Everything I want: Will Alfie and Lily's love survive?... (9 page)

When he finished his statement, his mouth spread into a grin. “Well, well. Don’t look now, Lily, but we have company. My night just got a whole lot more interes
ting.”

Looking over my shoulder, I almost dropped through the floor. Alfie was striding toward us. He was as stunningly handsome as ever. My hungry eyes ran over the length of him, feasting on how good he looked. Finally, I registered the scowl on his face. Alfie was extremely pi
ssed.

Chapter 9
– Honesty

R
ick got to his feet and extended his hand. “Alfie, dude, how the fuck are you doing?” He smirked. Alfie’s angry eyes flicked from me back to
Rick.

“I’m good. I need to talk to Lily.” His gaze flicked back to me, and I almost allowed mine to connect but dropped them to the floor before looking back at
Rick.

Rick stared silently at me for a second. It was as if he was waiting for me to say something. I couldn’t think of anything except how to get the fuck away from the t
able.

Rick exhaled, and with humor in his voice, smiled at me. “Everyone needs to talk to Lily tonight, dude,” he emphasized. “Right now though? She’s talking to me.” He smirked, looking pleased with himself, and it was evident that he had no intention of granting Alfie’s req
uest.

Alfie shifted from one leg to another. “Dude, I want some fucking time alone with Lily.” Rick scratched his chin. I could hear the bristles of his spiky unshaven skin grating over his calloused finger
tips.

“Why?” Alfie’s jaw ticked, and I knew that Rick was really aggravating
him.

“It’s personal,” he huffed. I could hear the aggravation in his voice, as he ran his hand through his
hair.

Rick smirked again. “Hmm, don’t believe you have personal stuff when you have a girl already, Alfie. Where is Zoe anyway?” Oh, great. I suddenly felt sick. The woman I hated had a name, and Rick knew her as
well.

Feeling awkward and hurt, I just wanted to run away. How mortifying for me. There was Rick, someone I barely knew, and he was defending my position to A
lfie.

Incidentally, the fact that they were both world famous recording artists, made the situation even more obtuse. I mean this stuff just couldn’t be mad
e up.

I cleared my throat and both men looked in my direction. “It’s okay Rick, what do you want A
lfie?”

“Alone, please?” His eyes pleaded with me. I sighed heavily and swallowed hard. My heart felt like a medicine ball sitting in my c
hest.

“Can we have a couple of minutes Rick?” Alfie ran his fingers through his hair again and mouthed, “Thank you.” He gave Rick a small smile while raising his
brow.

Rick stood up and squeezed my shoulder. “I’m giving you five then I’m coming back for her. Is that okay with you, Lily?” I nodded, too emotional to an
swer.

I clasped my hands on my lap and looked down at them. Not trusting them to be anywhere else. Alfie smelled amazing when he walked past me to sit down at the table. His faint cologne was making me feel h
eady.

He gave me his signature slow, sexy, lopsided smile, and my heart melted. “Hey,” he cooed. I tried hard to control my breathing. My heart was beating erratically, and my palms had started to s
weat.

His hand reached out. He placed it over both of mine, still clasped on my lap. “Don’t,” I whispered, swallowing hard again. My eyelids fluttered closed. “Please don’t touch me.” My voice was still barely a whi
sper.

He pulled his hand away. “Please Lily, talk t
o me.”

I met his gaze. “This isn’t fair, Alfie, please. Just let me go. I don’t want to talk to you. It hurt
s me.”

Alfie’s fingers ran through his hair. “Then don’t talk, just listen.” His voice was low and rumbly. “You are so fucking incredible, Lily. You have grown, in every way, since I first met you. I have no idea how to explain this to you. How I feel about that. About
you.”

My eyes flicked up and were met instantly with his, the green hue apparent in them. I knew there were feelings behind the color, feelings that I also had but refused to give in to. The lust and want his eyes were holding for me were clearer than any words he could have ever f
ound.

“Alfie, I don’t care how you feel. Our relationship is dead and buried. We love each other, but you have
a new
life now, and I have
mine
. I like my life, Alfie. How would your girl feel about you being over here? Talking to me, and telling me, I don’t know how you
feel?”

His body remained still, but his head looked over his shoulder in the direction, I guessed, she must be. I didn’t follow his gaze, so I couldn’t be sure. He looked back at me. “I would really like to talk to you. A
lone.”

He gave me a sad smile that didn’t reach his eyes. My face was deadpan. “And I really
wouldn’t
like that,” I whispered
back.

“Why? It’s a fair question.” His eyes searched my face for a resp
onse.

I unclasped my hands and twirled a lock of my hair as I thought about how to say it. I couldn’t say what I really felt. No, because I still love you, because I want to feel your arms around me. I just want to find an island and keep you t
here.

“I’m with someone else, Alfie.” The shock and hurt on his face almost kille
d me.

“Who? Not the smooth guy from the club?” I nodded and smiled at Alfie’s description of
Luca.

“Yeah, Luca’s great, I’m having fun with him. Don’t come along and interfere with that…not now. I’m happy,” I
lied.

Alfie looked around the room. “If you’re so fucking happy, where is he?” His hands went out from the sides of his
body.

I smirked because there was a genuine reason that Luca wasn’t here tonight. “He’s in Milan right now. He had a prior engagement that he was responsible for. He couldn’t get out of it, but he’s coming home in two
days.”

Alfie was digesting this news when Rick came back carrying two glasses of champagne with Zoe in tow. “Are we all done
here?”

Alfie pushed himself up from the table. “Take care, Lily, until next time,” he mumbled and strode back across the room with his hand on the small of Zoe’s back. She glanced over her shoulder at me, then she turned back to look up at Alfie. He dropped his hand from her, and she was left walking behind
him.

I watched as they disappeared into the crowd on the far side of the room. Rick rubbed my back. “I felt you needed rescuing, did I do the right t
hing?”

I managed a sad smile. “I think we’re going to be good friends Rick Fars, but you know I’ll never have sex with you, right?” He laughed, throwing his head
back.

“That’ll be a novelty for me. A girl who’s my friend? That I haven’t fucked? I won’t get bored of that. It guarantees we’ll be close fri
ends.”

Rick punched my number into his phone and called mine. “You won’t call me will you?” He smiled shaking his head. “I mean it, Lily. You can call me… anytime. But I think I’ll be checking in on you from time to time, if that’s okay with
you.”

I remember how I felt when I got on the ‘crazy boat’. I was way out of my depth, and there were always plenty of sharks circling the water aroun
d me.

“At least your guys are protective of you. I’ve seen the looks I’ve got tonight while we’ve been talking. All of them making sure I wasn’t going to whisk you off and have my wicked way with you.” I giggled at his shrewd assessment of my bandmates. Nothing much gets past this
guy.

I excused myself to freshen up, and Rick commented, “Yeah, I suppose I should be getting back to my date.” I felt really bad when he told me that. All this time, he’d been sitting with me, and some poor girl had been in the room waiting for
him.

Cody caught my arm as I walked past him on the way to the restroom. “That looked cozy,” he sco
wled.

I smirked and decided to play with him. “You have no idea, Cody. The guy wants me to take part in a threesome. I’m just going to freshen up first th
ough.”

The look on Cody’s face was priceless. “Jesus, Cody, I’m teasing you. I’ve already told Rick he’s never getting in my panties, and guess what, he’s okay with that. We swapped numbers though…in the event we change our minds, of co
urse.”

I winked and walked away stifling a chuckle as Cody moaned loudly behind me. “Over my dead
body.”

Passing the elevators on my way to the restrooms, I turned my head and smiled at the wife of one of the executives. I’d briefly spoken to her on another occasion. My eyes were just focusing forward again when the elevator door op
ened.

Alfie was alone inside the car. His hand jutted out and grabbed my wrist, pulling me inside. The buzz from his touch on my bare skin distracted me, and I stared at his hand. It happened so suddenly, and it seemed like a completely opportunistic act on his
part.

The doors closed and the elevator began to move upwards. Alfie had pressed the PH button. His key was still in the lock from his trip down. “Please stop this right now,” I hissed. He shook his head, staring into my eyes as the car sped up the shaft and stopped at the Penthouse s
uite.

When the doors opened two burly security guys, with white flex wire protruding from ear pieces, greeted us. When they saw it was Alfie, they retreated to a discreet distance. Alfie pulled me out to the hallway beside the double doors leading into the suite. “I’m not going in there with you,” I said with determina
tion.

“You don’t have to, Lily. I don’t expect you to. I saw you heading for the restrooms and took my chance. I wanted to be alone with you… so now… I am.” I swallowed and licked my dry
lips.

“Always the same, Alfie, aren’t you?” I shook my head. “Can you even hear yourself?
You
wanted to be alone with me. What about what
I
want, Alfie?” I smacked my hand against my chest. His sexy smile never wavered for a second. I’ve always found it so seductive, so I looked away in fear of caving in to
him.

“Well you say one thing, but you forget, Lily, I know your body. It’s telling me a whole different story.” He smi
rked.

“What about Zoe? What the hell are you doing with me…to me? You gave me the whole, “I’ve never been with anyone since you, Lily.” You expect me to believe that now? After the little display you’ve been putting on for me right now? What’s your girl doing while you’re here wit
h me?”

Alfie ran his hands through his hair. “What I told you
was
true. I had never looked at anyone else but you, Lily. From the day I met you, until about thirteen months after your last call. Until Zoe, I wasn’t interested in anything more.” A lump formed in my throat, stunned by his admission. Until Zoe. How could he have had all those women throw themselves at him and not take the
bait?

“I’ve never been with anyone else since Zoe either. That’s not how I
work.”

“So this isn’t being unfaithful to her? Lusting after me? Kidnapping me and pulling me into the elevator? Bringing me up here is you being faithful to
her?”

Alfie pushed me back against the wall and straddled his hands either side of me. I had an instant flashback to the times when he did this before, when he was relentlessly pursuing me for a sexual relation
ship.

The intensity in his eyes was unnerving as they locked onto mine. We connected for the briefest time until he let his head drop, his forehead resting against mine. His eyes reconnecting again. I swallowed hard and fought the pain of loving him and what we were doing to each o
ther.

“Don’t Alfie. Please. I’m begging you. Don’t.” I said softly, shutting my eyes and pinching my lips, I was fighting helplessly against the tears I knew were beginning to fall. I couldn’t stand to be this close to him and not feel his lips on mine or his arms aroun
d me.

Standing there silently with him, the tears overflowed and rolled down my cheek. Alfie’s forehead left mine, and I was about to open my eyes when soft lips brushed against my cheek, catching my
tear.

I heard him swallow hard. It clicked. And he inhaled deeply through his nose. He held it and exhaled forcibly. “Fuck,” he muttered. “Please…you’re killing me, Lily.” He followed his verbal words by mouthing another silent, “Pl
ease.”

When I said nothing, his hand banged against the wall then stabbed at the button to call the elevator. Moving away from me, we stood silently until the elevator car arr
ived.

When the door opened, Alfie didn’t move. Just let me step inside. He pushed his key in and as he was about to turn it, he glanced back a
t me.

“Press the PH button when you leave and send my key back.” He stepped out of the elevator and didn’t turn around. I stared at his back as the doors cl
osed.

Tears pricked my eyes and flooded my face as I stood in silence, while the car sped back to the ground floor. As soon as it stopped, I knew I couldn’t leave things like
that.