Beautiful Devil: The Rockstar Duet Book 2

by Sharlyn G. Branson

  “Let’s not go overboard with the hospitality and make Alexia uncomfortable,” he said, supposedly joking.

  “I don’t know of any woman who’s felt uncomfortable from my kisses, Kraftberg,” Bertillon retorted and winked at me, which definitely made me blush, even if only a little.

  Alain Bertillon was a very attractive man. Dressed like a rock star—a rock band T-shirt and black jeans, ripped at the knees—he certainly looked quite sexy. In spite of the sex appeal radiating from his body, he couldn’t compare with Alexander’s divine beauty, not even by half.

  “Keep your grubby paws away from my girl, Bertillon,” my boyfriend said, giving him a serious look.

  “Cool your boots, Kraftberg. I just couldn’t resist touching this gorgeous creature you’ve found.”

  I was surprised by the tone of their exchange because I’d had no idea the two of them were so close.

  We sat on comfortable sofas covered with black leather. Their armrests were decorated with fake skulls. I examined the lounge. One of the walls was painted red and a deer’s head hung from it. The rest were painted white. My gaze stopped at a huge aquarium filled with colorful fish. I took a closer look at it and realized a fake human skull was among the seaweeds. One might think they were in some secret, subterranean dungeon in Dracula’s castle, if it weren’t for the huge panoramic window with a view of Lake Geneva.

  One of the doors opened. A bimbo with bleached blonde hair and bright red lipstick entered. She seemed like she’d jumped out of the front cover of Playboy. She was dressed in something similar to a maid’s uniform. She hadn’t even bothered doing up the top buttons of her blouse, so her cleavage revealed most of her silicone, globe-like breasts. Never mind about her short skirt, which barely covered her ass. I was willing to bet good money she wasn’t wearing panties. Her slightly thick, or rather quite muscular, legs were covered by long fishnet stockings. She held a tray of refreshments.

  I glanced at Oliver—his eyes were bulging and his lips were in the shape of an ‘O’. The bimbo paid him no mind, but then paid rather too much attention to my boyfriend. She handed Alexander a beer, giving him a wide smile and batting her eyelashes. As if she was saying, “I’m yours if you want me.” I must admit I felt like pulling her hair out for daring to flirt with my boyfriend. I clenched my hands into fists, but then relaxed them as I saw he paid her almost no attention. Hmm, perhaps he was used to seeing such women?

  Putting the tray down on the nearby coffee table, the beauty bent down and I caught sight of a part of the slit between her legs. I was certain that at that moment my eyes must have bulged like Oliver’s. However, my reaction was an expression of astonishment. Fortunately, the bimbo stood up straight and then settled into Alain’s lap. She leaned and started to kiss him. We were forced to watch them suck each other’s tongues, but thankfully the display didn’t last long. Alain then sent her to wait for him in the bedroom and slapped her butt as she left. The strike made my cheeks glow with embarrassment. Dear God, this Alain had no inhibitions at all.

  Another door opened and another bimbo drawled, “Come on, Vicky. We’ll play a little until Alain finishes up here.”

  And then my mouth gaped in surprise. I glanced furtively at Alexander, who gave me an amused look and leaned in to kiss me on the cheek. Maybe Alexander had also partied at Bertillon’s house? Perhaps that’s why they were so close? I shivered at this thought but decided not to torture my mind with such negative questions.

  One thing, however, was certain—the rumors printed by the tabloid press about Alain Bertillon and the countless easy girls he shared his house with were true.

  After I’d finished my refreshing cocktail of mango, orange and passion fruit and the men had had a beer each, we got on with business. Alain read the sheet music and the lyrics and then sat at a large black Steinway & Sons piano, whose lid was already up. Oliver sat on a chair next to him and tuned his guitar. They played the music several times and then decided to move to the recording studio to record the entire song.

  Once everything was finally ready, Alain got on with setting up the sound at the mixing desk. He was impressive and extremely professional in his work. He gave great tips and advice. The music was finished and all that was left was for Oliver to sing the lyrics.

  “The mic’s yours,” Alain said, beckoning Oliver.

  “With pleasure, but I want Alexia to sing with me,” he said, his words making me sick to the stomach. I had no intention of pretending to be a singer. Naturally, when I was little, I’d dreamed of being a famous singer, but it’d been twenty years since then and I no longer held such silly hopes for the future.

  “Please, I’m not in the mood for jokes,” I said snappily.

  “Alain, if you only knew what a voice she has—even an angel would be jealous,” Oliver said, trying to flatter me, and pulled me toward the microphone. I tried to resist, flailing wildly, but my boyfriend’s brother turned out to be very strong.

  “Come on, dear,” Bertillon interjected. “We’ll do one take with both of you and then we’ll let Oli sing it solo.”

  Desperately I looked at Alexander, hoping for support, but he simply raised his hands with open palms, as if to say ‘nothing to do with me’, and smiled charmingly.

  Well, what the hell, I knew I had a fairly decent singing voice, so I had nothing to be ashamed of. I picked up the headphones and, before putting them on, we agreed on who will sing which verse. Oliver and I decided to sing the chorus together.

  I concentrated, trying to invest as much emotion in my voice as possible. When it was Oliver’s turn to sing, I gazed at him with delight. His great voice made the hairs on my arms stand up. While he sung, his eyes were locked on mine, as if he’d written the song about me. Oodles of gratitude radiated from his eyes.

  The song ended. When we took off our headphones, he rushed at me, hugging me tight and even spinning me around.

  “Thank you,” he whispered excitedly in my ear.

  I was unprepared for his reaction. Stunned, I glanced at Alexander and then at Alain, who was giving us a big thumbs-up in a sign he was very happy with us. I felt awfully uncomfortable, since I knew my boyfriend didn’t like any man touching me, brother or not. I didn’t want him to pout, so I went over to him, wrapped my arms around his neck and put my lips on his.

  “Mine,” he mouthed.

  “Just yours.”

  Alain butted in. “Look, it’s not that I’m not enjoying the surge of fiery testosterone caused by this passionate display between you two… but you’re distracting me from my work.”

  “You wish you were me, admit it,” Alexander joked.

  “Well, yes, I do wish we could arrange a ménage à trois, but I know you wouldn’t let me,” Alain retorted. I barely managed to hide the shock I felt from his words.

  “Watch your tongue, Bertillon,” Alexander growled and gave him that icy look of his—the one that could kill.

  God, this Bertillon guy really doesn’t care about what he says.

  Alain clearly realized Alexander was being dead serious. “It’s cool, man, you know what I’m like.” Then he turned to me and continued, “I’m sorry if I’ve offended you with all that rude language and innuendo, Alexia, but that’s how I am. I often speak before I think. But neither of you should be pissed at me anyway. You’re definitely a dime—a ten if you like. My trousers feel kind of tight right now,” he groaned, feigning great suffering.

  As if I were supposed to take care of him, so he wouldn’t be in pain. Seriously? Fortunately, the piano hid the view from my eyes.

  “I’m not surprised at all that Alexander is so deep into you.”

  I didn’t know whether to be flattered by his words or not, given Alain Bertillon’s infamy as a womanizer.

  “God is my witness…” he said, adding, “…that I never imagined this would happen. Since I’ve known him, I’ve never seen him so touchy about a woman, but you must’ve got deep under his skin. If only I could be in his shoes…” His ga
ze lingered on my breasts. “…I’d also feel the same way, even though after one dramatically ended marriage behind me, I don’t intend to fall in the same trap again.” He scratched his eyebrow thoughtfully. “That said, when it comes to chicks, I’ve never thought with my head, but with…”

  “Bertillon, watch what you say, or we’ll have a problem,” Alexander interrupted him.

  “Fine, I apologize. I admit I did it to antagonize you. I’ll try to pick my words more carefully,” Alain replied. “Well, within reason.”

  “Enough of this idle chit-chat,” I interjected. “We didn’t come here to discuss Alexander’s personal life or my ‘female charms’, so if you don’t mind, I suggest we focus on business.”

  “Well said, m’lady,” Bertillon said, laughing.

  “And when you talk to me, look me in the eyes, not at my tits. Because these two won’t speak instead of me.” I couldn’t stop myself from saying this to him. It was very annoying how he constantly stared at my breasts.

  “Who said I wanted to talk to them?” He started to snigger, but seeing Alexander’s expression, suddenly stopped. Still grinning, he scratched the stubble on his chin and added, “Wow, Alexia. I thought you were a kitten, but you turned out to be a real tigress.” He sniggered again. “I’ll try, dear, but I can’t promise anything, which is why it’d be best if I concentrated on the music. And you two better not forget to invite me to the wedding.”

  Wedding? What wedding, for God’s sake?

  I looked quizzically at Alexander. He put his arms around my shoulders and gently kissed me on the temple. Then he turned to Alain and said, “I thought you said you’d focus on your work.”

  Alain smiled at him, spun his chair around and played the track again. But this time it was I who wasn’t thinking about the song. What wedding?

  Bertillon listened to the song and declared he was very impressed by my voice. He offered to write several tracks for me. To put it mildly, I was stunned. I gasped, but then managed to contain myself. I felt uncomfortable, because we’d come for Oliver, not me. But Mr. Womanizer obviously had other plans on his mind, or should I say games?

  Hmm… He wouldn’t dare. Kraftberg would kill him. I declined and glanced at Alexander, who exhaled noisily, as if he’d been holding his breath. Was he concerned? Good God, I had no intention of becoming a singer. This line of work definitely wasn’t for me.

  Alain frowned and turned to Oliver. “Oh, well. In that case, you’ll have to do,” he said, smiling crookedly. “Joking aside, you’re definitely talented and I’m looking forward to working together with you.”

  “Cool!” Oliver replied, grinning from ear to ear. They raised their hands and high-fived.

  * * *

  When we finished the recording session, we said our goodbyes with Alain, dropped Oliver off in front of the clinic and set off on the return journey to Küssnacht.

  I drifted off in the car. At some point, I felt someone’s strong arms lift me from the seat. I opened my eyes and saw Alexander carrying me up the stairs to the bedroom.

  “What time is it?” I asked, while resting my head on his shoulder.

  “Half ten.”

  Lately, I hadn’t been feeling in great shape. I always felt sleepy, which was totally unlike me. In general, I didn’t need much sleep. “I’m drained, as if someone has sucked out my life force.”

  “That’s to be expected. I didn’t give you a chance to get enough sleep last night. It was amazing though,” he murmured and kissed my hair.

  He opened the bedroom door and, once we were inside, kicked it shut. He undressed me and then carefully put me down on the bed. He was extremely caring and tender with me. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him toward me.

  “I have a little work to do. Go to sleep,” he said and kissed me on the cheek. “Babe, if you only knew how much I’m looking forward to celebrating your birthday tomorrow.”

  What did he have in mind?

  “Oh, Alexander, you take such good care of me, which makes me love you more and more. This isn’t normal,” I mumbled sleepily and Alexander laughed. “Did you know you’re perfect in every way?” I added.

  “I’m glad you think so, even though I’m far from perfect.”

  “You don’t realize how great you are. Give me a hug and come to bed.” I wouldn’t let him stand up. I didn’t want him to leave me alone again and wanted to fall asleep in his arms.

  “Sorry, babe, but I have an important conversation. I should’ve taken care of it hours ago.” He tucked me in and turned off the light. “I love you, my beauty. Now go to sleep.” He kissed me once more and exited the bedroom.

  I relaxed my body and my head sank into the soft, feather pillow. I drifted off into a deep sleep… I was in a forest, enjoying the view of deer. Probably I was dreaming of them, because I’d seen a deer’s head in Alain’s living room. The forest animals weren’t afraid of me at all. I approached them and stroked a small fawn, which continued to graze while wagging its tail. Clearly, this was impossible, but in my dream everything seemed normal and natural. I was like an onlooker at the edge of a meadow.

  It was humid and thick fog drifted through the air. I could hear the call of a falcon in the distance. Suddenly, a man with terrifying grey circles around his eyes emerged from a large bush. He wore a long, black cape from the Middle Ages. He smiled contentedly, but his smile was more of a grimace, or perhaps he had hissed at me… His open mouth revealed elongated canines. He looked like Dracula. Unfortunately, he wasn’t as handsome as Jonathan Rhys Meyers in his take on Dracula. If he were, I wouldn’t have been scared. This man was terrifyingly ugly. His pale skin seemed to be decomposing, as if from leprosy. Startled, I woke up. I opened my eyes wide, breathing heavily. I must’ve not screamed while asleep, because Alexander wasn’t leaning over me, like he usually did when I had a nightmare.

  I glanced at the clock—it was ten past eight. I turned my head and saw my beloved sleeping beside me. He was peaceful in his sleep and, as always, looked insanely beautiful. The longer I watched him, the faster my pulse became. I wanted to caress his masculine jaw and slightly parted lips, slide my hand along his muscular arm… but didn’t have the heart to risk waking him. I had to let him get enough sleep, because I knew he didn’t think and forgot to take good care of himself. I had no idea what time he’d gone to bed, because I hadn’t heard him come in. Still, it had most likely been past midnight.

  I got out of bed as quietly as I could, put a robe around me and went down to the kitchen to make coffee. The smell of freshly ground coffee beans pleasantly tickled my nose. I poured a splash of milk into the cup and took a few sips. Then I went out onto the verandah. A gentle breeze caressed my face. It looked like it was going to be a lovely, sunny day. I sat on the garden sofa and gazed at the lake. People were already out on several sailboats and motor boats, basking in the sunrays. There was the odd cloud here and there in the sky. Birds freely soared through the vast open space. It was quiet and peaceful. I could hear neither kids shouting, nor cars roaring.

  Today was the twenty-eight of June—my birthday. I smiled, realizing I was no longer afraid of becoming twenty-five, since I’d found the man of my life. If I hadn’t met Alexander, I’d now definitely be in my apartment, down in the dumps, feeling dejected and upset, and yet here I was—happy.

  I couldn’t wait for the party my beloved had arranged on my behalf. It wasn’t every year I had this wonderful chance to celebrate together with my family and all my close friends. I sensed I was overexcited. I was thrilled I’d see my father, brother and Melanie, whom I missed so much. I was happy they’d stay with us at the house and I’d have the opportunity to spend as much time as possible with them.

  Absentmindedly I touched my breasts and my fingers felt the necklace Alexander had given me as a present. I took it off my neck to get a better look in the daylight. I opened the heart-shaped pendant and, on seeing our picture, my soul brightened.

  Oh, God, thank you for bonding my life
with this wonderful man.

  Just as I was raising the photo to my lips, the front-door bell rang, startling me because I wasn’t expecting anyone. I left the necklace on the coffee table and headed to the intercom, wondering who it could be… The monitor of the camera mounted above the large gate showed a beautiful basket filled with all kinds of flowers.

  I asked, “Who is it?” But since nobody replied, I assumed one of my closest friends had decided to surprise me. Or perhaps it was Alexander who had ordered these wonderful flowers for me?

  Yes… They must be from Alexander.

  I went out feeling impatient and extremely thrilled. Since I was only wearing a robe, I ran to the gate. I bent down to take in the fragrance of the numerous flowers. Just then, someone grabbed me from behind and put a cloth over my mouth and nose. It had probably been soaked in chloroform because I immediately lost consciousness.