31. Thea
31
Thea
E den’s near continual stream of chatter proved so distracting that I hadn’t noticed Lucian Forsyth sitting with Cassian on the far side of the courtyard. It wasn’t until Eden paused for breath and inhaled sharply that I looked up.
“What?”
“Lucian Forsyth is here. He’s such a silver fox,” she swooned, fanning her face with a napkin. “Tatler did a feature on him last year. I swear, if he wasn’t happily married, I’d hit that.”
“How do you know he’s happily married?” Given the way he’d practically assaulted me at the ball, the image of him as a devoted husband didn’t quite gel.
“Have you not seen photos of his wife? She’s, like, the most exquisite woman ever. He’d have to be nuts to look elsewhere.” For a girl who’d grown up with male cousins, Eden was surprisingly na?ve at times.
“I’m no expert,” I ventured with a wry smile, “but having a lovely wife does not make a man a faithful husband.”
“Well, whatever, I’d still go there.” She licked her lips while sneaking glances in his direction. “I bet he knows what and where the clitoris is.”
I nearly choked on my coffee. “What?”
Eden sighed dramatically. “So, while you were living the dream and attending the social event of the year, I hooked up with Matt, the art student who’s been flirting with me for, like, ages.”
I didn’t know, but whatever. Eden had probably told me, but I tuned out a lot of the shit she came out with.
“And it wasn’t good?”
“No, it was far from good, Thea. So far from good that there are no words to describe just how bad it was.”
Being a virgin and all, I could hardly claim to be an expert, but I could hazard a few reasons why sex with this Matt guy had been bad.
“He couldn’t, um, please you?”
Eden looked at me, frowning at my awkward phrasing. “I’m not sure he could please anyone. The guy needed a GPS app to find my clit, and then he lasted all of 30 seconds before nodding off. I waited until he began to snore and then hauled ass out of his room.”
“Sounds terrible,” I commiserated. It was clear I hadn’t missed anything while my virtue remained intact. Although, I suspected that sex with Landon would be a very different experience.
“You’re so lucky,” Eden lamented, reading my mind. “Landon knows how to please a girl.”
I snorted. “Because he has a lot of experience?”
“Well, yes, but also because he’s hot. I mean, I bet a girl could come just from admiring his abs, am I right?”
“I wouldn’t know,” I muttered, no longer enjoying the turn this conversation had taken. Although I hadn’t forgotten the blissed-out expression on Landon’s face as he came. His o-face had starred in all my fantasies since my escape from Blackwood Manor. As had his very impressive dick.
But Eden didn’t need to know that.
“Lucian keeps staring at you.” My head snapped up.
“Why would he be staring at me?”
“No clue, but he is.” She shrugged. “Maybe he’s in the market for a new sugar baby.”
“Yeah… I think I’ll pass, thanks.” Not in a million years .
“Well, if you change your mind, let me know and I’ll step in.” Eden winked before standing. “Gotta go. I have a class in 10 minutes. Later!” She skipped off like a demented fairy.
I drank the rest of my coffee and pretended not to notice Lucian and Cassian, but I could feel Lucian watching me. Did his wife have any idea how he behaved around other women?
Deciding I’d had enough of being watched, I grabbed my bag and walked away, intending to head to the library to read for a bit. It wasn’t until I reached the main entrance that I remembered I’d forgotten to pick up a cheese roll for lunch, so I headed back.
I turned a corner just in time to see Lucian push his son against a wall, despite the height difference between them. Judging by the furious expression on his face, Lucian was pissed off about something.
What had Cassian done?
Unfortunately, I wasn’t near enough to hear their heated conversation, and if I got any closer, they’d see me. Lucian said something and then Cassian shoved him backward.
I grinned. It looked like Cassian wasn’t willing to be his father’s whipping boy. Good .
Would Cassian celebrate if something bad happened to his father? It sure felt that way.
Like always, the library was quiet. I sat in my favorite window seat and flicked through Instagram on the cheap burner phone I’d bought. My father had never let me have social media. He said it rotted the brain.
I mean, he had a point. Since I’d downloaded Instagram and created an anonymous account, it took up way too much of my day. I never posted anything - I wasn’t that stupid - but I now followed Landon and Cassian. Milo and Kyril didn’t appear to have accounts so far as I could tell.
Landon’s Instagram mostly contained shirtless selfies. The guy posted at least one a day, usually after his workout. I had to admit - he was gorgeous.
Last night, he’d posted a teasing photo of himself lying in bed, abs on display, his hand just out of sight below the edge of the shot. It wasn’t hard to guess what he was doing. Or about to do. And since I’d had a ring-side seat of him pleasuring himself, it was all I could think about.
Some would say I was obsessed.
Frankly, they were right. Landon’s dick was impressive. Long, girthy, and way prettier than the pink vibrator Mrs Gia kept in her bathroom cupboard.
Each night before I fell asleep, I scrolled through Landon’s Insta and pictured his hand on his dick, sliding up and down. The low growly sounds he made and the way his hips rocked as he came.
I squirmed uncomfortably on the window seat, horribly aroused once again. I definitely needed to buy a vibrator. Something to take the edge off. Maybe I’d order one of those clitoral stimulators.
Eden had one. Said it was the best purchase she’d ever made. Got her off every time. No doubt she’d be putting it to good use this evening after her shit hookup.
I laughed to myself. Dating and casual hookups weren’t an option for me, but from Eden’s horror stories, I wasn’t missing anything. It seemed like most guys were selfish assholes or useless in bed.
I’d carry on pleasing myself. Since it was my only option, I was pretty accomplished at self-pleasure. Not only did it guarantee an orgasm, but it also meant I didn’t have to worry about my father or Torrance murdering any guy I liked.
Just as I shoved that unwelcome thought away, my other phone vibrated in my bag. Knowing it was father or Torrance, I sighed, but swiped the screen to accept the call anyway.
“I’m unhappy you failed to eliminate Forsyth, but the list of names you found was useful,” Dad said. No ‘how are you?’ or ‘thank you for risking your life for the millionth time.’ He treated me like one of his men, not his eldest daughter.
“Who were they?” I asked, deciding it was best to skip over the failed hit job.
“That’s not important.” I rolled my eyes. Of course it wasn’t. He never told me anything useful. Just left me to fill in the blanks myself.
“Am I done here then? Can I come home? Cassian’s engaged now, so I can’t use him to get close to Lucian.” Not that I’d tried all that hard. Besides, as much as I was enjoying this small taste of freedom, I missed Verity. Torrance had done nothing to her so far, but I was uncomfortably aware of how vulnerable she was without me there to protect her.
“No. Torrance will pick you up tomorrow evening. He needs your assistance on a job. Be ready for 8 PM.”
“What’s the job?”
“He’ll explain tomorrow.” Knowing my father, it involved luring some poor unsuspecting guy to where Torrance was waiting, like a creepy trapdoor spider. People never viewed me as a threat. They saw a small, weak female and assumed they could easily overpower me.
Using me as bait worked like a charm, which was why I was so useful to my father. I had a collection of wigs and outfits for every occasion. At various times, I’d been a maid, server, exotic dancer, and once, even a schoolgirl.
Still, whatever Torrance had planned was better than sitting in my room writing a stupid essay. As long as Eden didn’t catch me sneaking out and ask what I was up to, I had a fun evening of violence and bloodshed to look forward to.