Chapter 12 #2
I might be an old creep in his thirties when she was in her twenties, but I didn’t fucking care. We were both adults, and we were both making our own decisions.
And I couldn’t wait to taste her pussy as soon as we got back to the house.
“There you are.”
I looked up quickly as my brother Theo strolled over, his hair disheveled, his beard longer than usual.
Theo usually wavered between looking completely clean cut, or as if he hadn’t slept for days. It had to be a back-of-house chef thing, but the man never touched drugs, didn’t really drink, and yet still sometimes looked like he was out on a bender.
That was just Theo.
“I didn’t know you were going to be here,” I said, but then nearly tripped as I was shoved away.
“Harper. My favorite.” Theo pulled Harper into a hug, then picked her up and twirled her around.
“It’s so good to see you!” Harper said with a laugh.
I narrowed my gaze. “If you could stop trying to break her that would be great.”
“What? It’s just Harper. I’ve missed my girl.” He smacked a loud kiss on her cheek, and I hadn’t even realized I had taken a step forward until my brother raised a brow.
“Well, well, well. It seems the rumors are true.”
“You’re a menace,” Harper teased.
Theo just beamed. “I am. But I had to make sure that my big brother was doing okay. And ensure that the rumor of him kidnapping you was not too untoward.”
“I was a willing victim don’t worry,” she teased.
“Keep laughing,” I muttered as Theo’s shoulders shook.
“It’s good to see you out and about,” he said, his voice getting serious.
I shrugged, not wanting to make a big deal of it. “Sorry we’re not making it to your restaurant for dinner. We have these clubs and then breakfast at Aston’s before we have to go back. Wellesley over here has a job she actually likes and can’t miss too many days.”
Theo smiled. “I do love your bakery.”
“Are you doing okay though?” I asked.
Theo nodded. “Long hours, The Teal Door is kicking ass.”
“And Luke?” I asked, speaking of his business partner and best friend.
Theo shrugged. “You know.”
I didn’t, but if Theo didn’t want to mention what was going on with his best friend, I wasn’t going to ask. At least not right now.
“Anyway, I’m joining you for breakfast tomorrow.”
“Really?” Harper asked, clapping her hands together. “It’s going to be so good to see all of you guys. I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with the Cages.”
“There’s only one Cage that matters here,” I grumbled.
“I like this look on you,” Theo teased.
“Fuck off.”
“No I don’t believe I will.”
My manager came up to me in that moment, her smile far too knowing. “Sorry to bother you, but we have a few things for you to look at. I know we can do them online, but if you’re here, it just makes things easier.”
Guilt swept up my spine. “I’m sorry. I should have come down more often.”
She shook her head, hand up. “No, the fact that you’ve trusted me to do all of this for this long? It’s the best thing you could have done. You honestly never need to step foot in here again. But it’s good to see that you can.” She winked at Harper, as I had introduced them beforehand.
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t overdo it either,” Harper purred.
“I knew I loved her,” Theo teased.
I was going to have to kill my brother later. It would be sudden, swift, but he wouldn’t even know until it was too late.
“I’ll be right back,” I said softly as I leaned down and brushed my lips along Harper’s.
“I’ll be here with Theo.”
“Damn right she will be,” Theo teased as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
“I’ll deal with you later,” I growled.
The two just laughed, and I followed my manager to the back.
“It’s good to see you happy.”
I shrugged. “I have been, other than the obvious.”
“I’m not talking about the last year. If you never wanted to step foot in here again or talk to anyone after what happened, I wouldn’t blame you. But you seem lighter now. I like this girl for you.”
“You’ve known her for all of ten minutes.”
“And I’m good at my job so I see things quickly. She’s good for you.”
“We’re just, well, it’s not what you think.”
Her eyes widened, then that look of pity in her eyes stunned me. I turned and cursed.
“Harper,” I whispered.
She held up her hand. “Well, that is my fault for overhearing.” With that, she left the room, her shoulders tight. But I hadn’t missed the look of hurt in her eyes.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, my hand shaking. “Fuck. That’s not what I meant.”
“You better figure out what you meant.” Theo slapped my shoulder.
“I love her.”
My brother’s eyes widened. “Then maybe tell her that, and don’t try to pretend that you’re protecting her by lying about what you feel to others.”
With that, I moved towards the door, only to be blocked by Theo. “Joshua’s not here, so I’ll kick your ass if I have to.”
It was another kick to the solar plexus. “Let me through. I need to fix this.”
“By fix this you better not mean breaking up with her. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to you, and we both know it. Don’t fuck this up.”
I pushed past Theo, ignoring the ache in my leg as I made my way down the hall.
At the end of the hallway there was a fork, one path went to the main building, the other to a balcony that was only for certain VIPs.
It wasn’t late enough yet for people to be out there, but I knew she was there.
Everything about her drew me to her. And I was a fucking idiot.
I moved forward and tried to figure out what the hell I was going to say.
She stood there in the moonlight, her face lifting towards the sky.
It was damn cold up here, the wind whipping at her since we weren’t at the ground, and I cursed under my breath.
I pulled off my suit coat and draped it over her shoulders.
And she didn’t push me away. I had to hope it was because she wanted me there, not because she was cold.
“Wellesley, that’s not what I meant to say.”
Her voice didn’t shake but I couldn’t tell what she was feeling in that moment. “What do you think this is then?”
“I don’t know what it is, but I’m not walking away from it.”
She turned and looked at me, confusion on her face. “You brought me here. And yet you’re trying to hide it.”
“No, I’m not.”
“Okay. Then what did you mean to say?”
“That I don’t know what the hell I’m feeling because I’ve never felt this before,” I said quickly, and her eyes widened.
“See? It’s scaring me. Not because it’s wrong, I know that.
But because I don’t know what the hell I’m supposed to do.
So when people say that they’re happy for me, I freak the fuck out.
Because I don’t know what I’m supposed to be thinking. ”
“Dorian.”
I kissed her softly, taking her mouth as if she were everything to me. Because damn it, she was.
“I’m sorry. All I want to do is claim you in front of the world, to make sure everyone knows you’re mine, and then the other part of me is so damn afraid of what I’m supposed to do, that I just sit here, confused as hell. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”
“I know you didn’t mean it. But it’s still hurt nonetheless.”
“I’m sorry, baby.” I kissed her again, needing her taste.
“I’m sorry for overreacting and running out like the kid you think I am.”
“Baby, I don’t think of you as a kid. Seriously. You may be younger than me, I may call myself a creeper, but I know exactly who you are.”
And that’s what scared me. But in the end, she wrapped her arms around me, and I took her mouth and hoped to hell I didn’t fuck this up again. I was falling for Harper Wellesley. No, that wasn’t right. I’d already fallen for her.
I craved her more than air itself.
And I knew with one casual cruelty, I could break her.
And yet I knew she could break me just the same.
And how fucked up was that?