Getting lost in lost in Lourdes was equal parts earth shattering and revealing. There are no guarantees in life, but it’s a pretty miserable existence to live for the what-ifs. She owns my heart, and should she fail me, I’ll deal with that fallout when it comes. I’m done denying what gives me happiness.
She mentioned calling her mother to finally come clean about what Thomas did to her, and I promised to be there with her in any capacity she needed me. I kick myself because the clues were there all along. Her need to hide behind black when I first met her, the trust issues, the slipup that night after I followed her into the neighborhood, the slip of Thomas’s name during the fish fry, and her freak-out. I didn’t put the pieces together, and that kills me. I’m here for her now, though, and I will never let foolish pride push her away again. I irrevocably love her, and I’m ready to let Xander know. This time, there will be no secrets. I will do things the right way.
My cell rings, and it’s Sevyn. I tell her it’s my brother, and he may have news. Good or bad, I brace for what he may have to tell me.
“Can you take it outside?” She gives me a pleasing look, and I just know. She wants to do this on her own. I blow her a kiss before stepping into the hallway.
“Tell me you got news, brother.”
“I do, indeed. This is going to blow your fucking mind. Are you sitting down?”
“No, I’m in the middle of a hotel hallway. Nobody is around.”
“Lourdes, huh?”
“Yeah, how did you know?”
“Because Melissa is back in New York. We paid her a little visit at Daddy’s house.”
“What? Shut the front door! Why?”
“The investigator clued us in that she was there, so Aldrich and I stopped for a visit. You should have seen her face. It was priceless.”
“I don’t get it. You guys gave away our element of surprise—that we knew he was her father.” I pace back and forth.
“It gets better. You see, old Ted, although he was secretly fucking Trevor, having their affair on the down low meant he has never been to his lover’s house.”
“Holy shit. I think I like where this is going,” I admit.
“We unscrupulously told him that we’re taking him to our place to discuss business and were open to any reasonable offers to get out of this mess.”
“And he believed you?”
“Yep. So anyway, he gets kind of nervous when we ring the doorbell, certain that we lied about it being our place. Too late for him to run, though, because when Trevor opens the door, his face is as white as a sheet. Oh, Dad tells him in that slick British accent of his to let us all in or we’d make a show for the neighbors.”
“I’m picturing this shit.” I laugh.
“Begrudgingly, he obliges. I greet Melissa when she comes to see what all the fuss is about—her face matches her father’s. Aldrich gives him notice that he would be relinquishing all his shares over to us, thus giving us the remaining power we need for our ownership. We also tell Ted that he will cease any attempts at a hostile takeover.”
“Damn, I wish I could have been there. What did the fuckers say?” My pacing stops in anticipation. I just know my dear old brother is saving the best for last.
“Oh, they were arse over tit, as Aldrich would say.” He chuckles. “Said no fucking way. That they’d just deny involvement with each other and claim any pictures we had were elaborate Photoshop fakes. So then it was time for the grand finale.”
“For fuck’s sake, you’re killing me. Tell me already.”
“We play him a video of his daughter. Her submitting to a man. We blacked out her nudity for the sake of no father wants to see their child naked. We stopped the video before the sex became too explicit.”
My shoulders drop in disappointment. “Tell me the pics of him and Ted will stick—that him cheating on his wife with a man is enough to call his bluff.”
“The pics didn’t, but the video did.”
“I don’t get it. He could turn that to a negative countersuit against us.”
“Diesel. The man in the video with his daughter was Ted.”
I almost drop the phone from overwhelming shock.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. Neither he or his daughter knew about their dual involvement. He was using them both. Probably hoping to play that card, should he need it against his lover. It’s pretty sad, to be honest. Trevor cheats on his wife with Ted, and Ted cheats on him with his daughter.”
I shake my head to clear it. My mind is truly fucking blown. “So what was Melissa’s angle in this?”
“From what we gather, she’s always been a daddy’s girl. She sought to get dirt on us, but her final admission was she never meant to hurt us. She thought she could give Trevor just enough info to appease him but not enough to get what he was truly after, which was our company. She promised that she would have never shared our secret.”
“I don’t know if I believe that, but it doesn’t matter.”
“Nope. It’s over, brother. The papers have been signed. We have all the shares we need and enough on our remaining members that they wouldn’t try to cross us again in the future.”
“I’m so relieved. It feels good not to have this hanging over our shoulder.”
“So. One last piece of business. And this comes from Claude once he learned of the news.”
“Okay,” I answer hesitantly.
“Are you in with us as one of the owners?”
“You know what? As long as I don’t have to leave the band, I’m in.”
“Fuck yes,” he hollers on the other end of the phone.
“I’ll let you go, but we’ll need to schedule an official press conference. Officially lay all this shit to rest.”
“Indeed.”
I end the call with him, excited to share the news with Lourdes, but know I need to play it by ear depending on how her conversation went. When I walk into the room, she’s grinning. Not sure what I was expecting, but that wasn’t it.
“So babe. Uh, did you talk to your mother? How did it go?”
I know I’m firing questions at her, but I’m secretly afraid her grin is some psychotic break.
“Yes, I talked to her, and no, I didn’t bring up Thomas.”
“Ah, princess, that’s okay. We’ll do this on your time.”
“There is no longer a need.” I scratch my head, puzzled. “He’s dead, Diesel.”
“What? How?”
“He molested the neighbor’s daughter a year ago, only she didn’t keep it a secret. She told her father, and he killed Thomas. It made local news but not national.”
“Why didn’t she tell you sooner?”
“Honestly, I hadn’t realized it had been that long since we last talked. But she said once she found out he had that side to him, she was scared to ask. Deep in her heart, she just knew from my behavior and the change she saw in me before I left. She was so sorry she didn’t make the connection sooner. I never actually admitted it because hearing her discuss it made it so much more real. Knowing that maybe if I would have said something, I could have spared someone else. We cried together for about ten minutes.”
She takes a cleansing breath, and now that I look closely, I can see the dried tear streaks and redness.
“I told her that I love her, and that I’d be by to visit soon, and then I told her about you.”
My ears perk up. “Really? What did you tell her?”
“Just how much I love you. I left out the crap that got us to this point because all that matters is now. You saved me once before—gave me back the power to reclaim my sexuality. More importantly, you showed me what love looks like. All this time, my goal was to save you like you once did for me, and you ending up saving me again.”
“I love that I was able to get you to the place, mentally and physically, love, but you’re wrong on one part.”
“What is that?”
“You actually did save me as well. I didn’t even know I needed saving. I’ve always valued my control to the point that if anything or anyone threatened that, I was ready for a fight. Only that fight was with myself. From Claude treating me like I didn’t belong, to finding out my source of redemption was from a woman who slept with both me and my brother, to finding Claude has a twin and wasn’t actually my father because my mother cheated, to finally finding out Melissa was plotting against me. Everything in my life has been one lie after another.”
I take a seat on the bed and pull her to me. “I tried so hard not be vulnerable with you. I think I always knew you owned my heart, and that was scary as shit. But your loyalty was steadfast, and it’s given me blind faith. It’s given me the courage to leave it all behind—the deceit, betrayal, and the possibility of consequences of my faith if you hurt me. I don’t know if I could come back from it, but I just know I want to move forward with you.”
“Today has been the best day of my life. I buried my demons on the same day you buried yours. I’ve never known what hope feels like, and I have to say, though it may be intangible, it’s the most beautiful gift you could have given me. I love you so much, and I’m looking forward to our lives together.”
“Lourdes?”
“Yes?”
“Will you be my girlfriend and submissive?”
“Yes, sir,” she answers excitedly, already getting into submissive mode. My cock jumps with excitement. We have lots of catching up to do.
“And Lourdes?”
“Yes?” She drops the formality, but I can work with that.
“Promise me, when we get married, we can get our wedding date tatted on our ring finger instead of wedding bands. Rings can be removed. I want forever.”
“Are you proposing?” She gasps.
“Not yet. I want to do things right this time, starting with Xander and your mother.”
“Okay.” She smiles sweetly. She has no idea how soon that “not yet” is going to change. I just give her a mischievous grin as I slide off the bed.
“On your back, now. Knees bent and ass close to the edge of the bed.”
My Dom vibrato perks her right up. She moves without questioning, eager for whatever I have in store. It’s about to be a long day. I don’t plan on turning her lose until my nuts are empty. Now it’s time unleash my demons she enjoys so much … now it’s time to really play!