I picked myself up and held my head so high you would’ve thought nothing had happened. I was ready to come back from this. I wasn’t going to let a moment of lust ruin everything. I would tell Olivier what had happened and beg for his forgiveness if I had to.
Smoothing down my clothes and my hair, I carefully reapplied my lipstick before exiting the bathroom. I felt better, confident. Something about what Bruno had done to me put a spring in my step. It was only later, when I was sitting back to Olivier and the royal bastard that I remembered my forgotten toy in the bathroom of the restaurant.
“Where were you?” Olivier asked. “They turned off the lights so we could see the stars through the sun roof.”
He pointed upward and I followed his motion, gasping when I saw the sky behind the glass. It was glorious, magnificent. The stars never seemed closer to reach than that night.
“I’m sorry,” I told him in a whisper. “I’ll explain everything.”
At that moment, Bruno walked into the room and took his seat across from me. I flushed furiously when he smirked at me, hating the effect he had on me time and time again.
I shifted my attention to the food before me. It was beautifully presented, but I had completely lost my appetite. I felt like my guilty deeds were being served to me on the delicate china plates. Time and time again, I pushed the plate back, knowing I couldn’t stomach a bite.
Finally, when dinner was over, I managed to get a quiet moment alone with Olivier.
“I don’t like you disappearing like that, chérie,” he muttered in my ear.
“I’m sorry,” I responded. “Olivier, I… I have to tell you something.”
“What?” His brows knitted together in worry.
“I… thought I got a package from you,” I admitted.
“You did. The perfume?”
“I got two parcels,” I managed. “One was the perfume – it was absolutely beautiful… And the other was a… a… toy.”
“A toy?” He stared at me in disbelief. “I didn’t send you a toy, chérie.”
“I know that now.” I was burning up with shame. “But I thought you did before, so I… I… used it.”
His eyes widened as it finally dawned on him what kind of toy it was.
“Amber,” he ground out. “Who sent you that?”
“I think it was Bruno,” I admitted. “Because he… he…”
“What?” His voice was nothing but a growl, his fingernails digging into my skin painfully. I tried to pull my arm back but he wouldn’t let me, and I shivered at the exciting thought of his strength. “What did he do?”
“He came up to me in the bathroom.” I swallowed, feeling his grip tighten. “I’m sorry, I… It’s my fault, I thought he was you.”
He let go of me like he’d burned his fingertips and I stared on as he took a step back, mouth pursed and eyes looking for the culprit of the crime.
“Don’t, Olivier,” I begged him. “It’s okay, I-”
“Shut the fuck up.” His voice was cool, rough. And holy hell, it was turning me on. “You won’t mention this to anyone, do you understand, Amber?”
“W-What?” I stared at him, my eyes filled with surprise. “But I thought you… I thought he-”
“Nobody,” he repeated, eyes zeroing in on me. “Fucking no one. Nod if you understand.”
I nodded on autopilot, then watched him storm away.
The other girls were whispering, and my heart was pounding.
The worst part was, it wasn’t with fear of what the two men would do to one another.
It was pure, unaltered… excitement.
Chapter Eighteen
Olivier
I felt anger surging inside me as I strolled out of the room filled with women and into the hallway. I was itching for a smoke, something I hadn’t done since my father had died. But more importantly, I wanted to smash Bruno’s face into an unrecognizable pulp.
I walked down the hallway until I saw his familiar form, chatting up a waitress. She was giggling, and he was smirking down at her. Fucking typical.
“Bruno,” I ground out through gritted teeth. “Seems like we need to talk.”
He looked up at me and gave me a strained smile.
“Excuse me, sweetheart,” he said to the waitress.
She looked over her shoulder, blushing and curtsying before scurrying away with her platter filled with dishes. I made my way over to Bruno, my hands forming fists at my sides. I had to use every ounce of self-restraint I had to stop myself from driving a fist into his chiseled jaw.
“What’s going on, brother?” he asked, leaning against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world. “Problems with the competition again?”
“You know damn well what’s going on,” I snarled at him. “Why can’t you leave her the fuck alone, Bruno? She belongs to me, and you’ve known it all along.”
“Who are we talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb. Amber. The one I picked from the beginning.”
“Then why all the games?” He was taunting me, and we both knew it. “Why not just skip the competition?”
“You know damn well why,” I growled at him. “It was my father’s wish.”
“Seems to me like you don’t give a shit about that,” he told me. “Knowing what you did, I doubt you care about the King at all.”
“Shut your mouth.” I stepped forward and drove a finger into his chest. “You swore you’d keep that between us.”
“No,” he hissed. “You threatened me. Or do I need to jog your memory, brother dearest?”
“Just shut your mouth and do as you’re told,” I growled. “And stay the fuck away from Amber.”
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want,” he replied. “Unless you want everyone to find out what you did?”
He had me by the balls and he knew it. I wanted to fucking kill him, but that would mean more blood on my hands, and I wasn’t going to stain them with someone who wasn’t even a real threat.
“Empty words, empty threats,” I told him. “You’re still following my orders, bastard. And you always will. Remember that.”
I walked away from him, feeling his searing gaze on my back as he followed me back into the restaurant. Right away, I sought out Amber, my hand wrapping proprietorially around her arm and pulling her against me.
“Olivier,” she breathed. “Are you… are you okay?”
“Fine,” I ground out in response. “I took care of it, don’t worry.”
Her eyes were fearful when they found mine, and I got off on it. Fear was such a delicious thing. Nothing sweeter than the quivering of a woman’s bottom lip as she waits for you to hurt her.
“Thank you,” she managed, and I gave her a smile in response.
Then, her eyes wandered over my shoulder and settled on something behind me. I turned around, finding Bruno standing to the side. He was holding a flute of champagne, which he raised to us in a silent toast. Hatred burned me from the inside, but I kept my voice down and pulled Amber against me. I kissed her then, hard and unforgiving, her surprise evident in the way she tried to resist. But it only took a few moments for her to succumb to me, let me have it all.