Page 97 of Ruin
Once she’s regained her breath, I smooth her skirt back down and cup her face in my hands. “I’m fast becoming addicted to hearing that sound.” I nip her lower lip. “The little moans you make right before you come are music to my ears.”
She kisses me, pressing her body in close to mine, and I wrap my arms around her.
“Well, I guess you’ll be hearing it a lot then, because I’m horny as fuck all the time now, and it’s entirely your fault.”
I chuckle before kissing her neck and straightening once more. “I’d say I’m sorry, but we both know I’m lying.”
She steps back reluctantly, and I squeeze her hip before letting her go and heading into my office to make a few calls.
By the time we arrive at Joseph’s office on Monday morning, any progress I’d made in keeping her relaxed is long gone. We’d timed it so that he was coming from another meeting and would be taken off guard. Fortuitously, his new assistant saw us into the conference room to wait, so it’s all working out perfectly. The three of us, along with Dark Desires company lawyer, Gerald, sit tensely on one side of the long table, waiting for the arsehole to arrive.
I hear him before I see him. He’s always had a booming voice, most likely thinking that his volume correlates with his power. But I’ve long learned that is far from true.
He’s giving his assistant instructions as he walks into the room, looking back over his shoulder at the meek young woman who let us in here. I’m not sure what happened to his last assistant, but it tracks that he’s got multiple young women working for him.
“DeLuca. I knew I’d be seeing you again,” he says, his eyes shifting between myself and Daniel.
And then his face pales when his gaze falls on the woman sitting beside me.
“I’d say it’s good to see you again, Joseph, but we all know that would be a lie… And I don’t tell those,” I say, crossing my arms.
He stands in the doorway, his eyes bouncing from me to Lilyand back again, and I can almost see the lies forming in his mind.
“I see you’ve been telling them all sorts of bullshit about me, Lily.”
I keep a tight grip on my emotions, ensuring that ‘master of control’ face - as Annika, Imogen and now Lily have all called it - is firmly in place while I inspect him. Much like I would a cockroach scurrying along the floor.
Beside me, Lily takes a deep breath and lifts her chin as she stares him down. I see no trace of the anxious woman who had lain beside me in bed this morning. I only see a warrior, staring down her foe.
“I didn’t need to tell them anything, Joseph. Daniel found me after you left me unconscious in a pool of blood on the floor of the house my father built us, remember?” She cocks her head to the side. “How is my father, by the way? I bet he’s been wondering what happened to his meal ticket.”
Pride surges in my chest at the conviction in her voice, and I hold back the smirk threatening to break free, instead taking note of the way Joseph’s hands ball into fists at his sides.
“So what is this, then? An intervention of some kind? And who are you?” he demands, glaring at Gerald.
On Lily’s other side, Gerald crosses his arms and holds the man’s gaze, completely unflappable. “I’m their lawyer.”
Joseph scoffs. “Oh, so you’ve come to try and intimidate me then? Bringing your fancy lawyer down to my office? Of course you need a lawyer, I’m sure you arseholes are constantly having to buy people off to look the other way with all your dirty dealings.”
I lean forward to rest my forearms on the table, holding his gaze. “The only person in this room involved in any dirty dealings is you, Joseph. So sit your arse down, and let’s talk. And maybe, if I’m feeling charitable, I won’t lay all your shit out foreveryone to see.” I jerk my head towards Lily. “But I won’t make any promises for her. If she wants to bury you alive, I’ll gladly dig that hole so deep that no one will ever come looking.”
For the first time since I’ve known him, a look of genuine fear appears behind those cold, grey eyes.
And when he slides into the chair across from me, I let him see my true nature, not even a little concerned about hiding my sharp edges.
43
ANYTHING FOR YOU
LILY
I don’t uttera single word as Sebastian, Daniel and Gerald lay it all out for Joseph, and an hour later I’ve got a divorce application signed and on it’s way through the proper channels. Along with a signed settlement agreement that gives me more than enough money and assets so that I’m no longer dependent on the DeLuca brothers.
A nice shiny domestic violence order being held over his head if he ever tries to contact me again is the cherry on top.
Sebastian knew all his pain points and went after each and every one of them, while I sat there, watching the arsehole squirm with my expression perfectly schooled into a mask of indifference. I guess I learned a thing or two from Sebastian and Daniel, after all.
Once everything is signed, I get to my feet and look down at the man who has been the source of so much pain for me over the years, feeling nothing but disgust at the snivelling piece of shit staring back at me.
