Beneath Him

by Kant, Komal

  I had never seen the ballroom before, so as I made my way up to the third floor, I couldn’t help the excited nerves that were weaving in around the pit of my stomach. I truly did feel like Cinderella right now. Who knew what the night had in store for me.

  As I ascended the stairs there was an older couple walking in front of me. I didn’t pay them much attention because I became distracted by the sounds of music and voices floating down to me.

  Once the entrance to the ballroom came into view, I noticed two valets dressed in black suits standing at the entrance. One of the valets nodded to the older couple and said, “May I have your names, please?”

  “William and Mary De Voir,” the man said.

  It was Matt’s parents. I hadn’t recognized them from the back.

  Before I could say anything to them, the other valet started speaking to me. “Your name, please?”

  “Uh, um, Sky Hudson,” I stammered.

  That immediately caused William and Mary to turn around. I grinned at them as the valets told us to go inside.

  “How are you, Sky?” Mary came in for a quick hug as though she was very familiar with me.

  “Uh, I’m great,” I said, startled by the gesture. “And you?”

  “We’re great,” William answered with a smile.

  The De Voirs seemed like such a nice family. I could see where Matt got his friendly, down-to-earth personality from.

  “Is Matt coming tonight?” I asked, noting that he hadn’t arrived with his parents.

  “He should already be here,” Mary said as we entered the ballroom. “He left before we did.”

  I quickly became distracted by the grandeur of the room. There were white ceiling drapes and a giant, crystal chandelier suspended from the center of the room. There were tables around the edge of the room full of every kind of food imaginable; waiters were walking around the room carrying trays of hors d’oeuvres and glasses filled with champagne.

  There were small tables with chairs set up, along with lounges around the edge of the dance floor which had a small stage where a jazz band was currently performing. There were flowers and pretty lights and people dancing—it really looked like a ball right out of a fairy tale.

  “Oscar has told us what a great job you’ve been doing with Madeline,” William was saying.

  “Oh, thank you.” I couldn’t help but smile at Oscar talking me up. “She makes my job seem easy.”

  “She is such a sweet child,” Mary said, and for a second she looked incredibly sad.

  “Enjoy your night, Sky,” William said, wrapping an arm around his wife and quickly leading her away before I could ask if she was okay.

  Huh. That was strange.

  I had managed to take about five steps before a tiny hurricane barreled into me.

  “Sky!”

  It was Madeline in all her glory looking absolutely adorable in a baby blue dress that had a tutu skirt. Mrs. Potts was with her, looking more dressed up than I’d ever seen her. She looked elegant in a conservative black dress, white pearls around her neck, and minimal makeup.

  “You look so pwetty, Sky!” Madeline enthused, pulling on my arm.

  “So do you,” I said with a smile. “And I love your outfit, Mrs. Potts.”

  “Thank you. You look beautiful,” Mrs. Potts said, returning the smile. “We’re about to get some food; would you like to join us?”

  I was about to say yes, until I caught sight of Emily standing with Jessica, Lisa, Ben, Matt, and Jordan. “No, thank you. You go ahead,” I said politely.

  As Mrs. Potts led Madeline towards one of the numerous food tables, I set my sights on Nick’s friends—well, I guess they were my friends now.

  “Hi, guys!” I called out, hurrying towards them as fast as I could in my six-inch heels.

  Jessica, Emily, and Lisa’s mouths dropped in perfect sync like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Jordan let out a low wolf whistle when he caught sight of me, as Ben nudged Matt who was looking in the other direction.

  Matt’s mouth fell open. “Whoa.”

  “You got the dress!” Lisa squealed, clapping her hands together.

  “It’s perfection!” Jessica cried, as Emily nodded in agreement.

  “Thanks to Emily,” I said.

  “Uh, what did I do?” Emily looked confused. She was probably just trying to be modest about getting the dress for me.

  “Um, the freaking dress!” I elaborated, gesturing at my outfit. “I found it on my bed where you left it, so I wanted to say thank you. Honestly, you didn’t have to get it for me, but I appreciate it.”

  “Sky.” She paused, drawing out the silence for several seconds. “I never bought the dress.”

  My brain stopped working momentarily as her words registered.

  “You didn’t?” I managed to ask, trying to come up with another reasonable explanation. “What about you guys?” I turned to Lisa and Jessica who both shook their heads.

  “No one else knows. Except…” Emily sounded uncertain, trailing off.

  “Except what?” I prompted, trying to stay calm about the expensive dress I was wearing. People didn’t just go around buying dresses like that. Someone had to have spent that much money on me willingly.

  Emily glanced around at her friends before pulling me aside and continuing in a low tone. “Well, I did tell my brother about it.”

  “No, that’s impossible,” I said immediately, shaking my head. “Your brother hasn’t spoken to me in a week. He wouldn’t buy me a dress.”

  “Really?” Emily’s tone was skeptical, and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head. “Because now I’m wondering why he hasn’t talked to you in a week.”

  I stayed silent. I did not want to get into this. It was too mortifying.

  “Come on, Sky. I know something happened, so spill already.” She fixed me with a ‘don’t fuck around with me’ kind of look. With the way her lips were pursed right now, she reminded me of her mother.

  Sighing, I fidgeted with the hem of my dress, not sure where to begin. “Um, I guess you could say we, uh, made out.”

  “What?” Emily gasped, drawing the attention of her friends. Pulling me closer, she said, “Are you freaking kidding me? Did you guys, you know, sleep together?” Her voice dropped to a whisper on that last part.

  “No! We haven’t done that.” I hesitated, wondering how much I should divulge. What the heck; I might as well get it all out. From the way Emily was studying me with concern, I doubted she would judge me. “But we sleep together, like in the same bed.”

  “So you made out and slept in the same bed but didn’t have sex?” she asked slowly, and I could tell she was trying to process what I was saying.

  I heaved a sigh, gazing around the crowded room. “Um, kind of. With the exception of this past week, we sleep together in the same bed every night but don’t have sex.”

  “Oh, wow.” Emily’s mouth dropped open as my words sank in. “My brother, he doesn’t do that. I-I don’t know what to say.” She tucked a strand of her golden hair behind her ear. “I still don’t understand, though. Why haven’t you spoken this past week?”

  “When we made out, Nick freaked out and bailed. He’s been avoiding me ever since.”

  “Then that must be why he got you the dress,” Emily deduced. “It’s his way of showing that he cares.”

  As Emily spoke, my eyes wandered the room and finally fell on the very person we were talking about. Nick was across the room, but he may as well have been right beside me from the way my body heated up as our eyes locked.

  He looked incredibly sexy in a dark grey suit that matched my dress perfectly. Oh, my gosh. There was no doubt in my mind that he had done this.

  “Sky?” Matt’s voice jolted me out of my reverie, and I turned around to see him standing beside Emily with a teasing smile on his lips. “I feel like you’re avoiding me.”

  “No, I’m not. I swear,” I said with a shake of my head.

  Matt extende
d a hand. “Then dance with me.”

  “Sure.” Shooting Emily a forced smile, I took Matt’s hand and let him lead me to the dancing area—which also happened to be in Nick’s direct line of sight.

  There was a slow song playing as Matt pulled me close to his body and began to lead me around the floor. I was grateful for his silence and the fact that he knew what he was doing. It gave me more time to survey the room and quickly dart a glance in Nick’s direction.

  I was pleased to see that Nick looked annoyed. Those full lips of his were formed in a pout and once again I thought about kissing him.

  It served him right to take me for granted. Maybe seeing me with another guy would make him realize how stupid he had been this entire week.

  “Something on your mind?” Matt asked, making me glance up at him instead.

  “Yeah, I guess,” I said wryly, not willing to spill everything to him especially after he had told me so little.

  “Could it be that you’re thinking about another man while in my arms?” he asked in a dramatic tone.

  I rolled my eyes at him, but didn’t elaborate further. We both knew exactly who was on my mind.

  “Right now he’s staring at me like he wants to castrate me,” Matt narrated, his voice tickling my ear as he twirled me under his arm.

  He didn’t need to tell me—I could feel Nick’s eyes on me as though they were lasers searing into my flesh. I didn’t care, though. I wanted him to notice me with Matt, who he couldn’t seem to stand.

  “Looks like he couldn’t handle the pressure,” Matt commented. “He’s leaving.”

  “What?” My arms fell from around Matt’s shoulders and I spun around just in time to see Nick stalking across the room.

  The sensible part of me was telling me to stay where I was, to let him go, to have a good night and forget about him—but my sensibility was quickly shoved aside for the part of me that longed for Nick.

  “Thanks for the dance,” I said to Matt, before I hurried after Nick as quickly as these ridiculous shoes would allow me.

  As I exited the ballroom, Nick was already at the top of the stairs, about to descend. Noticing that no one, except the valets, was around, I called out, “Nick!”

  He stopped walking and turned around, his expression inscrutable as he watched me approaching.

  “Why are you leaving?” I demanded, unable to bottle my emotions in any longer. “Why haven’t you spoken to me in a week?”

  I knew they were two completely different questions entirely, but I was so frustrated and confused at this point that I didn’t care.

  “I had enough,” he said, his voice calm and eyes steady. “I wanted to leave.”

  Naturally he’d chosen to ignore the more complicated question.

  “You bought me this dress, didn’t you?” I asked impatiently, gesturing at myself. “Why would you do that?”

  He shrugged, neither confirming nor denying my question. This only made me more agitated. I was over all the games and the mystery.

  “What the hell do you want from me?” I yelled, flinging my arms out in question. “Tell me now because I’m fucking sick of this!”

  Nick’s expression wavered and he stepped forward and grabbed my arms. Before I could protest, he spun me around and pulled my back against his chest. He brought his mouth to my ear, his breath teasing my skin and causing my heart to beat so rapidly that it felt like it was going to implode.

  “Have sex with me,” he whispered softly. “Just once.”

  A shiver ran down my back as Nick stroked my bare neck with a finger and then lowered his lips to the side of my neck.

  I forgot how to breathe for a second. He’d never said anything like this to me before. My body tingled in anticipation and lust. I did want him, but from the slight slur in his voice I could tell he was a little drunk.

  “Nick, you’ve had too much to drink, obviously,” I reasoned.

  He covered my mouth with a hand. “I don’t care. Have sex with me. You don’t know how much I need you, how much I’ve wanted you right from the beginning. Come to my bed.”

  My body became immobilized as Nick began kissing my neck fiercely, biting my skin a little. I couldn’t help it—I was turned on and I grinded myself against his groin as his hands traveled all over my body.

  “Nicholas! What on earth are you doing with her?”

  Nick and I sprung apart—I dreaded turning around because I immediately recognized Chloe’s voice.

  I slowly turned around anyway because I wanted to face Chloe, but used Nick’s body as a shield against his mother’s outraged expression.

  “Mother, I thought it was pretty obvious,” Nick said, his tone indifferent. “Anyway, it’s none of your business what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with.”

  Chloe glared past Nick and at me. I swear this woman used to be Medusa in her past life. She wanted nothing but to see me turn into stone or, even better, ash.

  “Nicholas, you’re obviously intoxicated and not thinking clearly, and she is taking advantage of you! Why would you want to sleep around with the help?” Her voice dripped with disdain.

  “Oh, stop it, Mother! I know exactly what I’m doing,” Nick responded sharply. “And so what if Sky works for us? You think I haven’t slept with one of our maids before?”

  I was at a loss for words. I could understand Chloe’s anger. I knew that she had never understood why Oscar had hired me in the first place, but now she couldn’t bear the fact that her son was taking my side.

  “Can’t you see what she’s done to you?” she accused, pointing at me. “She’s changed you all over again. You used to be so happy.”

  Nick laughed as though his mother had told a great joke. “You think that by going to a few stupid high society dinners and playing badminton meant that I was happy? Are you really that stupid?”

  I couldn’t believe that Chloe wasn’t angry at Nick at all. It was like he could say whatever he wanted and she would never think badly of him for one second. Instead of looking angry she looked sympathetic.

  “She’s poisoned you, Nicholas.” She shot me a deadly look. “You used to be such a good boy before she came here. Look at what she’s done to you!”

  “Were you living on another planet or something?” Nick questioned in disbelief. “I used to sleep with any girl who was easy enough.”

  “The last few years have been difficult for you. Your actions are understandable.” Chloe was acting like there was nothing wrong with what Nick had just said. “But she’s trying to take advantage of that.”

  Nick’s body tensed against mine, and even though I couldn’t see his face, I knew that rage was written across it. “You’re right, Mother. I have changed. Sky is changing me. She isn’t afraid to stand up to me and put me in my place. She’s changing me into a better person; a person I’d forgotten I could be, but I doubt you give a fuck about that.”

  Chloe looked aghast as her face turned pale. “I’m only trying to protect you, Nicholas. I don’t want you ending up with someone who isn’t worthy of you.”

  Nick snorted in contempt. “With the standard you’re aiming for, no one will ever be worthy. You need to come back to reality. You’re never going to find the girl you’re trying to find for me because she doesn’t exist anymore.”

  Chloe’s face turned ash white at his words and she fell silent.

  Anymore? What did that mean? Had there been someone else in Nick’s life before? Someone who’d actually meant something to him and his family?

  I shot a confused look between Nick and Chloe—now she just looked defeated. Without another word, she turned around and walked back into the ballroom.

  “Nick, what was that about?” I asked, as he faced me again. He looked just as defeated as his mother had. “Who were you referring to?”

  “I can’t talk about this right now.” Nick massaged his temple with a finger. “Can we please go to bed? I need you tonight. I need to hold you.”

  The look in his eyes was kil
ling me. His eyes were dead, like he’d lost all hope.

  I couldn’t say no to him when he was clearly hurting about something, even if I didn’t understand what it was.

  Slipping my hand into his, I let him lead me back to his room.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Sky

  Nick pulled me into the darkness of his room and pushed me against the wall.

  I didn’t even get a chance to let my eyes adjust to the darkness so I could look around, before his hands were all over me, running up my body, messing up my hair.

  HIs lips hungrily sought my neck and then my mouth and I eagerly kissed him back, wanting to capture the intensity of the first kiss we had shared. I had never been kissed the way he kissed me. Every part of me felt alight—I never knew that a single kiss could affect me like this.

  Wordlessly, Nick stripped his clothes off until he was only down to his boxer briefs. My body flushed as it dawned on me that we might be about to have sex.

  Oh, my crap. I didn’t know if I could do it—if I could live up to all the girls that Nick had slept with. What if I wasn’t very good at sex? What if I sucked?

  Nick walked me over to the bed and placed both hands on my shoulders. “Turn,” he whispered into my ear. “Let me get you out of that dress.”

  I did as he said, letting him unzip the dress—when it felt around my feet, the anxiety from earlier on in the night returned. I was acutely conscious of the fact that I was standing in front of Nick in my bra and panties.

  Moonlight was streaming through his bedroom window, so it wasn’t like the darkness was obscuring me anymore like it had when we’d first walked in. He wasn’t shy about hiding the fact that he was studying my body; his eyes were wandering over me freely.

  Even though we slept together, we’d never had a moment of intimacy like this before. The difference this time around was that there was lust added into the intimacy. We both wanted each other.

  Nick reached out and placed a hand against the side of my face. I tilted my head and pressed my cheek against his smooth palm so he knew that whatever he was feeling was mutual.