a contract and a fee.

  She sobbed. At least when Marcus had reduced their relationship to just sex, she could see why. With Sloane, the why wasn’t possible right now. Maybe it never would be.