Chapter 42
SCARLETT
We step out of the house, and he signals to a dark limousine, which instantly pulls from the side and comes to a smooth stop in front of us.
The driver walks out, opens the door for us, and Ewan holds it for me as I climb in.
He slides into his seat and tilts his chin in the direction of his driver, who quickly reclaims his seat.
His gestures are subtle and efficient, which makes me think they’ve gone through this routine many times before.
It smells like winter and aftershave inside the car as our ride glides away, and we sit next to each other, draped in silence.
“Will Ezra be okay?” I ask as he peers out the window, tense and not in the mood to talk.
“He’ll be fine.”
His short answer only confirms we’re doing something he’s not entirely on board with.
His phone rings, and he reaches inside his coat, retrieves it and answers the call.
“Yeah?”
The person on the line utters words before Ewan talks again.
“We’ll be there shortly.”
I expect us to turn left or right at the first intersection and, shortly after, reach our destination.
To my surprise, we’re heading to Manhattan.
We’re still not talking, and I won’t break the silence again.
Lights are strewn across the sky before we take the Queens Midtown tunnel and later cruise the streets of Manhattan.
The area looks familiar, and before long, it dawns on me we’re going to the restaurant where I saw him with his men for the first time.
That's an odd choice, but I won’t comment.
I set foot on an icy sidewalk, and we enter the place, where a smooth hostess takes us to the dining room in the back.
I know that room well. It’s always been reserved for private events, anniversaries, and small weddings.
The noise withers away as we walk down a long corridor.
“Your guests are here waiting for you, sir. Let me know if you need anything else,” the woman says neutrally before moving away.
My eyes go to him.
His hand rests on the doorknob as he starts to talk.
“This is your only choice to go back and forget about me,” he says quietly. “We can be social and pretend we never fucked, and I can leave you alone.”
I say nothing, so he continues.
“I trust you enough to take you to this room, but if for any reason you break my trust, there will be consequences.”
I swallow hard but still stay quiet.
“This isn’t only about me. People’s lives depend on me and the people I put my trust in.
You wanted me to give you a chance. I’ll give you a chance.
I’ll make an announcement in that room. It won’t tie you to me.
You can still walk away, but your life will never be the same.
Even though, you won’t be tied to me, you will be tied to the pledge of secrecy you’ll take right now in front of me.
If you decide to stay, you will be mine body and soul.
Your life will be mine. Your thoughts will be mine.
I can’t afford a weak link, especially the woman in my life. ”
His words drop with the force of a hammer.
His move is bold and final.
He demands everything, no questions asked.
It’s either that or nothing. He knows what he wants and doesn’t want to waste his time.
I understand this is not easy, perfect, or the smoothest way of ushering someone into your life.
I get all that, and I know I asked for it, but his words make me shudder.
“Do you understand what I’m talking about?” he asks point blank.
“Yes, I do.”
“And you still want to walk into that room?”
“Yes,” I say, my voice trembling. “I want to walk into that room.”
He studies me for a few moments as I hold his gaze with conviction before he pushes the door open, and whatever dialogue has taken place in the room suddenly stops.
Chairs are pushed back, and people rise to their feet.
Men. They’re all men. Some of them have kept him company before, while others are strangers to me.
They stand around a large oval table with food and drinks in front of them. They’re all beefed up and scary-looking.
“You can all sit,” Ewan says, not cracking a smile.
I notice a couple of chairs at one end of the table but I freeze next to the door.
He lets it fall shut and walks toward the men in the room while I remain standing.
“This is Scarlett,” he says, and there’s no reaction around the table. “Some of you might’ve seen her before,” Ewan goes on, no inflection in his voice. “Scarlett is my future wife,” he says in the same neutral tone, and I need a chair to sit on.
He doesn’t look at me as he walks around the table.
“She’s here with us today because she’s made a commitment to me.”
Again, no looking at me.
“ If we get married, you’ll have to protect her with your lives when I’m not around. Understood?”
The men swiftly agree around the table like it’s nothing for them to sacrifice their lives for me.
“She’s also made a pledge of secrecy. And if she ever breaks our trust… You know the rules,” he adds in a quieter voice. “Questions?”
He looks around the table before moving his eyes to me.
“Scarlett?”
I shake my head in silence like one of my pupils.
“Good. Then, let’s order another round of drinks. It’s time to celebrate,” he says in a more relaxed voice before someone next to me pushes to their feet and pulls the chair for me to sit at the table.
SCARLETT
Later at the hotel
“How does it feel?” he asks, dipping a juicy strawberry in a bowl of melted chocolate and then lowering it into my mouth.
Naked, I lie next to him, my head propped on his arm, my eyes trained on his face, my attention split.
He pushes it past my lips, a playful smile on his face, and I barely mumble around the fruit.
“Messy?” I say, chocolate dripping down my chin.
Laughing, he lowers his head, runs his lips over my skin, and collects the chocolate before locking my mouth.
It’s an intense swirl of passion. A mix of lust and flavorful fruit.
A way to submit to him.
I’ve been submitting to him since we left our worlds behind so he can make that announcement in front of about a dozen people in that dining room.
I’ve been in a daze since we sat at that table like I was his queen and he was my king, and we had people we were responsible for around us.
I had a hard time eating or drinking while he felt in his element. As time passed, I figured out my role and started to embrace it.
We left late, and he booked this hotel room before ordering all sorts of delicacies and drinks for us.
We barely made it to the room and the food arrived.
It didn’t take long, and we were finally alone.
Without a word, he removed his coat and mine and showed me what he meant by being his, body and soul.
He asked me to shed my clothes, and I did, and when I stood naked in front of him, he took his suit jacket and his tie off, dropped them on a chair, and started to unbutton his dress shirt.
Next, he unbuckled his belt and drove his zipper down.
In one move, he scooped me up, and lowered himself with me in his arms into one of the large armchairs in the room.
With my knees on either side of him, I waited to feel the head of his erection against my entrance and slid down without the slightest foreplay.
He was hard as steel and I was soaking wet.
“It’s been too damn long,” he said, and I knew what he meant.
The time we were apart felt like punishment.
I shudder at the thought of how he felt inside me even now.
I couldn’t believe that I was locked with him again.
That I could drink out of that cup of lust.
That I could think about him like he had become a permanent fixture in my life.
Was I ready for the permanence he wanted from me?
I didn’t think so.
And he probably didn’t think about it at length.
It was something he needed to do, and he did it.
We didn’t know what our future would look like.
We just had to find a way to stitch our lives together.
And because there were so many gaps and unknowns, we did it the way we did.
In one swoop, he connected me to him, giving me more than the certainty of a life with him.
He gave me a life sentence.
And I didn’t even blink.
My arms wind around his neck while he hovers over me and slowly enters me for the fifth time tonight.
“What about this?” he asks quietly against my lips as he slowly rocks his hips.
His thrusts are paced and delicious, working the tension in my abdomen to an unraveling high.
“Not so fast,” I say.
“It’s not fast.”
“I know, but I’m close to coming.”
He laughs against my mouth and we kiss and fuck again like two people in love who don’t want their story to end.
When he breaks the kiss, I run my hands down his back and fill my touch with his muscular backside.
My legs are open, my knees up in the air, my thighs pressed into his body.
“I love this,” I say, relaxed, yet on my way to finishing soon.
He looks down and gives me a hard thrust.
I yelp and chuckle.
“You don’t like this?” he says, amused, before lifting his gaze to me.
“I love everything,” I say, my fingers splayed over his cheek.
A thoughtful look slides over his face before he leaves a tender kiss on my lips.
“I love everything about you,” he says against my mouth.
“And yet, you never proposed to me properly.”
He gives me a wolfish laugh.
“You want me to propose to you now?”
“Yes, why not?”
“I think I’ve already used my best line,” he jokes, and we both share a chuckle.
“Try something new then.”
He moves slowly, filling me to the hilt, while he looks down watching himself doing that.
“I never thought I’d find someone like you,” he says, serious this time, his gaze coming to me. “And I never thought I’d want to marry again. I don’t think you wanted to get married either.”
I tip my chin in response.
“Somehow, we were right for each other,” he says, and I nod again. “You gave me no choice, Scarlett Beauchamp,” he murmurs with a hint of lightness in his voice. “And since I already know your answer, will you share the rest of your life with me?” he tosses at me, and a smile grows on my lips.
“Yes. Yes, I will,” I say, no longer smiling, watching his grin disappear.
He kisses me again.
“I’ll take good care of you,” he says, and I feel the sting of happy tears.
“So will I. I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too,” he says, and our last words vanish into the night as we walk again the path of pleasure.
Thank you for reading Ewan (The Bard Dynasty).