I fell back onto the bed breathless. She slowly moved off of me and lay on the bed at my side. Never, not in a million years did I think that a trip to London to see my father would end up like this. It was absolutely worth it coming here early. I never thought that I would see the Baroness, Eddy again much less get to have sex with her again. Memories about her wouldn’t leave me alone for five long years and now, we were back here again. A sweaty mess tangled in the sheets.
It seemed like gambling was always going to be part of the story with us. The circumstances last time were borderline embarrassing and I wasn’t sure whether this time was that much of an improvement, but she put herself on the line this time, not her husband. She was still technically married even though the current situation said something different. I couldn’t care more about her marriage than she did.
I wanted her so much. I had been with other women since, of course, but I never forgot her. No one ever measured up. I felt like she was off-limits all this time but then here she was. I couldn’t believe it. I rolled onto my side and threw an arm over her, mostly just to feel her next to me. I pulled her in and buried my nose in her hair.
“Niall? Niall… Niall?”
“Hm?” I had dozed off.
“I need to pee,” she said. I laughed, squeezing her one more time and then let her go. The toilet flushing pulled me back again from the edge of sleep. I felt her climb back onto the bed and snuggle back into me. I held her close, hearing her sigh contentedly. This was perfect. I might as well have been dreaming already, it felt that good. I hadn’t been this happy in years.
I opened my eyes, then closed them immediately. Too much alcohol, not enough water. Was it morning already? A beam of weak sunlight was shining through the windows. I hadn't bothered closing the curtains last night. I was a little occupied when I got back after the casino.
Speaking of being occupied, I felt the bed. Nothing. I opened my eyes. I was alone. Her side of the bed was cold already. I got out of the bed and checked the bathroom. Nothing. Okay, the suite was large, maybe she was somewhere else.
I checked each room. She was gone.
That was it then, was it? I walked through the living room. Her panties were on the table where she left them, but the watch was gone. Guess she won it fair and square, kind of. I grabbed the pants and flopped into one of the armchairs.
A goodbye would have been nice. Why was I even expecting something like that? It wasn
’t like this was anything more than a one-night stand for her, clearly. The suite’s emptiness was palpable. It rose up around me and started to choke. It was a familiar feeling. She had a night of passion with me and then left with my watch. It was the money all this time, again. All my life. It was like this with my parents and now I got to do it again with the Baroness. With Eddy. It stung more with her. I looked over at the bar. It was morning but when had that ever stopped me. I stood and walked over, searching the stock.
All I had was one bottle of vodka. That would do. I didn’t have any mixers though. I called room service to send a bottle of orange juice up, I wasn’t a complete savage. Even I would be concerned for the fucker having straight vodka first thing in the morning. Orange juice and vodka, however, was close enough to a balanced breakfast for me to let it slide. I went back to the bedroom as I waited to grab my phone.
I caught the time, it was nine. That meant it was five in the morning in New York. Charlie wouldn’t be awake yet. Not that he would be any fun to talk to. He was boring as it was, complete square. Corporate slave type. The man turned one of the rooms in his house into an office for fuck’s sake, that’s how much he loved working. He had gotten even worse since getting married. I loved Brenna but I doubted her taste seeing as she had not only picked him, but allowed him to knock her up. There was a message from him but I’d get to it later.
I scrolled idly on my phone, then opened the search engine.
Baron of Belshire, I typed. It had been a while since we had seen each other. I knew his wife was in good health but what about him? Not that it would make me feel better, but I was curious. Nothing like a little self-flagellation in the morning. What kind of an idiot let a woman like Eddy out of their sights long enough for her to sleep with someone else?
The page filled with results. I almost dropped the phone.
Russell Nicholas, the former Baron of Belshire. Deceased.
The bastard was dead. How the hell had something like that slipped Eddy’s mind when I asked her. She didn’t tell me on purpose. Wait, that meant she wasn’t married anymore. I stopped, getting distracted. She hid it for me. Why wouldn’t she tell me that she was a widow? More importantly, why wouldn’t she tell me she was single?
6
Edwina
I opened my eyes. The sun was out behind the drawn curtains, it was morning. I closed them again and stretched luxuriously on the soft sheets. I was underneath a comfortably heavy duvet in a large, beautifully furnished spare bedroom. There was a television mounted on the wall and a sound system that seldom got used. It was one spare room out of three. Only one person lived in this house. I couldn't really comment on the excess of Missy's townhouse given where I lived, but since having to scale back my lifestyle so much, I had gotten to the point of being impressed whenever I was at her place.
Of course, I was staying with a friend. What was I supposed to do? Stay at a hotel? With which money? I barely had enough to get by. I looked lazily to the bedside table where Niall’s watch was sitting. That watch was almost my entire net worth at the moment. The money from selling it was going to have to last months, enough for me to figure out what I needed to do next.
This system was not sustainable. I thought back to last night. I couldn't just wander into a casino and find a rich man to bribe out of his pricy possessions whenever I needed money. All of that said though, I did not regret last night. I was a little sore after the way Niall worked me over but I wasn't complaining, it felt good. I couldn't believe it though. I never thought that it would come to this. Even when Russell died and I first learned about how bad the money situation was, I never imagined resorting to gambling in order to make a few coins.
I felt a little guilty, even though I had won the watch. I played dirty, but it wasn't like Niall would miss it. He probably had a dozen more in his collection. Thirty thousand pounds in cash, watches, jewelry, cars, it didn't matter; it was probably just a drop in the bucket to him. It was a last resort. With more choice, I never would have done it. I was never going to do it again.
As much as I had enjoyed seeing Niall again and as much as I enjoyed last night, doing it again would be too risky. I needed money, but I got way too close to exposing my secret to him. Overall, however, the night was a success. I got the watch, I had fun, he still didn't know my secret and last night had put me in a great mood. It had broken a dry spell and honestly, anything that took my mind off of the mess that was my finances was a welcome treat. The events of the past couple of months since Russell’s death had taken a toll on my self-esteem. Feeling desirable, sexy, and being able to give into a night of fun with a beautiful man felt like a conventional pleasure that I deserved once in a while.
I felt a lot of things after last night, but regret was not one of them. I was single and both of us wanted it, maybe me even more than him. I got out of bed and headed to the shower to wash off. I was so knackered when I got in last night that I went straight to bed. I was kind of sad to be washing off Niall's scent, but the shower was refreshing. I made liberal use of Missy’s fancy scented gels and potions, washing my hair as well. After getting dressed and pampering a little, I made my way downstairs.
The scent of breakfast hit me as soon as I opened up the door. My mouth watered and my stomach rumbled as I made my way to the kitchen. I hadn't eaten dinner last night, not smart, given how much I had drunk.
“Good morning Greta,” I said walking into the kitchen. Missy's cook, Greta greeted me with a smile.
“Good morning, Ms. Nicholas,” she said. “Did you sleep well?”