“I’ve got something else that’s prettier,” he whispered.
He straightened. Once more, his thumb moved over my lower lip. Back and forth, dragging over the sensitive skin. I felt my lips part of their own accord and he pushed his thumb between them. I froze, overwhelmed by the taste of his skin on my tongue. My mouth closed around his finger automatically and the corner of his mouth jerked up in that crooked smirk.
“Your stepfather seemed to imply that you weren’t really a very good girl, Lia, but I think you just need the right person to be good for,” he said softly.
Annoyed, I flexed my jaw, scraping his knuckle with my teeth. He made a harsh sound in his throat and I dropped my gaze and saw it there. Hard beneath the flat front of his pants. He must have seen my lashes fall because he pulled back abruptly and adjusted himself, licking the saliva from his thumb.
There was a very long silence.
He took a checkbook from his pocket and sat down in my stepfather’s chair. I kept still, stunned with my arms wrapped around my body, and watched as he wrote a check. When he rose, the ridge at his hip was gone. He circled the desk and pulled me to my wobbly feet.
“Here’s a check for the academy,” he said. “Your stepfather said it was two-hundred thousand for the year so this three-hundred thousand should cover anything else you need. Mention my name and they’ll set an account up for you.”
I stared down at the check, unable to find words. He’d thrown me into utter confusion.
He fished his wallet from his pocket and took out a card. “Here’s a credit card with a limit on it for you that should last until we’re married. And I had your measurements sent to Elliott & Lynn in the city and I’ve ordered you a new wardrobe.”
I gaped at him. My family was wealthy, but I’d still never spent that much money on clothes. Elliott & Lynn was one of the most elite designers in the city and a simple dress costed hundreds. Not to mention what an entire wardrobe would cost. He pressed the credit card into my hand and a shot of electricity went up my arm. Culminating in a tingling sensation between my legs.
“Are you trying to buy me?” I asked.
He smirked. “No, kitten, I’ve already bought you. Why do you think I’m here right now.”
“Don’t call me that,” I snapped back.
He cocked his head. “Why not? I’ll bet if I pulled your tail you’d hiss.”
Without bothering to wait for a response, he turned and strode out the door. Leaving me speechless in my stepfather’s office, the credit card clutched in one hand and the check in the other.
I’d assumed these things were my ticket to freedom, but now I wasn’t so sure. What had I traded myself for? Who had I traded myself to? And why was there a glitter of concern in my stepfather’s eyes as he pushed the door open. Why did he look at me like he was expecting to find only the aftermath of something terribly dark and dangerous?
The next day, Peregrine showed up at my house in his vintage, midnight blue Cadillac. I hadn’t expected him, but I was already dressed from having just returned from dropping the check off at the academy. Through the window, tucked away in the gold curtains, I watched him stride up the front drive of my parents’ historic house.
It was almost fall and everything was golden, including the man heading my way with a determined step. He wore a close-fitting, charcoal gray, three-piece suit with black dress shoes. I’d never noticed it before because I’d resolutely ignored him up until this point, but he looked bigger and more important than I remembered.
Like a man who could contend with presidents and kings.
The doorbell chimed, but I didn’t move. Our housekeeper bustled down the hallway and I heard Peregrine’s rich, velvety voice fill the hall. He was laughing with her and she was giggling. So he could be pleasant when he wanted to be, he just didn’t care to expend that energy with me.
I dusted off my short, plaid, fitted skirt and tights, straightening my turtleneck sweater. My heeled oxfords were tied with red ribbons to match my skirt and I still wore the garnet necklace from yesterday. At least this time when he arrived, I wouldn’t look totally frumpy. Even my hair looked good, tied up in a high ponytail so my loose waves fell down my upper back.
Peregrine appeared in the doorway of the living room. He paused, his gaze flitting over me. I stared up at him, suddenly taken aback by how he filled up the doorway. I’d graduated a few years ago and had taken a few classes between now and then when I could afford them on my allowance. I was used to being around men who were just leaving their teens.
But Peregrine was a fully grown, adult man and he exuded that energy. He filled the room with it until I felt it beneath my skin. Making my spine prickle and a tingle move in my stomach.
“Lia,” he said pleasantly. “What are you doing this morning?”
“Nothing,” I said automatically.
“I’d like to take you to brunch with my family.”
I would probably have rather stabbed my own eyes out than go to brunch with the Calo family. My mind spun as I attempted to come up with a reason I couldn’t go, but I’d already told him I wasn’t doing anything. Releasing a sigh, I nodded.
“Okay.”
His mouth pressed together. “Come now, it won’t be that bad.”
“You have four very loud brothers,” I pointed out.