Never Ending (12 page)

Chapter 21

         
H
e didn't answer the phone. He didn't answer
his texts. Pain and fury mingled within me. How dare he –
how dare he
?
He'd never told me the extent of his relationship with Roni – I'd believed he
was cheating on me – I'd done wrong not to trust him, sure, but as far as I
knew our relationship was over. He had no right to be this angry with me – when
all the while I'd been sure that he'd been sleeping with Roni behind my back.

          Or else – it
was
my fault. I hadn't trusted him. I hadn't believed in his promises and
protestations of love. And I was paying for it now.

          At last I saw the
flashing of headlights in the distance. Danny's car – returning – an hour after
he'd left.

          He staggered out
of the car. He looked exhausted, his eyes red-rimmed. I could tell he'd been
crying.

          His voice was
low, almost resigned.

          “You want to tell
me what happened?” He did not look up at me.

          “When I saw the
video,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “I thought that you'd been
cheating on me with Roni the whole time. That you were sleeping with her. And I
was hurt – angry – I couldn't reach you. I thought maybe the whole thing with
us had been a lie.”

          “How could you
think that about me?”

          “Luc helped me
get through the pain.”

          “By
fucking
you?”
His voice broke.

          “No,” I said. “We
fooled around – but we never had sex. I was angry, jealous, hurt. I just wanted
to forget, Danny.”

          “You could have
confronted me – you could have asked me.”

          “I tried to reach
you! You were never around!”

          “I was at my
sick
father's bedside
,” Danny put his head in his hands. “Oh, this is just what
she wanted. Just what Roni wanted. To tear us apart. And now I have to live
with these memories, these horrible imaginings, of what you two did together,
of you two as lovers...” He laughed softly. “And the stupid thing is – I feel
sorry for him, too. Sorry for him – even through my jealousy. Because if I feel
this way, I can just imagine how stupid, how
used
he must be feeling
right now.”

          “Danny,
please...”

          “You can't just
go around hurting people. Can't you
see
how much we love you?” It was
Danny's turn to cry.

          “I was wrong,” I
said. “I was wrong to doubt you. And I was wrong to believe you'd cheated on
me. But I thought we were broken up. And I never led Luc on. He knew – always –
that things were casual, just physical.
He knew
it was a rebound thing –
and it was his choice...”

          “How weak you
make us, Neve,” Danny's smile was bitter. “How easily you make us love you.”

          “I love
you
,
Danny,” I whispered. “If I wasn't so hurt, so upset, I'd never have responded
so powerfully when I thought you cheated. But my heart was broken.”

          “Then...I have
your heart?” There was hope in his eyes.

          I leaned in and
kissed him, trying to express all my passion, all my desire, all my longing,
channeling them into a single overpowering embrace.

          “Do you believe I
love you now?”

          He hesitated. “Yes,”
he said at last.

          I held out my
hand, with the ring glittering on my finger.

          “No,” I said. “I
won't marry you, not yet. But I will wear this ring. As a promise. A promise to
trust you always. To be your partner, your lover, your confidante. And maybe,
one day, when college is finished, and we're both established in our careers,
to be your wife. But right now, I want to be the woman you love. Will you still
have me, Danny Blue?”

          He sighed deeply,
heavily. “You know the answer to that,” he whispered in my ear, drawing me in,
kissing me passionately, his tongue and lips hot against my own. “You know how
strongly I feel about you. That ring – let it be a promise ring. A promise of
our new life together. A life filled with love and trust.”

          “Love and trust,”
I whispered back. “I love you, Danny Blue. So, so much.”

          “I'd do anything
for you, Neve.”

          And then we were
locked in a single embrace, our flesh together, our bodies together, my skin
against his skin, my tears mingling with his tears. This was the man I loved,
and I was with him. This was the man I loved.

          And I knew I
would not part from him again.

Epilogue

         
T
he streets of LA were moonless, but they were
not dark. The neon lights, the street signs, the cars, all served to illuminate
the city, casting it in a strange glow even at this midnight hour. That's how
things always were in LA, Danny thought. Gaudy and bright. Even now, after
moving here, after upending his whole world and leaving England, LA never fully
felt like home. He missed the peace and quiet of the English countryside, of a
world without the heavy beating of bass drums, the trance-like ambiance of
techno pouring out from every club door.

          He walked into
the Blue Room, ignoring the lascivious smiles of the waitresses. He'd tried to explain
to Neve how the place made him feel, but he hadn't been able to find the words.
The beauty, the glamour, the languid air of sex, all this reminded him of the
man he had been, the man he was trying so hard to leave behind. Once, he would
have loved this place – the drugs, the girls, the heady and intoxicating air of
hedonism. But now it made him think of his father, of that world, of the world
he had promised himself he would never go back to. He had Neve, now, the woman
he loved, the girl who drove him crazy, the girl who could save him from the
agonies of desire. No more one-night-cheap hotels. No more one-night stands.
Just her.

          But walking into
the Blue Room brought back all the old memories.

          He sat down next
to his brother – who was sipping his cocktail slowly, his legs crossed, his
gaze uncanny as it fell slowly over the curves of the waitresses' bodies: a
knowing smile that hinted that he'd seen each and every one of those smooth,
round contours of flesh unencumbered by clothing.

          How could Danny
explain to Neve what Terrence meant to him? Looking at this stranger was like
looking in a dark mirror – seeing himself as he could have been, as he
might
have been, had he not given up that lifestyle of decadence, had he not met
Neve? His alternate self – at once terrifying and strangely appealing.

          Yes, Danny told
himself, Terrence would run the Blue Room. Terrence would satisfy his
fantasies, his cravings. And he, Danny, would remain good, in domestic bliss,
safe in the knowledge of his love.

          “So,” Terrence's
voice was light and arch. “Settling down already?”

          “What do you
mean?”

          “I mean – I read
the tabloids. Or at least, I have people who read the tabloids for me. I saw
that shiny ring on Never Knight's finger.”

          Danny felt a
sting. The Danny Blue of five years ago would never have dreamed of settling
down. “It's my mother's ring,” said Danny. “But it's not a wedding ring. It's a
promise ring. A promise of our life together.”

          “She's
luscious
.”

          “Ter, please!”
Terrence always unnerved him when he talked like that. “Every girl who walks in
the door here would fall for you in a heartbeat. But her....” He felt strangely
possessive. “She's mine.”

          “Too bad,”
Terrence blew smoke-rings into his face. “She's quite a catch.”

          “Have you
considered my proposal about the Blue Room?” Danny desperately wanted to change
the subject.

          “You know,” Ter
laughed, “I've been coming here for years. With my stepdad. When I was
nineteen, I saw my stepfather stumble out of here at two in the morning. I told
my stepdad I'd tell my mother everything if he didn't leave his Amex behind the
bar and give me a permanent tab. Does my mom know how to pick 'em or what?” He
laughed bitterly. “At least she chooses the rich guys.”

          Danny swallowed,
hard. Surely, Terrence didn't mean what he said! He was Danny's brother, after
all, however long-lost – surely he was above this kind of talk!

         
But am I above
such talk
? Danny thought back to how he had been years ago, when he too
haunted the Blue Room.
Am I really any better?
His past, his past
excesses, had hurt Neve – hurt the woman he loved. Could he really pretend to
be so superior to this stranger with his face?

          “Ter, if you're
in management, that means a different attitude toward the staff here...”

          “I thought you
said any girl who walked in here would fall for me!”

          “I meant – fall
in love...

          “Not fucking, you
mean?” Terrence downed his drink. “I'll take the job, Danny.” He caught the eye
of the pneumatic brunette serving them champagne, and smiled, his white teeth
glistening in the candlelight. “But I'm not making any promises beyond that. I
have the Blue blood, after all. And I might as well have all the fun that I
can...”

Never Ending is the last book
in the Never Knights Trilogy

Danny Blue and Terrence Blue’s
story, along with some of the cast from the Never Knights Trilogy will continue
in a steamy hot new series called, The Blue Room, an erotic nightclub where the
rich and famous go to experience their wildest fantasies.

The Blue Room
(The Blue Room #1)

December 2013

Adult Contemporary

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