7. Lucy
Lucy
T he Velvet Echo looks way different without all the naked sweaty people fucking each other.
I have one night to figure this out. Kennedy can cover for me, but that won’t last forever.
She told Grandmother that I’m sick with something and holed up in my room, so I’ll have to sneak back inside later and pretend like I’m not feeling good.
But for now, I’m looking around nervously, trying to spot the security cameras hidden up in the high ceiling.
I know he’s watching.
Assuming he’s even here tonight.
And if he’s not, what will I do? Would it even matter if I sat right here alone all evening, drinking a few glasses of wine, and went home without talking to him?
I don’t even know what I want to say.
Except his conversation with my grandmother is bothering me.
Something's wrong, and it's not like I'll ever hear about it from her.
All my life, the family business has been none of your business, young lady .
Even though Pierre runs the Willing-Morris hedge fund and I'm technically going to inherit a very large chunk of our family fortune, or whatever's left of it, it's like nobody wants me involved in anything at all.
I'm a bargaining chip. Nothing more than that.
Even if I've always desperately wanted to be more.
I kill an hour sitting around. I down two glasses of wine and start on a third.
I'm feeling comfortably tipsy, though not drunk yet.
I'll get there soon unless something happens.
I know I should stop, but the longer I sit here alone and think about how useless I've been my whole life, the more miserable I feel and the more I want to drown all the chatter in my head with alcohol.
It wasn't always like this. Grandmother's been hard on me since forever, but I was good in school.
I got straight As and graduated from a prestigious and difficult prep school in the top five of my class.
I could've gone anywhere to college if Grandmother had let me apply.
I had friends back then, extracurricular activities, reasons to get out of bed in the morning.
Now I'm adrift. I'm flitting from nothing to nothing. And all I have to look forward to is marrying a man I don't even know.
"I keep waiting for you to come up to my office, but it looks like I have to make the first move tonight."
I flinch in surprise and look to my left.
My jaw drops open as Adriano leans against the bar watching me.
His face is draped in a dark scowl, and I marvel all over again at how large and terrifying he is.
Tattoos disappear into the sleeves of his perfect designer suit, and there's not a single hair out of place on his head.
He licks his full lips as he tilts his chin toward me, inching closer like he's thinking about putting his hands on me.
Please, god, do it.
"I wasn't sure you were here," I say, feeling my cheeks turn red. "And last time, I had on a mask."
"Last time, there were about a hundred people fucking down here." His voice is liquid gold, and I keep catching glimpses of his pink tongue.
I remember what that tongue can do to me.
"I was just thinking that this place looks a lot nicer when there's an orgy going on."
"Oh, there's an orgy. It's just the fucking takes place outside of my walls."
"That's a fun way of looking at a nightclub."
"It's the only way." He gestures at the bartender. The young man pours a glass of top-shelf whiskey and brings it over. "This place is filled with lonely people. This place isn't an end; it's a means to something else."
"And what's that?"
"Connection." He sips his drink, studying me. "Is that why you pretended to be lost when we first met?"
I suck in a breath and look away. "You weren't supposed to know that was me."
"I figured it out pretty fast. You're easy to remember." His eyes drift down my body. I'm wearing a cute little dress, not too revealing, but not conservative either.
"I guess you looked me up."
"I'll admit to a little curiosity. Why'd you come back tonight, Lucy?"
I hesitate, trying to come up with a reason. Because I wanted to see him again? Because I wanted a repeat of our first encounter?
Because I'm terrified of what's going to happen after we get married.
"You were arguing with my grandmother. I want to know what you two were talking about."
He glances back toward the stairs. "Ask her about that."
"Grandmother doesn't tell me anything. I wouldn't have come here if it were that easy to find out."
"Then maybe you don't need to know." He pushes off from the bar and starts to walk away.
"Hey, where are you going?" I get up and hurry after him. Adriano parts through the crowd like a boat through water. "You're seriously just going to walk away?"
"You're better off not knowing." He stops when he reaches the staircase and turns back to me.
This time, he's inches away and towering over me like a monster.
He grabs my arm, fingers firm but not painful, and I stare with my mouth open.
"Trust me, Lucy. Go back home. You're not going to find anything but trouble here. "
"What about after we're married? Are you going to keep on being trouble?"
His expression hardens. "When we're married, you'll be mine to protect, and I don't let anyone touch what I own."
"You're going to own me?" I laugh lightly, a thrill running between my legs and a fire in my belly. "Like I'm property."
"More like a means to an end."
"Sure, just like your club."
"Go home, Lucy." He releases my arm.
"Why did you give me that card?"
He hesitates. I can tell he wants to get out of this conversation. "That was a mistake."
"Bullshit. You did it for a reason." I move close to him, desperate to keep this going. "You were thinking about the first time we met, weren't you?"
He glares back at me, but now there's something heavy in his expression. It's hungry and burns like a lightning crack. "Would you like it if that were true?" He leans in close. I smell whiskey and mint. "Do you want me to want you, Lucy? Is that the fantasy you spun up in your mind?"
My cheeks are bright scarlet and my heart hammers in my ears. "You're the one that gave me the card."
"I already said it was a mistake."
He starts up the stairs. I heave annoyed breaths. I could let him go and forget about this. Clearly, my future husband is kind of a bastard. I should go home and enjoy what time I have left as a single woman.
But I came here tonight for a reason, and I'm sick of being blown off. My grandmother treats me like a worthless vestigial organ, and my brother has nothing but quiet disdain for me.
I refuse to be treated that way by my future husband.
"I'm not leaving until you tell me what my grandmother said to you." I follow him up the steps. He bypasses the VIP lounge, and when a guard moves to stop me, Adriano waves him away.
"Then you'll be staying here for a long time."
"There's debt. Lawyers are involved. It's going to affect me, so why won't you say anything?"
He goes into his office, and I follow. The memory of this room hits me like a jolt. I linger near the door, fingers and toes tingling with the memory of orgasm after orgasm rolling down my spine.
Adriano goes to his desk and leans back against it. He faces me, head tilted to the side, giving me a curious frown like he's considering something.
"You really want to know?"
His sudden change of heart feels very ominous. "I think I have a right."
He laughs darkly and shakes his head. "You don't have a goddamn thing, my future wife.
But I'll tell you what. I like that you followed me up here.
I like that you have a spine. I like that you snuck into my office and pretended to be anyone but who you are.
So I'll give you a chance." He holds out a hand and curls a finger, beckoning me. "Come here."
I don't move. This reeks of a trap. But what's he going to do to me? Something bad, most likely.
Maybe something I'll like.