Nica's Legacy (Hearts of ICARUS Book 1)

by Laura Jo Phillips

  “No,” Bree admitted. “But that doesn’t mean Quill was lying. They just misunderstood each other. That’s all.”

  “You threw your best friend out into the street over a misunderstanding?” Ian asked in a dangerous voice.

  “I didn’t mean to,” Bree replied, refusing to meet his eyes. “I just lost my temper. I tried to find her, to apologize, but I didn’t know where she went.”

  “For all you know she was murdered or kidnapped,” Ian said, his words so sharp Bree flinched.

  “Nica can take care of herself,” Bree said in a trembling voice. “I’m sure she’s just fine.”

  “Oh, well, since you’re so sure we can just drop the matter. After all, who gives a damn what happens to Nica, a friend you’ve had for eight years, when you have Quill Thomas, a man you’ve known for less than three weeks, to go out to the theatre with.” Ian sat down and folded his hands on top of his desk as he let Bree stew for a full minute. “This man that you’ve been seeing is not who you think he is. He’s dangerous, Bree.”

  “You don’t know anything about him,” Bree said, her chin going up again, her face red with instant anger. “Just like you knew nothing about Nica. I saw how you looked at her, how you spoke to her before you found out she had money. Then she was acceptable to you. You judge people too harshly, Ian, and for superficial reasons.”

  “You are correct that I did that to Nica, but it had nothing to do with her money,” Ian said. Bree arched a disbelieving brow. “I pretended it did, I admit, but the truth was not what you think. But we aren’t talking about Nica now. We’re talking about this man who calls himself Quill Thomas. His real name is Thomas Gordon and I’ve known him since my freshman year of college. Much longer than you’ve known him.”

  “I suppose you’ll tell me that he’s a fortune hunter, like Nica, right?”

  “I have no doubt whatsoever that he’s after your money, Bree,” Ian replied. “But he’s no mere fortune hunter. He’s angry because I’m the one that told my best friend’s sister the truth about him last month. That’s why that wedding we went to was changed from a double to a single at the last moment. Thomas wants revenge against me for my interference, and he’s using you to get it. He told Nica what he planned to do to you, and I know Nica told you, but you, in your great and discerning wisdom, chose not to believe her. Apparently, I’m not to be trusted either.”

  “Believe it or not, this isn’t about you, Ian,” Bree said angrily. “This is about me and my life. Quill loves me and I love him and it has absolutely nothing to do with you at all!”

  “I understand that you love him, Bree, and I’m sorry for it,” Ian said, softening his voice. “I really am. But it doesn’t change the facts. I doubt two things he’s told you are true, including his name. He’s lying to you and manipulating you, and you’re too naïve to see it.”

  “No, Ian. You’re the one trying to manipulate me.”

  “I don’t need to manipulate you, Bree,” he said, wearily. “All I have to do is tell you that you will not see that man again.”

  “I am no longer a child to be told what to do,” Bree replied. “I’m an adult, and I’ve made my decision. Quill has asked me to marry him, and I’ve agreed.”

  “In that case, you should be aware that if you marry him before your twenty-fifth birthday, you’ll be penniless and homeless.”

  “What?” Bree asked, her face going from red to white in seconds.

  “There are conditions to the Trust our father set up for you, Bree. If you elope, or otherwise marry without my permission before you’re twenty-five, your inheritance is void.”

  “That’s not fair,” Bree said numbly.

  “You keep saying you’re an adult, then complain because something isn’t fair,” Ian said, shaking his head. “I hate to break it to you Bree, but fair has no place in the grown-up world, and it certainly has nothing to do with this. This is about protecting the heritage our ancestors worked and sweated and bled for. It’s my responsibility to make sure it’s not given into dishonorable hands, and I take that responsibility seriously.”

  “You’re blackmailing me.”

  “No, I’m not. I have no power to change the Trust. Like you said, it’s your life. Make your choice.”

  “You could give me permission to marry Quill.”

  “No, I can’t do that, Bree. I know who and what he is, and believe it or not, I love you too much to do that to you.”

  “I’m going to marry him anyway, Ian. I don’t need you, your money, or your permission.”

  “Just be sure he knows ahead of time that Fadden land and Fadden money are forever out of his reach.”

  “He won’t care,” Bree declared in a trembling voice. “He loves me.”

  Ian sighed with regret as he took in Bree’s defiant gaze. He was hurting her, and he truly didn’t want to. But he had to protect her, even if it was from herself. “Just be sure to tell him about the money before you marry him. Then you’ll know the truth. But I strongly suggest you do it in a public place for your own safety. He’s made some serious threats against you, Bree, whether you believe it or not. I’ll say it again; Thomas Gordon is a very dangerous man.”

  “Quill is not Thomas Gordon,” Bree said, rising unsteadily to her feet. “I will never forgive you for this, Ian.”

  “As long as you’re alive, I can live with that.”

  Bree turned and ran from the study, her emotions swinging from anger to hurt and back again so quickly she barely knew what she felt. When she reached the safety of her own rooms she slammed and locked the door behind her. Then she threw off her wrap and began to pace. She considered going to Nica’s room and talking to her about this, then remembered she’d ordered her out of the house. She flushed hotly. It was hard to believe she’d actually done that to Nica, especially since she’d spent three months as Nica’s guest on Jasan. Well, she’d make it up to Nica one day.

  It was just as well, though, she decided. She wasn’t all that certain that Nica wouldn’t side with her brother in this. Nica had made it very clear that she didn’t trust Quill. Bree couldn’t deny that some of the points Nica had raised about him were valid. She winced guiltily at the thought, then pulled her shoulders back and raised her chin. She had confidence in Quill. He wasn’t after her money any more than Nica had been. He loved her. He wanted to marry her. And she loved him. It just wasn’t possible for her feelings to be that wrong.

  She thought about sending a message to Quill, but then she’d have to ask Joseph to post it, and he would surely question such an action at this time of night. He’d probably tell Ian about it, too. Everyone in this house treated her as though she was twelve years old instead of twenty three.

  Not that it mattered really. A note wasn’t going to change anything. Arguing with Ian wasn’t going to change anything either, and the idea of Quill and Ian arguing with each other made her shudder. Ian was wrong about Quill, but by the time he was convinced of that, Quill would surely wash his hands of her. He’d leave, and she’d be stuck here, alone and unloved forever. No matter what, she couldn’t let that happen. She was going to have to do something drastic, and she had to do it before Ian got to Quill.

  ***

  Nica had barely dozed off to sleep when a soft knock at her door woke her up. She climbed out of bed, and turned on the bedside lamp, then went to the door, reaching it just as the knock sounded again. She checked the safety chain, then turned the knob and opened the door.

  “Yes?” she asked without showing her face in the crack of the door.

  “It’s me, Nica,” Ian said.

  Nica closed the door, unlatched the chain, then opened it again. Ian stood in the hall for a long moment staring at the unexpectedly erotic sight of her in pajamas that consisted of a soft cotton camisole and drawstring shorts. Suddenly realizing that he was staring, and that anyone who passed by in the hall would be able to look in and see what he was seeing, he stepped inside and closed the door. He turned and relocked it, taking a
moment to gather his composure before facing her again.

  “It didn’t go well,” she said.

  “No, it didn’t. I lost my temper, Bree lost her temper, and we both said things we shouldn’t have said. Most importantly, she doesn’t believe that Quill Thomas and Thomas Gordon are the same person.”

  “Why not?”

  “She says that I jumped to conclusions about you, and that I’m doing the same thing again with Quill.”

  “I’m sorry, Ian.”

  “It’s my own fault,” he said sadly. “I’ve spent too much time ignoring Bree in favor of my other responsibilities. I can’t really blame her for not trusting me. But I can’t let her get hurt, or worse, because she refuses to believe the truth.”

  “No, you can’t.”

  “She said she’s going to marry him, she loves him, and he loves her.”

  “What did you do?”

  “I told her that if she marries Quill without my permission or approval before her twenty-fifth birthday, her inheritance will be permanently forfeit according to the Trust our father set up. I also told her that neither she nor Thomas would ever be welcome on Fadden land again.”

  “Is that true?” Nica asked, stunned.

  “Yes,” Ian said. “Well, I’d never close my door to my sister, but the rest is true, yes. She accused me of blackmailing her, but I’m not. I can’t change the Trust, nor would I even if I could, and I will never agree to her marrying Thomas.”

  “Damn,” Nica said. “I bet she didn’t like that much.”

  “No, she didn’t,” Ian said. “I really don’t know what else to say or do, Nica. She refuses to believe that the man is dangerous, refuses to believe he’s using her, refuses to believe everything you or I tried to tell her. She’s thrown away our love for her in favor of this man she knows nothing about.”

  “I know, Ian,” Nica said. “I don’t know what else to do, either.”

  “I hurt her, Nica,” he said.

  “It’s better to have her alive and hurt than dead and anything else,” Nica said. “My worry is, what will Quill do? I’m afraid he’ll go through with the threats he made if he doesn’t get what he wants, whatever that might be.”

  “He threatened to marry her, first,” Ian reminded her. “If she tells him there’s no money, and he gets angry, she’ll have to realize you and I were telling the truth. She won’t marry him then. She couldn’t.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Nica said, studying his face. “How are you doing?”

  “I don’t even know where to begin to answer that,” he replied. “You?”

  “All things considered, I think I’m in great shape,” she replied. “I’m so sorry all of this is happening, though.” She put her arms around his waist and laid her head against his chest, sighing softly when he wrapped his arms around her, too.

  “I want you, Nica,” he said, bending his head to kiss the top of her head.

  “Good, because I want you, too.”

  “The problem is that I need to go back home,” he said. “I feel like I should spend the night there, keep an eye on things.”

  Nica looked up at him. “What worries you?”

  “I’m not sure,” he said. “I just feel like I should be there.”

  “Then you should be,” Nica said. “Do you have to go right now?”

  “I should,” he said. “I just wanted to see you, talk to you, have an image of you in my mind to go to bed on, but now that I’m here, looking at you, I want more than that.”

  “I want more, too,” she said, pressing her body close against his, then rising up on her toes to kiss him, slowly tangling her tongue with his before retreating to gently nibble on his lips. “Surely you can spare a few minutes?”

  “You’re irresistible, do you know that?”

  “Actually no, I didn’t know that,” she said, pulling his shirt out of his waistband and slipping her hands beneath it so she could trace the tight ridges of muscle on his stomach with her fingertips. “I think you’re pretty irresistible though.” She followed the line of dark hair from his navel to where it dipped below his pants. She released the top button, then lowered the zipper, smiling as the fabric parted inch by slow inch. Then she reached in and wrapped her hand around his hard, throbbing length and gently pulled it up and out of his pants.

  She stroked him slowly with her whole hand, amazed at how silky soft he was. A drop of clear fluid appeared in the tiny slit at the tip of his erection and she remembered that one brief taste she’d gotten of him the night before. She started to lower herself to her knees when Ian stopped her simply by lifting her up into his arms.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, surprised at the intensity of her arousal.

  “I’ll show you,” he said as he set her down on the edge of the table near the window. Before she knew what he was going to do he had her sleep shorts off and he was on his knees in front of her, her legs draped over his shoulders. He parted her folds with his fingers, leaned forward and licked her. She gasped in mingled shock and pleasure, hardly knowing how to respond. He licked her again, and again, then sucked her clit into his mouth, causing her to shudder so hard she was afraid she’d fall off the table. He licked, then sucked, going back and forth until she thought she’d lose her mind. Before long her hands were gripping the edge of the table so tightly her fingers were numb, but she didn’t even notice. Nor did she hear the sound of her own gasps and cries as he used his mouth to bring her close to orgasm over and over again, always stopping before she could actually fall over the edge.

  “Ian, please, stop,” she begged when she couldn’t take any more.

  He immediately released her legs and stood up, lifted her off the table and pulled her against his chest. “Put your legs around my waist,” he ordered tensely as he carried her to the nearest wall and leaned her back against it. She did as he asked, nearly sobbing when his hot, hard flesh brushed against her swollen, sensitive folds. He lifted her a little more, adjusted her position, then lowered her slowly down onto his cock with a groan of pleasure that sounded as though it came from the depths of his soul.

  Unable to stop herself, Nica grabbed his shoulders and pushed herself down all the way, desperate to have all of him inside of her. Ian held her tightly, fighting for control, but her inner muscles kept tightening and releasing around him until he couldn’t hold back any more. He braced one hand against the wall and wrapped the other around Nica, holding onto her firmly, then he began thrusting into her as hard and fast as he could. It was so raw, so primal, that there was no way she could match him thrust for thrust, and she didn’t try. She locked her ankles together behind his back and relaxed her body, losing herself in the primitive sexual power of the moment. The harder and faster he slammed into her, the more intense the pleasure became until there was nothing but their bodies, joined together, straining for completion.

  Ian’s arm tightened around her almost to the point of pain just as he let out a wordless bellow of pleasure and release. Nica felt his cock jerk inside of her, the hot spurts of his come triggering her own orgasm. She opened her mouth and screamed, her voice rising to join his.

  ***

  After Ian went home, Nica took a hot shower to help herself relax, but she still slept fitfully and woke nearly as tired as when she’d gone to bed. She washed her face with cold water in an effort to sooth her tired eyes, pulled on some clothes, grabbed her bag, and went downstairs to the hotel restaurant in search of coffee. She was surprised to see Ian there, sitting at a table in the corner, waiting for her.

  He stood up as she approached and smiled tiredly at her. “Good morning, Nica.”

  “Good morning, Ian,” she said, smiling as he pulled a chair out for her. She sat down and watched as he poured a cup of coffee for her from a carafe on the table, and then slid the cream closer to her.

  “Thank you,” she said. She poured cream in and picked up the cup to breathe in the steam. Then she took a sip. It wasn’t as good as the coffee at Fadden House
, but it would do.

  “What brings you here so early in the morning?” she asked. “And looking so tired.”

  “I only slept a couple of hours,” Ian said. “I couldn’t come back here and wake you up again, so I went to my study and waited for the sun to come up so I could come here and wait for you. You look tired, too.”

  “I didn’t sleep so good after you left, either,” she said. “Have you seen Bree?”

  “No, she went to her room before I left last night, and she never gets up early,” Ian said. “I’m sure the war will start again the moment we see each other. That reminds me, though. I asked her last night if she really believed you would stab her in the back and she admitted that no, she didn’t. She claimed there was a misunderstanding as she called it.”