AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mr. Filmore sounds charming, but they usually do. It’s bred into them. He’s not interested in me as much as whatever I bring to the table for his future campaigns. That doesn’t mean we won’t possibly click. We could. But that’s secondary to the stakes—a truth bred into me.
While my family would never come out and say it, I’ve been raised as a pawn. A tool to achieve what they deem as greatness. It would be easy to resent them for it, except behind their misguided notions is their estimation of my worth and value.
They don’t see me as a pretty face with nothing to offer. They see me as a secret weapon, full of talents that can work in their favor, carrying on the honor of the Carver name.
“Cee, with the right placement, a pawn gets promoted to a queen. And you know who calls checkmate more than anyone? The queen. You hold all the power, squirt. You just don’t know it.” My older brother, Ben, gifted me that perspective when I was fifteen.
The men in my family always view life through the lens of a chess match. In fact, the only Carver who wouldn’t hold their own in a national chess championship is my mother. That doesn’t mean she should be underestimated though. She’s a brilliant strategist in her own right, wholeheartedly agreeing with my brother.
“That’s the truth, beautiful girl. It’s like wearing an elegant evening gown that only hints at your assets, as is expected from a cultivated lady, all the while going pantyless underneath. Never let them see, always keep them guessing, and play their game. When you finally reveal what you’re hiding beneath that plastic veneer they’ve forced you to craft, you’ll render them speechless long enough to seize it all.”
My mother came from nothing. She was raised by a single father, who struggled with drug addiction. Much of her childhood was in and out of foster care. But against all odds, she mastered the game and married a millionaire. My father is tightly wrapped around her finger, so she speaks from experience.
Play their game. Hold the power. Be the pawn who becomes the queen and wins the whole damn battle.
That’s always at the center of my thoughts when I’m making choices. Even if I have no idea what war I’m a pawn in. I’ll find my way. Every move has a consequence.
Every action, a reaction.
It’s why the majority of my sexual exploits are limited to giving head. I get off on the power.
A woman who drops to her knees is a woman who can knock a man on his ass.
I even had a guy crymax on me once. The playboy was embarrassed and rightfully so. I’m not one to sex shame, whether it be kinks or fervid emotion. We just certainly weren’t there yet, but I thanked him. It was a checkmate kind of achievement for me. In most cases, I don’t ask for anything in return. My vibrator has proven superior in that department.
Shoving that voice mail to the back of my mind, I return my attention to my surroundings. The car pulls up to an ornamental wrought iron gate, and Arnold announces our identity to the guard shack. The house isn’t visible from here. It sits at the end of a winding brick driveway behind a curtain of vast evergreen and scantily clad shade trees. All one hundred sixty acres are fenced inside a stone wall, encasing the property.
Once we’re granted approval, the gate glides open slowly, and we wheel forward until the sprawling French chateau comes into focus—soft white with a charcoal-gray gable roof, dormer windows, balconies, and a stately stone stairway, fringed by matching round white columns. Every detail is pristine—from the exemplary landscaping to the lavish driveway fountain.
It’s a bit ostentatious in its grandeur, and I come from money. But Ivy’s plan is that it will house not only the family she and Wells create, but also the wives and families of their three dearest friends—Ty, Gage, and Liam. It’s an odd setup, but she’s deliriously happy, so I stopped questioning her about their bizarre family dynamic.
When Arnold cuts the engine, Dante helps me out of the back while the rest of my team unloads my luggage.
“You can go on up, Cee.” Rex jerks his chin to the French mansion. “Wells would prefer that we not enter the main house, so we’ll carry the luggage up and check on you later.”
“Whatever you need, as always,” Keith adds while Dante throws in a goading, “Give ’em hell, Celeste.”
Dante appreciates my rebellious antics. They all do, but Keith stresses the most. He’s got a girl to get home to. It’s made him all warm, fuzzy, and introspective, so he prefers everything to run smoothly. As the head of my team, Rex masks his amusement when I cause trouble, but it’s always there beneath the surface. And Arnold has been around my family since before I was born, which is why he simply chuckles and winks.
My guys aren’t worried about Wells though, who is paranoid and suspicious of anyone who isn’t a resident of the manor before us. They always afford me as much freedom as possible, and my father approves because he trusts both Ivy and Wells. There’s a guardhouse on the property, in which my security team will bunk while I’m here.
While I really do plan to be on my best behavior for this trip, I scoff in mock offense and flourish a cheeky smirk before sauntering up the walkway. “Well, I never. I’m a proper lady. What would I possibly do?”
Their volleyed laughter warms me. We don’t get overly personal, but they’re like extended family nonetheless.
Before I even reach the top step of the porch to rap the gorgeous, antique door knocker, the massive arched wooden door flies open, revealing my bestie with her swept-back ginger locks, gleaming blue eyes, and a megawatt grin. While I’d like to tackle her with a proper greeting, the opening notes of Chuck Berry’s “You Can Never Tell” blare from the house, so I stay in character.
This silly reunion has all the flare of our younger, freer days, but is especially hilarious now that she’s a cabal boss. Although, considering her new position, role-playing gangsters seems about right.
And I’m generally up for anything.
Ignoring the pinched eyebrows on the four men gaping behind her, I quickly step inside, kick off my boots, and begin to twist.
Trying to ignore might be more accurate. My body vibrates with an awareness that’s tough to deny. The cocky one in the back always pulls my gaze, no matter how hard I strive to force it away. It’s like Liam Graves is on the other side of a pendulum I’m involuntarily attached to. My focus always swings to him.
Infuriating, but we all have character flaws.
Ivy is cloaked in one of her husband’s black suit jackets, hiding her round belly. It doesn’t seem to be throwing her off-balance a bit as she nimbly adds in the Monkey and the Hitchhiker. So, I match her energy with the Swim and the Jerk. She makes me feel fifteen again—the last time life was simple. Oddly, her life is as far from simple as it gets. But she’s unabashedly herself, no matter the circumstances. Goals.
