Louise wanted to ask him what was wrong but scared he would rebuff her. “Do you really like London then?” She asked him casually.
“My parents are from England. I grew up here for the first 11 years of my life.”
“Oh.” She looked at him curiously. She had never heard Ben talk about living in London. “Ben never told me that you guys were English.”
“Oh, Ben never lived here.” Richard looked at her carefully. “Ben and David are my cousins, not my real brothers.”
“Oh.” She wanted to ask for more information but didn’t want to appear too nosey.
“My father and his father were brothers. His dad immigrated to the States after going to College a Columbia University. He met Ben’s mom and stayed in the States.” Richard paused. “My dad went to Cambridge and met my mom. He was a doctor. She was a society girl. They died in a car crash after he caught her in bed with his partner.”
“I’m soo sorry Richard.” She looked at him in shock and tenderly grabbed his hand.
“It’s okay.” He looked at her with a half-smile. “After that I was shipped to the States to live with Ben and David. Classmates assumed we were brothers because we were all Beekman’s and it pleased them so I just went along with it. Though, I never could understand why people accepted it so easily as they are all blond and I am as dark as night.” He half-grinned at her. “I guess maybe they thought I was a bastard kid.”
“I doubt anyone thought that.” Louise leaned into him. “You are way too confident for anyone to think you were anything less than legitimate.”
“Thanks.” He put his arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on his chest as they rode along on the bus. “Ben still resents me for taking over the family business. He thinks it should be his, but it was my inheritance that was used to expand the company and so technically it is mine and mine alone.”
“But I thought there was a trust?” She looked at him in confusion.
“I set that up separately. I didn’t want Ben or David to have something I didn’t. They really are like my brothers.”
“I see.” She paused, not wanting to bring up the fact that he had slept with her while she had been dating Ben. That didn’t seem like a very brotherly thing to do.
“So I thought we would get off at Oxford Street and walk to Regent Street and go into China town for some food later. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, it sounds good.” She smiled shyly at him. “Can we go to Piccadilly Circus as well?”
“Of course.” He paused. “And tomorrow we can go to Trafalgar Square and Buckingham Palace if you want.”
“That sounds amazing.” Louise spoke excitedly, unable to believe how lucky she was.
“They have an Egyptian exhibit at the British Museum if you want to check that out as well.”
“You like museums?” She looked at him in surprise.
“I was an Art history major in college.” He grinned at her, laughing at the look on her face.
“No way.”
“Yes, way.” He jumped up. “Come on, this is our stop.”
“Yes, my lord.” She jumped up behind him and they burst out laughing.
“I hope you remember that I’m your Lord tonight.” He whispered in her ear and winked at her and she flushed with excitement. So maybe he wasn’t planning on them sleeping in completely separate beds.
Chapter 13
Louise stared at Richard as he played with a giant Teddy bear in Hamleys, the largest toy store in the world and laughed at the looks he was getting from parents escorting their children through the store.
“I think we better leave before someone calls the cops on us.” Louise grabbed Richard as he started waving at kids using the arm of the teddy bear.
“What? I was just getting in to it.” He grinned at her.
“We don’t want people thinking you are some sort of pedophile as opposed to a hardworking millionaire with a penchant for toys.”
“That’s true.” He grabbed her hand and they ran out of the store. “Okay, where to next?”
“Let’s eat. I’m famished.” She smiled at him and licked her lips.
“I’m feeling kind of horny too. What did you have in mind?” He wriggled his h*ps and she laughed.
“Not that kind of hunger you perv. I want food.”
“Okay, I know a good spot.” He linked his arm through hers and his eyes sparkled as she looked back at him and smiled.
“Then let’s go my lord.” She squealed when he hit her in the butt and growled.
“Just wait til we get home you wrench.” He pulled her towards him with a kiss and she melted into him in complete happiness kissing him back heartily. “Louise, I think we better wait until we get back to the hotel.” He pulled away from her reluctantly and grabbed her hand again.
They ended up sharing a couple of different dishes of Chinese food and Louise had never felt so full and satisfied. “This is delicious,” She said licking her lips. “I feel like I’m ready for bed right now.” She rubbed her tummy.
“Ooh really?”
“For sleep,” She laughed at him. “You goof.” She sat back in her chair and thought about how happy she felt in this moment. This absolutely perfect moment. If she closed her eyes, she could pretend that they were a normal loving couple and that the rest of their lives would continue this way. She didn’t want to think about Monique or Richard’s issues with love and relationships. She was glad he had told her about his parents as she figured that his issues stemmed from his mothers cheating. She wished she could tell him that all women were not like that but she knew that she would be the last person that he would believe, seeing as she had been dating his brother when she first met him. And hadn’t even been going to his room when she hooked up with him. She sighed. She felt like he most probably thought she was some sort of whore, when she was anything but that.
“Hey, you okay?” He looked at her in concern and she made sure to smile at him brightly. She didn’t want to bring up the reality of their situation in this perfect moment.
“Yes. Yes. I’m great.”
“Good. We have one more stop before we head back to the hotel.” He left some notes on the table and jumped up. “Come on, we are headed to Soho.”
“What’s in Soho?” She looked at him curiously, wondering what their next stop would be.
“You’ll see.” He grinned at her and winked and she wondered what was going on.
***
As soon as they got to Soho, Louise knew that they were in a more eclectic part of the City. She was slowly falling in love with London and its mix of history, fashion and quaintness. She looked around her with interest. This was definitely a seedier part of town and she wondered where they were going. She wasn’t very shocked when Richard walked her into a sex-store and she wondered what toy they were going to buy.
“I see where your mind is.” She teased him as he walked towards the back of the store.
“Really?” He grinned at her and stopped in front of a row of toys. “Well, why don’t you tell me which toy we should buy?”
She looked at the variety of dildo’s, beads, clitoris stimulators and other toys and was surprised at how interesting some of them seemed. She could feel herself getting wet just thinking about the two of them using some of the toys. “You want me to choose?” She looked at him in surprise. She still felt a little shy actually choosing a toy.