Chapter 31
31
E zra
Even this hideous dress can’t change how beautiful Maeve is.
I’m not a fashion expert, but the thing she’s wearing is atrocious. Besides that, I don’t think she can breathe. I know her tits are juicy, but right now I think they’re too juicy. I mean, they are right next to her neck. And every single man in the vicinity is salivating over them.
I don’t like it. I licked them first. They are mine.
Her father offers her his elbow, and she grabs it, nearly tripping over the dress, which is clearly way too long for her.
They start walking. To be precise, they try walking, but the skirt of that dress is so wide they can’t fit together without them both tripping over it. Mr. Wrong takes a couple of steps to the side and stretches his arm to her. She tries to lean on him with no success, and I see the moment she gives up on the whole idea of fighting with the dress. Accepting his elbow with her one hand and trying to grab a part of her giant skirt with another, she ends up pulling feathers off it with every single try. By the time she manages to get a hold of the skirt, her cheeks are pink with anger.
The whole walk toward us is painful to watch. They trip, bicker, and then trip again. By the time they reach us, Maeve’s face is totally red. Large beads of sweat roll down her temple and then down her neck. Then they disappear right between two big globes pushed to the top. They are pushed so close together, the drops have to fight their way through.
With a wide, happy smile, her father passes her hand to me. I try taking it, but she stumbles again and rears back, trying to gain her balance. In the process, the dress moves one of the tables on the side. I rush to help her, but surprisingly she quickly finds herself on her own feet and squares her shoulders back as if preparing for the fight of her life.
“Dear guests,” the official starts. “We’ve gathered here?—”
A faint smell of smoke suddenly reaches my nose, but I disregard it. It intensifies a moment later.
“Shit!” I jump around Maeve because apparently her dress caught fire from one of the candles when she bumped into the table. “Fire!” In a second, I start throwing sand on the fire while it starts rapidly moving up the skirt of the dress toward her body.
She whips around on instinct, moving the fire far away from my attempts to stop.
“Don’t move, Maeve,” I order, throwing more sand on her.
“Shit!” Noah rushes in and joins me.
“Hot! Hot! Hot!” Maeve starts swirling around like a hamster on a wheel, and the fire moves even faster. She’ll get bad burns in a few seconds, so I need to act fast.
“Stop!” I bark and put my foot on the skirt. She keeps trying to move, but Noah does the same, and we both are able to stop her. I grab the waist of the skirt and try to rip it apart from her body. Little feather fireflies and gemstones or whatever the fuck they are fly away, igniting even more feathers on the way. It takes me a few seconds to try to get her rid of the flaming skirt, and it’s a few seconds too long.
Beatrice drops to her knees next to us, joining us in our attempts to throw sand onto the flames.
“Hot, Ezra! It’s hot!” Maeve cries out, her voice turning desperate.
My own blood is boiling as I’m ripping into many layers of the dress while Noah’s trying to do the same. It’s not working. The feathers catch fire too soon, erupting into little volcanic flames, making her squeal. Her scared voice makes me move faster. It’s taking too long. Might be too late.
“Move away,” I yell to Noah who instantly jumps back.
I grab her by her waist, reach the ocean in three long strides and throw her in the water. It’s not deep but she sinks to her waist. I’m next to her in a second, trying to rip the rest of the skirt away.
When it’s floating away, and I’m left with her trembling body in my arms, I let my eyes assess the situation.
Her hands are holding onto my shoulders. Her eyes are wide and unfocused. I grab her by her waist again and lift her up from the water, checking her legs for damage. Thank God I find none.
“Back, back! Put me back.”
I quickly obey her request, hoping that a slightly chill morning ocean will cool down her skin.
“Where does it hurt?”
“Legs. Just hot. Very hot.” Her voice is shaky.
“Let me see.” I lift her up again.
“It’s fine.” She gulps for air like she’s about to have a panic attack. “It’s not burnt. I don’t think so. Just hot. Let me sit in the water.”
“Ezra?” comes Noah’s voice. “Is she okay?”
“I think so,” I reply, without turning to him. Odd that he’s the only one interested with her whole family present.
“Maeve?” comes Beatrice’s voice. “Are you okay?”
“I’m okay,” she whispers and starts chuckling.
“What?”
“The fire?” she giggles. “Seriously? Again?”
I snort, only now comprehending the irony of the situation. The fire has come full circle.
“Are you really okay?” I ask quietly, letting a note of emotion slip into my voice.
“Yes.” She nods. “I’m fine.”
“Well, everyone is alive. Shall we continue?” comes her mother’s voice, nearly making me bark at her to shut the fuck up and read the room.
“Wrongs are a very determined bunch,” Maeve whispers with a small smile and rises to her feet.
“Do you want to stay here a little longer?”
“No. Let’s go.”
I’m helping her to the beach where a few cameras are pointed in our direction. Every single one of them was hired by the Wrongs—I’d prefer to avoid publicity. But whatever comes out of it, we still should have a wedding photo.
I glance down at Maeve. With the worry of the moment gone, I finally notice that she’s wearing nothing but white panties, similar to those she wore on the island, and a corset. Nothing else. Nothing. Her wet panties are see through. For everyone. With her tits out like that and now her ass, I’ll have to go through many brawls by the end of the ceremony.
“Take it,” I say, pulling off my wet suit blazer and fixing it on her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispers back gratefully, pulling the front of the blazer together. It looks so big on her, only the tips of her fingers come out of the sleeves when she moves. I like her wearing my clothes. I noticed it back on our island. She looks so vulnerable under my suit that it evokes some ancient protective instinct in me.
Noah rushes to us, taking off his blazer. “Do you want to get the dry one? Here.”
“No,” I state firmly. “She’ll have mine.”
They both stare at me with wide eyes, and I lower my voice, facing her. “Stay in mine.” She blinks at me, a bit lost in the moment. So I add gentler, “Please.” Her having mine is crucial. She needs to have my clothes because it will touch her body. I don’t want her to wear anyone’s jackets ever again. She’s mine, and no one can take her.
Suddenly, the weight of the situation comes crashing down on me.
What if we didn’t stop that fire? Maeve seems to attract trouble. So being hurt during her own wedding because her ridiculous dress caught fire seems like something she’d do. Not by choice, but it seems to be the story of her life.
She watches me for a few moments before speaking. “Okay.”
Spoken in such a soft and compliant voice, she nearly makes me go insane. I didn’t know I needed to hear her say it. I didn’t know I needed for her to just agree with me without a fight. Just once.
“Okay.” I nod in return and help her toward the altar, leaving a smiling Noah behind us.
She stumbles a few times, probably due to adrenaline crashing down, and I catch her. I don’t even feel her weight. At all. Like she’s air. My muscles are taut, my movements jerky. Crashing with adrenaline is not an issue for me right now. Nor will it be for the next twenty-four hours, I feel—I don’t remember being so scared in my life.
“Well!” Her father claps his hands together. “Come, darling, let’s get you back to the altar. ”
I tighten my hold on Maeve’s elbow because I feel a sudden murderous desire to throw her father in the ocean and keep him under the water.
“Ezra?” she whispers.
“Sorry.” Instantly releasing my grip, I help her to the altar.
Everyone’s camera is pointed at us. No matter how much money I give them, one of the greedy bastards will sell the photos. Tomorrow the whole world will see it. This is precisely why I wanted the ceremony to be as small as possible, and the number of guests to be zero.
I don’t notice Beatrice until I hear her quiet voice. “Are you really okay?” Glancing toward the voice, I find her touching Maeve’s shoulder with her hand. The gesture is careful like she’s scared to spook her.
Maeve’s hand covers Beatrice’s. “Yes. Don’t worry.”
The blonde sister doesn’t sound convinced. “Just say the word, and we will be out.”
A weak smile with a quick shake of Maeve’s head is her answer. So Beatrice steps back, picks up a flower lying on the sand, and heads to the altar.
I look down at Maeve. She’s clutching the front of my blazer at her chest, trying to keep it together. Her wet hair reminds me of the way she was on the island, wild and free. A far cry from the timid creature standing in front of me now.
“Now, let’s move on with the ceremony!” Mrs. Wrong announces cheerfully. “What a way to start a marriage! With a bang!”
It’s a fucking bang all right.
Shooting her a glare, I’m mentally trying to convince myself not to murder Maeve’s family. I thought I was forcing her into this situation, but more and more it looks like I’ll be saving her from her insane family. In ours, at least our mom is all right. In hers, they all seem to be out of touch .
Maeve mumbles something.
“This way!” Mrs. Wrong ushers us, pointing at the confused official at the altar. “He’s waiting.”
Maeve’s mumbling grows a little louder.
“Go on,” Mrs. Wrong continues her crusade.
Maeve’s mumbling turns into an audible whisper with clearer words.
“Maeve, honey, come on. Let’s finish this part so we can go and celebrate.”
“Stop!” comes a loud cry.
Everyone stops talking at once.
“Just stop,” Maeve says quieter, taking a step backward. Then another. “I can’t do this. I can’t.”
Right after, she leaps around in the air and takes off running toward the bungalows.
“Maeve!” Mr. and Mrs. Wrong yell at the same time. “Get back here!”
“Shut up,” I bark at them, not thinking how Mr. Wrong’s reaction can influence my future. Oddly, I don’t give a fuck.
“Excuse me!” The mother rears back as if I’ve offended her very being.
I don’t grant her a response but kick out of my shoes and take off after Maeve. Should have ditched them a long time ago—Maeve would say that only douchebags wear shoes on the beach.
I find her rushing toward our suites.
“Maeve,” I call out calmly, making her glance at me quickly and pick up the pace toward her destination. So I repeat, “Maeve. I have a proposition for you.”
She laughs with her back still to me. “Yeah, I’ve heard.”
“A different proposition. You might like it.”
That makes her pause but still not turn to me. I take it as a good sign and walk up to her rigid statue.
“If we get married, I’ll give you power. ”
She snorts. I keep going.
“Real power. Money. Freedom. You can do as you please with it. Including showing your parents what pieces of shit they are.” I walk around to face her and look deep into her eyes, seeing what she really wants. “Fuck, burn down the whole society for all I care.”
Her eyes dart to my face. I knew it would catch her interest.
“They think they can control you and your life. But watch what you can do when you have my name and free access to my money.”
Her intense, blue eyes watch mine almost without blinking.
“Why would you promise that? We don’t even like each other.”
“We don’t have to like each other. I need my company back, and you need to get away from them. It’s a win-win. We can make a contract. In fact,” I pull my phone from my pocket, “I already have one. Just read it through and make changes.” But don’t spend too much time reading.
“Just like that?”
“Just like that.” I nod. “I want my company back.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why do you want your company so badly that you’re ready to sign your life away just like that?”
I feel anger stirring inside, but it’s not toward her. She’s asking a valid question. The right question.
“I want to prove to my father that he made a mistake.”
“By inviting the board?”
I try to mask my surprise that she’s figured this out so fast. “Yes. He didn’t trust me to keep the company afloat, so he opened it up for investors and gave away the voting power. The majority of it,” I sigh. “They were waiting for the right moment to strike to take the rest from us.”
“How?”
“They can vote against me. When the fire happened, and the building got shut down, we lost a lot of clients, therefore money. This is a good opportunity for them to show how incompetent I am.”
“I’m sorry.” Her voice is filled with guilt. “I’m sorry the fire happened.”
“I want our company to be back in the family.” This is the first time I say it out loud to anyone other than Noah. “Where it belongs. This is why I need the shares.”
“And my father has the majority?”
“No,” I reply with a shake of my head. “But he has enough to make me a majority owner. Us. Noah and me. We can veto any decision if we have it.”
Her white teeth show up for a moment and bite into her lower lip. “And me?”
“Read.” I push my phone into her hand. She brings it to her face and starts reading.
“It says we have to stay married for five years,” she says, lifting her face to me. “No one told me about that yesterday.”
“Yes. It’s your father’s condition or he pulls the shares back.”
She keeps reading, and after a few more moments, she passes the phone back to me with a sigh. “It all looks good for you. You get the shares and the fantastic company for the foreseeable future. And what do I get really?”
“Freedom.” I shrug. “In all meanings of the word.”
She worries her bottom lip before nodding. “Okay. Let’s do it. But we will live our separate lives.”
“To an extent,” I reply vaguely, fucking happy she didn’t read the whole thing apparently .
She looks down at herself. “I don’t think I can show up at my own wedding looking like this.”
I grab her hand gently. “I think you look ready to take on the world. But if you need armor to stand against it, I’ll support you. Do you want to go and put something on?”
Her eyes brighten as she stares at my face. Then she looks down at herself again, letting go of the edges of the blazer she’s been holding. “Nope,” she finally says. “I’m good.”