Cruel Legacy Page 7

  “Likewise. Are you who I have to thank for getting my son back out into society?”

  Penn’s grip on me tightened until it was nearly painful. There were so few things that riled Penn up this much.

  “Someone has to keep him from becoming a recluse,” I said.

  “Now, if we could only get that philosophy nonsense out of his head, we’d all be better off,” she said with a laugh as if she hadn’t just insulted his entire profession.

  I opened my mouth, ready to tell the mayor exactly what I thought about her son’s philosophy nonsense, but Penn cut in, as if he could see that I hadn’t quite mastered my temper, “It seems nonsense was bred into my head, Mother.” He said with a lazy smile, “Must have always been there. Did I get that from you or Dad?”

  “Mayor Kensington!” a voice cut in before the mayor could respond. Which was probably good.

  I didn’t want to hear what might have come out of his mother’s mouth. She truly did not understand her son at all.

  “We’ll leave you to it,” Penn said before taking me by the elbow and leaving his mother to deal with her constituency.

  We were a safe distance away from the mayor before either of us spoke.

  “Maybe we should go?” I offered.

  Penn closed his eyes for a few seconds and then shook his head. When his eyes met mine again, I could still see the anger and turmoil trapped in their orbs. I knew that he suffered deeply from complications with his mother even if he never talked about it.

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I won’t let her ruin this. Believe it or not, I’m actually enjoying myself.”

  I gasped mockingly. “Penn Kensington enjoying himself at a boring charity function? Are you ill?”

  He grinned at me wickedly. “All I needed was your company it seems. It’s much more pleasant to be here with you than alone. And teaching is my profession.”

  “And you are excellent at it. I think I handled your mother pretty well.”

  “Yes. Until the end when I thought you were going to bite her head off.”

  I gave him my best Upper East Side look. “Me?” I asked incredulously. “In polite society?”

  He snorted and then gestured toward the auction tables. “Come on, my little minx. You catch on a little too well.”

  I followed him further away from his mother and the problems she brought to the table. I’d been so mad at Penn for so long that it was strangely relaxing not to second-guess him. We made a shockingly good team. He’d been right. All of this was better with him. I let the last year slide off of my shoulders and delighted in his company.

  “What do you think the most outrageous item is?” I asked Penn as we journeyed sedately down the line. Passing a signed first edition of a classic novel, an annual entrance fee to a gentlemen’s club in the city, and a yacht.

  “I have no idea. I’d guess something to do with a private jet. That usually wins out.”

  “You are correct,” a man said behind us. “The use of my private jet to a destination of the winner’s choice for a week.”

  I realized that I recognized the man as Camden’s father, Carlyle Percy. And next to him was his wife, Elizabeth Cunningham. Our eyes met, and she smiled, clearly pleased to see me.

  “Hello, sir,” Penn said, extending his hand to Carlyle. “That’s very generous.”

  “Least I can do. It’s good to see you, Penn.” They shook hard. “And this is…”

  “Natalie Bishop,” Penn said effortlessly.

  I held my hand out, and Carlyle kissed the top. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Bishop.”

  “This is the girl I was telling you about, darling,” Elizabeth said. She leaned into her husband’s arm, but her Upper East Side mask was as efficient as ever. “The one who had her picture on Page Six in that latest design I’d worked on.”

  “Right. Of course,” Carlyle said in a way that made it seem as if he had no idea what she was talking about.

  Then he immediately jumped into a conversation with Penn about business. I’d never heard Penn discuss his family business before. And for some reason, I thought he hadn’t been apprised of the conditions of his father’s company, which was now being run by a new CEO and the board of directors. But I’d been wrong.

  Maybe it was the Upper East Side mask that fit into place, but the business talk seemed to come to him as easily as the philosophy lectures. I knew that he didn’t want to be running the company. But I was thrown enough by the conversation that I hardly noticed when Elizabeth tried to get my attention.

  “Let’s leave the boys to their boring drivel,” Elizabeth said, pulling me toward the table she had been standing in front of with her husband.

  I glanced down at the entry and saw that it was for a one-on-one consultation and fitting with Elizabeth herself.

  “Wow. What a prize,” I told her.

  “Yes, well, no one will actually take me up on it,” she said with a wave of her hand. “It’s always some woman who wants to say that she’s wearing the latest.”

  “Of course, and who wouldn’t want to?” I said quickly.

  “Speaking of, I adored that feature on Page Six. I’d thought that dress would be perfect for you. Someone already so bold.”

  I shot her a knowing look. “I have no idea what you mean.”

  Elizabeth’s lips curved upward. “I might have heard from my daughter that you’re shaking things up around here.”

  “Am I? I thought I was just beginning to fit in.”

  “If you ask me,” Elizabeth said carefully, “perhaps things need to be shaken up.”

  “That so?” My stomach twisted in anticipation. Was Elizabeth actually going to agree that Katherine needed to fall off her high horse?

  “Indeed. What are your plans for Fashion Week?”

  I remained perfectly still. I’d heard of New York City Fashion Week. Melanie, was obsessed with fashion and would die if she found out that I might get to go. But I didn’t know when it was, nor did I have any plans.

  “What do you have in mind?” I asked instead of the reel running through my head.

  “Anyone who is anyone will be there,” Elizabeth said.

  Katherine.

  “I’ll have a ticket to you for my event and dress you for the gala.”

  Her eyes were sly and cunning, saying way more than the offer sounded. By taking my side, she was going to piss off Katherine. And I was going to be in a guaranteed spot to see it go down.

  “That would be wonderful,” I said with a smile.

  “What would be great?” Penn asked, appearing at my side.

  “Elizabeth invited to dress me for Fashion Week.”

  Penn didn’t miss a beat, and I was sure only I could see the pain in his expression. “Perfect. We’ll see you there then.” His gaze dropped down to mine. “Let’s go bid on that auction you were interested in.”

  I nodded and then smiled at Elizabeth. “So wonderful seeing you again.”

  “You, too, Natalie. I’ll be in touch.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  Penn and I walked in silence past the row of auction items, out one of the side doors, and into a secluded alcove before Penn released a breath of relief.

  “Fuck, you should have saved me from talking to Percy,” he said, slumping back against the wall.

  “You seemed to be in complete control of the business talk. I didn’t even know that you were invested in your dad’s company.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’m not. I know enough to bullshit. And that is the basis of my mask, Nat. I can even bullshit Carlyle Percy about a business that I don’t give two shits about. And I can make you believe it. Even though you know I despise that company.”

  “Impressive.”

  Penn stepped away from the wall, and then his hands came up on either side of my body, caging me into the adjacent wall. “And what were you and Mrs. Cunningham-Percy discussing?”

  “Fashion Week.”

  “Mmm,�
� he said, dipping his head and trailing kisses down my neck. “Don’t look to your left when you lie. It makes it more obvious.”

  “We were discussing that.”

  “Yes, but something else. She’s taken an interest in you.” He pulled back to assess me. “Why?”

  “I don’t think that she likes Katherine,” I admitted.

  He pursed his lips. “Harmony hates Katherine. It makes sense that Elizabeth would feel similarly, but I thought maybe she didn’t know much since Katherine was always wearing her designs.”

  I shrugged lightly. “I think she likes the competition.”

  “You’re asking for Katherine’s wrath.”

  My grin was merciless. “Bring it on.”

  Penn’s hand slid into my hair, and then his lips were against mine. His body pressing me back into the wall. Our tongues volleying for position. My heartbeat ratcheting up in response to his demanding touch. I didn’t know if it was the tension that we’d both had to hold on to all night that fueled this, but I melted in him, wanting nothing more than for him to drag my dress up my thighs and thrust his cock deep inside of me. Taking me against this wall, wild and relentless. Releasing all of the pent-up energy that came with trying to fit in. I understood, maybe for the first time, why someone who had everything could want to escape this world.

  Then Penn pulled back. His forehead rested against mine. Our breathing mingled in sharp pants between us.

  “We should get back to my place,” Penn said.

  “Oh?” I whispered, pressing my lips to his again.

  “I want to be me when I’m with you,” he told me earnestly. “This…this is the old me.”

  “Can’t you be both?”

  He shook his head.

  “You warned me that you might say and do things that I didn’t like.” I unbuttoned his suit pants, sliding the zipper to the base, and then gently ran my nails against the head of his cock. “You didn’t factor in that…I might like both sides of Penn Kensington.”

  He groaned deep in the back of his throat. As if the beast had finally slipped his leash, and suddenly, the man was both sides of his ego—philosopher and monster. Achingly logical and deliciously carnal.

  He slammed me back against the wall, harder than the last time. His hands gripped the blue dress that he’d chosen for the evening, wrenching it up, up, up until it was bundled up around my stomach. His cock sprang free of its restraint, revealing the throbbing length of it and his need for me.

  He grasped one of my legs and tugged it up around his waist before pushing my thong aside. His fingers slipped through the wetness that was already present from our indulgent kiss. I moaned softly at the feel of his fingers probing and readying my pussy. Then they disappeared with a vicious grin. His cock replaced them, and in one swift motion, he thrust into my pussy.

  I closed my eyes, knocking my head into the wall to keep from crying out. This wasn’t a slow, playful Penn. This wasn’t New Year’s Eve where we had taken our time and become reacquainted with each other’s bodies. Where I’d surrendered myself to him. This was something else entirely.

  Frantic, frenetic, frenzied, and forceful.

  Wild, electric, and passionate.

  It was a shattering and a coming together.

  The two sides of his person reuniting in a way I had never thought was possible. Maybe even he had never thought that he could be both people at once. And I never wanted it to end.

  Even as I came to new heights with Penn’s hand tight against my mouth to keep me from screaming out. And him coming deep, deep within me. As my walls tightened around him and I milked him for every drop that he had.

  When we finished, breathless and shaking from the exertion, I saw stars in his eyes and the crown that we’d plucked from the sky atop his head.

  And I realized I was in so much trouble.

  Chapter 10

  Natalie

  If I’d ever thought that I could handle Penn Kensington, I’d been lying to myself. Unequivocally.

  We split our time between his place and my new one the next week, and I tried not to overthink it even though that was my specialty. I just wanted to enjoy it.

  I hadn’t given up on my desire to bring down the people who had wronged me. I just felt like Penn and I were a bit more on a level playing field. Yes, he’d put a bet on me. But I had slept with his best friend. Regardless of the fact that I’d thought we’d never get back together and that I was never going to forgive him, it still hurt him. So, we were equals.

  And by easing back into things with him, something had shaken loose in my chest. The words had come back. I’d pulled my computer out of the place it had been collecting dust and started writing again. I had no idea what it was, but the fact that it was anything after the bullshit with Lewis and Katherine was a start.

  “I like to see that,” Penn said, stifling a yawn as he walked out of my bedroom in nothing but a pair of boxers.

  “Totle curled up on my lap under a blanket?” I pulled the covers up just enough so he could see Totle’s little head hidden in my lap.

  “Ah, so that’s where the little traitor went.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you up. You were sleeping so peacefully.”

  “You are taking full advantage of the fact that I don’t have Friday classes.”

  I nodded with a grin. “That I am.”

  “And you’re writing again?”

  “Something. I don’t know what it is.” He opened his mouth, but I jumped in before he could say anything. “And no, you can’t read it.”

  He frowned. “I wasn’t going to ask. I know you’ll let me read it when you’re ready.” Then his eyes narrowed. “Unless you happen to be writing about me, and then I think I would like to know before it releases and hits a bestseller’s list.”

  “Yeah, well…that was different. You were an ass.”

  “Ohhh,” he breathed, planting a kiss on my neck. “Using the past tense. I’m not currently an ass?”

  I squirmed out of his touch, disrupting Totle, who seemed completely put out by the fact that he had to move a whole foot and then buried himself under the covers again. I giggled. “You are not currently being an ass. I reserve the right to change my mind if you decide to do something stupid again.”

  “Fair. I also reserve that right.” He reached out for his maroon Harvard sweatshirt, and I pouted. He laughed. “Really?”

  I shrugged. “You said I could take advantage of no-class Fridays.”

  “And you normally can, but I actually have to go into the office.”

  “Ugh! Stupid jobs.”

  He dropped down onto the couch next to me, rifling through the jeans he’d discarded in the middle of my living room last night. “I’ve figured out the next move for our lessons.”

  “Oh?” I asked, closing my laptop and facing him.

  “Yeah. I’ve been thinking over where to go next. And I think this is it.” He plucked a black card out of his wallet and held it out to me.

  I warily looked at it. “What’s that for?”

  “It’s part of the lesson.”

  “I don’t need your credit card.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Take it, Natalie.”

  I gingerly took it from him and stared down at it. I felt immediately uncomfortable. Like I was suddenly going to be sick. I knew that I was constantly surrounded by money, but it was somehow different than holding an unlimited credit card, knowing that the person who owned it had a trust fund in the nine to ten digit range.

  “The second lesson is about money. Money for us just…is. It’s not something you talk about because it speaks for itself. If you have the right kind of old money and the right kind of old-money name, you’re in. Otherwise, you’re somehow other. It’s why we look down on Hollywood money. The nouveau riche who we see as a little classless. Money shouldn’t scare you. Spending it should feel effortless. And I know that it makes you uncomfortable.”

  It did. I’d grown up with very little, and I’d n
ever had any of my own money until the book deal, but even then, it had been like pulling teeth to get me to spend it. I hadn’t even gotten a cab in the freezing rain.

  “So, the other part of this is clothes. As vain and pretentious as it is, the clothes have to match. I love your bohemian clothing. I want you to wear it when we’re together, but if you go out, you’re going to need to play the part. And to do that, you’re going to need a new wardrobe.”

  My mouth went dry. “What?”

  “I’d start at Bergdorf Goodman and then try Barneys.”

  “Penn, I can’t.” I tried to hand back the credit card. “I went shopping with Jane last month, and she bought me all this stuff. I ended up going back after and returning it. I couldn’t stomach the prices.”

  He nodded. “That’s a good idea. Take Jane with you. Though I have no idea why you like her.” He eyed me as if I hadn’t just said that I wasn’t going to do what he’d said. “Why do you like her?”

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Yes, but you’re going to do this, Natalie. You asked me to help you become Upper East Side. To help you survive this world. The clothes help, and you’re going to go out and buy them like you’ve been doing this your entire life. Make the personal shoppers believe you.”

  I frowned and felt even sicker at the thought.

  “It’ll be easier with Jane. Though how she stomachs my brother…” He shuddered.

  “Your brother isn’t so bad either.”

  Penn narrowed his eyes. “That is a bald-faced lie.”

  “Well, he saved me from Camden. He can’t be that bad.”

  “Natalie, everyone looks good next to Camden Percy. That doesn’t suddenly make Court a saint when he’s actually a demon in a sharp suit.”

  “You’re biased.”

  “Yes,” he growled. I knew his brother was a pressure point. “Seeing you carousing with his girlfriend nearly sent me through the roof when I first heard about it.”

  I put my computer on the coffee table and slid into his lap, straddling his muscular thighs. “You should stop worrying so much.”