REBORN (Metamorphosis Book 1)

by Williams, Marissa

  "The drive was worth it just to see you eat like you did. Come on, let's explore a little bit."

  He paid the bill and then we walked out of the restaurant hand in hand. We walked around the downtown area going into boutiques and art galleries. I ended up going into a candy store and buying a taffy apple, one of my favorite fall treats. Well, I chose it but Kayden paid for it; he refused to let me pay for anything.

  "You know, at some point we are going to have to make this relationship more equitable," I said, as I was about to take a bite of my apple.

  "It's pretty equitable right now; you give, I take," he said with a smirk.

  "You think you are so funny but I'm serious, you have to let me pay sometimes."

  "It's not going to happen, don't even think about it. I told you, you are mine and I take care of what belongs to me." He took a bite at my lips, and then said, "Mmm, candy apple, delicious!"

  "I am serious, Kayden."

  "So am I. The reality is that when you are my wife, everything that is mine will be yours too."

  Wait a minute, what did he just say? His wife, when I was his wife. He left me stunned; my step faltered and he had the nerve to laugh out loud. The man had the habit of throwing things out there when you least expected, as if he had said nothing of consequence.

  This was too much for me to handle today; perhaps he was talking about some hypothetical time in the future. "Let it go Ellie," I told myself. "Just focus on the now," I kept thinking.

  "Is everything okay, Ellie? You seem a little distracted," he asked nonchalantly.

  I squinted my eyes and looked at him from behind my sunglasses. "Yes, everything is fine, I was just thinking about what a fabulous day we had spent," I said, feigning an equal nonchalance.

  He had the nerve to just laugh; the man was driving me to violence and on purpose! Well, two could play the same game as well as one. I decided to simply ignore him.

  We drove to Chicago in darkness and arrived at eight p.m., going straight to the penthouse since Kayden had to get things ready for work the next day. It would be his first full day at the office since the attack and the first time we would be apart in a few days. I was already missing him.

  "We are going to have to talk about our living arrangement, this is a conversation that can't be postponed anymore." Kayden sounded determined to settle this; I had procrastinated about this conversation for a while.

  "Kayden, the reality is that I like my apartment. This is your space, not mine," I told him tentatively.

  "This can be our space, we'll make it our space or if you prefer we can buy a new apartment or a house. I am not willing to live separate lives any longer. Make a choice Ellie, we'll deal with the rest."

  He was right; this nonsense of being in two places was driving me crazy too.

  "Can I tell you my decision tomorrow? There is so much to consider…"

  "Like what?" he responded, aggravated.

  "Like the fact that I just purchased my apartment; I haven't owned it very long. Or the fact that I just moved into the city after living most of my life in the suburbs."

  "What are you scared of?"

  I am scared of you leaving me, of finding myself alone and with nothing, I screamed in my mind, but the words did not come out. "Can we talk tomorrow after dinner?" was all I could say.

  "Fine, I have work to do." And he locked himself in his office. I changed into comfortable clothing then went to the den to watch TV while reading a book.

  I must have fallen asleep, because when I woke up I was in bed and it was daytime. And Kayden was gone! I found a note on the night table.

  Had an early breakfast meeting, will get home around seven. Aldo will return when he drops me off to take you anywhere you need to go. Please, and I say please, don’t go out alone. K

  What an infuriating man! He was controlling and possessive and oh so unnerving, and I loved him so… so much that here I was pondering what I was going to do with my apartment. I knew what he was doing, he was putting pressure on me to make a decision and given that I'm one of those people who can spend a life-time evaluating the pros and cons of a course of action, it was not a bad strategy. What he was counting on was that there was nothing I would not do for him. He was right; there was no place in the world that I would not go to for his love.

  So I decided to send him a good morning text, to let him know I was thinking of him.

  Good morning my love, I missed you last night. Did you sleep well? Love, EMM

  I figured I'd add some honey to his sourness; see if he could be sweeter.

  Good morning baby, no I did not sleep well; never do when things are not right with us. Will talk tonight, until then I'll be thinking about u. Love, K

  That was so much better! I decided that I needed to take a shower, get dressed, and plan for the day ahead. I was going to have to start doing something productive with my days if I was going to survive the months ahead until the baby was here. A regular nine-to-five job was not going to cut it now since I was going to be gone in perhaps six months. So I decided instead to leave a message for Ronald to see if I could meet with him this afternoon.

  I took a long warm shower. Unfortunately being in the shower alone made me think about Kayden and about how much I missed his touch this morning. Even when he was so infuriating I needed his touch. I had to get out of the apartment; otherwise I was going to go crazy. So I sent a text to Kayden.

  This morning I'm going for a walk, this afternoon I'll be at the AIC. See u tonight. Love, EMM

  Kayden responded immediately.

  You will do no such thing. Remember that they have not apprehended the attackers yet, until then you need to stay put. K

  Okay, he was using reason this time; I could work with reason.

  I understand your concerns, but I cannot live in fear. Will take the phone with me, need fresh air and sunlight, just like a plant needs it to be strong and healthy. I'll be fine; will limit my walk to crowded areas. Love and I mean love you, EMM

  If you love me why are you being so difficult? K

  I do love you, WITH ALL MY HEART, SOUL, AND BODY, but I love myself too. EMM

  Ditto, and because I love you so much I want to keep both you and MY BABY safe, no more meandering or I'm going to have to hire a couple of body-guards to keep you both safe. K

  He wouldn't do that, would he? Who was I kidding; of course he would. To protect my sanity and my privacy, at least the little I had left, I called Aldo and told him I needed to go to the Art Institute. I figured I'd go early, look at a couple of exhibits, and eat at the café before meeting with Ron.

  I dressed in pencil black slacks and a pale green cashmere sweater set, with black flats and a short coat. Then I decided to let my hair down, showing its unruly curls. A simple look, little make up, very youthful. Just what I was looking for!

  By the time I arrived at the lobby Aldo was already there. We drove through the busy streets of downtown Chicago in silence. I had always felt like an outsider in this city, and yet it also felt like home. Perhaps it was because I always felt like a child looking through the windows of a world I was never part of but wanted desperately to belong to.

  Despite the traffic we arrived in no time. Aldo opened the door for me then asked, "At what time should I pick you up, Ms. McCabe?"

  "I'm not sure, probably in three hours. I'll call you and if you're busy, I can always walk."

  "I hope you don't want me to lose my job, you know Mr. Hale has left strict instructions that I am to take you anywhere you need to go."

  I shook my head in exasperation, not wanting to take my frustration out on Aldo. "I'll call."

  I used my old ID to get into the museum that had felt like home for such a long time. I was there two hours before my appointment and decided to go to the Goya exhibit. As I walked through the corridors looking at the groups of children with their teachers on field trips, thoughts of my own little Kayden in a few years crossed my mind. The place, the children, and thoughts of a littl
e one of my own began to relax me. And a smile adorned my lips.

  "You have the most beautiful smile," someone said from behind me.

  I turned around and a pair of deep blue eyes met mine. Wow, what a stunning man! He was almost as tall as Kayden with dark black hair, blue eyes, and tan skin, and so gorgeous. He was dressed to perfection in a fitted tailored suit, not the usual dress for a visitor to the museum on a Monday.

  "I beg your pardon?" I responded, annoyed by the unwanted attention.

  "Let me introduce myself. I am Mateo Tavares; I work for the museum."

  "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tavares," I responded, not wanting to provide any information and not feeling like I wanted to start a conversation with him.

  "Do you have a name?" he persisted.

  "Yes, of course," I responded, annoyed by his persistence.

  Then I saw Ron walking toward me and felt a sense of relief. "Ellie, you are here early; I see you have met Mateo," Ron said as he kissed me on both cheeks in his usual exuberant self.

  "So you are Ellie?" The stranger said my name with a familiarity that I did not appreciate. I was perplexed, thinking that I had been left out of half the conversation. Then I extended my hand to introduce myself, thinking how bad could it be if he knew Ronald.

  "It appears I am at a disadvantage, you know who I am but I don’t know who you are. Eleonor McCabe, nice to meet you." He held my hand a second too long; unlike with Kayden, no electricity went through my body. Great, now I was comparing this stranger to the love of my life, except that there was no comparison. Few men could stand next to Kayden and none provoked the same reaction in my body.

  At that moment my phone ran with the now familiar ringtone. My heart skipped and began racing; I excused myself to answer. "Hey," I said.

  "I miss you, I need you, come to the office; tell Aldo to drive you."

  My core tightened at his pleading words, my body responding to the sound of his voice. "I can't, Kayden, I am at a meeting with Ronald and a new guy, Mateo Tavares."

  "So you are going to leave me with an erection all afternoon, not able to focus on anything but being inside you? If you don't come to me then I am going to go to you."

  My face flushed, my breasts became heavier in anticipation of his touch, my breathing accelerated. "Kayden please, I'm with strangers."

  "So was I all morning when I could not stop thinking about driving my cock into you and making you scream my name over and over again."

  "Kayden," I said breathlessly.

  "Is everything okay?" Ron asked, at my side now.

  "Got to go," I told Kayden and hung up. "Yes, everything is fine," I responded to Ron. But everything was not fine, Kayden had managed to throw my equilibrium off balance and now I was wet and needy in the middle of a work-related conversation.

  "Are you feeling okay? You look flushed," Mateo said.

  "Yes, I'm fine," I responded with impatience unusual in me. At this point Ron interjected and suggested we go to his office. I was still wondering why this guy was joining us, when Ron began to speak.

  "Mateo is here from the Prado Museum in Madrid. We are coordinating an exhibit on loan from the museum and I thought it would be an ideal project for you to get back into the swing of things."

  "But this sounds like a huge initiative, I'm only going to be working part time; perhaps you should consider more senior staff."

  "Nonsense, you can choose your own hours. This an ideal project for you. You speak the language and understand the culture. You'll be coordinating events and activities with other museums in the city as well as the public schools and community groups. There is also some travel involved, I hope you'll be okay with that. This is your baby Ellie, everything you've worked for, I have confidence you'll do a great job. Now I'll leave the two of you to begin to coordinate your schedules. I know you'll be working only four days, just let my secretary know when."

  As simple as that, I had gone from not knowing what to do with my time to busy possibly twenty-four seven. Kayden was going to go through the roof! I, on the other hand was feeling ecstatic.

  Mateo and I headed for the restaurant. He suggested a working lunch. I wasn't sure it was a good idea; I had this nagging feeling like something was not right. But I ignored my instincts, pulled out my smart-phone, and began the planning session with Mateo. He had such a good sense of humor that he had me laughing like I had not laughed in a while. I was going to enjoy working with him!

  I felt him before I saw him; one hand came from behind me to touch my cheek, and the other was placed on my shoulder. I didn't have to turn around to know it was Kayden. My body was so attuned to his that it recognized him anywhere.

  "Hello Kayden," I said without turning. He bent down and kissed my cheek, letting everyone know I was his, letting Mateo know.

  "Mateo Tavares, this is Kayden Hale." I did not add anything else; no details were necessary.

  "May I join you?" Kayden asked, then pulled a chair and sat next to me.

  "Why are you here, Kayden?"

  "I came to take you to lunch. Have you ordered? I told you I was coming before you hung up. Don’t you remember?" he asked innocently.

  "No, I have not ordered food yet, just a bottle of San Pellegrino lemonade." I refused to acknowledge the other part of his statement.

  "Perfect, then we still have time," Kayden responded, ignoring the fact that I was with Mateo, as if it were of no consequence. Mateo was taken aback by Kayden's rudeness toward him.

  "Let me give you my card; we can schedule a time to meet this week to begin planning. Perhaps you can send me your schedule. I have more flexibility with my time." Mateo stood, took out a business card from his wallet, and handed it to me. I stood to say good-bye. Mateo kissed me on both cheeks, and then said to Kayden, "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Hale." And then to me, "Call me." And he disappeared.

  "What the hell was that about?" I asked Kayden, now infuriated by his display of testosterone.

  "That was me letting that prick know not to get any ideas, that you are taken; that you are mine."

  I was livid. He was interfering with my career and that was a line I did not want him to cross.

  "Come with me, all that sex talk was driving me crazy; I need to be inside you if I am going to finish my day. I have two hours to feed you and to fuck you, I just wasted ten minutes of that." His desperation reflected mine, or maybe it triggered mine.

  But I was still angry with him; how could I make him understand that we needed clear boundaries between our careers and personal lives?

  "What you did, barging in there like that is not acceptable; imagine if I were to do the same to you. How would you feel?"

  "You are welcome to come to my job and mark your territory."

  I shook my head, astonished by his flippant remark. "You are crazy, you know that, right?"

  "For you." I had to smile at his boyish good humor. I got up and took his hand, then told him, "Come."

  "I intend to," he responded, taking me by the hand and into the streets where Aldo awaited.

  "Who was that guy?" Kayden asked finally.

  "He is here from the Prado Museum in Madrid coordinating an exhibit with us. Ron wants me to work with him for the next few months."

  "I didn’t realize you were going back to work so soon, especially now. For how long, Ellie? When were you going to tell me this?"

  "It all happened today, I was going to tell you tonight."

  "What about us, how does all this fit with our family plans?"

  "Don't do this Kayden, not now please. I'll tell you all about it, we can talk now or we can do other things." I looked up at Aldo driving in the front and did not want to spell out our plans in front of him.

  "You are right. I'm sorry baby, I've been a little bit on the edge lately." Boy, that was the understatement of the year!

  "I know just what you need to help get the edge off." He looked at me quizzically, and shook his head.

  "Where are we going then?" I asked, wonde
ring where Aldo was driving if not home.

  "To New York; I have a meeting at five at the Plaza, I figured that gives us a couple of hours to ourselves."

  "You're kidding, right? I don’t have anything to wear."

  "You won't need it for what I have in mind."

  I just smiled. An afternoon rendezvous in New York City, that was certainly a new one for me! I simply leaned my head on Kayden's shoulder and closed my eyes to prepare for the possibilities.

  "He wants you; another admirer that I am going to have to fight off," he said with gritted teeth.

  "And I only want you, only you my love." Kayden smiled at the sound of my words. For such a sexy, intelligent, beautiful, rich man he sure was insecure at times. No, he wasn't insecure, he was afraid of losing love one more time. That made it easy for me to forgive his quirks in the knowledge that he loved me as much as I loved him.

  We arrived at the airport at one for a flight on a private corporate Lear-jet to New York's La Guardia. Kayden told Aldo to pick us up tomorrow at three. "Tomorrow? I thought we were going for a short time. I don’t even have the basics."

  "Everything you need is in our suite. Sylvia ordered it for you. Besides, your credit card arrived. I have it with me, you can buy anything you need," he said nonchalantly.

  "Thank you but no thank you, I have my own credit card."

  "We are not going to fight about this, Ellie; if you want to use your own just let Sylvia know so that she can arrange to pay the bills."

  "Kayden, the purpose of using my own is to pay my own bills," I said, irritated once again by his heavy handedness.

  When we entered the plane there were six other people there, all top executives of Hale Enterprises or its subsidiaries, including tall and blonde from our first encounter. She had made it very clear that she was after my man, but she had something coming if she thought she was going to get her hands on him! I sat next to Kayden in a plush swivel chair. He ordered a double scotch for himself and a club soda for me, then settled in to review some work documents. I tucked my feet under my lap and leaned into him, placing my head on his shoulders. He softened and then placed a light kiss on my forehead, sending shivers down my spine.