The Secret Society

Chapter 6

EPOV

Walking out of that room and leaving Henty behind felt like a punch straight to the stomach.

He had told me he wanted me. That he fantasised about me.

The worst part was that I felt exactly the same.

And because of this f*****g society, nothing could ever happen between us.

Without the society, you would never have met him.

My more irritating side had a point.

Unfortunately.

“Did he treat you okay?” Evan asked.

I stopped dead.

It was the first time he had ever asked me that.

Actually, it was the first time we'd spoken at all since we'd arrived at the society.

“Amazing, actually.”

My answer was both sarcastic and truthful.

Double whammy.

Evan simply nodded before climbing into the car.

When we arrived home, I took a seat while Evan went into the kitchen to make coffee. Something about him seemed strange tonight.

“Coffee?” he called.

“Please.”

Five minutes later, Evan took the seat opposite me and smiled.

“Ella, I cannot begin to apologise enough for the mess I've gotten us into.”

“Ha.”

I laughed, but the look on his face stopped me.

“Please, Ella,” he whispered.

I frowned.

For the first time, he actually looked genuine.

“I didn't realise it would be this hard,” he admitted. “I hated seeing you walk away from me tonight…”

His voice dropped.

“With him.”

Because Henry was a god, I presume.

“And why now?” I asked. “What's happened for you to suddenly feel like this?”

“Have you not noticed the way he looks at you, Ella?”

I said nothing.

“He looks like he wants to eat you alive.”

And that he did.

“You're imagining things, Evan.”

“No, Ella. No, I'm not.” He sighed. “I was worried the whole time I was with Lucy that he wasn't treating you right.”

“He treated me fine, Evan. Trust me.”

And he had been with Lucy.

Again.

The thought made my stomach twist.

“Ella, I love you so much. I want to regain your trust. I want us to get married, have children, grow old together. I want us to be us again. To be what we were three months ago.”

Ah, f**k.

He was being so sentimental.

But that last part made me grab my shoe and throw it at him.

It hit him square in the face.

“f**k, Ella!”

He clutched his nose.

“I don't know what you want me to do! I'm being honest with you and still it isn't good enough. You just threw a f*****g shoe at my nose!”

I stood, marched into the kitchen and grabbed the first-aid box.

A few minutes later, I was cleaning the blood from his face.

“Okay,” I said eventually. “I'm going to listen and not react. Just say whatever you feel.”

“I love you, Ella.”

“That isn't enough, Evan. Not after what you've done to me.”

“I am going to find a way to get us out of this. I'm going to make this right for you.”

I remained silent.

“You being with…him tonight killed me,” he admitted. “How the f**k can I compete with him?”

I scrunched up my face.

I had only been with Henry once.

Why the hell was he talking about competing with him?

“Look, Evan…”

I took a deep breath.

I had just bought a new lamp.

I really didn't want to throw that at his head as well.

“I've read through that contract a hundred times. I cannot work out the loophole. They must have put their best people on writing that thing because it's not obvious.”

I stepped closer.

Evan reached out, wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me towards him.

He rested his head against my stomach while I ran my fingers through his hair.

For a moment, this felt like the Evan I knew.

The Evan I loved.

“I'm going to bed, Jake—”

I stopped myself.

“Evan. We'll speak tomorrow.”

He kissed my stomach and looked up at me with those puppy-dog eyes.

Had I not just been with Henry, I might have melted.

But I couldn't cope with this tonight.

I couldn't let Evan back into our bed.

Not yet.

Not while my head was completely consumed by another man.

“I love you, Evan,” I whispered. “But not tonight.”

“I love you so much, Ella. Please believe me when I say that. You're the woman I want to marry and have children with. I genuinely mean that.”

Evan stood and placed his hands against my cheeks, staring directly into my eyes.

“Not now, Evan…please.”

Those eyes burned a hole straight through my heart.

The guilt consumed me.

I felt so much for Henry, yet I could never have him in the way I wanted.

The fact remained that Evan was the man I had always assumed I would spend the rest of my life with.

I placed my hand over his and leaned into him.

“Soon,” I promised.

---

The following week

The week dragged.

Every day felt longer than the one before it.

At lunch, I headed to the local sandwich shop to meet Lisa to talk about her wedding.

I pushed through the door and immediately collided with someone.

“Oh my God, I'm so sorry.”

I looked up.

Henry.

My heart plummeted.

My mouth practically watered.

My legs started shaking.

Fuck.

He somehow looked even better than the last time I'd seen him.

“Not to worry,” Henry laughed.

Then his expression softened.

“It's really good to see you, Ella.”

He leaned down towards my ear.

Yep.

My legs definitely weren't just slightly shaking anymore.

I smiled so hard my face hurt.

Then, stupidly, I looked into those deep green eyes.

For a second, I was completely paralysed.

“Would you like to have lunch with me and Lisa?”

I had no idea what else to say.

“I think you know we can't do that, Ella.”

He looked down.

“I know.”

My voice cracked.

I felt my eyes fill and quickly turned away.

Henry gently caught my chin and turned my face back towards him.

“Please, Ella. Don't make this harder for me than it already is.”

I closed my eyes.

The tears escaped anyway.

I was crying for the life I'd been trapped in.

For the life I didn't want.

And for the man standing in front of me who represented the life I desperately wanted but couldn't have.

“I wish you knew how much I'd love to get to know you outside of all this drama.”

Drama.

If anyone else had been listening, they'd have had absolutely no idea what kind of drama we were talking about.

“Ella, over here!”

Lisa's voice broke through my thoughts.

Henry and I both turned.

Lisa was sitting in the corner surrounded by enough wedding magazines to wallpaper a house.

“I'd better get going,” Henry said.

He reached down and lightly brushed his fingers against mine.

Then he paused.

“Oh, and Ella…”

He leaned towards my ear.

“Don't forget the spike.”

I smiled.

“The thought of that spike is what's kept me going all week.”

It slipped out before I could stop myself.

Henry's smile widened.

“I can guarantee you, it has done a little more than that for me.”

I laughed.

He touched his fingertip beneath my chin and looked directly into my eyes.

For one terrifying second, I wanted to kiss him.

Not a polite kiss.

Not a careful kiss.

I wanted to forget every rule we'd ever been given.

Then Henry leaned in and brushed his lips lightly against mine.

Everything stopped.

I closed my eyes.

I was completely lost in the moment.

Then the door behind me swung open.

It knocked us both against the wall.

Henry immediately pulled away, alarm flashing across his face.

“I'm so sorry, Ella. I shouldn't have done that. I…I'd better go.”

He headed towards the door.

Then turned one final time.

He smiled.

And winked.

Then he was gone.

Life's a b***h.

---

That Evening

“We're going to be late!” Evan shouted.

Why was he being so impatient?

“Coming!”

I gave myself one final spray of my favourite perfume.

My nerves were kicking in.

I only wanted Henry.

He was the only person I wanted to be with throughout this humiliating affair.

I walked into the living room and Evan immediately took my hand, pulled me towards him and kissed me.

My arms instinctively wound around his neck.

He lifted me from the floor and swung me around, making us both laugh.

“Love you, Ells,” he called before kissing my neck.

“Let's just get this over with. We'll be home before we know it.”

Yeah, that is definitely not happening if I get Henry.

We pulled up outside the mansion.

Claire greeted us as always.

Henry was the first face I noticed.

He smiled at me as though I was the prize he'd been waiting for.

Claire did her usual sweep to determine the order.

I was mortified to discover I was sixth out of eight.

I glanced at Henry.

His face had gone pale the second he'd heard my number.

One by one, the keys were chosen.

Henry kept his fingers crossed.

I smiled to myself.

He was practically praying nobody would pick his.

Lucy was third.

Again, she got Evan.

Henry and I exchanged a confused look.

Why were those two together virtually every week?

Suppose Evan was just lucky.

Henry still hadn't been chosen.

Every woman in the room seemed to be watching him, hoping they'd be the lucky one.

The bitches were going to get a slap shortly.

My man.

Then it was my turn.

Henry's keys were still in the bowl.

I slipped my hand inside.

My fingers immediately found the spike.

A huge grin spread across my face.

I pulled the keys out.

The Aston Martin Vanquish symbol was unmistakable.

“Henry and Ella. Room Two.”

I hoped nobody noticed my ridiculous little hop, skip and dance over to him.

We practically ran to the room.

Henry grabbed my hand, pulled me inside and pushed me gently against the wall, his lips immediately finding my neck.

“I've been dreaming about this moment all week,” he whispered.

He really was a romantic at heart.

“Can we talk first?”

There were questions I needed answered.

Henry pulled back and smiled.

He took my hand and led me towards the small table.

We sat down, his fingers still tightly intertwined with mine.

“What would you like to discuss?”

“Why do you think Lucy and Evan are together all the time?”

The question hadn't been what I'd intended to ask.

It had simply popped into my head.

“Do you think they have a plan like us?”

Henry considered it.

“Have you noticed Evan putting anything on his key ring?”

“No.”

I laughed.

“But I sure as hell am going to keep an eye on it from now on.”

Henry laughed too.

“I don't think Lucy would do anything to jeopardise our relationship.”

“What do you mean?”

“She is committed to us. To everything we've worked hard for. Our families are close friends. I'm confident she wouldn't want to throw all of that away.”

“And you?”

He looked at me.

Because, let's face it, Henry wasn't exactly innocent here.

“I thought I was truly in love,” he admitted. “I thought there was no one I'd ever want more than Lucy.”

He smiled slightly, almost as though remembering something.

“Then I saw you.”

My heart skipped.

“The first time I saw you, I knew there was something there.”

“Fresh meat?” I teased.

“Damn right.”

I laughed.

“What's Lucy like at home?”

A tiny spark of jealousy twisted inside me.

She got to go home with him.

Henry stood and moved in front of me.

He gently took my face between his hands.

“Do you really want to talk about me and Lucy?”

He smiled.

“Or can I please ravish you like I've been dreaming about doing since the moment we left this room last week?”

“Ravish away.”

The words barely left my mouth before his lips met mine.

The kiss was desperate, passionate and everything I'd been waiting for.

He lifted me from the chair and carried me towards the bed.

The world outside that room disappeared.

For those precious moments, there was no society.

No rules.

No Evan.

No Lucy.

There was only Henry.

Only me.

Only us.

We lost ourselves in each other, every touch carrying all the frustration of the previous week.

When it was finally over, we lay together laughing softly, both breathless and completely exhausted.

Henry rolled onto his side beside me.

“It just means we have more time to go again,” I whispered against his ear.

“You're going to be the death of me, Ella.”

He smiled.

“And I f*****g well love it.”

His lips met mine again.

And as I lay there wrapped in his arms, I realised there was nowhere in the world I would rather have been.

I am well and truly screwed.