REBORN (Metamorphosis Book 1) (24 page)

By four the limo was in front of the penthouse.  "Are you going back to the office?" I asked, hoping he would stay.

"No, I'm spending the rest of the day with my girl," he said cheerfully.

"I'm sure she would like that," I responded with a smile.

"So, what did you buy in your shopping expedition?" he asked as we entered the elevator.

"Oh, a couple of things to turn on my boyfriend."

"Baby, you don’t need anything to turn him on.  My sources tell me he is in a constant state of arousal; any more and you might not be able to walk."

"What else did your sources tell you?" I asked while grabbing him by the lapel.

"Only that he is crazy about you," he responded as he kissed me.

"Watch it, he is very possessive and doesn’t like to share, but keep kissing me like that and I'll dump the bum."

The elevator doors opened and I walked out ahead of him.  He grabbed my arm. "If you think you can dump me, you have something coming. I'm not going anywhere, sweetheart, this is for life," he said, seriously this time.

"Like I told you, he is very possessive."

"Only with you, sweetheart."

"Well, I can't beat that one," I told him as we walked into the apartment.  I went straight into the kitchen to find a bottle of water, feeling a little bit dehydrated from the activities of the night before.

The impromptu trip had helped Kayden and I to reconnect both on a physical level and an emotional one.  Now that we were home we needed to deal with unfinished business.

"We need to talk," I said in a subdued tone.

"Agreed, let me change and get comfortable."  I followed him to the bedroom and found a pair of sweat-pants and a T-shirt.  I removed my bra; my breasts were way too tender and it was bothering me.  When Kayden saw that, he came straight to me and his hands grabbed them.

"Stay away, you sex maniac, or we won't talk," I told him.

"Talk can be overrated in these situations."  He walked to the bed with me by the hand.  He sat on the bed and I stood facing him between his legs.  His hands caressed my breasts gently.

"Did I get carried away, do they hurt?  I don’t want to hurt you, but you need to tell me if I do," he said as he sucked my breast softly with worry in his voice.

"It was perfect, I get wet just thinking about it.  And because they are so tender I think about it a lot."

"Good, I want you thinking about my hands and mouth on your body."  This time he sucked harder, making me squeal.

"Let's talk, but away from the bed," I told him, knowing that if we stayed there the temptation would be too much.  I dragged him by the hand to the living room.

"You are seriously going to leave me wanting you?  I thought you said your body was mine."  He was sulking now, sounding like he was deprived.

"Really Kayden?  You really want more?"

"Why does that surprise you?  And for the record you are mine, your body belongs to me to do as I please, when I please."  He sounded serious.

"Yes I belong to you, body and soul, to do what you want, how you want it, and when you want it.  And that includes now, if you'd rather make love to me than talk, I am all for it." 

Kayden came by my side and kissed me with the desperation of one who was ravenous.  Then the security phone rang; it was the front desk.

"Mr. Hale, there is a Daniela DeSilva here asking for you."

"Let her in," he responded.  I guessed that was the end of taking over my body.

"You need to put your bra on.  Daniela is a friend of the family from Rio, she'll be here in a few minutes."

I hurried to the bedroom and put my bra on; then I heard the doorbell ring and the familiar sound of voices coming from the living room.  I hurried back to find this statuesque five ten, five eleven woman kissing my man.  Kayden froze when he saw me, but recovered quickly.

"Daniela, this is Ellie; Ellie, this is Daniela DeSilva, an old friend from Rio."  Old, old, there was nothing old about this woman.  She was in her late twenties, tall, slender, and oh so beautiful.  She held on to Kayden as she said hello to me as if I were the visitor and she his girlfriend. He had not even introduced me as his girlfriend!

"Nice to meet you, Daniela. Can I get you something to drink?" I said, regaining my composure, trying to sound hospitable.

"So how do you two know each other?" I added, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Kayden and I dated for over a year, until it became too difficult to coordinate our schedules.  With my modeling job in Brazil and his business here it became problematic," she responded in a happy-go- lucky way.  Kayden on the other hand looked nervous.

"What do you do for Kayden, Ellie?" she asked in a quizzical manner.

"Yes Kayden, what do I do for you?" I asked as I turned to him, becoming increasingly more uncomfortable.

He took a minute, and then responded, "Ellie is my girlfriend."

"Oh, I'm sorry.  I didn’t realize you were dating," Daniela said as she batted her lashes at Kayden.

"Yes, Ellie and I have been going out for the last couple of months," Kayden responded, and then he asked, "So, what brings you to Chicago?"

"A modeling job, only I was hoping to crash with you for a couple of days," she said innocently.

I watched in horror as Kayden offered our place to her; well, it was his place if I wanted to be technical about it. "You can stay here, we have plenty of space."

"I don’t want to be any trouble," she said in the same fake-innocent voice.

"It's no trouble, right Ellie?" Kayden responded.  With those words our fate was sealed.  The only thing that came to mind was, "What the heck just happened?"  I was flabbergasted by the turn of events.

Kayden and Daniela spend the next few hours' reminiscing about their days in Rio, the good old times.  After a while I was beginning to feel like I didn’t belong so I excused myself and went to bed.  I had to go to work the next day; Wednesday was my first day in the office. I didn’t even get to talk to Kayden about the job, my schedule or anything else for that matter, so I figured I'd send him a text in the morning reminding him of where I was going.

Kayden came to bed at one in the morning. I was awake but pretended to be asleep.  He didn’t even try to kiss me!

My first day at work was filled with meetings and introductions, and just trying to get acquainted with what the expectations of this assignment were.  At one Mateo and I had lunch and began to sketch out a plan of action.  He suggested I attend a dinner at the Instituto Cervantes that evening.  I told him that given the short notice, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to go.  I decided to send a text to Kayden to see his response.

Will be home late tonight, dinner at the Instituto Cervantes.  R U OK with that?  Let me know. Love, EMM

By seven I had not heard from Kayden, so I figured he had not seen the text.  I did not want him to worry about me so I excused myself and headed home.

When I entered the penthouse the lights were dimmed and the sound of music and laughter permeated the apartment.  As I walked in, the floor fell from under me.  In front of me was Kayden, in the arms of Daniela, their lips pressed together in a kiss.  I just stood there, frozen in place while they danced.  Daniela first noticed me, then Kayden.  I simply turned around and walked out the door.  I heard Kayden run after me, my eyes not able to focus from the tears.  I took the elevator and went downstairs to my apartment.  I heard Kayden say, "fuck," his favorite word.

But it was too late, I had seen all I needed to see; I had heard all I needed to hear.  Still Kayden followed me to my apartment.

"Ellie, baby, it's not what you think; please let me explain."

"Did you stick your tongue in her mouth?  Did you kiss her?"  I wanted to know if he fucked her, but the words did not come out of me.

"No baby, how can you think I kissed her?  You are the only…"

"Don't," was all I could say.  I walked to my bedroom and locked the door.  I don’t know how long he was out there or if he left right away.  All I knew was that my heart was broken, that I could not forgive his betrayal.  I lay in bed and cried until I fell asleep from exhaustion.  

I woke up very early Thursday morning, hoping to get an early start to my day.  I wanted to leave early to make sure I did not run into Kayden; this was going to be my new normal, evading the father of my baby until I decided what to do about living arrangements. I was out of the building by six thirty that morning.  I wore a grey two-piece pantsuit that reflected my somber mood.  I wore walking shoes, planning to resume my original plan of walking to work.

It was still dark outside when I left, and for a split second I questioned the soundness of my actions. But then I felt the cool air on my face and memories of the first time I met Kayden came to mind.  I had thought then that he was out of my reach, that there was no way that a man like that would notice me; I guess I was right.  Tears came down my cheeks and I wiped them clean.  It had been a wonderful two months with Kayden, now it was time to get back to reality.  I now was responsible for two; Kayden could keep his model, I would keep our child.

I stopped along the way to buy a cup of herbal tea and a yogurt to go.  I had traded my chai tea for ginger or mint; both agreed with my stomach.  By the time I arrived at work it was almost seven thirty.  I was glad that Mateo was not in his office; I needed a few minutes to settle and pull myself together.

Kayden walked through the doors of my office at eight a.m.  He looked handsome as always, commanding with his presence.

"What do you want, Kayden?" I asked in a cold tone.

"I want you Ellie, please listen," he responded.

"You had me but forgot about me.  I wasn't enough for you," I responded.

"Bullshit, you know that nothing happened.  That you are the only one I want."

"Save it Kayden, in case you haven't noticed I am at work."

"Why didn't you tell me you were starting work this week?"

"Because you didn't let me, you were too busy for me."

"Please, Ellie, let me explain." Then he approached me and touched my arm; I closed my eyes to gather strength.  Unfortunately I also saw her lips on his, his arms around her waist and the pain hit me like a stab in my ribs. 

"Please go, Kayden, I am at work."  At that moment Mateo came through the door.

"Are you okay?" he asked with concern in his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine; Kayden was just leaving."  Kayden opened his mouth as if to say something, then saw the tears in my eyes and changed his mind.

"I'll see you tonight," is all he said.

The day went by in a blur, consumed by meetings, planning sessions, and setting up my technology needs.  By three o'clock I was ready to go home; my official workday had ended and I was drained.  I decided that it was best to go home at that time to reduce the chances of running into Kayden.  I changed into walking shoes and headed outside when I saw his limousine waiting at the curb.  My heart began to beat a little bit faster just thinking that Kayden could be in it, waiting for me.  But it was Aldo following his boss' orders.

"I am here to drive you home, Ms. McCabe," he said, opening the door for me.

"No, thank you; I think I'll take a walk."

"You know Mr. Hale won't like it."

"I don’t give a hoot what Mr. Hale likes, but if it keeps you out of trouble I'll get in," I told him with genuine concern.  Aldo was a good man and I would not want him to lose his job on my account.

I got home sooner than I anticipated so I decided to take a nap.  As I drifted into sleep I felt a familiar body slide by my side.  My core clenched when I smelled his skin and when his body touched my back my own body betrayed me, clamoring for his.  When he was so close to me my mind shut down completely, making me forget why I was mad.

I heard his words, soft and seductive as in a dream, but I could not respond.  I knew I would give in and then hate myself for it.  "Please, let me be inside you, I need you.  Please Ellie, love me again, I'll do anything for you, anything you want I'll be for you," he whispered.

Tears came down my cheeks but I did not answer, I could not speak.  He kissed my tears and tried to kiss my lips but I could not let him, it was too soon, the memory too raw. 

"I am sorry, I swear that nothing happened.  She wanted to come back to me, to rekindle what we once had. I said no.  What you saw was a split second of her trying to give me a kiss.  I felt nothing Ellie, I only desire you, I need you like the air that I breathe."

"Why did you hold her?" 

"She wanted to dance, she took my hands and put them around her waist and when you walked in she pressed her lips against mine.  End of the story, regardless of how it appeared nothing happened," he said in a resigned voice.  "I felt nothing, couldn't feel anything; my heart and body belong to you.  Why did you run away?  Why not demand an explanation right then and there?  Why not fight for what is yours?  I want you to fight for us Ellie, please stop running.  Don’t you know I love you too much to think about another woman?  Don’t you know that I am consumed with desire for you, only you?"