by G. Bailey
“Keep breathing,” he orders, rubbing his thumbs in circles on the back of my hands. He reaches over briefly to turn my lamp on. “That’s a lass.”
Gazing into his eyes is enough to calm me. I continue the deep breaths until I’m able to shake the nightmare from my mind.
I give Rory a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”
He pats my hand and then sits on my bed beside me, forcing me to slip closer when he sinks the mattress. “Nothing to apologise for. I was just playing Candy Crush. Can’t seem to get past this bloody level.” He slides me a grin. “You wanna try?”
I nod and he hands over his unlocked phone. I haven’t played this game in forever but it doesn’t take me long to pass it. Before I know it, I’ve completed another two levels, and it’s only when Rory chuckles do I realise.
“You weren’t stuck at all, were you?”
“Nope.”
I shake my head at him and smile. Pulling my legs up, I cross them and lean back, pressing my fingers into the fluffy pink blanket draped over my bed. Rory quickly glances away from my panties and clears his throat. My smile turns into a naughty grin as I realise I’m only wearing a tank top and a pair of lace pants. It was too hot to wear anything else. I watch Rory’s stumbled cheeks turn a similar shade as my blanket as I return his phone.
“You know something, Rory?” He looks back at me, and bless him, he’s trying really hard not to look down again. “I don’t even know your surname.”
“It’s Blaire. Rory Blaire.”
He looks at my breasts and then away again. The sexual tension percolating between us is utterly suffocating. The man clearly wants to fuck the living daylights out of me, so why doesn’t he?
Oh. Right. Bodyguard.
He’s way too professional for my liking.
Well, enough is enough. I need a distraction and Rory is as good as any.
I uncross my legs and dump my feet in his lap. Rory freezes and stares down at my pedicured toes. My breath hitches when he places a big hand on my ankles. Ever so slowly, he drags his palm up my leg to the top of my thigh. He seems almost transfixed as he touches me. But the instant he slips his palm over my inner thigh, he pulls back, and something inside me finally cracks.
I grab him by the shoulders and throw him back onto my bed. The lamp on my nightstand topples to the floor and turns off, allowing the moonlight to bleed over the floor in silver ribbons. Before he can utter a protest, I seize his lips and kiss him like my life depends on it. His big hands fall on my ass and he spanks me before pulling me closer, denting my flesh with his fingers. I reach down to unzip his jeans and yank his t-shirt over his shoulders. Straddling his hips, I grind my pussy against his cock. My lips spread into a smirk as I continue to tease him. I’m positively delighted with myself for managing to overpower my Scottish bodyguard.
Unfortunately, the satisfaction is short-lived. In the blink of an eye, Rory has me pinned down underneath his body, his hands balled into fists at either side of my head. His pupils are blown and his chest rises unevenly as he stares down at me. There’s lust burning in his gaze but there’s also hunger—the ferocious kind that sends a shiver down my spine.
“Well, this is more like it.” I run my hands up his muscular arms to the tufts of light hair peppering his chest. “What are you thinking, Rory?”
“I’m thinking you should close that mouth of yours, lass, or I’ll fill it with my cock.”
“Promises, promises.” I slide my palm down to the band of his jeans, but he grabs my wrist and slams it against the headboard. “Ah!”
His touch is considerably harsher than my other guys and I can’t deny that I love it. I need this roughness. He trails his fingers down my side, and with one harsh tug, pulls my tank top off and seizes my breasts. I arch my spine and lift my hips, enticing him to take me already. He tears my panties off with a growl and uses them to bind my wrists to the headboard.
He kneels over me, his body bathed in the pale moonlight, and I open my legs to invite him in. Rory leans down, claiming my mouth, then he sinks lower, dotting a trail of kisses all the way down to my pussy. He pushes my legs wider and drags his tongue over my lower lips. Now I’m arching my spine not to tease him but because of the toe-curling pleasure building inside of me.
Fuck, he’s good.
His tongue circles my clit with dexterous, languid strokes, each flick sending shivers through my body. He sucks on my lips and eases his fingers into my wet pussy. He’s slow at first, looking up at me through his hooded lids, but then he picks up his pace and I can feel my orgasm building like a crescendo. I desperately want to grab onto his silver hair, but I’m bound, at his mercy, and all I can do is arch my back as he assaults my pussy and clit mercilessly.
“Let go, Regan. I want to taste your come.”
That simple command does it.
I let out a shattering moan as I come onto Rory’s face. He laps at my juices like I’m the sweetest nectar in the world, the dirty, sexy bastard that he is. I lay completely boneless beneath him while my legs tremble and I try to catch my breath. That has to be up there with the best fucking orgasm of my life. Rory licks me clean and straightens onto his knees, his mouth glistening in the moonlight. With a smirk, he unties my panties and lets my arms fall numb at my side.
He rolls off the bed and I watch him dress, sighing a protest as he buttons his jeans. I thought he was finally going to fuck me, not that I’m dissatisfied. Far from it. Rory Blaire has the best tongue in fucking existence. Even his name gives me chills now. Odd that his surname happens to be Blaire. I’ve only ever met one other person with that name and she was a girl I went to school with in London. She was one of the quieter girls but I got on with her really well. She just sort of disappeared a few years ago. Her parents moved, too, and nobody ever heard from her.
“What are you thinking, Regan?” Rory keeps his back to me as he pulls on his boxers. It should be a crime to cover up such an amazing arse.
“I’m thinking about a girl I went to school with who had your surname. She sort of just disappeared when we came back from summer. I was wondering what happened to her.”
Rory visibly freezes, the muscles in his back clenching. “What was the name of your school again?”
“Prestine Academy.”
He whips around, his expression dark and menacing. “That girl was my sister.”
I push up onto my elbows. “Leah Blaire?”
“Aye.”
“You… you said she was sacrificed.” My hand instinctively goes to my mouth as I put two and two together. “That’s why she never came back.”
The blood drains from Rory’s face as he pulls on his t-shirt, followed by his holsters. My heart thrashes as I watch him double-check his guns. There were only two people at the academy who knew about the Veil Council and one of them died before my eyes.
“She was lured by a scumbag who promised her the world. One day”—he twirls a gun around his finger before slotting it back into the holster—”I’m going to kill him.”
I swallow the bile rising into my throat. “What was his name?”
“Adam. The Dutchess’ son. That’s all I know.”
My eyes close as soon as I hear the name. So it was Adam. I remember him talking about needing to attend the Dutchess’ Blood Party that year. I never in a million years thought he had to bring a sacrifice who just happened to sweet, quiet Leah. She also had a terrible crush on Adam. I cover my mouth again, completely sickened.
“Adam is already dead. I killed him.”
I open my lids and stare at Rory, holding my breath.
“What?” His throat works.
“I…I killed Adam. That’s why my mother wants me to pick a sacrifice for the Veil. An eye for an eye.”
Rory walks over, and for some reason, I flinch. I sit up and wrap my arms around my knees. If only I had made sure Adam picked somebody else. Rory’s sister could still be alive. He sits beside me and I feel his gaze on my face but I can’t bring myself to look
at him.
“It was an accident. We were on the boat and he fell over. I freaked and ran away.” Finally, I meet his eyes and I choke back the lump in my throat. “I had no idea Adam was to sacrifice someone. If I’d known, I would’ve made sure he didn’t… I would’ve stopped him.”
For a long, painful moment, Rory stays silent. He looks away and just stares at the back of my room door.
“Wasn’t your fault,” he says at last, turning to me. “You’re as trapped in all this as she was. Leah always saw the good in people. She was a bit like your Anne and now they’re both gone. I might not be able to bring them back, but I will bring down the Veil even if it kills me.”
“It’s impossible,” I whisper weakly.
Rory shakes his head. “Not if we work together.”
The thought is so tempting. But I know my parents and I know The Dutchess. People like that aren’t easily conquered. They have too many hands in different pockets and eyes and ears everywhere. It’s why I gave my daughter up for adoption. What chance would she have ever stood in this world? None. She’d be trapped, too.
I look at Rory and the determination I find in his gaze takes my breath away. I almost believe him…almost imagine a world without the Veil in it.
“It might not be impossible,” I say, reaching for his hand, “but it won’t be easy. You’re on my side, right?”
He takes my chin and kisses me on the jaw. “Right.”
“Then we can at least try to bring them down, not just for us or Leah, but for all the thousands of others those bastards have killed. First, we start at my parents’ Blood Party.”
His lust-filled eyes gleam with pride, and he kisses me again, this time on the lips, ever so lightly.
“You and me against the world, lass.”
I sink into his arms and close my eyes. It’s a tempting, beautiful thought indeed.
Everything is a meticulous process with Bibi Dedican. First, Joshua hands over the cake, then the card which Bibi always shakes for money, then we sing happy birthday. Every step is exactly like the Sunday before. While we drink tea and eat a slice of the delicious cake, Bibi talks to me about my ‘wedding’ and then she gifts me one of her shells. She’s such a lovely, genuine woman, and by the time we leave the Maritime Care Home, my stomach and cheeks ache from all the laughing.
“Here.” I hand Joshua the shell and he gently slips it into his coat pocket. “Now where are we going?”
Joshua walks off, away from the car. Rory frowns at me while the other bodyguard stubs his cigarette and hops into the driver’s seat. I shrug at Rory before following in Joshua’s wake. He’s been acting strange since we picked the cake up from the German bakery. It’s like he’s too lost in his thoughts to focus. I did ask him about it, but he shrugged me off and never said much when he was pretending to be Tyler. There’s definitely something bothering him. This isn’t the Joshua I know.
I follow him around the back of the care home to a beautiful private park. It’s completely empty here but there’s a small river with ducks and swans paddling away. Joshua walks up to the railing protecting the river and leans against it. Quietly, I do the same and wait for him to speak. He glances at the clear-blue sky first before parting his lips.
“You know, sometimes I think the Big Guy is punishing me for what I did.”
I’ve never been a religious person, but I thought God was all about forgiveness. Joshua is clearly suffering though and I know why.
I know what he did.
Still, I ask him, “What did you do, Josh?”
Joshua watches the six little cygnets paddling after their mum. A smile threatens his lips but he holds it back with his teeth. For a long while, he just watches them, and I wait despite already knowing what he’s about to say.
“I never meant to kill my real parents, babe, despite what that dick Ethan might’ve told you. I was just a kid, watching through the window how happy they were with my bro, and I couldn’t understand why they never wanted me. I remember my dad, Bibi’s son, trying to light the candles on a big-ass chocolate cake but he couldn’t get his shitty lighter to work. I had matches in my pocket. Found them on my way there.”
Joshua glances at me, almost fearfully, and the pain in his eyes kills me to see.
“When they went upstairs, I snuck into their house and lit all the candles. I just wanted to help. Fuck knows why. I thought they’d maybe let me stay with them. But then I just sort of…freaked out. I hid the cake in the bin and ran away. The next day, it was all over the news. They died in the fire and my little brother survived. He ended up in the system just like me.”
Another glance, and this time there are tears in his eyes. I take his hand and link our fingers. He looks down at our joined hand. The smile he was holding back slowly surfaces.
“You didn’t mean to kill them,” I tell him softly.
“Nah, but I still did, and God punished me by taking my adopted parents away in a car crash two months later. Not only my real bro ended up in care, but so did my adopted brother, Kay, all because of fucking me.”
I lean my face against his shoulder and watch the ducks skim over to the other side of the river. The sun bounces off the rippling surface and catches Joshua’s watch.
“The reason I’m telling you this, babe?” He looks down at me. “You don’t judge.”
“How can I when I’ve got a whole closet full of skeletons?”
“They kinky skeletons?” Joshua grins, wiggling his eyebrows at me. “That’s what I love about you. You don’t judge people no matter how messed up they are. No matter what mistakes people like me have done in their life.”
“I guess I’m just trying to be more like Anne,” I whisper, my heart squeezing. “She never judged anyone, and let me just say, I’ve done some pretty bad things in my life too, but Anne still stood by me. She still saw the best in me even when I couldn’t see it and thought I was nothing more than a monster.” Tears clog my throat and I look up at him through my wet lashes. “We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of and you know what? That’s okay. It’s part of being human. We make mistakes. We fuck up. We can’t let those define us. Your past doesn’t make me any less in love with you, Joshua.”
Joshua’s dark eyes widen. He stares at me for a long moment, then he nudges his shoulder playfully. “You’re gonna make me blush, babygirl.”
“Good. That’s much better than letting you beat yourself up over something you never meant to do.”
He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead, his lips lingering for a moment as his fingers graze my cheek. When he pulls away, his pupils are blown with lust and I can’t help but stare at his lips.
“Besides,” I say, grinning up at him, “if God was really punishing you, he wouldn’t have brought me into your life. I’m a fucking catch.”
We both chuckle. Joshua said those exact words to me not too long ago. Funny how things are changing between me and my guys. A few months ago, I was trying to kill them, and now they’re each taking a part of my twisted heart and cradling it in the palm of their hands. I just hope they don’t drop it. I hope I’m not making a mistake by trusting and protecting them.
“Let’s go, babe.” Joshua takes my hand and leads me back to the car. Rory opens the door for me and watches me slip in.
“Where are we going now?” I ask Joshua.
“Netflix and chill?” he suggests, sliding onto the backseat with me, his hand on my thigh.
“Sounds wonderful. Have you watched How To Get Away With Homicide?”
Rory jumps into the passenger seat and chuckles. “You and your damn serial killer stuff.”
“What? It’s the only thing I’m good—I mean, knowledgeable at.”
Joshua stares at me with a mock horrified look, then he kisses my temple. “If it makes you happy, babe.”
“Not going downstairs for family day?” I ask Lucas as I open my room door the next day and find him standing there. He steps into my room and I sigh. “Yeah, me either.”
The chances of my parents being down there are slim to nothing, but even then I don’t want to risk seeing them. They can’t force me to walk downstairs without making a big scene which I know they don’t want to do.
Lucas sits on the edge of my bed, his head bowed and I don’t really know what to say to him. His stepmum is as awful as mine. Wordlessly, I step in front of him and let his head rest against my stomach as I stroke his hair.
“I should tell my dad everything…get it all out in the open because it’s crushing me, Regs,” he whispers, his voice laced with pain. “Life is so fucking short and my dad doesn’t deserve to lie in bed every night with a woman who slept with his son.”
“That woman raped you, Lucas. It’s okay to admit that. You are far too intelligent to not know it, and I agree with you. You should tell your dad the truth.”
I almost feel guilty being so upfront and harsh with him it’s for his own good. Baby stepping around the issue isn’t going to make this easier for Lucas to handle and he is too good to be ignored. The world should know what happened to him and the right people should pay for it.
“What about the baby?” His voice comes out small, barely a whisper.
“She might not be yours. Has a DNA test been done?”
He shakes his head. “But you saw her. She’s my double.”
“She could also be your dad’s child.”
“Guess there’s only one way to find out.” He grips the outside of my thighs, where I can feel his touch burning my skin. Finally, he looks up at me but I keep my hands in his hair, wanting to keep touching him. “I think you’re right, Regan. You’re so strong despite everything. I need to be more like you.”
“Trust me you don’t wanna be like me,” I thinly reply.
“Why not?” He slowly rubs circles into my thigh. I gulp as he stares up at me with his beautiful eyes. “You’re strong, beautiful, kind, and in my eyes, perfectly dangerous. I’ve wanted you since day one, since I saw you in that window right behind where we are now. I looked up and I knew I had to find you. I had to know who you are because we had a connection, even though the glass. Even when we hadn’t met yet. Something drew us together and I know you felt it, too.”
