Chapter 9
9
R AIN
TEN MONTHS LATER
“How was Italy?” Mrs. Gordon asks, her hand gently squeezing mine.
“It was wonderful,” I say, flashing a polite smile.
“Any news about your book?”
Her eyes light up with a candid grin.
“Yes. It will be released this fall,” I say, grinning.
“That is fantastic news. You make your parents so proud. Thank you for coming, and please send my best regards to them,” she says.
“I will.”
She pats me on my shoulder, excuses herself, and steps away, her attention shifting to the other guests.
One hundred people attend her party since this is one of the most important summer events, and limousines and luxury cars keep rolling in.
The guests walk into the house. Some head to the backyard.
The women wear evening gowns, and the men sport tuxedoes.
A tradition amongst the elites, the party is attended by the who’s who of the county––bankers, businesspeople, council members, and their spouses, sons, and daughters.
My father had a schedule conflict and couldn’t come while my mom is still in California, visiting some friends.
Daria is not back from college.
By default, I was the only family member who could attend.
Fresh off the plane from Italy, I’m still adjusting to being back home. The time spent overseas has been a great experience.
I met interesting people and visited beautiful places, but that’s not all.
The time and space I put between Daria and me allowed me to gain a fresh perspective on things and become a little wiser.
Many good things have happened over the past few months, except for one.
I couldn’t forget James Sexton, no matter how hard I tried.
Holding my head high, I strut across the vast room, my red evening gown sweeping the floors, drawing people’s eyes.
Tailored to my body, the chiffon beauty features a one-shoulder neckline and a side slit revealing my leg up to my thigh.
I cut my way through the crowd, occasionally stopping to reconnect with many family friends.
Many of them seem genuinely surprised to see me here, confessing they’ve had a hard time recognizing me.
Most of them remember me as the teenage girl riding her bicycle up and down the cobblestone streets, joined at the hip with her best friend.
As the party unfolds and the guests gather around the tables, twirl on the dance floor, or discuss politics on the terrace, I snatch a glass of raspberry lemonade from a server’s tray and head outside.
Voices echo when I enter the hallway leading to the exit.
Lifting the bottom of my gown so I don’t drag it across the floor and clutching my glass so I don’t spill my drink, I walk to the exit door.
“Oh... I’m sorry,” I say, turning around without looking and bumping into a man’s hard body.
He pivots to me, grazing my arm with his elbow, and my glass jerks in my hand.
Horrified, I watch half of my drink spill onto his jacket.
“Oh...” I murmur apologetically, my voice genuinely lined with regret.
My eyes are trained on his tuxedo jacket, my fingers brushing off pinkish liquid beads from his sleeve.
He doesn’t move or say a word, prompting me to raise my eyes.
My gaze drifts up, an apology rolling off my lips, yet not fast enough before the air stops flowing into my lungs.
I halt mid-sentence, my words fading.
Our eyes lock, sharing a fierce stare.
“I’m sorry,” I mutter.
Ice-cold blood runs through my veins as I soak in the perfect fit of his tuxedo, his handsome face, and the raven hair sliding over his crisp white collar.
Against my better judgment, I shift my eyes to the pretty brunette at his side.
She studies me as well, her blue eyes filled with curiosity.
She’s not much older than me, the thought creating a twister of rage in my chest.
He notices my reaction––the trembling of my lips and tension in my jaw––yet he doesn’t flinch.
Stern and emotionless, he presses his lips together and keeps his eyes unreadable.
They are as fascinating as they’ve always been.
The woman looks at him, confused.
He keeps staring down at me, cold and detached.
“You’re late,” Lex says behind me, talking to him, not realizing I’m the woman blocking his view.
Oblivious to me, he inches closer to James, the brunette waiting for an explanation.
She wears a strapless blue dress that brings out the color of her eyes.
Dangling sparkling earrings touch her delicate shoulders.
She’s pretty and reminds me of the hostess who took our order at Red’s last year.
James narrows his eyes, observing me in silence as I grasp the inconvenient truth.
The last piece of the puzzle has fallen into place.
Prompted by the awkwardness of the moment, Lex follows James’ gaze and meets my eyes.
“Rain??”
Surprise lines his voice, flooding his gaze.
He whips his eyes down, taking me in while grappling with disbelief.
Stunned, he lifts his gaze and searches my eyes.
The tuxedo does him justice, the fabric falling smoothly over his frame, outlining his athletic body.
The formal clothing does nothing to balance out the wild glint in their eyes.
I hand Lex my glass without a word, sneak between the two of them, and quickly move outside.
One of my mom’s friends spots me hurrying down the stairs.
She waves at me, and I gesture back at her, signaling I can’t talk right now.
Mouthing a rushed apology, I dart to my car.
“Rain?”
James’ voice––the last thing I thought I’d hear––rings out behind me, igniting a chemical reaction in my body.
My hands shake, and my knees feel funny.
I hurl a glance over the crowd.
Unfortunately, my car is parked way in the back behind a dozen of other cars, the valets moving slowly as the guests keep coming in.
I turn right and walk across the lawn, avoiding the groups of people partying outside, and then I dash away.
With one flick of my hand, I grab the bottom of my dress to move with ease and make a beeline for the farthest corner of the estate.
Soon, the noise remains behind, a narrow footpath taking me to a flowery meadow, where I stop and catch my breath.
And then I hear his footsteps.
“Rain?”
His voice is hollow and cold, bludgeoning my heart.
There’s not an ounce of regret or dejection in his tone, let alone the promise of an apology.
Seething with fury, I turn around to face him.
“Get away from me, Sexton,” I growl through my teeth, spitting fire.
The arrogance glinting in his gaze reminds me of how cruel he is, fueling my resentment toward him.
“Get the hell away from me,” I snarl, shoving my fist into his chest.
The sunset drips with light, enveloping the low-hanging branches, a coppery red glow sliding over his face, and yet, his eyes remain dark and stormy like the most unforgiving night.
I attempt to hit his chest again.
“Stop it,” he barks, grabbing my arm, but my free hand jabs at him faster, slapping him hard.
He freezes, a menacing look shooting from his eyes, yet he doesn’t bat a lash.
If it wasn’t for his flushed cheek, the muscle ticking in his jaw, and a killer death stare pointed at me, I wouldn’t know I hit him.
“What’s your problem, Rain?” he thunders.
“What’s my problem? Are you really asking me that?” I shriek, voicing my frustration. “You didn’t even want to talk to me.”
He narrows his eyes at me, his stare glinting with dissatisfaction, his lips pressed into a severe, tight line.
He surely isn’t the man to cross.
“How old is she, James?”
He stays quiet, struggling to push back his retort while the color of his eyes shifts from dark green to moss green.
They look dipped in poison.
“Huh?? Answer me,” I bark, suffocated with uncontrollable anger. “And why her and not me?” I demand, my emotions spinning out of control.
“You couldn’t possibly understand,” he says dryly.
“Oh, okay. Then why don’t you help me understand?” I say, yanking my arm out of his grip. “Tell me. I’m dying to hear.”
“She’s someone I fuck,” he says, his voice frosted and cold like a deep lake in the winter.
His words put daggers in my heart.
“That’s it?” I ask, disheartened, grappling with disbelief. “That’s all she is to you? And I wasn’t even that?” I mutter, tears pooling in my eyes. “So everything I felt that night... Was that a lie?”
He watches me in silence, his eyes impossible to read.
“Tell me,” I shout, my fists crashing into his chest again.
He cuffs my wrists midair as I swing my hands at him again.
“It wasn’t a lie,” he says, dark and quiet, flushed with frustration.
“Then what the fuck was it?”
He stares at me, refusing to give me words and restore my sanity.
I won’t get an answer from him.
In fact, I won’t get anything from him other than what he’s willing to give me, and right now, that’s nothing.
“You know... My sister had a theory. She said you didn’t want to touch me because you didn’t want my heart. As it turns out, she was right.”
I search his eyes, hoping to find a sliver of emotion or thought––regret, perhaps––but other than a flitting light, I find nothing.
Like an elusive comet, it’s not close enough to see it and not far enough to miss it.
“You’re nothing but a fucking coward,” I say, shaking my head with regret. “And I wish I never met you,” I add in a broken voice.
I yank my hands out of his lock, run my fingers over my face to wipe off my tears and step away.
In one smooth gesture, he snakes his arm around my waist and pulls me back to him.
“Hey. Hey…” I snap. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing? Let me go.”
I fight him, pushing hard against his chest.
“I don’t want you, James... Not like that. I don’t want your pity.”
His eyes turn dark.
With one swift motion, he grabs my hair and tilts my head back, forcing me to follow his hand and bend backward while he leans forward, drilling me with his eyes.
His arm tightens around my waist, locking me against his body, his gaze streaming dark power.
My hands crawl timidly up his arms.
He clenches his jaw, barely pushing back his madness as he lowers his head and growls against my temple.
“Has it ever crossed your mind that I might not be the man for you?” His teeth grind, his grip hurting me. “Hmm?”
He jerks me hard, yet I don’t flinch, studying his dark lashes and the specks of light caught in the velvet of his eyes.
“How can you possibly know if you’re not willing to try?” I ask in a quiet voice.
My tone doesn’t calm him down in the slightest.
“I don’t need to… You don’t know me, Rain. You don’t know my life. You’re just a kid who’s spotted a shiny toy and wants to play with it. I’m not who you think I am. I’m different than the men you know and far from what you have imagined. I’m not a good man, and you deserve someone better than me. I did what I did because it was the right thing to do.”
“How can you be so sure? And what makes you think you know me after all? It’s not your business what I want or what I deserve,” I say, riled up again.
He pulls my hair back even more, tipping my face up, his lips stopping a mere inch from mine.
“I know everything about you, Rain,” he says. “And it’s way more than you think.”
His phone vibrates in his pocket, prompting him to move his focus away from me as he retrieves his cell from his jacket and glances at the screen.
His expression changes, his focus no longer on me.
“Love chatting with you, darling, but I have some business to attend to if you don’t mind,” he mutters, reading something on his phone.
“Okay...” I mumble.
He tucks his phone in his pocket, his hand still locked onto my hair.
“Can you let go of me?” I ask spitefully.
He shifts his gaze to my face, his attention not entirely back to me.
“You’re coming with me,” he orders, already hauling me toward the house.
“No. I’m not,” I say, pulling back and freezing in the middle of the footpath.
He stops and turns to me, searing me with his eyes.
“Yes, you are. I’m not discussing this with you.”
“What made you change your mind?”
“I didn’t change my mind.”
“What about your date?”
“She’s not my date. She’s already home,” he says, grabbing me by the elbow and forcing me to walk.
“You mean the whorehouse,” I mumble under my breath, stopping again and yanking my arm out of his grasp.
He shifts to me, his eyes cutting through me like a sharp sword.
I feel his grip around my arm again.
“What did you just say?”
“Nothing.”
His free hand wraps around my neck, his thumb pressing into my cheek hard.
He leans toward me, his eyes spitting fire.
“Who’s the fucking coward now, Rain?”
Our eyes clash, his breath searing my lips, my blood heated from his touch.
“I mean the place where you keep the women you fuck,” I say defiantly, finding dark pleasure in stirring him up.
He grabs my chin and tilts my face up.
“You should watch your fucking mouth, sweetie, unless you want to become one of them,” he growls, no shred of humor in his voice.
His words zap through my brain–– I find them so outrageous I push them back.
“I’m not your fucking ‘sweetie’,” I shoot back.
His gaze drifts to my chest and legs, an unnerving smile flashing across his lips.
“Oh… I think you are,” he says, appraising my assets with an expert eye.
Observing me, he ponders.
His eyes light up with a lustful smile as he registers my heaving chest.
“Has anyone touched you since I saw you last time?”
His gaze swings up.
Quirking my lips, I stare at him poker-faced while my cheeks burn, giving me away.
His lips curve into a sultry smile, mischief glinting in his eyes.
“You know what? Go fuck yourself, James,” I bark, irate, tearing away from him.
He grabs me again and has his hands around my neck, his fingers splayed over my cheeks, his thumbs pressed against my lips.
I clutch his arms, having a hard time breathing.
“You should watch your mouth, babe,” he says, dead serious this time, sending a shiver down my back.
He enjoys seeing my lips quiver before his features soften somewhat, a smirk tugging at his lips.
He raises his eyes and locks my gaze.
“You’re nothing but a spoiled brat, Rain Morgan,” he says, the sound of my full name on his lips making me shudder.
He’s unimpressed with my reaction.
“You have no idea what regret is. Saying that you wished you hadn’t met me…” he murmurs, his voice dense and hard as steel. “You’ll know regret when you learn who I really am.”
“Are you threatening me now?” I swing back at him, pretending I’m not affected while shaking inside.
He pulls back a little, a crooked smile arching his lips.
“Uh-huh… I fucking am. You should’ve taken my word for it when I told you I wasn’t the man for you.”
“Are you the man for the brunette in the blue dress?”
His eyes glint faintly, frosted again.
“I’m no one’s man, Rain… And don’t fool yourself. I won’t be yours either,” he says, straightening and letting go of me.
“Fine. Who cares?” I hurl at him.
“Okay.”
“Good.”
Without another word, he grabs my hand and pulls me toward the house.
I barely keep up with him, his fingers crushing mine.
“You’re hurting me,” I protest.
“Get used to it,” he tosses at me without looking at me.
As we draw closer to the crowded area in the back of the house, people murmur, and heads turn as we head inside.
“You keep your mouth shut,” he says, pushing me up the stairs and into the mansion.
“Are you serious?”
He scorches me with his eyes, and I swiftly close my mouth.
Two men join us soon after.
“Keep an eye on her,” he instructs Lex and Ed without looking at them.
They smoothly flank me as James approaches a group of people near us. Among them, I spot a judge, the mayor, a group of councilmen, and a couple of bankers.
“Anything to drink, babe?” Lex asks, moving his eyes over my dress nonchalantly.
“Oh... Couldn’t you be more obvious?” I snap, frowning at him.
Ignoring my outburst of anger, they chuckle. Ed pivots to me and locks my eyes. It’s the first time we find ourselves in front of each other since that night at Red’s.
He envelopes me with a sultry gaze.
A few bangs of shiny brown hair swoop over his brow.
He combs it all back with his fingers, his eyes gleaming with a smile.
“Where have you been all this time?” he asks.
“Italy.”
“Hmm…” he murmurs, his gaze moving swiftly over my body. “You’re even more beautiful than I remember,” he purrs, raising his eyes, a playful smile on his lips.
I glance at Lex, who tucks a hand in his pocket, brings his glass of champagne to his lips, and studies me intently.
“Thank you... I guess...” I say, hesitant and nervous.
“So, how was life overseas?” Lex asks, throwing me a lifeline.
I wipe away a bead of sweat from my brow.
“Someone’s hot,” Ed says, his eyes dipping to my chest.
I bring my fingers to his face and tip his chin up.
“Don’t do this, sugar…” he murmurs, taking my hand and pressing his lips against my fingertips.
More sweat trickles down my neck.
Lex sets his glass on a nearby table before approaching us and stopping behind me.
He slides his hand under my hair, gently lifts it, and blows softly, cooling my skin.
Goosebumps drape over my shoulders.
“Is this better?” Lex whispers in my ear, his lips grazing my skin, making me even hotter than before.
I don’t know what he means by better.
“Mm-hmm...” I murmur.
Standing before me, Ed observes us, his lips curving into a faint smile as he takes in my reaction.
Still holding my hand, he strokes the inside of my palm with his thumb.
“I don’t think I’m getting any better,” I say quietly.
“Take your hands off her,” James thunders, grabbing their necks and pulling them away from me.
A grin gleams in his eyes, telling me he’s not as pissed as he pretends to be.
He looks at them, content.
“We’ve got a deal,” he says, ignoring me completely.
They whip their eyes at him.
“Are you serious?” Lex asks incredulously.
“I sure am. They’ll discuss the zoning change in the next session. It looks like we have enough votes to make it happen.”
“You’re the fucking man,” Ed says, grinning from ear to ear.
Lex congratulates him.
“Let’s go somewhere to celebrate… I can’t wait to get out of these clothes,” James says, not a glance in my direction.
“What about her?” Ed asks, pointing to me.
“She comes with us,” he throws over his shoulder without looking at me.