LILY
I don’t even knowwhere I’m going as I leave the cabin. Back to the main lodge, I guess. Anything to delay the inevitable confrontation with Nero.
Anywhere to take a moment to breathe.
I make my way along the dark trail. There are lanterns lighting the way, but with the woods now dark around me, I feel the breeze on my bare shoulders and shiver.
The situation with Nero is set to combust. And even worse, a part of me wants it to.
I find the main lodge lit up. There aren’t many people around, but I notice the bar area is open, and a couple of guys are drinking and having a murmured conversation in the corner. Some backroom deal, I’m sure, but that’s the point of the whole weekend, isn’t it?
I pour myself a shot of whiskey and sit on a bar stool. The alcohol burns going down, but it doesn’t ease the tight ache in my chest.
Or between my thighs.
I’m so angry with myself, and I don’t know how to handle it. How can I still want him like this, knowing that he’s truly a monster? I long for his hands to run over my body, but I saw those same hands beating a man half to death. Would he have stopped if I hadn’t shown up?
How much blood does Nero already have on his hands?
I don’t want to think about it. And I don’t like feeling as if I have no control over my own body. It won’t listen to reason, no matter how much my brain knows I should stay away.
I pour another shot, and linger at the bar, dreading going back to the cabin. Not because I can’t bear to be around Nero.
But because of what I’m afraid I’ll do, when I see him again.
Someone joins me at the bar. “Single malt? You’ve got the right idea.”
I look up. It’s one of the husbands from dinner: a man with dirty blonde hair and a dimple in his cheek. He’s boyishly good-looking, and I remember he’s here with an older-looking wife, someone dripping in jewelry.
“Mind if I…?” he asks, nodding to the bottle.
“Be my guest,” I reply politely.
He pours a healthy measure for himself, then tops up my glass. “To the fine bartenders at Stonybrook,” he says, with a twinkle in his eye. “You’re Lily, right?”
“That’s right,” I say, surprised.
“Drew.” He catches my look. “It’s a skill of mine,” he confides. “I can always remember a pretty face.”
I shake my head, smiling despite myself. “Your compliments need work,” I tell him. “Is your wife not joining you for a drink?” I add pointedly.
But he just grins. “She’s conked out with a Valium,” he says cheerfully. “Besides, the two of us are here for very different reasons.”
“Is that so?”
“She’s here to gossip with all her friends and get pampered at the spa, and I’m here to talk business. I have a very successful social media analytics company,” he adds.
“And you’re so modest, too.” I toss back lightly. “She’s a lucky woman.”
He laughs, and I relax, able to imagine for a moment that I’m just hanging out at a regular bar, fending off the good-natured flirting of some random stranger.
Then an arm drapes around my shoulder. “There you are, Princess.” Nero’s voice comes, icy as hell. “I was worried you’d wandered off and gotten lost.”
Fuck.
He eyes Drew with clear hostility. “I see you’ve met my fiancée,” he says, drawing himself up to his full height. He couldn’t have made it clearer that I’m his property if he’d pissed in a circle around me.
“I certainly have,” Drew replies. “And what charming company she is.”