Ch. 106..110: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 106-110
Chapter 106
I open my mouth to say something - anything - but the girl on Ivan's arm is quicker than me. "Daniel," the young woman ways with a sweet smile, pretending she doesn't notice the tension and br you might unconsciously carry if you grew up American but lived in a Russian-speaking household all Daniel takes a deep breath and then shifts his gaze to the Russian girl, smoothing his expression with polite, familiar kiss on the cheek.
Mila laughs charmingly as Daniel kisses her, turning her face towards him as he pulls away so that the her sparkling silver dress. And as I survey her, I realize that she hasn't said a word to me, or looked at Daniel, perhaps realizing this as well, turns back to me and smiles. "Mila and I were friends in our tee "Oh, Daniel," Mila says, laughing and still ignoring me as she takes a step forward to grasp his hand. " "Oh, no, I couldn't -" Daniel replies, laughing, embarrassed.
"Please," she pouts and my mouth falls open a little bit at how bold she is. "It would be so rude of you Daniel, faced with insulting who I assume is the daughter of a Russian mob boss, shrugs and complies As Daniel steps away, Ivan smoothly steps into the vacant place next to me. He doesn't look at me, bu "Nicely done," I say, crossing my arms and looking up at him. "How much did that cost you?" "Fifty bucks," he replies, watching as Daniel and Mila take to the dance floor.
"Rich girl like that?" I ask, surprised, "took fifty dollars to dance with Daniel?"
"No," Ivan responds, turning to look down at me and shifting his weight to knock his shoulder against her to marry?" Ivan's eyes crinkle with humor as he looks down at me. "That was free."
"Cruel," I accuse, shaking my head at him a little but impressed despite myself. Ivan is, if anything, qui "Worth it," he says, slipping a hand out of his pocket and, unseen, dragging his fingers down the lengt return my calls."
"Oh, you called?" I reply, coy. "I'm sorry, I must have missed it."
"Lies," he whispers to me, but then he laughs a little. "I missed you, Fay."
And, damn it, but that old butterfly fleeing rises in my stomach.
And I have to admit to myself - I missed him too.
it as she takes a happy step forward towards Daniel. "Do you remember me?" Her voice has a slight Russian accent - not at all strong, but the sort of thing life.
"Of course I remember you, Mila," Daniel replies with a genteel smile. He tucks his temper fully away as he drops my arm and steps forward to give her a
lmost brush. I blink in surprise at this, and then look at her more closely, admiring the sheet of black hair that falls over her slim shoulders like a waterfall, ce. I rankle a bit at the insult.
tells me. "Our parents put us in dance class together." He grimaces a bit, laughing. "She was much better with me." nd dance a little with me, just for old time's sake -"
y me -"
ing forward to her. "I'll be back," he calls to me over his shoulder as she pulls him away, "just one dance!" t-got-the-cream expression tells me all I need to know.
Fifty bucks to the band leader to start playing the tango, which I know she can't resist. Playing on a lonely girl's teenage crush on the guy that her dad wants
at reading weaknesses before using them to move people around like pawns on his chess board.
spine until his hand comes to rest at the small of my back. "I'd have paid much more, after all, for the chance to chat with my best girl when she won't
"Come on," Ivan says, shifting that hand on my back to my elbow and tugging me with him as he heads behind the little rose arbor next to us.
"Ivan," I gasp, glancing around anxiously as he pulls me with him out of sight. "Stop! We can't go back here!"
"Sure we can," he replies, grinning back at me, a little danger dancing in his eyes. "No one saw - I made sure of it."
"Ivan," I growl, digging in my feet and trying to pull out of his grasp. "You're going to get me - and everyone - in big trouble!"
Ivan stops and turns to me, still smiling but shaking his head. "Would you just trust me for a second, Fay?" he asks, a little exasperated. "I organized all of this - I'm the one who got your dad to come here tonight, and the Russians. Do you seriously think I don't know how f****d we'd be if Lippert, or Alden, or anyone finds us sneaking away?"
His face drops now, becoming more serious - like it was that morning when we woke up, and he told me to run from the Lippert house. "I'm doing this for a reason, Fay!" Ivan insists, "I have to talk to you."
I hesitate, but then I nod, trusting him. As much as Ivan is a player in this game, I do - for some reason - trust that he has my best interests at heart. And maybe I'm a fool for believing him - maybe he's tricked me too - but I step forward, ready to follow. A genuine smile breaks out onto Ivan's face and I can't help the matching grin that crosses my own.
"Come on," he says, turning again and leading me down a narrow outer corridor towards a secret alcove. "I bussed tables here when I was a kid - there's a spot back here -"
Both curious and anxious, I follow Ivan to a little chef's garden growing on the roof, a door down to the kitchens in the far corner. It's lit by a couple of lanterns and there's an unlit fire pit out here as well as some mismatched seating and a couple of ashtrays, suggesting that staff come back here for their breaks. Honestly, it's cozy and charming.
"See?" Ivan says, sinking his hands into his pockets and giving me a shrug. "Told you."
"Ivan," I sigh, letting my shoulders slump a little and looking anxiously over my shoulder. "Seriously - what is it? They're going to notice that I'm missing."
"Come on, Fay," Ivan murmurs, taking a step closer to me. "Didn't you miss me? Just a little bit?"
"Ivan!" I protest, lifting both hands to give a little shove against his chest, too anxious now to entertain his flirtations. "Come on! You told me you needed to talk to me, so let's talk!"
"Fine," Ivan says, the teasing smile falling from his face to reveal genuine concern behind it. "Fay," he asks, taking a step closer to me, "why haven't you answered my calls? And more importantly, why are you still in that house? I wasn't lying when I said Kent's going down - you've got to get out of there, before you get wrapped up in it too!"
My stomach drops when I hear this. Honestly, I'd told Kent what Ivan had said, and Kent gave me every impression that he'd dismissed it as an idle threat designed to get me on Ivan's side. But hearing Ivan reiterate it - when he's taken the risk of pulling me from the party to reiterate it -
I have to admit, I'm anxious again.
But, I'm not willing to give into it just yet.
"What about the Bianci's," I ask, folding my arms and looking up at him. "Doesn't that change anything? That they've come to show their support?"
"Well," Ivan replies, looking closely at me, reading my every move and expression. "If they have come to show their support, then yeah. Maybe it does. So," he pauses, watching me like a hawk. "Did they?"
"Of course they did," I snarl, telling myself it's only half a lie because I don't know what they're thinking or if they're going to choose to support Kent, especially after Ivan's little play tonight.
Ivan takes a second to watch me, to study every muscle on my face. Then, his lips curve. "Liar," he says, laughing a little, making my scrunch my nose and mouth with frustration. But that just makes him laugh. "See?" Ivan says, putting a hand on my waist. "You don't know if they support Kent - which means they haven't decided. Thanks, Fay. That's helpful."
"Screw you, Ivan," I growl, putting my hands on his shoulders and shoving. "That's a dirty trick - telling me you have something to say to me and then trying to get me to confess things -"
My shoves do nothing though - Ivan just uses his grip on my waist to pull me closer.
Chapter 107
face, furious.
"Stop, Fay," Ivan orders, his voice suddenly serious. He puts his other hand on my waist and pulls me closer to him. Angry, I shove him again but Ivan doesn't relent, his grip iron. "Fay," he insists, his tone matching my anger now. I stop shoving and look up into his "Let me go," I command, my teeth clenched, but he just shakes his head slowly at me.
"I'm not f*****g with you, Fay," Ivan insists, his voice revealing his frustration. "You haven't given me any information that I haven't guessed myself. God damn it, Fay," he grinds out, "don't you get it? That it would be easier for me to let you go down with them? Do you think it's making anything better for me that I f*****g care about you?"
I stop protesting and look up into Ivan's face, shocked. I've never - never heard him get angry before - never heard him confess this kind of real emotion. He gives me a little frustrated shake.
"What's it going to take, Fay?" Ivan snaps at me, his breathing coming harder now. "To get you to go, to leave that house? Because I'm not letting them drag you down with them!" His voice is rough now, out of control in a way it never is. "You mean too much to me," he confesses, staring into my face, shaking his head back and forth.
My mouth falls open a little in surprise. I mean, I know that Ivan and I - we have a connection. But honestly, with everything with Kent...
I think, perhaps, I let myself forget how intense this actually is -
How real it is, apparently for Ivan - and perhaps for me as well -
"What, Fay," Ivan demands, shaking me again and bringing me out of my thoughts. "What's it going to take for you to believe me? Because I've tried being nice, and begging you, and giving you all of the information. And in response, you ignore my calls and apparently renew your ridiculous engagement to Daniel -"
"Ivan," I protest, looking away -
"What, Fay?" Ivan asks again, pressing himself tighter against me and slipping his left hand down from my waist, crossing my hip and dipping into the slit in my dress. He moves fast, boldly sliding that hand around the back of my thigh and gripping me there, using his grasp to drag my leg sharply up and settling it over his hip, pulling my body flush against his as he bends over me, just a little.
"Is this what you want, Fay?" Ivan growls, making my breath come a little too fast. "Do you want me to be more aggressive, to make you listen?" He lowers his face close to mine now, staring at my lips. "Because I can do that. If that's what it takes." And god damn it, but I don't pull away.
Instead, I wrap my arms around his neck, half for balance, half for -
Fuck, because I want him to kiss me -
I feel my lips part as I close my eyes, giving in -
But then I feel Ivan flinch and almost drop me as I hear a woman's cold laugh ring out.
"Shit," Ivan curses, releasing my leg and turning away from me, frustrated, as I find my feet and spin to see Natalia standing there, shaking her head at me and smiling her wicked cat's grin.
"Well," she says, her eyes boring into me as I flush bright, bright red, my breath coming fast as I realize how fucking fucked I am right now. "I was looking forward to meeting this Ivan I've heard so much about," she says, shifting her gaze to him. Ivan turns to look at her, his face still angry, his hands in his pockets.
And as he glares at her I'm shocked to see him...discomposed.
And suddenly I realize that this...this was not part of Ivan's plan. Not at all. That he didn't sneak me back here so that Natalia could follow us, and catch me, and screw up my engagement to Daniel as well as Kent's relationship with my father. That somehow, Ivan has been outplayed here - that he either let himself go too far, losing control with me, or that he underestimated Natalia -
"A pleasure to meet you, Natalia," Ivan replies finally, his voice lacking all of his usual charm. "But if you'll excuse me, I have to go."
"So soon," she coos, cocking her head at him like she's disappointed.
"Yeah," he replies, glancing at me with his regret clear on his face. "I've got somewhere to be." And then, to my shock, Ivan turns on his heel and heads through the far door that leads down to the kitchens. My mouth drops open a little as I realize that Ivan has left me - alone - to deal with this she-wolf. Slowly, I turn back to Natalia, having no idea what to do.
"I knew it," Natalia says the moment I turn to look at her, shaking her head at me but unable to suppress her smile. "I knew you were up to something, little Fay," she continues, taking a few slow steps towards me. "I knew you didn't love my Daniel - that you are a greedy slut who is in this for something else -"
And as she continues to approach and berate me and tell me how awful I am for betraying Daniel -
Something snaps in me. And I realize that I haven't betrayed anyone - that Daniel and I aren't actually engaged. And as much as Natalia treats me like a bug she wants to grind under her shoe....I'm actually just as much of a player in this game as she is. After all, I'm the daughter of one Don and, as far as she knows, the future Donna of the Lippert family.
And I'm spending my nights in bed with the Don of the Lippert clan, who hired me to be his spy.
And who the hell is she? Some puffed up maid of honor? She's not blood, after all. She's an employee.
"Shove it, Natalia," I suddenly interrupt, not letting her finish her long string of insults designed to strip me down. I stopped listening, after all, about twenty seconds ago. I set my shoulders and glare at her. "I'm back here on Kent's orders, performing the duties that he assigned to me, which you interrupted. If you don't like it, take it up with him."
And then I shove past her, starting down the slim corridor back to the party. I don't even look over my shoulder to see if she's following behind.
As soon as I get back to the party, Daniel finds me, coming swiftly to my side. "Fay," he asks, looking me over anxiously. "Are you all right? Where did you go?"
"Ivan," I reply honestly, looking up at him, too tired to keep secrets. Natalia's going to spill everything anyway, the moment she gets Kent's ear. "He wanted to tell me some stuff. Natalia interrupted, though, and spooked him off, so I didn't get much out of him." "Really, Fay?" Daniel asks, raising an eyebrow at me. "You want me to believe that you and Ivan were just talking?"
I look at him blandly and shrug one shoulder, letting him know that his suspicions are not far off. But, frankly, if he wants to question my methods - and, right now, I have to tell myself that they're just my methods, or else I'll go insane - then he's going to have to take it up with Kent as well.
Daniel sighs and nods, recognizing that it's complicated. He puts an arm around my waist and turns me back to the party. "Let's just get through this, okay?" he says, taking a deep breath. "Sure," I sigh, putting on my best smile and letting Daniel pull me forward towards a group of people. As we towards them, I narrow my eyes at Mila across the room, who smirks at me. "If you leave me for anyone," I murmur to Daniel, "Just make sure it's not her."
"What?" Daniel asks, and then he sees the direction of my gaze and laughs, pulling me closer to his side. "Seriously, Fay? After everything, you're jealous because I danced with one girl?" "I'm not jealous," I correct. "I just...have a bad feeling about that one."
And as the girl's smirk turns into a wicked little grin that basically spells out I'm coming for him, I turn away from her and take a hold of Daniel's tie, pulling him down for a kiss. A real kiss, not the pecks that we've exchanged before. Daniel goes still with shock at first and then he plays along, wrapping an arm around my waist and kissing me back.
It doesn't mean anything to me, but I hope that this kiss spells out a clear message to that girl:
Go ahead and try it. He's mine.
And as I pull away, smiling at my fiancé, I catch a look at Natalia standing behind us, her arms folded, watching me closely.
Chapter 108
We're all absolutely silent in the limousine on the way home. Kent sits in the back corner of the car by the door, resting his forehead in his hand and staring down at his knees. While he's still and silent, I can feel the tension radiating off of him - a mix of anger, and anxiety, and something else...maybe resentment? I don't know. I'm too pissed off and exhausted myself to figure it out. But I watch him closely regardless, looking for some kind of signal regarding his next move.
Natalia, seated next to Kent, her thigh just accidentally, casually pressed against his in the close quarters of the car, is likewise motionless, simply sitting with her tired eyes closed. Alessi, next to Natalia, and Daniel, on the long bench next to me, both stare out the windows, giving no hint about what they're thinking or feeling.
I wonder if they're all fuming, like I am. If they are, they're probably doing a better job of hiding it.
The party went on for hours, until my cheeks ached from my fake smiles as I mingled with Kent's family, everyone taking their time to greet and consult Natalia and Alessi. I went through the motions, playing my role as Daniel's perfect bride, but I kept my eyes on Natalia the whole time. Just waiting.
I knew the moment when she made her move. I watched her do it.
I watched her tug Kent's sleeve, so hesitant, probably looking to anyone else like she just hated to be the bearer of bad news as she drew him away to a quiet corner. I watched her stand on her toes to whisper in his ear, her face motherly and anxious for Daniel's sake. I watched Natalia's hand brush up her own thigh as she told Kent all the details about how Ivan had me pulled against him when she caught us.
And I watched Kent raise his eyes to mine after just a few seconds of Natalia's report, focusing instantly on me as if he had already known exactly where I was standing and didn't have to search for me in this busy room. I watched his face go dark with anger as he listened. And as Natalia ratted me out in what I'm sure were the most scandalous terms she could think of - honestly, she probably did it in Italian, just for the effect - I held Kent's gaze even as his turned lethal. Through all of it, I kept my face totally impassive. Because, honestly? I didn't do a damn thing wrong. I have nothing to apologize for.
Kent glared at me for a long moment before turning back to Natalia, thanking her quietly before moving away. And it was done.
I know that I'll have to face him sooner or later, and frankly I'm looking forward to it. Because, honestly, fighting with Kent? It's going to be way easier than parsing out what the hell happened with Ivan tonight.
I lean my head back on the leather headrest in the limousine and sigh roughly through my nose, trying to wipe my mind clean, to calm the hell down.
Perhaps sensing my mood, Daniel gently takes my hand and gives my fingers a little squeeze. I turn to look at him and can't help but give him a tiny smile when I see him give me a tentative little grin and a shrug.
It's over, I read on his face, so clear I can almost hear him say it. What's done is done. Don't let it get to you.
I nod, agreeing and taking a deep breath as I put my head on his shoulder and try to let it all go. I find myself staring down at the engagement ring on my left hand.
This ring, with such a complicated history. To which I am currently adding, I guess. Poor ring.
Twenty minutes later the limousine pulls through the gate of Kent's house, looping around the driveway to drop us at the front. Slowly, still silent, we all climb out of the car. Alessi takes Natalia's arm, speaking to her quietly as he leads her up the stairs. As Daniel and I climb out we find Kent standing at the back of the car, facing away from us.
"Dad?" Daniel asks, his voice hesitant.
"Just...go inside, Daniel," Kent replies, clearly keeping a leash on himself. I feel my anger flare up inside me again, apparently wanting something to latch onto, anything. Why the hell is Kent being mean to Daniel? Daniel, after all, was perfect tonight.
I open my mouth to say something but Daniel just takes my arm and pulls me towards the stairs. I scowl but follow, holding my tongue and glaring over my shoulder at Kent's tense form as he looks into the night.
"Easy," Daniel murmurs to me, like you would to a spooked horse, so I turn my glare on him.
"I'm fine," I hiss, pulling my arm from his grip and using my hands to bunch up the skirts of my dress so that I can more easily climb the stairs. Daniel holds up his hands innocently, letting me know he meant no harm and I scowl at him. Together, in silence, we enter the house and head up the stairs, Natalia and Alessi already gone.
"How do you think that all went," Daniel asks quietly as we reach my room, glancing around the hall to ensure that we're alone.
"I don't know," I sigh, wrapping my arms around myself. "I hope....I hope I didn't f**k it up as much as Natalia clearly wants me to. Why does she have it out for me like she does?"
Daniel cocks his head to the side and considers me for a moment. "Actually," he replies, "I don't really know. That's a good point. She has...not been on team Fay for a moment since she got here. And I don't really know why." "Right!?" I hiss in response, glad that he finally sees it from my point of view.
"Maybe," Daniel considers, looking away from me a bit as he gathers his thoughts. "It's a hint about where the Bianci allegiances really lie. Perhaps...not with your dad."
"Oh," I say, my eyebrows going up as I take his point. Until now I had thought that Natalia's objection to me was a completely personal one. But actually...that kind of makes sense.
Daniel and I are both a little lost in our individual trains of thought when we hear a door open down the hall. We both jump a bit and then swiftly head to our rooms, wanting to get inside before having another encounter with an Italian tonight. Daniel gives me a fond little wave as he gets to his door and I blow him a kiss over my shoulder as I scurry inside mine, leaning back against it as I push the door closed.
But then, alone in my room...
Ugh.
I grimace and cover my face with my hand, realizing that now that I'm alone...I have to finally face my thoughts and figure out what the hell just happened.
I groan and make my way to wardrobe, yanking the doors open and quickly sorting through it. Wanting something more casual than the silky sets that Kent supplies for me, I quickly throw on a little tank top and a cheap pair of pajama shorts that I ordered for myself from Amazon. Striding towards the bathroom, I leaving my gorgeous dress in a heap on the floor, too angry to contemplate it now or to feel sorry about wrinkling that stunning silk.
As I brush my teeth and stare at myself in the mirror, I realize that I honestly have no idea what happened with Ivan tonight, and it pisses me off that I still can't figure it out. What the hell was he playing at, pulling me away in the middle of a family party?
I sort through my memories of those few brief minutes, trying to remember everything - but it all happened so damn fast. I spit out my toothpaste, thinking closely about the way Ivan made sure everyone was busy before he pulled me back to that secret space. Did he really want it to be secret? And why? So he could kiss me, or so he could tell me something that he didn't want anyone else to know?
I groan as I head back into my room, throwing myself onto my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to sort through everything Ivan did, every inch of it.
But as much as I try to concentrate, I find myself wondering, passively, what it would have felt like if we hadn't been interrupted - if Ivan had actually kissed me in that moment.
Not what it would have felt like physically - that, I know, would have been great.
But honestly, how would it have made me feel?
And what would it have meant for me and Kent?
Chapter 109
I groan again, pulling a pillow over my face in my frustration, not wanting to ask these questions and again and again, hard, before falling back against it and continuing to stare at the ceiling. The kicking didn't work. My mind is still racing.
What the hell was Ivan thinking? In the moment, I really did believe him when he told me that he just But Natalia did find us. Did Ivan plan that and just lie to me? Is he trying to drive a wrench between m were alone -
Or! Did Natalia just outsmart him?
God, what a mess - not only Ivan messing with my head like this, but Natalia finding out, and then tel I'm about to start kicking again, when suddenly I hear a knock on my door. For a split second I go com
And then I snap up in my bed, my eyes darting to the bottom of my door where I can sometimes see t But there's nothing -
No, wait...
I jump up and hurry over to the little folded square I see sitting there. I fall to my knees in my eagerne delivered it -
But I dismiss the idea, tearing the envelope open as my curiosity gets the better of me.
I pull out the little slip of paper and see only two short lines written there, in the same neat, tiny hand Press the top right corner in the back of your wardrobe, hard. Then come downstairs.
Destroy this note.
What the hell?
that I can't stop my mind from going there. I'm still furiously upset and need to take out my emotions on something, so I kick my feet against my mattress
I to get me alone so that he could warn me, to tell me to get out of this house. And honestly, that's what my instincts still tell me now is true.
he Lipperts? Or between the Bianci's and the Aldens? He's played tricks like that before, like when he brought me to that mob bar and let me think that we
ht, making me look not only like I betrayed him but like I was deliberately embarrassing him and Daniel in front of his family - still.
dow of feet standing -
et it, dying to know precisely what it is, and as I grab it I realize that it's a little sealed envelope. For a second I consider pulling open the door to see who
that I found in the books I read in Kent's room. My eyes eagerly pass over them, and then my brow creases with a confused frown.
Confused, but intrigued, I get to my feet.
I stalk to my wardrobe, throwing open the doors again and pounding a fist against the top right cornel
Iwood at the back -
And my jaw falls open when the wood clicks, a magnetic lock behind it releasing and revealing that the back of my wardrobe - which I thought was solid - is actually a god damn door.
I shake my head with rage at Kent for putting me in a room with a fucking secret passage that he never told me about. And then, my anger finding a new focal point, I dig my fingers behind the wood and swing it forward to reveal a very tight winding iron staircase that heads straight down.
"God damn it, Kent," I growl, and then, crunching the note in my hand and not letting myself think about it, I climb through the door, pulling it closed behind me as I begin to storm down the stairs.
The iron is cold against my bare feet and I regret, for a moment, not bothering to put on any socks or slippers - but I let my anger warm me, building in me as I hurry downward, honestly getting a little dizzy as I wind my way down at least three stories - I don't hesitate when I hit the bottom, marching forward with my hands fisted by my side. There's only one way to go anyway - down the long stone corridor that's dimly lit with florescent ceiling lights and arched slightly so that I can't see what's at the end. I pass door after iron door built into the stone walls, passively wondering what the hell Kent keeps in those, letting my imagination run wild and letting that fuel me even more so that when I finally come around the final bend, when I finally see him standing there in front of a set of stone steps, his hands shoved in his pockets, glaring at me already -
I'm good and steamed.
"What the hell, Kent," I growl, quickening my pace, ready to rip into him. "You give me a room with a secret door?! Anyone could have broken in!"
"Don't be ridiculous, Fay," Kent snaps back, "obviously I'm the only one with access to this corridor -"
"This corridor?!" I return, raising my voice to speak over him. "Oh, you mean this bullshit mafia Narnia that I found on the other side of my wardrobe!? Am I going to meet some magical faun who's going to cut my throat because I dishonored his family!?" "God damn it, Fay," Kent bites out, taking a step towards me, even more livid now than he was when he summoned me down here.
"What, Kent," I seethe, my voice low and slow as I close the distance between us so that there's just inches between our chests. I glare up at him, inviting him, frankly, to lay into me. I want this - want this fight. "What do you want to yell at me for now? Because I have done everything you've asked me to do. I've played all of the roles you want me to play - I'm your whore when you want me to be, your spy when it's required, Daniel's princess bride when I'm in front of your family!"
Kent opens his mouth to interrupt but I don't let him, pressing forward. "I keep your secrets when you tell me no one can know about us," I grind out, letting my anger race through me, "I even come when you whistle for me in the middle of the night! WHAT, Kent!" I yell up into his face, grabbing the lapels of his suit to bring him closer, the stupid note he sent me still gripped in my hand.
Kent glares at me, hard, and then slowly he shifts his gaze to the crumpled note in my fist before dragging his gaze back to my eyes.
And then, a little bit of malice, knowing precisely what he's doing, Kent says his next words with perfect control.
"Not everything I asked. I also told you to destroy that note before you came down, Fay."
And I....
Fucking lose my mind.
I feel my eyes go wide with fury, with his gall - and I grip those lapels even tighter in my hands, my nails biting into the fabric as I tilt my head back and scream in frustration -
He grabs me, then, pulling me against his chest and slapping a hand across my mouth, working to muffle my noise -
"What the fuck, Fay," Kent barks, stumbling backwards and looking around as if someone's going to come find us -
My scream is cut short as I lose my balance, stumbling against Kent as he tries to find his footing against the stairs behind him. My weight falls totally against him and he throws out a hand to catch us against the wall, -
Then, once he finds his footing and we're steady and that I'm not shrieking anymore, Kent glares down at me again, livid. "What the hell, Fay," he whispers, his voice harsh. "This house is full - people are going to hear you and start checking rooms to find out who is screaming - are you trying to blow your cover tonight? Again?"
"Again?" I gasp, trying to push away from him. But Kent doesn't let me, holding me tight against him as if he's scared that if he let's me go I'm going to scream again. "Again, Kent?" I repeat, shaking my head as I stare at him, hating him right now. "I didn't do anything tonight except what you paid me to do -"
"You got caught -"
"It wasn't my fault!"
"You let him put his hands on you, Fay," Kent accuses, staring down at me and I notice something different in his face when he turns to this point - something...I don't know. Something deeper, once a layer of his anger has been stripped away.
"That didn't bother you before!" I counter, ignoring the change in his expression, my lips tightening. "When you sent me on an overnight with him, Kent -"
"That was before we -"
"We what?!" I shout, unable to help myself. "Spent one full night together, Kent? A night I'm apparently never allowed to mention, or tell anyone about, or talk to you about, except apparently in creepy secret basement corridors when you summon me?" Angry, hurt, I pause and shake my head at him. "Fuck, Kent," I exhale. "What do you want from me?"
Kent goes silent, staring at me with his face shut down tight, not letting me in. And I stare right back knowing quite suddenly that beneath all of my anger is... This...desperation.
I'm desperate. I've got to know.
And then Kent's mouth curl in a sneer and I can see in his eyes the mirror of my own emotions. He, too, is desperate. And he also hates me right now, just a little bit.
"God damn it, Fay," Kent whispers, the worlds shaking out on his breath. "I want you. All I fucking want is you," he shakes me now, unable to help himself. "And it's a god damn curse."
And I open my mouth to throw something cruel back at him - but I have no idea what, and I never find out, because in the next instant he seals his mouth against mine as he pulls me roughly against his chest.
And, for the second time in about two minutes, I absolutely lose my mind.
Chapter 110
There's nothing soft, or sweet, or polite, or playful about what happens next.
Kent's mouth is hard on mine, all tongue and teeth and frustrated rage. I meet him at every stroke, pushing him back against the wall and tearing first at his suit jacket, trying to push it off his shoulders - wanting to feel his skin, but not knowing if I want to tear it with my nails or feel it pressed on mine -
But then I decide, quite suddenly, that the suit jacket is a god damn waste of time and I push him, hard, so that he falls on his a*s against the stone steps behind him. Kent gasps in pain as he lands, his anger flashing across his face as he glares up at me. He puts his hands down against the stone to thrust himself back up -
But he stops when he sees me pull my tank top up over my head, baring my naked torso beneath. And as I hastily push at the elastic waist of my pajama shorts Kent makes a snap decision and falls back on the step, his hands moving hastily to his belt. When my shorts hit the ground he's only halfway done, but I'm already moving forward, acting completely on instinct, placing one knee steadily at the side of his hip and working to throw my other leg over him - "Damn it, Fay," Kent mutters, pushing my leg back, still unzipping his pants and shoving them down. "Would you let me just -"
"Shut up," I snap, throwing my leg over him anyway, ignoring his protest and taking his face in both of my hands. He gets his pants down over his hips just as I fully straddle his lap and kiss him.
Kent's neck bends backwards as I take control, as I hold his face between my palms and curve my body over him, slanting my mouth to the side and dipping my tongue deep into his mouth, loving the whiskey and tobacco taste of him. Kent moans against me, giving in, wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling me close. He lets me bend him back as far as I want, lets me lick him as deeply as I please, lets me do whatever I want for a change.
And then one of the hands tight around my waist loosens, moving quickly down over my a*s and, after lingering a moment with a full grasp of my cheek in his palm, he dips that hand between us.
I know he's hard for me already - I can feel him beneath me - but Kent positions his cock against my entrance, holding himself steady there but letting me -
I pull my face away for a moment and open my eyes, looking down into his, surprised and making sure that -
That he's really letting me take charge.
He blinks once and nods just a little, just slightly. And then, gently at first, I lower myself down onto him.
But the moment I feel him start to press into me, I can't go slow anymore. I let out a heavy moan and, shuddering at the feel of him, I let gravity pull me down fully onto his thick cock, my neck arching backward and my face turning up to the ceiling. Kent's whole body goes rigid as he feels me tighten around him, as I start to follow my body's commands and pulse my hips, moving him inside of me. And then, as I start to go molten around him, Kent moans between his teeth and leans back, looking up at me, driving his c**k further up into me and letting me grind against him.
I let my head hang back, pressing my eyes shut as my breath starts to come in short gasps. I wrap one hand around Kent's neck for leverage as I begin to sweep my hips in long, deep strokes, digging my nails hard against his skin while the fingers of my other hand twist in his hair.
My release builds in me quickly, but I'm not surprised - with me on top, Kent fills me to a depth I've never felt before. I'm already gasping, Kent's hands hard on my hips, pulling me down tighter, moving with me and making every movement of my body rougher, sharper. I can feel his d**k throb inside me, hard up against that place he hit when he fucked me in his office - that spot within me that wipes the world away and narrows my entire to focus on each pounding stroke.
Kent starts to meet me now, learning my rhythm, pulsing hard up into me every time I flick my hips forward. And then, as I come close to the edge of it, my back curling forward and my release breaking through -
A groan breaks from Kent's lips - a hard, desperate thing as he buries his face against my shoulder and I feel him spill against my inner walls, hot and thick -
And the knowledge of it - of the fact that I did that - that I was in charge this time, and that I made Kent cum, as he made me before -
Fuck, but it pushes me over, and I'm gasping as the release pulses through me, tension chasing joy and pleasure and need throughout my stomach, my core, my limbs, my mind...
I fall forward, pulling him close against me, his head tucked against my shoulder as I slap one of my hands hard against his back, my nails sliding over his skin as the final pulses of my o****m trace through me, as I continue to shudder and take shaky breaths. Unthinking, I trace my nails a little way down the length of Kent's spine and he shivers under my hand. I smile at that, pleased, and do it again, eliciting a little growl from him that I like very much.
We stay just like for a minute while we catch our breath, my body straddling his lap, his arms tight around my waist, his forehead pressed against my shoulder as I pant and come back to myself. Then, realizing that there's a dull ache in my hips from being spread so far apart, I shift a little, but Kent tightens his arms, holding me still.
"No, stop," he murmurs, his whole body still tense under my arms. "Please, Fay," he whispers, and I open my eyes at the surprise of him...well, of asking me for something. Saying please. "Please," he repeats, "just...f*****g let me hold you. For one minute." I tense a little at his words but then...I relent.
Don't think about it, I tell myself as I allow my body to relax against his. My muscles unwind as I gather Kent closer to me, feeling him turn his face to lay it gently against my breast, moving one of his arms below my a*s so that he's supporting my weight with it, holding me -
Actually holding me, not just letting me sit on his lap.
I tuck my own head down next to his, pressing my lips to the skin of his neck, his shoulder, before letting my cheek rest against him, closing my eyes and letting all of my anger and my tension fade away. Because this, now...there's no space for it here. Not anymore. We stay that way, curled quietly against each other, for longer than a minute. For a long time, really. And suddenly I realize that I've grown quite cold because, without realizing it, I've begun to shiver a little bit.
"Shit," Kent murmurs as he feels me start to shake a little against him. He raises his head, pulling back and looking up at me. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah," I reply, raising my own head and meeting his eyes, so close to mine. "Um, I think I'm just...cold?"
"Shit," he says again, shaking his head and unclasping his arms, letting me move away. "I'm sorry, Fay - I think I forget how cold it gets down here -"
"It's okay," I reply, understanding because honestly I didn't notice either - the front half of my body was quite warm, pressed tight against his -
I lift myself off of Kent and stand up quickly, turning to look for my clothes as I hear him stand and quickly fasten his pants. I spy my little pajama shorts on the ground and bend over to grab them, listening passively for the sound of Kent's belt buckling behind me, when suddenly - I gasp as I'm suddenly spun around - and then I barely have a second to realize what's happening as Kent bends me over his shoulder, lifting my bare ass high in the air as he begins to carry me, fireman style, up the stone stairs.