Er, no, not happening, and not because I can’t rock planning a wedding. I am a rock star and could probably do that shit with one hand tied behind my back while running James at the same time. (Here’s where I pat my own back in admiration.) However, Dad will kill me if Mom is gone that long—not to mention that Cody will kick my ass, too.
That kid. An animal when he’s annoyed.
But if the looks didn’t prove it, his cheeky temperament would. Cody is a James through and through, and so like me I pity my poor mother having to raise a kid like me.
So now, here I sit at work, king of all I survey, feeling at peace and content for the first time in a while, and I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop because—damn me—if that’s not the way that shit works in my life.
That’s one of the reasons I haven’t allowed myself to settle for so long, because as soon as I relax and allow myself to feel happy, the bitch comes crashing down and I’m left feeling worse than if I never allowed the contentment at all.
“Earth to Law.”
I look up to see Justin Grove, an old friend of mine from Monaco, stroll into my office, a huge grin lining his handsome face, and I frown. I like the guy and spent three months with him exploring Mongolia and some of Siberia, playing at being an adventurer.
But the guy is very slick, and he’s a part of my past that I don’t need intruding on my life right now. Admittedly, I’m not enthused about him showing up here, because it reminds me of a freedom I no longer have, and it scares me to think that one wrong move could mean I lose what I have now.
But the temptation to be free again is not exactly a small thing to fight, and this shit is not helping.
“Justin. Long time no see, man.”
No sense in being rude—even though my first inclination is to boot his ass out of the building and run home to see my family to re-solidify my vow, a vow I made to myself to drop my shit and settle, no matter how trapped I feel.
See, this is the part that I didn’t expect…fighting two halves of myself that are in such opposition that it’s hard to catch a breath.
The guy saunters in; his dark, good looks, coupled with his green eyes, obviously got him in despite Peggy being sixty and happily married.
I’ve seen this guy in action and no fucking way am I taking him anywhere near my Nic. I’ll kill the bastard if he so much as smiles her way. And I’ll definitely cut his dick off if my girl smiles back, which is bound to happen since the guy left the womb dripping in old world charm.
“You look less than enthused to see me, old friend,” he muses, crossing an ankle at his knee, his mouth smiling sardonically at my scowl and my clenched fists.
Goddammit, why now? Another month or so and I’d be married and chained to Nic. Why couldn’t the asshole wait to reconnect until after I’m married and tied down.
“Not at all. Just wondering what brings the great Justin Groves to this neck of the woods.”
He laughs at me and shrugs a shoulder in that smarmy way of his that I used to find amusing but now do not. The man looks like a slimy snake, relaxed, and at ease with himself despite not working a day in his life. His most lauded accomplishment is that he is a lothario and nothing more.
Is this what Nic sees when she looks at me? I wonder. I feel my skin crawl at the thought of being compared to this guy. I can’t believe I was chomping at the bit just a moment ago.
“Miss Sharp, he’s in a meeting!”
My heart falls when my office door bursts open and my girl walks in looking like a million bucks, her curves and abundant cleavage spilling forth in a grey jersey dress that does nothing to hide her attributes.
Justin turns, raises a brow, and starts smirking, causing my blood to start boiling.
“Getting ahold of you is like trying to phone the President of the United States. I need to…oh hi! Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t have just barged in,” Nic says, smiling a little sheepishly when she spots Justin lazing back in his seat.
Her smile falters when her eyes meet mine, and I can almost see what I must look like. My jaw is clenched so hard I have no doubt she can see the muscle ticking there, and I’m breathing hard enough that my nostrils must be flaring like a rabid stallion.
“Er, I’ll just come back?” she stammers, giving Justin another look as she starts backing away towards the door.
“Oh nonsense! A beautiful woman should never be kept waiting.”
I rise when Justin does and almost vault over my desk when he grabs Nic’s hand and raises it to his lips, his green eyes sending out a million messages that I know so well since I used that same oozing charm on many a female.
Nic titters and blushes, her eyes dancing with mirth, as he steers her toward the sitting area and plays the gallant, putting his paws all over my woman.
“Who is this lovely morsel you’re hiding from us, Law?”
Swear to God, the Groves are about to lose their one and only heir, and I’m not kidding. I could beat him to death and hide his body without an ounce of guilt if the fuck doesn’t get his mitts off of what’s mine.
Nic being Nic immediately senses my tension and smiles tremulously while Justin continues to scoot so close he’s practically sitting in her lap.
“My fiancée, Grove. So I suggest you stop trying to look at her tits and move the fuck back.”
What the—? I’m jealous? I haven’t been jealous a day in my life, and I hate the feeling. As rage and uncertainty pool in my gut, I grind my jaw and saunter over, giving Justin a hard glare.
He starts at the news and then starts laughing so hard I feel my mind start splitting with the need to shut him up and get him as far away from my pure Nic as humanly possible.
I don’t like him breathing the same air as my girl, tainting her air space.
“You? Engaged? Are you kidding?”
I frown, and Nic titters behind her hand, her eyes dancing with a mixture of amusement and glee at my discomfort.
“No, asshole,” I say with a growl, shoving him off the sofa and taking a seat next to Nic.
She frowns when I pull her closer, obviously confused by my show of possession since I hardly acknowledge her except when I’m screwing her lights out.
Justin’s eyes dance, and I narrow mine, wanting to knock his teeth out so bad my fists ache.
“Are you telling me,” he asks, giving Nic a sympathetic look, “that there is now a woman alive who’s foolish enough to believe that Lawson James, noted playboy and slut extraordinaire, is the settling down type? Forgive me dear, but what is your name?”
“Er, Nic.”
“Her name is Nicolette.”
The growling thing is starting to work on my own nerves, but I can’t seem to stop as the dick smiles winningly and winks, making her giggle anew.
She shouldn’t be laughing at this clown. All her laughter, sorrow, fuck every emotion she has belongs to me…and she knows it. And if this carries on, I’m going to drag her over my knee and remind her of that, after I drag her ass home and remind her of the list I made this morning.
I don’t remember “Leave the house” being on the thing, and for that reason alone, she deserves whatever wrath I give her.
For now though, I have this ass to get out of my life before I can remind my Nic why I’m in charge.
Justin smirks again and shakes his head.
“I never thought I’d see the day that Law succumbed to being leg-shackled to a female. Why, this man once seduced three—”
I stop him before he can go further and ignore Nic’s giggles, as I drag her to her feet and pull her to the door.
“Go home.”
I can’t handle this right now with any semblance of civility, and I do not need her seeing a side of me that I haven’t shown her and have no intention of showing her.
“But Law—”
“I said get your ass home, Nic—and fucking stay there. We’ll talk about you showing up uninvited when I get home.” I snarl, hating it when her eyes dim, and she looks away with
a sniff.
“Fine. It was nice meeting you, Justin,” she mutters, pulling away without so much as a goodbye kiss.
Can’t say I blame her, but that’s another mark against her record, and believe me when I say her ass is getting it tonight.
“Goodbye Nic, I hope to see—”
I close the door before he can finish the sentence and turn back to him with a glare.
“What the fuck are you doing here?”
Justin shrugs nonchalantly and gives me another smirk.
“Melissa.”
Dread unfurls in my gut at the mention of that name, and I feel that sinking sensation that tells me that things are not going to go well for me. See, I told you that I hate the rare times I feel happy.
Something always goes wrong.
Chapter Thirty-one
Law
“What about her?”
Melissa St. Ives was the one conquest of mine that I regretted the minute I got between her legs. After drinking myself legless at a party in Germany, I met the English heiress and took on the challenge of seducing a woman who most said was unable to be seduced.
I should have known it was a bad idea the minute she smiled her icy smile at me and accepted my drunken flirting, but hell, I was drunk and just too impressed with myself to allow the alarm bells much attention.
I’d fucked her and sent her away. I only felt the barest satisfaction at winning the bet Justin and I had had, though honestly the feeling hadn’t been that great.
As she left, even after I’d dismissed her like a whore, my usual modus operandi—and not something I am at all proud of right now—she’d given me a glorious smile and skipped out of my life as if nothing had happened.
“She’s been looking for you, mate.” Justin chuckles, wiggling his brows at me. “And she has something to tell you that I don’t think you’ll want to miss.”
Please Jesus, please just help me out here, I beg, feeling that dread morph into pure fear when the bastard smiles again and drops his bomb with so much delight it takes all of my strength not to lunge at him.
“She’s pregnant and telling everyone within earshot that it’s yours.”
***************************************************************
Nico
Something is definitely wrong with Law. He hasn’t been to bed for going on four days now, and every time I walk into a room, the man jumps up and stalks out as if I’m bringing the plague in with me.
I have to say that I’m a little hurt and feeling ten times the fool since I should have gone ahead with my plan and left his ass after the way he’s been treating me.
I love him though.
And therein lies my biggest hurdle because I keep making all these excuses for him. He’s just scared. He needs time. His got every right to still be upset about my lies.
No matter how hard I try though, I know something more is at play, and I’ve been avoiding confronting him with it because I’m afraid that if we talk, we might not make it back to anything that can be considered halfway close to the marriage we’re headed towards.
Cowardly, I know, but I’m reluctant to rock this raft with the sharks circling.
When he strides into the bedroom late on this Friday night and just stands at the foot of the bed staring at me, I feel my stomach take a nose dive and pull the sheets up, feeling vulnerable and in need of protection for the first time in ages.
I swallow past the dryness in my throat and offer a smile that I know is tremulous.
“Hey, you’re home early for a change.”
He keeps staring at me, his jaw clenched, and he shakes his head as if to dispel whatever he’s thinking about. He looks haggard and tired, completely defeated, and I jump up, going to him even knowing that the odds of him pushing me away are very high.
Law won’t let me touch him in any way that isn’t sexual, and I know that my offer of comfort isn’t going to be well received. I go anyway, gasping when his arms shoot out and he hauls me into his body, his strong arms closing around me so tightly I can’t breathe.
His body shudders when I return the embrace, and I smile through a mist of tears, grateful for whatever it is he’s willing to give me.
“Hey, babe, what’s wrong?”
He shudders again and lifts me off my feet, his breathing ragged as he enfolds me, holding me like a lifeline.
“Law?”
I’m scared now because this is not the dominant, self-assured Law who has been walking rough shod over me for the last few months. Truth be told, and though it sounds weak, I like the guy who’s so confident that he’s hard to handle.
That Law may be a dick, but he’s strong and sure and someone I know I can count on even if he doesn’t love me. This guy who’s clutching at me makes me feel lost and afraid.
“Law, honey, what’s wrong?” I ask again, attempting to put some distance between us so I can see his face.
After long minutes, he releases me, his fists bunching as he stalks to the bed and sits, his head hanging before he looks up to meet my eyes.
“I can’t marry you, Nic.”
Uh…but…
I want to laugh and tell him not to fool around. I went to his office to tell him that I am pregnant and have been trying to tell him for days before Minnie pokes her head up from her wedding plans and notices.
Women always know for some reason, and I wanted him to know first; I have, in fact, been dying to see the excitement on his face, almost as if I have finally done something to redeem myself.
“Uh, are you kidding?” I choke out, taking a step back when he shakes his head regretfully and looks away.
“No. I’m getting married to Melissa St. Ives. I met her a few months ago, just before Dad called me home and…we’re going to have a baby.” He chokes on his words, clearing his throat and meeting my eyes, his own blue eyes hard and unfeeling.
I want to laugh at this. Is this some sort of cosmic justice? God’s way of punishing me for my mistake?
“I…you…she’s pregnant?”
I sound like a fool as I stutter on the words, but at this point, my lips are numb and almost uncooperative as I blink away the dizziness setting in. I’m gutted and…there are no words to describe the heartache I feel right now.
I’ve lost, hell, I probably never stood a chance at him loving me or thinking I’m the one, but to be so summarily dismissed before I could get a chance…?
“Yes. I, we met just before…and I had to leave her.”
He doesn’t elaborate, but he doesn’t need to. I know the score here—just as I knew it months ago. Years ago.
Law doesn’t love me, and he never will. I’m disposable, something he can throw away and return to at will…whenever the fancy strikes him. Only this time there’s no doubt, no way that I can hold onto false hope.
He’s not running away from anything, he’s stepping up to the plate, ready to do the right thing. Just not with me.
“You…?” I pause, fighting back tears of hurt and familiar humiliation. “I mean so little to you?”
It galls me to say this since I swore never to beg him for anything ever again, not after the way I fell to my knees, crying and pleading with him to give me a chance all those years ago.
But I’m not a coward, and for me to move on from this, I have to be strong enough to risk my pride. I have Cody to think about, as well as this little life growing inside me now, and I won’t just give up, not if I—
“We would never have worked, Nic.”
Pain.
“Look. You can stay here with Mom and Dad. You should stay here with Mom and Dad since they won’t want you and Cody to leave them. I’ll move out and…”
Marry another woman. Love another woman. Have a family with another woman while I’m left standing by the wayside once again.
He looks guilty as hell when he finally meets my eyes, and I feel my heart turn to ice. I won’t let this break me again. I can’t. I don’t have the luxury of letting this fool shatter me aga
in.
I will stay—even if it means driving Law out of his home and away from his parents. It’s harsh and probably cruel, but why should I lose my family because he’s an ass.
I won’t let myself think about another woman carrying his baby, a woman he probably loves, because it might kill me. What I remind myself of now, is that I was right to convince Minnie to stall on the wedding while I gave him another chance to love me.
Something he’s failed at again.
“Okay.”
My voice sounds off, robotic, devoid of emotion, but I can’t help that. I’m numb. Broken. Shut down in my need not to break down in front of him.
“Uh—?”
“Go.”
“Nic.”
I hear the pleading in his tone and turn my back, not able to look at him right now.
“No, Law. I knew…God.” I laugh humorlessly and turn back, raising my chin as my pride rears its ugly head. “I knew you weren’t in it for the long haul. I’ve known it from the beginning…since you…you’re not worth this pain. Every time I start loving you…you always disappoint me.”
He blanches at my cruelty and makes as if to touch me. I ward him off with a raised hand and shake my head fiercely.
“This is why I didn’t tell you about Cody. You aren’t…I can’t ever depend on you. You amuse yourself till the novelty wears off, and then you take off just as quickly.”
“Nic—”
“No! Leave me alone. I don’t…I can’t do this with you again,” I whisper, feeling the tears tracking down my cheeks. “You broke me once, and I almost lost myself. If it wasn’t for Brody and Leo, I wouldn’t have made it. I won’t let you do that to me again, Law. I have more than myself to think about.”
Tell him!
I won’t though—not yet. First I need to lick my wounds and find a way to hold my head up. And then I’ll tell him that he’s going to be a father again and watch him scramble to fix the major fuckup he just made.
But I won’t love him. Never again.
Chapter Thirty-two
LUCI (The Naughty Ones Book 2) Page 80
