Chapter 26
CHAPTER 26
ICE
I t hadn’t taken him long to realize he owed Braden a big fucking apology. Possibly Killian as well, but he wasn’t quite ready to make nice with him just yet. He still wasn’t over the image of his woman clinging to the arm of a literal mob boss, ready to walk into a room with him. Alone.
Pushing aside the fury that particular image whipped up, he pressed the doorbell beside Braden’s large blue front door. The robin’s-egg color was new, and it reminded him very distinctly of a certain jewelry company well known for their little blue boxes.
He had a feeling that wasn’t a coincidence.
Said door swung open a few seconds later, revealing a bright-eyed Lottie. “Ice! What are you doing here? Is Silver with you?” Rising up on her tiptoes, she peeked around him, her bottom lip immediately puffing out into a pout. “I don’t see her.”
“She’s still sleeping. You’ll be lucky to hear from her before one.” Not just because she was a late sleeper, but because he’d put considerable effort into wearing her out the night before.
“Dammit. I need a reason to get out of the house.” She rolled her eyes upward. “Daddy’s in a mood .”
“Yeah…” Ice flashed her an apologetic smile. “That’s probably my fault. We had a bit of a… ah… disagreement last night.”
“I wondered if it was something like that. I thought maybe it was Uncle Damian or Uncle Desmond because nobody makes Daddy as mad as they do. Guess that makes you family.” Sighing heavily, she turned and gestured for him to follow her into the house. “Come on in.”
Ice swallowed a laugh as he trailed behind her. “You call his brothers ‘Uncle’?”
The smile she shot over her shoulder was pure brat. “Oh yeah. I started it mostly as a joke but I’m afraid it’s kind of stuck. Once Tania got wind of it, there was no turning back. It drives them crazy .”
He imagined it did. And he imagined Braden not-so-secretly loved watching his babygirl torment his brothers.
Lottie paused outside a closed door, giving it a perfunctory knock before shoving it wide open. “Daddy, Ice is here to see you. I’ll be… anywhere else. Bye!” Without bothering to wait for a response, she spun on her heels, clearly ready to make a break for it.
“Charlotte.”
It was all Ice could do not to burst out laughing at the face Lottie pulled before she turned back around. “Yes, Daddy?”
From behind his oversized desk, Braden raised an eyebrow as he crooked a finger at her. With another dramatic sigh, Lottie dragged herself over to stand beside him.
Braden rose to his feet, capturing his babygirl’s chin between his fingers and nudging her head back. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“Out,” Lottie replied with more than a little sass.
“Where?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll try to talk Frankie into taking a study break and going to brunch or something.”
“We’ve discussed this, Charlotte. If Frankie needs to study, you need to let her.”
“Pretty sure there’s such a thing as too much studying.”
“Charlotte.”
Her name was clearly a warning, and Lottie sighed in response. “Yes, Daddy. I won’t bug her.”
“Good girl. What are your other rules?”
“No more than two drinks, and remember my budget. You don’t have to remind me every time, you know. I’ve been really good about my spending.”
“You have been a very good girl, Lottie-bug.” Leaning down, Braden claimed her lips in a kiss so tender, Ice had to cast his gaze to the ceiling to avoid feeling as though he’d walked in on something private. “Go have fun. And be good.”
Braden released his hold on her, sending her on her way with a playful swat to her bottom. With a squeal and a giggle, Lottie rushed past Ice, all but running for the front door.
Still standing behind his desk, Braden watched Ice, any trace of amusement having vanished from his expression with Lottie’s exit. “Elias. Come to criticize how I run my club again? Or, perhaps since you’re in my home, you’re looking to give me your opinion on how I deal with my submissive?”
“No.” Well, no point in putting it off. “I came to apologize.”
If Braden was surprised by his response, it only showed in the slight lifting of his eyebrows before he gestured to the plush armchairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”
Dropping down into a chair that was thankfully as comfortable as it looked, Ice sighed. “Look, man. I’m really sorry about last night. I know you run a tight ship at the club and you’d never put your patrons in harm’s way. I just… lost my mind a bit when Beckett called to tell me Silver was there and who she was with.”
“Because you love her.” It wasn’t a question, but rather a simple statement of fact.
“Yeah.” Ice let out a bitter laugh, his hands trembling slightly as he ran them through his hair. “More than I realized, and I already knew I had it bad. She’s all I think about, Braden. Is she safe? Is she happy? Is she making good choices? All I want is to know she’s taken care of, even if I’m not the one taking care of her.”
“Why wouldn’t you be?”
Dropping his hands back to the arms of the chair, Ice glared at his friend. “You know why.”
“I know you value your friendship with Ace, and the band you’ve built together. What I don’t know is why you’re putting all of that above your woman’s needs.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Maybe. Or Maybe you’re making it more complicated than it needs to be, because deep down you’re fucking terrified. What if you risk everything for her, and in the end, she still breaks your heart?”
There was some truth to that, more than he cared to admit, so he ignored the question altogether. “She’s my best friend’s girl, Braden. You’re telling me you’d be able to take that leap without some serious consideration?”
“You’re asking that of the man who fell in love with his best friend’s daughter?” Braden asked, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips.
The reminder of Braden and Lottie’s history teased a laugh from Ice. “Touché.”
Sobering again, Braden leaned forward. “I’m not saying you don’t risk losing Ace, as a friend, a brother, a bandmate. But from what you’ve told me and from what Silver has told Lottie, it doesn’t sound like he deserved her. I can’t say for certain he abused her, but it certainly sounds like he abused her trust. She deserves someone better. She deserves you.”
It was everything he’d told himself for years. And because it was, because it sounded too good to be true, he shook his head. “That’s what every lonely, lovesick asshole tells himself. The internet is chock full of incels lamenting the fact that the woman they think they love chose an asshole over them.”
“There’s one very significant difference between you and them.”
“What’s that?”
The corner of Braden’s mouth kicked up in a smirk. “You’re not a nice guy.”
It took a moment for the insult-slash-compliment to fully land. When it did, Ice threw his head back and laughed. “Yeah, I guess you’ve got me there.”
“And there’s one other very important difference you’ve missed.”
“Enlighten me.”
“Unlike those pathetic keyboard commandos, the woman you love is very much in love with you back.”
Silver
She woke to an empty bed, which wasn’t all that surprising. Ice was usually up before her. What was unusual, however, was the note sitting on his pillow.
Sil,
Went to go talk to Braden, but I should be home before you get up. If I’m not, order yourself some breakfast and I’ll call when I’m on my way home. Don’t forget to drink your water, my beautiful, dehydrated goddess. See you when I get back.
Daddy
Clutching the note to her chest like a lovesick teenager, she rolled on her back and grinned up at the ceiling. Was this what romance was supposed to feel like? All butterflies and sweet little love notes?
One thing was for sure, what she felt with Ice couldn’t be more different from what she’d had with Ace. Although they’d fought, it hadn’t been nearly as explosive as her fights with Ace had always been. And she’d been forgiven, with practically the snap of her fingers, instead of the fight dragging on for hours or even days.
Weeks, in some cases.
But it wasn’t just the fights. She just felt different . Lighter. More at peace.
It took her several long moments of staring up at the ceiling to give that feeling a name.
Happy. For the first time in years, thinking about a man made her happy.
Wasn’t that a humiliating thought?
Before she had a chance to spiral down into that particular pit of despair, her phone buzzed. And buzzed. And buzzed.
Reaching for it, she grinned at Lottie’s name on the display before hitting the button to answer. “Hey, you.”
“Oh good, you’re awake! Ice said you’d still be sleeping.”
“Nah. I woke up a few minutes ago.”
“Perfect. Get your ass up and put something cute on. The men are occupied with whatever it is they’re talking about, so we’re going to brunch. Frankie’s meeting us there.”
“Isn’t Frankie supposed to be studying?”
“She says she’s all caught up. Don’t ask questions, Sil. Plausible deniability.”
Laughing at Lottie’s deadpan tone, Silver sat up and stretched. “All right, all right. I’m up. But I’ll need a ride.”
“Already on my way. I’ll be there in twenty.”
It was more like fifteen, making Silver wonder how fast Lottie had been driving. But she didn’t ask questions, and another thirty minutes later they were waiting for a table at a chic little cafe downtown.
“This is our favorite spot,” Lottie explained as Frankie gave her name to the hostess. “We usually come with our other friends, Eva and Portia, but they’re both out of town on business right now.”
“Oh I see. I’m your consolation prize,” Silver teased, earning herself a look that could only be described as withering.
“Are you kidding me? They’re going to lose their shit when I tell them I’ve been hanging out with you. Oh hey, that’s Ivy and Cordelia! Ivy!”
Head whipping around, Ivy smiled when she spotted Lottie waving frantically at them. After what looked like a quick, pleading conversation with her girlfriend, she tugged Cordelia over to the cafe entrance.
“Oh my god, you two are adorable!” Lottie gushed as they approached.
She wasn’t wrong. Once again, Ivy looked every bit the fairy princess in a dress the color of grass during a particularly lush spring with delicate strings of gold dangling from her ears. While Cordelia had opted for a pair of high-waisted pants that looked straight out of the early nineteen hundreds, complete with suspenders and a white button-down with a frilled neckline that was practically see-through.
Actually, the word Silver would have chosen was striking rather than adorable. If either of them had been single and she hadn’t been tangled up with Ice, she might have made a play for either of them. Or both of them, if they were game.
“Thank you,” Ivy replied, her cheeks turning pink from the compliment. “We haven’t had a chance to go on a real date in a while, so we thought we’d take advantage of the cooler weather and do some shopping.”
“Have you eaten yet? You should join us!”
Chuckling at her friend’s exuberance, Frankie slid an arm around Lottie’s waist and grinned at the newcomers. “Lottie baby, they’re on a date . They don’t want company.”
“Oh, but that would be so much fun.” Beaming with delight, Ivy turned to her girlfriend. “Can we, please?”
Silver wasn’t sure how anybody could possibly say no to that sweet smile. And obviously Cordelia hadn’t built up any kind of immunity to her charms over the years, because she folded like a house of cards. “Of course, blossom. Whatever you want.”
“All right,” Frankie said with a shake of her head. “I’ll go let the hostess know we’re a party of five now.”
Surprisingly, it didn’t take much longer for them to be seated, even with the extra guests. Lottie ordered a round of mimosas, insisting brunch was on her over Cordelia’s firm insistence she would pay for herself and Ivy.
“Nonsense. It’s tradition.” Despite not being a Domme herself, Lottie’s tone held no room for argument. “I picked the restaurant, so I pay.”
Judging by the way Frankie’s brows raised, that wasn’t entirely the truth, but Silver bit her tongue and focused on the menu. Everything looked delicious, even if she wasn’t entirely sure about pairing fried chicken and waffles together.
“So, Silver,” Cordelia began as soon as the waiter had disappeared with their orders. “What’s the deal with you and Elias? Are you whisking our viking friend back to California soon?”
“Dee!” Sounding somewhat horrified, Ivy smacked her girlfriend’s arm. “You can’t just ask people about their personal lives like that!”
Cordelia raised an eyebrow in a look that would have done any Daddy proud. “Smack me again, little girl, and this entire cafe will get to watch me march you to the bathroom so I can spank your bottom. And I won’t care who hears.”
Face flaming red, Ivy dropped her hands into her lap. “Sorry, Ma’am.”
“Good girl.” Leaning over, Cordelia pressed a kiss to Ivy’s cheek before turning her attention back to Silver. “So? What’s the deal?”
“Ah…” Needing a moment now that all eyes were on her, Silver sipped at her mimosa. “I’m not sure, exactly. We need to get back to work, which does mean going back to California.”
“And what about you two?” Cordelia pressed. “What happens to this fling or whatever you’re having when you get there?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been avoiding thinking about it. Once Ace finds out we’ve been hooking up, he’s going to lose his fucking mind.”
“So?” Cordelia asked with a shrug. “Let him lose his mind.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Why not?” It was Frankie now, curiosity gleaming in her eyes as she leaned on the table. “Who cares if he has a hissy fit? Wait.” Frankie’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You’re not afraid of him, are you? Like physically afraid of him? Because I’ll start making phone calls right fucking now. We know people.”
Lottie rolled her eyes. “Just because I almost sold my virginity to Killian O’Rourke doesn’t mean we have an in with the mafia, Francesca.”
“Sure it does. Killian adores you. I bet he’d do us a favor.”
“That’s very sweet.” In a disturbing, bloodthirsty kind of way, Silver decided. “But no. It’s not me I’m worried about.”
“Well, who, then?” Frankie’s question was more of a demand. “Are you worried about hurting him?”
“A little. Even after what he did in London, I still don’t want to hurt him. Maybe that makes me pathetic, I don’t know.”
As soon as the words left her mouth, she realized her mistake. Every other woman at the table instantly sat up straighter, their eyes lighting with interest. “What did he do in London, Silver?” Cordelia asked, her head tilting to the side as her gaze raked over Silver’s face.”
“Fuck. I haven’t had enough alcohol for this.”
As one, they all nudged their drinks closer to Silver, and she couldn’t help but laugh as she reached for Frankie’s first, draining it before pulling Cordelia’s bloody mary closer. “Fine, I’ll tell you but you have to swear to me what I’m about to say never leaves this table. Ice can never know.”
Lottie moved first, holding up a fist with her little finger poking out. “We pinky- swear.”
It was silly and ridiculous, but when Cordelia, Frankie, and Ivy all added their pinkies to the mix, some of the weight lifted from Silver’s shoulders. “Pinky-swear,” she repeated, as they all somehow managed to hook their fingers together.
“Done,” Lottie said with a nod as they all pulled their hands back. “Now, spill .”
“It was our last night in London. I crashed hard that night, just hit a wall and couldn’t keep my eyes open to party with everyone after the show. Ace was pissed, told me I was ‘ruining the vibe for everyone’ and I don’t know, maybe I was, but I’m not nineteen anymore, you know?”
“That asshole,” Cordelia muttered darkly.
“It gets better. Or worse, I guess.” Letting out a shaky laugh, Silver sipped at Cordelia’s drink. “We had a huge fight, and I went up to our room to sleep it off. I woke up a few hours later, and Ace was in bed with me. And he wasn’t alone.”
She watched as the realization dawned on all their faces. Watch the horror and, god help her, the fucking pity fill their eyes as they stared at her.
“I don’t know who she was. Some groupie, I assume. I woke up screaming, kicked them both out of the room, completely naked, and called our manager to tell him Ace and I would need separate rooms for the rest of the tour. Simon, bless him, didn’t ask a single question, just made it happen. I guess he’s used to our constant breakups by now.”
“Oh, honey.” Sympathy wound around Ivy’s words as she leaned over her girlfriend to grip Silver’s hands. “That’s awful. I’m so sorry.”
“I vote we cut his dick off and use it to fuck his own ass,” Frankie snarled, her face alight with fury.
The imagery was enough to surprise a laugh out of Silver. “Nah. We should get one of those molds and copy Ice’s dick. Ace wouldn’t feel his own, but Ice’s would destroy him.” She held her hands out wide to indicate the size of Ice’s cock.
“Speaking of Ice, why haven’t you told him about any of this?” Lottie asked. “You know he’s going to be pissed when he finds out you’ve been keeping this huge of a secret from him all this time.”
“He won’t, because he will never find out.”
“Silver, honey?—”
Shaking her head, she cut Lottie off. “You guys don’t get it. Ace and Ice, they’re basically brothers. It’s why their band names are so close. They thought it was clever, like they were twins. Ice, he had it really bad growing up, and he’s said more than once that Ace and his parents saved him. I can’t—won’t—let him give that up for me.” Lifting the bloody Mary again, she sipped, willing back the tears tightening her throat. “Honestly, part of me wishes I could just go back to California and pretend this whole thing with Ice never happened.” Even if it kills me.
“Ah… I don’t think that’s really an option, babe.” Her expression almost painfully sympathetic, Frankie held up her phone. There, in crystal-clear color, was a photo of her and Ice, sharing an intimate embrace outside Club BDE. As if the photo itself wasn’t incriminating enough, the headline above the picture sealed the deal.
Whispers of Deviancy: Elias Turner and Amanda Sterling’s Secret Rendezvous in South Carolina.
Fuck.