Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

JAMES

The last time I attended The Autumn Ball was five years ago. I remember the dress Winter wore. It was purple with silvery sparkles that had moved when we danced together. I also remembered thinking that someday soon she’d be snapped up by one lucky motherfucker, who by the grace of God, had somehow managed to make her fall in love with him. I’d hate the bastard on sight and would do a thorough check on him to make sure he deserved her, which of course, he wouldn’t. That year was also the last time Leah and I were together at a formal function before our wedding in early December…just one week later. Funny how the mind chose what to remember and what to forget. Winter looked so radiant in her gorgeous dress, yet I had no earthly idea what Leah—the woman I was about to marry—had worn that night.

Since that time, I’d cared nothing for formal events. Until tonight that was. I’d asked Winter to go with me shortly after my father’s summons to his office, because I couldn’t stand the thought of her being anyone else’s date, regardless of whether we attended as friends or as something more. The territorial feelings toward her had started the second my father opened his big mouth. The change was swift, and it didn’t take long for me to make the decision that this year I’d be on the guest list.

Right now, there was a special someone smelling of beautiful woman beside me in the back of a limo. And she was the only reason for my sudden interest in putting on a tux and going to a thing where I’d have dinner and conversation with people I’d probably avoid at all costs the rest of the time.

I told my driver, Enzo, to take the scenic route and raised the partition to give me the privacy I’d been craving since I’d put Winter on that helicopter. Having her with me for those twenty-four hours had only made me want her more than I had before. Prior to that, I hadn’t experienced what it was like to kiss her senseless to know what I’d been missing.

Fuck. I had definitely been missing out.

It was said that knowledge was power, but it could also be torture when you knew enough to realize you might break apart if the object of your desires was kept perpetually out of reach. But tonight I was lucky, because my desire was within reach. Dressed in a low-cut black gown that set off her tits in a mouthwatering display had me practically drooling, but I was enjoying the torture. I wanted nothing more than to tear the designer silk away and pleasure her into oblivion right here, right now in this limo.

But I couldn’t do that no matter how obsessed I was with making her come again.

She held herself stiffly, giving off a vibe meant to keep me at distance. I wasn’t sure why but was in no great hurry to change her mind about it.

Yet.

I could practice patience when needed, and right now I sensed that my lovely obsession wouldn’t tolerate being pushed very far. Best to keep things neutral until I had a better read on her mood. And preferably when I had her to myself for hours not minutes. Then, she’d give me her all.

Reading people was something I’d learned from being a lawyer. Knowing if a client was lying or telling the truth came in very handy in deciding if I wanted to represent them or not. Winter was so much more important to me than a potential client, though, and I didn’t want to fuck things up any more than I had already. I’d purposefully kept my distance since Thanksgiving, because I’d wanted to give her a solid few days to really think about what she wanted to do…with us. If she wanted to explore the idea of an us at all.

She wants me.She loves me. She wants to be with me. I needed to keep believing, because I had plenty of doubts too.

"Are those the gloves my mother wanted you to have?" The need to touch her nearly overpowered me, so I took her hand firmly into mine. A hand encased in dark pink silk, embellished with flowers made of the same, and covered from the tips of her fingers all the way to well past her elbow. Fucking sexy.

My inner fantasy decided it wanted another date with her wearing those gloves and not a scrap of anything else—except for the shoes. She could keep on the heels that matched the gloves.

Annnnd looked sexy as fuck strapped around her ankles with little bowties at the toes. They’d look even better draped over my shoulders.

"Yes." Her eyes burned green fire at me for an instant before flicking down to study the gloves. "They really are one of a kind: the dark pink color—the silk flowers—the opera length. Your mom gave them to me, saying she would never wear them, and that they were far too beautiful to sit in a box wrapped in tissue." She lifted her eyes back to meet mine. "I would say I have to agree with her."

"Beautiful gloves on beautiful hands." I drew her hand to my lips and kissed the back of it, my lips regrettably touching silk instead of skin. "To go with a beautiful dress…worn by a very beautiful woman."

"What are you doing?" she asked on a soft breath, her eyes moving incrementally as she studied me.

"Just paying you a compliment that you very much deserve. I am a lucky man tonight."

"Anything else you’d like to tell me before we get in there and start pretending, James?"

"Nothing other than how happy I am to be taking you to the ball tonight. No pretending on my part."

She closed her eyes just a fraction and…shivered? It looked like she had.

But I didn’t have a chance to ask her, because Enzo pulled up to the security checkpoint and gave our names to the attendant. "James Blakney and Winter Blackstone."

I squeezed her hand and sent her a smile. "It’s showtime, sweetheart."

Winter’s mooddidn’t improve as the evening progressed. She seemed to enjoy the company of her friends and family, but whenever I got too close, she grew stiff and quiet. Apparently, someone else caught on to her mood as well.

"The happy couple might try looking a bit…happier, don’t you think?" my father asked as he strolled up with a practiced bow for Winter, and what appeared to be an affectionate slap to my shoulder. Both gestures were an act of a narcissistic asshole.

"I have no idea what you’re talking about," I replied before turning to Winter and pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Sweetheart, do you have any reason to be unhappy tonight?"

She ignored my father completely and stared at me for a moment before shaking her head slowly back and forth.

Silently simmering.

Okay, so Winter was definitely not happy with me, my father, this whole public farce apparently, but she wouldn’t say so. No, she’d been trained at the same charm school we’d all had to suffer through as children. Never let them know how you really feel. Smile, and put on a front that everything’s wonderful, even when life is shit.

I needed to get her alone, somewhere quiet where we could talk, and I could reassure her that she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to do.

"If you gentlemen will excuse me, I see a friend I want to say hello to." She turned heel and left us both watching the back of her as she went, the skirt of her black gown swaying gracefully with each step of her sexy pink shoes. I could almost see the anger radiating off her in waves.

Ouch.

"Trouble in paradise so soon?" He raised a brow as if entitled to the information, making my blood boil.

"You need to back the fuck off if you want this to happen. I already told you her family doesn’t know about us yet."

"Why don’t they know? What are you waiting for? Get this situation nailed down and settled, or I’ll settle it for you." Do your job and get her pregnant. It shouldn’t be this hard, son."He got a little gleam in his eye and laughed. "But maybe that’s the problem for you. Your cock’s not hard enough to get the job done. Do you need some help from another cock perhaps?" he scoffed, finding humor in his own fucking joke.

I had to choke out my next words because all I wanted was to get away from him. "Are you even human, because sometimes I wonder."

"Are you even my son, because sometimes I wonder. Be a man and fuck your baby into that Blackstone bitch and be done with it." He narrowed his eyes at me like a snake about to strike. "My God, the senate announcement is in less than two months."

"You know, Dad, if you want to fool the voters into thinking you’re a loving family man, you’re gonna need to work on your game and have an ounce of patience. Winter is already mine and you’ll stay the fuck away from her."

I slapped him hard on the back in a fake show of affection before leaving him standing alone. I did it to let him know he wouldn’t have an easy time pushing me around. And most certainly not Winter, either. To anyone who witnessed our exchange, it probably looked typically normal. Just a father and a son having a conversation, happy to be in each other’s company.

If they only knew…

But it had felt so good. The surprised look on his face was worth any retribution I’d just earned for myself down the road, because my father had a memory like a steel trap. He forgot nothing. Still wouldn’t trade it, even though I knew it would come back to haunt me at some point.

I needed to find Winter and see if I could repair whatever the damage between us was.

Annnnd then Jan Thorndike appeared. Fuck.

I hadn’t made it ten steps before she accosted me. She had something seriously wrong in the head and was so far off the rails I didn’t think anything less than a straitjacket and a padded room would do her any good at this point. The girl was obsessed with Caleb. She’d called me a few times begging me to be messenger, because he wouldn’t take her calls.

Bitch, he’s blocked your number, and so have I.I still hadn’t forgotten how she’d shown up at my door and offered to blow me five minutes after breaking up with her boyfriend—who just happened to be my best friend. I even called him that night to let him know she’d stopped at my place. She sent Caleb a picture of herself with her lips around some random dude’s cock five minutes after that. At the time, Caleb believed the picture was of me, but I set him straight. Janice Thorndike has never had access to my dick, and she certainly didn’t get near it that night, so she had to have already taken the picture from her phone before Caleb broke it off with her. She probably had a whole album of porno selfies saved on the thing. God.

I stared at my forearm where she’d sunk her claws in to stop me. I wanted to bust out in a fuckin’ sprint to get away from her. She looked crazed. "James, I need to talk to Caleb alone. Go get him and bring him to me. You have to make him listen to—"

"I am not his keeper."

"Well, you’re his best friend and he listens to you." Her eyes appeared strangely vacant, as if she was on something.

"So? He’s done. Even if you hadn’t cheated, he’d be done."

The crocodile tears started flowing in a desperate attempt to gain sympathy. "That was a mistake—a one-time thing," she cried, fisting handfuls of her hair and creating a mess. This girl had always been pure drama.

"For Christ’s sake, stop embarrassing yourself with this shit!"

"But I can’t help it, James. I’m so in love with him."

"Right." She was fucking certifiable. Not happy with cracking him in the eye with her shoe, she ran to me hoping to make him jealous by fucking me. Who does that? "Because all the sick shit you did to Caleb just screamed love, didn’t it?"

"James, please, I didn’t mean any of that. I was very upset."

"Well, Caleb sure as fuck meant it when he broke up with you. And I was fucking pissed when I found out you sent him that stupid dick pic." I jerked my arm out of her grip.

"You’re not listening to me. James. I want him back and I’ll do whatever I have to do—"

"Don’t you get it, Janice? My brother is with Brooke now and he’s in love with her," Winter said angrily from over my left shoulder. I hadn’t even noticed her approach I was so busy trying to detach myself from all the crazy I’d stumbled into headfirst. How the fuck did I get tangled in with this shitshow tonight? All I wanted was to spend a nice evening with Winter. It was time to leave.

Jan’s face twisted into an ugly mask of meanness as she directed her rage onto Winter. "Is James finally fucking you? It must be the trust fund he’s after, because it’s been years since you flashed him your baby tits in the pool."

"They aren’t baby tits anymore." Nope. Definitely not. Winter held her composure like a pro, spine straight, her confident posture setting her tantalizing cleavage off to perfection. Her tits were an undisputable, straight-up ten—to anybody who wasn’t blind…or insane.

Jan tilted her head to one side and rolled her eyes. "Oh my God, you mean he’s never stuck his dick in you before now," she said, throwing her head back and laughing like a psychopath. "Better strap in, little girl, because he likes all the kinky, deviant shit from what I’ve heard—"

"We’re done here," I said, grabbing Winter’s hand and pulling her with me. "Jan, take your crazy out on someone else, and leave us all the fuck alone."

I didn’t look back or wait for Jan to finish whatever she was going to say about me. I just moved us both away—and left the lunatic bitch standing in a roomful of Boston’s high society mumbling some unintelligible bullshit about making everyone sorry.

What I needed was to put as much distance between her and us as quickly as fucking possible. I wouldn’t ponder how she knew about me. Although the knowledge of my kink could have come to her from anywhere, it didn’t make me any less mental about Winter finding out.

I forced myself to block out everything.

Even to the point that I didn’t realize that Winter wasn’t following along with my plan. In fact, she was doing the opposite, pulling back, and trying to get away from me.

"Let go of me."

I tightened my grip on her hand and then panicked for a second that maybe I was hurting her injured one.

I wasn’t.

"What’s wrong?"

She tried tugging her hand out of mine again, but I wasn’t having it.

"I’m leaving. I’m going home," she said, flashing me an angry glare.

"Correction, sweetheart. We are leaving, and we are going home."

Her anger hadn’t lessenedsince I’d bustled her out of the goddamn ball and into Enzo’s heated limousine, where she now sat as far away from me as possible. I studied her fuming quietly in the seat, arms folded beneath luscious breasts as she stared moodily out the window. In profile, she made a stunning picture against the city lights reflecting off the tiny raindrops currently drifting from the night sky.

It had taken a few minutes to get away without arousing the suspicions of the eagle-eyed gossips, who lived for the soap-opera drama like what had unfolded inside with Jan Thorndike. It spiced up their otherwise very boring lives. But was "boring" such a terrible thing? Sometimes I wished for my own life to be a lot more boring than it was at present.

After placing my bid in the silent auction, I’d gone and made excuses to my mother. I lied and told her Winter had a bad headache. Mom didn’t blink an eye at my lame explanation. She just offered her cheek for me to kiss and told me to take good care of her, and that she hoped Winter felt better soon.

I fished out my phone and took a picture of her staring out the window. She might be angry, but it was still a beautiful image I selfishly wanted to keep for myself.

"What the hell, James," she shouted when she noticed the flash.

"It’s just a picture of you looking furiously beautiful. I wanted to capture the moment."

"Instead of stealing pictures and dropping compliments, you might start by being honest."

"I am always honest with you, Win."

She scoffed angrily toward the window but said nothing.

"Are you planning on explaining what you mean?"

She shook her head, still staring out the window.

"Okay, then tell me what the fuck I did tonight that was so wrong." No response. "How about you look at me when we are talking," I bit out, my frustration growing with each passing second of this stupid motherfucking argument.

She turned to face me, eyes blazing across the distance between us. "I know, James."

"What do you know?"

"I know what happened between us after you brought me back from the ER. I know what you did. I know what I said to you." Her eyes welled up. "I remembered…everything…today while I…I…was getting ready for the ball."

A single tear spilled down her cheek and made me want to lick it away, even as my heart pounded out erratic beats.

"Sweetheart, no. I wanted to help you, that’s all I was trying—"

"Just…how…could you keep that from me? For all these days without saying something…anything," she hissed. "Why would you use me like that, James?"

Fuck.

No.