Blind Girl: A Dark Billionaire Romance (17 page)

“Please.”

The force behind the word shakes me inside. I sigh and step closer to the car. My arm brushes against his body as I pass by him and I smell his faint cologne on the air. It briefly sends me back in time and I quiver softly as I slide into the seat.

“Hello, Ms. Hughes.”

I look up and see Harvey glancing back at me in the rearview mirror. “Hi, Harvey,” I greet him.

“You look wonderful,” he says with a smile.

“Thank you.”

Charles enters the car and closes the door behind him. “Would you excuse us, Harvey?”

“Right away, Mr. Kent.” Harvey presses a button and a black barrier slides up between the compartments.

I press myself as close to the door as possible to keep enough distance between the two of us. My heart wretches with crippling nostalgia as I remember the last moment I spent in this car. When I glance up, I notice him looking me up and down. “It’s a uniform,” I say, making note of my white waitress gear.

Charles smiles. “It’s no Faleuro gown, but you make it work.”

“What do you want, Charles?” I ask.

He pauses for a moment before reaching below his seat. A chill flows down my back when he rises again and he holds a black box in his hand. It’s the same kind of box he used to send me the dress five years ago, only a little smaller, and complete with the deep red ribbon tying it together.

“It wouldn’t have been appropriate to give this to you during your party,” he says as he lays the box onto my lap.

I grip it with trembling fingers. “You didn’t have to get me anything,” I say.

“I wanted to,” he says. He nudges the present closer to me with his fingers. “Go ahead.”

I hesitate for a moment before my curiosity gets the better of me. I slide the ribbon off the box and peel the lid back to reveal a wooden photo frame nestled in black tissue paper.

“Charles…” I breathe his name as I study the photo. It’s been five years since I’ve laid eyes on it. It’s the photo of me, standing against the hotel room windows in that blue dress, staring off into the city below. “What are you doing?” I ask him as I slowly catch my breath again.

His lips curl at my reaction. “I thought you might want to have it,” he says.

“It’s… beautiful,” I say as I trace a finger around the edge of the wooden frame, instantly recognizing the smooth flower petals carved into it from his mother’s vanity. “This is…”

“Yes,” he confirms.

“Thank you, Charles.”

He reaches across my lap quickly and snatches my left hand before I can react. I let him pull it closer to him as his warmth surges up my arm. It triggers me and my blood pounds through my body, awakening every part of me.

“Hmm…” he hums at he squeezes my ring between his fingers.

“I’m getting married,” I whisper slowly.

“I know.”

I look up at him. He keeps his grip on me and my heart beats faster every second. “Did she tell you?” I ask him.

He shakes his head once. “No, it was just obvious,” he says, his eyes still locked on my finger.

I open my mouth to speak, to tell him I’m sorry, but I bite my tongue as I think better of it. “He, uh—”

Charles drops my hand and pushes the car door open. I close my lips, slowly slide down the seat with the open present in hand, and step out onto the sidewalk after him.

“I’m happy for you, Alice,” he says I stand up.

“Are you?” I ask.

“Of course.”

I stare up into his eyes and I know that he’s lying. “Charles, you don’t have to pretend with me,” I say.

“No one is pretending,” he says, holding my eyes. “Your happiness was always my priority, Alice.”

“Charles…”

“If you’ll excuse me, I must get back to work.”

I slink backward and step away from the car. “Okay.” He brushes past me and lowers himself back into the car. “Charles—” I say. He looks up at me with his hand gripping the door. “Thank you,” I say again. “For this.” I nod towards the black box in my hands.

His lip curls to one side. “Thank
you
, Alice,” he says before shutting the door.

I watch as the black car rolls off down the street and wait until it rounds the corner before returning to the diner.

I sit down in the booth across from Gabby. She eyes the black box, blinking repeatedly at it, as I slide it over to the far side of the table away from me. My entire body screams with energy as his power courses through me, tickling my fingers and toes.

“So…” Gabby breaks the silence. “Do you want to talk about that?”

I shake my head. “Not really,” I say weakly.

“Okay.” She taps her nails against the table for a few seconds. “How about now?”

“Not yet.”

She leans in. “Okay, how about
now
because I’m
dying
over here.”

I fall forward and cover my face with my hands. I can still feel the heat radiating off my body. The thrill of being near him, of feeling his skin, of smelling his scent — I can’t handle it. “He’s dating my mother,” I say against my fingers.

“I’m sorry —
what?
”

I sit back and take a deep breath. “Percy and I went to see her last week for my birthday and he was there.” The words spill off my lips like vomit, fast and without restraint. “They’ve been seeing each other for over a month.”

Gabby’s jaw drops. “And here we were yakking about marriage proposals when you were sitting here with
this
?!”

“I know — I know — but
obviously
it’s incredibly difficult for me to talk about, let alone think about.”

“Yeah,
obviously
.” Gabby reaches over and pulls the present closer to her. She glances inside the box and stares at the photo for a few moments. “Aww…” she says.

“What?” I ask.

“I’m just thinking about how sweet this present would be if it weren’t all creepy and weird now.”

I collapse forward again and rest my head against the cold table. I take slow, deep breaths, but they do nothing to still the thumping heart in my chest. His power over me, it’s still so strong after all these years.

“Oh, my god — they haven’t —
you know
—”

“No.” I sit up again. “She told me it’s not serious.”

“Thank Christ.” She shakes her head. “Did he
know
she was your mother?”

“He claims no,” I answer.

“Claims?” she asks. “You don’t believe him?”

“I don’t know…” I chew on my thumbnail. “It’s just so hard to believe. She and I look nearly identical and we have the same last name — I mean, how
hard
would that be to figure out?” Gabby nods, keeping silent to let me rant this through. “And we left things so…
rough
before,” I say.

“I remember,” she says.

“He told me I would regret leaving him,” I say. “Maybe he is doing this on purpose to get back at me.”

Gabby shakes her head. “I don’t know. This doesn’t seem like his style, Alice.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“Does Percy know about him?”

“
No
,” I answer. “I told him I had an affair with an older man years ago, but… he doesn’t know it was Charles and he doesn’t know any other details than that and I don’t want him to know more than that — especially now.”

“Hey…” Gabby reaches out and takes my hand. “Alice, are you okay?”

I nod slowly as the dull throbbing continues in my sex. “I will be,” I say, “but I should probably get back to work.”

She scoffs as she grabs her coat. “I admire you, Alice. I wouldn’t even be able to
walk
if I went through what you just did.”

I laugh and the weight on my shoulders feels a little lighter. “Thanks, Gabby,” I tell her as we stand up and hug each other tight.

She glances back once more at the photograph. “God, I miss that dress,” she says.

“I still have it,” I admit, “if you want it. I only wore it once.”

She raises an eyebrow. “I might have to take you up on that. The Blind Girl Party is next week and I need something to wear.”

“You’re going to that?” I laugh.

“It’s fun and nostalgic.” She blows me a kiss. “See you later.”

I say goodbye and reach into my pocket for my name tag.

***

I push open the front door after my shift and quickly lock it behind me. It’s been nearly five hours since my encounter with Charles and there’s only one thing on my mind.

“Percy?” I ask the empty room, clutching the black box to my chest.

“Yes?”

I sigh with relief and drop the present down on the counter as I march through the apartment towards the bedroom.

When I enter the room, I find him sitting at his desk in the corner. He spins around in his chair as I step inside.

“Hey,” he greets me. He pulls his glasses off his face and rubs the bridge of his nose.

I don’t say a word. I peel my uniform off and toss it to my feet. My begging slit hasn’t ceased pounding since he touched me. Percy watches me strip naked, his eyes cycling through bouts of confusion and arousal.

“Okay then,” he says.

I pull him off the chair and maneuver him to the bed. His body turns to jelly and he lets me lay him down however I want him. I straddle him and kiss him with tingling lips.

“Alice—”

I silence him with another kiss as I reach for his belt.

Don’t do that, Alice.

I purr at the sound of his voice in my head again. I let the words repeat and I allow myself to remember his touch on my skin. Thriving heat builds in sex, radiating my core.

I pull Percy’s pants to the floor. I squeeze his hard cock with my tingling fingers. Passion fuels my motions. I bite my lip, delighting in the delicious pain it brings me. I grab a condom from my nightstand drawer and return to him, ready and willing.

Percy pulls his shirt over his head to match my nudeness. He grips my body as I straddle him again and breathes heavily as I roll the rubber onto his shaft.

“Alice—”

I rub myself against his body, relishing in his hardness pressed against my engorged clitoris. The sensation is overwhelming. I’ve waited hours for this, to feel his hands on my body. I close my eyes and think only of him.

Charles.

I impale myself on Percy’s member, sheathing myself to the brim. He fills me deeply and I writhe on him, taking the pleasure that’s tortured me just out of reach.

I take him with a fearsome grind, digging my fingers into his chest to steady me. I look down at him and I see his face. His jet black hair. His forest green eyes full of desire as he bucks his hips to meet my thrusts.

“Alice…”

His voice again, that token growl. My skin pops with mini sensations. I scream at the ceiling. My nipples peak to his touch as he squeezes my breasts. I’m so close, yet so far away from my desires. His raw power consumes me as my body breaks into orgasm.

I fall limply against his chest, but my hips keep moving as I ride him. I don’t want to stop. I need this too badly. I kiss him and for a second, I taste his tongue again.

I open my eyes to see Percy staring back at me. “Fuck me,” I beg him. I roll off his body and land on my hands and knees beside him.

He moves slowly behind me, too slowly. I grip the bed sheets to calm my intensity, but it’s not enough. I need him back inside me. I need him to fill me.

Finally, his thickness splits my folds again and I twitch to feel him in me.

“Harder,” I moan. I press against him with each thrust, forcing it deeper inside. He pounds me again, giving in to my demands. “Harder!” I scream it loud and take every inch of him as he obeys me.

I stuff the corner of a pillow between my lips and bite down to keep from screaming his name.

Charles.

The man my body craves.

Charles.

The only man that’s ever kept me satisfied.

Charles.

The man I can no longer have.

The man I gave up.

I twinge once more, arching my back as a fresh climax washes over me. Percy grunts as he comes with me. His nails dig into my hips. I feel the pain of it and my skin dances.

I collapse into a heap of exhaustion against the pillows. I can barely breathe, I can barely feel anything at all.

Percy lies behind me and spoons me with his arm. “That was intense,” he speaks between breaths.

“Yeah…” I agree. I push the darkness and guilt to the edges of my mind and take Percy’s hand. We entwine our fingers and I feel his love.

Love.

Percy releases my hand and slowly rolls off the bed.

“Where are you going?” I ask him.

“Thirsty—” he simply says as he walks out of the room.

I twitch with delight, taking smooth and silent breaths, as I wait for him to return.

“Hey, Alice—” I hear him say. “What’s this?”

My stomach sinks. The gift from Charles. I push myself up in bed. “Umm—” I stutter.

He returns to the room with the black box in one hand and the photo frame in the other. “This is nice…” he says. “Did Gabby give this to you?”

I choke on the words. “Yeah— yeah…” I laugh. “Old picture from college, back when she first met Ian. She gave it to me today. Late birthday gift.”

He purses his lips and nods. “I like it,” he says.

“Come back to bed,” I urge him, my heart racing from the lie. He sets the gift down and climbs back in beside me.

Chapter 12

I’d Rather Starve

I push open the door to my childhood home and step inside.

“Hello?” I hear my mother’s voice from the back of the house, a hint of fear behind her voice.

“It’s just me, Mom,” I announce. I close the door behind me and linger in place until she enters the foyer.

I throw my arms around her immediately and bury my face in her shoulder.

“Sweetie — I didn’t know you were coming,” she says to me.

“I know,” I say. “I’m sorry. I just felt like getting out of the city for a little while.”

She pats my back, holding me in place against her. “That’s okay. You’re always welcome home whenever you want, you know that.” I inhale her scent. The natural instinct for a mother’s comfort overwhelms me. It brings tears to my eyes, but I force them away before facing her again. “What’s going on?” she asks me, searching my face.