Page 200 of The First Taste

She titters at that, reaching out a slender hand to push me back. Not interested in having any kind of contact with her, I step back before she touches me, turning and heading into the living room.

Honor follows, pulling up short when she sees Lucas. “Cal, you didn’t say that there was anyone else here.”

I clear my throat and sink into an armchair. “You can address me as Calum. And you didn’t ask if I was alone, Honor. Just like you didn’t ask if you could come to my private residence.”

Lucas sips his coffee stoically, giving her nothing when she looks to him for help. She glares at him.

“It would be better if we talked alone.”

I glance at my watch. “No. Do you want to go first? Or should we just speed things along here?”

She narrows her gaze on both of us. “I think we got started on the wrong foot, Cal?—“

“Now it’s Mr. Fordham,” I say. I cross my arms and cock my head. “And you have two minutes to get to your point.”

“Well,” she says, smiling broadly. She glances at Lucas and then back to me. “I had hoped for this to be a matter between us. But since you don’t care, then I suppose I won’t either.” She pins me with a huge smile. “Marry me, Calum Fordham.”

I give her an incredulous look. “I’m sorry?”

She walks over to where I am sitting, touching my hand lightly. “You heard me. You’ve wanted me for years. Now here I am. Asking you to make me Mrs. Fordham.”

I gaze up at her, not quite understanding. “What on earth are you talking about?”

She looks over at Lucas, crinkling her nose as if I’d just made a joke. “Is he always so hard of hearing?”

I start to rise. “Listen up. I talked to Kaia. She told me about what you said to her. And I just want to make something crystal clear.” I pause, leaning forward. “There is never going to be anything between us, Honor. Not to mention the fact that I already know that you’re fucking pregnant with Mikhail’s child.”

Honor smirks a little, rubbing her hand over her stomach. “It doesn’t have to be his. It will be yours, if you marry me and put your name on the birth certificate.” She wrinkles her nose. “Just like that, an instant family. Plus you’ll get me, any and every way you want me.” Her lips quirk. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t masturbate to me a couple of hundred times over the years. Don’t act like I’m not offering you something you’ve coveted forever.”

My eyes tighten on her face. Several seconds tick by and a smile plays over my lips. “I’ll pass. We should talk about what will happen to you and your unborn child if you ever threaten Kaia again, though. I promise you, it won’t be pretty.”

I glance at Lucas and he scowls at me.

“What?” I snap.

“Who the fuck is Kaia?!” he whispers.

I flap a dismissive hand at him. “Doesn’t matter.”

Honor crosses her arms, sneering. “What, you don’t want your brother to know about your dirty little secret? Cal is fucking one of the little girls he hired to replace me at the ballet. Judging by the photos my private investigator got of you two canoodling all over the fucking city, you have a type. Young, blonde, and flexible.”

Her lips twitch. I blink, trying to rein in the immediate fury I feel.

Lucas climbs to his feet, scowling at Honor. “I think you should leave.”

She rolls her eyes. “Yeah, right. Here is the deal, since you had to make me play hardball. I want three hundred million dollars as a fee for keeping those pictures to myself. I want your stupid little bimbo fired from the company. And I want you to sign your name on my baby’s birth certificate, so I always know that he’ll be taken care of financially.”

I scoff. “Just because you have some fucking pictures?”

She smirks at me. “I have a video from inside Club X, okay? You and your newest little blonde, in the champagne room, talking about your filthiest fantasies. And the second I turn them over to the press, they will tear her to pieces. Your reputation may be tarnished, but she’ll be ruined. She won’t dance anywhere ever again, ballet or otherwise.”

I glare at her, but inside I get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I know what the ballet means to Kaia. I know how hard it would be for her to lose her position in the company… and be hounded by the press.

Deciding to bluff a little, I stand up and cross my arms. “I don’t think that this alleged video will do the damage that you think it will. And I don’t really care for Kaia, so…”

She smirks at me. “Yes you do. I saw you two together at the bar. When you thought no one was looking, you acted just like a man in love. Whatever you may say, I know that you’re weak where it comes to women.”