AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s just dinner. What’s the harm?”
“As far as I’m concerned, we’ve had our meeting. I have no reason to speak to you again, let alone be in the same room as you.”
“We don’t have to speak if you don’t want to,” I murmured.
She could curl into my body, and I could thrust into her again and again until she shuddered and came apart in my arms.
I stood, pushing her leg back as I moved into her space. “I’m going to be seeing a lot more of you, whether you want to or not.” I reached for her, hoping to cup her cheek. “Get used to seeing this face, love, because I won’t —”
A knock at the door cut me off, my hand inches from her hair.
“Oh, dear.” She put a hand to her chest, sarcastically breathless. “I guess our time is up. Whatever shall we do?” She looked at me like she’d won.
“Cat…”
“Get out of my way, Max.” her voice was frigid. I caught a hint of her lilies and lavender scent as she pushed past me, striding towards the door.
I wanted to believe she was escaping, but she was completely in control. I watched her walk away. The shape of her arse in that suit was a sin, one I’d gladly revel in.
The tension evaporated the second the door opened, and Bunny burst back in, dominating the space. “Oh, no! I’m not interrupting, am I? You were taking so long! I just wanted to make sure I had enough time for a dress fitting before the Vogue interview.” She sent us both a sunny smile. “I’ve booked a meeting for next week, but we’ll need to check our schedules to confirm.” She glided into the room, her eyes fixed on me. “Babe,” she whined as she clutched at my arm, “it’s way later than I thought. We need to get going.”
I admired the way Bunny made everything about her. It helped cover up my disappointment that Cat didn’t rise to the bait. We’d barely said anything to each other. I wasted time letting her sheer presence get to me instead of spilling everything I needed to say.
Bunny spent five more agonising minutes chattering to Cat, despite us needing to leave, bombarding her with information about our 'engagement party' and Cat’s dress, and making Cat promise she’ll wear it because she’ll look totally fabulous and it would make Bunny so, so happy! I watched in awe as Cat navigated Bunny’s chattering. It was something I’d rarely seen people do.
Even though she was facing me as Bunny went on, Cat didn’t look at me once, keeping her eyes fixed on Bun despite me staring at her like a creep the whole time. She was deliberately ignoring me, and I liked it. I wanted to draw on everything I had to make her see me.
Bunny finally stopped and actually paid attention to Cat. That’s when Cat moved into action.
A change came over her as she went from patient lawyer to conspiring friend, giving me a sly look before leaning forward, a hand cupping her mouth like she was sharing a secret. “You are such a lucky woman, Bun. I mean,Max Rider. What a catch. I’ve heardsomuch about him.”
Her eyes flicked to mine. It wasn’t a compliment.
Newspapers reported anything they could, and the internet hurled out all kinds of shit, most of it fake, but the scandals that hit Clutch when Goss was still with us hung like a dark cloud above the band. Did that mean she’d researched me? That she’d been watching my life as I’d tried to do with hers? She wasn’t the most famous of the Fischer family, but she was well-known enough to get snapped at galas and red-carpet events.
Cat leant forward, pulling Bunny into a hug while shooting me a look that saidI will bury you in the groundbefore pulling back and going through the usual round of air kisses.
Her look excited me, her disdain lighting me up. Just there, for those brief moments, I felt alive and ready to answer her call. I wanted to demand she tell me what she needed to either soothe or stoke the fire within her, the one blazing for us.
I could be anything she wanted. All she had to do was ask.
Max
Igroaned as I slid into the seat of my car, wanting to bang my head against the wheel. The valet handed over the keys, standing there, starstruck as Bunny wrenched open the door and flung herself in.
I couldn’t decide if the meeting was a blessing or a curse. My body was buzzing from Cat’s touch, her passion, her anger. Every moment that passed, I’d wanted more of her, needed to feel her, needed her to sink her teeth into me so I knew she was real, that this wasn’t another alcohol-induced fever dream that slipped through my fingers the moment I sobered up.
Why was she so angry? What did she think I’d done that made her react that way? Not that I didn’t love it, but I was sure it was connected to why she vanished without a trace.
I’d spent ten years wondering what happened, going crazy missing her, and writing some of the best songs of my life.
Cat was the one who picked me up and saved me when I thought life had no meaning. My parents were taken away from me in one harsh night. I didn’t even have the chance to say goodbye before they died in a car crash. Cat had been my lifeline, saving me, restoring me, and filling me with hope. She let me move in with her so I didn’t have to live in their house; she comforted me whenever the pain became too much, and she'd loved me unconditionally.
Bunny had trailed behind me the whole way down from Cat’s office, glaring at me in the mirrors of the elevator as they descended to the foyer. It looked like I’d found a way to shut her up.
She was used to this level of opulence, but it got to me that people lived like this every day. I grew up in a council flat, going to a public school, watching my parents run themselves into the ground, trying to keep the family afloat and the corner shop open, despite having a steady stream of customers. Bunny didn’t know what kind of life that was. She couldn’t see how much money it took to sustain her lifestyle. One million pounds meant nothing to her, when it used to mean everything to me.
She refused to look at me as I threw her a smile from the driver’s seat. “Ready to go, darling?” I asked, knowing it would annoy her.
