A genuine smile graced my lips as I looked down at her, and Carolyn’s tone was near orgasmic as she enthusiastically praised, “Yes! Just like that!”
Her excited tone didn’t help the situation one bit. It was all I could do not to imagine those words in Lucy’s voice as I cradled her body close to mine.
Don’t get hard. Don’t get hard.
Forcing myself to think of anything and everything that I found unappealing, I managed to keep my composure and not embarrass myself in front of these women.
After a few more traditional poses, Carolyn encouraged us to act natural and forget she was in the room. If I was forced to do this, I would comply to get us out of here as quickly as humanly possible.
Catching Lucy off guard, I wrapped my arms around her waist from behind, pulling her backside flush with the front of my body, forcing her to grip my forearms to steady herself. Dipping my head, I placed it beside her ear before seductively whispering, “Tell me a secret, Princess.”
Gasping, she turned her head to meet my eye. There was a fire in their blue depths, but the simple act of her turning her head as we stared at each other intensely would create the look of lovers lost in each other. Carolyn’s gushing as she snapped away was evidence that it had worked.
On and on it went, as I continued to shock and surprise Lucy into genuine reactions that the photographer ate up before she finally declared that we were done, much to our mutual relief.
It didn’t go unnoticed that our forced body contact had Lucy on edge. I’d dedicated my entire adult life to reading the signs of arousal in women, developing eyes like a hawk, not missing a single signal their bodies gave off. Most times, they didn’t even know they were sending them.
Lucy’s brain might not know I was the mystery man who sent her soaring into the realms of mind-numbing orgasmic bliss, but her body had some idea.
As we made our way back to our apartment and she disappeared into her bedroom, I smiled to myself, knowing she was likely grappling with the agonizing decision to be a good girl for me and deny herself relief, or to take matters into her own hands. I had a feeling I knew which option she would choose as I relieved the same aching need she was suffering from.
We were mere days away from the annual New Year’s Eve Ball turned engagement party. My anxiety was through the roof—my only outlet now off-limits—at the prospect of Lucy and me being the focal point for the country’s most prominent members of society.
Last year, Liam and Amy’s elopement had been the talk of the party, and I’d watched Amy struggle to find her place in our world, going through the motions, her personality hidden behind hollow eyes. Sure, she had come out of her shell since then, but I could vividly recall that evening, when everyone felt entitled to a moment of her time and she was powerless to deny them.
That’s what I was up against, and it didn’t matter that I knew a majority of the attendees most of my life. It felt like an invasion of my privacy for them to feel as though they could now demand a window into my private life because of who I was asked to marry—who Iwouldmarry.
I began spiraling, going down the rabbit hole, with thoughts of my potential children being offered up as public domain. Theimages of those happy children at Thanksgiving flashed through my mind. Would my children ever be granted the opportunity to be that carefree? Or would they be treated like animals in the zoo, behind glass for spectators to watch their every move?
What kind of life was that for a child? I wasn’t sure I could handle it as an adult.
Thankfully, Liam texted, announcing that he and Amy had returned home just as I was on the verge of hyperventilation with the weight of it all. It was nearing midnight, but I needed to vent. Praying he wasn’t too jet-lagged, I replied, asking if we could talk. I held my breath as those three dots indicating he was typing flashed across my phone screen. Finally, his response came through that I should meet him in his office.
This late at night, it was unlikely that anyone else was up and roaming the hallways, so I left the apartment clad in only my flannel pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved T-shirt. While it was slightly eerie traversing the dimmed palace corridors, it reminded me of the night I snuck out to meet Lucy at the club.
Damn, I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Images of Lucy uninhibited and free were popping into my brain with alarming frequency.
Reaching Liam’s office, I found him inside waiting for me, a glass of brown liquor in his hand.
Relieved at seeing a friendly face at last, I breathed out as I entered the room, “Please, tell me you have one of those for me.”
Fixing me with a knowing look, Liam silently poured me a glass, and I took a sip, allowing the high-quality bourbon to burn as it traveled down my throat.
Not quite ready to talk about my troubles, I asked him, “How was the flight?”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “That’s why you begged to meet in the middle of the night?”
I shrugged. “Humor me.”
“Smooth skies, no complaints.”
“That’s good.” I nodded.
“You’re obviously dragging your feet, so I’ll cut to the chase. Would you like to tell me why I had to find out about my sister’s engagement from an online news article?”
I took another sip of bourbon. “Maybe I didn’t want to hear you gloat about how you were right from day one.”
Liam sighed. “You know I’d never do that. What happened?”
