Blind Girl: A Dark Billionaire Romance (13 page)

“Alice,” he begins, “I told you I could not love you and I meant it.”

“Then why send a love poem?”

“It got your attention.”

I turn away from him. “It certainly did.”

“Alice, I want you,” he says, his voice soft. “I feel intoxicating desire for your body every day, but that’s as far as it goes.”

“I can’t live like that, Charles,” I tell him. “I need more.”

“I beg you to reconsider.”

“You can have
anybody
,” I argue. “Why bother with me?” He looks straight ahead. I can see it on his face, the words gathering on the tip of his tongue, but he refuses to say them. “You
promised
me, Charles.” I lean in, speaking before he can. “I asked you
why me
and you promised you’d tell me.”

“I will. Just not now.”

My lip trembles. “It’s over, Charles.”

“Alice, please.” I shake my head and refuse to look at him. “What would you like for me to say, Alice?” he asks.

I hold back my tears. “Lie to me.”

He heaves an impatient breath. “Yes, Alice. I love you. I adore you. I want to wed you and fill you with beautiful children and be by your side until we die holding hands.” I turn to him as the tears fall down my cheeks. “There,” he says. “Do you feel better?”

“No.”

“You demand honesty from me, Alice, and you reject it when you don’t like what you hear. You ask me to lie to you and you still are not happy.”

“Stop the car,” I demand.

“Alice, look at me.”

I stare straight ahead and close my eyes. “I don’t want this anymore. Stop the car.”

“Would you please look at me, Alice?” He’s calm with a steady voice, in complete control. I wipe the tears off my face before I turn to him. “Thank you,” he says. His eyes admire my face for a moment, a hint of sadness behind his rough exterior. “Stay with me and I will give you the world.”

“I don’t want the world.”

“Come to Paris with me this weekend,” he begs. “Bring the dress.”

“No.”

“Alice—”

“No!”

He pauses and sits back in his seat. “Alice,” he speaks slowly. “If you do this, you will live to regret it.”

His words send a chill down my spine. I turn to him and once again sense his anger. “Charles,” I say, “It’s over. I’ve made my decision.”

He sits up a little taller. “Are you sure?” he asks.

“Yes.”

His eyes stay on mine. “Alice,” he says my name just above a whisper. “Are you sure?”

The question stings the air around us, daring me to give a different answer.

“Yes,” I repeat.

Charles nods. We sit in silence for a moment before he reaches out and knocks on his window.

The car stops in front of my dorm.

“As you wish, my darling,” he says quietly.

I push the car door open and step outside into the freezing cold snow. I watch as the black car rolls off down the street and wait until it rounds the corner before returning to my dorm room.

When I get back to the room, I collapse onto my bed.

After a few minutes of silence, I hear Gabby’s voice. “Are you okay?” she asks.

I roll over onto my back and stare at the ceiling. “I will be,” I say. I wipe the moisture off my face and glance around the room.

My eyes fall on the blue Faleuro dress hanging in the closet.

I only wore it once.

Chapter 9

As You Wish

Five Years Later

Click.

I squeeze my eyes shut even tighter to resist the pull of consciousness.

Click.

The sound rings louder in my ears. “Percy…” I mutter. “What are you doing?”

Click. Click. Click.

“Percy!”

I open my eyes to find him standing over me, staring at me over the top of his camera. His blond hair falls over his eyes and gets caught behind the rims of his glasses. “Have I ever told you you’re the cutest sleeper?” he asks me.

“It has come up on occasion,” I yawn, “but I still don’t understand why it requires so many pictures.”

He laughs and lays a hand on my shoulder. “I have news,” he says.

“It’s too early for news.” I close my eyes with the intention of drifting off to sleep again.

“It’s almost one in the afternoon,” he says. “It’s the perfect time for news. Believe me, I checked.”

“And whom exactly is the high authority on news you questioned for this information?”

“I’m sorry…
whom
?” he laughs. “You sure are wordy when you’re sleepy… and crabby.”

“I’m
not
crabby,” I grunt. “I’ve just been woken up before my alarm after pulling an all-nighter.”

“Another one?” I feel him kick off his shoes and slip into the bed behind me.

“I have a deadline and I’m sticking to it,” I say.

Percy wraps an arm around me and kisses my neck. “You’ll finish your book, don’t worry,” he says. “You’re amazing.”

I smile. “I’m amazing because I get a lot of
sleep
.”

“Okay, okay.” He kisses me again. “But I have to tell you something first. Then you can go back to sleep.”

“What?”

He leans in closer and I feel his lips tickle my earlobe. “I sold the portraits,” he whispers.

“What?” I spin around to face him so quickly, I nearly flop off the bed. “You sold the portraits?!”

“Yep.”

“How many of them?”

“All of them.”

I curl my fingers into a fist and hit his chest. “You’re joking!”

He shakes his head. “I’m not,” he laughs.

“Percy!” I throw my arms around him. “Holy shit! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I told you I had news!” he says. “But
no
, you wanted to
sleep
!”

I kiss him quickly. “Well, I’m wide awake now!” Laughter bellows up from the depths of my heart. Happiness consumes me. “Who bought them?”

“I don’t know,” he says. “Some anonymous buyer saw them on display at the gallery and contacted the owner.”

“Wow…”

“Yeah…
wow.
” He leans in closer and kisses me again. “And it was
all
because of
you
, you know.”

I scoff. “Lies.”

“They were
your
portraits, Alice,” he says. “When someone buys art, they buy it because of the subject, not the artist—”

“That’s not true,” I say. “You created the art, Percy. I just sat there.”

He laughs at me. “Don’t sell yourself short, Alice.”

I lick my lips and block the memory as it fights for prominence in my mind. Instead, I focus on the day the portraits were taken and how erotic it felt to lie naked under a sea of bright lights, nude and sweating. Percy cropped my face out of every portrait to hide my identity. They were nude portraits, after all, and my mother would die an early death if she ever found out about them. The memory of that day is shared between the two of us, and only us. Mine and Percy’s perfect little secret. “We have to celebrate,” I say.

Percy nods. “And believe me, Alice,” he kisses me, “we can
afford
a big celebration.”

“How much did they pay?”

“Nope—” He pushes himself off the bed. “I’m not telling you.”

“Oh, come on!” I sit up and try to pull him back to me, but he slips from my fingers. “I want to know how much pictures of my boobs are worth.”

“Nope!” He shouts from across the apartment and disappears around the corner.

“Percy!”

“Alice!”

“Come back here!”

I see his head peak around the wall at me. He smiles wide. “Why?” he asks.

I hold up a finger and summon him closer with a classic
come-hither
stare. He obeys me slowly, dragging his feet across the room before toppling back onto the bed. “Come here,” I whisper.

“Why?” he whispers back.

“You know why.”

I take his face into my hands and pull him in for a kiss. He places his palms on either side of me and holds himself up as I drive his desires towards me. Percy. My blond-haired, blue-eyed nerd. I jerk at his jeans to pull the button free.

“Alice,” he says. “What are you doing?”

I push my hand between his open zipper and claim my prize. “Celebrating,” I answer as I stroke him in my palm.

Percy gives me a firm kiss as his manhood goes stiff in my hand. His body twitches above me. He kicks his trousers off and pulls my night shirt over my hips to reveal my soaking sex. I reach over to the nightstand and grab a condom from the drawer. He heaves breaths of passion as I roll it down his hard shaft.

“Percy…” I moan his name as he enters me. He fills me with quick and eager thrusts and takes his time on me. My knees quiver around his body. I grip his rear to pull him closer and take his cock a little deeper. “Harder,” I beg. He grunts and drives harder into me — but not hard enough. “More!” I buck my hips to meet his thrusts.

Percy ravages my lips with greater intensity. His hands move over my body, grasping at my breasts. I take hold of his hand and bring it to my hair. I clench his fingers together into a fist and urge him to tighten his grip on me, to bring me satisfying pain, but he drops my hair. I grunt with frustration and my mind wanders free. It’s not in Percy’s nature to harm me — but it doesn’t stop me from trying.

He finishes into the condom and I purr against his body, digging my nails into his skin as he moans my name. I look at him, my eyes full of desire for him.

Percy smiles wide and kisses me. “I love you, Alice.”

He collapses against my throbbing body. I’m hungry for more of him, but I know he’ll need a little time. I roll him over onto his back and kiss his neck. Each peck coats my lips with his sweat. My tongue dances at his taste and I salivate even more for him.

“Alice…” he says. I cut him off with a sweet kiss as my hand grips his semi-flaccid manhood. My fingers play games with him, enticing his blood to travel back through his cock for me. “Alice—” He grasps my hand to stop me.

“You don’t want to keep going?” I ask.

He shakes his head with a sly smile. “Later.” He pushes himself up onto his arms. “I have to go to the gallery and finalize the sale —
then
we can celebrate some more.”

I sit back with a nod. “Okay,” I breathe.

He leans over and kisses my forehead. “And
you
have some work to do, right?”

“You’re right,” I say as my face meets the pillow again.

“Don’t fall back to sleep!” He steps back into his trousers and pulls them up. “When I get back, I’m taking you to dinner.”

“Better be somewhere fancy!”

“You know me, Alice,” he laughs. “I’m
always
fancy.” He steps into the bathroom and I’m left alone with a racing heart. A few minutes later, he comes out, cleaned and perfect, and gives me a kiss on the cheek before leaving the apartment to make his meeting.

I stare at the ceiling for a moment, my body screaming at me.

I swell with happiness and pride for him. I can already feel the weight on my shoulders dissolving around me. It’s been ages since Percy and I got a break. Maybe the days of double shifts at the diner and stress headaches are finally over.

My fingers flow down my body and I spread my legs for myself. Cool air strikes my pulsating clitoris. It throbs against my touch, embracing the warmth I give it with every flick of my fingertips.

I bite my lip and moan with the sensation as I wrap my fingers up in my hair. It pulls tightly against my scalp and radiates with simple, delicious pain, feeding my primal desires. I imagine him behind me, his wide palms connecting with my red cheeks with each thrust. His voice calls out to me, urging me to look back at him. He reaches forward when I refuse and pulls me up by the hair. I turn to face him, crying out his name, and suck on his tongue until climax claims me.

Don’t do that, Alice.

I blink the thought away as I settle against the mattress. My breath slowly normalizes again and I stare up at the white ceiling, clinging to the blank slate for comfort. I curse the phrase. Those four little words. I still hear it to this day. His cool, commanding voice makes itself known during rare moments of self-assessment before I catch myself making a terrible mistake.

Don’t do that, Alice.

Sometimes, it’s my final thought before falling asleep. It lingers at the edge of everything only to surface again in the morning and repeat itself before I even open my eyes.

I shouldn’t be thinking about him, but the fantasy calls me back. His black hair. His forest green eyes. He’s still in me. My darkest secret.

Charles.

I force his face out of my mind as I climb out of bed.

***

“Wow…” I squeeze Percy’s hand as he leads me through the restaurant behind the hostess. My eyes drift along every detail they can get from the fine china to the elegant dresses worn by the women we pass. “You
did
say it would be fancy.”

“Hey,” he laughs, glancing back at me. “When I promise fancy, I deliver fancy.”

“I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”

We arrive at our table in the back. It’s off to the side in a private corner, separated from the prying eyes of other patrons. I smile at the twin candles in the centerpiece as my heart fills with warmth. Percy pulls out my chair for me and I roll my eyes as I allow him to play chivalry.

“Your server will be right with you,” the hostess says with a smile.

“Thank you,” Percy says to her as he takes his seat across from me.

As she leaves, I lean forward. “How much is this costing you?” I whisper.

“About twenty percent of my soul,” he quips.

I nod. “Not bad. I would have guessed thirty.”

He laughs. “Don’t worry about it — I told you not to worry about it.”

“I know—” I tap a finger against the angel white tablecloth, biting my tongue to fight the words from spilling off my lips. “But—”

“No.”
He points a playful finger in my direction. “Zip it.”

“Percy—”

“Zzzzzip.”