AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Sir, I wish to speak with the utmost respect,” Woodrow begins.
I raise my eyebrows at him and wait. Nadine finishes for him.
“Look. All you need is a good look in the mirror right now to see that you are in no state to be attending races and charity galas. Sir, you need to clean up. At the very least, you need to give the physical appearance that all is well. You cannot be seen in London’s high society looking like—well.” She sweeps an arm to indicate my entire appearance. “This.”
“And youcannotbring that person to your mother’s gala,” Woodrow points out hastily.
What he means is that Iprobablyshouldn’t bring Willow Lynch, the grifter from Greenleigh, to my mother’s gala. Willow Lynch is as much part of my mother’s world as a spider belongs on Carrera marble. She would be a disaster and an embarrassment; she’d horrify my mother and probably humiliate herself—and, by extension, me—beyond any possible redemption.
But that’s exactly the reason I’m sorely tempted to bring her to the gala.
My mother’s ire would be a small amusement; Willow’s humiliation would be an exquisite gratification.
“Where is your sense of whimsy, Ned?” I say with a slight grin. “Willow’s not going to attack me in front of the most important people in London, Ned, and if she does, you know perfectly well that my mother would have her arrested before she could ever lay a finger on me.”
“Anotherfinger,” Woodrow corrects me.
I brush my hand over my cheek. “She certainly laid all five on me last night.”
“This is not healthy, sir,” Woodrow says in a softer tone, his shoulders slumping. “You deserve better than this.”
“Are you quite certain?” I ask with a smile.
Woodrow sighs. Nadine tilts her head, the tips of her dyed hair brushing her shoulders.
“A short holiday away,” she says. “You skipped your summer break last year, after all. Go away for a while—perhaps the chalet in Verbier or the Lake Como villa. Rest, recover, gather yourself. I’ll stay here to keep an eye on your hooligan girlfriend, and Edward will handle CHOKE in your absence.”
Although this suggestion savours strongly of retreat and cowardice, I take a moment to consider. All I need to do, to see the merit in Nadine’s words, is turn my mind to yesterday’s events. The mad run through the woods, my heart pounding, the rock to my shoulder, Willow’s knife flashing, the blow she struck to my temple.
Despite my assurances to the contrary, control has been slipping my grasp. And not because of Willow’s violence. Violence is only ever just violence. The most disturbing thing about last night wasn’t Willow’s willingness to hurt me.
It was the visceral pleasure I felt when she slapped my face, the hot rush of blood straight to my cock when she sneered and mocked me. The odd expression in Willow’s eyes when she saw my bruised face, a sickening sort of pityingwant.
Hating Willow and hurting Willow is simple and brutal and clean. Being hurt by Willow and fingering Willow—those things felt murkier.
Murkiest of all is what I felt last night when I saw the expression in Willow’s eyes. I would die before admitting it, but in that moment, I wanted to fuck her. Not for punishment or to humiliate her. I wanted to fuck her for no other reason than I imagined, in that moment, howgoodit might feel to fuck Willow Lynch.
“Alright.”
Woodrow’s mouth drops open. Nadine smiles. “Alright?”
“Yes. Let’s do Verbier. One month. Minimal staff, and I would like the dogs there. I’ll fly out tomorrow, my things can follow, my bow and arrows too. Woodrow, CHOKE is doing well at the moment, so I’d like you to liaise with me only if something out of the ordinary comes up. Nadine, you need not stay here the entire time. Have a small security detail keep an eye on Ms Lynch, her comings and goings. So long as she does not damage my property, she is a free woman. No need to interfere unless she’s about to do something particularly diabolical.”
“Understood,” Nadine says. “I’ll put a team together, and we’ll keep our normal people on surveillance just in case.”
“And I’ll inform your father you’ll be absent,” Woodrow adds. The colour has somewhat returned to his face, and the overall mood in the room seems to have lifted significantly. “I’ll have any important meetings rescheduled. Everything here will run perfectly smoothly in your absence, sir, I assure you.”
“Everything?” I repeat.
But it’s only to irk Woodrow, and he doesn’t even take the bait.
When I return downstairsfrom my shower, dressed and ready to take the dogs for their morning walk around the grounds, I find Cerberus gone and the french windows agape. There’s a tightness in my chest, like my heartstrings are being stitched shut. For a second, all I can do is stand completely still, hands fisted at my side.
Willow Lynch, I vow to myself.If you’ve so much as touched a hair on Cerberus, I will burn you alive and stomp your ashes to dust.
Striding across the room, I fling the window open and step out onto the patio where Willow tackled me to the floor last night. There’s no trace of the commotion: last night’s snowfall has covered everything with a white blanket.
In that flawless white expanse, boot prints form a curving path through the grounds in the direction of the lake to the south of the property. Around the boot prints, smaller pawprints tell me that wherever Willow’s gone, she’s takenmydogs with her.
