CHAPTER 33
JONATHAN
She's trembling, standing half naked in front of me. Vulnerability is painted across her beautiful face and I'm a dick for doing this to her now, but I can't stop. The pull is too strong and before I know what's happening, I'm standing before her, wanting to cover her body in light kisses. I nearly do it, but then I stop. I don't want to add to whatever hell she's been through, and from the way she flinched when I moved before, I know that fucker did something to her. Cassie isn't saying much about him, but I know what I see, and I see that she's been wounded. I want to take away her pain, just for a second, so I ask her for a kiss.
Her big brown eyes lock on mine, and Cassie nods once. The movement makes that silky dark hair fall over her bare shoulders. Her beautiful body shivers as she fights for breath in that corset. God, I want to rip it off of her. Gently, gently, I chant over and over again in my mind. She doesn't need another asshole using her, but as I think it, I know it's not true. I don't want to use her—I want her for myself. I love her.
As I lean in, I can't stop looking at her mouth, wondering what those big full lips will feel like if I kissed her as deeply as I want to. The woman is an emotional train wreck. Something inside my head is screaming at me to stop and be her friend. God knows she needs one, but those pink lips call to me and I can't pull away. I'm trapped and I don't want to leave this place. My mind is hers, my body is hers, every bit of me—I'd give it to her and worship at her feet if she'd let me in the way she used to.
My body buzzes with feverish intensity as my mouth touches hers. When her lashes close and her lips part, I can't resist. I mean, I try. I try to give her a long, slow, gentle kiss, but with her arms wrapped around my chest and her nails biting into my back, it's hard to go slow. Tracing my tongue over the swell of her lower lip, I kiss her softly, making her moan into my mouth. Cassie leans into me, and presses her tight little body against my chest even harder.
I'm lost in a spray of sparks as the intensity of the kiss escalates. Tingles run through me, making my desire for her impossible to hide. My lips dance with hers, tasting her, drinking her in like I'll never have this chance again. Her tongue flicks across the seam of my lips and I let her in as her fingers tangle in my hair, kissing me deeper, harder. Pressing my body against hers, I push her into the wall as my hands trail down the sides of the lingerie and over her bare hips. I moan into her mouth as she kisses me and her fingers tug at my hair, like I'm not close enough. Cassie nips my lip playfully and I take her head in my hands and kiss her with every last bit of passion I can offer. I don't hold back. I don't mask how much I want her or what she does to me. She can feel it—my ragged breathing, my hot body, and my dick straining for her touch—and she doesn't slink back.
We're tangled together like that, lost in a kiss that feels hotter than Hell when someone knocks on the door. My heart is ready to burst when we fly apart. Cassie's eyes are wide as she wipes away the kiss with the back of her hand, her expression panicked.
Ignoring the knock, I step toward her and whisper, "Are you okay?" I watch her closely, seeing the rapid pace of her breathing as her breasts swell over and over again as she gasps for air. She nods and seems lost for a moment. Her lips part like she wants to say something, but there's a knock at the door again, louder this time.
"Come on, Jonny. Open the door." Peter's voice comes through the thin wood, and I know he's leaning against the frame. If Sean showed up with him, they would have walked in on us. Unlike Sean, Peter has some manners. "I need to talk to you."
I grab my jacket from the back of the door and slip it over her shoulders. Cassie takes it, holding it in front of her, just under her chin. When I open the door, Peter is standing there with Bryan.
Bryan grins at me, like he knows what we were up to. Peter is too polite to comment. They walk inside and Cassie starts to leave. I reach for her, afraid that she'll go and I'll never see her again. "Stay."
"Are you sure?"
I nod and look at the guys. "Yeah, please, sit." Cassie glances at Peter, uncertain, and then makes her way to a seat. I toss her a blanket and she wraps it over her shoulders, but it doesn't cover all of her. Bryan's eyes scan her legs so I smack him in the head. "Stop looking."
Bryan's face turns red and he looks the other way. "I wasn't."
Peter cuts us off. "So, you bought a strip club and risked your inheritance."
Bryan snorts, "Risked? Peter, call it what it is. He's fucked. As soon as his mother finds out, he's toast." He leans back in his chair with a smile on his face, threading his fingers behind his head. "I've always wanted to be the heir. Thanks, cousin."
Peter slaps Bryan in the back of the head, which makes him drop the smug look and sit upright. "You won't be the heir because you knew about it. Mom will castrate you, too."
Bryan smiles like money doesn't matter, like nothing matters except sunlight, fresh air, and fun. "Yeah, probably."
Peter rolls his eyes and his tension becomes more visible. He slaps down a yellow envelope on the desk and presses a finger to it. While looking at me, he explains, "Sean—no matter how obnoxious and condescending he is—was watching your back. Mom's been tied up in meetings all week and doesn't know, yet. And, what Sean arranged makes this whole thing go away. There are papers in here that will expunge the previous transaction. All you have to do is sign them."
Bryan looks between us as Peter speaks. My arms fold over my chest, but I'm not sure why I don't like this. Maybe it's pride, but I don't think so. So I don't sign. Instead, I'm silent and glaring.
Bryan finally says something. "You should sign that, Jonny. And then kiss Sean's ass."
Ignoring him, I ask Peter, "Why do you think I bought this place?" Thrusting out my hand, I gesture for the papers and Peter hands them to me. I glance at them, while he speaks. The thing is, I know what he thinks. I know what they all think.
Peter sighs and tucks his hands into the crooks of his arms as he folds them across his chest. "Does it matter? This is so over the top, even for you, that you had to know what Mom would do to you when you bought the place."
The porcelain skin on Cassie's face wrinkles and she leans forward in her chair. "You were serious? Buying this place will get him disowned?"
Peter nods slowly, his eyes burning a hole into my head, demanding an answer that I won't give. "Yes. He's been on thin ice for a while, and finally was given an ultimatum that if he did one more thing to sully the Ferro name, he was done. He'll be stripped of his birthright and tossed out on his ass."
Why'd he have to tell her that? I laugh and toss the papers back at him. Peter catches them and looks shocked. "No. I'm not signing these. Tell Sean, thanks, but no thanks."
"You realize that you can't win, right?" Bryan is on his feet, his serious expression making him look years older. "You bought this place with Ferro money. They'll keep it when they toss you, Jon. If you sign the papers, you lose the building but keep your fortune."
"It's not about the building or the fortune." I say, and turn away from them. Their eyes are on my back, I feel them judging me even though they have no idea what compels me to do anything.
"Then what's it about?" Peter asks, stepping toward me. "Talk to me, Jon." I don't mean to, but my gaze flicks to Cassie as I glance up at Peter. He turns and looks at her, his expression softer than most. "Who are you?"
"Cassie Hale."
Peter blinks like the name means something, and it should. Cassie Hale was the woman who nailed me into my self-made coffin three years ago. The press slaughtered me and threw me inside. The repercussions still send tremors through the family even now—the things that were printed about my mother were enough to rip apart other families.
Peter's eyes go wide with recognition. He looks at me and blinks like he took a fist to the face. Pointing at her, he says, "Are you serious? You're slaughtering yourself for her?"
I'm not mad at him, because he doesn't understand. He saw how much pain she caused me back then, but he doesn't know what he's talking about. I open the door, a cue for him to leave, "Thanks Pete, but tell Sean that I can handle myself."
Peter nods. He won't start a fight, he's not like that. Instead he walks to the door and stops in front of me. "I'll help you, Jonny. Anything you need, I'm there. But you have to realize the shit storm that's going to fall on your shoulders. Everything will come out, and I mean everything." His gaze holds mine and I know what he means—the mistresses. Fuck, does everyone know about that?
"Thanks, Pete." I place my hand on his shoulder and go to say more, but lose my train of thought when I look through the door. I do a double take, because what I'm seeing can't possibly be real. Two brunettes are on stage, wearing really short daisy dukes. They have on men's dress shirts that are tied right under their breasts, with only one button closed so you can see the top of their bras, and quite a bit of cleavage. One has long pin-straight hair, while the other is curly and all over the place as she whips it around.
The club is closed for the night. Bruce sent the staff home, and most of the lights have been shut off, except for the main stage where Peter's fiancée is dancing with another woman. They're both laughing and swishing those long locks in circles. Sidney giggles and nearly falls off the stage, but the other woman steadies her and they both laugh so hard that they don't notice us gaping at them.
Bryan grins when he sees the display in the front of the stage. Trystan is leaning back in a chair, like he's hoping a portal will open up and suck him into the afterlife, while a girl with caramel skin squeezes his cheeks and hysterically paws at him, repeating the same phrase over and over again, "Holy shit! It's Trystan Scott!"
The dancer that I don't recognize says over her shoulder, "Yeah Mel, you said that already."
I stare, and finally find my voice, "Is that Sidney?"
A slow smile stretches across Peter's face and he laughs. "Yeah, and the one standing next to her is Avery Stanz, the woman that has your brother totally whipped."