I LOOK AT the man who is glaring at my girl as she sashays away. “You need to control—”
“If she wants to watch this house burn, I’ll hand her the fucking matches.” I yank them from his hand and pocket them in my dress slacks. Then I follow her.
She stumbles in her heels, and I come up beside her, wrapping my arm around her waist to stabilize her.
I watched the way she stared at the staircase. I remember my mother bringing her home to stay the night with us. She was a wreck. Cried for hours in my sister’s room. The sounds she made broke my heart. It took everything in me not to run in and hold her in my arms. To tell her everything would be okay. But I knew that would be a lie. I knew that there were more storms to come before things calmed down. And I’m not only talking about the fact that she had lost her father.
He had been a well-respected Lord, making her mother a Lady. She would be given to another Lord. Elli’s life was about to change in more ways than one. And honestly, my little demon hasn’t been the same since.
We enter the ballroom to see all the round tables covered with white tablecloths, expensive crystal vases full of flowers. White leather chairs sit at each one. Silver and white balloons float over our head, covering the ceiling.
“Elli. Sin.” A man nods at us dressed in a suit. “Let me show you to your table.”
We follow him to the front of the room, and he sits us at one of the round tables that is directly next to a long table that faces the room.
I pull out her chair and she falls into it. I sit next to her.
“What can I get you?” he asks.
“A bottle of champagne,” she answers.
“A water, please,” I say, gripping a hold of her chair and pulling her closer to me. Then I slide my hand into the slit of her dress and grab her thigh.
She looks over at me and you can’t mistake she’s on something. Her eyes are heavy and dilated but she still looks every bit of the gorgeous woman I’m addicted to.
Ellington Asher is my drug. I’d never tell her she can’t do something, but she won’t do it without me by her side. She can’t protect herself. Not like I can.
The server brings her bottle of champagne and a Markham crystal decanter filled with water. He places a champagne flute in front of her seat and a glass in front of mine. He fills hers with the champagne and she stops him. “I don’t need that.” She grabs the bottle from his hands and drinks from it.
I hide my smile while he fills my glass full of water with the decanter. “Thank you,” I nod to him, and he walks away, frowning at her.
My eyes scan the room and I see my parents enter. They make their way to our table. I stand, hugging my mother and greeting my father. My sister and Corbin enter next. They too come over to sit with us.
I haven’t spoken to Corbin since I found out he’s fucking my sister. I get it. She’s old enough to do what she wants, but he kept it from me. Would I have freaked out had he come to me and told me what was happening? Honestly, I’m not sure, but we’ll never know now.
“Hey, guys. I was told that this is my table.”
I look up to see Chance Beckham pulling out a seat and sitting down. He’s a Lord. Attends Barrington and is a senior with us this year. He grew up with me, Jayce, and Corbin. We’ve never been close friends, though.
Not very many Lords know who he really is. But I do.
My hand is still on Elli’s thigh, and I feel her stiffen. I look over at her, and her face has paled. Leaning into her ear, I whisper, “Are you going to get sick?” I watched her take two Mollies and now she’s drinking. I can only imagine what her body is feeling right now.
Pulling away, I look over her face and she makes no move to acknowledge I spoke to her. “Elli?” I shake her leg a little. “You okay?”
She blinks, her eyes dropping to the table, and she nods, but I know she’s lying.
Letting go of her leg, I grip her hand in mine. “Come on—”
I’m in the process of pulling her to stand, when the room bursts out into cheers and applauds. Everyone is on their feet, and I know her mother and Lincoln have entered the room from the other side. Making their grand entrance to walk down the aisle and sit at the head of the room.
Falling back into my seat, I turn to face her. I grip her face, forcing her to look at me. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine.” She swallows.
“You’re lying,” I growl. “What the fuck is it?”
She reaches up, shoving my hands off her face, and straightens her shoulders. Picking up the bottle of champagne, she takes a big gulp. “Drop it, Sin. I told you I’m fine.” She wipes her painted red lips with the back of her hand.
ELLINGTON
EIGHTEEN YEARS OLD
I’M ON THE floor, facedown, and I can’t open my eyes. They’re too heavy, but I can hear them talking. Laughing at me. I wish I cared enough to get up and leave. But I can’t. The drugs have kicked in, and I’m long gone. Lincoln did just what James told him to do while he fucked me. I’m exhausted. They tossed me to the side once they were done. Like the trash he tells me I am.
Instead of feeling embarrassed, I feel good.
Hair is pushed from my face and knuckles gently run down my cheek.
“Take her to her room,” I hear James order from behind me, sitting at his desk.
Hands flip me over onto my back and I’m lifted into a set of arms. One of mine hangs off to my side while the other lies across my stomach. I manage to open my eyes and look up to see the kid carrying me out of James’s office.
The one that was sitting on the couch that looked around my age. His green eyes drop to look over my face and run down my body. I’m still naked from the waist down.
If I could fight him, I would, but I can’t even feel my own lips let alone get him to let me go.
He pushes my bedroom door open and places me on my bed. Gripping the hem of my shirt, he yanks it up and over my head and then unfastens my bra.
“N-no—” I manage to say, my tongue heavy.
He smiles down at me. It’s not soft or inviting. Reaching out, he runs his knuckles over my face once again. His thumb then making its way over my parted lips. “Don’t worry, Ellington. I’m not allowed to touch you. Not yet anyway.” Leaning down, he places his face in front of mine, his hand dropping to curl around my neck, holding me in place as if I had the strength to fight him. “But one day, you will belong to me. And when that day comes, you’ll beg for drugs to numb the pain I will cause.”
I throw back another drink of the champagne, my eyes on the man who sits across from me. It’s him. The kid from James’s office that night. I haven’t seen him since then. I never knew what he meant, and I never asked anyone.
James would have lied, and I had only ever seen Lincoln one more time at the party that night James was killed. I thought maybe I had dreamed it, made it up in my head. I was rolling my ass off. Thought my imagination got the best of me.
But here he is, at my mother’s reception. Why? Who the fuck is he? And why is he at this table? I know why I’m here. I’m the bride’s daughter. Sin is my date. Mr. and Mrs. Sinnett have been friends of my mother’s since before I was born. Kira brought Corbin. This kid doesn’t fit. I know he’s a Lord, but so what? Almost every male in this room is.
I ignore Sin’s eyes on me. I’m not ready to go there with him. How much can he find out about me before he just throws his hands up and says fuck it, you’re not worth all the trouble? I don’t want to find out.
I’d take Sin any day over what others would do to me if given the chance. Easton Sinnett may want to break me, but he’s the only one that could put me back together after he’s done.
I trust Sin with my life. Anyone else, not so much.
My mother and Lincoln make it to the front of the room and take their place at the table next to us. It faces the ballroom. Giving everyone a look at the happy couple. I want to puke.
When Sin asked me if I was going to be sick, I wanted to laugh, but now I can taste the bile rising. I swallow it down with another drink of champagne. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mrs. Sinnett frown at me. I hate how weak I look to her right now. She has always been a second mom to me. Sometimes more than my own.
When I found my father dead, she held me while I cried in Kira’s room. She rocked me to sleep like I was an infant needing to be coddled. The next day, my mother showed up to get me and she was so distraught she never even looked at me. She never asked me if I was okay. She never once thought to offer me support. I was the one who found him, for fuck’s sake.
I know she was his wife, but I was his daughter. It didn’t matter. I never did. Why would I then? Why would I now?
The kid leans over to Sin and Corbin, saying something I don’t hear, making them both laugh. Of course, Sin knows him. They’re the same age. Both Lords. Have lived at the house of Lords since freshman year. Thankfully, Barrington is large enough that you can easily avoid someone who you don’t want to run into. And I’ve never had any classes with them because they are seniors.
I throw back another drink and close my eyes. I take in a deep breath, feeling the room spin. I want it to swallow me up. A hand on my thigh makes me open my eyes and I come face-to-face with a set of pretty blue ones. They search mine before dropping to my chest that the black, silk dress shows off. He doesn’t say anything, but I can see the question all over his face.
Am I okay?
No. I’m losing my goddamn mind. But it won’t be the first time. And honestly, I’m tired of fighting to stay sane. Going crazy would be a vacation.
“We want to thank you all for joining us today,” I hear Lincoln call out to the room that quiets down for his speech. “Laura and I couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome you all to our home…”
That bile returns and my chest heaves as I force it down. Their home? I wish I had that candle to set it on fire.
“To celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives,” he finishes, and everyone cheers, clapping like he’s the president addressing the United States of America.
He’s not important. I know that much. He’s not as powerful as my father or James was. So why does he think he is?
“Like my husband just said,” my mother starts, and I watch her smile to their guests. I hate to admit that she looks lovely in her white dress. It’s off the shoulders, tight fitting, showing off all of her curves. She wears a set of pearls around her neck that my father got her for their wedding anniversary just two months before he passed away. I want to rip them off her neck. She doesn’t deserve them. “We are very lucky to have so many friends and loved ones to share this special day with us.” She raises her glass. “Thank you again, for all the love and support…”
I’m unable to hold in the laughter that comes from my numbing lips. The room falls silent, and I feel eyes on me. “To the happy couple.” I lift the champagne bottle and then down a big gulp. Time to fuck shit up. I can’t take it anymore. I want to watch it all go up in flames like the flowers.
“Elli,” Kira whispers, leaning into the table.
I push my chair back and stand, turning to face the table at the front of the room and smile. “Really, Mom, do you expect us to believe you actually love him?”
People gasp at my question and my mother’s injected lips thin. Lincoln stretches his neck, fixing his tie. Good, I want to make the bastard as uncomfortable as I can.
“I mean, he’s a Lord.” I laugh at that. “Did you pick him, or did the Lords tell you he was the one you had to marry?”
“Ellington,” she snaps, walking out from behind her table.
“Because between Dad and James … you married down.” My laughter grows. “Am I right?” I turn to face the crowded room full of guests.
A hand grabs my upper arm, and I’m being dragged backward. I almost trip over my heels but I manage to stay upright as I’m shoved through a door.
