Chapter 32 #2
“Thank you, pumpkin.” I flick the end of her nose.
“Are you going to be good for Maisie?” Imogen has kindly offered to have a member of her personal household staff sit with Isla so I don’t have to take the baby monitor to the ball.
I like Maisie. She’ll take good care of Isla.
Even Tobias was agreeable to the idea, which, considering what we now know about Ava, tells me all I need to know about Maisie’s credentials.
“Good.” She grins, and my heart squeezes.
I relay some instructions to Maisie, and seconds later, their heads are locked together as Maisie reads one of Isla’s favorite books.
I smile, taking a few precious moments to watch her.
It’s getting easier and easier to let go, which is good for Isla.
The last thing she needs is a clingy mother.
All that will do is limit her development, and Marcus has done enough of that already.
I don’t intend to add to my child’s woes.
A tap comes at the outer door.
“Coming.”
I open the door to Tobias, who looks hotter than sin in a tuxedo. Now I know what’s beneath those clothes, it takes all I’ve got not to suggest missing the ball and heading to his bedroom instead. Not that I’d ever do such a thing, but that doesn’t mean the temptation isn’t there.
His gaze sweeps over me in one slow, devastating pass. “Wow.”
“I was about to say the same to you.”
“I’m having second thoughts about attending this ball at all. You’re too stunning to share. Unfortunately, Dad would take it badly, otherwise I would totally duck out.”
I giggle. “Funny. I had those exact thoughts myself.”
“Hmm. I might have to improvise.” He glances over my shoulder at Isla and Maisie with their heads together. “I’m stealing Mama away for a few hours. Is that okay, Isla? We won’t be far away.”
I adore how he considers her at every turn, reassures her, lets her know we haven’t abandoned her.
“Bye,” she says, attention still fixated on the book.
I chuckle. “You’re second best tonight.”
“Only with Isla, I hope.” He takes my hand, and we make our way down Oakleigh’s sweeping staircase.
As we close in on the ground floor, the noise from the arriving guests drifts upward.
“I’m nervous. Is that silly?”
“Not even a little bit. This is new to you, and as the latest addition to the De Vil family, there will be interest from our guests. They’ll want to talk to you, especially as we had a private wedding.
Don’t worry, though. If at any point you’ve had enough and want to leave, you tell me.
You don’t have to explain or justify yourself.
If you don’t want to outright ask, pick a safe word, and when I hear it, I’ll know you’re done. ”
“A safe word?”
“Yeah. Customers use them at the club. They act as an immediate stop signal.”
“Oh.” My gaze flits about as I try to think of one that I wouldn’t use in everyday conversation. “What about ‘stylus’? That way, I can weave it into a sentence so it won’t sound obvious.”
“Stylus it is.”
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
He lifts my hand to his mouth and kisses me briefly. Still, I feel it all the way down to my toes.
A multitude of sounds drift from the ballroom. Violins, muted conversations, the faint clink of champagne flutes. Tobias’s warm hand presses against my lower back, anchoring me, reminding me I’m not alone. I remember to take a breath and relax my shoulders.
It’s fine. This is fine. Just a fancy party with fancy people. I can do this.
Tobias swipes two glasses of champagne from a passing server and hands one to me. I take a sip, glancing around. I can’t see the other wives anywhere, although that could be Imogen’s striking red hair on the other side of the ballroom.
He follows my gaze. “I remember Imogen’s first ball.”
Ah. So, it is her. “Was she as nervous as me?”
“Hurt more than nervous.”
I frown. “Why hurt?”
“Because Alexander was in denial about his growing feelings for her and behaved like a complete twat.”
From what I’ve seen of Alexander when he’s with Imogen, he’s besotted. I can’t imagine a time when he wasn’t.
“I took her under my wing and fed her gossip to cheer her up.”
“What kind of gossip?”
“The salacious kind.” He grins and winks. “Put it this way, The Lair offers me a certain… behind the scenes look into polite society.”
“Do you miss going regularly?”
He twists his lips to one side, which I take to mean he’s giving my question proper consideration.
“Sometimes, yes. It’s been a huge part of my life, and it saved my sanity more than once.
” He bends his head and presses a soft kiss to my lips.
“Maybe one day, we can go again. I rather like the idea of watching you.”
A shiver of pleasure skates up my spine, and my stomach twists. “I might like that.”
I scan the sea of faces, landing on one in particular. Ice shoots into my veins. Tony Price. One of Marcus’s friends, and a man I never ever thought I’d have to see again. My entire body breaks out in hives, and I start to shake uncontrollably. I can’t stop.
What is he doing here?
Tobias reads my reaction, then follows my gaze again. His jaw flexes, lips thinning, the genial man I’ve come to know disappearing in the time it takes me to blink.
“Is he one of them?”
God, he reads me so well. I know if I confirm it there will be trouble, but one of the first agreements Tobias and I made was to be honest with one another. I’m not about to break that promise for a man like Tony Price. Actions have consequences.
A single nod is all that’s needed. Tobias acts.
Surging forward instantly until he grips Tony by the arm and drags him from the ballroom.
There’s raised voices, commotion, attention, and seconds later, Alexander, Nicholas, and Christian race after Tobias.
I stand there, frozen to the spot as my girls surround me.
“Who is that?” Vicky asks.
We’ve never spoken in detail about what happened to me, and every bone in my body knows Tobias would never have betrayed my confidence. But it’s time. These people are my family, and they deserve to know the full, awful truth.
“One of the men who raped me.”