Reluctantly His – Gilded Decadence Read Online Zoe Blake, Alta Hensley

Categories Genre: Alpha Male, Dark, Forbidden, Mafia, Virgin Tags Authors: ,
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Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
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It didn’t matter. At least I got to do what I loved.

“That’s very kind of you, Director Hanson. But unfortunately, my situation has not changed, and I am not available to join the Philharmonic. Though I am truly flattered that you thought of me.”

“Oh, well.” He pushed his wire-frame glasses up higher on the bridge of his nose. “I thought that might be your response, but I had to try. The world should not be deprived of your music.”

“The world is deprived of nothing.” I smiled. “I’m actually performing tonight with the quartet.”

“I know. The second I saw your name on the bill, I bought the tickets. Good luck, my dear. I cannot wait to hear you play again.”

“Thank you, Director,” I said, giving him a pleasant smile before moving past him to the dressing rooms.

I stopped Reid just before he entered the dressing room with a hand on his chest.

“As you can see, there is no other way in or out of this room. You can stand outside. I will be coming out in approximately fifteen to twenty minutes to go straight to the stage. After that, we will leave and go straight back home, and then you are dismissed.”

Without another word, I rudely slammed the door in his face, hating how it made me feel to treat anyone like that.

Standing in front of the mirror, I studied my reflection, really looking to figure out what other people saw when they looked at me.

I didn’t have stunning blue eyes. They were dark brown and matched my dark brown hair. I kept my hair in a boring, traditional style, long and wavy, and usually worn loose. Paired with my soft features and my large, almond-shaped eyes, I wondered if people saw a child-like doll when they looked at me.

When I was younger, kids used to tease me by calling me ‘precious moments’ and saying that I looked like one of those little baby angel statue things. I didn’t see it then, but maybe I did now.

Maybe that was why my father, Luc, and even Reid treated me like I was incapable of taking care of myself.

That I was somehow incompetent at being a functioning adult.

Maybe they were right?

I rarely pushed back against my family’s dictates. I’d always just done what I was told, but what else could I do?

Ruthlessly, I pushed the thoughts out of my head. I didn’t need to deal with those questions right now.

I had a concert to perform. I knew the music front to back. We were doing a selection from Romeo and Juliet as composed by Prokofiev.

It was actually some of my favorite pieces, specifically the final song we were slated to play tonight, number thirteen, Dance of the Knights.

After a few more deep breaths, I cleared my mind of all the worry, the anxiety, everything that came along with being alive as I rosined my bow.

With every sweep of the rosin along the horsehair, I pushed it all out, leaving no room for anything but the music. It took about fifteen minutes, but as soon as I was centered and connected to the music, it was time to go.

Holding on to that calm feeling with everything I had inside, I stepped out of the dressing room, and almost right into Ginnie, who was arguing with Reid.

“Oh, thank God, there you are,” Ginnie fumed. “Your Air Force bodyguard here⁠—”

“Marine,” Reid corrected through gritted teeth.

“Same thing,” Ginnie said with a dismissive wave, and I had to stifle a laugh, knowing that she was saying it just to piss off Reid. I had to remember that one.

“What can I help you with?” I said to Ginnie.

“Look, the last piece, knight dance or whatever?”

“Yeah, what about it?”

“I can’t get some of the flows down, so when the guys are plucking, do you care if I let you take our duet and make it a solo? I mean, if you’re not comfortable…” She trailed off like she just thought of that.

“It’s fine.” I gave her a reassuring smile. “I actually love that part and played it millions of times.”

“Oh, thank God. I was going to work on it this weekend, and it just did not happen. You know how it goes when friends call you to go to the club,” she said, giving me a megawatt smile.

I didn’t.

As the proper, obedient, cello-playing, goody-two-shoes daughter of a billionaire, I didn’t get invited for debauched nights out drinking.

It was fine. We all have a role to play in this world. That was mine.

Without saying a word to Reid, we headed toward the stage, both of us carrying our instruments, ready to play our hearts out.

I could feel his eyes on me as we walked down the hallway, his heated gaze boring into the back of my neck. I had to tighten my hands around the fingerboard of my cello to stop myself from reaching back and scratching where he was staring.


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