The boys take one hand each, intertwining their fingers with hers, and she visibly relaxes at the contact. I feel a spark of sharp jealousy, wishing it were me sitting next to her. Holding her hand. Comforting her. But then the sticky feeling passes as I see the way her shoulders relax a little at their touch.
The voice of my cunt of a father tells me I’m letting her make me soft. But as with most things he says, I ignore it.
My eyes land back on the road, noticing the traffic building up as we get closer to the city.Fucking rush hour.
Eventually, we make it to Claridge’s, which isn’t far from our home in Mayfair. The car drops us off outside the red brick facade of the hotel, the flags looking bedraggled in the rain. The Head Concierge, Martin, comes out to open the car door and direct the bellboys towards our luggage in the trunk.
“Welcome back, Mr. Vanderbilt,” the older man greets me as I exit the car, holding an umbrella up so that I don’t get wet from the rain that is falling harder now.
“Thank you,” I reply as he hands it to me.
“Mr. Matthews, good to see you again,” he says as Kai emerges, handing him an umbrella too. Kai nods in return, and a pang of worry shoots through me for him. He’s been unusually quiet since Christmas, and I bet his fucking uncle is to blame. “Mr. Thorn, a pleasure as always,” the man smiles wide at Loki, giving him an umbrella too.
Martin goes to help Lilly out, but I step back towards the door, cutting him off and holding out my hand for her to take. She grasps it and a fissure of electricity shoots through me at the touch, as she places one heeled foot onto the wet pavement. She’s wearing the new boots Loki bought her, and she looks hot as hell in them.
I pull her towards me so that she’s under my umbrella, and even though I can see that she’s nervous by the tightness of her eyes, she still gives me a smile so warm, that it makes it feel as though we are still on the beach in Cempedak.
I can’t help but lean in and place a kiss on those luscious lips of hers, sucking gently on her lower lip and swallowing the gasp that escapes. I release her before things can get heated, or more heated, between us.
“You must be Miss Darling,” Martin says warmly. “Welcome to Claridge’s.”
“Thank you,” Lilly replies, looking up at the art deco frontage with slightly wide eyes, that sparkle and gleam even in the dull winter light.
“Mr. Griffiths, welcome back,” I hear the man say as I tuck Lilly’s hand into the crook of my arm and lead her towards the glass doors.
A pair of smartly dressed doormen open the doors at our approach, nodding in welcome. As we step through, I hear Lilly sigh as warmth envelops us, and I look down, unable to stop myself from taking in her every reaction to the elegance that surrounds her.
Her troubles are clearly forgotten as she gawps at the entryway with her lips parted, and eyes widening further, wonder written across her face. She’s fucking mesmerizing, and it’s all I can do not to sweep her up and run to our suite.
“This is...this is incredible,” she whispers, looking around at the black and white tiled floor, the white columns, and shaped mirrors that are all around us.
Lilly has this ability to make you see things as if for the first time, and I feel a stirring, a lightness in my chest as I take in the entrance. It really is the pinnacle of refined elegance. I can’t wait until she sees our suite.
“Your bags will be taken to your rooms, Mr. Vanderbilt,” Martin informs me, having caught up to us. “Would you like to freshen up first, or head straight to breakfast?”
“Breakfast!” Lilly interjects before I can say anything.
It comes out a little loud, unintentionally so, if her blush is any indicator. I chuckle at her slight outburst, earning a small glare from her, which only makes me smile wider.
“Breakfast first it is then, Miss,” he says with an indulgent smile. This girl has some magic power over men, I swear. We all become her slaves, fulfilling her every whim, just for a smile in return. “If you’d care to follow me to The Foyer, your table awaits.” He indicates with one arm down the hall.
We follow him, Lilly’s hand still clutching my elbow like we’re inThe Great Gatsbyor some shit. I place my hand over the top of hers, loving the contact of skin on skin.Just three, maybe four more weeks, I say to myself, then we can have all of our skin touching. It can’t come fucking soon enough, any longer and I think my balls will legitimately explode.
Loki and Jax are shooting some shit behind me, and I can see Lilly smile as she glances over her shoulder at them. Kai is still pretty quiet, walking at the back of our group, and my brows droop to see him still so withdrawn.
I feel Lilly squeeze my arm, and I look down to see her soft smile.
“He’ll talk to us when he’s ready, Ash,” she reassures me, and I squeeze her hand back in gratitude, looking ahead once again. She really is too good for the likes of us, taking time to reassure me, even though I know that she’s stressed about seeing Payne.
I hear her intake of breath as we step through the doors into The Foyer. Like the entrance hall, it's all cream walls and mirrors, only with silver and sage accents instead of black.
“Your table, sirs, miss,” Martin says, leading us to a table in the corner that’s a little more private than the others, as it’s set back into an alcove.
It’s the one we usually like to sit at, and I must remember to leave him a good tip for remembering again. He gets one of the servers to take our coats, then he pulls out Lilly’s chair, waiting for her to lower down before starting to push it back in.
We all take our seats, the servers bringing us a selection of breakfast foods. Pancakes, fruit platters, and even what they call a full English, which consists of sausages, bacon, eggs, mushrooms, and tomatoes. It’s all delicious, although Lilly mostly picks at her plate, which is very unlike her.
I can see the others glancing at her, worried frowns on their faces.