Chapter 18 My Wicked Girl Packaged as a Daisy
MY WICKED GIRL PACKAGED AS A DAISY
Lachlan pulls out and wipes his thumb across my chin. His heavy-lidded eyes are soft and content. “Was it your first time doing that?”
I press my lips together, embarrassed. Was it obvious? Bad?
My thought must be written on my face because he hoists me up and sets me on the counter. “I knew those lips would impress me. You earned a reward.” He slides his hands up my thighs. “Lean back, mo bhana-phrionnsa,” he repeats that word—saying?—in the same tender voice.
“What does that mean?” I recline against the mirror. “Another cat’s name?”
He smirks, a real one this time, not the hint of one like always, and hooks his hands under my knees.
Reeling from what we did, I don’t resist him.
“Look at you not bothering to cover up. I like that.” His gaze sweeps over my body. My robe is open completely with only my lower arms covered.
“I thought you liked when I play coy?” I taunt. I could stop this at any time, but I’m curious and still horny.
“I like when you play period. Now show me that tight pussy.”
“Only if you show me your tattoos.”
His smirk pulls higher. “You like them?”
“I like all men’s bare chests. They turn me on. Tattoos are a bonus.”
His nostrils flare. “There she is—my wicked girl packaged as a daisy. I’m going to enjoy deflowering you.”
“I didn’t agree to sex,” I blurt and stiffen.
“You didn’t agree to sucking me off either, but you did.” He lifts my knees so my feet are on the edge of the counter, and I’m spread eagle. “That’s a good girl.”
“Wait.” I close my legs, trying to conceal my most private area from him.
“And we’re back to being coy. Be a good girl and open up for me.” He tries to pry my knees apart, but I resist.
“I changed my mind. I think we’re done here.”
His eyes brighten with excitement.
“I’m serious, Lachlan. I’m done.” I cover myself with the robe and push back.
He watches me for a moment, debating whether I’m serious or not. “We’ll see how long that lasts. My guess is by the end of dinner you’ll want the orgasm you just passed on, and I’m the only one who can give it to you.”
“There are two other men in this house.” One who hates me, but who’s still a man.
His gaze darkens. “You’re going to wish you hadn’t said that.” He leaves the room, tucking himself in his pants as he goes.
I tense. What did I just do? Provoked the beast in him, that’s what.
Lachlan
After taking my second shower of the day, I dress in another suit but not before sniffing the one marked with the scent of Emery’s sweet pussy. I’m going to taste her tonight. I’m going to eat her so raw she won’t be able to walk tomorrow. Tying her to the bed won’t be necessary.
It wasn’t my intention to fuck her when I checked on her in the bathroom. Nor did I even consider having her suck me off. The reason behind my visit was to make sure she wasn’t suffering still from whatever upset her.
When Stella, one of the housekeepers, rushed in and told me Emery was upset and at the cliffs, my entire world froze. I couldn’t get to her fast enough. My legs felt too slow, and the castle seemed to stretch, making it seem impossible to get outside.
She looked just like her on the ledge. Mum had been wearing a long, white nightgown that day. My mind went back to the moment. When I was too late. Too stunned by fear to react quickly enough. Too blind to have seen the signs beforehand.
Emery’s long golden hair—not dark like Mum’s—pulled me from the devastation of the memory.
That and her pale face when she looked at me.
The usual golden tone to her skin had blanched and those gilded eyes held so much sadness.
My princess—mo bhana-phrionnsa—was aching. I needed to stop her, to save her.
Life couldn’t repeat in this way for me. Not ever.
She responded to me. I saw it in her eyes. Mum either didn’t hear me over the wind and waves that day, or she was too lost in her pain before she ended it all.
I’d been farther away. But with Emery, I didn’t freeze. I ran to her. I could lure her back. Force her if necessary. When she started to fall, my heart stopped.
I grabbed her and swore at that moment I’d never let her get to this point again. I’d do whatever was necessary to keep her safe. Letting her go had never been an option like she’d assumed a month ago.
Back then, I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with her besides bury my cock deep inside her.
That was always part of the plan, but the way Emery responds to me wasn’t anything I imagined—neither were those gorgeous tits.
I knew they were big, but I wasn’t prepared for perfection.
She thinks they look wrong on her. Utterly ridiculous.
No man will ever see those tits, except for me. They’re mine.
Unlike the women who throw themselves at me, which gets old, I knew she’d be a challenge. I welcomed it. But the way she turns weak from my touch to the point of almost fainting from just a kiss… It affects me in a way no one else has.
It also reaffirms I chose the right daughter.
Back then, the plan I arranged with my egomaniac cousin, Angus, was simple.
Invest in Spencer Securities.
Become a partner in a year.
Marry Emery so I could buy the company from her dad upon his retirement and fulfill the deal I made with Angus—a deal that meant no more deaths.
It took me nearly three years to get Spencer Securities due to Garyn’s procrastination and reluctance to retire.
At first, I thought Angus would insist I choose another American company.
His goal is to expand his laundering business to the US—something he can’t do with his criminal reputation making investors wary.
But when I explained I had to marry the owner’s daughter to get Spencer Securities, Angus liked the plan even more.
In his mind, this was atonement for when the 7th Earl left his noble birthright to his foreign mistress and her son, severing Duhnill from the MacReid bloodline.
Justifying my reason for choosing Spencer Securities was hardly necessary at that point. Still, I gave him the speech.
“With its longstanding history, the Spencer corporation is practically indestructible and can survive any corruption that comes its way. Newer companies crumble easier.”
I left out the part about Spencer Securities being my personal choice for my own gain, given its prominence and stability. If I have to leave—trade, as Wes puts it—Scotland for the U.S., it needs to be worth my while and worthy of the legacy I intend to leave my heirs.
As pleased as Angus was with the plan, the wait made him antsy and volatile. His father behaved the same way. His goal was to corrupt Duhnill and use it to his advantage. Angus wants to do the same thing.
Mum fought hard to protect what her great ancestor inherited all those centuries ago.
Just weeks before she died, she told me, “Secure this castle for you and Rory and keep it in our side of the family. The people in this village rely on us. Don’t let that monster poison everything we’ve fought to preserve. Do whatever is necessary.”
Angus and his father killed my dad—Rory’s dad too—and my mum, as far as I’m concerned.
Loss and a broken heart are what sent her over the edge of the cliff. The disease would have finished her off eventually, but she couldn’t wait. She’d suffered enough heartache.
The last thing she said to me still haunts my mind.
“Nothing will break you more than love. It doesn’t last and when it’s gone, you’re left with a black hole that never heals. Guard your heart until the end. That which can’t be shattered stays strong.”
This is why I turn cold on Emery and leave after we're intimate. Staying could stir feelings I refuse to allow with anyone. I might not be able to give her my heart, but I can give her the best sex of her life. I can keep her satiated and spoiled. None of these will make her happy though. Happiness is a choice. All I can do is try to save her from depression, if she’s suffering from it.
I need to know what caused her to run to the cliffs.
I meant it when I said I’d tie her up. I’ll tie her to my bed and fuck her out of her mind.
She’ll be so high on pleasure she won’t want to come down.
She doesn’t have any addictions, but something sent her down a dark hole.
I know all about that. I’ve been pulling myself out of a black pit ever since I watched my father get murdered.
Wes helped me cope. We were in Eton together.
He introduced me to fighting in underground rings as a way to release the rage and betrayal I felt after the loss of my dad. I became obsessed with it.
Nothing settles me the way fighting does.
Well, nothing did until Emery. Taming her—watching her eyes change from hate to lust and her body become putty in my hands—turns me upside down and gives me tunnel vision.
I have only one goal at that point—consume her.
Make her forget that anything else exists in the world. Make her come undone. Make her come.
When she did for the first time—was it just this afternoon?—I’ve never seen such splendor. Her tight pussy clamped my fingers like a vise grip. I could only imagine what it’d feel like to be inside her. She screamed with her release and nearly passed out.
Knocking sounds on my bedroom door, pulling me from my thoughts.
I slide on my shoes and walk into the bedroom. When I open the door, Wes is standing there, his arms crossed.
“What?” I snap. He usually texts me.
“Just checking to see if you’re alive.”
“Why?” I look at my watch. 9:15. Shit.
He stares past me into the room.
“She’s not in here.”
“Why are you late then?”
“I had to make sure she wasn’t suicidal.”
He doesn’t press me, knowing it’s a sore subject.
He knew my mum, and he knows what happened to Emery today.
No one saw her other than Stella, but as with most households, gossip spreads fast among the staff and then to everyone else.
To save Emery from the humiliation of an audience, I had Lorna ask for discretion and force everyone into their rooms so when I brought Emery inside, she wouldn’t be a spectacle.
“She’s just a business deal,” Wes says, his blue eyes impassive like always. No one can turn off his emotions like Wes.
I level him with a harsh gaze. “I know what she is.”
He laughs through his nose and shakes his head. “You’re letting her get to you. You’ll regret it.”
“See, that’s your problem, Wes. You think showing consideration makes you weak.
I couldn’t be successful at what I do if I didn’t invest in the people under my care—and there are many.
You for one. Your sister. Rory. The castle and grounds staff.
The distillery workers. The investors and employees at Spencer Securities—at all my businesses.
My wife.” If he thinks I wouldn’t help her, he’s wrong.
“Leave people to their own devices, and they’ll end up being their own downfall. ”
My dad and mum were. Rory’s dad, Ewan, was too. Angus’s side of the MacReid are. Even Garyn is a detriment to himself. If he weren’t, he wouldn’t have fallen prey to my plan.
“Tell everyone we’ll be down shortly.” I turn on my heel and walk to Emery’s room.
Wes won’t admit it, but his problem with Emery has to do with his sister.
Tessa doesn’t care—well, she didn’t when we discussed this three years ago.
She understood we were fuck buddies. She said it was all she wanted too.
I’m her boss, for Christ’s sake. She knows her place, but Wes wanted her to be more.
He doesn’t want an outsider entering our tight circle.
If it were up to him, he’d offer Angus a partnership at my London business.
If he didn’t except, Wes would kill him.
His son, Knox, who’s set to inherit the castle after him, isn’t as sadistic.
But nothing changes a man more than losing his father to murder.
I would know.
The deal with Angus is almost done. Finally. I even sent him the last part of the agreement—proof that Rory has a small percentage of MacReid blood through Ewan. Thank fuck for that and for DNA. It was a major key in getting him to agree to Rory keeping the castle, as long as I’m gone.
I have to trust that Angus will uphold his end of the deal and finally put the past and this feud to rest, now that all the pieces are in place and I can deliver what I promised three years ago.
Unlike him and his father, murder has never been my preferred course of action. I’d rather end this civilly than risk a MacReid vendetta that could one day threaten my future children—or Rory’s.
Emery can never learn about any of this.
How our marriage was a means to a bigger arrangement and not just about owning the business.
How I plan to bring Angus into the company and cut out her dad.
Garyn will retire a wealthy man, but without a place on the board of trustees like I agreed.
That will go to Angus, allowing him to corrupt the well-respected company.
Emery may not like her mother and father, but they’re still her parents.
I suspect she has a certain loyalty to them.
She also despises deception of any kind, especially from me.
Who knows how all this would affect her? After today, I never want to find out.