In spite of the annoying grin I know is plastered to Jude’s face, I grind my teeth, keeping my mouth shut.
“Go clean yourself. We’ll talk later.”
Lurching a step toward her, Solange holds out her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Blackthorne.”
Shoulders stiff with her usual haughty posture, my mother keeps her steely gaze on me, not bothering to acknowledge the woman beside her.
Solange lowers her hand and clears her throat.
Jesus Christ, the woman can’t even spare a glance at the girl who’ll be washing the piss out of her bedsheets after my mother has another one of her Valium-induced nightmares.
“If you could … show me to my room, I’ll get settled and begin my work.” The meek tone of Solange’s voice is inconsistent with the woman who greeted me just before my mother showed up.
“One more thing, Lucian. You’re not to go near that cave tonight.” Still ignoring the new girl, my mother spins around and makes her way back up the stone staircase, where she pauses to look back. “Are you coming?”
With a sheepish smile, Solange slides her suitcases from Jude’s grasp and raises a brow that my mother can’t see. “She’s delightful,” she whispers, before following after the woman.
“Not gonna lie. Your mum?” Jude says. “She’s worse than my own.”
“She’ll drive me to drink before I’m even of age.” In spite of the irritating encounter with my mother, I’m somehow fixated on the woman who follows her inside.
“Goddamn, that is one fine piece of ass, though.”
Frowning, I twist to look at my friend, whose eyes are glued as he licks his lips. “Solange, not your mum. If you don’t fuck that at some point, I’m afraid we can’t remain friends. I say we invite her to our little soiree tonight.”
“And what the hell would she want with a couple of sixteen-year-olds, huh?”
“We’re not like most sixteen-year-olds.” He wraps one arm around my neck, pulling me in. “We’re obscenely wealthy, and equally good looking. Not to mention, I refuse to fuck your dad’s sloppy seconds. Better to get our digs in first.”
“’The hell’s that supposed to mean?”
“You honestly think your father, a man with more bad habits than a convent of dirty nuns, won’t be tapping that ass at some point?”
I slam my fist into his shoulder. “In case you’ve forgotten, he’s married to my mother, asshole.”
“As my old man is married to my mum. Doesn’t keep him from fucking anything in a tight skirt.”
“Your father has no concept of family. If he did, he wouldn’t send you off to school, then send you off to stay with me every time you come home for break.”
“True. But I admire his passion for the extracurricular.” Jude turns to face me, his lip kicking up to a half smile. “I’ll gift you the entire contents of my left ball-sack if you invite Solange to the cave tonight.”
Lips curled in disgust, I shake my head and walk ahead of him. “I wouldn’t touch your curdled spunk if you gifted me your entire trust fund on top of it. Piss off.”
“I meant my future firstborn.” Falling into step behind me, he leaps ahead and turns to face me, walking backward. “I’m kidding. But seriously, whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“How the hell am I supposed to make that happen? She’s new. They spend the first week kissing my parents’ asses. No doubt, she’ll do the same.”
“Exactly. She’s new. She wants to please.” He reaches out to grip my shoulders, bringing me to a halt. “I saved you from a goddamn bird today. The least you can do is return the favor.”
“You’re comparing apples to oranges.”
“No, I’m comparing one dangerous bird to another. Did you see her tits?” His grip squeezes my arms as if he’s imagining his hands on them. “Couldn’t wrap my palm around them if I wanted to. I need to fuck this woman before my balls explode.”
“Then, you ask her.”
“It’s not the same.” Finally releasing me, he crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re the master of the house when your father is away. Make her go.”
“How?”
“Your infamous Blackthorne charm. What else?”
Chapter 3
Lucian
Present day ...
I stare through the window of my father’s old office. Even two years after his death, the room still reeks of cigar smoke and the cheap perfume of his last whore.
In the aftermath of my mother’s declining mental health, he let the place fall into disrepair. Took to drinking gin all hours of the day, and keeping with prostitutes he forced Rand to recruit from the mainland on his behalf.
A dull ache in my skull radiates over the right side of my head, and I set a hand to where small patches of hair are missing. In light circles, I try to abate the needling sensation that settles deep inside my bones. A quiet ringing in my ears intensifies just enough to add a zap of sharp pain.
Eyes flinched, I breathe through my nose until it subsides, and loosen the tight clench of my teeth.
“She’s arrived, sir,” Makaio says from behind.
I let out a shaky exhale, not bothering to turn to where the giant Hawaiian stands behind me.
At six-five, he’s only about an inch taller, but his mass makes up the difference between us. That, and Makaio happens to be far more deadly with his MMA background. I loathe the idea of having a bodyguard shadow me everywhere, but I’ve had enough attempts on my life to warrant the man’s services. I’ve known him for nearly half my life, he and Rand being longtime associates of my father. The only two people left in the world that I trust.
“You want Rand to bring her up so you can meet her?”
“Rand assisted my father in making multi-million dollar decisions every day. I’m sure he can handle hiring a companion for my mother.”
“This one looks young. Hot, but can’t dress worth a damn.”
I couldn’t care less about the new help. They rarely last here, so I find it pointless to learn more than I need. Whether from having to put up with my mother, or from staying in this rotting corpse of a house, they have a tendency to quit the job before they’ve begun. “Please have Giulia bring me some coffee.”
“Breakfast, too?”
“No. I’m not hungry.”
“How is that even possible? I don’t get it.”
I smirk, in spite of my mood. “I weigh about a hundred pounds less than you do. I certainly don’t have the same love affair you seem to have with food.”
“Doesn’t cheat. Doesn’t piss and moan every time I want a piece. And I don’t have to worry about some other asshole coming along to swipe it up.”
“Depends on what you’re eating.”
Snorting, Makaio shakes his head. “I’ll have Giulia bring the coffee.”
With a nod, I turn my attention back toward the window. From here, I can see over the surrounding forest that lines the property’s perimeter, and beyond to where the ocean dances in the distance, past the edge of a steep cliff.