Traded

by Rebecca Brooke

  Dad leaned back in his chair. “No, she saw a small glimpse. If you want her to stay, she needs to know it all. I firmly believe your mother and I have been together for so long because she knew from day one what I did. I’ve never had to hide anything from her.”

  “Trust me. She saw enough.”

  “Did she see a payment that went smoothly?”

  Knowing he had me, I chose to ignore his question. I groaned. “Why does everyone assume I want this woman? She’s got enough baggage to fill an airplane.”

  “But you want her anyway,” Samuel piped up. He’d been so quiet I’d almost forgotten he was there. “Just like I wanted Veronica.”

  “Yeah, but Aunt Veronica had been away from David for years before you met her.”

  He downed the rest of his drink and shook his head. “Didn’t mean my experience was any different. I had to work harder to earn her trust. I had to prove I wanted her just the way she is. Only then did I get my shot.”

  My eyes wandered to the door again.

  “Go check on her.” Dad pointed toward it. “We’ll talk more later.”

  I was on my feet before he’d even finished his sentence. When I got to the end of the hall, I listened. I didn’t know what I was hoping to hear but the room was silent. I rounded the corner and saw the tears streaking down Elena’s face and my fists went tight at my sides, an unknown feeling overwhelming me to the point where I could hear the blood rushing in my ears. I stalked across the room, my eyes locked on Aunt Veronica. “What did you say to her?”

  “Nothing she didn’t need to hear.”

  Taking Elena’s hand I pulled her up from the couch, and without giving her the option to refuse, I led her down the hall to my old room. The décor wasn’t that different to when I’d lived there, Mom leaving it as it was in case I ever had reason to stay in the city. Gently, I sat her down on the bed, taking the seat next to her. I cupped her face in my hands, using the pads of my thumbs to wipe away the wet from under her eyes.

  “Talk to me.”

  She sniffed. “Everything I’ve ever known has been one giant, messed up lie.”

  “A lie?”

  “Yeah, he never loved me, just wanted to use me.”

  Halle-fucking-lujah.

  “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.”

  “I know, but you already hated Dominic. It’s just worse now, because maybe Veronica’s right—maybe I do deserve better.”

  “Hell fucking yes you do.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was the right move, but it was the move that felt most right in that moment. Lifting her face, I captured her lips with mine and put everything I needed her to feel into the kiss. Her lips were salty from the tears, but unbelievably soft. Our kiss from earlier had been running through my mind and I’d managed to convince myself that I imagined just how great her lips felt against mine.

  I was wrong.

  She melted into the kiss and I lost all control, tilting her head with my hands, my tongue diving into her mouth, devouring her. A low moan tore through her throat and the sound was so unexpected that it shot heat straight through me and my dick hardened in seconds, my body screaming for hers. My hands began moving of their own volition, searching, seeking more. They ran up her thighs, feeling the muscles shudder beneath my touch, and just as my fingers hit the silky fabric of her dress, moving it up and out of the way, I caught myself.

  This isn’t right. It’s too fast. Too soon.

  Pulling my hand away, my head fell forward, my forehead leaning against hers, both of us breathing heavily.

  “You’re absolutely fucking gorgeous. You deserve the world on a silver platter. And as much I want nothing more than to show you how good it can be, we can’t do this right now.”

  She leaned back, looking around, scanning the room, returning from wherever she’d gone in her head. I knew how she felt because when I kissed her, everything else ceased to exist.

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth and the panicked look that had so often marred her features when she first came to me returned to her eyes. I couldn’t have her going backward. Not when we’d made so much progress. Taking her hand away from her lips I stood up, taking her with me, pulling her body close so that it was flush with mine. I could feel the heat radiating from her. But my family was out there, likely worried about how Elena was doing. They’d give us privacy, yes, but before anything further happened between Elena and me, we needed to have a conversation. And that couldn’t happen with anyone else around.

  “Let’s go have dinner. We can talk about this on the way home.”

  I kept her hand in mine and led us from the room. The scent of Mom’s cooking permeated the house and it smelled delicious, my stomach growling as we made our way back toward the dining room. As soon as we walked in, all eyes were on us. While Dad and Miller pretended to be talking about something else and Samuel flicked through the newspaper, Aunt Veronica watched as I settled Elena into a chair and fetched her glass of wine before wrapping her arm around my bicep, bringing her mouth to my ear.

  “Ashton, can I talk to you for one second?”

  I pulled my lips between my teeth and bit down. I was afraid to leave Elena alone again. Space to think was dangerous. The more you gave her, the easier she found it to retreat. But I knew Aunt Veronica wouldn’t have asked unless it was important. I turned to Elena. “Will you be okay?”

  She gave me an uneasy smile. “I’ll be fine.”

  “I'll be back in a minute.” I felt bad. After all, this was the second time I’d left her alone since we’d arrived. I let Aunt Veronica lead me from the room. The second we made it to the living room she pointed to a chair.

  “Sit.”

  Suddenly, I felt like one of my dad’s customers. My aunt was glaring at me, eyes hard. There was a right and a wrong way to approach her. If I got caught yelling, there was no doubt I’d get my ass kicked. On the other hand, I didn’t feel like dealing with her bullshit. It was completely irrational for me to be mad at her. She’d done exactly what I’d asked. But seeing just how upset Elena was, I had a hard time controlling myself. Crossing my arms over my chest I stayed rooted to the spot, watching her, waiting for her to explain what was so important. A brief moment passed in silence.

  “What do you want?” My tone was clipped, and although I knew somewhere in the back of my head she didn’t deserve it, my mind was on Elena. I wanted this done with, and fast.

  “Don’t start with me, Ashton. You and I are going to have a little talk about Elena. So sit.” She pointed at the couch and then at me and I raised a brow. When, again, she didn’t elaborate, I grew frustrated.

  “You’re being ridiculous. I’m going back in there.”

  “You’ll never get her if you don’t listen to me,” she called to my back and I stopped in my tracks.

  She had me by the balls. If I wanted Elena in my bed, I needed to understand what kept her tied to Tolley, and to do that I had two options: the long way, where I did all the groundwork myself; or the shortcut, where I listened to whatever knowledge Aunt Veronica had to impart and used it to my advantage. I paused for a beat. My dad was right: three months was not a lot of time. Perhaps there was mileage in listening to my aunt. I turned back toward her and lifted my chin.

  “You have my attention.”

  Her eyes darted to the couch and back to me. She was a stubborn character. If I wanted to know, I had to play by her rules. I took a seat on the couch and she sat across from me, wine glass clutched in her hand.

  “What have you done with Elena since she came to stay with you?”

  Weird question. “Sent her to the spa, took her to dinner—”

  “When you took her to dinner, did you mention anything about the way she looked?”

  Rolling my eyes, I said, “Yes, I told her she looked gorgeous.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Jesus Christ.” I started to stand up. “What else am I supposed to say? She looked gre
at, I told her.”

  “You told her you want her?” she countered, and my head snapped to hers.

  “That I what?”

  She chuckled and pressed a hand to my leg, pushing my back down onto the couch. She took her time, taking a sip of her wine, and giving my leg a squeeze.

  “Well?”

  “You’re so clueless. Everyone in the house figured it out the moment you walked through the door. You want her, and if you want my help getting her, you’d better keep your ass in that seat and listen.”

  “You do realize there aren’t many people who’d have the balls to talk to me this way, right?”

  “Cut the crap, Ashton. I learned from the best. Your think your father is good at the big, bad boss routine? Hah! I learned from your grandfather. Now there was a man who took shit from no one. David was lucky Dad passed away before we married. Now stay where you are and don’t get up until I tell you to.”

  I leaned back in my seat and waited, my silence speaking volumes, and when she was satisfied that I was staying, she began again.

  “Now, you haven’t answered my question. Have you told her you want her?”

  I sighed and lifted my eyes to the ceiling. “No. If she wants to be in my bed she’s got to be there because she wants to—not because it’s something to do with her husband’s debt.”

  “For a smart guy, you can be an absolute idiot.”

  “What?” I growled.

  “Earlier tonight, you told her that kissing her was a mistake.”

  “I did not,” I answered quickly.

  Her eyebrows rose. “Oh really? That’s not what Elena told me.”

  I shook my head, racking my brain for my exact words. “I think I said . . . shit.” My eyes focused on hers. “I said, ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ That’s not what I meant though.”

  “That doesn’t matter, Ashton. You have to remember that for the last five years, she’s heard she’s unattractive, that no man besides him would ever want her. You pulling away and saying you shouldn’t have done that only confirmed to her that her husband spoke the truth.”

  “Shit. Fuck!”

  My head throbbed from the discussion. There were so many things I couldn’t do, or that I should be doing. It was like a minefield. One thing was for certain: that fucker was going to pay for all he’d done to Elena. “That wasn’t my goal.”

  “I know.” She smiled. “You can help her more than you know. I understand your reasoning.”

  Aunt Veronica didn’t understand as much as she thought. If she knew my tastes didn’t exactly run in the mainstream, she might understand my caution. Elena had been through so much already, Could I really subject her to the possibility of more damage? Could she handle the things I enjoyed?

  “You need to show her she’s desirable. I don’t know about Elena’s husband, but David frequently withdrew affection. Take her places, put your hands on her. Don’t just tell her she’s beautiful—show her. You want to her to be strong enough to choose to be in your bed, then make her feel like she can stand on her own two feet. She sits around your house all day doing nothing, right?”

  “She’s worked hard enough.”

  “And when her three months with you are up, where is she going to go? What will she do?”

  “I hadn’t thought about that.”

  In truth, I didn’t want to. The time with Elena had been refreshing, not anything like I was used to. She was smart and witty. That wasn’t all, I was different around her. The man I always wanted to be. She might be sexy as hell, but she wasn’t an empty shell, like so many of the women I met over the years. Our time together already seemed so short. I didn’t want to wish it away.

  Aunt Veronica watched me, and it would seem that without me even voicing my thoughts, she understood where my mind was going. “Elena will never give Dominic up if she feels she can’t stand on her own two feet. She said she met her husband in high school. Do you know what she was studying?”

  “She said it was theater.”

  Aunt Veronica’s eyes lit up. “Ah, so you do pay attention to people when you want to. You have to know someone in the theater district. That, or I’d be willing to bet someone owes your dad a favor.”

  “I know exactly who to call.” Alan owed me a few favors. After everything I’d done for him over the years, an audition for Elena wouldn’t be a big deal.

  She stood up, empty glass in hand, and made her way to the door, holding it open for me but saying in a low voice, “Make the call. I think after that you’ll find things fall into place.”

  I leaned in to kiss her cheek and she wrapped her arms around my waist. For such a tiny woman, she had one hell of a body lock. “Oh, and the next time you kiss that poor girl, please don’t tell her it was a mistake.”

  I smiled against her hair, knowing I’d at least done something right. “One step ahead of you.”

  “Oh I know. Don’t think us women can’t tell the difference between blushes.” She winked. “Now get your ass in gear. It’s time to eat.”

  “Thank you.”

  She smiled and walked through the door, toward the dining room.

  Fuck. What a night? I hung back, taking a moment to process everything I’d just heard and get my head around where I was going to go from here. I went to the side bar and poured a glass of Glen Livet, needing something to settle all of the shit firing around in my brain. The first drops always burned going down. The second sip settled me and helped me to start formulating a plan. Even if I never ended up fucking Elena, at least I could help her get away from that asshole.

  “Ashton!”

  The call came from the dining room. Knowing my mother, she already had the perfect wine for the meal sitting on the table. I jogged down the hall and found everyone already seated, wine glasses full, eyes on me. Composing my features, I took my seat next to Elena, who looked to be doing a lot better. She took her glass from in front of her and took a sip. I hoped my family hadn’t driven her to that, and resolved to find out what they’d discussed in my absence when we were on our way home.

  Home. How quickly I’d become to refer to my house as hers too. It wasn’t the first time I’d reflected on the speed at which we’d settled into a routine, and I had to admit that it was nice to come home to someone at the end of a long day.

  “Is everything okay?” she whispered.

  Molten chocolate eyes stared up at me through long, black lashes and her nose crinkled at the top. Even concern was a sexy look on her. I took hold of her hand under the table, threading my fingers through hers and feeling the warmth spreading from where our bodies connected, up through my arm until it came to settle somewhere in my chest.

  “Everything is fine. Let’s enjoy dinner.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Aunt Veronica watching. She didn’t look as content as I thought she should have been. Something else was on her mind. Whatever it might be, she kept it to herself and conversation around us began to pick up, most of it centering around Elena.

  Mom led the charge; the woman could get a clam to open with a few simple questions. She skipped questions about Elena’s husband or the arrangement we were currently in, choosing to ask about her childhood, the things she liked, her favorite memories. I thought for a moment that Elena would be too shy to answer, but she was radiant as she regaled a story about her first audition. She didn’t talk much about her parents, but that didn’t surprise me. If Dominic was anything like David had been, he likely went out of his way to isolate her from her family. Much easier to bring her to heel without outside interference.

  Eventually it was time to say good-night. Aunt Veronica gave Elena a huge hug and made her promise to call if she ever wanted to talk. Elena seemed pleased at this prospect and they traded numbers. Finally, after a few attempts, we were back in the car, on the way home.

  “Did you enjoy dinner?” I went for small talk, which I normally sucked at but my options were limited. While I had a plan, I’d yet to implement it and after
the kiss in the bedroom, I didn’t know what to say without giving her the wrong impression. It wasn’t easy to focus. Just the thought of her mouth against mine had me discreetly adjusting my pants, which is harder to do than one might think when you’re driving.

  Elena said more on the drive home than I had ever heard from her in one go. “Your family is wonderful.” She paused, and there was a slight quiver to her voice as she murmured, “It makes me miss my mom and dad.”

  Just as I suspected.

  “When was the last time you saw them?” I kept my eyes on the road, afraid if I saw her crying I’d want to pull her into my arms and end up crashing the fucking car. She was silent for a beat, and I thought she might ignore the question until she spoke up.

  “When Dominic and I told them we got married, they weren’t very happy about it. Dominic thought it might be better for us to find jobs across the country.”

  “You didn’t talk to them after that?”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her fidget in the seat, her fingers moving to curl around her bag, fiddling with the clasp. “Dominic said if they still cared, they’d leave a message at the house. We could never afford to go back.”

  I heard a sniffle and my hand left the wheel to reach over and take hers, nestled in her lap. “I’m sorry. Maybe you can try again?”

  She laughed, but there was no humor to it. I felt a sharp pain in the left hand side of my chest. “Yeah, I’m sure that they would understand all of this.” I’d never heard Elena be sarcastic and the tone didn’t suit her.

  “I didn’t mean for you tell them all of this. I bet they miss not hearing from you.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe.”

  The car went silent after that. I was aware that I’d promised to talk to her about the kiss but I let it go and continued driving. When we finally walked into the house, her eyes bounced around the room, looking everywhere but at me. Cupping her face, I lifted her eyes to mine and saw the whites were stretched wide, her irises almost invisible.