Page 81 of These Family Ties

The words are a promise as they hang in the air between us, heavy with wrath and hatred, but I don’t let that deter me.

“You didn’t think I was so little when I was buried inside your tight cunt, Delphine.” Lowering my voice to a gravelly whisper, I let my words skim across her lips. “So wet and eager for me as you drank my blood like a goddamn vampire.”

She drops me like I’ve burned her, taking three steps backwards, until her legs hit her desk. Leaning against it, she rubs her face with a deep sigh. “What do you want Weston? What’s your plan here? Blackmail?”

Her shoulders droop, and I don’t like the way she’s shrinking in on herself. No, I wanted her to fight with me. To raise her head and threaten to hurt me. To actually hurt me. And then I wanted her to kiss away the pain until we were both naked and spent.

“I’m not going away, baby.” It’s the truth. I wasn’t going to be ignored any longer. I wasn’t some used tissue to be discarded in the trash. I was a Harrington, whether she liked me or not. “You may have dominated me in Club Toska—which was incredibly hot by the way—but outside of those walls it’s fair game and I’m prepared to fight my way to the top.”

“What. Do. You. Want?” She repeats, glaring at me.

Tilting my head back, I stare at the ceiling, pretending to think about my answer. I don’t need to think about it, since she made that first cut everything had changed. Her initials were carved on my chest because I was hers. Now I needed her to be mine. It was that simple. “Hmmmm. Let’s see…I wanted your house—I got that. I wanted your business, well my rightful share, and now I have that too. So, I guess all that’s left is you, Delphine.”

She scoffs, rubbing her temples. “Me? I’m your, aunt you sick fuck.”

“Sick fuck. Say it again, I like how it sounds on your lips.” I chuckle. “And according to you, you’re not related to me at all Delphine. Which is it?”

Rolling her eyes, she pushes off her desk and moves around to the other side, rooting through the drawers until she finds whatever it is she's looking for.

“Look, what will it take for you to scurry back into the hole you crawled out of? Money? How much?” She pulls out a check book. I didn’t realize people still used those.

I spread my arms out across the back of her couch. “I’m not going anywhere. At least, not until I get everything I’m owed.”

What I wanted now was so much more than money. I wanted to ruin everything, destroy Nexus, bring her to her knees, and then I wanted to fuck her until she begged for me to save her. Until she gave me every last part of her.

With an exaggerated sigh, I drop my business card onto the table before pushing to my feet and sliding my hands into my pockets. “I’ll be in touch with my demands, and if you choose to ignore them, well, I guess we’ll just have to see how many board members are really on your side.” I shrug again. “You know how threatened they feel about having a woman at the helm.”

Her jaw clenches as she walks towards me and jabs a finger into my shoulder with a growl, pressing against the wound on my pec. “I’ve led this company for years.”

I raise a brow and smirk. “And I’ve got a cock. What’s your point?”

“You bastard.”

That one makes me genuinely laugh. For everything my parents may or may not have done, this was probably the only thing they ever did right. “Oh, no. My parents were very much married when I was born. I may be many, many things but a bastard actually isn’t one of them.”

Brushing some imaginary lint from my jacket, I glance around her bookshelves, taking in the certificates and photos of her with friends and family. My gaze lands on an old family picture, where my father had his arms wrapped around his baby sister, looking at her adoringly. Oh, how things changed. I tap my finger against the glass before turning back to my aunt. “I’ll call you, Delphine. Make sure you answer when I do.”

I stroll from her office with a wide smile. As the door swings shut behind me, I hear something smash against it on the other side and my aunt yelling. “Get me that fucking Volkov cunt on the phone. I’m going to kill him!”

Oops. I should probably warn Alexi that she is gunning for him. As I make my way back to the boardroom, I find it mostly empty, with only a few people lingering.

“Ah, Weston, my boy.” Lance calls, waving me over with a satisfied, smug expression. “The meeting has been rearranged. We’ll have to introduce you to everyone next time.”

Stage two: complete.

Chapter Seven

Delphine

Everything was starting to fray at the seams. My board were watching my every move, whispering about my nephew behind my back where they thought I couldn’t hear them and to make matters worse, the fucker called and demanded that I meet him at The Top Hat. I don’t know why he thinks a brothel is the right place to discuss the terms of him leaving Nexus alone, but here I am, waiting to be shown to our table.

I’d ever been to the Top Hat before, so I’d been unsure what to wear. In the end I’d opted for a simple black halter neck backless dress that had strands of pearls crossing and trailing down from my neck to the bottom of my back. The front dipped low, but was still suitable for public appearances.

A petite woman in glittery lingerie leads me up the stairs to a private room with a seductive smile. There’s a large viewing window, overlooking the stage below and for a moment, I’m so distracted taking it all in that I miss Weston sitting on one of the leather chairs, watching me with hungry eyes.

The room is small, with a small table, a curved booth seating area and two armchairs positioned closer to the window.

He sits there, looking handsome in another black suit, legs spread wide as he nurses a whiskey. “You look beautiful this evening.”

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