9. Delilah
A thrill went downmy spine at Nash being jealous before I shook the thought away. Whether he was or not no longer mattered.
For the next hour, Sam talked shop with the men in our group, randomly dropping a kiss on my lips or whispering something in my ear. It was meant to appear intimate, but he only whispered how pissed Nash looked since I refused to even glance his way.
Each time, I had to fight back a laugh. Sam was pushing Nash’s buttons, knowing he wouldn’t do a damn thing about it in public. I played into every flirty touch, each brush of his mouth on my skin. To any outsider, it looked like Sam and I were madly in love. As much as it amused me, I felt a pang of longing.
If Nash loved me, even a little bit, maybe we could have been like this in public. The kisses, the sweet touches, all of it could have been real. I would have been happy with the tiniest show of affection.
Hardening my heart to the what-ifs, I pushed my still-full glass into Sam’s hand. “Be right back.”
He dropped another kiss on my lips, lightly slapping my ass. “Want me to come?”
With a smile, I shook my head. “I need a girl moment. Unless you want to watch me pee? It’s not my thing, but if it’s your new kink, I’ll try to get on board with it for my favorite guy.”
He slapped my ass a little firmer, his deep laughter drawing the appreciative gazes of other women and several men. “Come back to me soon. I already miss you.”
As I walked away, I heard one of the men speaking to him. “Your father is no doubt pleased with your relationship with Delilah Royal. When are you going to give the girl a ring?”
I didn’t hear his reply as I slipped past other people to the exit. Finding the bathroom, I noticed several other women standing at the mirror, touching up their makeup while chatting. They were so into their conversation they didn’t even glance my way as I chose a stall.
“I heard Royal is sharing Nicole with Phoenix.”
I smirked to myself as I reached for the tissue. The two wives and the fiancée from earlier had moved on to other groups. It was nice to know they had been spreading that little nugget of gossip I’d supplied to them.
“I don’t believe that,” another woman replied. “Maybe Joseph is into that kind of thing, but Nash Phoenix is not the type of guy to let anyone touch what is his. And even if he were one of those men who enjoyed watching someone else fuck his woman, Nicole wouldn’t be the one he shared.”
“She’s right. I don’t believe it either. Besides, Joseph Royal? Gross.” Hearing their heels click on the floor as they walked away, I waited until the door closed behind them before flushing and stepping out of the stall.
After washing my hands, I took a moment to check my appearance. Fluffing my hair a little, I turned to make sure my thong line wasn’t showing before leaving the bathroom. The bathrooms were a good distance from the ballroom where everyone was mingling. I savored the quietness of the corridor as I slowly walked back.
An arm wrapped around my waist from behind, pulling me backward into an empty room. “Nash!” I hissed, glaring up at him. “You scared me.”
I barely got the words out before his mouth slammed down on mine. Without hesitation, I kissed him back. My body was programmed to respond to him. Hunger gnawed at me as he pressed his thick cock against my stomach.
“Your little charade was not fucking amusing,” he snarled, nipping at my kiss-swollen lips.
I pushed at his chest, a smidge of sanity returning. “It was pretty funny from where I was standing.”
The starburst of brown in his eyes blazed down at me, his entire body seeming to vibrate with a chaotic swirl of emotions. “Next time you want to play games like that with me, know that I will kill Sam Vincent without a second thought.”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to shift away from him. Cupping the back of my head, he twisted me around until my back hit the wall. His mouth latched on to my neck, sending me spiraling back into the wildness of fevered need.
“You are mine, Lily. Mine. Do you hear me?” He sank his teeth deeper into my flesh. With a whimper, I angled my head so he could have better access. “I can’t stand the thought of him touching you. That show the two of you put on tonight keeps replaying in my head.”
He wasn’t the only one with memories constantly repeating inside his mind.
“I didn’t hear you complaining when I was on my knees for you, Nash.”
“Putting my cock in your mouth was the only way to get you to shut the fuck up.”
Sinking to my knees, I frantically tore at his belt, the button of his slacks, the zipper. I needed the thought of him with Nicole erased from my mind, and the only way I could think to replace it was to mark his body as mine.
“Lily,” he groaned when I freed his fat cock, my fingers fisting around as much of his shaft as I could and pumping.
Clear, sticky precome beaded on the tip. With a whine, I licked it away. Nash was mine. He’d turned me into this sex-hungry fiend that couldn’t get enough.
Sloppy noises clashed with his ragged breathing, his fingers thrusting into my hair and pulling hard as he took control and fucked my mouth. “So fucking beautiful with my cock in your mouth. Ah, baby. It feels so good.”
“I didn’t hear you complaining when I was on my knees for you, Nash.”
I clenched my eyes closed, fighting the sting of tears. I didn’t want to remember what they’d said. Didn’t want to know that he’d had my stepmother on her knees for him. Just like this.
My teeth scraped his sensitive flesh, causing him to hiss but not in pain. His cock thickened even more, his thighs shaking. He was close already. I did this to him. I made him lose control to the point he exploded within minutes.
It made me feel powerful even as he broke my heart again and again.
“Lily, baby, I’m coming,” he bit out. “Take it all for me like a good girl.”
When the broad tip hit the back of my tongue, I swallowed, taking him into my throat. I would suck him better, love him better, than anyone else before me. I’d make him forget Nicole and every woman he’d ever put his dick inside of.
And then, I’d shatter him, like he’d so effortlessly broken me.
With a roar muffled behind his clenched teeth, he released hot ropes of come into my mouth. I swallowed convulsively until there was nothing left.
Gasping for air, he pulled free, tenderly caressing the backs of his hands over my jaw. “Such a pretty mouth, all swollen and glistening from sucking my cock. You’re a good girl, Lily. My beautiful, perfect girl.”
“Putting my cock in your mouth was the only way to get you to shut the fuck up.”
Flinching at the memory that refused to fade into the background of my mind, I jerked away from his touch. “Is it your favorite way to shut me up?” I taunted.
He blinked back the haze that followed his orgasm, a frown pulling his brows down. “What?”
“Putting your cock in my mouth. It’s how you like to shut us up, right? Nicole. Me.” I got to my feet, smoothing my hands over my dress before finger-combing my hair over my shoulders.
Nash stood there frozen as he watched me, his face turning gray.
I licked away a trace of his come from my lips. “Nicole’s voice is grating, so I understand why you would want to keep her quiet. But I tend to be quiet. So malleable. Your perfect good girl who let you do anything to my body while keeping our relationship a secret. You like it when I’m on my knees for you, choking on your dick, staying silent to please you.”
His jaw clenched so hard, a muscle twitched in his cheek. Understanding lit his eyes. “Lily—”
“I just want to know one thing, Nash. Have you still been fucking her while we’ve been together?”
“No! Did you seriously think I’ve been with someone else?” He reached for me, but I stepped around him, putting much-needed distance between us. “There hasn’t been anyone but you since this thing between us began.”
“Why don’t I believe you?” My trust in him was gone. It didn’t matter how much I loved him. He didn’t love me. He had zero loyalty to me. There was nothing left to bind us together as a couple.
His hands shook when he cupped my face, his hazel eyes searching mine, pleading. “You’re it for me, Lily. From the moment you threw yourself into my arms, I was gone. There has been no one else from that moment. Only you. I swear to you.”
I wanted it to be true. With everything inside me, I wanted him to have only been mine. But Nicole had been right there all this time, and I hadn’t known about their relationship. I didn’t even suspect they could have a past. He was so good at keeping secrets.
And I was one of them.
But I had one of my own.
He didn’t know I was pregnant. I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him. Not now. Maybe not ever. I hadn’t made up my mind yet.
Keeping my secret wasn’t about being petty. It was about protecting the child who was growing inside me. Who depended on me to keep them safe, physically and emotionally. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt my baby. All they would know was love. Not the cold indifference my parents had shown me. Nash was just like my father and our grandfathers. He had no love in him.
Only greed.
He wanted to take everything from me, all while fucking me in the shadows.
Our baby would be a pawn to him.
“Lily, believe me. Please, baby. I—”
“I’m leaving,” I announced, cutting off his empty words as I stepped backward. His mouth snapped shut, his throat bobbing. “You and Nicole can have the hotel and everything that goes with it. That’s what you wanted, right? It’s why you didn’t tell me about my grandfather’s will.”
His face went from gray to deathly pale in a heartbeat. “No, that’s not what I wanted. Fuck, Lily,” he groaned, stabbing his fingers through his golden curls.
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to contest it. It’s yours. I don’t want it anymore. That place was always a cold and lonely tomb. I didn’t want to see it before, but now, it’s glaringly obvious. What I wanted, the future I imagined for myself?” A pained laugh escaped me. “For us? That was never going to happen.”
“You don’t understand. I can’t talk about it yet. Not until after your birthday. But give me the chance to show you how wrong you are.” He grabbed my hand, his fingers clutching at me. “Please, just trust me for a little longer.”