Page 22 of Ruthless King

When I closed the door and turned back, she was standing in front of me. She was more beautiful up close, and I wanted to reach out and pull her to me, but before I could speak, she held her hands up to stop my advance. “Why did you let him die?”

She wasn’t the young girl I had just seen from my bedroom window, but a full-grown woman with full lips pulled into a sexy pout, and her breasts were straining against a very tight tank top. When she blinked up at me, waiting for a response, my body moved toward her once again. This time, she didn’t pull away but allowed me to engulf her in a powerful hug that said more than words ever would. I held her close to me as she sobbed uncontrollably into my neck. “Shh, please don’t cry. I’m so sorry.”

“How could you let him die? Why didn’t you tell me?” Her words ripped my heart. Suddenly, her arms broke from my hold, and her hands were flying to my face, scratching and clawing as she lost her ability to reason. I felt my body lunging backward, free-falling until it met the icy water.

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Jolted awake, I struggled to catch my breath. My lungs felt as though they had been inflated, but the air had no way to escape. Had I been holding my breath? My heart hammered in my chest, and sweat coursed down my face, causing strands of hair to cling to my forehead as my entire body shook from the episode.

A dream. A fucking dream. This one was different from all the others. Usually, the scene played out in front of me exactly like it happened. Two siblings, playing on the frozen lake when one of them falls to his death, and I am powerless to prevent the devastation. One life snuffed out before it had a chance to mature, and the other mercilessly thrust into a grief-stricken existence.

Throwing the blanket back, I sprang to my feet, pulling at my hair and thinking about my next move. I had spent the last two decades distancing myself from those events and spent a hell of a lot of money on therapy. What good did that do when I still woke up in a cold sweat, heart pounding out of my chest? This secret had both tormented and shaped the person I am today and whether or not that’s a good thing remains to be seen. My family has no idea my part in this tragedy, and I thought the longer I waited, the easier it would be to obliterate it from memory.

Boy, had I misjudged that one. When Knight revealed it was Molly’s brother who had drowned that spring, he had no idea I was involved. I had pushed that memory into the recesses of my mind, and except for the frequent nightmares, I was able to float through my life with minimal effort. The craving for more pushed my determination to move past the guilt. With each new acquisition, the power intensified and with each million my resolve was solidified.

But all of this was based on the life I had built in New York, my professional persona. I knew my resolve was weakened as soon as I laid eyes on Molly Steel. The ruthlessness it took to construct an empire meant nothing when compared to the innocence in her eyes. Even before I knew her history, I felt a certain connection with this beautiful enchantress. Her silly laugh, the way her ass swayed when she walked away, the feel of her gloving my cock.

It wasn’t purely physical, although that could not be overlooked. Her heart, her soul, everything about her screamed mine, mine, mine. I had to find the right time. I had to tell her the truth, even though it could mean the end of whatever we had. The time for honesty had come and gone, and I couldn’t let another day pass without trusting her with my heart.

When I picked up the phone to call her, it rang in my hand. Looking down, I muttered a few choice words. “Hello, brother, what can I do for you?”

Hearing my youngest brother’s voice this early should have brought a smile to my face, but my mind was twisted up this morning. I needed to get to my girl before I lost my nerve. After a few pleasantries and comments regarding yesterday’s barbecue, we disconnected, and I pushed the number I had programmed into my phone the first time I met her. Buttercup was assigned the coveted first place on my speed dial screen.

“Hello.” Her voice was sunshine and velvet, and her classic Southern accent inched its way into my unsuspecting heart. Every time I heard the sounds coming from her plush pink lips, lips that were made to kiss, my cock stirred to life.

“Buttercup, good morning,” I said, adjusting my pants to accommodate my growing erection. My nerves were getting the best of me, and I hoped she couldn’t hear the crack in my voice. “What are you doing today?” I could practically see her rolling her eyes at my question.

“Well, it’s Sunday, and I’m opening the store for Knight, so I guess I will be working. What about you?” Working on a Sunday? My brother was a hard ass sometimes.

“I thought Knight was keeping the store closed for the rest of the weekend.”

Her enthusiasm was palpable as she continued. “He wanted to close, but I volunteered to do inventory and give customers a chance to shop for a few hours. I should close up around six.”

Trying to hide the disappointment, I tried a different approach. “So, what are your plans after you close up today?”

“That depends.”

Okay, I could bite. “On what?”

This time, she didn’t hesitate to answer. “On you.”

I couldn’t hide my amusement. “Oh, well, I’d really like to take you to dinner at the Lux if you won’t be too tired from all your inventorying.”

“Pick me up at seven, and you’ve got a date.”

“See you then, Buttercup. End of.”

I was feeling hopeful as I ended the call. Tonight needed to be special, and I was willing to pull out all the stops. My flight back to New York was leaving in two days, and I wanted to clear the air and hopefully mend fences before I left.

My brother Ben answered on the first ring. “Ben, hey listen, man, I need your best table tonight. Spare no expense.” He promised to have it all ready by seven. The nineteen sixty-one Dom Perignon was unattainable on such short notice, but my brother kept a stock of the nineteen seventy-five, so that would have to do. I wanted to reserve the entire bar area despite the fact that the hotel was at full capacity. Ben immediately nixed that idea but offered the west ballroom instead. I would make it work.

Since Molly would be occupied most of the day, I took advantage of my time and stopped by the gym, getting in an impromptu six-mile run followed by a steam shower before heading back over to my parents’ house. I promised my dad I would look over some paperwork his lawyer had given him regarding estate planning.

When I arrived, it was my mom who met me on the front porch with a kiss on the cheek. “Courtland, darling, it’s so good to see you. Come on in. Your father is out back, but before you go out, I need to ask you something. I didn’t want to bother your brothers with this, but since you’re technically the oldest, I thought you could shed some light for us.” Her eyes were sparkling, yet they held a sadness I had not noticed before.

“Mom, what is it?” She grasped my hand and quietly led me to the sitting room, where she took a seat on the leather sofa and patted the spot next to her. Obeying her silent command, I sat down and slipped my arms around her shoulders. It took me back to my childhood when her hugs could heal any hurt. Breathing in the subtle scent of vanilla and honey, she let me hold her for a moment before she pulled away and wiped an errant tear from her cheek.

“I’m sorry. I told myself I wouldn’t cry and look at me making a mess of my makeup.” Her laughter mixed with a few more tears that escaped her eyes made me smile back at this incredible woman who meant the world to me.

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