FaCade (Deception #1) (12 page)

I was wary of the whole change in everything. This beautiful room such a contrast to the cell I’d lived in before the assault. Was it all to lead me into a false sense of security? Before I could let my mind drive me anymore crazy I heard people re-enter the bedroom.

Cautiously I slipped out of the bathroom. The hairs on the back of my neck rose like a wild cat’s in the outback, preparing itself, when Dante stood stock still, penetrating me with his eyes, flanked by Delia.

“Star, would you mind coming with us please?” the woman asked.

I flicked my gaze between the two. “Where?” My nerves were going to kill me. I could feel my heart’s slow thud echo through my body as if I was hollow, taunting me to the emptiness inside me.

“Just to another room where we can all sit.”

Okay, that didn’t sound too horrifying unless it was a ruse. Dante turned and exited the room first. Delia gestured for me to following behind him.

We were in a house, the dark wooden theme from the bedroom continuing throughout the entire mass structure. How was it possible that this and my previous prison was the same place? Sensing my thoughts Dante’s baritone voice punctured the air. “You were moved when you fell unconscious. This is our house.”

Ours? Did he mean his and Delia’s? Was he married? Oh God, I felt sicker than ever before.

The hall we were currently passing through opened up into a beautiful living space, a mass of seating choice with a beautiful wooden desk and bookshelves adorning the entire back wall. The neutral colors gave the place an airy feel and for the first time since waking in that cell with no memory, I was looking at a window with rays from the sun dancing through the open blinds. It was like a child first seeing the ocean.

My steps carried me in its direction, summoning me to embrace its touch. It travelled over my feet then up my legs, waist and chest before heating my face. Closing my eyes, I felt the tears prick my lashes. All I was capable of in that moment was inhaling and exhaling, breathing as my body rejoiced in something so simple.

“Star, come and sit, we have a lot to discuss.” I swallowed down the sorrow, mourning the light as the shadows dispersed its glow when I moved into the room to sit at a table with them both. “As I mentioned before my name is Delia, and I consider myself a friend of yours.” I didn’t speak, just stared straight at her waiting for what more she would tell me. However I wasn’t prepared for her next confession. “I work for your fiancé.”

Cue the stampede of horses trampling all over my insides. The room dropped out of focus but flooded back in when Dante’s hand reached across the table to grasp mine. In slow motion my head turned to him. He was… smiling at me.

“Dante and you asked me to assist you both in a project.”

“Fantasy,” Dante cut in.

She grinned at him before continuing. “A fantasy, you had, Star.”

The buzzing in my ears grew with intensity. She wasn’t making sense. Nothing made sense.

“Baby.” Flinching from his endearment, I snatched my hand away to cradle it to my chest. My eyes frantically searched them both, begging for them to stop talking in riddles. “The drugs that keep your memory were supposed to wear off but for some reason we’re not quite sure of yet, yours hasn’t.” They drugged me to steal my memories? Was that possible? “My company made a drug to suppress memories. It’s used for victims of violent crimes. To help them heal, come to terms slowly with what happened to them. The drug wears off, feeding your memory back little by little.”

I couldn’t comprehend what I was hearing. They used a drug meant for helping victims of violent crimes, to commit a violent crime. I must have voiced my thoughts because Delia answered me

“Dante is your fiancé, Star. He loves you immensely and finally gave into
your
desires to play out this fantasy.”

No, no, no Dante and me? No. No! “You’re lying! Who would ever want that? I was kidnapped, humiliated, hit, starved of basic human affection until I craved it. I was RAPED!” The scream tore at the tendons in my throat.

Fury rolled from Dante, physically altering the air around us. “That was never supposed to happen. He was your choice, you trusted him, Star! I knew his woman was interested in me but you trusted that man with everything. I will never forgive myself for such a dramatic lapse in judgment and he paid for it. No one touches what belongs to me and I know you can’t remember this right now but you do belong to me, Star. I need you back. So look real deep inside that heart of yours and you’ll feel me there. Your body already accepts this otherwise you would have never given yourself to me.”

This was all too surreal. I couldn’t stand them looking at me like they were waiting for me to click my fingers and suddenly believe what they were telling me.

My eyes scanned the room, anything to not look at him waiting with need for me to tell him … what? I stood with haste, almost knocking my chair over when my eyes came to rest on a huge picture I hadn’t noticed when I first entered the room, too enthralled with the sun. It was me laying on a beach with…Dante. The smile on my face was natural. I looked happy, in love.

My legs backed up. It wasn’t until a wall met my back and I slowly slid down until my knees rose to my chest, my arms wrapping around them, that my mind caught up with my shock. This wasn’t true, this wasn’t me. This wasn’t real.

A THOUSAND ICE PELLETS HIT me, robbing me of breath and making my skin shrivel in agony. My clothes were instantly drenched and stuck to me like a second skin. My startled scream echoed around the shower cubicle I stood in. The ice pellets turned to warm rain, tapping over my skin. It was then I realized I was actually being held. Strong, arms encompassed my waist and chest, the heat from his body pushed against my back, soothing me.

Breathing in my ear brought me down from the shock I was in. “I’m sorry but you went catatonic, you weren’t responding.” His arms loosened so I could turn to face him. His expression was full of both pain and anger, his need for me to understand almost suffocating me. “I’m so sorry, baby. I never wanted to go through with this. It was too extreme but it was a fantasy you had and I promised to make every fantasy come true leading up to the biggest one of all. Our wedding.”

The water poured down on me, soaking into my skin. I wished with it came my memories, the truth of who I was.

“Why would I want that? To be fucked in front of an audience by someone I don’t know?” My tone was accusing and bitter but that was how I felt. No matter what someone tells you is you, to not have any recollection of ever wanting that, it just felt like abuse; physical and now emotional.

“Fuck!” He punched the wall, cracking a few tiles. Blood formed and dripped from abrasions on his knuckles. “I didn’t fucking want to do this shit, Star. You did, so I went a little harsher than we discussed but I was pissed at you for wanting that! You belong to me! How could you fantasize about being kidnapped and fucked by the captor?” He was so sincere it was terrifying. “I gave in and gave you what you wanted, and used that little cunt Theo at your request, and he attacked you.”

His body slumped back, crashing with the wall and sliding down, his knees coming up to rest his elbows on as he clutched his head in his hands. “After everything, you can’t even remember me. I feel like someone ripped my heart out.”

I wanted to go to him, crouch down and comfort him but it was all so surreal I couldn’t move. I felt cemented to the ground as I watched this dominant man who I thought had bought me and was going to use me as a sex slave break into a shadow of the man I thought him to be. Did he love me? Did I love him?

“I need to dry off.” Stupid, irrelevant and random but it was all I could think to say. Dark eyes flashed up to capture mine. He had a way of demanding focus. He was mesmerizing; my urge to go to him when he looked at me was compulsive, engrained into me. My God, there was something about him, always and only him I felt a connection to, my body trying to prompt my mind into remembering.

“The towels are in that cabinet where you keep them. This is your bathroom, Star. You designed it.”

My eyes scanned the stone tiles covering every surface. The full mirrors on the back wall overlooked his and hers basins, the mirror had lights around it; it was a feminine bathroom.

“Our room is through the adjoining door. The other space was a spare room I occasionally use.” I would question that statement later.

I walked to the cabinet, pulling free a couple of towels, handing one to him before leaving to go into the room he claimed was ours. Floor to ceiling windows made my breath stutter, sheer curtains hung loose, blowing from the gentle breeze seeping through the opening. The natural scent and taste of fresh air is something we all take for granted. Inhaling deep and smiling from the fill of my lungs I sensed him behind me. I slipped the wet clothes from my body so as to not keep dripping on the plush carpet that covered the floor then tucked the towel around me.

White walls and red furnishings colored this room. Rich and warm. There was a dresser littered with perfumes. My feet carried me over to them. Lifting the lid, I smelt each one trying desperately to trigger a memory, a hint of anything about me and my preferences. My fingers brushed over every surface hoping to prompt something but nothing came.

“Your clothes are all in your wardrobe.” He pointed to a door. Pushing it open, the heat from his body condensed the air around us. “Here’s the switch.”

Clothes upon clothes lined the racks; it was bigger than the bathroom. Fancy fabrics, dresses, jackets. “Drawers are where you keep your jeans and tee’s,” he murmured, gesturing to the drawers built into the bottom of the built in wardrobe.

“Do you mind letting me get dressed?” I meekly asked.

He stared at me, assessing if I was serious then shook his head, lifting his hand in surrender. “Whatever, Star.” He pulled the door to, shutting me inside.

I wasn’t prepared to feel like the walls were rushing in around me, draining the air from the space. I immediately rushed for the door to open it but it was stiff in my grasp. Panic overcame me, my palm repeatedly crashing down against the wood. “Let me out, let me out. I’m sorry, I’m sorry!”

I staggered forwards when the door gave way.

I landed with a thud into Dante’s bare chest. “Ssh, it’s okay. I was just letting you change. Ssh.” I breathed to the rhythm of his heartbeat, in…out…in…out. I let his calm soak into me. He had tattoos on each arm one reaching over his shoulder. Seeing them was comforting … but why.

“Get changed in here, Star. I’ll be in the bathroom, then come down to eat.”

I nodded, giving him a hesitant smile. “Thank you.”

He shrugged but sighed heavily, his dark eyes catching mine for a moment before he turned and walked away. I watched the way he moved, appreciating the ripple of his back muscles, their bulk showing the sheer strength of him. Frowning to myself, I turned and picked through some clothes, pushing away the ache in my heart.