by C. C. Gibbs
For a flashing moment he sounded like Gramps in one of his solemn moods. ‘Sorry,’ she said, instantly deferring. ‘I’m listening.’
‘How would you feel about not having any more children?’ His voice was ultra-quiet and restrained.
‘How would you feel?’
‘I asked you first.’
She noticed his stark constraint, the way he watched her like he used to in the past, his emotions veiled. ‘I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it. You must have.’
He drew in a breath, then nodded. ‘I’d prefer you didn’t.’
‘OK.’
His eyes opened wide. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really.’ She smiled. ‘I know how hard my two pregnancies have been for you. You’ve been really sweet accommodating me, giving me our two babies. Why shouldn’t I try to make you happy too?’
‘You do every second of every day, Katherine,’ he said, softly. ‘I can’t lose you, that’s all.’ He took a deep breath, briefly shut his eyes. ‘I just can’t.’
‘Then we won’t have any more children.’
He exhaled, felt the earth settle back on its axis. ‘Thanks, baby. I’ll make it up to you somehow if this is a huge concession. Just tell me how and I’ll do it.’
‘I don’t need anything, Dominic. You’ve given me two beautiful children, a beautiful life—’
‘And my heart,’ he whispered.
She smiled. ‘That works out then, ‘cause you have mine.’
He touched her mouth gently, a brush of his finger over her bottom lip. ‘I never knew I could be this happy. I never knew I could be happy at all until you came into my life.’
There was a small silence, the muted TV in the corner flooding the room with a flickering glow, the flashing light on the baby monitor a noiseless pulse beat. The children were sleeping upstairs, the world was humming around them, but if they listened hard, the dizzying beat of their hearts rang sweetly in the room, like a rockabilly chorus of love.
‘We’re lucky, you and I,’ Kate whispered.
Dominic’s eyes were clear blue and very close. ‘I’m going to see that our luck holds,’ he said, quietly, having searched for her too far and wide to doubt how rare their love, how tremulous the balance of happiness against personal disasters. Then quietly wilful, indisposed to failure, his heart in his eyes – this man who had overcome so much, who wielded boundless power, said with unquestioning confidence, ‘I promise we’ll always be happy.’ He grinned then. ‘I can make that happen, you know.’
Her smile was so beautiful it almost stopped his heart.
‘I know,’ Kate said, lifting her hand to his face and stroking away the hair at his temples, the musky scent of his shampoo reminding her of that long ago night in Hong Kong where it all began. ‘You can do anything.’
EPILOGUE
Two Years Later.
Paris, 2:25 am.
‘Christ, don’t they know the time here?’ Dominic grumbled, understanding his calls came in from all over the world. Rolling over, he grabbed his phone on the bedside table and hit the answer icon.
‘You’re not going to like to hear this but I just saw your niece, Nicole.’
Dominic recognized Julian Wilson’s LA drawl; they’d run into each other yesterday at a business dinner. ‘So?’
‘At the Chandelier Club.’
‘What?’ Dominic sat up, swung his legs over the side of the bed.
‘She’s with some young dude and she looks like a newbie.’
Dominic was striding towards his dressing room. ‘No shit. Look, have Raoul stall them or lock them in if they’re already in a room. Discreetly. No scene. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.’
Kate had followed him and was standing in the doorway. ‘Be where in fifteen minutes?’
He quickly explained in an edited version while he pulled on boxers and jeans. He called it a nightclub.
‘Nicole’s almost twenty-two, Dominic. Maybe she’s OK.’
He pulled a navy sweater over his head. ‘Nicole has a history of making bad choices.’ He’d quietly bailed her out of a few over the years.
‘Shouldn’t that be her parents’ problem? I’m just saying. She might not like you barging in at some nightclub.’
‘I’m not asking her, and her parents don’t know what she does. How much did you tell your grandparents about your sex life?’
‘There wasn’t a whole lot to tell.’
‘But you didn’t tell them anyway. Right?’ His voice was muffled as he reached into a closet and pulled out some shoes.
‘Gramps would have scared them off.’
‘From what I’ve heard about Roy, I’m guessing he’d vetted them already and just let it go.’ He stepped into burgundy suede desert boots and swiftly tied them. ‘I’ll be back in a less than an hour. Shut the children’s doors, will you? In case Nicole’s screaming at me when we come back.’
‘Be nice, Dominic. She’s not going to like you monitoring her activities.’
‘I’m not. Fuck – although I should have. Thank God Julian called.’ He grabbed some car keys from the top of the dresser. He didn’t want to take the time for Henri to bring up the car. He stopped for a moment to give Kate a kiss, then patted her bare ass. ‘Close the kids’ doors, then get back into bed, baby. No sense in ruining your sleep.’
When he arrived at the club, he braked hard, cranked the Mercedes coupe nose in, straight up to the door, got out, pocketed his keys, and snarled, ‘Fuck you,’ in French to the valet who started shouting at him to move his car. ‘I’m here to see Raoul.’
The man backed off like he’d been burned. Raoul owned this high-end sex club and ten others in Europe. He was connected and not to the aristocracy. Dominic had known him a long time, had done a lot of business with him in the past. They were friends, acquaintances and, formerly, partners in vice.
Raoul was waiting for him in the foyer.
Dominic smiled tightly. ‘She still here?’ He spoke quietly in French.
Raoul nodded. ‘I didn’t know she was your niece. They wouldn’t have let her in if we’d known.’
‘I fucking didn’t know, so don’t sweat it. I don’t suppose you have a robe – just in case. I’m going to walk her out of here in about ten seconds.’
Raoul snapped his fingers and a bouncer rushed over. ‘I need a robe. Meet us at room fourteen. I want you there before us.’ He was speaking to the man’s back at the last.
The club owner and Dominic walked through the luxurious bar – all glass, onyx, crystal chandeliers and plush carpets – then through the even more richly appointed main salon with muralled walls, antique furniture, and dim lights. Both rooms were packed with clothed and unclothed bodies, everyone high or drunk, sexual exhibitionism graphically on display.
‘You’re happily married now, I hear,’ Raoul said as if people weren’t fornicating all around them.
‘I am,’ Dominic replied, blandly. Having frequented places like this for years, he didn’t react to the spectacle. ‘And damned lucky to be. You’ve got kids, right?’ Raoul was pushing fifty, personal-trainer trim, well-dressed, good-looking. He’d been married for ever, Dominic recalled.
‘They’re in Barcelona with their mother. They’re great kids. Both at university now. Yours are young?’
‘Yes.’ Dominic smiled. ‘And precious.’ He softly sighed. ‘My niece was sugar sweet too not so long ago. Last I heard from my sister, Nicole was at my apartment in Monaco taking a break after university. There’s a fucking snow job,’ he muttered. ‘Goddamn little liar.’
‘Give her a lecture from me too. This is no place for a young girl.’
‘Who brought her?’
‘I didn’t see. We’ll find out. Want me to bar him from the club?’
‘Nah. I don’t care what he does so long as he’s not with Nicole.’
A bouncer was standing at the door to the room when they arrived, a black silk robe over his arm. ‘Door’s open,’ he murmured.
Domi
nic nodded, took the robe. ‘Thanks.’ Then he turned to Raoul. ‘I’ll go in alone. God knows what she’s doing. Appreciate your understanding.’
‘Anytime, mon ami.’
Dominic turned the knob, pushed open the door, walked in, slammed the door behind him, took one look at the naked couple swiftly disengaging at his intrusion and tossed the robe at the bed. ‘Put this on,’ he growled.
Nicole let out a shriek, scrambled up into a sitting position and pulled the sheet up in front of her. ‘What are you doing here!’ she screamed, all wild huff and indignation.
And zoned out on something. ‘Shut the fuck up. I’m taking you home.’
She didn’t move, her eyes narrowed, her mouth set.
‘Put the goddamn robe on,’ Dominic snapped, then glared at the bastard lounging naked beside her on the bed, smirking big time. ‘Who the fuck are you?’
‘Who’s asking?’ A languid drawl behind the smirk, a small shrug that rippled the long black hair on his shoulder.
‘Just answer me, asshole.’ But recognition was slowly dawning as Dominic surveyed the man’s tattooed erection. He’d seen that inked dick in Tokyo in the days before Katherine. Even in a group orgy, even concentrating on getting off, you couldn’t help but notice something like that. The young heir to the Swiss pharmaceutical fortune had been a wet-behind-the-ears kid at the time. So he’d be twenty-five, twenty-six now and he was either on some pharmaceuticals that kept his dick hard or he was turned on by people looking. ‘Actually, I know who you are. So keep your painted dick away from my niece. Got it, douche bag?’
‘And if I don’t?’
‘Don’t push your luck, kid.’
‘Oooh, I’m really scared.’
‘Good,’ Dominic said, ignoring the sarcasm. ‘You fucking should be.’ He shot a look at his niece. ‘Christ, Nicole, how the hell high are you?’ She’d fallen back on the bed, her dark hair a tangle of curls splayed out on the pillows, her eyes half-lidded and unfocused.
Softly swearing, Dominic moved to the bed and manhandled Nicole’s arms into the robe, feeling a major sense of déjà vu, remembering all the times he struggled to get her into her clothes when she was a baby. ‘Jesus, asshole,’ he muttered, glowering at the rich punk who hadn’t moved from his lazy sprawl. ‘You like to fuck dead people?’ Wrapping the robe around his inert niece, he tied the belt, and picked her up in his arms. Then he abruptly stopped and scanned the room for Nicole’s purse – credit cards, phone, ID – all the things you didn’t want to leave in a place like this. Ah – there. Walking over to the brilliant pink sofa, he leaned over, grabbed her purse strap with one finger, then strode to the door. Bending slightly, he flipped the handle, swung the door back hard with his foot and walked out to the echo of wood smashing plaster.
There were two bouncers in the hall waiting to escort him and following his muscle through the crowd, Dominic reached the front door in record time. The men accompanied him outside, down the steps and after handing Nicole to one of them, Dominic took out his keys, opened the car doors, threw Nicole’s purse on the console and started the car to warm it up. Walking back to the man with Nicole, he took her in his arms, carried her to the car, carefully placed her in the seat, buckled her in and quietly shut her door. With a word of thanks to the bouncers, he moved around the car to the driver’s seat and slid behind the wheel.
As he swung the car back out into the street, he had a quick twinge of alarm.
What if he had to collect Rosie from a place like this someday?
Jesus fuck.
He shot a glance at Nicole sleeping peacefully and softly sighed. Who would have thought?
Not that he’d given a flying fuck about the time he’d spent in clubs like Raoul’s. Of course, he hadn’t given a flying fuck about much of anything in those days. Conversely, he had to admit to a rare sense of prudery when it came to Nicole. Maybe it was just that he knew Melanie wouldn’t approve, not to mention Matt who’d probably kill the little rat bastard in bed with her. Bottom line though, Nicole hadn’t lived the life he had, she’d had a normal childhood. Raoul’s club was way the hell too hardcore for her.
She wasn’t ready for a place like that.
He drove slowly, so Nicole’s head wouldn’t slide off the head rest. He took the steep ramp into the underground garage beneath the apartment building even more slowly to keep her from slipping down the seat. But the low roar of the powerful engine in the confined space echoed off the walls in a loud, pulsating rumble.
Nicole woke up. ‘Where are we?’ she asked in a wispy voice, like she was a thousand miles away.
‘Almost at the apartment. And don’t you dare raise your voice when we get there because the children are sleeping.’ He pulled into his parking space.
‘He’s like you, Nicky.’ Her voice was husky, half asleep or drowsy from drugs.
‘Jeez, don’t say that.’ Dominic turned off the ignition. ‘That’s the last thing I want to hear.’
She turned her head to look at him, her eyes the same blue as his, clearer now as though returning to the world was a possibility. ‘I don’t mean the sex club.’ She raised her hand in a small dismissive gesture. ‘I mean Rafe is smart and funny and he’s good to me.’
Dominic took a deep breath. ‘Nicole, honey, you’re so damned young. You’ll find all kinds of guys who’ll be good to you. Pick someone else.’ He reached over and unsnapped her seat belt. ‘Now, come on, I’m taking you upstairs.’ Dominic owned the building on the Île St Louis, his apartment the entire top floor, the view of Notre Dame stunning. ‘Katherine will find some pyjamas for you. And no one has to know about this. I told Katherine it was a nightclub.’
‘She won’t say anything to Mom, will she?’
‘There’s nothing to say. That particular nightclub was too rough. I brought you home. End of story.’
‘Thanks, Nicky. I mean for not telling anyone.’
‘You better thank me for getting you out of that fucking bed. Your boyfriend is bad news. Take my word for it, Nicole. You don’t know. I do, OK?’
‘OK, Nicky.’ But she’d noticed the faint vibration of the ringer on her cell phone in her small embroidered purse that had slid off the console and lay next to her hip. She looked away and smiled.
It was Rafe calling.
She knew.
YOUR FIRST TIME WITH DOMINIC WAS EARTH-SHATTERING…
AFTER THAT, YOU JUST COULDN’T STAY AWAY…
NOW, YOU BURN FOR HIS TOUCH…
Discover the Knight trilogy from bestselling author C C Gibbs
Available in paperback and ebook
That summer evening, the first time he…
touched you.
The first night you spent in his arms.
Summer’s here… bring on the heat!
C C Gibbs. Available in ebook.
It occurred to Lily, as she stood on her cabin deck gazing out on Burntside Lake, that she should have known she’d made a mistake the time she’d brought Brock here. He’d looked out at the sparkling water and majestic pines, the perfect blue sky dotted with perfect fluffy white clouds, swatted the mosquito on his arm, and said, irritably, ‘I hope that doesn’t stain linen. As if there’d be a decent dry cleaner in this godforsaken wilderness anyway.’ He’d gone inside muttering and hadn’t come out again until it was time to leave two days later.
One damned mosquito.
She should have gone with her gut feeling then. It would have saved her a helluva lot of trouble. Not to mention a divorce. But, hey, she was here now and he wasn’t and that was good. More than good. Now if she could only figure out how to turn on the water, she could wash her hands after hours on the road from Chicago and life would be great.
The phone rang, the world intruded on her mini therapy session, and she walked back inside.
‘Welcome home, Juju.’
Lily leaned against the kitchen counter and smiled at the greeting from long ago. ‘How did you know I was here? I just walked in the door.’
/> ‘Myrtle Carlson saw you pull into your driveway and called her sister Olga who called my aunt Bernie who called me. When are you coming over?’
‘After I figure out how to turn on the water.’
‘Hurry, because Serena’s on her way now. Call Bianchich’s. They’ll send someone over.’
‘Serena’s home too?’
‘Reluctantly. You know how she hates this town. But her mom broke her hip and needed someone to run the store for a few months. We’ll fill you in when you get here. Dumped the Brock, I hear. About time.’
‘What happened to “I’m sorry your marriage didn’t work out. You must be distraught.”?’
‘I met the Brock, hon. I repeat, about time.’
Lily sighed. ‘How did everyone know but me?’
‘You’re way too sweet, Juju. That’s always been your problem. You believe what people say. But hey, Serena and I will show you the true path. She’s in purdah here till fall and I’m at the lake all summer as usual. Now call Bianchich’s about your water. If you’re lucky our local hero will make the house call himself. Darling Billy still works in the hardware store every off season.’
‘I wouldn’t recognize him if I saw him. He’s years younger.’
‘He’s also, I think the term is, good enough to eat. And if you came to your cabin more often, you’d know it.’
Lily laughed. ‘Your libido is cranked up notches higher than mine. And I’m only just divorced. Don’t talk to me about men right now.’
‘You know what they say about falling off that horse …’
‘Give me a break. Unlike you, I’ve actually gone more than a week without sex.’
‘Bite your tongue. I’m on day six. Now, call the hardware store. We’ll see you in an hour.’
The phone went dead. Ceci had never been good about waiting for anything – which accounted for her very active sex life.
*
Lily didn’t hear the truck pull up; she was unpacking in the bedroom. And if there had been a knock on the door, she’d missed that too. What she didn’t miss were the very broad shoulders on the tall man with spiky black hair who was filling the doorway into her utility room when she went in search of more hangers.
