We step out of the plane to drizzle and grey skies. Ah, England in the winter, nothing quite like it. Especially after leaving the tropical climes of Bali.
But I promised myself that I would be everything that Lilly needed, and she needed to come to London, so here we are, on a private airstrip just outside of the metropolis, freezing our nuts off.
Pulling our coats tighter around us—thank fuck we brought them when we left Colorado—we hurry over to a black Mercedes V Class, our private transfer provided by Claridge’s Hotel. We could have stayed at the London home, but it belongs to my shitstain father, and I try to avoid anything to do with that waste of life. I also like showing off for Lilly, stupid I know. But what’s the point of wealth, if you can’t experience the luxuries of life? Or share it with those that you care about?
Our driver is standing there in the rain, holding the door open for us as we approach. No umbrella poor fucker.
“Thanks,” I say as we climb in, the others getting in behind me.
Loki and Jax are quicker than me and manage to sit on either side of Lilly, facing myself and Kai. Bastards. This sharing thing definitely can be a challenge at times. It takes getting used to, although, it’s easier because it’s them, my best friends in the whole world.
We all buckle in and are driving off toward the motorway within minutes.
“Breakfast at Claridge’s first, then Paynes,” I tell Lilly, glancing down to see her wringing her hands in her lap.
The boys take one hand each, intertwining their fingers with hers, and she visibly relaxes at the contact. I feel a spark of sharp jealousy, wishing it were me sitting next to her. Holding her hand. Comforting her. But then the sticky feeling passes as I see the way her shoulders relax a little at their touch.
The voice of my cunt of a father tells me I’m letting her make me soft. But as with most things he says, I ignore it.
My eyes land back on the road, noticing the traffic building up as we get closer to the city. Fucking rush hour.
Eventually, we make it to Claridge’s, which isn’t far from our home in Mayfair. The car drops us off outside the red brick facade of the hotel, the flags looking bedraggled in the rain. The Head Concierge, Martin, comes out to open the car door and direct the bellboys towards our luggage in the trunk.
“Welcome back, Mr. Vanderbilt,” the older man greets me as I exit the car, holding an umbrella up so that I don’t get wet from the rain that is falling harder now.
“Thank you,” I reply as he hands it to me.
“Mr. Matthews, good to see you again,” he says as Kai emerges, handing him an umbrella too. Kai nods in return, and a pang of worry shoots through me for him. He’s been unusually quiet since Christmas, and I bet his fucking uncle is to blame. “Mr. Thorn, a pleasure as always,” the man smiles wide at Loki, giving him an umbrella too.
Martin goes to help Lilly out, but I step back towards the door, cutting him off and holding out my hand for her to take. She grasps it and a fissure of electricity shoots through me at the touch, as she places one heeled foot onto the wet pavement. She’s wearing the new boots Loki bought her, and she looks hot as hell in them.
I pull her towards me so that she’s under my umbrella, and even though I can see that she’s nervous by the tightness of her eyes, she still gives me a smile so warm, that it makes it feel as though we are still on the beach in Cempedak.
I can’t help but lean in and place a kiss on those luscious lips of hers, sucking gently on her lower lip and swallowing the gasp that escapes. I release her before things can get heated, or more heated, between us.
“You must be Miss Darling,” Martin says warmly. “Welcome to Claridge’s.”
“Thank you,” Lilly replies, looking up at the art deco frontage with slightly wide eyes, that sparkle and gleam even in the dull winter light.
“Mr. Griffiths, welcome back,” I hear the man say as I tuck Lilly’s hand into the crook of my arm and lead her towards the glass doors.
A pair of smartly dressed doormen open the doors at our approach, nodding in welcome. As we step through, I hear Lilly sigh as warmth envelops us, and I look down, unable to stop myself from taking in her every reaction to the elegance that surrounds her.
Her troubles are clearly forgotten as she gawps at the entryway with her lips parted, and eyes widening further, wonder written across her face. She’s fucking mesmerizing, and it’s all I can do not to sweep her up and run to our suite.
“This is…this is incredible,” she whispers, looking around at the black and white tiled floor, the white columns, and shaped mirrors that are all around us.
Lilly has this ability to make you see things as if for the first time, and I feel a stirring, a lightness in my chest as I take in the entrance. It really is the pinnacle of refined elegance. I can’t wait until she sees our suite.
“Your bags will be taken to your rooms, Mr. Vanderbilt,” Martin informs me, having caught up to us. “Would you like to freshen up first, or head straight to breakfast?”
“Breakfast!” Lilly interjects before I can say anything.
It comes out a little loud, unintentionally so, if her blush is any indicator. I chuckle at her slight outburst, earning a small glare from her, which only makes me smile wider.
“Breakfast first it is then, Miss,” he says with an indulgent smile. This girl has some magic power over men, I swear. We all become her slaves, fulfilling her every whim, just for a smile in return. “If you’d care to follow me to The Foyer, your table awaits.” He indicates with one arm down the hall.
We follow him, Lilly’s hand still clutching my elbow like we’re in The Great Gatsby or some shit. I place my hand over the top of hers, loving the contact of skin on skin. Just three, maybe four more weeks, I say to myself, then we can have all of our skin touching. It can’t come fucking soon enough, any longer and I think my balls will legitimately explode.
Loki and Jax are shooting some shit behind me, and I can see Lilly smile as she glances over her shoulder at them. Kai is still pretty quiet, walking at the back of our group, and my brows droop to see him still so withdrawn.
I feel Lilly squeeze my arm, and I look down to see her soft smile.
“He’ll talk to us when he’s ready, Ash,” she reassures me, and I squeeze her hand back in gratitude, looking ahead once again. She really is too good for the likes of us, taking time to reassure me, even though I know that she’s stressed about seeing Payne.
I hear her intake of breath as we step through the doors into The Foyer. Like the entrance hall, it’s all cream walls and mirrors, only with silver and sage accents instead of black.
“Your table, sirs, miss,” Martin says, leading us to a table in the corner that’s a little more private than the others, as it’s set back into an alcove.
It’s the one we usually like to sit at, and I must remember to leave him a good tip for remembering again. He gets one of the servers to take our coats, then he pulls out Lilly’s chair, waiting for her to lower down before starting to push it back in.
We all take our seats, the servers bringing us a selection of breakfast foods. Pancakes, fruit platters, and even what they call a full English, which consists of sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It’s all delicious, although Lilly mostly picks at her plate, which is very unlike her.
I can see the others glancing at her, worried frowns on their faces.
“I– Do you think we could get there early?” she suddenly asks, looking up from her mostly untouched plate. “I just…really want to get this over with, you know?” She looks at me, and I smile gently while nodding.
“Sure, Princess,” I reply, getting up and holding my hand out for her to take.
She grasps it, a grateful smile on her own lips as she stands up. The others stand as well, and Martin rushes over, his face creased with concern.
“Is the breakfast not to your liking, Mr. Vanderbilt?” he asks.
“Oh, I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” Lilly rushes in, drawing his eyes to her. “You see, I’ve a very important appointment that I’d just like to get to, and I’m too nervous to eat. It really looks amazing,” she assures him, and my love for this girl, this angel, increases at the pains she takes to make sure Martin doesn’t think that he, or his team, has done anything wrong.
“I quite understand, Miss Darling,” he tells her with a fatherly smile, his eyes soft as he looks at her. You and me both, dude. “I’ll get them to put some in containers for you to take with you in case you feel peckish later.”
“That would be wonderful, thank you,” she replies, darting forward and kissing his cheek.
The poor man blushes scarlet, clearing his throat as he indicates for a member of the serving staff to take some of the food for wrapping, and instructing another to bring back our coats. If she hadn’t caught him before, she certainly has now as he turns to her with stars in his fucking eyes.
“I’ll get them to bring the car around,” he tells us, still looking at Lilly. “This way to reception, and it’ll be along in a jiffy.”
He turns on his highly polished heel, and we follow behind, Lilly still holding my hand.
“A bit old for your harem, Pretty Girl,” Loki murmurs from Lilly’s other side as we head down the hall. I growl like an animal at him, which just makes the shithead laugh that roaring laugh of his.
“Shut up, Loki.” Lilly sighs, playfully whacking him in the chest with her free hand. Again, he just laughs, taking that hand and placing a kiss onto the back of it. Fucking smooth kiss ass.
We arrive in the entrance hall once more, one of the doormen coming over to let us know that the car is waiting out front. The server comes over, handing us our coats. Martin guides us to the glass doors, telling us that our food is already in the car.
We step out into the drizzle once more, umbrellas ready for us and being held by a bellboy each. A quick few steps to the waiting vehicle, and we’re once again inside the Merc. This time, I make sure to sit next to Lilly, much to the annoyance of Jax who grumbles as Loki takes her other side.
Buckling up, we’re driving off in a matter of minutes, Lilly’s hand still firmly in my grasp. I sent Martin our itinerary before we landed, so the driver heads towards Buckingham Palace. Victoria Chambers, where Payne & Sons is located.
Looking across at Lilly, I can see she’s worrying her lip between her teeth, so I reach over and pull it out.
“Only one of us gets to bite that lip, Princess,” I tell her, my voice firm.
It may make me an asshole, I mean more of an asshole, but I feel the need to control her. Especially when she’s doing something that may hurt her at all. Her pain is all mine. And I guess, the others’ too.
She gives me a small glare, which reassures me that she’s not too anxious, and I can see the temptation to bite it again, just to test me, written all over her face. I arch a brow at her, and it seems she accepts my challenge, as I knew she would, because her bottom lip starts to disappear into her mouth again, all while holding my gaze.
Glad that my distraction is working, I swoop down, my hand grabbing a fistful of her hair as I capture her bottom lip in my own teeth, biting hard enough to bruise, but not break the skin. I swallow her gasp as my mouth closes over hers, my tongue forcing entry inside, to tangle and stroke hers.
She leans into my kiss, her body relaxing as my tongue coaxes hers.
“We’re here, sirs, miss,” the driver informs us as we come to a stop.
I release her mouth, loving the fact that her pupils are blown with lust, and her chest is heaving. Her lip has the beginnings of a purple bruise, and I want to fucking growl in appreciation at seeing my mark on her. Yep, I’m fucked.
“Let’s go, Princess,” I order gruffly, a smirk on my face as I let go of her hair and open the car door before the driver can.
I give her my hand again, helping her out onto the sidewalk. Thankfully, it’s no longer raining, and we look up at the row of white buildings before us. I look back down at her to see her straighten her shoulders and taking in a deep breath as the others come around us. My chest swells with pride. That’s my beautiful, brave girl.
“Let’s go.” She nods, taking a step towards the building with a brass plaque that reads Payne & Sons, Solicitors.
She lets go of my hand, stepping forward, and as we all follow behind, I’m reminded that although we may be knights, she’s our queen, and we will follow her wherever she leads.
