Temptation In Black

by Rice, Rachel E.

  “Yes. Yes,” Jonas cried out over and over, his tall body contorting and bending to meet her petite form.

  “Max, I’ve heard about you. I want to be your pupil. I want to experience a life of bondage.”

  Jonas was intrigued and surprised. He liked Kathy, but sooner than later he would have to admit his true identity. He decided it would be later.

  * * *

  Looking for more clients and finding out that Kathy had inherited a large trust fund in the seven-figure range, Jonas decided to mix business with pleasure. Still pretending to be Max, he called Kathy.

  “Kathy, I know that I refused to bring you to Pandora’s Retreat, but only because I didn’t want you to be turned off by my lifestyle. It’s not something that you do when you’re bored.”

  “I assure you, Max, I am well aware of the dangers, especially if I do not engage in it with someone who knows what they are doing. That’s why when I heard that you owned Pandora’s I wanted to be a part of it. Not only that, but I can bring you clients.”

  Jonas perked up, knowing that this could mean big business. He could demonstrate to Max that he could run a business and stay focused and pay Max back for all the money lost on him.

  “Max,” Kathy said, “can you personally show me around the place? I hear that you have apartments on the grounds. That sounds delicious and private.”

  “I’ll pick you up at one p.m. We can make a day of it. I can see what you know,” Jonas said, raising his fist like a child that had just won his favorite sport.

  “Oh, that sounds terrific. A day with you and a little BDSM all in one day makes me a little excited. Bring all your toys.” Kathy’s eager voice sounded like a child going on a play date without her mother.

  “Don’t worry. Each room is filled with everything we need.”

  The thought that Kathy was a novice crossed his mind when he first met her, but now he had second thoughts. She sounded as if she knew the ins and outs of this life and maybe more than he suspected.

  Chapter 7

  A jolt of sun and cool air stirred Max and he woke. He had been thinking and dreaming of Alex, Jonas, and Maxim. That morning he flew to Seattle in search of his son. By now Alex was determined not to allow him access to their child.

  His limo stopped in Seattle’s old district. The houses were pre-war era, each painted in white with a front porch. It was a neighborhood of families where children and grandchildren were watched over by grandparents.

  The grandparents were the sort that had survived their hippie days in San Francisco and had returned to Seattle after years of drugs and war to make a living and raise children as rebellious as they had once been. What they could not give their children, they were now prepared to heap on their grandchildren. Love and protection were exhibited all along the streets where little girls and boys played freely without a care because someone was always looking out for their safety.

  Max thoughts settled on his and Jonas’s childhood experiences. They were privileged in one way and poor in another way. His wards sent them off to military schools and boarding schools at a very young age. There were always nannies, housekeepers, and maids.

  This would not be the fate of his son, he vowed. Although Alex refused to answer his texts or calls, he would put all his business on hold to find his son. He hoped that he could locate Alex as well.

  At Max’s insistence, his driver made two passes by the clapboard house before he spied a man coming through a screen door. The man, about sixty, had a full head of white hair and carried a small red-and-yellow car down the stairs with a young child trailing on his heels. It was an old, beat-up red and yellow plastic car, which had peddles. He could imagine that it once belonged to Alex when she was a child. He heard the child say, “Put it down, Grandpa. I want to ride.”

  “Alright, Maxim, but Gramps can’t push you for very long.”

  “I know.”

  Tears welled in Max’s eyes; he wanted to be the one watching over him, but he wasn’t ready to meet his son, not with tears in his eyes.

  He watched for a moment. “Drive on,” Maximilian said with a small sigh. Then he leaned back in his seat in complete silence.

  How could Alex separate him from his son? Maybe she thought it was a better environment to have her parents raise little Maxim, he thought. His mind was conflicted. How could it be good to separate a child from his father and mother? But then he thought about the type of environment and lifestyle that he had introduced to Alex. The last thing he would do was make an excuse for both of them. It was wrong, and it had to be fixed. He had to make things right.

  Max needed time to think everything through. There was no room for mistakes. Mistakes cost lives, reputations, and relationships. Knowing full well that his one mistake had cost him his son and Alex’s love caused him to be careful.

  After thinking all night, he decided to text and send Alex e-mails until she responded. Lying on the bed with his feet crossed and no sign of sleep, he sent off another round of text messages.

  Alex, my love, when will u allow me to see you and feel ur warm body? I can’t sleep, I can’t eat. I’m dying.

  He sent it, and minutes later a text came from Alex, to Max’s surprise.

  Mr. Blackstone, if u think that I will feel anything about u and for u but contempt then u don’t know what u have done to my life by just knowing u. I will never have anything to do with u.

  Alex, how can u say such hurtful things? I told u how much I love u and how much u mean to me.

  I can’t trust anything u say and I refuse to let my son see u.

  He’s our son, Alex, and let me be clear, u will never keep me from my son.

  Let me be clear, Max. If u try to find him, u can’t and I will have the courts on my side because u are mixed up in a murder case.

  I explained all of that to u.

  Not to my satisfaction.

  Alex, then allow me to see u one more time. I can’t stand for u to be so cold.

  Yes, Max, especially since u have had a diet of sex. I guess u can’t wean urself off of ur head between my legs just like that, so I’m going to do it for u. I have met someone and I’m going to see where it leads me. I may have him adopt Maxim.

  Then u leave me no alternative but to obtain custody of my son.

  That sounds like a threat, Max.

  Absolutely!

  Max sat stunned, staring at the wall. He didn’t move, he didn’t beg Alex, and he did not want to fight her, so she left him no choice.

  Alex sat up and waited for Max’s text. She shot an arrow into the air and waited for it to come down, but it didn’t. It did not come down all that night and it did not come down all that day.

  Maybe she’d hit the target. She didn’t want to hit the target; she just wanted to get Max’s attention. “You can’t treat me this way and expect me not to respond,” she said to the phone. He hadn’t explained anything to her. She was forced to do this, she rationalized.

  The only thing Alex had accomplished was to piss off Max because he called his lawyers and proceeded to make arrangements to see his son and gain custody. He felt that she didn’t want to have anything to do with him. She stated her feelings casually as if he meant nothing to her.

  He would prevent her from disappearing with his son while leaving a trail of his broken heart, lust, and love behind her. He would fix the problem even if he had to destroy their love and then build it back again.

  Chapter 8

  “Alex, it took weeks to find you. Why haven’t you contacted your parents?” Joshua scolded Alex. “You leave the apartment, which was not a bad idea, but here you are living in this hovel alone. You never liked to live alone, and in this dump,” Joshua said, walking around and trailing his hand on the back of a Victorian couch, where there were two holes in the seating cushions. He sat down, and his body sank lower as if he had fallen into a sinkhole.

  “I’ve been depressed. You do a lot of things when you grow up. I’m here until I can get a better job or s
ome money that can take me back to New York where I can get a good job and disappear with my son.”

  “Your parents contacted me because the address you gave them didn’t work. They sent mail and it was returned. They tried sending you a text and e-mail but you never responded.”

  “I was busy interviewing for jobs and my phone was off. Just when I thought I was going to be hired, I was never called back. Max, that fucking Black…blackballed me. He has prevented me from getting money to take care of myself and my son. He wants me to come crawling back to him. Fuck him. I refuse to; I refuse to let any man control me.” Alex shifted in her seat, shaking one crossed leg. Josh scanned her body, and he feared for her.

  “Well, I hate to tell you but he has petitioned the courts for his son.”

  “He did what? He’s trying to hurt me, Joshua.” Alex sank beside him with her head lowered, and she placed one hand to the back of her neck and rubbed it.

  “I guess, like you hurt him. You told him that someone was going to adopt his son. You don’t threaten a man like him.”

  “He told you that?”

  “Where would I get that from? You said it, didn’t you?”

  “What was I to do? There was a young woman found dead in his apartment for Christ’s sake. He didn’t want to explain and he didn’t. He just said that his lawyer will take care of it. Then he had the nerve to ask me to make love to him. I’m done with him. I’m so done.”

  “Look, Alex, you’re upset and I don’t want to know about your love life. That’s none of my business. This is what I’m going to do,” Joshua said, smiling and taking her hand. “I’m going to get you an apartment under my name in Seattle and pay for your flight to Seattle where you can be with your son. Then maybe the judge will rule in your favor.”

  “Are you saying that I have a chance to prevent Max from gaining control of my son?”

  “A small one, but a chance. He’s a powerful man. Get ready. You can be on a flight tonight. I have a flight booked leaving at midnight.”

  Alex ran to Joshua and looped her hands around his neck, kissing him on his cheek.

  “I don’t know what to say, Joshua.”

  “Tell me ‘thank you’ and get your ass on the next plane. Your apartment will be waiting for you. I’ll lend you some money to take care of your son until you and Max sort everything out.”

  “There is no me and Max.”

  “Don’t be so sure, Alex. Max is not a bad fellow, but that twin of his—that’s another issue.”

  “Don’t go all soft on me, Josh. You were the one that said he was shady.” Alex gazed at Joshua with her wide eyes, waiting for a response.

  “That was before I realized that you loved him and I could never have you the way I want.”

  “You will always have me, Josh.”

  “I know but not the way I want.” He repeated his statement, and Alex knew what he meant. There was no need to say any more.

  “Go pack.” Joshua pushed Alex through the bedroom door as he sat waiting for her in the small living room. Looking around, he said, “What are you doing with all this junk?”

  “Oh…they’re not mine.” Alex stood with a towel barely covering her full breasts. Josh tried to turn away, but the sight of her alluring breasts grabbed him and he nervously fiddled with his hands. “I rented this apartment fully furnished in case Max came snooping around looking for me when I was Rebecca. I finally found a use for it since the rent was paid up for a year.”

  Joshua thought that he had never seen Alex look more beautiful. Her tousled hair framed her face, falling aimlessly and covering her breasts. She smiled, and he could not remember the last time she smiled. He gave her a faint smile and waved at her. “Go…go take your shower.”

  Alex disappeared into the shower. The hot water appeared to wash away her cares. She decided that she would not think about Max and she would not worry about tomorrow because she had to make it through this day. Every time she thought about him she found it hard to commit to removing him from her life.

  * * *

  Joshua accompanied Alex on the plane to Seattle. When they arrived at the Seattle airport from San Francisco, he had a car waiting.

  “This is impressive, Joshua.”

  “I’m doing great at Blackstone Enterprises. Pretty soon I’ll get the position of general manager of all of Max’s hotels in the Americas and soon the world. Then you can marry me.” Joshua threw that out. He didn’t expect an answer, and by Alex’s expression, she didn’t even hear him.

  Alex shifted in her seat and looked at Joshua. “You are ambitious, and I’m seeing you for the first time. You’re on a first-name basis with Max?”

  “Well, he asked me to call him Max. We are thick as thieves. I scratch his back, give him some bogus information on you, and he promotes me. One hand washes another.”

  “Did it occur to you that he was using you?”

  “I think we had this conversation before. I’m using him as well.”

  “But you’re not the same as him. He can be ruthless. You don’t get to be a billionaire and not leave bodies on the floor. I mean literally.”

  Joshua reached for a bottle of water and opened it and drank some. “This is good. I’ve never had water like this.” Alex glanced at Joshua and shook her head.

  “What, what was that about?” Joshua said.

  “I can’t believe how you’ve changed.” You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I have trusted you with my life and my son’s and here you are accepting gifts from Max.”

  “These aren’t gifts. I’ve worked hard for this.”

  “The only thing you’ve worked hard at is selling me out. Where are your three pieces of silver?”

  “There it is, you ungrateful minx.” Joshua pointed at the building lit up with lights.

  Looking up at the expensive ultramodern apartment—a glass and steel structure with LED lights providing a glow over all of the building—Alex’s mouth opened wide.

  “It’s nice, Joshua. It’s very nice.”

  “It’s better than that. It is fucking awesome,” he said with wide, beaming eyes.

  “I can’t live here with you because Max will find out.”

  “You can for now.”

  “But only for a few weeks until I locate an apartment that I can afford,” Alex admitted.

  “You can’t afford anything now. I can give you more money. I have more than I need. I’m just a simple cowboy from Montana.”

  “Not anymore. I’ve never seen anyone take to high living in such a short period of time as you.”

  “You shame me, Alex.”

  “Well you ought to be ashamed of yourself.” The driver stopped and opened the door, then took Alex’s luggage out of the car.

  “I’ll walk you to the apartment and then I’m out of here. I have a room at the hotel and you should see it. Max has an opening next week, but he’ll be here in Seattle tomorrow.” Joshua rocked with excitement as he reached for Alex’s hand, helping her navigate the curb.

  “He’s going to be here tomorrow?” Alex said with a quiver in her voice. She couldn’t stand to be in the same city as Max. Their connection was too strong, and every time she tried to distance herself, something drew her in and she found herself edging closer to him. She’d left Montana to forget him and found she was pregnant. The pregnancy and the birth of her son brought her to San Francisco, where she could be close to Maxim and Max. Now she was in Seattle and once again he showed up. Is there any place that I can run to where he won’t find me? she thought.

  “I’m afraid so, but it’s only for an hour. Then he has to fly out.”

  “Where is he going?” she questioned, trying to disguise the concern and jealousy that had stirred in her because she missed the warmth of his deliciously sexy body. She couldn’t shower without thinking about how he made love to her in the most sexual and private ways. She could not bathe without touching herself, hoping to simulate the way he placed his fingers on her clit and brought her to the
most intense orgasms.

  Alex hadn’t had sexual release since the last time she laid eyes on her beautiful, profound, exasperating, and sexy man. She felt dead without his warm dick to enter her body. She missed the excitement of him, his spanking, his oral sex. What if he cannot resist the temptations of other women giving him what he needs? she thought.

  Her temptation was Maximilian Blackstone.

  “He’s celebrating the opening of a new casino hotel in China with his partners here in Seattle.”

  “Can I come to the opening with you, Josh?” Josh looked speculatively at Alex.

  “I…I don’t know. You could get me in a lot of trouble.” Joshua thought about it for a few minutes. “Yes, what the hell. It could be a good career move,” he said, shaking his head. “Max may want to give me that position in China just to get me out of the picture.” A sly smile crossed Joshua’s mouth, and his eyes moved rapidly as if he were planning his next steps.

  “For just a simple cowboy, you appear to have taken to the easy life pretty damn fast.”

  “Well, you know how it is, money and power corrupt.”

  “And you don’t have enough of both to corrupt anything or anyone, especially me.”

  “You are one of those rare women who wants love and to hell with money.” His finger tipped his expensive aviator glasses forward. Looking over them, he said, “That is, until you need both. Then let’s see what you’ll do. As I remember, that’s how I met you at Blackstone’s ski lodge.”