Page 68 of The Passion

“My darling.” Fulton stands and reaches for me, and I know I need to let him kiss me on the cheek like he usually does, even though I told Flynn I wouldn’t let him touch me.

A kiss is the money shot for the photographer.

I lean toward him as he kisses me on the cheek more affectionately than just a hello kiss. His deep whisper has me shuddering. “I’ve missed you deeply. I have arranged dinner in my room after we have this drink.”

Fuck, I think I’m meant to be dinner!

“Lovely to see you too, Fulton,” I say as I pull away, with the fake smile plastered on my face.

I take a seat farther away from him than I’m sure he wants. And the moment I’m seated, instead of sitting back down where he was when I arrived, he sits right beside me, so close that our bodies are touching. He places his arm around my shoulder like a boyfriend would, and I just thank the Lord that Flynn isn’t here and hope that these aren’t the photos that get posted.

Fulton already has a glass of champagne waiting for me, but I can’t stomach bubbles tonight. Signaling the drinks waiter, she is there within seconds.

“What can I get you, Lady Kentwall?” It’s one of the downsides of having a title in this city. Everyone knows who I am, and even more so after my name was splashed across the tabloids, and not in a good way. But in places like this, the staff are always very professional while on the floor and probably just gossip about me behind closed doors.

“Dewar’s scotch, no ice, thank you.” Hopefully that will take me a while to drink and also help to calm the nerves.

“Yes, madam, won’t be long.” And as I watch her walking away, I feel Fulton’s hand on my thigh, sliding his fingers a littlecloser to between my legs. Luckily it isn’t high enough that he is touching me indecently.

I wore pants for that reason, because I know that Fulton has no problem in acting sexually, in a discreet way, while in public. The first time he slipped his hand under my skirt, I was shocked, although it turned me on. But now, I can’t think of anything worse than his fingers on my bare skin.

“A nice way to ease into the evening, my dear. A smooth scotch to relax you before I devour you.” His voice is like a deep purr, and I can understand why he is never short of a lady on his arm. It’s easy to fall for that and think that you will be the golden one who will finally tame him. But I doubt this man will ever be settled with one woman. Even if he appeared to have a girlfriend or wife, I imagine she would never be enough for him, and he would wander. I didn’t see it at first, because I was blinded by my subconscious longing for Flynn and using Fulton as my distraction, but he is more like my father than I care to admit. Smooth talking, egotistical, and believes that he is superior.

Give me a night on the couch semi-naked with a cheese toastie any day over this pretentious foreplay.

Thank God the drink waitress was true to her word and has returned with my drink quickly, giving me something to focus on and do with my hands. I need to strike up a conversation so that I can shift to turn my body toward him instead of just being petted like his toy for the night.

“Where did your business travels take you this time?” The first sip of the scotch was bigger than it should have been, and I almost choke on the burn of it but manage to hold it together with a minor clearing of my throat.

My mind wanders to Flynn’s comments about looking after my throat for his pleasure and just that thought turns me on more than the man next to me.

As he starts telling me that he has just returned from Italy after spending some time in Florence, I manage to wriggle my body enough that I have put a small amount of distance between us, but it is enough to let me breathe for the first time since I sat down.

“We have a hotel in Florence, and I always enjoy staying there,” I say. “Have you eaten atRistorante Santa Elisabetta? It’s one of my favorite restaurants in the city.” I can hear a hint of nervousness in my voice, but hopefully he hasn’t detected it at all. But the more we settle into a normal conversation about food and restaurants, the time is thankfully ticking away, and I feel a little more under control. I take the smallest sips of my scotch to stretch it out. Obviously not well enough, because for a man who insists he has some super patience, I can see him starting to move closer and becoming touchier again.

“Perhaps we can take your drink upstairs with us. I’m starving. I’ve been waiting all day for this dinner.” He winks at me, and I want to vomit.

I throw his own words back at him. “That’s what you like, though, to use your patience, as you know dinner will be tastier after the wait.” I can see that he likes when someone plays the game with him by the way his eyes are dilating and going that deep black. This man is easier to play than I realized. You just need to match him at his own game.

“Mmm, I do love to savor the taste of a good meal.” Lifting my hand, he kisses the top of it for longer than necessary.

“Please excuse me for a moment, I need to visit the powder room.” Pushing myself up off the seat quickly, I don’t wait for him to say anything. I just turn and head to the corridor where the bathrooms are. The moment I’m in the stall, I grab my phone and text Harper that I need to get out of here a bit faster than intended. Although I look at the time and I only would have hadto make it through another ten minutes, but even that feels too long.

Harper: I told you this was a dumb idea.

Felisha: Shut up, bitch, and just get me out of here.

Felisha: I’m walking out now, give me 5 minutes and then call.

Harper: Understood. It’s SOS time.

Felisha: You have no idea.

Harper: What? Wait. What happened?

Felisha: Later. 5 minutes!

I place my phone back in my purse before I leave the bathroom so it doesn’t look like I was talking to anyone. Although I know it’s going to look suspicious that I get a call five minutes after the bathroom, but I don’t care.

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