Chapter Ten 763

Chapter Ten

Delphine

A few weeks later…

“So, the wanderer returns!” Hugo teases as I take a seat opposite him. We were meeting for brunch in one of my favorite bars in London. After signing the agreement with West, Hugo had come back to the UK branch to deal with a new client we were partnering with.

He frowns, his eyebrow raising in suspicion. “Something looks different about you. What is it? Does sucking all that blood actually make you immortal?”

“For fuck’s sake, Hugo!” I chuckle as I order bacon and eggs with a cup of coffee. Blood play didn’t make me immortal, but paired with all the sex I’d been having for the last month or so certainly didn’t hurt. Considering my skin was glowing, I was actually exhausted. Despite taking a three-hour nap when my plane landed, I was still feeling tired and struggling to keep my eyes open as I listened to Hugo prattle on about all the office dramas I’d missed.

West had been insatiable. If he wasn’t kissing me, stroking my hair or holding my hand whenever we were in private, then he was buried inside me, or coming on me like some feral beast marking its territory. It was a little gross, but also kind of a turn on that he wanted me in such a base, carnal way. I could almost convince myself that he was desperate for me, and that he might just possibly feel something for me beyond our agreement. Wishful thinking.

I was going to miss him—no—it. I was going to miss it.

It was crazy to miss him. He was my nephew and now the agreement was finished, so was our involvement with one another. Even if it made my heart race when I thought about him.

Taking the easy way out, I hadn’t said goodbye to him before I headed to the airport. It was only while I was waiting in the departure lounge that I typed out a text message. I deleted it obviously, since it was too long, too emotional, too full of impossible things.

Then I typed it again.

I deleted that one too.

He didn’t care about my feelings for him, I was just something fun and dirty for him. For me…for me, he was a glimpse of a life I could never have.

The text I’d finally settled on had been short and sweet. I’d simply put: ‘Weston, thank you for your time. As our agreement has now reached its natural conclusion, I look forward to seeing you at the shareholder meeting next quarter.’

The waitress places our food down, and as soon as the scent of warm cooked eggs hits me, I rush to cover my mouth with my napkin. Swallowing back my vomit and trying not to gag, I shove the plate as far away from me as I can.

“Are you okay, darling?” Hugo asks, handing me a glass of water. “Is there something wrong with your eggs?”

“I think there’s something wrong with me. I’m feeling a bit run down but I’ll be alright.”

Run down wasn’t quite the right descriptor, but it was the only way I could think of describing my symptoms. I was tired, my body was achy and sore, and for some reason, I’d become sensitive to certain smells.

Placing a hand on my forehead, Hugo frowns. “Maybe you should go home and rest. We can always go for drinks when you're feeling better.”

Nodding, I smile weakly at him. As he eats his breakfast, I drink the water and pour another glass. While I’m staring at the clear liquid, my phone rings. A jolt of panic shoots through me. I may not have the number saved, but I recognize the last five digits like they’re burned into my brain.

Taking a deep breath, I answer.

“Where the fuck are you!” West screams angrily down the phone and somewhere in the background I hear traffic and a car horn blares.

“Weston,” I say, trying to stay calm, but my palms were sweating. How could I miss the sound of his voice when it had only been a few days? We’d only spent a month together; it was irrational of me to feel like this.

He growls, and I don’t need to see him to know that his brows are probably pinched together and his eyes are narrowed. “Don’t you Weston me, Delphine! Where are you?”

Another wave of sickness hits me and I take a sip of water, ignoring the way Hugo watches me. Sighing, I rub my face. “I’m not feeling great, West. Can we talk about this later?”

There’s silence down the line.

“What do you mean? What’s wrong?” His voice is lower now, calmer, almost as if he’s worried about me.

“I’m just exhausted from the flight and it’s making me a little nauseous. It’s nothing serious.”

“Baby.”

My chest tightens, and I rub at my sternum anxiously. “I…I don’t think it’s appropriate that you call me that anymore.”

In the last month, I’d become used to being called his babe, baby or sweetheart, along with some less savory, endearing names. The filthy ones were usually saved for when I was sucking his dick, or I was cutting him and marking him up as mine. The power dynamic between us shifted, depending on the mood and where we were—it kept me on my toes and I was already missing the excitement of being around him.

Curling my hand into a fist, I remind myself—the Harrington reputation. Nexus. Then me. It was so easy to forget your priorities when someone made you feel like the center of their universe. If only it wasn’t all an act.

“Ohhhh, I know. O ur agreement has now reached its natural conclusion —I got your text Delphine.” He spits out, sounding bitter as I flinch. I’m surprised when he chuckles a few moments later. “But I think we need to re-negotiate our agreement.”

Tilting my head back to look at the ceiling, I sigh again. “What more could we possibly want or need from one another?”

He laughs darkly, and the sound makes me wonder what I’m missing. Sounding much happier, the gravelly seductive tone he used on me when he was trying to get me naked returns. “Well, I want my baby, Delphine. And I want you. I want our family.”

“Baby? What ba—” It slowly dawns on me. I wasn’t unwell. I was pregnant. “You did something, didn’t you?”

There’s not a shred of guilt in his voice as he admits, “I may have tampered with your birth control.”

“What? Why would you do that?” I ask, not sure whether I’m prepared to hear his answer. What if this had been his plan all along to steal Nexus from me? What if he was going to use the baby to blackmail me?

There’s silence, and then he quietly says, “Because I love you. Because you’re mine.”

Shocked, I hold the phone away from my ear, my mind desperately trying to interpret his words. He couldn’t mean that, could he? He didn’t really love me…not the way I loved him. That wasn’t possible. It was a stupid pipe dream. Loving partner, bouncing baby, that was never on the cards for me. It couldn’t be…

“Delphine? Darling? Are you going to be sick?” Hugo pulls his chair closer, placing his hand back on my forehead before he rubs my back in soothing circles.

I don’t need the phone to be pressed against my ear to hear Weston. “Tell that fucker to get his hands off you. Right now.”

Blinking, I turn in my seat, glancing around the bar. “What? Where are you?”

“I’m right here.”