Dirty Aristocrat

‘How do you know?’ I challenged, my voice strong and sure.

‘Because you haven’t,’ Ivan’s voice reverberated around the room.

At the sound of his voice my body sagged. The betrayal was complete. He came into the room.

‘You made a phone call yesterday to his office and you have an appointment for tomorrow, but even so, without my say so you cannot make any such decision. So my darling, as it stands,

the Maxwell fortune is still all in your name.’

He stood in front of me in his black leather jacket, a total stranger. Did I dance goofily with this man in a sex club called The Dirty Aristocrat?

‘Are you all right?’ he asked me, his eyes quickly and impersonally pouring over my body. Where had all the passion gone?

I wanted to spit in his face. I knew there was no point in trying to ask him for mercy. He knew I was in love with him and he could do this to me. I glared at him with murderous hatred,

and he smiled. ‘That’s my girl,’ he whispered softly and turned away.

‘Are we all agreed that we do this?’

Without the silence of hesitation every single person in the room spoke up and offered their agreement.’

‘Right. Let’s get on with it, but first there’s something I’ve wanted to do for a very fucking long time. Faster than I could blink, he swung his fist out and crashed it slap bang into

the middle of Dorian’s face. The thud was rather delightful. I thought I heard bone crunch.

‘Fuck,’ Dorian screamed in pain, clutching his nose with both his hands. Blood rushed out between his fingers like a bubbling brook. ‘What the fuck? You broke my fucking nose.’

Ivan grinned. ‘I did you a favor. Now you won’t be the prettiest bitch on your prison block.’

‘What?’ Rosalind screeched. ‘You asshole you.’ She went flying towards him in a fury.

‘We’re done,’ Ivan shouts and all of a sudden the place was crawling with policemen and other people. I was in such a state I couldn’t make sense of the scene before me. Men were

grabbing Rosalind and she was screaming wild abuse at me and them. Bianca was sobbing and telling everyone that she was innocent. She had been forced to cooperate, and Dorian, with blood

pouring down his face, looking stunned and stupid.

CHAPTER 35

Tawny Greystoke

As soon as our eyes locked, everyone else and everything else in the room melted away, my mouth opened and I started howling like some demented animal. I seemed to have no control over

my actions. My whole body was shaking uncontrollably. In an instant he was there next to me. He wrapped his strong arms around me and held me like he had never done since Robert gave me

to him.

‘You conspired with them,’ I sobbed loudly. ‘You made me hate you.’

He stroked my hair, his face pained. ‘I know. I know, darling. I’m so sorry, but there was no other way to do it.’

I looked at him with accusing eyes. ‘I was so frightened. I thought they were going to kill me, but what hurt even more was that you betrayed me.’

‘I’m sorry, sweetheart. I really am. Please try to understand. I had no choice,’ he murmured in my ear.

‘You could have told me,’ I whimpered.

‘You are the worst actress I’ve ever met in my life, Tawny Greystoke. You’d have given the game away straight away. It was too important. I couldn’t take the chance, my darling.’

‘They could have hurt me, and then what would you have done,’ I said.

His jaw hardened suddenly and his eyes were like chips of slate. ‘You were never in any danger. Not for one tiny second.’

I sniffed pitifully, and he took an army knife from his leather jacket and started to cut through the Clingfilm.

‘I was always there, sweet Tawny. I had to do it this way. I had to flush them out. I can’t be looking over my shoulder for the rest of our lives. That bunch of airheads would never give

up, and they are stupid enough for me to actually fear them.’

As soon as I felt my limbs become free, the dam I had been holding back broke, I hid my face in his chest and sobbed my eyes out. He held me and let me stay there. He knew it was just

pent up emotion and it was better out than in.

When the tears subsided and I raised my head, Dr. Spencer was standing in front of us. The whole world was upside down. Dr. Spencer who I’d always thought hated me was working behind the

scenes to save me.

‘I’m sorry I frightened you,’ he said softly.

I shook my head to signify that it didn’t matter. ‘What about James?’ I asked.

He shook his head.

‘Right,’ I said sadly. How blind I had been. Everyone had managed to fool me. ‘Does he have a sick wife?’