Chapter 24: Blame It on the Tequila

OLLIE

My blood rushed at the sight of him, and I picked up the pace as fast as my high heels would let me.

My feet screamed in protest.

The schmuck stood there, unbothered, strangely charismatic, and disarmingly beautiful.

My eyes studied him, and, like a moth to a flame, I got closer and closer.

“I’ll guide the company until it’s time,” he was saying to the small group surrounding him.

He had a warm smile on his face.

Two older fellows in lavish suits paid full attention to him, while the woman in front did not seem convinced at all.

It was nice to find not everyone was orbiting around him.

He was a manipulative fucker, but how far could that get him in life?

“It’s not personal, Mr. Rothschild,” one of the men said politely.

It was alarming how much he resembled a sea lion with his bald head, chubby cheeks, and white mustache.

I stopped far enough away to not draw attention, but close enough to listen.

“Of course it is, Douglas,” Darius replied calmly.

The old guy adjusted his glasses and looked pensive.

“Darius, speaking for all of us, believe me when I say it is not good for the business. Billions are at stake. You must understand that this is not something that we can take lightly.”

The woman spoke reasonably, and the other two gentlemen nodded in agreement, especially Douglas the sea lion.

“Billions that came from ~my~ family. You. Are. My. Board,” Darius gritted. “And it’s ~Robert~ to you. Don’t forget the hand that feeds you, Rhonda.”

~Oh, shit. Rhonda.~

“Too many scandals, Robert. The board didn’t agree with your brother’s lifestyle before, and we won’t support him now with a child who will inherit so much power. We cannot see a way around this.”

“I am the way around.” He spoke assertively, with a hint of annoyance. “I am the one to lead.”

“For now,” she scoffed.

“You are crossing the line again. Just as you did when you expanded different lines of products in Asia without the board’s knowledge.”

The other two fellows looked at Rhonda in surprise.

He had dropped a bomb in her lap.

“Do you think I wasn’t aware of your dirty laundry? I wouldn’t be surprised if you get kicked out from the board soon. Mr. Barren here might look harmless, but he has teeth too, Rhonda.”

~Oh, shit. Rhonda, run!~

“And I am also a family friend,” Mr. Barren said, breaking the silence and placing a hand on Darius’s shoulder.

The lady stood quietly.

It was evident she didn’t like the way Darius had threatened her.

They were going to leave.

This was it.

The moment to follow Blondie’s advice.

~What better way to hurt an entitled person than by harming their reputation?~ Rhonda and Co. seemed the right crowd for my awesome plan.

I followed my impulse and entered the center of their little reunion.

All eyes turned to me.

“Oh, Darius, honey, I’ve been looking all night for you,” I spoke loudly and clearly, imitating Anna Rothschild’s high-pitched voice.

Darius frowned.

Surprise and disapproval in one look.

“Oh, honey, are you ashamed of me? Why aren’t you introducing me to your friends?” I looked into his eyes, pretending to be sweetly in love.

“~Honey~? Are you drunk?” Darius asked me as if I had lost my mind.

I ignored his brooding stare, giving him my back and flashing a lovely smile to the group.

“Hi Rhonda, I’m Darius’s girlfriend.” I offered my hand to her.

The woman looked at my hand and then at the two gentlemen, almost as if doubting my existence.

After hesitating for a couple of seconds, she shook my hand.

“What do you think you are doing?” Darius scoffed while I did the same with Barren and Douglas.

“Are you so ashamed of our love?” I hid a smile.

It was victory I was tasting, or maybe tequila, but it was all worth it.

Rhonda’s expression was complete astonishment.

“Is it because my sister is already pregnant with your brother’s child?” I whispered loudly.

“Lower your voice.” He clenched his jaw, for the first time losing his cool.

His eyes were about to bulge out of his sockets. “Olivia, how drunk are you?”

~Screw you, asshole.~

“No!” I crossed my arms as if he had hurt my pride.

Rhonda, Barren, and Douglas watched with raised eyebrows.

Just how I wanted.

Delivering this lesson was getting easier than I thought.

I could step it up and make it worse for him.

I gave him a wounded stare.

I felt complete delight watching his veins pulse on his forehead.

He was a handsome man even when he was one step away from unleashing his wrath at me.

So close.

I was so close.

~Come on, Darius, swallow the bait and show that poor character. Show everyone your true colors.~

Surprisingly, he calmed and narrowed his eyes, sending a chill down my spine.

“Oh, baby. You just get insecure when you are away from me.” He brought a hand to my waist, pulling me closer to him.

Now I was bristling.

~Baby?~

Arching a brow, I looked up to see the wicked smile on his lips.

He was calling me out on my own game and changing the script I had already planned in my mind.

My breath hitched.

I was too drunk.

~No, don’t you dare do what I think you are doing!~

Now I was fucking scared, and he was getting close!~

My eyes went wild as he kissed me hard on the lips, opening my mouth and pushing his tongue down my throat.

I felt a jolt of panic as a low growling noise came from his throat, sending pulsing waves of heat down my core.

He tasted me savagely, grabbing me.

I squealed, breaking the kiss when both of his open palms squeezed my ass.

He gave a rough and low laugh as I gasped for air.

He placed one hand on each side of my face and held me in place.

Darius breathed shallowly, and his peculiar sharp-toothed smile told me this wasn’t over.

“Rhonda, Barren, Douglas, if you would excuse me,” he said without breaking eye contact with me.

I swallowed hard, knowing I was in deep trouble.

I couldn’t hold his gaze any longer.

He was too fucking intense and scary.

Too fast and too strong, too, as his hands pulled me over his shoulder, and my head swung over his back.

~Shit, no!~

“Don’t you dare,” I squealed, louder this time.

He ignored me, carrying me like a bag of potatoes out of the event and into the guest house.

I was dizzy, and this position wasn’t helping. All those shots of tequila were hitting different notes.

“Wait, I don’t want to go! Put me down!” I moaned, kicking my legs and arms in the air, too flustered to process what was happening. “I wasn’t done with my mission.”

“Your mission, huh? What was your mission, Olivia?”

“No-no-nothing.” The hiccups didn’t help.

“How much did you drink?” he growled. “You can barely speak or walk.”

“Just some tequila.”

“Classy, aren’t you? Alcohol only disinhibits your true desires.”

“Thanks for the couns-counseling session, dude. Wh-where do you think you are taking m-me?”

“Remember what I told you about you and your sister not going anywhere? Well, I am taking measures into my own hands, starting with you, tonight.”

“You’re no-no fun.” I was getting tired of fighting him.

“This time, you will do what you are told. You’ve done enough already.”

“Oh, pl-please,” I laughed. “What are you going to d-do? The big black wolf is going to lock me up? Are you going to pun-punish me too?”

He huffed. “Big black wolf?”

The tequila spoke for me. “You have a cute butt.” I giggled, watching how his feet hit the floor of the guesthouse.

“Eager for punishment, Olivia?” he asked.

“No,” I said quickly.

“Then shut up,” he said.

“Boring.” I let my head fall with gravity. I was wasted, tired, and my vision was becoming blurry.

At least hanging upside down had finally cleared my hiccups.

He wasn’t walking fast. He was probably thinking about what to do with me.

He couldn’t kill me. I had eyewitnesses who saw how I left on his back.

And ~oh~, that back. My hands touched him. I touched those muscles.

“Keep touching me like that, and you will get punished,” he warned.

As he started climbing the stairs, I asked, “Aren’t you tired of carrying me?”

This dude was seriously strong. His breathing was calm, as if he were taking a walk in the park.

He ignored me.

I wondered why he didn’t stop at the first floor where the guest room was. He kept moving up the stairs to the upper levels.

“Are you always this uptight?” My tongue had a mind of its own.

“You can’t keep quiet, can you?”

“How does it feel having a stick up your ass all the time?”

“What did you just say?” he seethed.

“Nothing,” I mumbled.

~Shit, shit, shit.~

“Careful… You are giving me ideas.”

I gasped in surprise as I felt a current of electricity hit my ass. “Did you just spank me?”

“Yes. I did. Did you like it?”

“No!” I squealed.

“Then keep quiet or I’ll do it again.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” My breathing hitched.

He spanked me harder this time, making my body shudder.

~Fuck!~ I shut my eyes, unable to contain my moan.

“I am starting to think you like it, Olivia.” He held me steady in the prison of his arms.

“I don’t,” I hissed, frustrated.

~Bastard!~ I wanted to scream, but I knew he would spank me again, and I wanted to save myself from embarrassment.

Besides, I was so dizzy. I barely noticed that we weren’t on the stairs anymore, and the flooring of the hallway felt familiar.

Wasn’t this the third floor, where his bedroom was?

“That’s what I thought,” he said. “You’re a moaner.”

I couldn’t see him, but I knew he was smirking.

“What?” I screeched.

He spanked me harder this time, sending me into another frenzy.

A tickling sensation remained in my belly as I covered my mouth, suppressing the urge to moan again.

“Jesus! Could you stop?” I exclaimed.

A low humming from his throat traveled straight to my core, making me shiver.

His open palm remained on my butt cheek as a warning that he could do it again, but I was a mess already. Almost panting.

“That is just disrespectful! Could you put me down already?” I demanded.

“Didn’t you say you were my girlfriend a minute ago? Isn’t this what couples do?” he mocked me while he opened a door.

“Fight? Because I’ll sure beat your ass once you put me down!” I managed to say as a rush of anxiety started building in my chest.

My heart was pounding fast and strong.

He stopped walking once he reached the end of the dark room, and he threw me on the bed.

“Foreplay, baby.”

~