bCHAPTER /bb0118 /b

ric’s POV:

A few hours earlier:

b“/bbNo/b, Mutti.” My voice was low, but I could tell it was still loud enough for Ingrid Ashford to hear. Her face gave nothing away as usual, but I noticed the slight twitch of her right eye.

“What do you mean ‘no‘, mein herzb?/bb” /b

I pushed away from my desk, my fists clenched at my sides. “I mean exactly what you think I mean. We

are not holding a memorial for a man who never so much as looked at you except when he was beating

you to a pulp or pushing you down the-”

TCRACK!

My mother’s palmnded across my face. If anything, my face only jerked to the side from the pressure. When my eyes meant hers again, her face turned red. She was angry that I didn’t feel the p.

“You are not to speak of that, ric,i” /ishe gritted out. “We had an agreement on that.”

My jaw clenched and, scraping my teeth along my bottom lip, I replied: “I believe we also had an agreement on not speaking about that scum either.”

Her nostrils red.

“What does Nn think about this?” I asked, narrowing my gaze at the edges. The way she avoided my eyes told me everything I needed to know. “You haven’t told him, have you? I thought you’d want to go through the son who would dly do anything for you–including holding a memorial for the man who made our lives a living hell.”

My mother swallowed. And I stepped closer to her as my lips twitched. “Or… you know Nn would hate you for even asking him to do such a thing, and decided toe talk to me instead, even though you know there’s not a single way that I’d listen to you.”

For a long time, Nn knew our father was cruel, but he never got to see or experience the extent of his cruelty. He was only two years younger than me, and yet, I’d managed to keep certain things from him.

Like the times our father had our mother thrown into a mental institute every single time she caught him cheating–or whenever he felt like it, really.

I spent my life in that household doing all I could to protect my brother from seeing the kind of monster our father was. But of course, that wasn’t going tost forever. Eventually, Nn got to see him bfor /bwho he truly was. That night, bmy /bdrunk father had beaten an eleven–year–old Nn up until he passed out and had to get up bto /btwenty stitches at the hospital. I wasn’t home to protect him when it happened.

That moment haunted me for a long fucking time. Seeing him in that hospital bed, motionless…

“We don’tb…/b” Ingrid trailed off, heaving a sigh. Her blonde hair wasn’t in a tight bun today–that said a lot about the stress that she was causing herself. She ran her hand through itb, /blowering herself onto a seat. Wir müssen nicht so sein wie.” “We don’t have to be like him.‘ “We are better than him, ric. And we

have to show him that.”

”

My jaw ticked as I shook my head. “All we’ll be showing him by having a memorial is that we’re thinking of him. Which is the one thing we’re not supposed to be doing.”

I shoved out a breath, cing my hand on her shoulder. Mutti nced down to where my hand met her, and when she looked back at me, her eyes were already filled to the brim with tears.

My chest tightened.

“We don’t owe him anything, Mama. And the sooner you realize that, the better it’ll be for you… for all of

us.”

I was only thirteen when my father died. Meadow must’ve been three or four years old then, which was why it was a little bit easier for me to tell her about my father’s death. Because she wouldn’t be able to

piece it together.

My father’s murderer wasn’t found until seven yearster.

Yeah.

That was how long the fucking murderer evaded the police. Clint Russell ruined my family.

And for a long time, that was all I wanted to do to his own family. Payback. Maybe I should’ve considered it a favor, even. But it wasn’t a fucking favor. All he did was damage my family.

And until I had Meadow in my arms, I had no idea that Clint Russell had damaged his family too.

“What’s on your mind?” Meadow’s voice was low as she asked. She sounded tired–which she had every right to be. After we had dinner on the jet, I had upied myself with a little bit of work. But it wasn’t long until she was straddling me, and then I was shifting her panties to the side and fucking her. And we’d gone straight ito /ithe bed ito /icontinue.

And hell, I didn’t want to stop. But my wife was too far spent.

She snuggled into my chest, and I wrapped an arm around her as we sat in the backseat of an SUV.

“Just work,b” /bbI /bmurmured.

“Right. And what is it you wanted to show me again?b” /b

I didn’t answer at first. But as the driver pulled up to the penthouse garage, I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “It’s a surprise. I was going to show you tonight, but you seem tired.” I paused. “I want youpletely alert when I finally show you.”

Meadow’s head shot up bat /bthat, her eyes widening at me. “I’m alert. Fully. Completely. Wholly.”

A smile threatened to slip out but I wiped it off with the back of my hand. “Not quite.”

“Oh,e on,” she copsed against me, whining into my neck, her breath hot against my skin. A shiver coursed down my spine. God–This woman. b“/bJust tell me what it is.”

“Tomorrow,” I murmured as the driver pulled the door open. “For now, I need you to rest, baby, okayb?/bb” /b

What I had to show her was something I’d been working on for the past few months. I’d been keeping it under wraps, with just a number of people being aware of it–most especially my workers here in Vegas. It was a ce where people could go to fulfil and experience their greatest, deepest sexual desires. A home where people could be kinky without any sort of discrimination, as people often did with certain

kinks.

A sex club–to mildly put it. It was an extension of the main club, but only exclusive to members only.

And tomorrow was opening night.

Which was why I needed her with me.

Everything was ready. But tonight, I was just going to check things out with my contractor and the staff to see just how ready we were.

However, I wasn’t nning on leaving her alone. In as much as I came here for work, I also wanted her here with me so we could take a break from our real lives. I wanted a few days when it was just us. No

one else.

Just. Us. Me. My doe.

Us.

b“/bNot fair,bi” /i/bshe whispered, letting out a yawn as we stepped out of the car. I immediately went to her, carrying her bridal style into my arms. “Why are you so damn tired tonight?b” /b

“Long day,” she replied after a while. “Plus I had a bit of wine. Lightweight, remember?b” /b

Her arms came around my neck and she snuggled into my chest again, heaving a dreamy sigh as her eyes fluttered close. “Get me into bed, daddy.”

Those words sent a current straight to my cock, and as if Meadow knew what she just did to me, she giggled. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry.” My voice came out braspy /bas I carried her toward the elevator, our luggage in hand. “You

will be.”