by Stefani, Z.
“I will,” she replied cheekily.
“I’m serious.” He kissed her forehead before he walked away.
“He’s just worried about you, dearest; don’t be upset.” Sybille patted Heaven’s knee as Coco set the pie on the table.
“I’m not upset, just frustrated. I’m trying to be understanding, but he’s being so demanding. Well, more demanding than usual. He freaked out because I went swimming by myself.”
“I don’t want you swimming by yourself either. Not with a maniac’s accomplice possibly on the loose,” Coco added and Sybille nodded.
“We don’t know that he had an accomplice; there’s no proof.” Heaven preferred to believe there was no accomplice.
“And there’s no proof that he didn’t,” Coco replied.
Heaven felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She was a lawyer; she should know that, but not knowing it was easier to handle.
“Julian’s afraid that something might happen to you again, and he will protect you any way that he can. I know you don’t want to hear this, but I am very happy that he’s going to these extremes to protect you,” her mother explained. She knew men, and how some of them could react after such a traumatic event.
Coco nodded adamantly. “I agree.”
“He wants to lock me up and keep me safe; while I want to celebrate the life we almost lost. I want to celebrate it with him every step of the way. I just want things to be like they were before.”
“The two of you had different reactions to what happened to you. That’s perfectly normal,” Coco said as she began serving the pie.
***
“Everything all right?” Julius asked, pulling a flask from his pocket as he watched his cousin Julian storm towards them.
“That is the most stubborn female I have ever met in my life!” Julian raged, grabbing the flask from his cousin and taking a liberal drink of the fiery fluids within.
His cousin Royce grinned. “That’s because she’s the only female you’ve ever cared about in your life. Love changes the dynamics.”
“Love changes everything,” Julius added.
“Then add the near-death experience on top of that. I’m sure her stubbornness is just a side-effect from the trauma she experienced. That’s bound to alter anyone’s psyche,” Royce explained.
“Trust me, she’s always been stubborn.” Julian passed the liquor back to his cousin. He realized his cousin was partially right; the incident had changed both he and Heaven a bit.
“She’ll level out once things get back to normal,” Royce tried to reassure him.
“No, she won’t. Once she gets her mind set on something, there’s no stopping her,” Julian corrected him.
“Maybe you should give her a little more freedom,” Julius suggested.
“Absolutely not. I want to lock her away in my room until Gavin is dead. I should have killed that motherfucker when I had the chance.”
“We still have a chance. I know the warden—maybe I could pull some strings,” his cousin said with a grin. Julian believed him; Julius was a bit dangerous, and he loved a little chaos.
***
Yesterday, Julian didn’t get much work done. He’d spent the majority of his day checking on Heaven. Even though she was with her mother and aunt, he couldn’t stop himself. He wouldn’t make that mistake today; he had too much work to make up from yesterday. He wanted her safe in the room, where he could check on her with just a call.
Heaven wasn’t thrilled with his decision, but she wouldn’t fight him. He was working himself to the bone to keep her safe; how could she deny him?
By afternoon, she was going a little stir-crazy. She’d never been so bored in her life. She could think of a million things she would rather be doing than sitting in the room. She had never been one to have conversations on the phone, unless they were work-related. However, she had found herself so bored that she was even willing to talk on the phone to her mother. She had come somewhat to appreciate her mother’s dramatic flair and the long, drawn-out stories that she told. They made the time go by faster.
It was times like this that she wished she had a stack of work before her. She would be able to get so much done, but she had no idea what was going on at the firm. She didn’t even have a case to help someone work on. That was when she decided to call Ayden and see how everything was going, so she called his direct line.
“Ayden King.”
“Hi, Ayden!”
“Well hello, Sevigne, what a pleasure to hear from you. How are you?”
“I’m so thankful you’re all right; we’ve been very worried about you. How are you feeling?”
“I’m feeling very thankful that my soon-to-be-ex wife is such a horrible shot,” he chuckled.
“Me too. How are you feeling…physically? Are you all right?”
“Yes, I feel amazing considering what happened.”
“Good. So how is everything at work?” Not only was she worried about him—she was also in desperate need of some information. Hell, she’d settle for gossip right now.
“Things are getting back to normal. Well, somewhat normal. It’s not the same without you and Julian here though.”
“We can’t wait to get back.” Heaven was counting the days until she got back to work.
“How is Julian?” Ayden asked, and Heaven could hear the stress in his voice.
“Still stubborn.”
“He still doesn’t want to talk to me?” Ayden’s voice was full of sadness.
“Not yet, but I’m working on him,” Heaven reassured him.
“Thank you so much, Sevigne, that means the world to me.”
“Of course. So have you found a replacement for Gavin Grant?”
“Yes, Clive Baker. I’ve known him and his family for years. His father and I went to college together; they have no skeletons in their closet. He is an honest, hardworking man and also a great defense attorney.”
“Good. What about Gloria Gray?” She had been thinking about how unfair it would be if Gloria lost her job.
“Mr. Grant’s secretary?”
“Yes.”
“Well, she has been helping Ian out around the office for the time being. I’m not sure whether Mr. Baker will keep her on although I will suggest it.”
“Is there any way that I could contact him? She’s a good secretary, and she has been part of the firm for a long time. I’d hate to see her go. I don’t think she should pay for Gavin Grant’s actions.”
“I agree; I’ll talk to him as well. I’ll email you his number first thing in the morning.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re most welcome. Keep talking to Julian for me.”
“I will.”
“Oh, and Sevigne, I almost forgot. A reporter did a big spread on your ordeal; it made the front page.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me?” She felt her blood boil at the thought of being so exposed.
“No, he even included your business email in the article.”
“Who is the reporter? I will have his job by noon,” she hissed.
“I think this could be a good thing. The public is responding, and people are showing you a lot of support. There have been thousands of emails and calls in regard to your health. People have even stopped by the firm to see how you were doing or just to drop off flowers.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Check your email when you get a chance; you’ll see what I mean.”
“All right, thank you. I’ll talk to you soon.” She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed, analyzing what Ayden had just told her. She sat up again, ready to call her mother and tell her about it, when the phone rang. “Hello?”
“Sevigne, how are you?” Petal asked.
“Hey Petal, I’m doing well. Still locked up in the room.”
“King still won’t let you out?” she said with a giggle.
“Nope, not yet.”
“Well, at least he’s letting you out for our party this wee
kend.”
“What party?”
“King didn’t tell you?”
“No.”
“Well, Alex and I have decided to throw the ultimate party. This will be the party that outshines all other parties. We’re going for the party of the decade here,” Petal purred.
“A sex party?” Heaven asked as dread began to fill her.
“Yes, but not just any sex party. This will be full-out debauchery. I promise to deliver the kinkiest all-night fest you will ever experience.”
“And Julian agreed to this?”
“I believe he made the reservations with Alex.”
“Petal, I’m going to have to call you right back.”
“Is everything peachy keen, love?”
“Yes…I’ll call you back,” Heaven said and hung up the phone.
Heaven threw on her robe and the only shoes in her immediate proximity. She left the room and headed downstairs, ready for battle. She stormed out of the front door and stomped over to Julian, her heels clicking with each step.
Julian knew it was Heaven before he turned around. He knew that walk as well as his own. Whether at home or in the office—Heaven could always express her anger through her footsteps.
“Julian.” She put her hand on her hip as he turned to her.
“What are you doing out of the room?” Julian barked.
“I need to talk to you,” her tone was dangerously low, and her hazel eyes blazed with rage.
He knew that look; he hadn’t seen it lately, but he knew that look well.
“I’ll be right back,” he said to his cousins before he grabbed Heaven and headed towards the house. He took her upstairs to their room and slammed the door behind him.
“I told you to stay in the room! And where’s your walkie-talkie?” He was furious.
“Petal just called me.”
“So?”
“So she told me about their big party.”
“So?” Julian failed to see the point.
“So she said it will be the kinkiest sex party ever. The party that will put all their other parties to shame.”
“I don’t care. Where is your cell phone?”
“She told me that you made reservations for us! Let me tell you something, Mr. King, I am not going! There is no way in hell I will ever step into another one of those parties. Never! I agreed to it because I was under contract, and I’ll admit that maybe I was a little curious, but I will no longer participate in such debauchery.”
“I never made reservations. We’re not going.”
“I will not…" she paused and looked at him for a second. “Excuse me? Did you just say that we’re not going?” she asked in befuddlement, ready to continue arguing. She had prepared this speech the minute she got off the phone with Petal, and she wanted to get it all out.
“We’re not going to that party; I have no intention of taking you to another one. The fact that I took you in the first place makes me sick,” he scowled.
He was still angry with himself for trying to make Heaven fit into his perverse world. The thought of taking her to those places seemed obscene to him now. He was angry with himself for even exposing her to that lifestyle. He didn’t want her to be as he was. He appreciated her purity, and the respect that she had shown her body.
In the past, when he had disliked her, he wanted to disrespect her. Now he wanted to show her the respect that she deserved. He also wanted to keep her all to himself; she was his, and she was all that he had.
“Really?”
“Really. Those parties served their purpose, but I don’t need them anymore.” He grinned, although he was serious. It was strange how his feelings had changed. Things that he once enjoyed now seemed immature, preposterous and inappropriate. Not to mention boring in comparison to what he had now. Heaven was more entertaining than any of those parties had ever been.
“Seriously?” She didn’t think she would ever hear him say that.
“Seriously,” he said, grinning at her surprise, “things are different now. I’m different.”
“How?” She needed to hear him say it.
“It was that last party I took you too. It changed me. When I saw everyone, including my friends, looking at you, I had an overwhelming urge to burn all of their eyes out. I wanted to go through that room like an axe-wielding maniac. I don’t want anyone to see you like that again…only me. I want to wrap you in fabric from your neck to your toes. I want everyone to respect you the way that I now respect you. I want them to see you as a princess, but I want them to know that you’re my princess. Only mine. I want them to realize that if they even look at you for too long, I will fucking kill them. I’ll never share you, and I refuse to subject you to that type of perversity again. Taking you to another sex party is a set-up for failure or a one-way ticket to prison.”
“The sex addict of the world actually declines the kink fest of the decade?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I never thought I would see the day.”
“I’m done with them. They started out as a distraction and became a way of life. It was fine before, but not anymore. Again, things have changed.”
“Distraction from what?”
“My family. Growing up, I would have done anything to get out of my house at that time. The parties were the only time in my life that I was at ease. The chaos in my home was too much for me—my parents were always at war. The chaos at the parties was mind-numbing and sexually geared. They distracted me from dwelling on my life. Sex was the only way I knew how to ease my mind and my violent thoughts. I probably would have been ignorantly happy living like that for the rest of my days. But, I met you, and everything changed.”
“I can’t believe you’re not the least bit tempted to go to that party.”
“Not at all; you’re the only thing that tempts me. I would rather be with you in a tiny, bare room with no food or water than be anywhere else in the world,” he said with a sincerity that made her smile.
A Little Wager
“You said you would come up here for a late dinner. Where are you?” Heaven snapped into the phone.
“I’m still working on this, we’re almost done. I’ll be there soon,” Julian answered.
“Either you come up here now, or I’ll come down there,” she demanded before she hung up the phone. She grabbed her shoes and put them on, just in case he didn’t come.
She had no more than grabbed them when the door swung open.
“What’s the matter?” Julian yelled.
“What do you mean what’s the matter? You were supposed to be here, but you stood me up again! I’m done with this isolation. I’m done with the whole hostage situation; I’m not staying in this room another minute!” she screamed as she headed towards the door.
“You’re not leaving!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.
“Yes, I am—“
“No, you’re not!” He put his hand over her mouth, not wanting to hear another word from her. “You will stay in this room until I tell you it’s safe to leave. I don’t want any arguments from you.”
His gray eyes blazed with determination and his steely will. Somewhere in her mind, Heaven felt that she should be angry with him. However, the tingling that she felt in her heart and in the center of her vagina would not allow the anger to manifest.
“Stop fighting me, I’m trying to keep you safe.” He slid his hand down the side of her neck and then rested it above her breast. “I need to keep you safe. I would lock you away in a shrine if it were possible.”
“You’re being paranoid, Julian.”
“I am being cautious.”
“You can’t keep me locked up in this house all day and all night. I’m going stir-crazy,” she lifted her brows, her hysteria evident in her expression, “do not make me crazy, Julian King; trust me, you would not like me when I’m crazy.”
“I don’t care if you’re crazy—I care if you’re safe.”
“I keep a bow gun in my trunk, I carry a small handg
un in my purse, you have two guns strapped to you at all times, you don’t sleep and you don’t leave my side. I am perfectly safe—you made sure of that.”
“You’re not leaving this house.”
“Gavin is in jail, Julian. What don’t you understand about that?”
“We didn’t even know Gavin. We thought we knew Gavin, but we had no clue who he really was. Hell, I didn’t even know who my father actually was until Gavin told me. I don’t trust the situation—I have a bad feeling. I don’t know that Gavin doesn’t have an accomplice. Maybe his mother had an angry brother or father? Or maybe another son? A twin perhaps?”