by Kailin Gow
Still dazed, I walked across the room to the lavatory, soaking a washcloth with warm water and holding it to my face. A champagne bucket filled with ice still waited for me outside the room; I took some ice and wrapped it in the washcloth, wiping my face, wiping away the small traces of blood she'd left with her nails. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was an absolute wreck. My mascara had run down my cheeks from the crying; my eyes were red. I was sweaty, bruised, smeared – utterly beaten down. Was this the face that gorgeous, merciless Roni had seen when she walked through that door in her thousand-dollar camel-colored trenchcoat? I wasn't much of a threat to her right now, I thought bitterly. Even at my best I'd have to struggle to be noticed next to the gazelle-like Roni – and right now I hardly looked anything like my best.
I sighed. Was this what Danny saw? After he'd seen Roni in her silk negligee, her legs stretching for what seemed like miles, her hair like a nimbus around her face, golden and shining – would he still want me in this way? Messy, chaotic – still stained with tears?
Yet as I looked at myself in the mirror, my self-pity gave way to anger as I thought about precisely what Roni had done. How dare she? I couldn't believe her audacity – an audacity that surely bordered on madness. “How dare she?” I said again, aloud this time, at my reflection, letting the weight of her actions sink in. Coming over to my house, telling me to stay away from my own boyfriend – a boyfriend to whom, incidentally, she not only had no right, but indeed was her own stepson. The whole situation was so ridiculous, so utterly sick, that I wasn't sure whether to laugh, cry, or scream.
Yet more anger seeped through me – this time not at Roni but at Danny. Surely Danny must have known how crazy Roni was – even if he no longer had any feelings for her. Surely he must have known how she'd react to the sight of him with a new girlfriend. And instead he'd chosen to try to handle the situation on his own. He hadn't warned me, hadn't prepared me – had allowed me to walk straight into a trap, to be mocked and humiliated by Joanne Waldegrave and Roni Taylor and goodness knew who else – allowed me to be made a fool of by everyone in his crazy, debauched life.
How stupid could you be? I recriminated myself. I'd seen this happen a hundred times among the girls and boys I'd grown up with. Always dating “within the group” - other Beverly Hills celebrities – always surprised when somehow people who grew up among models and strippers and playboys and alcoholics turned out to be functionally incapable of holding down an adult relationship. It was just one of many reasons I'd never dated in high school. I hadn't wanted to get sucked down by the dysfunction of yet another celebrity family. And here I was, dating the biggest celebrity of them all, Clarence Blue's son.
But you didn't know he was Clarence Blue's son when you fell for him. He'd just seemed like a normal guy – a normal, gorgeous, mind-numbingly sexy, talented guy, to be sure, but not the scion of a family of psychopaths. And every step of the way, he'd withheld information. About his identity, about his family, about his past. Letting me get close to him, letting me fall for him, telling me he was “addicted” to me, making me want him – only to push me away when it mattered. The classic bad boy maneuver I'd been warned about from the time I was ten.
How had I been so stupid? At that moment, all I wanted was to never see Danny again – to go back to where everything was normal, everything was easy, to men like Luc who never let you down. Luc... I felt a pang as his face came to mind. Luc would never have sprung his crazy family on me. He would never have set me up to fail the way Danny had...
I opened the front door, anxious to find Luc, to talk out my rage. But to my surprise, standing before me was Danny himself, a look of utter anguish on his face.
“Neve...” he whispered, reaching his hands out to me.
Damn it. Just looking at him, the way his piercing blue eyes met my own, the sad look in his eyes that made me want to comfort him – everything about him made me melt. My anger, my fury vanished. All I wanted was for him to hold me tight. He stepped towards me and I could smell his familiar intoxicating musk – the combination of sweat and aftershave that made him so irresistible to me. Even now, my body wanted his.
“What happened to you?” He reached out and touched the angry red welt at my cheek. “Neve, are you okay?”
I looked down, my cheeks flushing crimson. I was too angry, too ashamed to tell him about Roni – would he even believe me if I did?
“Was it Geoff?” Danny's face clouded with anger.
“No, not Geoff.” I shook my head. “Why – he's gone, isn't he?”
“No, Neve,” Danny's eyes darkened. “I wanted to tell you – I put some of my dad's security staff on him. He hasn't gone back to the US like we thought. He's still in London.”
“In London? Why?”
“Who knows?” Danny shrugged. “He's not stupid enough to try anything on you again – but just having him in this city makes me nervous...”
“Drugs aren't known for making someone make rational decisions,” I said icily. “No, it wasn't Geoff. It was – well...” I gritted my teeth, not looking forward to this conversation. “It was your stepmom, Danny.”
His eyes widened with shock. “What? Roni?” His disbelief at first made my heart sink. Would he be so convinced of Roni's innocence that he'd blame me for this feud?
“Yes, Roni,” I snapped. “She came here to warn me off you. Told me you were hers alone, and to get lost.”
“Oh, Neve,” Danny sighed, reaching out to touch me on my unbruised side. “Neve, Neve, Neve, I'm so sorry. I knew she was bad, but I didn't think it'll be this bad...” He led me into the suite, sitting me down on the bed, holding my hand tightly. “I should have known – I should have warned you...” He felt my bruise. “Did she hit you?”
“A slap,” I said.
“It'll heal,” he said. “It doesn't look too bad...let's get some more ice on that.”
“She was really aggressive, Danny...”
“Typical Roni,” Danny smiled grimly. “When she wants something, she'll go all out to get it. Snaring my dad into marrying her – playing all of us like a fiddle...”
His words were tinged with faint respect, or at least awe, and I couldn't help but feel the familiar jealousy wash over me as I remembered the sultry look in Roni's eyes as she had pushed her lips against Danny's own...Even knowing how crazy she was, I couldn't help but feel insanely jealous of her, of the way she made me feel...
“She wants you, Danny,” I whispered, holding onto his fingers, not wanting to let go.
“Well, she can't have me,” Danny said. He moved in closer and kissed me – softly at first, and then harder, passionately, making me moan as he sucked on my bottom lip. “I want you, Neve. You're the only woman I want. I'm with you.” He pulled back, looking deep into my eyes.
I couldn't bear this pain any longer, or this anger. I just wanted to forget. Forget Roni, forget Clarence Blue – I just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before. Pure and simple – easy, passionate sex. I leaned in and kissed him, wrapping my arms around him and pulling him into me.
“Don't worry,” he was whispering into my neck. “Believe me, Neve – you have no reason to worry. I want you and only you. I won't let her hurt you – hurt us...I’ll prove it to you. You’re the only woman I want, and I want you so badly right now...” He kissed me deeply, slowly; I felt my whole body shake with longing. He whispered into my ear, tickling the lobes with his tongue. “Do you want me to go further, Neve? I won't unless you want me to!”
“Yes!” I almost shouted it. Yes, I want you. To make me scream. To make me forget.
He pulled me onto the bed, undressing me, filling me with longing, playing me like an instrument, my whole body responding to his every touch as he brought me to the brink and then over it, again and again, until I was soaked and stained with sweat – mine and his – the sheets tangled between us. We fell asleep in each other's arms, and when we woke Danny's face was so angelic, so peaceful, that I felt a deep sadness rise
in my throat. How could he sleep so softly, so dreamlessly, when so much confusion and complication hung between us?
I stood up to get a drink of water and noticed that an envelope had been slid under the door. Room service? I bent over to pick up the paper.
No sooner had I read it than my hands began to shake, sending the paper tumbling to the floor.
You have been warned. If you refuse to listen to my wishes, there will be consequences. It was unsigned, but I knew all too well the source of the note. Had she been outside – listening – all night? Was she standing in wait, outside – as Danny and I had sought solace in one another, as we'd made love?
I felt sick to my stomach.
Veronica was even crazier than I'd thought.
Chapter 13
I gasped aloud. I looked down at the floor, the note fluttering downwards. I felt sick, nauseous. The whole world around me seemed to spin and turn; I grew dizzy.
“Are you okay, Neve?” Danny's soft voice called from the bed. “Neve, darling, what happened?”
But I couldn't think. My mind was going white, then blank, then white again – utterly blocking out any thought but the fear and nausea that were seeping through me.
“Neve, talk to me...”
I reached out to the bed, putting a hand down to steady myself. “She's crazy,” I whispered. “She's really crazy. I don't believe it.”
“What are you talking about?” Danny clambered over to the end of the bed, taking me in his arms. “Who's crazy?”
“Roni,” I said, my voice faltering. “Your ‘she's not that big a threat.’”
“Roni?” Danny looked confused.
I picked up the paper gingerly, as if it were a piece of hot coal, and showed it to him. “She slid this under our door last night,” I said, my gorge rising. “While we were...you know. She came back and wanted me to see this.”
Danny's eyes widened as he took the note from me and began to read it. “This is insane,” he said at last when he had finished, his jaw dropping. “Are you sure this is from her – not an imposter? Or someone trying to mess with you?”
“Believe me, I'm sure,” I said firmly. “After all, I've spoken to her. I know what she's like.”
Danny gritted his teeth. “You're right,” he said. “She is – absolutely mad. Completely unstable.” He turned to me, pain in his eyes. “You'll be careful, right, Neve?” He pressed my hands to his lips. “Promise me you'll be careful, okay?” He sighed deeply. “I'll take care of Roni as best I can. I'll do what I have to do – even if it means telling my father what I know about her. But between her and Geoff...” He kissed me, holding me close. “Listen, whatever you do, don't worry. I'll take care of this for you. I'll keep you safe, believe me.” He held me tight and close, kissing me passionately. He tasted sweet, slightly salty, his body still warm from our exertions of the night before. “Do you trust me?” His eyes grew wide, and within them I could see that signature soulful look that still had the power to make me melt. “Do you trust me, Neve?”
I only hesitated for a moment. “Of course I trust you,” I said, reaching out and taking his hands into my own. “Do you trust me?”
“Of course I do,” he said. “It's been so long since I trusted anyone the way I trust you. It's never been this way, not since...” his voice trailed off, and I felt a pang at the absence, at the presence of what he did not say, of her name.
“Let me show you how much I trust you,” Danny whispered throatily, taking me into his arms. He covered my whole body with kisses – fervent, hurried kisses, each one faster and sharper than the next, as if to cover me completely, to drown me in the force of his passion. Every kiss seemed to say to me – trust me. I care for you. I want only you. Each kiss seemed to drive the tension, the fear out of my body. I took in his whole naked body, delirious with joy at his beauty. At his rippled muscles, his bare flesh. At the tattoo of a blue lion beneath his right breast that looked so perfect, so intoxicating, against his tanned flesh. I loved feeling his body against mine; I loved feeling him inside me. It meant that we were close, he and I – a closeness that managed to cancel out all the pain, all the worry, all the vicissitudes of the outside world. Roni could come between us – she could make me jealous with a simple toss of her beautiful doll-like head – but she could never come between us here, here where Danny's body seemed to meld into my own. I closed my eyes and moaned aloud as Danny's fingers found the place that always made me cry aloud for joy that made my body shiver in delirious waves of ecstasy.
It was only afterward when, showering together, washing away the sticky sweet smell of sex off our bodies, that I realized how tired and hungry I was. It was getting close to noon, and I hadn't eaten dinner last night. I hadn't eaten anything since before Roni had shown up to Danny's apartment – and my stomach gave a loud rumble. Danny grinned at me. “I think it's time I showed you one of this country's most innovative inventions. I refer, of course, to the classic English fry-up?”
I groaned. “All that grease – first thing in the morning?”
“I could take you to the bog-standard version. A cheap cafe with slightly dubious sausages. But I've got an idea that might appeal more to your Californian nature, love. There's a lovely little brunch place in South Kensington that does rather more...elaborate fry-ups. Game sausages, free range eggs, ethically sourced food – the works. Does that sound a bit more your style?”
I smiled. “I could use some free range eggs right about now.”
“Come on...” Danny took my hand, and before I knew it we were driving through the picturesque streets of South Kensington, a posh district with a decidedly European atmosphere. Little cafes and boutiques dotted the small, historic streets; the smell of baking bread wafted from a French patisserie on the corner. Danny led me into one cafe on a street corner, greeting the waitresses – who all knew him, I noted – and ordering us two enormous platters of breakfast.
Yet no sooner had I put a steaming forkful of eggs into my mouth than we were interrupted by a low, almost sad voice.
“Danny?” It was the voice of a woman in her mid-fifties, an elegantly-kept woman with a pale blonde bob and a meticulously tailored coat. The wrinkles on her face did little to mar her beauty – she had the kind, warm, sophisticated look of a woman who has aged into her years with grace and wisdom. Her face was familiar – strangely familiar, I thought, but I could not place it. Next to her stood a stunningly handsome blonde man, perhaps a few years older than me, with a boyish smile that seemed to fade on his lips when he saw Danny. He sighed quietly, approaching warily.
“Oh, Danny, how have you been?” The woman reached out and hugged Danny – tightly, to my surprise – so tightly that it seemed to make even Danny uncomfortable. “I heard you went away...” Her voice wavered.
“Yeah,” Danny looked down. He looked embarrassed, shy – not like his usual confident self. “I'm so sorry – I meant to keep in touch, I really did.”
“Of course,” the man said, his voice slightly curt.
“We have missed you, Danny,” said the woman. “Please do give us a ring sometime if you're ever in London. It would be our pleasure to see you again, wouldn't it, Pete?”
“Sure,” said the man, in a voice that made it clear that he didn't mean it.
“Whenever you need anything, Danny – you've always got a home with us.” The woman squeezed Danny's hand, smiling a smile that – I noticed with curiosity, seemed marred by tears. Then the two of them hurried out of the cafe, leaving me alone with Danny. The one called Pete looked back at me, a strange and inscrutable expression on his face. Not the hostile look of contempt I'd been used to getting from Danny's “set” here in London – but certainly not friendliness either. He looked curious – intrigued, even. But Danny had made no effort to introduce me.
“What was that?” I asked him.
Danny looked uncomfortable. “That,” he said slowly, “is Peyton's mother. And her kid brother, Pete.” He swallowed. “Well, not really a kid anym
ore, is he? They moved down to London after...after Peyton's father died. Poor woman. Losing a daughter and a husband in five years.”
I swallowed hard, flushing pink. No matter where I went, it seemed, I couldn't get away from Peyton's shadow. Her perfection. Her death.
“I'd tried to stay in touch with them, you know, after the accident. To make sure they had whatever they needed.” He looked down at his plate. “But when I left for America again, we lost touch. It was too painful. I'd been one of the family – like a son to them. Pete and I were like brothers. But after Peyton's death....” He sighed deeply. “Her mother forgives me. Perhaps she shouldn't – but she does. But Pete...he thinks I'm responsible for killing his sister.” His eyes grew dark. “And perhaps I am, Neve...”
“Don't say that.” I too had grown pale. Seeing the effect Peyton had on Danny, even in death, was enough to undo all the confidence I had regained in Danny's arms this morning. Enough to make me wonder what I was doing with this man who – crazy stepmother or not – was clearly in love with a ghost. I tried to swallow down the tears along with the worry.
But Danny noticed my discomfort. Taking my hands and squeezing them across the table, he raised them to his lips. “Come on, cheer up,” he said. “I've got a present for you, remember? We've got to head on over to Blues Enterprises – it's waiting for you there...”
