Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
I stood in the living room on instructions from Frankie. I didn’t expect fanfare from Lily, she wasn’t the type for that, and nerves skittered along my spine from worry that she changed her mind and decided it would be too overwhelming.
The clock on the wall ticked, and I considered pacing just to dispel the energy building in me. Frankie stepped out of Lily’s room, rubbing her hands like a villain.
What had she done?
“Ready?” she asked as she stepped out of the short hall that held the doors to their rooms, moving to the side so Lily could walk out.
Purple emerged first, the skirts of her dress so voluminous that they preceded her entrance.
I saw her profile first as she stepped out of the door, holding up the skirts so she could walk.
Her red curls looked perfect, styled in a sort of braid circling her head with a jeweled headband nestled in it.
The dress fit tight against her waist and when she turned toward me, I caught my breath, and my cock jerked to attention.
“Fuck,” I said under my breath.
“Seems like he likes it,” Frankie said from her corner.
Lily’s face lit up as she looked me up and down.
“You look good.” She stepped up to me and ran her hand along my chest, the smell of jasmine and vanilla floating to me. Whatever shoes she wore put her at almost eye level with me, and all I could think about was how she was the perfect height to pull in for a long, slow kiss.
I swallowed hard.
“Thank you,” I said once I remembered the word. “You look… wow.” Everything my Staff Sergeant shouted at me was true. I was a complete idiot.
She blushed, and I followed the redness down her neck to her neckline. My cock throbbed at the sight of her pale skin flushing red. Like it did in the throes of passion, when she took me so well and begged for more.
“Earth to Duke,” Frankie cut in. “Time to go?”
“Right.” I shook my head and stepped over to open the door for Lily.
“Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Frankie called just before Lily stepped through the door.
“You wouldn’t even come. Also, there’s very little you won’t do.” Lily laughed and shut the door behind her. I hooked her arm into mine and walked her to the waiting limo.
“Oh,” she said when she saw it.
“Fancy galas require fancy cars.” The feel of her hand as she held mine for balance as I helped her into the car burned through me.
“You look amazing.” I brought her hand to my mouth, kissing it, wishing it was her mouth instead.
“Isn’t this dress fantastic?” She ran her hands along the top of the dress. “Oh, and get this, they put pockets in it for me!” She reached into layers of tulle and pulled her phone from where it had been hidden.
I couldn’t help the laugh that burst out of me. Thank god she was still Lily.
“I feel like a princess,” she straightened in the seat, smoothing out the skirt of her dress as best she could.
“You look like a goddess,” I said. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman.
“Oh. I like that better.”
I picked her hand up again and kissed the inside of her wrist, right at her jasmine and vanilla scented pulse point.
She stared at me strangely when I pulled away from where I kissed her, and I wondered what thoughts ran through that beautiful head of hers.
She kept me in the dark, though, as she shook her head and looked out the window.
“Wait, is this party at your house?” She asked when she noticed where we were heading. “The big old one?”
“Yes.” I sighed. I didn’t enjoy coming out here, but it was where my grandfather held the party every year, and this year was no exception.
“I haven’t been out there in forever.” She sounded a bit wistful. She had better memories of the place than I did. “Is my dad still obsessing over that hedge maze? God, I can’t remember the last time I tried to go through it. I swear he changes it every few years.”
“He does.” I leaned toward her, unable to resist her allure.
“Bullshit. How?” She laughed at me but looked like she almost believed me .
“Magic, obviously. Didn’t you know your dad is a magician? He waves his wand and bam—new plants.”
Her laughter filled the back of the car while I talked, warm and enchanting.
“Does that make me magic?”
“Absolutely.” I was dead serious about that. Something about Lily had always been magical to me, even when we were children first learning that maze.
Her laughter died, but her smile remained. She looked relaxed and happy, and my heart soared that I made her that way.
“Is there anything special we have to do tonight because it’s your company and your house?” she asked, fidgeting with her skirt.
“No. There will be a speech where I’m officially announced as the new CEO of Penn Industries, but I don’t plan on saying much after, and that will be early in the evening.
” I was tempted to reach over and play with a strand of her hair that fell free of the braid and lay almost carelessly across her neck.
She nodded just as we pulled up to the circular drive of the house.
Jenkins opened the door for us. We were still early, being the hosts, and none of the guests had arrived yet.
“You’re going to inherit this someday, aren’t you?” Lily asked as she looked up at the familiar Neoclassical Revival. Built in the early 1800s, one member or another of the Pennington family has owned this house for two hundred years.
“Yeah.”
“I forgot how big it is. It would make such a magnificent library.” She said as she stared at the white columns lit with blue and purple lights for the night .
“Are you saying I should turn my family’s ancestral estate into a library?” I tucked her arm into mine and led her up the wide steps to the entry where a member of the staff had opened the door and waited for us.
“Oh, I guess you’re right. That would be weird.
” She waved away her comment, but it burrowed into my brain.
I didn’t want to live here, it was entirely too much for just me, and since I had no plans on ever having children, thank god for vasectomies, there were no future Penningtons to preserve it for.
“It’s not a bad idea, actually. Maybe some kind of mixed-use community space, art classes, your dad could teach gardening part time, and books. Lots and lots of books.”
“Wait. What are you saying?” she asked as we walked across the foyer where every surface had been draped in cream flowers. Lily ogled every bit, trying to take it all in. If I didn’t know her better, I’d think she wasn’t even listening to a response.
“Nothing. Just thinking out loud.” I saw my grandfather’s personal assistant directing the last-minute preparations and steered us in his direction to get our marching orders for the evening.
“Let’s get a drink,” I said to Lily after we spent some time greeting guests, suffering through my grandpa’s speech, and my own short acknowledgment.
I pulled her along after me, desperate to put off all the well-wishers and money-grabbing vultures that were soon to descend on us.
I held her hand tight as we wove through the crowd to the bar.
“Whiskey,” I said to the bartender when we walked up. I looked at Lily as she ordered. She looked a bit overwhelmed at it all, but still seemed to have fun.
“Can you make a cherry martini, please?” She asked. So polite. I felt guilty that I hadn’t been. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that there was probably a set drink menu tonight and anything outside of basic drinks and the menu wasn’t going to be possible.
“I’m sure I can find what I need and make one special just for you,” the man behind the counter said as he winked at her.
I didn’t like the flare of jealousy I felt at his words.
I put my arm around Lily and pulled her in close in a barbaric move of possession.
She didn’t resist, but instead, leaned her head against my shoulder while we waited for our drinks.
“Thank you,” she said when the bartender handed her the drink. A glare from me kept him from saying anything more than “you’re welcome.”
“He was nice,” she said when we stepped away from the bar.
“No, he was flirting with you.” A little growl slipped into my words, and I cleared my throat to try again. She looked at me, startled, and then back over to the damn bar. I pulled her in close to me and turned us so she could only see me.
“He was just being nice, Duke. Men don’t go around flirting with me.” She patted my chest like she had to placate me, but she didn’t take her eyes off me.
I snorted. She was clueless.
“I’m willing to bet plenty of men flirt with you.” She licked her lips, and I wanted to close the small distance between us and kiss her. She would taste like cherry martinis like she did that first time.
“I would know if I were being flirted with.” She cocked her head like I was a fool .
I knew for a fact she was completely oblivious to it. Hell, I did it all the time, and she never had a fucking clue. I didn’t fight it, though, or my urge to kiss her as I leaned in and gently pressed my lips against hers. I was right—she tasted like that first time.
When I pulled away, I could see the vultures circling. Three of the old crones on the board of directors approached us, stealing my peace, likely to try to sway me about the layoffs.
Lily must have felt me stiffen because she looked at me curiously and then looked around cautiously, like she had to prepare for an attack.
“Looks like I don’t get to keep you for myself,” she said when she saw the group waiting to talk to me. “I’m going to get off these gorgeous but dangerously high heels. Find me when you’re done.”
She kissed my cheek and excused herself. I wanted to ignore my responsibilities and follow her, maybe push her into one of the many dark corners the decorator had created.
“Mr. Pennington,” one of the decrepit board members said when he approached. His old, croaky voice barely carried to me in the bustle of the gala around us. “I have some things I would like to discuss with you.”
Every person who came to talk to me had a list of demands, as if I could simply wave my hands and make it happen. The worst was a demand to cut an entire department that handled complaints for one of our subsidiaries with no proposal on who exactly would handle those complaints.
One face blurred into the next, demands coming from each until I put a stop to it and excused myself. I sought Lily’s vibrant red hair and deep purple dress in the crowd, hoping to join her in whatever space she found to hide.
“So, who is that piece of ass you’ve been with all night?” A familiar voice sounded from behind me, disrupting the peace I’d carved out for myself. He always did that, from the moment I was born.
“Dad,” I said in a voice that I hope conveyed the cool distance I wanted between us.
“Don’t say it like that. God, you’re impossible.” He slumped against the high-top table next to us and picked up a random drink, downing it in one go.
“What are you doing here?”
“It’s a Pennington family party and I’m family, aren’t I?” he slurred. Booze wafted off him in waves so strong he may as well have swum in it.
“You aren’t a Pennington. Haven’t you been banned from the premises?” I stood straight and squared off to him like the Marines taught me. Lord knows he never taught me anything but how to drink and blow through money like it was water.
“That expired.” So gramps did have an official restraining order against him at some point. I’d have to get with the lawyers and see if we could renew it.
I didn’t acknowledge his words and simply continued to stare him down. He would get to the point or leave soon enough.
“Listen, I need some help. I have a business proposal?—”
“No.”
He leaned in close to me as if he had some secret to tell. Whatever his ‘proposal,’ I wanted nothing to do with it.
“You didn’t even hear me out.” He hit my shoulder, but I had already braced for it and didn’t move a muscle. “Fuck, son. The least you could do is help out your old man.”
“Absolutely not. Now leave before I have you removed.” I eyed the security dotting the edges of the ballroom, so he knew I was serious.
“Fine.” He pushed away. I knew I would hear from him again soon. He preferred to live life traveling from party to party, blowing through whatever little money he got his hands on, coming back into my life just long enough to beg for more.
“Oh, Duke,” a feminine voice called to me as he walked away. I motioned for a security guard to follow him and turned to the new voice when I saw it was done.
“Mercedes,” I said with a polite smile. “How are you tonight?”
“Can we talk?” She pointed to a nearby quiet corner. I hesitated going, but I had responsibilities here, much as I would prefer it if I didn’t, especially one of the top executives.
“Of course.” The music thumped and pulsed around us, drowning out all attempts at conversation, and since I wasn’t interested in shouting, I led us over to the quieter corner to speak.