THE SEATTLE ART MUSEUM has been covered in tacky red, white, and blue balloons and banners. If the wall doesn’t have a priceless art installation occupying its space, there’s a sign with Senator Holloway’s campaign slogan written across it in bold lettering.
Guests, both those of influential status and those who were simply invited to ensure a vote, mingle about, happily sipping their room-temperature champagne. They smile and laugh as they indulge themselves with mediocre surface-level conversations. They’re just tickled pink to have been included, meanwhile, I feel uncomfortable in my own skin being here.
“If one more person approaches me to discuss the ‘wonderful legacy’ my grandfather left behind, or how proud he and my mother would be of me, I’m going to end up in jail.” I growl to Rome under my breath before taking a long sip of my old-fashioned.
There are a lot of reasons Holloway is a human piece of shit, but I have to commend him for the open bar. It’s the only reason I’m somewhat making it through this tedious night. That, and the woman across the room who keeps eyeing me over her champagne flute. Posie was at my side for the first hour, but Lark whisked her away half an hour ago and has yet to return her to me.
Lark, like a true politician’s daughter, walks her around the room introducing her to people with a gracious and pleasant smile on her face. Rome, Posie, and I are probably the only ones in this whole building who know how miserable she is. If her parents did know, they wouldn’t give a damn. Their children’s happiness has always come secondary to their father’s career.
Wherever Lark takes Posie, I keep my eyes on her. Like I’m a bodyguard or some shit, I survey the people around her to make sure they’re not looking at what’s mine for too long. I don’t care if this is a fancy political fundraiser. I won’t think twice about drawing blood if they move in too close.
Rome turns to me with a shit-eating grin. “Well, look at the bright side. If that happens, you might get a chance to bond with your dad.”
I stare at him through narrowed eyes.
“What? Too soon?”
“Why the fuck am I friends with you again?” I ask.
He snaps his fingers and then points at me. “You know what? I ask myself that same question about you all the goddamn time.”
Head shaking, I look away from him and search the crowd for familiar faces.
This is the last place you would expect to find the son of an Italian Mob boss, but Rome has been forced to attend these events for as long as I have. Maybe longer. The Valentinos and Holloways have a long-standing partnership. The senator pulls strings and proposes bills that will benefit the Italian’s business all while helping to make sure the Valentinos continue to look like a family of real-estate moguls in the eyes of the law. In exchange, the Valentinos handle the dirty work that’s often hidden in politics and donate large sums of money to the senator’s past and future campaigns. Rome’s family’s hands get bloody while the Holloways remain clean.
From the outside, you’d never think Rome and Lark’s worlds would ever intersect, but they’re more enmeshed than anyone really realizes.
“What’s Banes doing talking to Posie?” Rome asks, nudging me with his shoulder.
Head snapping back in the direction I’d last seen her, I find the university president and his new bride chatting up my girl. Annoyance flaring in my veins, I down the rest of my whiskey and head toward them.
Astor Banes played a big role in making sure that Posie’s application to Olympic Sound was accepted. If it weren’t for him making concessions and offering Posie a scholarship she’d be insane to turn down, she probably wouldn’t have come home. Which wasn’t an option for me. One way or another, she was coming back to me. He, and his dirty secrets, just made the process that much easier for me.
It’s not very often I get the chance to blackmail men like Astor. The Banes name carries a lot of weight in a lot of social circles. They have their powerful fingers in a lot of different businesses, and not much happens without their knowledge. He gave up the opportunity to run his family’s empire and passed the mantle to his utterly unhinged brother Emeric. I’ve had dealings with him once or twice, but I know next year when I become CEO of The Wilde Corp, we’ll be in contact more.
“Banes,” I greet stiffly, snaking my arm around Posie’s bare back.
Turning her head, she smiles up at me quickly before turning her attention to the couple. “Astor was just reminding me that his son, Callan, went to Hemlock Hill. He was older than both of us, so I don’t think we shared any classes.”
“I remember Callan. He used to party with us before he graduated early last year. Indie knew him pretty well too, didn’t you?”
Indie, Banes’s new, much younger wife, gives me a tight smile. “Yep. I guess you can say I met Astor through him.”
Astor looks like he wants to put his fist through my face when he catches me smirking. Posie is the only one unaware of how funny this whole interaction is. She has no idea that last year Astor decided he wanted his son’s girlfriend and made it happen in his own devious way.
“That sure is one way to look at it,” I manage to say without laughing.
“Watch yourself, Wilde,” he warns darkly.
I don’t know if she’s not sensing the tension or if she’s just electing to ignore it, but Posie cuts in. “I think it’s great, and based on that rock on your finger, Indie, it looks like things have worked out really well for you guys.”
Indie lifts her hand and shows off a diamond I’m fairly certain sank the Titanic. You never do anything halfway do you, Banes? His wife, who’s a little bit more reserved than he is, tucks her hand quickly down at her side like she’s self-conscious about showing off the ring.
With her other hand, she tucks her short dark hair behind her ear. “Yeah, it took us a while, but we finally figured our crap out.” She smiles up at her brooding husband.
As if she’s the antidote to his constant “I have a stick up my ass” attitude, the harsh lines of his face soften when he looks at her. Never thought I’d see the day the great Astor Banes was pussy-whipped but here we are.
Indie points at Posie’s almost empty glass. “You’re almost out too. Want to go up to the bar with me?”
I refrain from making a remark about her not yet being of legal drinking age. I mean really, who am I to judge?
“Sure!” Posie squeezes my hand once before leaving me alone with Astor.
Banes is prone to giving me unsolicited advice, so before he has the chance to jump into some lecture I’m in no mood to hear, I start to turn away from him. I’ve barely moved two inches when he’s opening his goddamn mouth.
Fuck.
“From the looks of it, she’s not the shell of a human you swore to me she’d be when you got your hands on her. I think it’s safe to say your grand plan isn’t exactly going as you’d hoped.” He doesn’t ever have to raise his voice. Astor has a way of speaking that instantly holds your attention regardless of volume. It’s super fucking annoying. “Or maybe once you touched her again, you realized you didn’t hate her as much as you thought.”
Instantly on edge, I step into his space. I have at least an inch on him, but I have no doubt it’d be an equal fight if he decided to try and kick my ass. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
He’s unmoved by my shift in demeanor. “That may be true, but I do know the Rafferty who broke into my office last year with hatred in his eyes would have torn that girl to pieces with his fucking teeth. I’m just wondering what’s changed that she’s here with you tonight and looks happy.” His eyes, the color of a stormy sky, inspect my face. “Or better yet, what’s changed in you, Wilde? Where’s that darkness that’s been following you around since you were a teenager?”
What changed is exactly what he guessed. I touched her and held her in my arms while she slept. While I did, I started to second-guess ever blaming her in the first place. For so long, I thought everyone around me was in the wrong for not being as mad as I was at Posie, but now I’m starting to painfully learn I may have been in the wrong the whole time.
I have barely admitted this to myself, let alone to Posie. Astor doesn’t need to be the first to hear me say it, so I simply stare blandly back at him.
At my unwavering silence, he shakes his head with a chuckle. “Alright. That’s fine. You don’t have to answer.” Stepping around me, he pauses before leaving and claps my shoulder with his hand. It’s a move that reminds me of something a dad would do to his son. Not that I’m the authority on the matter. “You can choose who you hate, but you can’t choose who you love. Take it from me and stop fighting it. You’re allowed to be happy, Rafferty.”
You can’t choose who you love.
Do I still love Posie? Did I ever stop? I can’t remember what it’s like to be in love. That emotion evaporated from my soul when the police showed up at my house. I was content never gaining it back. Or, at least, I thought I was. Now I’m questioning that along with everything else. She told me she loved me still but was that the truth? Everything was so fucked that night. We both could have been saying things we wish we could take back.
At the same time Astor steps away, Indie reappears in front of him.
“Hi, pretty girl.”
“Hi,” she greets back, smiling at him like he’s the only reason she wakes up in the morning.
Turning, I look all around her for Posie but find that she’s alone.
“Where’s Posie?” I ask, scouring the room for signs of my butterfly. I ignore the way Astor’s face pulls into a knowing look at the sound of my concern. This arrogant old man is about to taste my fist if he keeps it up.
Indie gestures behind her with her thumb, and I immediately look in the direction she’s pointing to. “Some guy who said he knew her when she was in high school showed up. He was really freaking chatty, so I excused myself. She said she was good.”
Pushing past the annoyingly in-love couple, I search over the top of heads trying to lock down her location. I’m halfway across the room when I lock eyes with Rome. His dark eyes look worried as he lifts his chin toward the hallway leading toward the other exhibits.
Turning that way, my blood boils when I discover who’s holding her attention captive. He looks the exact same as he did when he was sixteen years old. That same misguided cocky look sits on his face as it did back then, and I can’t wait to tear it off him like a bad Halloween mask.
Bryce Fitzgibbons.
Posie says something to him and attempts to step around him so she can leave, but the asshole blocks her path. He laughs at this, finding it entertaining he’s forcing her to keep him company.
Rome is already heading my way without me having to ask him for backup when I look back at him. He knows what’s about to happen, and the smirk on his face tells me he’s just as excited as I am about it.
I reach them in time to watch as Bryce not so subtly reaches out for Posie’s arm and grins at her with fucking stars in his eyes.
“Davenport, I never thought I’d see you again. I figured for sure Blackwell chased you out of town for good when all that ugly business went down with his dad.”
Posie scowls up at him, dark-red lips pulled in a small frown, and steps back out of his reach.
“It’s Wilde now,” she corrects him tightly just as she spots me approaching. She knows with one look at me that I’m pissed, but with the way her face pales, I think she’s falsely assuming I’m angry at her.
She moves toward me, eyes wide. “Raff…” Whatever else she’s about to say dies on her tongue when I reach for her. Arm circling around her waist, I smooth my hand down her bare back and pull her to me. I press my lips to her temple, and while I do, I stare down Fitzgibbons over the top of her head.
“Hey, man,” he greets like we’re buddies. It’s an unfortunate assumption on his part but it won’t last long. I’ll be correcting his mistake shortly. “I was just catching up with Posie here since it’s been so long. I was actually shocked to see her here since this was never really her crowd, but uh…” He gestures toward my hand resting on her back. “Her attendance is now starting to make more sense. You two back together?”
The more words that fall from his idiotic mouth, the deeper the hole he’s digging for himself gets.
I don’t bother acknowledging his question. It doesn’t matter if we’re “together” or not. She’s mine. Always has been, and I’m going to remind him of just that.
“Funny you should say that.” From the corner of my eye, I watch as Rome appears. “I was just wondering myself how you scored an invite here. Last I heard, you were selling Subarus at your dad’s dealership.”
Posie turns around, but I don’t let her get far. Standing at my side, I keep my arm hooked around her waist. While she knows now that I’m not angry with her, she’s still tense because she knows what’s about to happen. This isn’t the first time she’s been in this position, and I’d bet my trust fund it won’t be the last.
Bryce shifts and stands up taller as his ego further inflates. “Didn’t you hear? I’m engaged to Mayor Williamson’s daughter. Her entire family was invited.”
The very mayor who couldn’t afford to get into my poker game will be his future father-in-law? Shit, this interaction keeps getting better.
Under her breath, Posie mumbles, “Poor girl.”
Biting back a grin, I shake my head like I’m truly upset I didn’t know this information. “I must have missed that Facebook status update. Congrats.” He thinks I’m being serious and grins proudly. It’s not until my head cocks and my eyes narrow does his dumb fucking smile vanish. “But wait a second, if you have a fiancée mingling about somewhere in this shithole, why are you talking up my girl?”
At the same time he holds his hands up in a surrender-like fashion, I nod at Rome.
“Wait a second—”
Bryce doesn’t get the rest of his sentence out. In one fluid motion, we move in on him. Rome stands behind him, holding him in place, while my fist slams into his stomach. The air is knocked from his lungs, and he doubles over gasping. The whole action was fast. Discreet. No one around us is aware of what’s happened.
Hands threading through his perfectly styled hair, I yank his head up and lean close. “I fucking warned you, didn’t I? I told you what would happen if I caught you sniffing around her, and you didn’t listen to me.”
Like an ant under my shoe, you’ll remember where you stand on the food chain.
“We were sixteen,” he chokes out, face ashen.
I let go of his hair and pat his shoulder patronizingly. “That doesn’t fucking matter. My warning didn’t come with an expiration date, and you’re an idiot for thinking it did.”
Rome yanks him up into a full standing position but doesn’t release him. He knows I’m not done with him.
Bryce’s eyes are wide as his head shakes. “I didn’t think you were still into her or that you cared. Not after she ratted on your dad like she did. Hell, I thought you’d be happy if someone took her off your hands for the night and treated her like the cheap whore she is.”
My vision starts to turn red, and I begin to vibrate with rage. Over the sound of blood rushing in my ears, I hear Posie whisper, “Shit.”
“That was a big mistake,” Rome cackles. “You better buckle up because you’re in for it now, fucker.”
At my slight nod, my friend drags Bryce down the hallway. The fact the preppy douchebag thinks he stands a chance at escaping Rome’s hold is pathetic. He fights tooth and nail to free himself as Posie and I follow closely behind, but it’s no use. He’s not getting free until I’m positive he’s learned his crucial lesson.
Rome pulls him into the first empty room that has doors. The narrow space has art hanging on every wall, and while I can’t personally appreciate the aesthetic, I would wager majority of it costs more than most people will earn in their lifetime. There’s a long-padded bench running down the middle of the room for people to sit on while they admire the artwork.
“Close the doors,” I order Posie. When she hesitates, staring up at me with unsure eyes, I repeat myself, this time with more force. “I said close the fucking doors!”
She does what I ask, and when she’s just barely turned the lock, my fist slams into Bryce’s face. His nose makes a crunching sound that is music to my ears. Rome lets go of him at the right time, and he stumbles back onto the polished concrete floors. He lands unceremoniously on his ass, which throws Rome into a fit of hysterics.
“What the hell is your problem?” Bryce chokes, wiping his face with the back of his hand. Blood smears on the piece of his white sleeve that is poking out from under his tailored coat. “You’ve always been fucking unhinged!”
“The fact you thought you could touch her and live is my problem,” I seethe. A familiar controlling anger comes over my shoulders and wraps itself around me in a choke hold. It’s suffocating me, but I don’t care. “The fact you thought she could be your whore is my problem.”
Grabbing him by the lapel of his coat, I drag him off the floor and slam his back into a wall. The ceramic—something—that’d been hanging there falls to the ground and breaks into a hundred pieces. Somewhere behind me, Posie gasps at the loud crash.
“You’ve wanted to get your hands on her since you were a teenager, and you thought tonight was your opportunity, didn’t you? You thought you were going to finally live out your adolescent fantasy.” When he doesn’t answer me, I press my forearm into his throat. “Answer me.”
The best I get out of him is a jerky nod.
To reward his weak reply, I ease up and he sucks in a greedy breath when I do.
“Haven’t you figured out by now the only one who gets to touch her is me?” Backing away from him, he slumps forward with his hands on his knees. Scared eyes watch me as I step behind Posie, and my hand grasps her hip. “Did you really think she’d have any interest in you?”
Posie’s head turns and she stares at me like she’s trying to figure it out. Figure me out. I keep eye contact, thumb moving languidly over the silk covering her skin. It’s as if we’re having another one of our silent conversations and she’s hearing every single word. Once she understands what I want, she leans back into my chest and her body relaxes into mine.
Hand venturing lower, I dip my fingers under the edge of the slit in her dress. “You should have realized by now, Bryce, I’m the only one she wants.”
Posie’s breath shudders when my fingertips brush over her pussy. As a rule, I generally refuse to put a moment like this on display for someone to watch. My possessive need to not share her has never allowed it, but right now, my overbearing sense of jealousy is muted by my need to prove to this fucker he’ll never have Posie. And more importantly, I want to prove to him she’ll never want anyone the way she wants me.
Rome being here to witness this isn’t ideal, but it’s necessary. I need him to keep Bryce in place while my hands are occupied.
As Posie’s sharp inhale echoes off the white walls, Bryce’s face turns an ungodly shade of red. Thinking he has a choice in whether or not he’s going to watch me finger her, he pushes off the wall and attempts to leave. Rome is on him before he makes it two feet.
Rome’s foot slams into the back of Bryce’s leg and his knees give out. He crashes to the ground with a sharp curse.
“Shit!”
“What is it, Bryce? Do you not like watching someone else live out your fantasy?” I growl, kissing the side of Posie’s neck. The hickeys I’d left there had finally faded and I’m feeling the need to leave more in their place. Fingers pumping in and out of her at a leisurely pace, her head falls back on my chest and her eyes flutter closed.
I could easily get her off right here, but even in my current state, I know to draw the line somewhere. I’ll gladly reward her for her participation when we’re alone. She whimpers when I pull my hand away from between her thighs and bring my fingers to my mouth.
“How does it feel knowing you’ll never get to taste her?” His eyes flare with anger and jealousy when I suck my digits clean.
Fighting against Rome’s hold, he shouts, “You’ve made your point! Let me go!”
“I don’t think I have. My point won’t be made till you fully grasp she’ll only ever be a whore for one person. Me.” Gathering her long strands of hair, I pull her head back so I can growl in her ear. “Get on your knees, Butterfly.”
Brows pulling, she pulls out of my grasp and turns to me. It wouldn’t be unwarranted for me to find disgust or uneasiness on her face after receiving that order, but I don’t. She doesn’t recoil. Hell, she hardly blinks. The only thing reflected in her eyes as she looks at me is understanding, and that’s because she does understand. There have been times I swear Posie comprehends what I’m feeling better than I do. It makes sense she’d have that ability. She’s the only one in my life who’s truly ever bothered to learn what goes on in my head.
Posie knows me and accepts me. That’s what I love about her most.
Love?
Fuck. There’s that word again.
In a soft voice, she simply asks, “Is this what you need?”
Yes. I need him to know he can’t touch you. That you’re mine. “Get on your knees.”
“Okay.”
Crouching, she pushes the pieces of ceramic that scatter the floor below her away to ensure she doesn’t cut herself. Once she deems it safe, she nimbly transitions onto her knees. Big eyes flick between the men ten feet away and then back up to me.
“Don’t look at them. Eyes on me, baby.”
Nodding, she doesn’t wait for any instruction or further orders. She knows what I need and how I need it. In the next breath, she has my belt undone and my zipper down. My teeth grind as she pulls my hard cock out of my pants and strokes it. Her thumb glides over one of the silver ends of the barbell going through the head, making me jerk in her hand.
My fingers tangle in the strands of hair she spent so much time perfecting before we left. I’ll make it up to her later for screwing it up. “I’m going to fuck your mouth, and you’re going to show him what a good girl you are for me.” And only me. “Open.”
I watch the tip of my dick slide between her painted lips. It’s a sight I will never get tired of seeing. It’s one I’ve dreamed about for damn near a fucking decade. She may have been gone for all these years, but she was never far from my mind. Every time I jerked off, it was her mouth and her pussy I was envisioning.
Her tongue swirls around the tip, flicking against my piercing before taking more of me into her mouth. My grip on her hair tightens and I groan as I bump the back of her throat. I don’t push her to take me deeper. She didn’t find that entirely enjoyable when I did that to her in the cemetery and right now isn’t about causing her pain.
My teeth sink into my bottom lip when she takes it upon herself to swallow me deeper. She gags, and tears begin to fall from her pretty eyes but she doesn’t pull back. I feel a sense of pride watching her do this. My girl is showing off for me, and I fucking love it.
Her hands, which grip my ass like it’s her lifeline, flex, and her eyes squeeze shut, causing more tears to fall down her face. She’s going to look like a wreck after this. It doesn’t really matter because when we’re done here with Bryce, I’m taking her home to properly fuck her.
Desperately needing oxygen, she pulls back and sucks in a breath, filling her lungs. Her tongue licks up and down my shaft, tracing the thick vein underneath, before burying me back in her throat. She sucks me deep until I’m close. Normally, I’d love to spill down her throat, but right now is different.
Pulling completely out, I tip her chin up with my fingers. “Open your mouth.”
She does as she’s told, pink tongue peeking out from her dark-red smeared lips. I stroke my cock until I’m coming all over her mouth and chest. I catch her before she can swallow the cum that landed on her tongue.
“Don’t swallow,” I order breathlessly. “Poor Bryce has been left out this whole time. Go kiss him.”
“What?” Bryce squawks like a displeased parrot.
Posie’s eyes flare, and for the first time tonight, there’s a glimmer of doubt. She’s just revealed the line she’s not sure about crossing, but I’m going to force her hand this one time.
Wiping the combination of cum and drool from her chin with my thumb, I repeat my request so she knows I’m not changing my mind on this. “Kiss him, Posie. It’s the least we can do for forcing him to watch our little show.”
Holding her hand, I help her off the floor. Her tall heels click loudly against the concrete floors as she makes her way to him. Rome is already holding his head between both of his hands to make sure he doesn’t try to pull away from receiving my gift.
“Fuck!” he shouts as Posie’s lips cover his.
He struggles against it and his eyes remain wide open with terror the entire time her mouth is sealed over his.
“That’s enough,” I tell them, shoving my semihard dick back into my slacks. Posie backs away from him like she can’t put distance between them quick enough and Rome finally lets the douchebag go. “Did you enjoy your taste? It’s the only one you’re ever going to get.”
Bryce scrambles off the floor, almost falling over in the clumsy process. He spits on the floor and wipes his mouth with his hand. “You’re sick! Something is wrong with you.”
“You’re probably right,” I concede with a casual shrug. Belt back in place, I stuff my hands in my pockets and shift toward him. He instinctively backs away from me. Smart. “The next time you think about her being your whore or you wonder what she tastes like, remember she tastes like me.”
“I’m pressing charges.”
His weak threat makes both Rome and I laugh.
“Try it,” I warn. “You think this was bad? This was child’s play compared to what I can do to your life, your family’s life, and your poor little fiancée’s life. Three phone calls and maybe a single text is all it would take for me to set your world and future on fire. Although, I do love a challenge. Perhaps I’ll try to do it in two phone calls.”
It’s moments like these I’m glad I’ve been collecting secrets and debts for as long as I have. Getting money in return for them is great, but the look on Bryce’s face right now is priceless.
“What’s it going to be?”
He glares at me like he’s trying to kill me with his stare. The moment he gives up, I grin triumphantly at him.
“Fuck you, Blackwell.”
I don’t bother correcting the name. There’s no point, I’ve already won.
“I’m going to tail him to make sure he doesn’t make a fucking scene.” Rome tells me before slipping out of the room after Bryce.
The all-consuming darkness that had been controlling me since I first saw Bryce touch her melts into nothing. Something I can only describe as peace settles in my chest.
Sighing contentedly, I turn on my heel to look at Posie. Just like what Bryce was doing, she’s now wiping her lips with her hand.
Her honey eyes narrow as she points at me. “Don’t ever make me do that again, Rafferty.”
“I’ll take public blow jobs off the list,” I relent. It’s a reasonable request after all.
“No, not that.” She wipes her hand on her expensive silk dress. She can dirty it all she wants. I’m never letting her wear that in public again. I already had a half-baked plan circulating in my head to cut it off her once we were home. “Don’t make me kiss Fitzgibbons ever fucking again.”
I can’t help the laugh that escapes my chest. That is the last thing I expected her to take issue with, but once again, her reaction to a complicated situation surprises me.
She gestures to the pieces of ruined art around our feet as I approach her. “I don’t even want to know how expensive that piece of crap was. You better have your checkbook because you’re making one hell of a donation tonight.”
“I don’t care,” I tell her, wiping the smeared makeup under her eyes. “It was worth every penny.” Before I can stop myself, I’m murmuring the words, “Thank you.”
I don’t know what exactly I’m thanking her for, but something tells me we both know it’s not just for tonight.
She doesn’t press me for further explanation. She simply turns her head and presses a kiss to my palm. “Always.”
