Twisted Vows of Seduction

by N’Tyse

  Greg lunged for the gun and when he did…a loud bang echoed off every wall in the house. He collapsed onto the bed as blazing hot lead tore right through his skull. The earsplitting clap of the gun had his ears ringing, but it was a far cry from church bells. It sounded more like a stick of dynamite had exploded right in front of his face. His vision became a clouded blur, somewhat like a thick fog, and everything around him seemed to be happening in slow motion.

  John Mayer’s lyrics sounded as if they were being played backward as he lay there in excruciating pain. Resistance was futile. His wife wanted him to hurt and he was. She’d sought retribution and with every agonizing breath he took, he knew she’d get that and a lump some of money too. Out of the corner of his right eye, he vaguely saw that their wedding video had been frozen on the part of them sealing their vows. That eternal kiss was the last thing Vivian wanted him to see. The last image she wanted to slow burn in his mind before he succumbed to the fatal gunshot wound.

  He couldn’t see all the blood spewing from the hole in the left side of his head, but he felt every ounce of it, leaving him weaker by the second. Instead of focusing on the pain, his efforts had been reserved for breathing and trying to remain calm in order to prevent going into hypo-volemic shock.

  “Tell Denise I said hello!” she antagonized as she hovered over him. She fumbled around him for a second, then placed his gun in his hand, staging the scene as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. That’s what she wanted the police to believe. That’s what she would tell family and friends. And that’s what she would take to her grave. No one but he and God would really know what had happened here today.

  “Please help me,” Greg desperately cried out to his wife. He was at her mercy.

  He blinked his eyes and Vivian was gone. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t speak, only writhe in pain. Death had a chokehold on him and he could feel himself slowly losing consciousness. For now, he still had a rhythm to his heart. But that rhythm slowly became more faint with every breath that he took. He was unsure of the minutes or seconds he had left as he began to strangle on his own blood. His body started to grow numb. Then cold.

  Just before he closed his eyes, he heard a loud yell. It came from a man.

  “Dear God! Umm…hold tight, man. I’m going to get you some help. Hello, operator. My next-door neighbor has been shot.” He rattled off the address. “Yes. It looks like he attempted suicide!” Pause. “Yes, he still has a pulse.” Pause. “Okay…okay…please hurry! This man is dying!”

  31

  Naomi shuffled her purse from one arm to the other as she pulled her carry-on luggage from behind. She walked around the airport for four hours waiting on an available flight and as luck would have it, she’d gotten one at the last minute. There was no way in hell she was going to Canada. No way!

  She checked the gate information on her boarding pass once again to make sure she was going the right way. She picked up her pace when she saw that they had already begun boarding.

  She quickly walked up to one of the attendants and handed him her ticket.

  “Thank you, ma’am. Enjoy your flight.” He smiled.

  Naomi made her way on the plane and located her seat. She then put her suitcase in the overhead bin. She took her window seat. She sighed in relief and laid her head back against the headrest. She had never flown first-class, but she already knew that she was going to enjoy it. Before she could get too comfortable, her neighbor sat next to her.

  “Hi,” Naomi spoke first.

  “Hello,” the woman replied, getting adjusted.

  Naomi peered out the window, glad to be leaving Dallas, but not the people she loved so much. She had made up her mind that she was going to call her ex-husband, Charles, as soon as she landed. She wanted to check on the kids. See how they were doing in school. She also couldn’t wait to tell them that she’d been alcohol free for over a year now. She missed them deeply and she looked forward to being a part of their lives again.

  As more people boarded the plane, the woman beside her began putting on makeup. “That’s a pretty color on you,” Naomi complimented.

  “Thanks. I hope the producer I’m meeting with thinks so too.” She chuckled.

  “Oh, you’re a singer,” Naomi said.

  The woman shook her head. “I wish. I’m actually an actress.”

  Naomi’s eyes bucked. “Wow.”

  “I’m sorry, let me formally introduce myself because I’m sure you’re going to see me in lots of movies soon.” She stretched out her hand. “I’m Ebony Greer. But my friends call me Ménage.”

  Naomi shook her hand. “We haven’t even made it to Los Angeles yet and I’m already meeting celebrities.”

  Ménage beamed. “Lucky you.” She smiled.

  They both looked up at the flight attendant who had begun her announcement. Naomi peered out the window again. If she and Greg were as in-sync as she felt they were, he’d know exactly where to find her. She closed her eyes, said a simple prayer, and prepared for a safe flight, home.

  32

  She had to be the luckiest woman on the planet. As she sat there allowing him to work his magic down below, Nadine couldn’t help but fall into deep thought and mull over everything that had transpired in her life. From leaving Atlanta to come to Texas, to going into business with her best friend Denise, right down to finally agreeing to let him come over to her place. It was true she might have had a few unfortunate mishaps, but in the wake of it all, wasn’t that what life was about—living, learning, and growing.

  As she stared at his oily chocolate bald head, she knew every moment and every second of her past had been perfectly arranged for this single moment. Many called it destiny, some believed it was luck, and the others felt it was chance. But no matter what it was, Nadine knew without a shadow of a doubt that Leonard Dupree was a damn good man, but an even better feel-good doctor.

  “You sure are good with those hands,” she teased as Leonard sat on the other end of her chaise, polishing her toenails Soiree Mauve, a fancy way of describing a pearl-like plum. She had just finished beating him in a game of dominos for the third time in a row. So the loser had to give the winner a foot massage. He massaged her feet and polished her toes. He didn’t think a sophisticated investment broker like herself would even know how to get down like that. Boy, did she prove him wrong.

  Leonard licked the bottom of his lip and let out a chuckle. “Why thank you. And that’s not the only thing I’m good with.” Sex exuded from his lips and it had been more than enough to entice her. He actually started her bunny to hopping.

  “Um, I bet you are.”

  Leonard kissed the heel of her foot, the center, then worked his tongue along the edge. Nadine laughed softly, then gave into a sensual moan. It was like they were having sex without having sex. He finally kissed the top of her foot.

  “All done.” He smiled.

  Nadine couldn’t deny that she wanted more. The passion burning inside had her pussy oozing with sweet joy. She wanted him badly. Canvas was next door with Casey so they had the entire place to themselves. All she had to do was initiate it.

  She raised up some, pulled her feet to the floor, and scooted closer to him. She straddled his lap, then began kissing him.

  “What are you…doing…baby?” Leonard asked between kisses.

  “Make love to me,” Nadine begged, her body yearning to be touched.

  She could feel him shaking his head, but he didn’t stop kissing her.

  “Why?” she asked, panting.

  Finally, he stopped. He placed both of his hands on the sides of her face. “I told you. I’m going to wait for you. You’re not ready to do this.”

  She started back kissing him. “Yes I am. Trust me. I’m so damn horny I’m going to lose my mind.”

  Again, Leonard pulled away. Nadine looked at him as though she didn’t understand.

  “Trust me, baby. It’s going to be worth your while. But for now, I’m respecting your wish to wait until ma
rriage.”

  Nadine’s face lit up and her heat melted all over again for him. “You’re right,” she said, kissing him. “And that’s why I love you.” Before she realized it, she had admitted her true feelings to him for the first time.

  “I love you too. I love you so much, Nadine, that my heart doesn’t rest until I see you again. You’re like my air, baby.”

  Nadine’s smile radiated all over her body. And as she leaned in to kiss him again, his phone started vibrating. He looked at the screen and looking as if he didn’t recognize the number, he answered, “Leonard Dupree speaking.”

  Nadine quietly slid off his lap to give him some privacy. For all she knew it could have been a client. She made her way to the kitchen.

  “Oh my God!”

  The panic in Leonard’s voice alarmed her. She walked back to the living room.

  “Okay. Okay. I’ll be right there.” He shot up from the chaise.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked, although his grief-stricken face told her otherwise.

  He shook his head. “No. My best friend has been shot. I’m sorry, baby, but I have to get to the hospital,” he said in a panic.

  “Okay, but I’m driving you,” she said. She rushed over to her purse, slipped into her shoes, and practically beat him out the door.

  Twenty minutes later, they arrived at Parkland Hospital. It was the same hospital her own best friend had died in. So as they walked through those double doors, she remembered that final moment with Denise.

  She followed closely behind Leonard as he led the way until finally they ended up in the waiting room. A white woman with long blonde hair rushed over to him.

  “Thank God, you made it, Leonard!” she said, barely breathing. Her face was covered in tears.

  “What happened? How is he doing?” Leonard began to question without giving the woman a chance to get a hold of herself.

  “They said…he tried to commit suicide,” she said, breaking down again.

  Leonard reached in to console her and Nadine stepped aside. It wasn’t until she got a second hard look at the woman that she realized she knew her. It was the woman that had flagged her down as she was leaving Kelli’s house that day. Her name was Vivian. Vivian was Greg’s wife. Now her own mouth was slightly agape as her breathing quickened from the discovery. Greg Adams was Leonard’s best friend.

  “Can we see him?” Leonard asked.

  “He’s still in surgery,” Vivian cried.

  “It’s okay,” Leonard coaxed.

  Vivian began to dry-heave as a mountain of tears poured down her rosy cheeks. He walked her back over to one of the chairs and Nadine followed. As the three of them sat waiting for the doctor to come out, Nadine looked over to check on Leonard.

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  The pained look in his face said no, but he told her that he was. “I’m going to step out and make a few phone calls,” he said.

  “Okay.” Nadine nodded. The second he walked out of that room, Vivian turned to her.

  “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

  “Um…yes. Your husband fixed my tire that day. You flagged me down as you were jogging.”

  Vivian only nodded. “And you’re here with his best friend. Coincidence, I imagine.”

  Nadine pressed her lips together and forged a smile. “I’m going to go check on Leonard.” Leonard was coming from around the corner when she walked out the door.

  “No service,” he said, making his way closer to her. “Are you sure you want to hang out here? I’ll likely be here all night.”

  Nadine nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure. He was…someone that I knew, too.”

  Leonard gave her an inquisitive look that suggested he had assumed the worst. “How do you know Greg?”

  With sorrow building in her eyes, Nadine believed she had no other choice but to be honest with him. They had said they would leave their past in the past, but she knew that he needed to know. “It’s a long, long story,” she said.

  “And I have all the time in the world to hear it.”

  With that, Nadine had no choice but to venture right back into the depths of her betrayal.

  Credit: Mark Harris

  N’TYSE currently juggles her writing career as a full-time mother, wife, and filmmaker. She is the author of Twisted Seduction, My Secrets Your Lies, and the executive producer of the documentary film, Beneath My Skin.

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  ALSO BY N’TYSE

  Twisted Seduction

  Strebor Books

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  © 2013 by N’TYSE

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means whatsoever. For information address Strebor Books, P.O. Box 6505, Largo, MD 20792.

  ISBN 978-1-59309-520-8

  ISBN 978-1-4767-4447-6 (ebook)

  LCCN 2013933671

  First Strebor Books trade paperback edition December 2013

  Cover design: www.mariondesigns.com

  Cover photograph: © Keith Saunders/Marion Designs

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