THE FOLLOWING AFTERNOON, I walk into Lincoln’s office back at the house of Lords. He sits behind his desk, his face in his hands, but it snaps up the moment he hears me entering. “Sin—”
I drop the manila envelope on his desk, cutting him off. With a sigh, he opens it. He looks over the pictures and cell phones and decides to plug in the USB drive to his computer. He’s silent for a few minutes as he goes through them. Once finished, he opens his top drawer and pulls out a picture of his own and slaps it down on his desk in front of me. “I find it odd that this woman isn’t in any of those photos I just looked at.”
I don’t have to look down to know it’s a picture of Elli tied to a hotel bed. It’s the one he had shown me before when he gave me the assignment to find out just who Mr. Hamilton had been fucking.
“You were aware of her involvement. I didn’t think you required any more proof,” I say through gritted teeth. I don’t want anyone knowing of her and David’s sexual relationship. Those who know what he was doing, knows what he expected of a woman. And the possessive part of me doesn’t want anyone having pictures of her being his whore. I’ve protected her before, and I’ll continue to do so.
He sits back in his seat, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m guessing she also has to do with you not showing up at the vow ceremony the other night?”
I don’t answer.
“Your chosen—”
“Can be someone else’s whore,” I interrupt him. I’m still in a shitty fucking mood over the fact that Elli called and fucked the masked me last night. Me, the real me that she had spent the night before last with, hasn’t heard a fucking word from her.
“That’s not how this works, Sin, and you know it.” His eyes harden on mine.
Leaning forward, I place my forearms on the cold surface of his mahogany desk. “As an official Lord, I can fuck whoever I want now that the vow ceremony has taken place,” I remind him.
“Ellington Asher was not on the list as a chosen,” he growls, frustrated with me.
A chosen must be placed on the list by her parents. A male descendant serves the Lords. A Lord who has a daughter may make her serve as well. It’s his chance to show the Lords their gratitude. We all play our part in this secret society. “I don’t give a fuck if she was on a list or not.” I stand.
“Sin,” he snaps, pointing at the chair, and I fall into it, rolling my eyes. “I don’t care what you do with Ellington, but you must take your chosen.”
“And if I don’t?” I arch a brow, challenging him.
He picks up the picture of Elli and looks at it for a few seconds before his eyes glare at me over the top. “You either take your chosen, or I take Ellington.” He tosses the pic back onto the desk. “And, Sin, you won’t like what I do to her.”
My hands fist, my jaw clenching. He just fucking threatened her. You don’t go against Linc. Not in here. He runs the house of Lords. The door opens behind me, and a sadistic smile spreads across his face, making his eyes light up like Christmas. “Darling.” He stands, pocketing the picture and stepping out from behind his desk to greet his weekly fuck.
The woman walks right up to him, and he pulls her in for a big hug. His eyes are on mine as he lowers his hands to grab her ass in her tight pencil skirt.
I narrow mine on him. Does he really think I give a fuck where he’s sticking his dick after what he just said to me about Elli? “Are we done?” I ask, standing. I’ve got other places to be.
He pulls away from her and gestures to me. “Darling, you know Easton.”
The woman turns to face me, and her cheeks redden. My teeth clench when I realize why he was so fucking smug. It’s Elli’s mother. What the fuck is she doing here at the house of Lords, of all places, hugging Lincoln?
“Easton, I didn’t see you there.” She smiles at me. “I’m sorry.” Her wide eyes go to Linc. “I should have called first…”
“You’re fine, honey.”
Honey? Darling?
“Sin will keep our secret, won’t you, Sin?” He arches a brow.
They’re fucking dating. This can’t be happening. I run a hand through my hair. “Of course, Mrs. Asher.” I call her by her first husband’s last name to piss him off. She’ll always be an Asher to me. No matter how many husbands she has.
“It’s just that I know you’re friends with Elli. I’d never asked you to lie…” She rambles on. “But we haven’t told her yet—”
“Darling, you don’t have to explain yourself to Sin,” he interrupts her.
“Well, they’re going to find out soon anyway. The big day will be here before we know it.”
“Big—big day?” I stumble over my words, trying to figure what the fuck is going on.
“Yes.” She gives me a warm smile. “We’re married. We’ll be announcing it soon.”
My legs give out, and I fall back into my chair. She married him? A Lady is a Lord’s wife. And she has rules just like her husband. When a Lord dies, his Lady is gifted to a new Lord. It’s so she can’t go out and date in the real world and tell all our secrets. I killed her husband two years ago. So why get married now? Some Ladies are remarried within months, others take longer. There are no rules on when they must take another Lord. It all depends on who the Lords want the widow to be with.
“Easton?” She gets my attention, and I look up at her to see her hand on my shoulder. “You okay?”
I jump up, taking a step back from them. “Fine,” I lie. What the fuck is going on?
“I’m begging you, Easton, please don’t tell Elli. We’ll be telling her next week at dinner. We want her to have enough time to adjust to Linc moving in with us.”
My heart hammers in my chest. Now his threat holds more weight. He’s going to be living in the same house as my girl. It makes sense. Mrs. Asher has a mansion from her first husband—Elli’s father. He was a very powerful Lord. Lincoln isn’t nearly that high up on the food chain in our world. I mean, come on, he lives here with us at the house of Lords, which is just basically a frat house.
“We’ll be there,” I tell her, gathering myself and squaring my shoulders.
“Oh, yeah… sure—”
“We’d like to keep it to just the three of us,” Linc interrupts her, still giving me that smug smile I want to cut off his fucking face and wear it on mine so he has to stare at it. “You know, since we’re family now.”
I give a smug smile of my own. “I understand, but as Elli’s boyfriend, I’m sure she’ll want me there too. You know, for moral support.” I place my hands in the front pockets of my jeans.
Mrs. Asher frowns. “What?” She looks at Linc and then back at me. “You two are dating?”
“Yes, ma’am.” I nod.
Her frown deepens, looking back at Linc and then to me. “But… you’re a senior at the university. And you’ve been initiated.”
Fuck.
She goes on, “Elli isn’t a chosen.”
“Correct,” Linc agrees, and I want to snap his fucking neck.
“So you’re Elli’s boyfriend, and you have a chosen? You’re cheating on my daughter?” She speaks slowly as if her mind isn’t comprehending what she’s saying but trying to make sense of it.
“No—”
“Darling, you know how these things work.” He chuckles, not letting me finish. “And so do they. It’ll be all right.”
My head tilts at his words. Why the fuck is he defending me now?
“I guess so.” She nods to herself, trying to wrap her brain around why her daughter would allow her boyfriend to fuck other women as if she raised her to have more self-respect than that. She didn’t, but that’s beside the point.
Without another word, I turn and exit his office. I’m practically running down the staircase when I see a very fucked-up-looking Matt exiting our personal gym on the second floor. He’s bleeding from the head and face. He looks to be a little lost.
I ignore him. Guys fight all the time within the house. Tell a hundred men they can’t have sex for three years and well … it never ends well. They end up taking out their frustration somehow.
I shove the front double doors open and pull out my cell. It only takes me a second to find the information that I need. Then I’m getting in my car and tearing out of the parking lot.
ELLINGTON
WALKING ACROSS CAMPUS, I pull my bag higher up on my shoulder. My mind goes to last night. I didn’t get any sleep after my hero left. My head still hurts from crying so hard and so does my ass from him fucking it.
He proved that he was not the guy I thought he was. Maybe it’s for the best. I could feel myself getting attached emotionally. Physically needing someone and mentally needing someone are two very different things.
My cell rings, and I pull it out of my pocket to see it’s Kira. “Good afternoon,” I answer. “Where are you?” She wasn’t at the university today. Well, if she was, I missed her.
She yawns. “I’m still in bed.”
I frown. “You’re at home?” I bite my bottom lip, wanting to ask if Sin is there, but don’t. If he can ignore me, then I can ignore him too.
“No. I’m in a bed,” she says cryptically.
“Ah, I see. I need to meet this new boyfriend.” I laugh, coming up to the parking lot.
“Soon,” she says and then yawns again. “Want to go to the marina tonight? Just you and me?”
“Yes.” I nod to myself. I could use a girls’ night.
She promises to text me in a few hours, and we hang up. I’m opening my car door when I hear the screeching of tires. Looking up, I see Sin’s car flying toward me. He brings it to a quick halt right behind my car, blocking mine in my spot since I’m parked up against a curb.
“Get in,” he orders me through his passenger-side window.
I walk over to him and bend over to see him clenching the steering wheel. “Good afternoon to you too,” I say, flipping my hair over my shoulder. I haven’t heard from him. Not one word.
His eyes snap to mine, and I frown when I see them narrowed on me. “Everything okay?” I ask.
“Get in the car, Elli,” he snaps.
I roll my eyes, straighten my back, and walk over to my car. “You’re not going to talk to me like that,” I holler over my shoulder. In bed and out in public are two very different things. Opening my door, I go to get into my car when his hand grips my upper arm. He jerks me from my car. “Hey!” I try to get away, but he drags me to his car and pushes me into his passenger side, slamming the door shut. “Sin, I can’t just leave my car here,” I protest, but he’s already speeding away, kids jumping out of the way to keep from getting run over by him. “What the fuck is your problem?”
He remains silent but turns up the radio, and “I Hate everything About You” by Three Days Grace drowns out anything I could possibly say.
Crossing my arms over my chest, I let out a huff and watch the trees fly by as he speeds down the road. It only takes me a second to realize he’s headed to my house. Now I’m really concerned. If he wanted to go to my house, then why didn’t he just let me drive my car? I could have followed him. Well, okay. A quick look shows he’s going almost a hundred miles an hour. I speed but, damn, not that much.
My body jerks when he slams on his brakes in my driveway. He gets out, slamming his car door. I get out much slower but start running up the stairs when I see him entering the house.
“Sin, what in the fuck are we doing?” I bark out, taking the stairs two at a time to catch up with him. He’s much taller than me, so I can’t get there as fast. I enter my room, and he’s pulling a suitcase out from under my bed and starts opening drawers, tossing stuff into it. “Are you kidnapping me?” I ask, as somewhat of a joke, laughing it off. Because that’s ridiculous, right? But my pulse accelerates at the thought. A rush of adrenaline makes my pussy clench. That’s another fantasy in my diary. And I know he’s read some of at least one of them.
He stops what he’s doing and stalks over to me. My breath catches at the look in his eyes. He did not find that funny. Coming to a stop, he reaches out and cups my face. My lips part on their own, and he runs his thumb over them. “Is that what’s about to happen, Elli? Going to make me drag you out of this house against your will?”
“No.” I’d go anywhere with him. But the question is, why the urgency? Why now? Where are we going?
Leaning in, he gently gives me a soft kiss on my forehead and then pulls away. “Help me pack your bag.”
_______________
AN HOUR LATER, we’re pulling up to the house of Lords. I’ve been here before. They have a lot of big parties. But I’ve never been here with an actual Lord. Just Kira. We dance, get trashed, and Uber home.
He parks his car and gets out a lot slower this time. Popping his trunk, he grabs my suitcase, then opens my door for me. “How long are we staying here?” I ask. I haven’t spoken to him since he threatened to drag me out of my house. But he packed a lot of my things, enough for more than one overnight stay.
“You’ll live here with me.” He grabs my hand and drags me up the stone steps.
I give a rough laugh. “Live? Sin, I can’t live here.” With him? Since when did we become a couple just because I let him fuck me? I mean, he did read my diary, so he knows how I’ve felt about him for years. But that doesn’t mean he feels the same, right?
“Well, you’re not staying there,” he argues with a clipped tone.
“Where? My home?” What the hell is he talking about?
We enter the house that I’m pretty sure was once an elaborate hotel, and it’s fucking chaos. Men and women everywhere. The house smells of weed and sex. You can tell they had a party last night due to the beer cans and empty glass bottles of liquor. Trash bags sit up against the walls in the hallway that are already full but haven’t been taken out yet.
He comes up to a door on the first floor and pushes it open. I step inside and look around as he closes it behind us. It’s got a single bed that to my surprise is made with white sheets and a duvet. Two white pillows to match. One dresser and a door that he walks into and drops my bag. It makes me wonder when he stayed here last. Does he bring women here? Or does he stay at their place?
“That’s the bathroom,” he says, exiting.
I nod my head and walk in there, trying to figure out what in the fuck I’m doing here and how long I will willingly stay. Because if there’s one thing I know about Sin—if I decide to leave, he’ll tie me to that bed and make me stay. And honestly, that doesn’t sound too bad.
