I’d see the monster in the dark. I’d hear his voice.
I thought I was going mad. Until the pills helped me silence him. With traveling and work, I forgot to take them for two days, and this is the price I pay. When I finally open my eyes, I watch the mascara streaking down my face.
Focusing on tonight, I wash up, but when I reach my bedroom once more, it’s gone. It wasn’t real. I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s not really there. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I get ready for the event and dinner.
Carter
“Do you understand what a fu*k-up this is?” My father’s dark eyes smolder with anger. They’re red hot and they’re directed at me.
I nod. There’s nothing else I can do because I know I’m in deep shit.
“Yes. I know. But—”
“No, Carter, no fu*king buts. You’ve done this for the very last time. I can’t bail you out every time you decide to act like a fu*king arsehole. You’re old enough to know how to act responsibly, or do I need to teach you that too?”
“No, Father.” It’s not the first time I’m being reprimanded by him and I doubt it will be the last. He’s trying to be proud of me and all I feel is disdain. For him. For my life. I just want to be a normal nineteen-year-old. Is that too much to ask?
“This will all be yours, son. When you turn twenty-one you’ll become my second-in-command. Remember that as a Hamilton, you need to keep up appearances. So, we need to write a check, which you will deliver. Is that understood?” The man I’ve grown up to call father is telling me my future, and all I want to do is run from it. It’s been like this since I can remember—the grooming and planning. Me and my sister have had our lives set out for us since we were born.
“Yes, Father.” This is one of my biggest fu*k-ups. I can tell he’s holding back and he’s right. I almost fu*ked up my entire life because of one stupid night.
“Carter, if I have to keep cleaning up your mess I don’t see a future for you. I’m your father, but you need to learn responsibility.” His glare is evident and I know I should have been more responsible. My father has paid my way for years. Every time I messed up and made mistakes he was there.
Call it teen angst, but after being told what to do all your life, there are times you want to break out of the mold. “Father, I’m nineteen, I’m bound to make mistakes.” Pushing up from the chair, I stalk to the office door. He practically lives here, and I know it’s because of the pretty woman outside.
Maybe that’s where I get it from. My playboy ways. My father loves women, it’s no secret, and he’s been fu*king the woman he calls his assistant for years.
“This is no fu*king joke, Carter. Here, take this and sort your shit out. I’m not going to say it again and I’m not going to do this again. If you’re going to act like a spoilt brat, you’ll be brought down so fast your head will spin.” He hands me the piece of paper that’s meant to fix everything. One million pounds.
That’s nothing to him, a small sum of money to make sure his son looks like a saint. Well, I’m no saint, and he better remember that. I realize then and there that I do not want to be like him.
“Thank you.” There’s nothing more to say as I walk out of his office with a piece of paper that will save my future.
* * *
Shaking my head of the memory, I pull on my black tuxedo jacket. I take one last look in the mirror and wonder if Ella will be able to handle me. Will she obey me? Let me take what I want?
Picking up my phone, I open my messages and send her one.
Me: Ella, I’m almost ready. Send me a photo of your dress, so I can match my tie to it.
As soon as I hit send, I can’t help the smirk that plays on my lips. I know she’ll obey. It’s in her nature. I don’t wait long and my phone beeps. Sliding my thumb over the screen, the message pops up with a photo of the dress she bought with a short message.
Ella: I think you’ll find it easy to match black with black, Carter.
She’s fu*king beautiful and the thought of her in black lace hugging her curves has me hard as rock. Her body is perfect for anything she chooses to wear, but there’s something about lace that tempts me. Who am I kidding? She’s my temptation, slowly becoming my obsession.
I know Bennett has invited her to the charity event, which only works in our favor. We’ll easily get her to submit to us. The thought of finally finding a woman we can claim as our own excites me. Never before has someone intrigued me the way Ella has.
What I wouldn’t do to climb inside her mind and learn every thought she has. To know what she’s hiding behind those beautiful eyes, to have those perfect lips spill the dirty secrets that hold her hostage. My body craves her and I’ve only known her for a few days.
I head into my living room and the intercom chimes. Shit. As I open the door my sister bounds in.
“Carter, I’m so excited. I spoke to Father and he said I—” She stops when she turns to take in my appearance. “You’re looking particularly poised and sharp.” Her frown is adorable. My sister is twenty-nine, but there are times I’m certain she’s still a teenager.
“I’m trying to impress. Now what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” I head into the kitchen. Her footfalls behind me clink on the tiles.
“Who is she, Carter?”
Ignoring her question, I open the fridge and hand her a beer. My sister acts like the perfect elegant woman in front of my parents, but I know deep down that’s not who she is. She accepts the bottle with a smile while staring at me, waiting for my response.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t fu*king lie to me. I can see this is for a woman. Is she beautiful?” My sister is insistent; she always has been. Curious like a little kid wanting to know everything. Even when she knows some things will hurt her. Like when she found out about my father having an affair with his secretary.
“Fine. She’s my new real estate broker. I’m taking her for dinner and she’ll be joining Bennett at the event tonight. I don’t need you to approve. She’s lovely and this is purely a business dinner.”
“Oh please, brother, you’d never take a woman to a business dinner. I’m sure by the end of the night you’ll be knuckle deep inside her.” There’s one thing about my sister. She’s brutally honest. She calls it like she sees it and I love her for it, but my sex life isn’t one of the things I want her analyzing.
“Kat, finish your beer and show yourself out. I’ll see you later.” I lean in and plant a soft kiss on her forehead then head to the door.
“Enjoy your latest obsession, brother.”