Page 81 of His to Possess
“I’d love to stay and chat, but we have tickets for the show,” I murmur as I take Lilah’s hand and begin to guide her to the door. “I’d invite you in, but I’m quite sure you’re not on the guest list.”
Call me immature, but I take a good deal of pleasure from the rage I see in his expression. Aden Roth is one of the primary reasons Rebecca and Luke are so exclusive when it comes to public scenes. Roth was her Dom before she met Luke, and his behavior when she finally kicked his unworthy arse to the curb was the cause of his first suspension.
We should have kicked him out then,I think angrily as I guide Lilah past. The owners were concerned about contractual issues and bylaws but we should have found a way around all that. Roth never should have been allowed to set foot on the property after the way he treated Rebecca. And he clearly hadn’t learned a thing from his second chance, either.
“I hope you’re being careful, Lilah,” Roth calls and I go still, rage seizing me like an iron fist. How dare he fucking address her. He shouldn’t even be allowed to say her name—
“Don’t forget—no money for you if spread your legs for this asshole before Saturday.”
I spin to face him, no amount of caution capable of stopping me from punching his weaselly little face now. “You little shite—”
Nate’s hand comes down on my shoulder, hard. “He’s not worth it,” he murmurs, even though I know he’d like nothing better than to punch Roth himself. He lowers his voice. “Lilah is probably terrified. She needs you more than you need to knock this asshole out.”
The idea of Lilah needing me is probably the only thing that could possibly keep me from going after this guy right now. I take a breath and turn back, pushing Lilah more forcefully to the door, but I don’t get her inside before Roth adds one more parting shot.
“I do hope you don’t break the contract, Miss Cartwright,” he says. “I’m so looking forward to watching you get fucked. Of course, if Matthews is too chickenshit to do it, I’d be happy to bid on you again.”
“Get her out of here,” I say to Nate in a low voice. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”
“No, you’re not,” he says. “You’re going to take your girl into that room and make sure she’s okay.”
“Nate—”
“I know, man,” he says, giving me a hard push toward the theater. We’ve attracted a bit of a crowd, and I can feel several sets of eyes on me as we pass. “Believe me, I know. And we’re not going to let this go, I promise. But we’re not going to handle it by throwing punches in the hallway, either.”
Thankfully, I catch sight of Lilah standing in the doorway to the theater. Harper is beside her, trying to pull her inside, but Lilah’s wide, scared eyes are locked on me, waiting to see what I’m going to do.
Something settles inside me, a calm I didn’t even know I possessed.She’swhat’s important. Not Roth, not his insults, definitely not my pride. She holds my gaze and even through her obvious fear, I can see a determined intensity.It’s okay,her eyes seem to say.I’m right here.
I take a deep breath and leave Roth behind, taking my girl’s hand and letting the soothing presence of her calm my nerves as Nate pushes us both into the theater. Once we’re in the darkened room, I pull her to the side, taking her face between my hands. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she whispers, but her voice breaks. I fucking hate that she heard him spewing his vile bullshit. I should have listened to Nate the first time and gotten her away from him.
“I’m so sorry,” I murmur, kissing her forehead.
“Did he…he bid on me?” she asks, her voice filled with shame.
“That doesn’t matter,” I tell her fiercely. “I didn’t let him win. I wouldn’t let anyone else win. Not then and not ever, Lilah.”
She takes a deep, shaking breath. “I’m so stupid.” I scowl at her but she hurries on. “I am, Philip. I entered that damn auction thinking no one would ever find out. I didn’t imagine I’d see someone I know.” Her face crumples. “I thought I would just do it and be done. I had no idea it would keep following me around.”
“It won’t,” I say firmly. “I won’t let it, love.” Her silence tells me she’s thinking the same thing I am—I did let it follow her, just now, when I allowed that bastard within ten feet of her. But that’s the last time, I promise myself. I’m going to take care of her, and her brother, and make sure she never has to worry about money or the auction or assholes like Roth or her stepfather ever again. I swear to god I am.
I pull back to peer into her face. “Do you want to go home?”
I’m surprised when her expression hardens. “No,” she says, with much more vehemence than I would have expected. “I don’t want to leave. I was looking forward to this. I don’t want him to ruin it.”
Shit, I love this woman. I really do. The realization crashes over me but it doesn’t scare me in the slightest. I think I’ve known it for a while. Loving her feels like the most natural, obvious thing in the world.
I’m in love with Lilah Cartwright, and I’m going to do whatever it takes to make her happy. For the rest of my life if she’ll let me.
I press a hard kiss to her mouth. “Let’s stay.”
Lilah
My hands are shaking as Philip leads me into the darkened room. I meant what I said—I don’t want to let that man ruin our time here. But it feels next to impossible to banish the sick feeling swirling in my belly. How am I supposed to concentrate on whatever happens in this room when I can’t get the memory of the man’s smirking, lecherous expression out of my mind?
He called me a whore, and he was right. I stood up on a stage and let that man—and any other man who was interested—bid on my body. I was fully prepared to sell myself, to sell sex. Isn’t that the definition of a whore?
