****
The sun was starting to set behind the large window in my office. I watched it set in the far horizon over the cities buildings, it also meant that I had to go home and face a very angry Angelina. Somehow this morning through our argument we both did not bring up what happened last night between us. I dreaded the thought when we would because I knew what I had to say and do. I let out a heavy sigh as I pack up my stuff and left my office. Once I got home, I found Carmella and the chef in the kitchen; busy making dinner. Angelina was nowhere to be seen.
“She’s in your bedroom,” Carmella said while turning her attention back to chopping. “She refused to come out until you came back.”
“How is she?” I asked.
“She’s been out almost the whole day,” she said shaking her head sadly. “She just got up three hours ago,” I raised my eyebrows in shock. “This can’t go on like this Dennis, I don’t care what you have to do to make her feel more comfortable. We can’t have her thinking this is hell or a prison or else she’ll really have a heart attack.”
I could see Carmella truly and honestly cared for her. She was right, but what could I do? What she wanted was to go home and I couldn’t let that happen. I nodded at Carmella and headed up the stairs to my bedroom. As I opened the door, I found her lying on my bed with her eyes closed. When I closed the door her eyes flashed open and she sat up and looked at me. I saw the fear and the anger in her eyes. I hope I was right earlier about her needing time away from me.
“Look who decided to show up?” She said icily at me.
“Good evening to you too Angelina,” I replied as I laid my jacket on the bed and loosened my tie.
“Don’t give me that shit Dennis,” I felt a sudden surge of pleasure at the way she said my name.
“Why? I can’t be nice?” I said looking at her body. The clothes she wore, she looked beautiful in them; Pam and Becca really came through for me.
“Yeah sure be nice. How about telling me when I can leave,” she glared.
“I can’t do that,” I said as I started to unbutton my shirt
“What are you doing?” She hissed, shocked at what I was doing. I looked at her confused by what she was saying as she waved her hand at my clothes.
“What? I’m undressing.”
“In here?” She asked surprised.
“Um, where else am I supposed to change?” I asked as I raised my eyebrows at her. “Besides you have seen me naked before, haven’t you Angelina?” I watched her blush and drop her gorgeous brown eyes toward the floor. I tried to hold back a laugh. “Okay, I’ll go get dressed in the closet.” I put on a pair of blue jeans and a white T-shirt then walked back out. I guess she really didn’t plan on staying here for the rest of the night, did she? “Want a tour of the house? There are some things here that might interest you,” I said offering her my hand.
“I doubt it. I want to go home!”
“Suit yourself,” I said. I was tired of arguing with her.
I was walking towards the door when she threw a pillow at me. This girl is going to drive me crazy! I just know it, annoyed at what she did I turned back to look at her. I froze for a second when I saw tears streaming down her beautiful face, it hurt me to watch her like that.
“I’m scared…and confused. I don’t understand why I’m here, I just want to go home,” she whispered back a sob as she sat on the edge of the bed with her arms folded around her. “If I can’t do that, at least tell me why? You owe me that much,” she looked up at me this time and I could see the pain in her eyes. God help me. I walked towards her and crouched down in front of her. I realized it looked like I was proposing; maybe I was for her to stay here with me?
“Look, I’m sorry I frightened you earlier today and I’m also sorry about your dress,” I paused for a second. “I’m really sorry I’m causing you so much pain right now,” I said softly. She doesn’t know how truly sorry I am for the last one. I wiped her cheek with the back of my hand and to my surprise she didn’t back away or flinch from my touch. “But you’re asking me for something I can’t give you at this moment.” She looked deeply into my eyes as if she tried to find the truth in me. “I know this might be hard to believe but this is a safe place to be. Everyone in this estate, me included will not harm you in any way. We’re trying to make your stay here as comfortable as possible. We’ll stay out of your way if you want. I just don’t want us to fight. I promise I will tell you the truth in time but for now you’re just going to have to trust me,” I pleaded to her. She paused for a minute and her eyes showed acceptance in what I said to her.
“Don’t you know that trust is earned Mr. Evers?” She teased softly wiping her face and grinning a little. I couldn’t help but smile too.
“I’m aware of that, but I’m sure you and I can work something out,” I teased back.
“Okay fine, I’ll stay here.”
“Thank you,” I said sincerely.
“Well isn’t this just fantastic,” she added sarcastically as she threw her hands up in the air. “I get to live out every woman’s fantasy by being whisked away to a mansion that Dennis Evers lives in and also buys me ridiculously expensive clothes,” she sighed. “There’s just one problem,” she added.
“And what’s that?” I asked.
“I ‘m not most women you meet,” she said fiercely as she stood up and turned for the door.
“What’s your fantasy then?” I asked. I really wanted to know but she blushed and charged back towards me.
“That’s none of your business,” she hissed at me.
“After last night, I think it is my business,” I said as my eyes lingered on her lips.
“I look and feel like a mess,” she said as she slumped back down on the edge of the bed while running her fingers through her soft hair and started to giggle.
“No! You look great,” I said offering her my hand again. “How about that tour?”
She looked at my hand for a hot second before she placed her hand in mine. I led her out of my bedroom and showed Angelina most of the mansions best rooms while breathing a little easier as I saw her start to relax in front of my eyes and enjoy the tour. She seemed more interested in me and where I came from, like my family and my beliefs. I answered where I could, but I was used to people asking me questions about what I did for a living, how much money I made and the places I’ve been to but this last question was more personal and I would rather not discuss it. We were in my study when something caught her attention. I turned to see what it was. It was a family portrait of my parents and me taken when I was about nine or so, before they died.
“You haven’t changed a bit,” she said as she smiled, referring to the little boy grinning in the picture. “Are those your parents?” She asked turning gaze back towards to me.
“Yes, Dan and Judy Evers,” I said.
“Your mother is very beautiful, I can see where you get your eye color from,” she added but then blushed like she said something she didn’t want to.
I shrugged, I would’ve said that awhile back when I used to think my mother was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But looking at Angelina now I would say it was a tie. I smiled to myself, sorry mom.
“Do they live here in New York?”
“No, they died a year after this picture was taken. Car accident,” I lied. Her expression turned remorseful.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered softly.
“It was a long time ago.”
My parents were murdered in cold blood right in front of me but she didn’t need to know that much. I suppressed a shudder at the memory, as if it happened yesterday. Carmella is the only person who knew how my parents’ death really affected me. She’s known me my whole life. Her and my parents were all I cared about growing up. All I know is that I was loved and cherished; that’s all one can ever ask for as a kid. Losing my parents the way I did, left a huge hole in my soul, I was never the same ever since that day...
“Where are we exactly?” She a
sked when we got to the roof.
“We’re just outside the skirts of the city; it’s about a thirty minute drive back, on a good day,” I said looking at the stars that were beginning to show themselves in the sky. I wondered what my parents would think of me now, but then again I guess I knew. This was not the life they would have wanted for me.
“So you just decided to build a castle like mansion in the middle of nowhere?” She asked.
“No, this is a family estate. I inherited it from my father,” I said meeting her gaze.
“No siblings?” I shook my head at her question. “Okay, I’m letting you off the hook…for now,” she grinned towards my direction.
“For now?” I asked. “I just want to show you one last thing,” I said, a little glad to switch the topic to something more comfortable.
“What?” She asked surprised.
“My fetish,” I grinned at her while leading her back downstairs and to my garage. I opened the door to my massive garage while flicking on the light. For a moment she looked shocked as she took in her surroundings, then her expression seemed amused.
“Cars!” She yelled while looking at my direction. “Why I’m I not surprised,” she giggled. Hearing Angelina’s laugh was truly a gift. “Let’s see, you got a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a BMW, an Audi R8, an Aston Martin and two Ducati bikes,” she said. “I’m impressed,” she added a little sarcasm. I laughed, pleased with her knowledge of automobiles. She walked over to the Martin as I quietly followed. “It’s a Vanquish,” she said softly while touching the hood. “I didn’t notice this one.” Now I was shocked. When I gazed at her she looked slightly emotional to the sight of this car. What did this car mean to her? She must have seen the confusion in my face. “It was my first boyfriend’s favorite car. He absolutely adored it,” she smiled but her smile didn’t touch her eyes, it looked like she was in pain.
“Was?” I noted the past tense.
“He died a couple of years ago. Cancer,” she added clearing her throat. Yet again I found myself fighting the need to reach out and hold her and comfort her.
“I’m sorry,” I said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they were peaceful.
“He used to tell me that he would one day take me for a ride when he got one. If he was here, he would have freaked out,” she drew her hand back from the car. I then realized we both shared a similar type of pain.
“Well, I’m not your ex man,” I said grabbing the keys to the Martin. “But I can surely take you on a ride,” I said as I opened the passenger door for her, gesturing for her to get in.
“I would love to!” She said getting in the car. I closed her door and walk over to drivers’ side. I pressed the automatic starter button that’s on the key and the car purred to life. Once I got into the car I opened the garage door with the door opener that was built into the dash and slowly backed out till we reached the driveway. She watched me closely as I peeled out and sped down the estates’ driveway onto the road heading towards the city. “Where are you taking me?”
“To the city, I’m going to show you New York like you’ve never seen it before. You’re not going to run on me, are you?” I teased while smiling at her.
“Would it make a difference if I did?” I shot a quick glance in her direction.”No, I’m not. I promised to stay and that’s what I’ll do.” For some reason her statement brought me a little happiness. We talked and laughed as we went through New York’s most famous sites. I wanted to get to know her more and I wanted her to allow me to do that, without doing a background check on her.
“You’re not from here, are you?” I asked slowly easing into it.
“No, I’m from a small town in Virginia. I moved here a couple of years ago,” she replied quietly. This girl had secrets and I want to know all of them but not for the reason that I have to protect her. I want to know for myself, because there’s something about her that I find irresistible.
“Does your family live there?” I asked. I figured to start with simple easy questions, one’s I already knew the answer to but I wanted to hear them from her mouth.
“Yeah, my mom and my older sister and some of my other relatives.”
“So you live in New York alone?” I asked. I didn’t understand why she would want to be alone in such a big city like New York. “Why did you leave when you’re whole family is out there?” I asked and she shrugged.
“It’s a long story,” she said trying to avoid my question but I wasn’t going to let her off that easy.
“I’ve got time,” I said as I grinned toward her direction. She looked at me questionably, figuring I spilled my guts, well a portion of them at least…then she should as well.
“I took my ex’s death pretty hard,” she sighed heavily. “For some time I’ve thought that maybe if I didn’t meet him that he would still be alive today,” she said sadly lowering her head. “It was hard you know, watching him like that and knowing there was nothing I could do to help him. When he died it was the darkest part of my life,” she looked at me and I could see how much pain she was in, how much pain she’s still in. “Time heals all wounds right?” She said with a slight chuckle. “In time my friends and family learned to let him go and move on,” she smiled sadly. “But I didn’t…I couldn’t. It hurt me and it worried my family to see me so lost and empty. I didn’t want them to suffer anymore about how I felt. I wanted an escape, an adventure, starting over. So I told them I wanted to move,” she said as I paused for a minute trying to take what she said in.
“And they let you go, just like that?” I asked finding it a little hard to believe. “Didn’t they try to stop you?” She shook her head.
“I don’t think they felt like they had a choice anymore. I guess some light returned to my eyes coming here. There was nothing left for me back there, only heartache and memories, I had to do it and I’m glad that I did,” she said while adding a genuine smile.
“I’m guessing you found you’re adventure then?” I asked as I made it back to the estate, driving up the driveway and parking the car into the garage.
“I guess you can say that,” she laughed. “I also found peace and serenity, for once I feel like I’m alive again. It’s all that I ever wanted,” she looked down and I knew this conversation was over.
“I hope you get everything you want,” I said sincerely. Somehow wishing I could be a part of one of those things. But the bottom line is… I couldn’t.
“I guess it would be weird to say that to you too,” she chuckled referring to everything I had. If she only knew that the things I really wanted were the things that I could never have. Before I could stop myself I reached over to tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. She looked at me and then I saw it; she wanted me just as I wanted her. I held myself back from reaching over and kissing her and showing her how I felt about her. “We better get inside,” she said breathlessly and then she was out of the car in an instant. I followed her through the garage and up to the living room.
“I’m sorry I made you miss dinner.”
“It’s fine, I had fun…thank you,” she said. “Where’s everyone?” She asked taking note of the silence in the estate.
“They all turned in for the night. They live in the far west end of the estate. Carmella left us dinner in the oven,” She nodded. Having Angelina around here alone was bringing back tempting memories. I couldn’t believe how much I still wanted her, it was so not me. Normally if I had a woman once I didn’t want seconds, but with her I want more than just seconds. We ate dinner quietly. I looked at her wondering if I should bring up what happened last night. I didn’t want to but it had to be done. “I’m sorry; I was less of a gentleman last night. I just want to make sure there is no misunderstanding between us.”
“Do you always apologize after sleeping with women?” She asked.
“No,” I replied with a chuckle. “But the situation I put you through was not fair on you. Most women have expectations of a bad boy…”
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“And what are my ‘expectations’?” She asked clearly offended.
“You know, they always expect the guy they sleep with to be the one and I’m not the one for anybody,” I said. I should’ve never slept with her, I don’t deserve her. For a moment I thought I saw hurt in her eyes from what I said but she dropped them and laughed.
“Don’t lose any sleep over me. I don’t expect anything from you.”
I was hurt by the cold tone in her voice. I knew I was nothing but a heartbreaker who didn’t deserve her or any other woman for that matter. She regretted sleeping with me; I could see it plain as day on her face.
“Angelina I didn’t…”
“Mean it like that?” She finished for me. “Dennis look, I know guys like you. You like to have no strings attached sex, I get it. It’s not your fault, I was aware of the situation last night,” she said as her tone now wiped of all emotion. She put her dish in the sink and turned to face me. “You can breathe easy, I don’t expect you to put a ring on my finger,” she added sarcastically. This time I felt the hurtful words she said hit me like a ton of bricks. She had already turned and headed for the stairs before I could say anything. She muttered a “good night,” over her shoulder.
I just sat there and watched her leave, wishing I could stop her but what would I say? That she was wrong, when I knew very well that she was right. I didn’t mean to make her feel like she was just a one-night stand. She was more than that, which is why I have to tell to her. I want her too much, I want to make love to her again but it was wrong, she is my job but she deserved to be treated better than this. I slammed my fist down on the table in frustration of what I caused. I went up to my bedroom and when I opened the door I froze. Her presence in this room from last night will haunt me till I figure out how to tell her that I need her.
Chapter Five
I woke up in the new bedroom Carmella showed me yesterday. It was beautiful. It had a queen size bed with beautiful oak furniture and the rest of the decor was purple and white. Striking and sophisticated; something I was not or near being. This bedroom had a huge bathroom, it had two wooden doors to the closet just like his and just as big, maybe even bigger. The closet was filled with clothes I could never afford in my entire life. I tried to keep myself busy as I finger through the new clothes but the conversation I had with Dennis last night came back to me. He is used to worldly women who weren’t needy and weak like me. I guess having sex with me was just a mistake, a heat of the moment type thing. I don’t think there is anybody on this planet that can claim to deserve him; no one could reach his level of perfection. I should’ve just laughed it off with him but instead I let it get to me and I showed him how truly hurt I was.
Right Now (The Seduced Series) Page 4