Killing Time (22 page)

Rory sighed. “I realized then Severin had been impersonating me and probably told her I was too soft on her and she took advantage of my generosity. I bought the damn chastity belt and she had never looked so grateful in her life. She wanted me to use it immediately and because I was a bit reluctant, she found a reason to disobey me on something extremely trivial therefore I would have to punish her and use the chastity belt.”

“Is that what Severin meant when he talked about falling in love?” I inquired.

“Yes and no because . . . I wasn’t in love with Trésor,” he responded in a soft voice. “I was very fond of her—don’t get me wrong—and I admit I loved her very much. However, there is a big difference between being in love and loving someone. I have thought for a long time I was incapable of falling in love with anyone. My last great love . . . I was eighteen and stupid. She didn’t deserve my love and she is the catalyst I use why I got into the whole BDSM lifestyle in the first place when in reality, it was probably always there.”

“What happened between you two?”

He clicked his tongue. “Do you really want to hear about this? It’s all so impossibly dreary and boring. It’s worse than an album by The Verve when it comes to all the angst.”

I raised an eyebrow. “You know all about Renaud, my long lost great love. I think I want to hear about the woman who broke Rory Krieger’s heart.”

“Fine but I’m only telling you because well…it is you. And I feel like I can tell you anything without judgment. Her name was Mathilde and she was gorgeous: tall and statuesque with olive skin, long honey-blonde hair and the most gorgeous gray eyes I’ve ever seen until I saw your eyes for the first time. Yours trump hers by a mile because they are my favorite colors: green and gray.”

“Hmm, I would have assumed your favorite color was black. Most of your clothes are at least.”

“Black is a favorite too but when it comes to eyes, I have always had a weakness for gray and green eyes. Anyway, her coloring came from being a quarter Turkish although three out of four of her grandparents were ethnic Germans. We met at university and she was the apple of my eye.

“Our relationship was very vanilla for about the first six months until she took me to an exclusive BDSM club she belonged to in Munich. I didn’t realize that is why she wanted me to dominate her in bed. I wasn’t doing what she wanted so she took me there. I had to watch Severin fuck her in full view of the patrons of the club to understand what she wanted from me. I was beyond humiliated and my feelings bordered on hatred but she seemed to crave and need my anger.”

I wrapped a leg around his waist. “I’m starting to see a pattern. Do you ever have a woman to yourself or do you always have to share with your brother?”

Rory grabbed my face and made me look at him. “Listen to me: he may have fucked you up the ass but he will never fuck you the same way we just did, do you understand? Your pussy belongs to me and don’t you ever forget it. If he even looks in your direction just tell him what I’ve told you and he will back off.”

“That’s great in theory but what if I don’t want to do anything sexually with him ever again? No hand jobs, no blowjobs and no backdoor love. Absolutely
nothing
,” I explained in a rational manner.

He stared at me intensely. “I’ll make sure he gets the memo and he will never touch you again. Is that clear? And because you know what to look for with him, don’t you ever let him trick you into thinking it’s me?”

“Is there a question I can ask about you only you would know?”

“Yes. When did I break up with Mathilde? He believes it was in the spring but it was actually in the winter. December twenty-ninth. She would have never told him and he doesn’t know.”

I leaned on my elbow as I sat up. “How can you be so sure he doesn’t know or she won’t tell him now?”

“Because she’s dead. She died on my birthday. I had planned to get back with her but when I found out about the accident, I couldn’t believe it. She was the first death in Munich where Severin was a person of interest.”

“When is…your birthday?”

Rory suddenly tackled me on to my back and kissed me deeply. “You’ll know soon enough but that isn’t something you need to be worried about at the moment.”

I laughed and settled into the comfort of his embrace.

Part Two

Discovery

Chapter Thirteen

RORY AND I WERE ONLY
supposed to stay at the Waldorf for a day but business kept him in Manhattan for longer than we would have wanted. The police still hadn’t completed the inquiry and would not release Trésor’s body until the autopsy results had come back.

It got to the point where not only did my family become involved but Rory had to call both Gabriel and his family’s personal attorney just to get any news on the investigation. This spurned the department in action and we were promised her body could be flown to France in several days.

By this time, we had spent more than a week and half in a city I had grown desperate to escape. I didn’t want to explain my resignation from CNW and I sure as hell didn’t want to run into Grayson or any of the Compston family to be honest.

No one was more surprised about my change of residence or status than I was and I thought it only fair to tell my parents what had happened. In typical Gallic fashion, my mother wasn’t the least bit phased by the change of events. She’d never liked Grayson and although she had her suspicions, she kept most of her opinions to herself.

“I take it you haven’t met Johann and Lorelei yet?” she inquired out loud in rapid French.

“No, not yet. We are still in Manhattan and his parents are back in Germany. You don’t . . . think what I am doing is a bit . . . I don’t know . . . it can’t be copacetic in the least bit,” I paced in the sitting room of the elaborate suite I’d called home for almost two weeks.

“What do you care what I think or anyone else thinks for the matter, Aurélie? It’s
your
life. Your sister is dead and it isn’t like you took him from her although it’s probably good you two didn’t meet while she was alive. It sounds like he is crazy about you and with Rory that is a rare characteristic,” she explained.

“Maman, did we ever hang out with the Krieger children when we were young?”

My mother was silent. “What makes you think that? There are a lot of adults your age, Aurélie. You two being the same age shouldn’t have anything to do with your decision and whether you want to make a life with him.”

“That isn’t what I asked and no one ever said anything about a
life
. We are talking about a very adult relationship where we enjoy having sex with one another and that is it.”

“If you say so. Perhaps the Krieger children showed up to a seventh or eighth birthday of yours but that is about it. Your birthday is at the end of September and the twins are at the end of May or the first part of June. I’m not good with birth dates—you know that.”

“Maman, I am starting to think you aren’t good with anything that doesn’t concern you directly,” I said in quick French as I turned around to face Severin. His eyes gave him away as usual and he looked less than pleased.

“Well, we’ll see you two soon, right? I’ll make a Sunday dinner and you two can come by. How about it?”

“That sounds great, Maman. Did you two get the…money from the estate yet?”

“Yes, Gabriel handled it quite quickly. Your father and I were able to pay off our little cottage and we are very happy. After Trésor’s funeral, we are taking a holiday on the Norwegian Cruise Line. We’re going to Alaska.”

“Sounds like fun, Maman. I will talk to you soon. Love you.”

“
Je t’aime!
” she exclaimed and I immediately pressed the off button.

“What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same but with you having such a charming conversation with your mommy dearest on the phone, I didn’t want to appear rude,” he greeted as he looked around before he sat down on the sofa.

There weren’t many places in the suite Rory and I hadn’t christened so my face burned with embarrassment as I sat beside him. “How can I help you?”

“He sure did move fast with you. In fact, I haven’t seen my brother move quite so fast since . . . well that quarter Turkish bitch that wasn’t good enough for him. That little pain whore got exactly what she deserved and now, I must watch history repeat itself. He’s making the same mistake with you—he’s falling far too hard and much too fast. I wouldn’t be human if I
wasn’t
worried about him.”

I stood and walked over to the bar. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“It’s a bit early for booze. A bottle of water is fine.”

“San Pellegrino or Evian?” I inquired out loud as I grabbed the French brand of course.

“The same as what you’re having.”

I grabbed two Evian waters and walked over to Severin before I handed him a bottle of water. “Are you merely here to intimidate me? It’s the vibe I am getting from you, after all. You’re fully aware Rory isn’t here.”

“Yes, I know exactly where my brother is. I didn’t come here to see him, I came here to see you.”

I bit my lip and set my bottled water on the glass magazine table. “What could we possibly have to talk about?”

“Oh you would be surprised what we have to discuss. You should know this up front, sweetheart, if you break his heart, I will fucking kill you and not bat an eyelash.”

I didn’t doubt the severity of his words though the reporter in me immediately forced her way to the surface. “Is that what you did to Mathilde?”

“Ah, he told you the bitch’s name? That fucking slut didn’t deserve Rory’s love and he thought her ass was lined with gold. I hated her from the moment I met her, similar to the way I feel about you.”

I was taken aback by his attitude. “What have I done to you to make you think I am using your brother? Furthermore, how could you hate me when you don’t even know me?”

“I hate how you’ve stepped into Trésor’s place and replaced her in his mind’s eye. She should never be forgotten yet he is slowly losing himself in you. What I find so distasteful about the whole situation is he wasn’t in love with her though she was
perfect
for him. According to Rory, she had some kind of ‘flaw’ he found rather unsettling and he felt he could never truly
trust
her. However, he
can
fall in love with you though we both know this relationship is a disaster in the making,” Severin explained as he leaned toward me in anger.

I didn’t even know how to address his words of venom. Furthermore, I wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted from me. Something inside me screamed he had no right to accuse me of trying to steal my sister’s memory from Rory because this wasn’t the least bit true.

I wasn’t jealous of my sister and the relationship I had with the man who had been her former lover was nothing like what they’d had together. We didn’t practice domination and submission anywhere except in the bedroom and that wasn’t every time we made love. I had no wish to be a submissive and he didn’t expect me to be one. He was more than happy to accept me the way I was but I couldn’t explain that to Severin because frankly, it wasn’t any of his business.

“Severin, I have no doubt you care for Rory very much and I am sure you have his best interest at heart but I am not trying to take your brother away from you nor am I trying to replace my sister. Their relationship is over because Trésor is dead. I am not going to supposition what you felt for her either because it truly isn’t my place but…your concerns are unwarranted and unfounded. Rory and I are both grown adults and what ever goes on between us has
nothing
to do with you.”

“That is where you are wrong, darling, because it has
everything
to do with me—he is not only my brother but we are also business partners. Did you persuade him to sign over his ownership of the clubs to me? He didn’t ask for money—he merely asked Gabriel to transfer all his interests in the clubs to my name solely. The only piece of property he still has is Vogue Hotel, Casino and Spa and that was always just a ‘fuck you’ property to our parents because they consider places like Macao and Las Vegas uncouth and wouldn’t be caught dead gambling outside of anywhere other than Monte Carlo. They’re terrible snobs you know.”