4 Bad Boys to take to Bed (4 Book Bundle Set!) (19 page)

After his climax, he pulled off the street into the parking lot of a bank that was closed for the night. We were the only car in the lot. He got out of the car and walked around to open my door, not bothering to fasten his pants. “You’ve been a very good girl Katherine,” he praised with a smile.

I could feel myself smiling back, glowing with the praise.

“That’s why I’m going to make you feel just as good as you made me feel.”

Reaching down to take my hand
, he pulled me out of the car and whirled me around so my back was to him and I was leaning against the side of the Audi. With one hand, he held me pressed against the car so I couldn’t turn around, and with the other hand he jerked my dress up and my panties down to my ankles. I could hear my dress rip as he pulled at it, but I was beyond caring. I just wanted him inside of me against the car. The thought that we were out in the open parking lot where anyone driving by could see us only excited me further.

No longer bothering to keep me pressed against the car, he knew I wouldn’t move, Steven took his hand off my back and eagerly slipped his finger into my vagina and rubbed while he pushed his penis into me from behind. With every hard thrust of his penis
, my hip bones slammed against the car, but somehow the dull pain made the mounting wave of my orgasm more pleasurable and solid. I craved the pounding sensation and arched my back even more to allow his penis to enter me deeper and deeper. Steven could sense that I was close to orgasm and he wound his hand through my hair and pulled sharply. The sudden movement made my head jerk back and I gasped with surprise and a quick, sudden jolt of fear. The added adrenaline made my heart leap, and my climax was long and deep.

Shuddering, I leaned against the car. My forehead was drenched with sweat and I felt completely spent. Between the sex and the strangeness of the evening, I could barely stand up anymore. I just wanted to sleep next to my husband and forget about Sana and her mysterious problems.

With uncharacteristic gentleness, Steven scooped me into his arms and put me in the car. Murmuring softly, I heard him say something that sounded like, “My sweet girl. You have no idea what’s happening around you. That’s why I love you.”

The drive home felt too short. I was drifting in and out of sleep, but Steven’s words to me when he thought I
wasn’t listening had made me angry. Suddenly, I didn’t feel like being blind to what was happening around me. For the first time in a long time I wanted to take control.

The next day was beautiful, bright and sunny with the promise of summer in the air. I greeted it with a newfound sense of purpose. Today, I was going to do what I could to get to the bottom of this mystery. Last night I had been tired and confused. I’d let Steven distract me from the problem, but I’d hidden my head in the sand for the last time. This wasn’t just a question of me and Steven or my safe and secure lifestyle. There was another person involved, an innocent girl who was desperately afraid of Charlie for some reason. I couldn’t allow myself to take the easy way out and push it aside. I was going to do something about it.

This feeling felt both strange and familiar, like putting on an old shirt again after not wearing it for awhile. It had been awhile, a long while, since I’d done something I knew Steven wouldn’t like. Pleasing him had started out of a sense of love and desire, but had turned into something more closely resembling a habit. I simply didn’t know how to behave any differently. But his comment last night had piled on top of my boredom and loneliness and ignited a spark of anger in me that hadn’t been there for a long time. The truth was, it felt good.

I took my time showering and dressing in a light blue shirt dress I saved for days when I just wanted to be comfortable. The cotton felt great against my skin and I luxuriated in the feeling for a moment. Looking around the comfortable home Steven and I had built over the last year, I almost changed my mind. Maybe I shouldn’t rock the boat. After all, if Steven were to find out that I was probing further into this, he might not like it. He’d never hit me, but he showed his anger in other ways. I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of his temper.
Was this worth it?

Just then, the phone rang. It was my mother.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Katherine? How are you dear?” She sounded tired and older than I remembered. I hadn’t spoken to my mother in a few weeks and our last conversation had been brief. I had called her to discuss the possibility of bringing her to Boston for a visit.

“I’m fine Mother. Is everything okay?”

“Yes, fine. I just wanted to talk to you about the trip.”

“Okay. What’s the matter?”

“Nothing Katherine. I’m just a little tired is all and I don’t think I can manage a trip to see you. Would you like to come here instead?”

“I don’t think Steven can take the time off.” The truth was that Steven didn’t like my mother and I knew he would never agree to taking time off from work to visit her.

The feeling was mutual. My mother had never liked Steven. Not that she spent a lot of energy worrying about my relationships, in fact the first time she’d met him had been at our wedding. After spending some time talking with him she’d told me I’d made a mistake. We didn’t talk for a year after that.

“Of course he can’t. That’s fine. I’d rather spend some time with just you anyway.” My mother had gotten much more affectionate as she’d gotten older. They say people mellow with time and that had never been more true than when it came to my mother.

“Mom, I’d like to, but you know that Steven needs me here. I take care of him just like he takes care of me, remember?” I knew my voice had an edge to it, but I couldn’t control it. I felt defensive of my relationship. I knew she didn’t like him, and at that moment I wasn’t sure I liked him much either—especially after hearing him tell me he liked me silent and stupid.

“When are you going to start being your own woman? I raised you without a man, without help, and with only myself to rely on. I’m shocked that my daughter would throw away her independence and her intelligence to act as housewife and nursemaid to an unfeeling control freak like Steven.”

Her outburst startled me. I knew she didn’t like Steven, but since her comment at the wedding, she had never outright insulted him to me. If we had had this conversation only a week ago, my response would have been to hang up on her and wait for her to call me and apologize. But since my sudden re-awakening, I had to be honest with myself and admit that she wasn’t wrong. I fell in love with Steven and threw away my life and my personality to become the person he wanted me to be. I did it freely and had enjoyed living in a comfortable cocoon for the last seven years. Now, I was finally coming out.

“Mom,” I started. “You’re not wrong.” Her stunned silence told me how surprised she was that I hadn’t slammed the phone down. “I’ve let a long time go by without really seeing my situation clearly and some things have been happening that have prompted me to wake up to reality.”

“But,” I interrupted her intake of breath that signaled she was about to start giving me advice, “Steven does love me. I know he does. He has a unique personality and it’s not for everyone, but I love him very much. I just need to figure out a way to start finding myself without damaging our relationship.”

“Well…good Katherine. I’m glad to hear that you might be starting to use that head of yours for something other than following a recipe or interior decorating.”

I sighed. “Thank you, Mother. Let’s put this trip conversation on hold for now, okay? I need to talk to Steven and there are some things I need to wrap up around here first anyway.”

We hung up with promises to call in a couple of weeks. I felt bold. My mother’s phone call had come at the perfect time to keep me charged up. I had been wavering about taking steps to help Sana, but after hearing her talk about the way I’d been behaving since Steven and I had met, I wasn’t hesitating any longer. She was right. I’d acted like a person without a mind of her own. I just hoped it wasn’t too late.

The truth was that I didn’t know where to start. I was filled with a sense of purpose and determination but without an outlet. I tried to collect my thoughts and get a better handle on the situation. What did I really know? I knew that my husband was a controlling man who worked for an international law firm. His boss, Charlie, was a partner in that same firm and, in my opinion, completely untrustworthy. The girl I was trying to help was a beautiful, scared, Saudi Arabian model who was staying with Charlie. That was all I had to start with. It didn’t seem like much. Maybe I was imaging a problem. It’s possible that I was grasping at straws in order to give myself a purpose, maybe this was more of a timing thing and less of a mystery. I mean, who did I think I was? Nancy Drew?

Still, I thought with a sigh, it might not be much but it’s something. It’s the first ‘something’ I’ve felt like doing for a while so I might as well go with it. Besides, Steven had left early this morning to go to New York for business. He’d be gone a couple of nights, so there was no better time to investigate.

Sana had said that Charlie had brought her here to be a model and Steven had basically admitted that he had met her at the agency, the firm’s client. I’d start there.

With a last look around the house, I grabbed my purse and keys and jumped in my car. It wasn’t flashy like Steven’s new Audi, but I loved my reliable Range Rover. It always made me feel powerful to be in a big car. I knew it wasn’t as environmentally friendly, but for a woman who had spent the majority of her adult life catering to everyone else’s needs, it felt good to be selfish, even if it was just with my choice of car.

I drove slowly and carefully toward the agency downtown. I wasn’t exactly sure what I was going to do or say once I got there so there was no sense in hurrying. I desperately tried to think of a plan as I carefully signaled a left turn into the parking garage connected to the building. I supposed, I thought as I pulled into a parking space, I would simply ask to speak to Sana; pretend like we were friends and I was meeting her here. After all, the people at the agency didn’t know me. We’d never met. For once Steven’s insistence that I remain separate from his work life felt like a good thing, a blessing. My sense of fear and excitement was boiling in my stomach as I walked purposefully toward the main entrance.

“Hi,” I said as cheerfully as I could to the receptionist. “I’m Amanda, can you let Sana know I’m here please?”

I tried to take in the agency as subtly as I could. From my perspective it seemed unremarkable. Glossy 8”x10” headshots of beautiful girls decorated the beige walls in the lobby and the rest of the office was sealed from view by a set of double doors. Nothing that screamed
danger
.

“Who are you here to see?” the receptionist asked curiously.

“Sana. She’s tall with dark hair…”

She looked at me as if she had no idea who I was talking about.

“Sana. She’s from Saudi Arabia,” I persisted even though I could see that this was not going to go anywhere.

“No, I’m sorry, there’s no one here by that name.” She looked back down at her computer, preparing to go back to work.

“I’m sorry to keep bothering you,” I said sweetly. “But you must know who she is. She came in from Riyadh to sign with your agency. She’s staying with Charlie Bradenson, the firm’s lawyer.”

At the mention of Charlie’s name her eyes got wider and she reached for her phone.

“I’m just going to let Mr. Fischer know you’re here. I think he might be able to help you.”

My instincts flared and I knew I couldn’t let this go any further.

“No, that’s not necessary. No problem. I’ll just call her. I’m probably mistaken anyway. My fault for bothering you. Thanks again.” As I was trying to back toward the door and away from the desk, my foot caught on a chair leg and I tripped, spilling my purse and all its contents across the floor.

I frantically started gathering my belongings while she stared at me curiously and slowly put down the phone. “Okay, well, it’s no problem. Have a great day.”

I smiled and nodded and practically ran to the door. When I made it to my car I jumped in and locked the door. Breathing heavily with adrenaline, I tried to slow down my racing thoughts. Sana was not registered with the agency, but she’s staying with Charlie, the agency’s lawyer? What the hell was he planning to do with this girl?

As I pulled out of the parking garage and headed to the market to run some errands, I was so grateful to be leaving without further incident that I didn’t notice my wallet wasn’t in my purse.

Standing in the checkout line with a cart full of groceries, my head was spinning. This was a real mystery and it had landed in my lap. There must be a reason. If I thought about the concept of fate or destiny at all, it was to reassure myself that my marriage to Steven was a gift from the universe. After all, I’d spent my childhood dreaming of a handsome man to take care of me and love me and I’d met Steven. What could be more divinely inspired than that, right?

But now I thought that this might be an act of fate, too. What were the chances that Charlie would bring this girl to a dinner with us, and furthermore, was it any coincidence that Sana had decided to almost confide in me during that dinner? Certainly she had asked for my help and
only the coldest, most unfeeling person could turn her back on a cry for help. If destiny wanted me to help this girl, then destiny would show me the way. It was shaky, but I needed all the confidence I could get.

“Ma’am?” The cashier was trying to get my attention. “Will that be all?”

The other customers behind me shifted impatiently, I was holding up the line with my day dreaming about fate and mysteries. I felt silly and reached into my purse to take out my wallet and pay for the groceries; when my fingers couldn’t immediately find it, a cold tingle of fear went down my spine. Frantically I searched my purse, even going so far as to overturn it onto the checkout stand to see the contents. It wasn’t there. My wallet wasn’t there. In my panic to leave the agency, I had left the wallet on the floor when I dropped my purse. It must have fallen under a chair because I didn’t remember leaving anything behind. Of course, I had been so frantic and rushed I couldn’t be sure. For the first time, I prayed I’d been mugged rather than the worse thought that I’d left my wallet in that agency. My wallet, which held my ID that plainly showed my real name. Katherine Flynn, not ‘Amanda.’

“I’m sorry,” I apologized to the cashier and the customers behind me. “I must have lost my wallet. I’m so sorry.”

Red-faced, I quickly moved out of the line and hurried toward the door. How could I have left my wallet in the agency? What was wrong with me? Some Nancy Drew I was becoming. My first day doing something for myself and I screw it up. It wouldn’t take long for the agency to make the connection between a Katherine Flynn asking about a mystery girl and their lawyer Steven Flynn. And how much longer would it take for them to contact Steven and ask them why his wife was in their offices asking about Sana. Thank God Steven was out of town right now. His absence would buy me some time. But time to do what?

I had to come up with a plan. If Steven found out about this and confronted me, he’d probably put a GPS on my car to make sure that I didn’t do anything else unapproved. I’d be on virtual lockdown, not to mention the sheer humiliation of telling him about my suspicions about Charlie, his much-admired boss. I didn’t want to get Sana in trouble by telling Steven that she’d asked me for help. What possible explanation could I give for being at the agency?

Sitting behind the wheel in my beloved Range Rover, I tried to breathe deeply to calm myself down. Maybe it was possible that no one had found my wallet yet. After all, it had only been a few hours since I’d left. Maybe it was still lying on the floor somewhere. The best thing to do would be to bite the bullet and go back, but how? The thought of facing that receptionist again made me cringe.