Chapter 17
Seventeen
THE CALLER
London this time of year felt almost unreal. The sun was high with no trace of the rain I usually associated with the city. I stood in front of the prison gates, staring for a second before forcing my feet forward.
I was there to see my brother.
He had been arrested a month before Viviane found out she was pregnant.
He never wanted her to know. Shame had a way of sealing his mouth shut.
He kept her hidden, kept the truth buried, even the fact that he had a wife.
And the worst part was that if I had known, I would have stopped it. I should have.
Instead, I stepped in for her. It felt like something I owed after everything her family had already survived after losing Lily. One loss should have been enough.
My brother never wanted Helena to know who her father really was. Never wanted her to hear the word bastard attached to her name. I made sure of that. I never even kissed Viviane. I just gave her a chance. A chance to carry the Rosewood name. A chance to make Helena a Rosewood.
She was nine now. Old enough to ask questions. And one rather uncomfortable question came. She asked me if Lilibeth could be her mother.
The truth was, I had been seeing Lilibeth for two years. I never found the courage to make it real. I told myself I was waiting, but the truth was I was still holding space for someone else.
The prison doors buzzed open, pulling me back. Inside, everything felt stripped down to white walls. It took me a minute to reach the metal table, and until I saw him in gray joggers and hoodie. It was a strange sight since all I could remember was him wearing a dark blue or black suit.
“Richard,” I said, stepping forward, pulling him into a hug. “So good to see you.”
“Look at you,” he laughed, pulling back. “You’re getting bigger and bigger. Are you training?”
“Just boxing now and then,” I said, lifting my hands, throwing a couple of lazy punches in the air the way he had taught me years ago.
“Good,” he smiled, dropping into the chair.
I sat across from him.
“I didn’t know you were in town,” he said, leaning back. “What brought you here?”
“I came to tell you something,” I said. “I’m getting married.”
The smirk spread across his face. “That pianist?”
“No.” My lips pressed together for a second. “The nanny.”
His brows pulled together. “The nanny?”
“Yeah.” I let out a breath, rubbing my thumb along the edge of the table. “It’s time to stop waiting.” I nodded once, more to myself than to him. “She chose my best friend instead.”
“You never forgave him. That asshole knew you liked her and still took her right in front of your eyes.”
My jaw tightened. “Men are pigs. Some have morals, but most of them are just pigs.”
“You know you’re a man, right?” He said, laughing.
“I have morals,” I shot back, lifting a brow. “He’s just a pig.”
Daniel was four years younger than me, but we grew up side by side. He met Aurelia two years ago, the first time she came over to my house. I told him to stay away. But he never knew how to keep his hands to himself. He wanted her, no matter what it cost us.
I despised him for it.
And even after I warned her, told her exactly what kind of man he was, she still walked straight into his arms like she couldn’t see the damage waiting for her there.
I prayed he didn’t touch her the way he did others. I prayed I wouldn’t see a bruise on her skin. Because if I ever caught him laying a hand on her, God help him.
Richard let out a laugh, but it faded quickly, his expression softening. “How is she? Helena?”
“Growing like she’s been watered every day,” I said, lifting my hand to show her height. “She’s good. She keeps asking about Viviane.”
“Did she know?”
“No.” I shook my head, cutting him off . “Viviane wanted to tell her. A few days before she died.”
“Do you think she jumped?”
“Viviane was anything but suicidal.” My brows pulled together as I looked at him. “I promised her I’d stay with Helena while she went off to see the world. That’s all she ever wanted. Travel, come back, and then tell Helena the truth. That she was her mother. That she didn’t die.”
“I still don’t get it,” he said, exhaling. “People don’t just fall off cliffs.”
“I have my suspicions,” I said. “But I’m not saying anything until I know for sure.”
I leaned back, dragging a hand over my face. “Now it’s just me and her. And I promised myself I wouldn’t tell Helena anything until she’s old enough to understand what it means to be left.” My voice dropped. “I made sure she has everything. And I still have no idea what the hell I’m doing.”
His eyes started to glisten. He sniffed, then nodded once. “I’ve got five more years in here. Do you think she’d want to know her real dad?”
My eyes widened, the question catching me off guard. For a second, I just stared at him.
I had raised her as my own. I never let myself think about the day that might change. The day she might look at me and see someone else but her dad. I wasn’t ready for that. I wasn’t sure I would ever be.
But I couldn’t take that choice from her.
I learned enough from their mistakes. Secrets had a way of breaking things. I wanted her to have the chance to choose. To know everything and still decide if I was the one she wanted to call Dad.
“Yeah,” I said, my voice quieter now. “Sure.”
“I’ve been thinking about it,” he said, glancing down at his hands before looking back at me. “Being in here… Rebecca divorcing me… I want to start fresh when I get out.”
“You’ll always have a place to stay,” I said without hesitation.
He nodded.
“I’ll always be grateful,” he continued. “For you sticking by me. For believing I would never…” He cleared his throat. “You know. Hurt her.”
“I know.” I reached across the table, my hand closing around his shoulder, giving it a firm squeeze. “I know.”
He never told me the full story about that night. All I knew was that he caught Rebecca with another man, and something in him snapped. He beat the guy until there was nothing left.
It was ironic. A part of me knew I would have done the same if it had been my wife. But he was the one cheating first. That was the part I couldn’t make sense of. Maybe itwas pride. Maybe he just wanted to feel like a man again.
I loved my brother.
I just never loved the choices he made.
We said our goodbyes, promised there would be a next time, even if we both knew how long that wait would be.
And then it was just me again.
Time to go back to California. Time to stand in front of Lilibeth and say my vows.
Even though my heart still belonged to someone else.
Present day, April, 1993.
I watch her lying in bed, sleeping so peacefully. I lie beside her. It’s past midnight. I should check on Daniel in the basement, but I don’t care if he dies. Not as long as she remembers now.
I slide the sheet off her. She lies on her side, legs slightly parted, back curved, her ass lifted just enough to expose her swollen pussy.
A low groan catches in my throat. I bite my fist, eyes fixed on her.
My hand moves toward her, hovering first, feeling the warmth before I touch her. She shifts in her sleep, then spreads her legs a little more.
Fuck. Kitten, don’t do this.
I bite down on my fist again, trying to steady myself, but my body is already betraying me.
I want her. I want to taste her, feel her, take her.
My fingers press against her slowly, sliding from her clit down between her lower lips. She is already making my fingers wet.
My cock hardens. I move closer, gripping her hips, pulling her back onto me.
A quiet sound slips from her lips as she leans into my touch, still half asleep.
I wrap my hand around my cock, guiding it, then push into her slowly. Her body takes me in as I sink deeper, holding her as I fill her.
She gasps, eyes fluttering open.
“Shhh, Kitten,” I murmur, my hand covering her mouth as I thrust deeper. Her eyes close again, her body responding, legs opening wider, her back arching into me.
“You like this, don’t you?” I whisper against her ear, pulling her tighter against me.
She nods, her hand lifting, fingers sliding into my hair.
I push into her again, deeper this time, until I am fully inside her, feeling her wrap around me.
I press a kiss to her arm, then sink my teeth into her skin, thrusting again.
“Close your eyes, Kitten. Let me be your best dream,” I whisper.
She obeys, her lashes falling shut.
I shift her, guiding her down before I pull out. She settles onto her stomach, lifting her ass into the air, legs spreading, back arching as if her body knows exactly what I want.
Her needy pussy is there, open, waiting.
I wrap my hand around my cock and push back inside her with one deep thrust.
She moans my name.
My hands slide to her hips, gripping tight as I pull her back against me. My pace builds, losing control, turning rough, hungry. My breath turns shallow, heat gathering on my skin, sweat forming along my forehead.
“Oh God,” she moans, voice breaking, “don’t stop… keep going.”
I don’t slow down. I can’t.
Her body takes me, pulls me in, her pussy tightening around every thrust as I lean over her, pressing her into the mattress. My fingers tangle in her hair, pulling her head back.
Her hands clutch the sheets, twisting it between her fingers as I drive into her, deeper each time.
The room is silent except for us. The sharp sound of my body meeting hers, my balls slamming against her wet clit. Her breathless moans filling the space between every movement.
“Don’t stop,” she whispers, her hand slipping between her legs, touching herself.
Her breaths turn uneven, soft sounds spilling from her lips until she collapses forward onto the bed. I lift her hips again, not letting her escape, thrusting into her until she can’t take any more, until her body refuses to give me another inch.
Then I pull out.
I step back, watching her sink into the mattress.
I climb onto the bed again, resting on my knees, my hand wrapping around my cock as I look down at her.
“Crawl to me,” I growl.