He promised to worship me, and he delivered in spades.
My full bladder interrupts my decadent thoughts, so I slowly shuffle out from under Felix’s arm and make my way to his ensuite bathroom. After washing my face and using one of the brand-new toothbrushes that I found in his cabinet, I head back to bed.
The sight of his sleeping face sets off a plan in my head—one which I think he’s going to absolutely adore. I use careful and precise movements to push him onto his back and straddle his thighs. Taking a moment to let the sight of his athletically muscled body burn itself into my memory, I then set out to give him the best wakeup call I can deliver.
Holding my hair over one shoulder, I run my fingers the length of his cock. He responds to my touch instantly. The hardness I’ve created jerks involuntarily when I wrap my mouth around the head of his cock. Felix makes a moaning sound which I take as sleepy encouragement, so I start bobbing my head, up and down, until his hips begin to flex, and his hands are grasping at the back of my head.
It’s a struggle to fit all of him in my mouth, but I’ll unhinge my jaw if I must. This man showed me how sex should be last night, and I want to say thank you by returning the favour.
“Holy fuck, Ida,” Felix groans.
I smile as much as I can, raising my eyes to meet his gaze. He is staring down at me with disbelief and awe in his expression. His reaction makes me feel ten-foot tall and bullet-proof. For once, I’m not second guessing myself. I’m happy and content with this man.
The door to his bedroom swings open. Startled, I jump away from Felix and dive under the covers. Felix sits up and places a pillow on his lap while I scoot behind him with the blankets wrapped around me.
“What the hell?” Felix shouts at the older man and the young blonde woman who have burst into his room. One of the men who escorted Felix from my office building the other day also pushes into the room. He sends an apologetic look Felix’s way, then tries to shepherd the other two from the bedroom.
Unfortunately, they refuse to leave.
The older man, who bears some resemblance to Felix, points a finger at us. His eyes are filled with judgement as he takes in our unclothed state.
“Is this any way for a Crown Prince to behave?” he asks with ice in his tone.
In front of me, Felix vibrates with anger. “This is none of your business. Get the hell out of my room and take that tart with you.”
The blonde woman gasps. She lifts a hand to her mouth and I see that her eyes are wet with impending tears. My heart hurts for her as it seems that she is as confused by what is happening as I am.
“That is no way to speak to your fiancée.” The older man hits Felix with a withering look filled with poisonous contempt that would kill if were able. “I send you to this city to represent me as my son and heir to the throne and this is how you behave. Missing events to spend time in a penthouse that I pay for with your latest Infidelity conquest. I suppose this one thinks she’s the love of your life, too. I bet you told her that your tore up the contract as well—”
“That’s untrue,” Felix interjects. “You’re deliberately muddying the truth with your lies.”
“This behaviour is unbecoming of a Von Sonderberg. I truly thought you’d outgrow this need to deceive innocent women by now,” his father says, with a sad shake of his head. He pins me with an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry that you have to find out like this, Miss.”
While I hear the rest of their argument, I barely comprehend the words above surface level. I’m still stuck on the truth bombs the older man just dropped. He called the blonde woman Felix’s fiancée. He said he was a Crown Prince. That his last name was Von Sonderberg and not King.
My heart flips in my chest and drops into the pit of my stomach when I remember his next statement. The contract is still valid. Felix lied about everything.
My skin pulses under an invisible layer of filth and I itch with the need to get the hell out of here.
I knew this was too good to be true. Marta was right—fairy tales are poison and men are nothing but liars who peddle the promise of a happy-ever-after, so they can get their dick wet regularly.
Felix and his father are still arguing when I slip from the bed behind him. I make quick work of grabbing my discarded clothes and heading for the main bathroom in the hall to get dressed. I lock the door behind me and will the tears that are burning my eyes to stay away until I’m able to get the hell out of here.
“Ida,” Felix is standing in the hallway waiting for me when I exit. “Please believe me. My father is lying.”
Without answering, I juggle my shoes, clutch, and bolero into one arm and attempt to push Felix out of the way. He refuses to budge, so I pin him with a glare that telegraphs all of my anger and hurt, “So you’re not a prince? You’re not engaged to that woman? Your last name is really King not Von Sonderberg? And the contract no longer exists like you promised?”
I don’t need to wait for him to answer. His face tells the whole story. Everything his father said is true. I’m a fool for even asking and that’s the bit that hurts the most. I broke all my rules for Felix. I trusted my heart instead of my head, and I was wrong.
Closing my eyes, I push back the need to cry. In its place, I give my anger free rein. A red haze of rage clouds my vision when I reopen my eyes and I take my stiletto and hold it above my shoulder like a knife.
“Get the hell out of my way, Prince Felix Von Sonderberg.” I snarl. “If I ever see your smarmy face again, I’ll tear it from your bones and feed it to my abuela’s wolfhound.”
Felix steps out of my path. I run for the door, and then to the elevator. Felix’s friend—the one who was at my office building with him the other day—holds the lift for me so I can climb in. I press the button for the ground floor like a woman possessed, holding my breath until the button lights up and I’m certain that we’re on our way.
“It isn’t what you think,” Felix’s friend ventures while the elevator descends.
“Just shut up,” I snap. “I’m not interested in an explanation. I simply want to be left alone.”
Wisely, he shuts his mouth. I lean back against the cold, steel wall, despair clawing at my throat and draining me of my will to fight. The rest of the journey to the ground floor is spent in silence, for which I will be eternally grateful, and before I know it, he’s bundled me into a taxi and I’m on my way back to Marta’s apartment.
I’m halfway there before I realise that I don’t want to stay in this city. Rapping my knuckles against the plastic partition, I signal the driver to change destination. There is only one thing that’s going to soothe my suffering at the moment.
My mother’s hug.
“Please take me to the airport,” I ask when the driver meets my eyes in the mirror. “I need to go home.”
TWELVE
Felix
When Mario returns to the penthouse, I take one look at his face and know that it’s over. Ida is gone and there is no going back.
“Please pack his things,” my father orders Mario as he walks into the living room with my supposed fiancée hot on his heels. “I have the jet awaiting our departure within the hour.”
He looks at me with a smirk on his face. I bury the desire to kill him as deep as I can because I need an answer.
“Why?” I ask in a monotone.
His smirk turns into a smug grin. “Did you really think I was giving you a year away? I never took you for a fool until now. This wasn’t your reprieve, it was your wake-up call. It’s proof that your destiny is to fall into line with the expectations of our name. Your only purpose is to fulfil my legacy. Today. Not in a years’ time. Right now, Felix.”
Inclining my head and staring at the floor, I swallow my pride and capitulate to his will for the final time. “I’ll meet you downstairs in a moment. I need a second to compose myself.”
My father pats my upper arm as he passes. “You’ll see in time that I’m trying to do the right thing by you.”
&n
bsp; Clenching my fists, I ignore his paltry promise and watch his entourage follow him out of the penthouse like a pack of faithful dogs. Mario comes up to me with Serge close behind, but I shoo them both away.
“I’m fine. I’ll organise my own things,” I say with as much equanimity as I can find. “Just keep him off my ass for a minute. I’ll meet you all downstairs shortly.
Mario claps a brotherly hand on my shoulder, but I shrug him off. He gets the hint and heads for the door. Serge isn’t quite so easy to fool. He stops in front of me, piercing me with his heated stare until I raise my head and meet his eyes.
“Here,” he hands me a large envelope. “This has everything you need to become Felix King properly. I’ve even included my personal details in case you ever find yourself needing help.”
I’m not surprised that he’s worked out what I’m planning. He is, after all, a professional. Taking the escape that he’s offering, I tuck it under my arm and seize his big fist in mine. Pulling him to me, I bump shoulders with him, then let go. “Take care of Mario for me, and please make sure my mum knows that this isn’t her fault.”
Serge nods once, then tilts his head in the direction of the fire escape. “I’ve got a car waiting at the bottom. Get a move on before someone else works out that you’re not coming.”
I don’t need to be told twice. Heading for my bedroom, I prepare to grab the few things I will need in my new life. Serge is one step ahead of me again. My backpack is sitting, already packed full of the necessities, on the bed that I shared with Ida last night. I give myself a few moments to store the memories of our perfect night in the recesses of my brain, before I lean down and grab the red satin bra and panties that she left behind in her rush to escape my lies. Shoving them in my pocket, I spin the dial on the hidden safe until the door springs open.
I grab the backpack and unzip the front pocket. The entire ten million that it holds won’t fit in my backpack, but I shove as much I can inside. Withdrawing the contents of my checking account yesterday was done on a whim. Today, that impulse pays off. This cash is the only thing funding my new life.
Well, that and my short-term position as a research assistant with Harry Marshall.
With the backpack filled to the brim, I zip it shut and sling it over my shoulder. Pulling free the strap that holds the first section of the fire escape in place, I let down the retractable ladder that will take me to the ground. After I’ve cocked my leg over the window ledge and climbed onto the metal stairs, I pat the satin that sits in my pocket like a talisman of my impending good fortune. I have one objective in this new life I’m heading for and the owner of this underwear is the sole reason behind it.
Ida might think we’re over for good.
She might hate me with every atom in her body.
But, I’m going to prove to her that everything I said was the truth.
From this moment forth, Felix Von Sonderberg ceases to exist. The games. The deceit. The misery. It all dies with him. In his place, Felix King is being reborn. A man of honour. A man of truth. A man who has found the love of his life and will come back for her once he’s proven his worth.
THE END… for now.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Continuing in the same theme as my dedication, I want to thank the members of my Facebook Reader Group, Kylie’s Kollective, for their unwavering and ongoing support. The past year has been amongst the most trying of my life and the understanding, empathy, and friendship that I found in my group was one of the few things that kept my spirits up. Having a place to go when I needed a laugh, or to vent my frustrations, was wonderful.
Thank you all so much for sticking around and being my friends when I sorely needed them.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kylie Hillman is an International Bestselling Author who lives in South Australia. After spending the past fifteen years regularly moving around the east coast of Australia, she has recently returned to her home state and plans to finally put down roots until her children finish school.
Wife to a Harley-riding, boating and fishing, four-wheel driving, quintessential Aussie bloke and mum to two crazy, adorable, and eccentric kids, Kylie is also a Crohn's Disease sufferer and awareness campaigner. When she's not writing, she can be found sipping tea while she literally “Netflix and Chills” or sharing her appreciation for heavy metal and hard rock music with her neighbours. As a devotee to the use of sarcasm and inappropriate innuendo, it is for the best that she chooses to venture outside her home only on special occasions.
Kylie is represented by Sarah Hershman of Hershman Rights Management.
She loves to chat with readers and can be contacted via email, Facebook, or her website.
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OTHER TITLES BY KYLIE HILLMAN
BLACK SHAMROCKS MC
Soothing Suffering (Black Shamrocks MC Novella 0.5)
Seizing Control (Black Shamrocks MC #1)
Making Choices (Black Shamrocks MC #2)
Seeking Redemption (Black Shamrocks MC #3)
Conquering Circumstances (Black Shamrocks MC Novella 3.5)
Tempting Fate (Black Shamrocks MC #4)
Finding Nirvana (Black Shamrocks MC #5)
Craving Control (a Black Shamrocks MC Companion Story)
The entire Black Shamrocks MC series is now available online and instore.
CENTRIFUGE DUET
Amnesia (Centrifuge Duet #1)
Attest (Centrifuge Duet #2)
Adversary (Centrifuge Duet #3) (pre-order)
BLACK HEARTS MMA
Brawl (Black Hearts MMA #1)
Conflict (Black Hearts MMA #2) (pre-order)
Dissent (Black Hearts MMA #3) (pre-order)
Execute (Black Hearts MMA #4) (pre-order)
BLACK SHAMROCKS MC: FIRST GENERATION
Conan (Black Shamrocks MC: First Generation #1)
Viking (Black Shamrocks MC: First Generation #2) (pre-order)
STANDALONES
Invictus (Fidelity Kindle World)
Blood Oath, a Psychological Thriller (pre-order)
CONTENTS
Disclaimer
Dedication
Prologue
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Full Circle Security Inc. Details
Newsletter Signup
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Contact Kylie
Also by Kylie
The Fidelity World_Invictus Page 7
