The Forbidden Chapters Part 1: Afterlife Saga

by Stephanie Hudson

  “She’s really okay?” I asked feeling strangely vulnerable like this. He nodded with a warm reassuring smile but it still felt as though any moment I was expecting him to just stand up, let me fall and walk away from me like I was nothing to him. Hell, but I couldn’t understand why he was acting like I meant something to him now, as it hadn’t been long ago he had been reprimanding me for being five minutes late for my shift. Which was why before I could stop myself I stated,

  “You were angry at me for being late.” He tensed and took hold of his goblet of what looked like red wine before placing it to his lips and taking a drink. He didn’t take his eyes off me.

  “I was,” he stated back and nodded for me to take a sip of his drink. I took it without question, placing the metal cup to my lips, surprised to find it was cold and made of black glass. He nodded when I hesitated to drink for a second, looking down at it like I expected it to be drugged or something. But then why would he drink from it first…was it to prove there was nothing harmful in it, I wondered? In the end, I took a sip of it, realising it was as I first thought, red wine, only cooler than I had tasted it before. I then handed it back looking at the demonic design of a twisted spine that bent back, holding the symbolic cup that had markings etched all around it.

  “But why?” I asked, this time looking down at the bottle of water still nestled in my lap and playing with the cap nervously. He obviously didn’t like that something else was taking my focus off him so he picked it up out of my hands and placed it down on a small table next to his wine.

  “I have my reasons,” he told me cryptically, making me frown.

  “And those are?” I pressed.

  “Private,” he told me firmly.

  “Right,” I said deflated, knowing the reasons would have meant something to me but he kept it to himself. Suddenly sat here with him was starting to feel wrong and the realisation that I was sat in a private party I had crashed, on my boss’ lap was one I wasn’t comfortable with anymore.

  “I’d better go,” I told him softly, taking a moment before giving him my eyes.

  “Why must you go, Keira?” he asked as though he didn’t agree.

  “Because…well because…” I tried to think of the right way to say it but stumbled on the first hurdle.

  “Because you think this is wrong…because I am your boss…is that what you think?” he asked, pausing after each question that all meant the same thing. I nodded biting my lip and wishing he wouldn’t look at me like that…like he wanted to study me as if I was some kind of hobby of his…like collecting butterflies and pinning their wings to a board for all eternity.

  “And do you not think it possible that you are here now because I want you to be?” he said emphasising the ‘Want’ in that sentence. I swallowed hard and tried to look anywhere but at him.

  “Give me your eyes, sweetheart,” he demanded softly and I did without thinking about it. Just obeying. Just like that. What did this man do to me exactly that had me bending to his will without question? What I needed to question was my sanity as this man seemed to render it useless.

  “Good, now answer me.”

  “No, I don’t think it’s possible,” I told him honestly. He raised an eyebrow in surprise at my honest answer.

  “Tell me why…why I would not relish the feel of you here in my lap, sat with me in my home and talking to me with ease?” he asked and my mouth nearly fell open. Had he really just said all those things? It was so unbelievable that I blurted out why,

  “Because you hate me.” To which he laughed as if now I was the one being unbelievable. I took the reaction as most people would and tried to get off his lap as quickly as possible. And thanks to his laughter he let me slip off but the second I made it one step, he had me around the waist again. He lifted me up as though I weighed nothing at all and simply placed me back where he wanted me.

  “I could never hate you, Keira…now stop struggling or I will throw you over my shoulder and take you to bed…to sleep,” he told me adding the last part before my overactive and obviously sexual imagination could take it as something else. It must have shown in my eyes.

  “You wouldn’t,” I dared, looking around the room and seeing it still full of people watching us.

  “No, you don’t think? Do you want to try me and find out?” he teased and I shook my head quickly, knowing that he would. His eyes spoke of a man who followed through with his threats and I didn’t want to be the victim of that.

  “Then stay where you are and relax…let me enjoy your company as I intend to,” he told me in a way that was no doubt supposed to put my fears at ease. But, in actual fact, the way he said it had me wondering if he ever intended on letting me go. Alright so if I were being honest with myself I wasn’t in any rush to leave him and I was still half convinced that this was just some depths of a dream I had fallen into. The problem I had with that was…where was my body whilst all this was going on?

  He decided to help me try to relax like he suggested I do. So, he gathered my legs up so that I was sat across him, then side on like I had been. Now my back was against one armrest and he propped my legs over the other. Then he frowned down at my big Doc Martins as if they shouldn’t be there.

  “I am sorry, I shouldn’t have my feet up against your nice chair,” I said trying to move them back down when his hand shot out and gripped my thigh, stopping me. I sucked in a startled breath at the feel of his strong hand gripping my leg and tried to calm my beating heart or raging hormones.

  “I care little for my chair,” he told me as though that thought never even entered his head.

  “Oh, well I…” I started to say my excuses for my moving them anyway when he cut in.

  “But what I do care for is that you have no doubt been in those boots all day and on your feet working,” he said placing my foot against the wooden frame, like he said, not giving a damn about his beautiful chair. Then he pulled my trouser leg up and over the boot, before he started pulling at the laces.

  “That’s all right, they don’t hurt or…” He gave me a look that stopped me mid-sentence and continued to take each boot off for me. Then to my horror, he took my sock covered foot in hand and started rubbing them. I almost cringed and he noticed,

  “Do you not like having your feet touched?” he asked and I gave him a small smile.

  “No, I do…I do but, I can’t imagine they smell at their best right now,” I told him, this time making him smile. Then he turned to his brother and said something that made my embarrassment levels reach new heights,

  “Vin, can you smell Keira’s feet?” I made some kind of weird choking noise, one they both ignored.

  “Nope, sure can’t,” Vincent replied winking at me.

  “No, me either, must be all in your head, however, I do wonder at your choice of socks,” he teased and I giggled making his eyes widen as if it was the first time he heard the sound and liked it.

  “I understand the Union Jack flag, on account of your heritage but I must admit, the frog I am struggling to understand,” he said again, making me giggle.

  “I couldn’t find matching socks this morning,” I told him honestly making him grin down at me.

  “Oh, and the frog’s name is Kermit.” I told him, wondering why I felt like adding this part. He raised a quizzical eyebrow but this time more in humour at me.

  “And you named him this because…?” he asked and I couldn’t help my reaction. I burst out laughing no doubt making him jiggle with me thanks to where I was sat. He held on to me as if there was a possibility of me falling off him and I found the gesture sweet.

  “I didn’t name him. He is one of the Muppets, you know, from ‘The Muppet Show’.” I told him and then decided it was a great idea to start whistling the theme tune, hoping this would help him but no, in the end it just had me blushing. Draven looked highly amused by my little performance.

  “You have no idea what I am talking about do you?” I asked him and he shook his head slowly.


  “But maybe if you describe it to me in more detail then it might prompt a memory,” he said and at first I didn’t pick up on the fact that he was teasing me…that was until it was too late and after I had started going into an explanation of who they were.

  “Well you have Kermit the frog, oh and Miss Piggy, who he is in love with, but she’s also a bit of a hussy, so he usually has his hands full,” I said making him laugh.

  “A frog married to a pig, now I have heard everything,” he teased and getting carried away I placed my hand to his chest again and played along by saying,

  “Oh, they aren’t married…at least I don’t think so anyway.” He smirked at me and then covered my hand, holding it where I had placed it, then he gave it a squeeze and replied,

  “Ah, so they are living in sin.” The way he said the word ‘sin’ caused me to shiver and he knew it.

  “You’re teasing me.” I told him and he faked shock.

  “You’re the one spinning tales of love between frogs and pigs thanks to cute socks on even cuter feet,” he told me playfully and then grabbed a foot and ran a fingertip up the centre of my sole, making me laugh as it was ticklish.

  “My nan bought me them for Christmas,” I told him folding my arms across my chest, faking attitude and sucking at it. He leaned back as if pretending to be affronted and playing along.

  “Is that so?” he said and I nodded trying to keep the smirk from my face.

  “Then please tell me that you didn’t do something unthinkable…” he asked leaning forward and I froze wondering what he could mean.

  “…Like lose Miss Piggy,” he finished, nodding to my un-matched sock with the little flags on it. I burst out laughing, this time so hard that I couldn’t help but let loose something I hated…no, not hated…more like loathed! I snorted.

  My hands flew to my mouth as Draven’s eyes went wide in shock. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the look of a man that had missed it like I prayed.

  “Now what was that I wonder?” he said mockingly unable to keep the bad boy grin off his face.

  “It was nothing,” I said shaking my head and momentarily pulling my hands from my mouth but putting them right back there, straight after.

  “It didn’t sound like nothing to me. In fact, it sounded just like I have found my little Miss Piggy in person.” He tormented me enthusiastically and I groaned making him laugh, this time making me bounce with the action. Then just before my shame could fully sink in, he pulled me closer and took it all away by asking,

  “But I wonder…does this make me the Frog?” He finished this question close to my ear and I didn’t know how to take his question. Hadn’t I said that Kermit was in love with Miss Piggy? Was that what he was implying? No, surely not. No, this must have been a dream, there was no possible way it wasn’t. Okay so granted, talking about the Muppets’ love life wasn’t exactly how I would have imagined dreaming about Draven. But I guess you were never in control of your dreams, were you, which was half the point wasn’t it?

  Dreams were a way to process the information collected through the day, and if you were worried or concerned…or more like in my case obsessed, then didn’t it give you the chance to rewrite life? Rewrite time and bend it to what you wanted it to become? So, whether it was chatting about the weather or even the Muppets, it was basically giving me what I wanted…time with Draven.

  A waitress came close to ‘our’ chair and topped up Draven’s drink and I wondered if this was the part of the dream that really represented me and what I really was in his life…Just a passing shadow that floats close enough to do his bidding before disappearing back out again, unseen and unheard.

  I bit my lip in worry and Draven must have seen it. So, he handed me his wine once more and this time I didn’t just take a sip, I gulped it down.

  “Easy there sweetheart, I think that’s enough,” he told me taking it back off me and drinking some himself before putting it down.

  “Now tell me your worries,” he asked shifting me slightly so that I was even closer to him. One arm was snaked around my back and rested at my arm, whilst he draped the other across my lap where his hand held firmly onto my hip. He looked so at ease I could almost convince myself that this had been something he had wanted to do for a long time. But the trouble with believing in the unbelievable was that it always proved its true nature, and snatched your belief back with one sharp word, or scathing look. And tonight, I had received both sides from Draven and I didn’t know what to believe anymore.

  “I am confused,” I said knowing he was still waiting and Draven wasn’t a man that you kept waiting…ever.

  “I can see that beautiful, its telling a story in those alluring eyes of yours, but what exactly is confusing you, I am yet to find,” he told me, calling me both beautiful and alluring in one sentence. Could he really think so…or was he just saying this out of guilt, or to try to put me at ease? Oh, God how could I feel this confused if it was just a dream? Surely, I would just be enjoying it?

  “I don’t understand why I am here and if I am because it’s all just the dream my mind is trying to convince me it is. And if that’s the case, then why am I so confused and not just enjoying it while it lasts.” I blurted out all at once and then braved a look at Draven to see he looked truly shocked.

  “You think you are dreaming?” he asked as if it needed clarifying.

  “Yes.”

  “And why do you think that?” His question threw me off guard…what could I say, because I dream of you most nights. Because my obsession of you would naturally bring me here. Because I have been practically begging my dreams to bring me into your world that now, finally it has been granted and I am here in your arms. In front of everyone in his domain as if he relished in telling the world that I was his. Oh yeah, I could tell him all those things but first I would have to be sure, as in one hundred percent certain, that this was a dream, because if there was even a single thread of a chance that it wasn’t…then no. I could never tell him those things. Which left me the question what could I say now.

  So, in the end I told him the truth.

  “Because after the way you have treated me the last few weeks, as if I never existed…well, then the very last place I would ever expect to find myself now is sat in the middle of a sex club, on your lap, after all I have heard all night is everyone referring to you as their King.” I said taking a deep breath after as if my lungs would burst if I didn’t.

  I don’t know what reaction I was expecting from Draven but looking to his brother wasn’t it. Vincent had heard everything I had said, being sat close enough to hear and the look he gave his brother was one of knowing. It was as if he had warned him of this very thing and was now proven right. He shrugged his shoulders as if to say, ‘well brother, this is your mess, now it’s up to you to deal with it’.

  Draven released a heavy sigh and raised his hand to the bridge of his nose where he held it for a second, as if this was a habit of his when frustrated. This was when it hit me and horror started to seep in.

  “This isn’t a dream, is it?” I asked in a quiet voice and Draven dropped his hand and shook his head, telling me no.

  “I am really here?” I said, now being the one that needed this clarifying.

  “You are,” he stated firmly.

  “But I…I…” At this, he finally took pity on me and leant closer to me so as he could whisper,

  “Your mind has been lying to you. You are here because…” He paused a second so that he could get even closer to me, leaning forward so his lips were at my ear. He first ran his nose part way up my neck before whispering the last of his sentence,

  His confession…

  “…Because I want you.”

  Chapter 31

  Bitches and Bites

  Book 1

  NEW

  On hearing this, I froze. It was as though someone had just switched on an internal panic switch and I didn’t know what to do. Had he really just said what I think he said? And if so, how could
he mean it!

  “Say something,” he told me and I simply shook my head as though he was wrong. He couldn’t want me…it…it wasn’t possible. I had just been talking about the damn Muppets for Christ sake! This must be some kind of trick. Yes, that was it. He must be trying to control me somehow…maybe worried I would tell the world about what went on here. This could be done just out of panic that I would spill his secrets. What could that do to a business man, to not only be associated with a sex club but to actually own one? Well I am sure that could destroy a man’s reputation in a heartbeat.

  “I have to go to the toilet,” I blurted out making him frown. He wasn’t taking me seriously so I said,

  “Please…I think…I think I am going to throw up. I don’t feel well,” I told him and thankfully this time he took me seriously. He simply held a hand out as if to say, ‘there you go then’ and I got off his lap quickly, looking down at my discarded boots. I grabbed them, knowing I would need them if I was to get out of this place, so hopped around like an idiot trying to get them on.

  “Here, let me…” Draven reached out as if to help me but I took a step back.

  “It’s okay, I’ve got it,” I said making him frown…he didn’t look happy. Well tough shit! He was the one that had taken this too far. Maybe if he had just asked me to keep this place a secret then I could have told him that he could trust me. That I would never speak of it. That I would keep any secret he asked of me and I would do so by taking it to my grave. But no. He hadn’t trusted me. Instead he had used my obvious feelings of want for him and twisted them in a way to try and gain my trust that way…a trust he never knew he already owned.

  I looked around as if trying to find the toilets, trying to make it believable, even though his look said I was doing anything but. Well, I was actually searching for my escape route, but he didn’t need to assume that as surely, I had given him no reason to. He sighed before he motioned a waitress over, the one named Candra who also worked in the VIP.