Devil She Became (Devil's Angels Book 1)

by Autumn Raynne

  “What? What is it, baby?” Reese ran over to him.

  “S–She knows,” he stammered.

  “Who? Your wife?” Reese became alarmed.

  Harrison nodded.

  “Yes.” He swallowed hard.

  “How did she find out? What does she know?” Reese was confused.

  Harrison sat down in a chair. He took a deep breath. “Well, she doesn’t know about you specifically, she just suspects I have someone else.”

  “How?”

  “One of the mothers from our daughters’ dance class saw us together last week. I don’t even know this woman personally. She just recognized me from the pictures Lisa posted of me on Facebook.”

  Reese gulped hard. She had seen those pictures too.

  “Fuck Facebook. I told her I didn’t want my pictures up on that damn site.” Harrison slammed his fist on the chair arm angrily.

  “What did you say to her? How did you explain it?” Reese came over to stand beside him.

  “I told her that you were a legal assistant for one of my partners, and we were all meeting to go over a case. I kept calm. I don’t think she thinks much of it, but I don’t like it.”

  “Wow. I don’t know what to say.” Reese bit her lip afraid she would start crying. She was so afraid he was going to tell her he had to break it off with her.

  Harrison grabbed her hand and pulled her down onto his lap.

  “I love you, Reese. I think you know what we have to do. If it gets out I am having an affair, I am finished financially, professionally and personally. I would lose everything. She would drag my name through the mud. My family would disinherit me. All I would have left is what I have in a few Swiss bank accounts she doesn’t know about. It’s not very much compared to what I have now.”

  “What are you saying, Harrison? What do you want to do?” she asked in a whisper.

  Harrison sighed deeply. “I think you know what we have to do. Reese, I love you and I want you, but I can’t keep seeing you. There’s just too much at stake.”

  Tears began spilling down her face. “No, Harrison, please. I love you. I want us to be together. There has to be a way.”

  She buried her face in her hands.

  Harrison stroked her silky blonde hair, inhaling her heavenly scent.

  “Baby, this is for the best. I can’t lose everything.”

  Reese felt him slipping further and further away from her. “But your family has money. It doesn’t matter if she gets a lot of your income. You have several trust funds.”

  Harrison shook his head vehemently. “No. It doesn’t work that way. I would still be cut off from my family’s money if I divorced her. My family adores Lisa. They think she’s the perfect mother and a model wife. She’s a Jackie… you know like Jackie Kennedy. You are–”

  “–Marilyn… I get it,” Reese said miserably, looking at the floor.

  “Baby, I don’t want to do this, believe me, but I have no choice. She’s watching me now. You are a gorgeous girl, Reese. You are young, smart and a total knockout. Any man would want you. You are the total package.” Harrison held her close.

  “If I’m so great, why won’t you just leave her?” Reese looked up at him with tear-filled blue eyes.

  Harrison cupped her chin in his hand. “Honey, what don’t you get? I told you why. It isn’t a competition between you and her. Ten years ago, things might have been different, but now I have two daughters I have to support and raise. She and I are prominent in the community. We have many friends together. This isn’t at all personal.”

  Reese continued to cry. “Could we still see each other sometimes?”

  Harrison stroked her hair softly. “I would love to, but it wouldn’t be fair to you or me. I’m not kicking you out of here, so don’t worry about that. The rent is paid up on this lease for another six months. The car is yours too.”

  Reese pushed him away. “I don’t want your money! Fuck all this! I want you!” She ran into the bedroom, crying.

  Harrison swallowed hard. He hadn’t expected it to be this hard to break it off with her. He followed her into her bedroom. “Reese, I need to go. Remember always that I love you. You are special to me and always will be. Perhaps I will text you in a few weeks. Know that you are always in my heart. Your beauty will visit me in my dreams.” He touched her shoulder then seized her and kissed her deeply.

  Reese jerked away. “Get away from me!”

  Harrison cast a sad glance in her direction and walked out the door. Reese covered her face with her hands and wept. Her heart was broken. What would she do now?

  ********

  Weeks passed. Reese continued to lie around in bed. Several of her friends came to see her, but she would hardly do more than talk with them a few minutes before asking them to leave. Her days were spent in bed only moving to eat a little, shower, and curl up to watch movies. Occasionally, she would text Harrison only to have him not text back. A few times he merely said “Hi” and nothing else.

  Meanwhile, Harrison would receive her numerous text messages and feel sharp pangs of guilt. He couldn’t stand not seeing her. He ached for Reese. At night, he would toss and turn with an incredibly strong longing for her. When he closed his eyes, he could see her beautiful face, her big blue eyes, her long legs. He could feel her soft blonde hair, her large breasts, tiny waist and smell her perfume. He would roll over and pull a pillow over his head to drown out Lisa’s snoring.

  One evening, in an untypical fashion, Harrison arrived home to have a surprise dinner with his family. The girls were ecstatic to see him, but Lisa gave him the usual cold shoulder.

  As Hattie, the housekeeper, began serving the meal, Lisa turned her icy eyes on Harrison.

  “To what do we owe this pleasure? Did you give your secretary the night off?” Lisa’s hatred of him was so palpable he winced.

  “No. I decided I have been working a lot lately, and I wanted to eat dinner with my girls. Is that ok?” Harrison sipped water from a tall goblet.

  Lisa pursed her lips and looked at him. “I suppose. So how are things at work?”

  Harrison began cutting his steak. “Very good. Dad just acquired a multimillion dollar property in Orange County. I might have to go take a look. Maybe you and the girls would like to come.” The girls bounced in their chairs. “Yes, daddy! We want to go!”

  Lisa snapped at them. “Sit down. That’s not the way to behave at the dinner table. Alaina, I told you to put your napkin in your lap. Olivia, it is impolite to speak with your mouth full.”

  Harrison stared at her. “Oh, my God, Lisa, they are little girls. Let them be.”

  Lisa threw down her napkin.

  “You see what happens, Harrison? I am trying to raise well-bred young ladies, not the street trash you like to run around with. As soon as you come around, all their manners go out the door!”

  Harrison bit his lip.

  “Lisa, you sound as if rearing children is the same as raising thoroughbred racing stock. Seriously, give them a break.”

  Lisa slammed her hand on the table so hard that the water in the glasses sloshed out onto the linen tablecloth.

  “Harrison, enough. How I rear our children is my concern. Just go indulge yourself elsewhere.”

  Harrison’s mouth was agape. “Lisa, that is quite enough. You are so–”

  “–I’m so what? At least I’m not sick with nympho–”

  “–LISA! That will be enough! The girls…”

  Harrison held his hand up at her. The girls sat quietly looking down at their plates.

  Lisa glanced at them and nodded.

  “Daddy? What’s wrong with you? Mommy said you’re sick.” Olivia asked, worry in her big blue eyes.

  “I’m ok, baby.” Harrison smiled at her.

  “No, he just has wonder-eyeitis. That’s all. No big deal. Now eat your dinner, girls. Now.”

  Lisa drew her mouth into a stern line.

  “What’s wonder-eyeitis, mommy?” Alaina asked.

  H
arrison answered before Lisa could. “It’s when daddies get sick of listening to certain people’s mouths and leave.” With that, he scooped up his plate and went into the kitchen leaving Lisa sitting there with the girls, fuming.

  As he went upstairs, he began undressing while thinking of what a total bitch Lisa was. How dare she bash him to his own daughters. He couldn’t stand to think they would grow up to be like her. He had begun to really despise Lisa. He already resented her very presence as it was keeping him from Reese. Sooner or later, Reese would move on and marry some other lucky guy. Some guy that wasn’t him. The thought made him physically ill.

  Later that night in his home office, while Lisa was sleeping, he flipped through her pictures on his PC. Reese kept texting him regularly. Every time she texted, he wanted to tell her how much he missed her and needed her, but he just ignored her. It was easier than having to explain it all again to her.

  ********

  During the night, Reese would sit up in bed and listen to songs that reminded her of Harrison. She kept his picture as the home screen on her phone. Whenever she left the apartment out of necessity, she would see him in every tall, dark-haired man wearing an Italian business suit. A few times, she went by the same coffee shops they had gone to hoping to bump into him, but to no avail.

  Soon, her once beautiful, shiny blonde hair became lank and hung lifelessly down her back. She seldom wore any makeup, and her complexion became pale and dull. Reese also began losing weight as she rarely ate much. Her expensive clothes merely hung unused in her vast closet as she continually wore the same couple of worn pairs of jeans day in and day out. Finally, her mother called to FaceTime with her and was shocked at her appearance.

  “Reese! What are you doing to yourself? You look awful!” Even from thousands of miles away, Meg as though she were right there with her.

  Reese rolled over on the bed to talk to her mother. “I don’t care anymore, mom. It’s just not worth it.”

  “What is wrong, Reese? If you don’t tell me, I am going to fly out there myself and stay with you until you do!” Knowing her mother, Reese knew she would do exactly that.

  “There was this guy I was seeing…”

  “You had a boyfriend? Why didn’t you tell me?” Meg sounded excited and frantic at the same time.

  Reese sighed. “We aren’t seeing each other anymore… he’s gone…” Tears started welling up in her eyes again.

  “I don’t get why you didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend. How long were you together? Who is he?” Meg, ever nosy, was full of questions.

  “His name is Harrison. He was… wonderful.” She began weeping in earnest.

  “It’s okay, baby. Calm down. How long were you with him?”

  “About six months or so.”

  “So what happened?” Meg said with a more sympathetic tone.

  Reese blotted her swollen eyes with a tissue. “We just decided to stop seeing each other.” Reese couldn’t bring herself to tell her mother the truth.

  “But you seem like you still have feelings for him… this was his idea?”

  Reese nodded. “I still love him… I… always will…” she choked out.

  “Oh, baby, I wish I was there. This guy sounds like a jerk. Reese, you are so beautiful. Stop this wallowing in misery. There are so many wonderful men, who would love you. You are only twenty-eight, so young… and educated too!” Meg teared-up to see her daughter so upset.

  Reese shook her head. “I don’t want anyone else. I only want to see him… be with him…”

  Meg became frightened. “Reese, don’t hurt yourself, please. We all love you. Come back to California. Get out of that freezing cold city and come home! I can fly out and help you.”

  “No!” Reese shouted. “I am staying here. I won’t kill myself, mom. I’m just… I’m just… I just need time, okay?”

  “Are you sure, baby? I can come and stay with you for a while, or maybe your sister would.”

  Reese shook her head vigorously. “I will be okay, mom. I just want to lay here for a while.”

  “Get up out of that bed, Reese! Don’t let this man control you any longer. You are so much better than him.”

  Reese nodded. “I just want to be alone for a bit. I will call you later.”

  Meg smiled at her. “I love you, baby. Cheer up. I want you to promise me you are okay.”

  “I’m okay, mom.” She weakly smiled back at her.

  After hanging up with her mother, she turned over on her bed and hugged her pillow. She kissed the picture of Harrison on her phone then decided to get up and take a shower.

  Shedding her worn jeans and soft top, she climbed into the steaming hot shower. As the water streamed down over her head, flashes of Harrison brutally making love to her in the shower whipped through her mind like lightening. Fresh tears that spilled down her face were washed away by the cascading water. Pouring body wash into her hands, she stroked her body. Reaching down, she felt between her legs where Harrison had entered her and felt a fresh soreness like he had just been inside her. Shaking, she could feel his hands all over her and see the memories of him thrusting in and out of her. Her insides melted, and she sank down to the shower floor, sobbing.

  ********

  A few miles away, Harrison was also in the shower. Feeling the hot water pour over his muscular body, he felt a growing stiffness from thinking of being in the shower with Reese. He could smell the sweet scent of her body, see her curves and remember how tight and wet she was inside. Thoughts of her nearly drove him over the edge. There were days he could hardly stand it. Keeping busy with work and his daughters were the only ways he could tolerate the empty days without her. He saw her near daily texts, and it was tearing him apart to ignore her. However, Harrison knew that once he had made the break it would only be worse if he kept going back and forth with her. His place, like it or not, was here with his wife and children. As he stepped out of the shower, Harrison began dressing for work. He chose a dark-blue dress shirt. One that Reese had selected for him. Burying himself in his work would help keep him from feeling anything.

  Chapter 11

  As autumn drew to a close but before the deep Chicago winter sat in, Reese got a call from her old sorority sister and best college friend, Ashley.

  “Reese! What’s up? It’s been so long!”

  “Hi Ash… what’s been up?”

  “I’m in Chicago for business. Boring conference on new email marketing tools… blah, blah, blah. I’m staying at the Peninsula. Come out with me tonight and keep me company!”

  Reese smiled as she remembered how much fun Ashley had been in college. “I don’t know, Ash. I’ve been feeling kind of sick lately.”

  “Oh, stop it, Ree. I’m back in Chi-town and looking to have fun tonight! Come on, pleeeassse… show me that fabulous penthouse you have been living in!”

  Reese laughed. Why not? It was time she had a little fun, and she was so sick of wallowing in misery. “Ok, girl, you talked me into it! What time?”

  Ashley cheered so loud Reese had to pull the phone away. “Yes! 8:00 p.m.! Text me your address and I will see you then! Wear something super sexy.”

  Reese laughed. “I always do, Ash.”

  Hanging up, Reese ran to her closet. She had lots of beautiful, expensive clothes Harrison had bought her that had just been gathering dust for months. After consideration, she selected a beautiful cerulean-blue dress that matched her eyes. It had a plunging neckline, revealing much of her ample cleavage. It was very short, reaching only mid-thigh. From her vast shoe collection, she chose a pair of silver stilettos. Finally, she chose a pair of dangling diamond earrings Harrison had given her. Catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror, she noticed how dull and lifeless her hair had become. Checking her phone, she realized she had time to go to the salon. Booking an appointment for a mani-pedi, a facial and hair, she quickly dressed.

  Arriving home several hours later, Reese looked in the mirror and was quite pleased with what she saw. Her bl
onde hair had been softly curled, and it was now bright and shiny again. Her makeup had been expertly applied, and her complexion was soft as a cloud. Slipping into the dress, she applied some gloss to her full lips and waited for Ashley.

  Moments later, Ashley knocked on her door. In a cloud of perfume, she entered Reese’s apartment. “Hi, gorgeous!”

  They embraced, squealing and laughing.

  Ashley Cartier was a stunning blonde herself, petite and smaller-busted than Reese. She hadn’t changed at all from their college days. Ashley was still crazy fun.

  “So give me a tour of this gorgeous place!”

  Ashley let out a low whistle while walking through Reese’s exclusive, penthouse apartment.

  “Wow!” she gawked, looking at Reese’s vast walk-in closet and dressing room. She nearly fainted when she saw the emerald-green sunken tub in the master bathroom. Reese’s master suite also contained a large, stone fireplace. A picture of Harrison and Reese was still on the fireplace mantle.

  Ashley noticed the picture and picked it up. “Who’s this? Very hot!”

  Reese looked down and stopped smiling. “Harrison.”

  Ashley gave her a sly smile. “So what’s the story with him? You guys serious or what? He’s hot.”

  Reese gave a faint smile. It was a good picture of them. They’d had it taken in Vegas after a very romantic night taking a gondola ride through the Venetian.

  “We were. We broke up.”

  “Oh, no! I’m so sorry!” Ashley hugged her. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.”

  Reese shrugged, fighting to keep from crying. “It’s okay,” she said, returning the picture to the mantle.

  “So let’s get this party started! I’ve got a limo out front for us. The driver is soooo cute too!” They linked arms and sauntered out the door.

  After the limo let them out in front of a fashionable club on the Magnificent Mile, they began catching up with each other.

  Sipping her vodka tonic, Reese learned that Ashley had been married and divorced like her. She had gotten a fairly generous divorce settlement, so she worked doing freelance marketing for various online companies. She didn’t have any children yet either.