8. Delilah
Chapter eight
Delilah
S itting in my room, I listened to my father’s frantic steps as he went between my, Zachary, and Ivory’s rooms every ten minutes to see if we were almost done getting ready. He didn’t want to be late, so, of course, I was finishing my hair and makeup an hour before the event.
In contrast, he walked through the halls looking dressed and prepared like he had to leave in the next five minutes. He came into my room, and I looked over to him as I finished my last curl.
He gave a genuine smile. “I’m so happy to see you almost done, sweetheart. Between your siblings, mother, and Blaine, I’m slowly starting to grow more agitated by the second.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. I know. Kimi is almost done, too, so there’s no need to stress about her household. Now, bother Mom. I bet she hasn’t even picked out her dress.”
“Not to worry, love. I already did that for her.”
I rolled my eyes as he swiftly walked out of the room.
I heard the door next to me open, and not a second later, my sister screamed.
“NO, DAD, NO! I’m getting dressed. Get out!!”
“But you don’t even have the dress out of the—” he started, but my mother’s voice rang out.
“ Killian. Leave the children alone. ”
At the tone of her voice, my father closed Ivory’s door and sighed heavily as he’d been defeated once again. I giggled as I stood up and prepared to put on my clothes.
Dad wasn’t crazy… no, that’s too light of a word to use. Always a perfectionist, possibly bipolar, angry and short-tempered, more than rationally in love with his wife, and continuously intolerable… but crazy? No, I wouldn’t just say that.
I entered my walk-in closet and gazed at the burgundy, long, and elegant dress my father’s tailors had designed for me. It had a small design on the front and beautiful ruffles at the bottom.
I got dressed, and finally, we all finished and were getting ready to leave. As expected, my siblings and my mother were dressed to perfection. Benjamin escorted us out as George stood by the limo waiting for us.
Stepping into the limo, he drove off, and we heard someone beep the horn behind us for a few moments. My siblings and I turned to see Uncle Blaine and Uncle Shin behind us, too.
My father sighed. “I was silently hoping we could make it there before they spotted us, but... mission failed,” he remarked, and my mother looked over at him, appalled.
“Was that why you had us getting ready hours before we even had to be?”
“Why else not? I even had Eugene keep a lookout to see if they were getting ready, much to his wife’s dismay,” Dad said dejectedly, and I had to hide my smile. He was always comically using Uncle Eugene and his previous experience in the military to his advantage, and it always annoyed Mom to see her brother giving in to his antics.
“No more, Killian,” my mother chastised.
He chuckled as he brought her over to him and kissed the top of her forehead.
I decided to switch the conversation and said, “Kimi tells me they’ll be announcing the student government president since the dean and his advisors will be there along with the other candidate.”
“Well, it’s about time. She’s been preparing forever,” Zachary mentioned.
“Agreed,” my father added. “With as much effort as the girl put in, I would require nothing less than for her to come out on top. It’s only expected that she wins.”
I nodded, and the limo came to a full stop. George let us out, and we entered the building with the others following us. Two men stood by the grand entrance, looking over to my father.
“Good evening, Mr. Russel, Mr. Porter, Mr. Masahiko,” one of them greeted as they opened the doors.
We walked in and were escorted to our table. I slowed down so I could walk with Kimi, and her face showed a few signs of nerves. I grabbed her hands and laid my head on her shoulder.
“Don’t be nervous, Kim-Kim.”
“How could I not be? The entire academy is going to see this, and if I don’t win, I will have made a fool of myself.”
“But Kimi, you and I both know the only person fit to be president is you, and if not, then our fathers will surely see that.” Perks of having intolerable fathers who hold the world in the palm of their hands.
She rolled her eyes at me, and we took a seat beside each other at the table.
Goosebumps rose to my skin, and I paused for a moment. I looked around the room discreetly, but I froze when my eyes met Luca’s dark ones across the room. My hand unconsciously gripped Kimi’s a bit tighter, and she looked over to me.
“Delilah?”
“Luca literally looks like he was to tear me apart and eat me,” I whispered low enough so that she was the only one to hear me.
“He’s not the only one,” Kimi muttered, and I looked over to her slowly only to see what she was staring at, or rather who, and my eyes landed on Archer sitting at his father’s table. His gaze was set solely on me, was even darker, and oddly, my skin felt hot as he slowly ran his eyes up and down my frame.
“God, this night is going to be a disaster,” I whispered, and my father called for the both of us, making us direct our attention to him.
We both stood up, and eventually, we were introduced to some of the high bidders for the auction, and of course, we put on our camera smiles as photos were continuously being taken.
“Killian, Brielle, thank you for coming,” I heard a familiar voice speak, and I looked over to Calvin with his wife and Mr. Crawford standing by my parents.
“Hello, Calvin. How have you been?” my mother asked.
“Fine, thank you. I wasn’t aware that you knew about my recent partnership with Andrew Crawford. We planned this auction together.”
“We are well aware,” my father said, and I furrowed my eyebrows.
Partnership? It was common for businesses to have small relations, but from the way Luca acted with Archer, my last guess would have been that their fathers were working together, much like how my father and Uncle Blaine had a joint enterprise.
“Can I have everyone’s attention, please?” We heard a voice ring throughout the room, and we looked to the stage to see the dean of the university standing with his assistant and advisors.
“I would like to thank you all for coming this evening. I also want to extend my gratitude to Mr. Lockwood for giving us the opportunity to speak on behalf of the students at Highland Bridge Academy. Tonight, we will be announcing the new president of the student government. The two final candidates who received the most votes from the student body are Brad Williams and Kimiko Masahiko—”
He continued speaking, and I held Kimiko’s hand impatiently, feeling as anxious as her.
In the corner of my eye, while listening to the announcement, I couldn’t help but notice Brad’s face—he looked petrified. It wasn’t hard to guess why. Luca, standing across the room, was glaring daggers in his direction, and it was clear that Brad’s panic was a direct result of that intense scrutiny.
“And the elected president of the university division of Highland Bridge Academy is… Kimiko Masahiko!”
The entire room clapped, and I squealed as I quickly hugged her and urged her to go up to the stage.
She looked shocked as she walked up and greeted the dean. I watched like a proud parent from the audience as she said a small thanks and spoke a few words into the mic.
I felt a presence behind me as her speech finished, and I looked over my shoulder as they came around to speak to us.
“Mr. Russel, Mrs. Russel, such a pleasure to see you,” Luca said and turned to look at me as a smile came to his face. “I came over to see if I could steal Delilah away for a moment.”
My father immediately shook his head as he spoke. “I don’t think you—”
Calvin cut him off with a chuckle. “Killian, let them have fun. It wouldn’t be right to bore them the rest of the night.”
Before I even had a chance to enter my input, I was slowly pulled away by Luca.
I looked over to him as he led me to the dance floor.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I asked him furiously, and he chuckled as he placed his hands around my waist. I kept mine by my sides, discreetly trying to push him away, fully aware that my father was watching us closely. Luca pulled me closer, his grip firm but not painful. He leaned in, his breath warm against my ear.
“You better behave, doll. I don’t like disobedient little girls.”
I scoffed as I narrowed my eyes at him. “And who the hell do you think you are? You don’t own me,” I whispered back, and he bit his lip. The grip he had on me grew slightly tighter, and I flinched. He loosened it once he noticed and slowly started to sway with me.
“Dance with me, love. That’s all I wanted in the first place.”
I groaned, knowing full well that I wasn’t going to get my way, and complied by dancing with him.
“You get one dance,” I muttered, accepting his hand, and he smirked.
“You’re cute.”
A blush came to my face, and he stared down at me.
“You still never answered my question,” he began. “About your relationship with Archer.”
I shrugged my shoulders. “We don’t have one... He’s just been Archer,” I said in the best way I could, and he nodded.
“He acts differently around you.”
“You think?” I asked and his jaw clenched.
“It’s quite obvious… however—” he began, and my breath hitched as hand left mine and rested under my chin. His thumb caressed my skin, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine. I internally groaned, cursing myself for reacting to his touch despite everything he’s done.
God, I must be some kind of masochist to be reacting to this man in any way after how he’s treated me.
“I’m more interested in how you see him.”
“There’s nothing between us,” I said for the hundredth time, and Luca’s eyes darkened as he looked me up and down.
“I genuinely want to see how long you can keep up that pretense,” he muttered, and I pushed his hand away as the music died down. He pulled away from me after a moment and I decided to take my leave.
Instead of going to my table, I made a trip out of the banquet hall to clear my mind. As I entered a small room, I walked to the balcony and leaned against the rail in thought.
Things were so much simpler before coming back to the academy, before Luca, before this fucked-up system. Things were much simpler with him. For the last fifteen years, I’ve been able to handle Archer.
I ignored his aggressiveness, tolerated his possessiveness, and learned to deal with a boy who made me despise him. And as much as I wanted to forget about him, I couldn’t.
Instead of indulging in the expensive appetizers that were imported from overseas and made my mouth water, I was here thinking about the similarities and differences between him and Luca.
“Miss,” I heard behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see it was one of the security guards.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but your father has been looking for you.”
I nodded. “Please let him know I’ll be out in a moment.”
I heard the door close and a few seconds went by, and the door opened again. I turned over to repeat the same words, but they got caught in my throat as Archer closed the door behind him. My heart sped up, and I bit my lip as his eyes were trained on me.
“Archer,” I said softly, and he slowly took one step.
“You disappeared out there...”
“It was getting crowded. I wanted to get away from it. The questions, the stares, Luca... you.”
Another step.
“Despite that, you and Luca were rather comfortable on the dance floor,” he muttered, and I tilted my head.
“Angry that it wasn’t you?” I asked, my voice carrying a hint of challenge.
A humorless chuckle escaped him as my heart fluttered once again.
“Angry? No,” he muttered. His voice was low, almost menacing. Another step. “ No, no, no, Princess.”
The way he uttered “Princess” sent a shiver down my spine. It was as though he was claiming a right over me that didn’t belong to him. Or rather, I tried to convince myself that it didn’t belong to him. I felt a mix of irritation and vulnerability as his proximity made it even harder to maintain my composure.
“Then it shouldn’t matter if I danced with him or not…” I whispered, and he shrugged.
“Hate to break it to you… but it does.”
“And is that because you see him as a threat?”
“Getting warmer.”
“Because… you were jealous?” I uttered, and he hummed.
“That’s one way to interpret it.”
I felt a mix of feelings and emotions at his words. “It was nothing. Just a dance. Nothing to get worked up about.”
Archer’s expression remained unreadable, but his gaze stayed fixed on me. “Is that so? Because from where I was standing, it looked like more than just a dance .”
“Well, what did it look like?” I challenged, trying to mask the sudden hitch in my breath as his hand lifted my chin.
“Like he wanted what was mine.”
“But I don’t belong to you,” I whispered, meeting his gaze with defiance.
He said nothing as my face grew reddened at our proximity. His eyes glanced down at my lips, and my heart raced slightly.
“A-Archer,” I whispered with uncertainty, fixating his gaze on my lips again.
“Princess,” he muttered, his voice almost resembling a possessive purr.
He leaned in, his lips brushing against mine just barely. The touch was both claiming and tender, sending another shiver through me.
His hand slid from my chin to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as I let out a small gasp. He breathed me in hungrily as I bit my lip, looking up at him through my eyelashes.
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. It was almost palpable as his eyes darkened, looking down at me as if he was starved.
“You can say it again. Go ahead. Tell me you don’t belong to me. I dare you to ,” he uttered menacingly, and I bit my tongue against the words at the tip of my lips, eagerly wanting to tell him he didn’t own me, that I wasn’t his. But I said nothing as I focused on how close he was to my lips.
Breathing in his scent as I gulped softly, my mind didn’t have enough time to react as he kissed me. He pulled away after a brief moment, but I did us a favor and leaned in again, eager to taste his lips against mine.
I truly couldn’t believe it happened. The one thing I was least expecting from Archer of all people. The one thing that had me soon melting in his hold. The one thing that had my knees close to buckling. The one thing that had butterflies in my stomach flying like crazy.
Our breathing intensified as the pauses between each kiss became fewer and fewer. His tongue, instead, sought entrance, and I gladly obliged.
Everything in me told me to pull away. Slap him. Chastise him. Do something to put an end to this.
But instead… instead, I stupidly found my arms wrapping around his neck as my eyes fluttered closed. His hands both moved down my body, going over my arms and upper back, leaving my skin burning in response.
As his hands rested on my lower back, he pulled me closer, his taste on my tongue addicting as he devoured me. His possessiveness in his caress and the intenseness of his kiss had my thighs tightening as my breathing increased. He pulled away after a moment, and I breathed heavily as his forehead rested against mine.
Then, we simply stared into each other’s eyes. I didn’t have any words. I was confused. I didn’t feel angry or upset—just confused, and now, a bit aroused as I could feel my blush traveling down my neck and to the tips of my ears.
The thought of my father finding out about this flashed through my head like a warning bell, and I finally returned to my senses as I said, “Archer... This is wrong.”
He nodded, one of his hands coming up to my face as he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I know,” he muttered, though I knew he didn’t really believe it.
“This can’t ever happen again,” I whispered, hating the words as they came out of my mouth.
He gave me an incredulous look, making me gasp as he pulled me closer by my lower back, and his hand caressed the side of my face.
“Are you sure about that?” he asked, and again, I was distracted as he cut my thoughts off, placing another passionate kiss on my lips.
My hands rose to his chest, my brain urging me to push him away. However, my hands simply gripped his suit as my mind drifted away, only thinking of his lips against mine.