Chapter Six 713

Chapter Six

West

After she left me, bleeding and naked on the floor, I’d simply sat there. Leaning against the foot of the bed, wondering about the woman who had just given me the most intense orgasm of my life, and then completely shut down, like a machine once it was all over. When she left the room, it was like some sort of strange body swap with a machine or something.

Her personal assistant came in with one of the on-site medics, carrying with him a clean robe and some sugary snacks. He offered to take care of me while the club medic patched up my leg and treated the carving on my chest, but I didn’t want him–I wanted her.

When I was given a clean bill of health and instructions on how to avoid infection, her assistant tried to hand me an envelope of cash, a tip he’d called it, but I’d laughed in his face. She wasn't going to buy me off and toss me aside like a used rag. I wouldn’t let her.

I’d avoided Alexi on my way out of Club Toska, not wanting to dissect the evening with him until I’d planned out my next steps.

What happened had gone beyond blackmail material and further than I expected, but when I was back in my apartment, washing away the remnants of our sin, I’d felt strangely hollow. Empty. Unsure of everything except the fact that I couldn’t let that night be our only one.

I wanted more.

I wanted her.

And I was going to have her.

This morning, I’d dressed carefully, in my favorite black suit with a black shirt, the top three buttons undone. I’d taken a cab downtown to the Nexus headquarters, and met one shareholder, a man named Lance Bateman, and now as we stand outside the boardroom, I ignore the tightening in my gut. I was going to see Delphine again, and this time, she might just stab me for real.

Lance opens the door and lets himself in first. I’m personally not a fan of the short, fat older man. His graying hair was thinning, and he was balding on the top, giving him one of those monk hair styles since he was obviously too stubborn to shave the whole damn thing.

I’d worked with Alexi, and my partner and friend, Garrett, to identify Lance as my way into the shareholder’s meeting since my aunt declined to send me an invitation. He was conservative and old-fashioned, hating that a woman was now at the helm of Nexus. When we’d met for dinner, to discuss the future of the company, he’d made his views on Delphine very clear and at the time, I’d smiled and agreed with every word out of his mouth until he was convinced that we were on the same page. We weren’t even in the same book. He was a narrow-minded old coot. I was a manipulative fucker who didn’t care whether the CEO had a cock or pussy as long as the company came crumbling down around them. At least, until last night.

Now, I was planning on dragging out the dismantling of Nexus. I wanted to play with Delphine for a little longer, work my way under her skin, cleave myself to her until she was nothing more than a plaything in the palm of my hand.

The second stage of my little scheme clicks into gear as I enter the room behind Lance and follow him to my seat.

Delphine is sitting at the head of the table with Hugo Chadwick, her second in command, placed to her left. She hasn’t noticed me yet, as she chats casually to a thin woman a few seats down on the right. Delphine looks beautiful, her golden hair pulled loosely up into an elegant chignon fastened with a red floral hairpin. Wearing red and navy today, she gives off powerful and classy vibes as the outfit flatters her creamy skin tone and delicate features. There was no denying that Delphine was attractive, and the way several men in the room kept glancing at her told me I wasn’t the only one who felt that way. Even Hugo cast sidelong glances her way when she wasn’t looking.

Outwardly, she looks casual and relaxed as someone makes a joke about key performance indicators and pinch points. I may not know her all that well, but I’d spent years planning my revenge and pulling all the pieces into place. Learning about Delphine Harrington had been my hobby for a very long time, and the way her smile barely moved, the way her ocean eyes glazed over–they were all signs she was switching off. Closing down.

Lance takes a seat to my left, smiling and joking with the man on my right.

“Allow me to introduce Weston Harrington.” His voice raises in volume, a pathetic attempt to capture her attention. And it works.

Her gaze snaps to mine, and as my lips pull into a lazy smirk, I see the recognition dawning on her. She pales, body frozen as her mouth pulls into a tight line. Her hands clenched into fists on the desk until her knuckles turned white.

Her chest rises with shallow little breaths, and I can see she’s trying to calm herself while maintaining her relaxed, unbothered facade. Unfortunately for her, I want her to crack. To split wide open like a coconut, so I can eat the fleshy parts and drink the juice, devouring her until there’s nothing left.

Plastering an apologetic smile on her serene face, Delphine draws everyone's attention to her. “Excuse me all, I’d like a private word with my nephew before we start the meeting.”

She gets to her feet and keeps that fake smile plastered on her face as she waves over her personal assistant. “Charlie, please arrange for some refreshments to be brought in.”

Charlie’s eyes widen when he spots me and it’s almost comical, the way his mouth falls open. I guess the lace mask last night did little to conceal my identity.

“We won’t be a moment, gentleman.” Striding over to us, Delphine places a gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder as she tries to look contrite. When she turns to me, her eyes narrow, and it feels as though she might burn a hole in my face. “Follow me.”

Gladly. I trail behind her, letting my gaze move over her curvy figure, the navy dress clinging to every dip and curve of her body. It was only a matter of time before I saw every inch of her, stripping her bare. Last night I hadn’t seen much, her clothes hiding her, protecting her like armor as she kept me at knife point. No, I wanted more than that. I was going to tear down her walls. Scale the tower until she had no choice but to let me in.

We enter her office, and she waits for the door to click shut before rounding on me.

“You tricked me!” She hisses, pointing her finger at me with one hand on her hip. “You little fucker.”

“And you stabbed me in the leg.” With a wide grin, I sit on her leather couch and glance around, taking in the decor and comfortable furnishings. Pretending to think about it, I tap my chin and give her a little shrug. “I mean, it did make me come hard enough to see stars, but that’s beside the point.”

Her hand flies out, and she grabs my shirt, pulling me close to her face as she towers over me. I think I like it when she looks down at me like this. It was the same when she was riding my face. “You will never touch me again. Ever. I am going to destroy you little boy.”

The words are a promise as they hang in the air between us, heavy with wrath and hatred, but I don’t let that deter me.

“You didn’t think I was so little when I was buried inside your tight cunt, Delphine.” Lowering my voice to a gravelly whisper, I let my words skim across her lips. “So wet and eager for me as you drank my blood like a goddamn vampire.”

She drops me like I’ve burned her, taking three steps backwards, until her legs hit her desk. Leaning against it, she rubs her face with a deep sigh. “What do you want Weston? What’s your plan here? Blackmail?”

Her shoulders droop, and I don’t like the way she’s shrinking in on herself. No, I wanted her to fight with me. To raise her head and threaten to hurt me. To actually hurt me. And then I wanted her to kiss away the pain until we were both naked and spent.

“I’m not going away, baby.” It’s the truth. I wasn’t going to be ignored any longer. I wasn’t some used tissue to be discarded in the trash. I was a Harrington, whether she liked me or not. “You may have dominated me in Club Toska—which was incredibly hot by the way—but outside of those walls it’s fair game and I’m prepared to fight my way to the top.”

“What. Do. You. Want?” She repeats, glaring at me.

Tilting my head back, I stare at the ceiling, pretending to think about my answer. I don’t need to think about it, since she made that first cut everything had changed. Her initials were carved on my chest because I was hers. Now I needed her to be mine. It was that simple. “Hmmmm. Let’s see…I wanted your house—I got that. I wanted your business, well my rightful share, and now I have that too. So, I guess all that’s left is you, Delphine.”

She scoffs, rubbing her temples. “Me? I’m your, aunt you sick fuck.”

“Sick fuck. Say it again, I like how it sounds on your lips.” I chuckle. “And according to you, you’re not related to me at all Delphine. Which is it?”

Rolling her eyes, she pushes off her desk and moves around to the other side, rooting through the drawers until she finds whatever it is she's looking for.

“Look, what will it take for you to scurry back into the hole you crawled out of? Money? How much?” She pulls out a check book. I didn’t realize people still used those.

I spread my arms out across the back of her couch. “I’m not going anywhere. At least, not until I get everything I’m owed.”

What I wanted now was so much more than money. I wanted to ruin everything, destroy Nexus, bring her to her knees, and then I wanted to fuck her until she begged for me to save her. Until she gave me every last part of her.

With an exaggerated sigh, I drop my business card onto the table before pushing to my feet and sliding my hands into my pockets. “I’ll be in touch with my demands, and if you choose to ignore them, well, I guess we’ll just have to see how many board members are really on your side.” I shrug again. “You know how threatened they feel about having a woman at the helm.”

Her jaw clenches as she walks towards me and jabs a finger into my shoulder with a growl, pressing against the wound on my pec. “I’ve led this company for years.”

I raise a brow and smirk. “And I’ve got a cock. What’s your point?”

“You bastard.”

That one makes me genuinely laugh. For everything my parents may or may not have done, this was probably the only thing they ever did right. “Oh, no. My parents were very much married when I was born. I may be many, many things but a bastard actually isn’t one of them.”

Brushing some imaginary lint from my jacket, I glance around her bookshelves, taking in the certificates and photos of her with friends and family. My gaze lands on an old family picture, where my father had his arms wrapped around his baby sister, looking at her adoringly. Oh, how things changed. I tap my finger against the glass before turning back to my aunt. “I’ll call you, Delphine. Make sure you answer when I do.”

I stroll from her office with a wide smile. As the door swings shut behind me, I hear something smash against it on the other side and my aunt yelling. “Get me that fucking Volkov cunt on the phone. I’m going to kill him!”

Oops. I should probably warn Alexi that she is gunning for him. As I make my way back to the boardroom, I find it mostly empty, with only a few people lingering.

“Ah, Weston, my boy.” Lance calls, waving me over with a satisfied, smug expression. “The meeting has been rearranged. We’ll have to introduce you to everyone next time.”

Stage two: complete.