Ch. 126..130: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 126-130

Chapter 126

I'm shocked the next morning to see that I wake before Kent. I watched him set the alarm for an ambitious six hours after we fell asleep, which will be in about...five minutes, I see, as I peek at the clock now.

rough on his jaw and cheeks -

Part of me is tempted to wake him like he woke me yesterday - with my hands on his naked body, touching the secret places I like to touch. But as I study his sleeping face - his brows drawn together even in repose, his full lips slightly parted, his black stubble I find that the only thing I can really do is...

Well, stare at him.

Christ, I think to myself, shaking my head a little. He's just...really f*****g hot.

And then, almost as if he heard my thoughts, Kent's shoulders twitch, and then he breathes in a deep breath, and his eyes begin to flutter open.

The first thing Kent does is focus on me as he blinks awake, and I blush as I realize that he's caught me just...staring at him.

But before I can do anything else, Kent lets out a feral little growl and reaches out his heavy arm, wrapping it around me and pulling me close. I give a little shriek that makes him laugh as he nuzzles sleepily against me.

"Now who is the bat," he murmurs, "who stays up all night, staring at me, obsession in her eyes..."

"Still you," I say with a yawn, stretching my body against his and then burying my fingers in his thick hair as he begins, again, to kiss my neck, my shoulders, my chest, his stubble rough against my skin and...well, frankly, getting me a little worked up. "Maybe," Kent says, lifting his face to mine and looking me for a long moment in the eye before kissing me soundly. Far too soon he pulls away, glancing over at the clock and sighing as he reaches for it before it goes off.

He sits up, then, looking down at me. Studying me. "Are you ready for today, Fay?" he asks, his voice serious. "Do you have a plan?"

"No," I moan, turning away and burying my face in the pillow. "It's not today yet if the sun hasn't come up - it's still last night -"

He laughs and pulls the pillow away from me, tossing it to the floor and rolling his body over top of mine, grabbing me by the wrists and pinning my arms above my head. "Well, if it's still last night," he murmurs, "that means we're still on a date. Is this what you want, Fay?"

And I think my breathing, instantly heavier as his weight pins me down to the mattress, is answer enough.

"What do you want me to do to you, Fay?" Kent murmurs, dipping his head to kiss my neck and then running the broad length of his tongue up the tender skin there, reminding me, intimately, of what he did to me last night.

I moan a little, not saying anything, letting him figure it out - or honestly, letting him do whatever he wants, because it's all good -

But Kent pulls away and I stare up at him, confused.

"Tell me," Kent demands, looking steadily down into my face. "How do you want me to f**k you, Fay? Because I'm going to f**k you now, as soon as you tell me how."

And I gasp a little in surprise at the frank way he states this - not that it isn't working for me, just - I blush and look away, because I've never had to do the talking before, and I have no idea what to say -

But Kent moves one hand from my wrist and places it on my cheek instead, turning me back to him. "No. Don't blush," he orders, making me look at him. "Tell me what you want."

I blink anxiously up at him, not knowing-

"Do it, Fay," Kent orders, flexing his hips hard against me so I can feel him ready for me - however I want him. Then he smirks at me, teasing as I give a little gasp. "You had lots to say last night when you were threatening to pour tequila all over my bed -" "I did not," I cut in, frowning at him. "I didn't say anything - I was all action -"

"There she is," Kent growls, pleased to have gotten some words out of me, and he flexes his hips again, making me gasp a little bit more. "Now, use that dirty little mouth to tell me how you want me. Now."

"Flip me over," I say, the words falling from my lips before I knew I was thinking them. A hungry little noise echoes in Kent's chest as he moves the hand from my face and slips it beneath me, grabbing me from behind by my far hip and flipping me over in one quick movement, just as I asked.

"Now what," he whispers, kneeling between my legs with his hands on my hips, using his thumbs to dig into the muscles of my lower back, starting to massage me just a little. I moan a little at the feel of it, of Kent's strong hands loosening my muscles, at the feel of myself already growing wet for him -

"Now what," he asks again, accompanying his demand with a sharp smack on my a*s. I yelp a little, even though I liked it, but I feel his hand leave my skin and I know that he's pulling it back, ready for another -

"Lay on top of me," I say quickly, "I - I want to feel you - all of you - "

And he does it, slowly, lowering himself so that his stomach presses against my back, his arms on either side of mine taking the majority of his weight so he doesn't crush me.

"Push into me," I whisper, not waiting for him to command me again, because I can already feel him there - at my entrance - wanting to be inside me as much as I want him there. Kent groans a little as he obeys me, as he adjusts himself so that the head of his c**k begins to spread me -

And then we both almost leap out of our skins as a hard knock comes at the door.

"Shit," Kent breathes, pulling me to him in an instant and clamping an unnecessary hand over my mouth. Because I go still as a rabbit, shocking myself by not emitting a noise. We are both still and tense for a moment, but then the knock comes again. "Through the passage, Fay," Kent commands in a whisper, quickly standing up and hastily pulling the sheets off the bed to wrap around me. "There's no time - they wouldn't wake me if it wasn't urgent."

I nod, still not daring to say a word, and wrap myself up as fast as I can as I cross the room. I look over at Kent, who is pulling on his underwear as he heads for the door - not the one to his office, but one - I think that goes to the kitchens. He holds my eyes for a long moment, giving me a nod, and then he shocks me by pressing the fingers of his right hand to his mouth for just a second, kissing them before clenching that hand in a fist and moving towards the kitchen door.

I pause a moment in my surprise because - I mean, I could swear that that was the Kent Lippert version of blowing me a kiss. But I move through the passage door as quick as I can, pulling it silently shut behind me.

The next few minutes of tottering awkwardly through the freezing basement passage are not...my favorite moments of my life, as I spend one third of my time wishing I had some socks, another third ignoring the unfinished ache in my core, and the final third anxiously worrying that there is some kind of horrible disaster happening upstairs.

But as I pass through the wardrobe into my room, everything is...peaceful. Totally normal. I take a moment to listen quietly for any changes but eventually the tension unwinds from my muscles as I hear absolutely nothing.

Then, frustrated that what seemed like it was going to be some really great s*x was interrupted for absolutely nothing, I scowl and head into my bathroom for a long shower.

Because the day has finally arrived, and I can no longer use tequila and sex to distract myself from the one big problem in my life: Natalia.

Natalia, the woman who wants my father dead and me gone with him so that she can take her place as Kent's wife.

But as I step into the steaming hot water of my shower, a little snarl curls on my lips.

Because if that's what she wants?

God damn it, but I'm going to make her step over my dead body to take it.

 

Chapter 127

When I come out of the shower and move back into my bedroom I'm pleased to see that my clothes for the day have arrived - riding clothes, thank god - and even more pleased to see a little note on top. I scurry over and grab the little white envelope, ripping it It's a simple, short note as all of Kent's are:

open.

Everything is fine.

I owe you.

I smirk, a little, at how coy he's being here. Because if anyone intercepted this note and read it before me, it's innocuous enough to mean anything. But those words at the bottom? I know precisely what they mean. Who knew three short words could get me so hot. But I sigh and toss the note in my waste basket, knowing that I have to wait, and endure much, before I get to that more pleasant part of my day. But I get ready quickly - drying my hair and braiding it back and then changing into my crisp riding clothes, excited to finally have the opportunity to visit my horse instead of doting on Natalia and Alessi all day.

After all, they've taken away any reason I had to be kind and solicitous to them. And now I can just do as I please.

I pull on my tall riding boots and nearly skip down the stairs towards the kitchen, hungry for breakfast and eager to start the day. Some of the things that Kent said last night still echo in my mind that he sees me as a viper, for instance, disguised as a fawn... And even as I shake my head at the idea as I push the door open to the kitchen - I wonder what would happen if I just decided to believe him? If I just accepted it, instead of fighting against it, and tried to...I don't know, embrace it? To see the viper in myself, instead of the shy and frightened nerd I always assumed I was?

I'm lost in the thoughts of this as I make my way to the espresso machine, so lost that I don't even notice the old man standing next to me until I've already loaded the coffee and pulled the levers that I know will make me my favorite drink.

"A double this morning, Fay?" a creaky old voice beside me asks, and I jump a little as I spin towards him. But then my face breaks into a smile.

"Uncle Gino," I say, giving the man I now know is Kent's uncle - the man who raised him, who saved Kent's family - a wide grin. "Good morning - am...am I...oh god," I say, grimacing as I look around at the coffee station, "please don't tell me that I cut in front of you

_"

But he laughs and pats me on the shoulder. "No, girl," he says, shaking his head. "I already have mine." And he raises a tiny cup towards me in a little toast, which brings me great relief. "Are you going to see that horse of yours today?" "Yes," I say, my eyebrows going up as the machine next to me hisses and steams. "Do you - do you know Heathcliff?"

"Helped Kent pick him," Gino says, giving a deep nod towards the kitchen. I turn my head to see Kent standing in there, dressed in his suit and speaking to some of his men. "That boy doesn't know as much about horse flesh as he thinks he does. Women, on the other hand..." he says, nodding appreciatively and raising his eyebrows at me.

I laugh and shake my head at him. "I won't tell him you said that," I say, reaching for my little cup when it's finally filled with coffee.

"Knew I could trust you, girl," Gino murmurs, patting me again on his shoulder before hobbling over to the table of old men, who all raise a hand to me as I look their way. I smile back and give a little wave before heading towards my own table, where I can see Daniel already sitting.

When I slide into my seat across from Daniel, I note that the table is smaller today - that he removed the two extra seats where Natalia and Alessi have been sitting since they arrived. I open my mouth to say good morning to him and ask about that choice, but then I my words fail me when I see Daniel slumped over his plate of eggs, his skin pale and almost green in places.

"Whoa," I say, picking up my coffee cup and raising it to my lips. "Rough night, Danny?"

Daniel lifts his head and glares at me a little. "Who told you to call me that?"

I laugh a little wickedly and blow on my coffee before taking a sip. "No one. I just heard a little bird call you it." I wrinkle my nose at him. "I think it fits."

Daniel just growls something noncommittal and looks down at his plate again.

"Aww, come on, sugar," I say, leaning forward and taking his hand. "Are you really feeling this poorly?"

"Yes," he sighs, sitting back in his seat but keeping my hand in his. "But Fay - we have to..."

"I know," I say, squeezing his hand and looking at him seriously. Because he's right - we need a plan. Daniel takes a deep breath and leans forward to whisper to me, all the time getting greener, as if he might barf all over his plate.

"Fay," he whispers, "I don't know what my dad has planned - but I have no intention of breaking this engagement or letting Natalia have a place in this family. I went to my dad's room this morning and he agrees -"

"Oh," I say, perking up a little bit and feeling a relieved. "That was you?"

"Yeah wait," he says, looking at me narrowly. "How did you..."

And I bite my lip, realizing what I just let slip.

"Were you...there?" he asks, glancing around to make sure that he isn't heard - but the kitchen is full, and quite loud, and the Italians aren't here yet, so I'm fairly sure we're safe. "What," he says, scrunching his face a little with distaste. "Did he like - shove you in a closet to keep you secret?"

"No," I reply simply, sitting up straight and keeping my mouth shut. But I can't help giving Daniel a sneaky little grin that lets him know that I'm keeping my secret on this one.

"Okay," he says, dropping my hand and covering his face with his palm as he leans back in his chair. "Now I'm really gonna barf -"

I laugh and lean forward to tease him more, but a plate slides in front of me before I can say another word and I look up to see Kent standing there.

"All right?" he asks, looking between us.

"Daniel's going to barf," I say, giving Kent a little smile before reaching for my fork and eagerly stabbing at the pile of eggs on my plate.

"Daniel," Kent says, slipping his hands into his pockets and turning towards his son, "needs to learn his limits."

Daniel just flaps a hand at his dad, who chuckles a little and opens his mouth to say something more, but at that moment the door to the kitchen swings open and Natalia and Alessi walk in, looking bright and fresh. All three of us turn to look at them and I consider, passively, that you'd never know that they ordered a hit on my father last night.

Kent swallows whatever it was he was going to say to us and turns away instead, his demeanor going cold. "I'm busy today," Kent calls over his shoulder to Daniel and I as he walks towards the kitchen, ignoring Alessi and Natalia as he goes. "But I have my phone. You two call if you need anything."

"So, is this how it's going to be?" Daniel murmurs to me as he watches Natalia and Alessi take two seats at another small table behind us. "Just...a stalemate?"

"If it is," I say, sighing and turning back to my plate, "then you'd better eat up. We're going to need all of our strength."

Daniel looks down at his food and I swear I see him gag a little bit - I can't hold back my laughter. I do notice, though, that Natalia turns around to look at me when she hears it - disgruntled, I think, to see me having a happy morning with my fiancé when she basically told us the engagement was off last night.

I act like I don't see her, though, pretending I'm above it.

"It's going to be weird, Fay," Daniel says, shaking his head, so serious that I meet his eyes.

"We'll get through it," I say firmly, holding his gaze and nodding to him. "We just need a plan."

"Well, I've got my summer off," Daniel says, giving me a little grin. "Let's get to work."

 

Chapter 128

The days pass quickly now that I no longer have entertaining Natalia and Alessi tying me up, and they start to fall into a familiar pattern. Breakfast with Daniel, then mornings and early afternoons at the stable, burning off my anxiety and my energy. Late afternoons are spent in my bedroom with Daniel as we pour over Kent's strategy books and talk about our next moves.

And nights?

Well. Nights are where my real education happens.

Other things have changed in the house as well. For one, I finally got a lock on my door.

"Really?" I breathed as Kent came up about two weeks ago with the handyman to have it installed. "I get privacy?"

Kent just glared at me a little. "When have you lacked for privacy, Fay?" he asked. But I just rolled my eyes at him and gestured to both the door and the wardrobe, neither of which had a lock and both of which were available to him twenty-four hours a day. But he just smirked and ignored me.

"This isn't the reward you think it is," he informed me, coming over to where Daniel and I were sitting on the bed, books and a chess board spread out between us. "It's - wait," he says, blinking and refocusing on our study materials. "What are you two doing?" "We're studying, Dad," Daniel said with a little shrug.

"But the semester is over for summer," Kent reminded him, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Autodidacticism is a legitimate form of education, Kent," I said loftily, bouncing down onto my bed and leaning back against the pillows, grinning at him. He flashed me a little glare of annoyance before leaning forward and looking at our collected books. Then, he gave a surprised blink as he realized that they were his books.

He paused for a moment, considering, but then he just straightened. "Put these back where you found them, when you're finished," he said. And then he turned to glare at me. "Exactly where you found them."

I gave him a sarcastic little salute and rolled my eyes; his glare just intensified. But I smiled, knowing that he'd make me pay for it later. And I very much looked forward to that.

"So," Daniel said, nodding towards the handyman, who was finishing up. "What's up with the lock?"

"You're going to start sleeping in here," Kent informed him, nodding towards my bed. Daniel and my mouths dropped open.

"Why?" Daniel asked, a little appalled at the idea.

"Because you're engaged," Kent growled, glaring at him. "I bought more time with the Bianci's - set up meetings with Alden so that he can convince the Italians that he's a bigger player than he honestly is and that we don't need to take him out. But in the meantime, you two need to start convincing everyone that you're in love."

"Oh," I said, my eyebrows going up. And then I bit my lip, looking down at my hands in disappointment, thinking that this meant...

"Nothing else is changing, Fay," Kent informed me, interrupting my thoughts, and I snapped my gaze back up to Kent to see a small smile on his face. He just nods towards Daniel. "You'll just have to let him in on the secret."

And then, with a little nod, he left the room.

Daniel turned to me, confused. "What secret?" he asked, a little betrayed.

And then, as the handyman finished and closed the door behind him as he left, I took Daniel's hand and asked a very simple question. "Did you ever read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe?"

And so, ever since then, Daniel comes into my room every night and, after giving me a chaste little kiss on the cheek, he rolls his eyes and holds the wardrobe door open for me so that I can scurry down the secret passage to his dad's room. And then every morning, when I climb back out, I wake Daniel up with another little chaste kiss and a cup of coffee that I bring him from his dad's espresso bar.

"You know this is weird, Fay," Daniel says to me today, after about two weeks of this pattern. "Super weird that you go fuck my dad every night and bring me coffee in the morning after I sleep alone in your bed."

"Don't be jealous," I scold, plopping down on the bed with my own little cup, "just because Jerome doesn't have his own secret passage."

Daniel grumbles discontentedly and I grin, knowing that I've hit the nail at least a little bit on the head there. Daniel, I know, misses his sneaky midnight visits from Jerome.

"They can't stay forever," I say quietly, reaching out a hand to rest comfortingly on Daniel's knee. "Natalia and Alessi have to go back to Italy at some point."

"Not until this is finished," he sighs, looking down into his cup. "And I can't believe it's still stretching on."

"I know," I murmur, but at that moment a knock comes at the door and I move towards it to receive our clothes delivery for the day. Kent has started sending Daniel's clothes as well, since he has less access to the walk-in closet in his room, and Kent wants Natalia and Alessi to see Daniel and I walk out of my room every morning holding hands and appearing as if we've spent every moment of the night together.

Daniel dresses more quickly than me, as he does every day - his clothes are easier to pull on than riding pants and tight boots - and then he sits and talks quietly with me as I do my hair and makeup. Then, when I'm ready, he takes me by the hand and unlocks the door and we step out into the hallway just as Alessi is passing my door.

"Ah," Alessi says, stopping to smile at both of us. "The young lovers emerge."

"Morning, Alessi," I say cheerfully, stepping close to Daniel and resting my head against his shoulder. I'm more aware of Alessi now - more aware that even though he's nicer to me than Natalia is, that he's still very much on her side. But still, I have no real reason to be nasty to him- not now. Not yet.

"Beautiful Fay," Alessi says, stepping forward to give me a kiss on the cheek before we all start down the stairs together. "And how did the two of you sleep?"

Daniel gives a soft little laugh, meant to suggest to Alessi that we didn't, which makes Alessi smile. "We slept very well, Alessi," Daniel adds as we pass through the kitchen door. "We hope you did as well."

Alessi tells us about his evening as we all move towards the coffee stand, but I find myself distracted, as I am most mornings when Natalia makes it to breakfast before we do. Because when she does, she's always in the galley at Kent's side, her arm wrapped tight around his.

I do my best to glance away from them and not narrow my eyes, because honestly I shouldn't. The Fay that I'm playing - the one who is Daniel's fiancé - has no real reason to object to Natalia and Kent getting together, besides the relatively minor objection of a bossy mother-in-law.

But the real Fay, the one who climbs into Kent's bed every night?

I want to rip her face off every time she drags a finger down his chest, looking up into his face and laughing her stupid little tinkling laugh.

 

 

Chapter 129

But I clench my jaw and look away from Natalia clinging to Kent's arm, knowing that we've made a decision about how to play this. And that I've got to stick to it.

"Let her," Kent said to me a few weeks ago as we laid tangled in the sheets of his dark room. "Let her think that I'm considering her as my wife, Fay."

"Are you?" I asked, hoping that my voice didn't betray my terror at the idea. That I could lose him to that horrible woman -

"No," he had insisted, taking my chin in his broad hand and making me look at him. "No, Fay, I don't want her. But...until this settles, until we come up with a solution that makes the business secure without the Bianci's insisting on a second marriage pact to solidify it? Let her burn herself out spinning her wheels. Let her think she's getting somewhere with me. Let her try."

I tore my chin from his hand, then, turning my face away and scowling down at the bed. "But what if she succeeds?" I grumbled, a little alarmed at the level of jealousy I'm feeling at the idea of it. "What if she wiles you away with her stupid Italian charms -" Kent just laughed and slid his hand from my shoulder all the way down my back to land on my a*s, which he gripped tight in his palm. "How could she do that," he murmured, dipping his head to lick a long stroke between my breasts, "when I've got you here, hogging my bed -"

"What!" I shrieked, slapping at his back and laughing. "I do not hog the bed -"

"You do," he murmured. "You spread out like a starfish - it's horrible -"

But then I wiggled down on the mattress so that his body was leveled above me, his weight pressing me down, just the way I like it. I made him look at me, right in the eyes, not letting him get away with distracting me. "Promise me, Kent," I whispered, trying desperately not to wear my entire heart on my sleeve. "Promise me you won't leave me for her."

And he did.

Kent whispered his promise against my lips, and then a dozen more times as he worked his way down my body, pressing a kiss against my skin after each one.

He promised until I forgot what he was saying entirely, so swept away in him that I forgot everything I knew, forgot even myself as I tilted my head back and moaned his name.

And so, as Daniel hands me my second cup of coffee of the day and we make our way over to our little breakfast table, the most I can do is try to ignore the way Natalia presses herself to Kent's side, as if she's already his bride. Ignore the way he looks down at her consideringly, as if he's really thinking about what it would be like to have her there all the time.

"Careful Fay," Daniel whispers to me in a little sing-song voice as we sit down. "Your jealousy is showing."

And I scowl a little as I sink into my seat, taking a deep breath and working to wipe my face clean. "Am I that obvious?"

"To me," he says, giving me a little shrug. "Maybe to Jerome," he says, glancing over at his boyfriend who stands in the kitchen watching us carefully. "But you've got to be careful here. Because in this world, you never know what's going to happen next."

"I know," I sigh, and as it turns out the next surprise is on its way as Natalia saunters over to us, the two plates of our breakfast in her hands.

"Good morning, love birds," Natalia says, giving us a big fake smile and kissing Daniel on the cheek after she places our breakfast neatly before us. "I have a surprise for you tonight!"

"Really?" Daniel asks, looking up at her interestedly, his face warm and fond. I watch him, a little jealous at his ability to play nice so easily.

"Yes," she says, tapping his nose with a motherly finger. "I have made a little party for you two! You will be meeting some others of the young ones from good families," she says, smiling at both of us. "And your Ivan will be there," she adds, nodding to me and giving me a little wink. "I know how much you like him."

My mouth falls open a little at this, at her nerve. Ivan - I haven't spoken to him in weeks, not since the party. He texted a lot at the start - but now we've gone silent.

"Oh," Daniel says, glancing between us. "Thank you, Natalia, but I'm not sure we should -"

"Ohhhh," she says, leaning down and wrapping an arm around his shoulders in a little hug. "You'll go! You'll have fun! You two - spending all day wrapped up in that room, reading books after Fay goes and plays with animals all morning!" She stands sharply up and rolls her eyes at us. "You need a little life - have some fun. You leave it to me. I arranged it all."

And then, before we can object, she just laughs and walks away.

"Are seriously we doing this?" I ask Daniel, leaning forward so he can hear my whisper.

He glances for a moment at his dad, who studies us with chagrin as Natalia moves back to his side. "I think we have to," he murmurs as Kent gives us a small nod.

I groan and slump back into my chair, not wanting to do this at all.

Honestly, I liked the pattern that we'd set up in the past few weeks - waking up with Kent, riding my horse, plotting with Daniel, and then back through the wardrobe? It was nice.

But leave it to Natalia to throw a wrench in the plans.

"Bowling?" I murmur as we pass through the door into what I actually admit is an incredibly chic two-lane vintage bowling alley in the basement of one of the city's best restaurants. You can tell it's been lovingly maintained and that the rest of the room has been designed thoughtfully as a complementary cocktail lounge.

"We are youths," Daniel says, smirking down at me. "Youths like the bowling, remember? At least, in Natalia's mind."

I sigh and fiddle with the engagement ring on my left hand, looking around anxiously.

We're some of the last to arrive, and I see that there are already about twenty people here. I've met some of them, while others are complete strangers. But my eyes go, of course, directly to the blonde at the back corner of the bar, speaking intently with a dark- haired girl I don't know.

"The Russian dolls are here," Daniel murmurs to me as we step further into the room. I smirk at our nickname for the five daughters of the Russian mob boss I've never met. "And they're incoming..." he continues.

I rip my eyes away from Ivan to the group of girls headed right towards us, Mila at their head.

"Mila!" I say cheerfully, stepping forward and intercepting her, not letting her make the first move and ignore me as she did last time. "So good to see you again."

I wrap her in a light hug, pressing a kiss to her cheek which she falsely returns. "You're looking well, Fay," she murmurs to me, giving me a slight smile, before hastily letting me go and moving to Daniel. But I turn and smirk to see that her sisters have already ranged around him, making it hard for her to find a place.

I watch them for a moment, considering that it looks like a feeding frenzy when a slab of beef is lowered into a piranha tank. Apparently, their father told the sisters that he wants one of them to land Daniel - but he doesn't really care which one. And now they're all determined to win.

I catch Daniel's eye for a moment and he gives me a helpless little shrug, which makes me laugh. So, I move away to the bar, letting him handle it. As I go I wonder what Natalia has promised Don Kozlov in exchange for one of his daughters marrying the boy she hopes will soon be her son.

Considering how hard they're going after him, it must be something good.

I sigh as I reach the bar, watching Ivan from the corner of my eye as he chats and laughs with the dark-haired girl, wondering who she is. But I place my order with the bartender and wait patiently. I know he'll come to me. But even when the drinks are delivered, and I take one over to Daniel, and then come back to the bar to sit alone...

He doesn't.

And I look over at Ivan, staring more blatantly now at him as he talks to the other girl. And I clench my teeth a little, unhappy at how jealous I suddenly find myself.

Honestly, after everything he's said to me, everything he's offered, he can't even look at me now?

I know I'm being unfair - that I haven't given him any encouragement in weeks, haven't even texted him back. I'm aware that I have let him know with all of my actions that I am quite thoroughly Team Lippert now - But as I watch him talking to this girl, smiling at her with his lopsided smirk, raising a hand to casually rub at the tattooed skin on his neck.

I realize that I fucking hate it.

Because Ivan? He's supposed to look that way at me.

 

Chapter 130

And I cringe a little as I look up into Daniel's face. He smirks down at me as I realize how completely o "It's all right," he whispers, moving close to me and running a crooked finger softly down my cheek. "E goal, right?"

"Crazy in love," he murmurs. "You and me? Crazy in love."

"Yup," I reply, grinning up at him and considering that at least it's not a hard thing to pretend. Because The next few hours are t*****e, though. Daniel doesn't leave my side, of course, but the Russian dolls I sigh a little inwardly as I watch these girls flirt with my fiancé. I pretend to laugh at their jokes, but re Because, I know, Daniel and Jerome are still going strong, even if their midnight meetups have been te But honestly weathering the affections of the dolls is the least torturous part of the night. The most to into it. He doesn't even acknowledge my existence as he skips out of the party two hours before the r I scowl the whole ride home, and continue doing so as I climb the stairs with my hand warmly held in "Fay," Daniel says, and I look up at him almost in surprise that he's there. He frowns down at me. "Are "I'm fine," I sigh, shaking my head. "I'm sorry, Daniel," I murmur, stepping closer and leaning my head a "Cheer up," Daniel says, patting me lightly on the back before heading towards the bathroom. "At least "Yes," I say quietly, watching Daniel pass through the bathroom door and waiting for him to shut it bel hands, considering my next move.

But then I think...fuck it.

And I send off a quick text.

Come and meet my horse tomorrow, I type. 9 am.

And a little smile curls on my lips as the reply comes almost instantly.

I'll be there.

I'm being. "Sorry," I murmur, taking his hand.

e knows by now that you two had drama, so I think it's not abnormal for you to look a little jealous when he's talking to a new girl. But let's not forget the

ove him - not that way, of course. But Daniel's my best friend. It's not difficult to let everyone see that and throw in a few kisses here and there.

ck to him, telling annoying stories and each giving him obvious compliments in their individual attempts to stand out, to make him choose one of them. ust wish I could simply just tell them to give up because there's not a chance in hell that he's actually going to go for any of us. arily disrupted.

us part is that Ivan doesn't say a god damn word to me. He doesn't even glance my way, even as I watch him take the girl's phone and clearly add his number us do.

's, my mind turning over every moment of Ivan ignoring me until Daniel closes my bedroom door behind us and turns the lock. right?"

his chest. "I just I went into all of that expecting to fight with him, to have to beat him off with a stick. I wasn't expecting..." we successfully convinced the Russians that I've only got eyes for you."

m. Then, once it's firmly closed, I hurry to my desk and pull out the little burner phone that Kent never took away from me. I bite my lip as I hold it in my

A little whirl of excitement starts low in my stomach as I tuck the phone back into my desk and then walk to the bathroom to rap a knuckle on the door. "Daniel?" I call. "I'm going through, okay?" "Okay!" Daniel calls cheerfully after me. "Sleep tight!"

The next morning, Jerome almost crashes the Lexus when he pulls into the parking lot of the stables and sees Ivan's red Ferrari parked there.

"Fuck," he whispers, quickly straightening out the wheel and then turning to glare at me. "What the f**k, Fay?!"

"What?" I ask innocently, trying to hide my smile.

"Fay," Jerome growls, quickly pulling into a spot as far away from Ivan's car as possible. "What the hell are you playing at this time?"

"Kent knows," I say evenly with a little shrug, speaking the truth.

I told him this morning. He hadn't been happy about it.

I had picked my moment quite carefully. "Um, Kent?" I had said, leaning casually against the open door to the closet as Kent got dressed. And then, when he had turned and looked at me suspiciously - probably because I haven't been so shy and hesitant around him in weeks - I had stumbled out with my whole plan to meet Ivan at the stables today, just to check on things between his organization and the Lippert family.

Kent walked slowly over to me, stopping only when he was so close that I had to tilt my chin all the way back to look up into his face. Then, he had gone completely still.

"What are you doing, Fay," Kent had growled. "What happened last night?"

"Nothing," I said, willing honestly into my face as I looked up at him. "Ivan and I didn't have a chance to talk - I promise, it's not - it's not a romantic thing. Daniel and I were cornered all night by the Russians."

And then I waited. If he told me not to go, I wouldn't go.

But secretly? I kind of knew he'd say yes. I had told Kent weeks ago about what happened at my father's house - about my father offering to take Jerome from him, about my father laughing when I suggested that Kent could keep me safe. And I could tell that the news had rattled him.

Kent had used the information, of course - had used my father's confidence to rattle Natalia, to suggest to her that Alden had something up his sleeve and that they needed to figure it out before breaking off the engagement with me. It had been clever, that method of gaining more time.

But my father and Ivan have been slippery these past few weeks - haven't given Kent much of anything, instead dancing around him and Natalia. They would take meetings, but they didn't commit to anything. And I knew I knew that Kent's frustration on this matter, his desire for more information, would beat out his jealousy.

"Fifteen minutes," Kent snarled, wrapping a hand around my waist and pulling me tight against his stomach. "That's how long you spend with him. And then Jerome escorts him off the property. Am I clear?" Eagerly, I nodded. And then I wrapped my arms around Kent's neck, standing on my tiptoes and lifting my face closer to his, asking for a kiss.

"He doesn't put his hands on you, Fay," Kent said next, refusing to kiss me and glaring at me darkly instead.

"I never got my condo in Milan -" I said, smirking a little, trying to use a joke to lighten the mood.

But Kent just shook his head and wrapped his arms tighter around me, not biting. Slowly, the smile dropped from my face.

"Not a single touch," he growled, and then he waited for me to nod, agreeing to his terms before lifting me tight against him and sealing his mouth on mine. I clung to Kent then, overwhelmed a little by his order, his intensity, his covetous need to keep me all for himself -

And then I let him carry me to the bed, and lay me back down on the sheets, and show me just how much I belonged to him. I let Kent wipe away the idea of anyone else touching me again, ever. But even as Kent smacked my a*s and left me panting against the sheets, heading back to the closet after making me cum so hard that I could barely remember my own name...

I still knew that I was going to do it.

That I had to meet Ivan, and talk to him, and know what this thing had been between us - even if just to close the door on us.

But as I climb out of the car and look over the roof to see Ivan leaning against the doorway of the stables, his hair falling casually into his face as his eyes lock on mine? F**k.

Fuck, but it feels like that door is still standing wide open.