Right Now (The Seduced Series) (5 page)

“You haven’t changed a bit,” she said as she smiled, referring to the little boy grinning in the picture. “Are those your parents?” She asked turning gaze back towards to me.

“Yes, Dan and Judy Evers,” I said.

“Your mother is very beautiful, I
can see where you get your eye color from,” she added but then blushed like she said something she didn’t want to.

I shrugged,
I would’ve said that awhile back when I used to think my mother was the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. But looking at Angelina now I would say it was a tie. I smiled to myself, sorry mom.

“Do they live here in New York?”

“No, they died a year after this picture was taken. Car accident,” I lied. Her expression turned remorseful.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered softly.

“It was a long time ago.”

My parents were murdered
in cold blood right in front of me but she didn’t need to know that much. I suppressed a shudder at the memory, as if it happened yesterday. Carmella is the only person who knew how my parents’ death really affected me. She’s known me my whole life. Her and my parents were all I cared about growing up. All I know is that I was loved and cherished; that’s all one can ever ask for as a kid. Losing my parents the way I did, left a huge hole in my soul, I was never the same ever since that day...

“Where are we exactly?” She asked when we got to the roof.

“We’re just outside the skirts of the city; it’s about a thirty minute drive back, on a good day,” I said looking at the stars that were beginning to show themselves in the sky. I wondered what my parents would think of me now, but then again I guess I knew. This was not the life they would have wanted for me.

“So you just decided to build a castle like mansion in the middle of nowhere?” She asked.

“No, this is a family estate. I inherited it from my father,” I said meeting her gaze.

“No siblings?” I shook my
head at her question. “Okay, I’m letting you off the hook…for now,” she grinned towards my direction.

“For now?” I asked. “I just want to show you one last thing,” I said, a little glad to switch the topic to something more comfortable.

“What?” She asked surprised.

“My fetish
,” I grinned at her while leading her back downstairs and to my garage. I opened the door to my massive garage while flicking on the light. For a moment she looked shocked as she took in her surroundings, then her expression seemed amused.

“Cars
!” She yelled while looking at my direction. “Why I’m I not surprised,” she giggled. Hearing Angelina’s laugh was truly a gift. “Let’s see, you got a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a BMW, an Audi R8, an Aston Martin and two Ducati bikes,” she said. “I’m impressed,” she added a little sarcasm. I laughed, pleased with her knowledge of automobiles. She walked over to the Martin as I quietly followed. “It’s a Vanquish,” she said softly while touching the hood. “I didn’t notice this one.” Now I was shocked. When I gazed at her she looked slightly emotional to the sight of this car. What did this car mean to her? She must have seen the confusion in my face. “It was my first boyfriend’s favorite car. He absolutely adored it,” she smiled but her smile didn’t touch her eyes, it looked like she was in pain.

“Was?” I noted the past tense.

“He died a couple of years ago. Cancer,” she added clearing her throat. Yet again I found myself fighting the need to reach out and hold her and comfort her.

“I’m sorry,” I said. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they were peaceful.

“He used to tell me that he would one day take me for a ride when he got one. If he was here, he would have freaked out,” she drew her hand back from the car. I then realized we both shared a similar type of pain.

“Well, I’m not your ex man,” I said grabbing the keys to the Martin. “But I can surely take you on a ride,” I said as I opened the passenger door for her, gesturing for her to get in.

“I would love to!” She said getting in the car. I closed her door and walk over to drivers’ side. I pressed the automatic starter button that’s on the key and the car purred to life. Once I got into the car I opened the garage door with the door opener that was built into the dash and slowly backed out till we reached the driveway. She watched me closely as I peeled out and sped down the estates’ driveway onto the road heading towards the city. “Where are you taking me?”

“To the city, I’m going to show you New York like you’ve never seen it before. You’re not going to run on me, are you?” I teased while smiling at her.

“Would it make a difference if I did?” I shot a quick glance in her direction.”No, I’m not. I promised to stay and that’s what I’ll do.” For some reason her statement brought me a little happiness. We talked and laughed as we went through New York’s most famous sites. I wanted to get to know her more and I wanted her to allow me to do that, without doing a background check on her.

“You’re not from here, are you?” I asked slowly easing into it.

“No, I’
m from a small town in Virginia. I moved here a couple of years ago,” she replied quietly. This girl had secrets and I want to know all of them but not for the reason that I have to protect her. I want to know for myself, because there’s something about her that I find irresistible.

“Does your family live there?” I asked. I figured to start with simple easy questions, one’s I already knew the answer to but I wanted to hear them from her mouth.

“Yeah, my mom and my older sister and some of my other relatives.”

“So you live in New York alone?” I asked. I didn’t understand why she would want to be alone in such a big city like New York. “Why did you leave when you’re whole family is out there?” I asked and she shrugged.

“It’s a long story,” she said trying to avoid my question but I wasn’t going to let her off that easy.

“I’ve got time,” I said as I grinned toward her direction. She looked at me questionably, figuring I spilled my guts, well a portion of them at least…then she should as well.

“I took my ex’s death pretty hard,” she sighed heavily. “For some time I’ve thought that maybe if I didn’t meet him that he would still be alive today,” she said sadly lowering her head. “It was hard you know, watching him like that and knowing there was nothing I could do to help him. When he died it was the darkest part of my life,” she looked at me and I could see how much pain she was in, how much pain she’s still in. “Time heals all wounds right?” She said with a slight chuckle. “In time my friends and family learned to let him go and move on,” she smiled sadly. “But I didn’t…I couldn’t. It hurt me and it worried my family to see me so lost and empty. I didn’t want them to suffer anymore about how I felt. I wanted an escape, an adventure, starting over. So I told them I wanted to move,” she said as I paused for a minute trying to take what she said in.

“And they let you go, just like that?” I asked finding it a little hard to believe. “Didn’t they try to stop you?” She shook her head.

“I don’t think they felt like they had a choice anymore. I guess some light returned to my eyes coming here. There was nothing left for me back there, only heartache and memories, I had to do it and I’m glad that I did,” she said while adding a genuine smile.

“I’m guessing you found y
ou’re adventure then?” I asked as I made it back to the estate, driving up the driveway and parking the car into the garage.

“I guess you can say that,” she laughed. “I also found peace and serenity, for once I feel like I’m alive again. It’s all that I ever wanted,” she looked down and I knew this conversation was over.

“I hope you get everything you want,” I said sinc
erely. Somehow wishing I could be a part of one of those things. But the bottom line is… I couldn’t.

“I guess it would be weird to say that to you too,” she chuckled referring to everything I had. If she only knew that the things I really wanted were the things that I could never have. Before I could stop myself I reached over to tuck a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. She looked at me and then I saw it; she wanted me just as I wanted her. I held myself back from reaching over and kissing her and showing her how I felt about her. “We better get inside,” she said breathlessly and then she was out of the car in an instant. I followed her through the garage and up to the living room.

“I’m sorry I made you miss dinner.”

“It’s fine, I had fun…thank you,” she said. “Where’s everyone?” She asked taking note of the silence in the estate.

“They all turned in for the night. They live in the far west end of the estate. Carmella left us dinner in the oven,” She nodded. Having Angelina around here alone was bringing back tempting memories. I couldn’t believe how much I still wanted her, it was so not me. Normally if I had a woman once I didn’t want seconds, but with her I want more than just seconds. We ate dinner quietly. I looked at her wondering if I should bring up what happened last night. I didn’t want to but it had to be done. “I’m sorry; I was less of a gentleman last night. I just want to make sure there is no misunderstanding between us.”

“Do you always apologize after sleeping with women?” She asked.

“No
,” I replied with a chuckle. “But the situation I put you through was not fair on you. Most women have expectations of a bad boy…”

“And what are my ‘expectations’?” She asked clearly offended.

“You know, they always expect the guy they sleep with to be the one and I’m not the one for anybody,” I said. I should’ve never slept with her, I don’t deserve her. For a moment I thought I saw hurt in her eyes from what I said but she dropped them and laughed.

“Don
’t lose any sleep over me. I don’t expect anything from you.”

I
was hurt by the cold tone in her voice. I knew I was nothing but a heartbreaker who didn’t deserve her or any other woman for that matter. She regretted sleeping with me; I could see it plain as day on her face.

“Angelina I didn’t…”

“Mean it like that?” She finished for me. “Dennis look, I know guys like you. You like to have no strings attached sex, I get it. It’s not your fault, I was aware of the situation last night,” she said as her tone now wiped of all emotion. She put her dish in the sink and turned to face me. “You can breathe easy, I don’t expect you to put a ring on my finger,” she added sarcastically. This time I felt the hurtful words she said hit me like a ton of bricks. She had already turned and headed for the stairs before I could say anything. She muttered a “good night,” over her shoulder.

I
just sat there and watched her leave, wishing I could stop her but what would I say? That she was wrong, when I knew very well that she was right. I didn’t mean to make her feel like she was just a one-night stand. She was more than that, which is why I have to tell to her. I want her too much, I want to make love to her again but it was wrong, she is my job but she deserved to be treated better than this. I slammed my fist down on the table in frustration of what I caused. I went up to my bedroom and when I opened the door I froze. Her presence in this room from last night will haunt me till I figure out how to tell her that I need her.

Chapter Five

I woke up in the new bedroom Carmella showed me yesterday. It was beautiful. It had a queen size bed with beautiful oak furniture and the rest of the decor was purple and white. Striking and sophisticated; something I was not or near being. This bedroom had a huge bathroom, it had two wooden doors to the closet just like his and just as big, maybe even bigger. The closet was filled with clothes I could never afford in my entire life. I tried to keep myself busy as I finger through the new clothes but the conversation I had with Dennis last night came back to me. He is used to worldly women who weren’t needy and weak like me. I guess having sex with me was just a mistake, a heat of the moment type thing. I don’t think there is anybody on this planet that can claim to deserve him; no one could reach his level of perfection. I should’ve just laughed it off with him but instead I let it get to me and I showed him how truly hurt I was.

Stupid, stupid, stupid! I cursed myself, banging my head onto the pillows
. How could I be such an ass? Honestly, what did I expect? I knew exactly what I was doing and in some point in time none of this is going to matter. It’s not his fault that he doesn’t care and it’s also not his fault that I’m too weak. He could walk in this very instant and I would have sex with him all over again. Even though I knew it didn’t mean anything to him as it would mean to me. I wouldn’t have the willpower to stop him yet again because I wanted him that much. How pathetic I sound. The saddest part about all of this is I still can’t find it in my heart to regret what we did. It was that special, well to me at least. A tear escaped the corner of my eye and I quickly wiped it away in disgust for myself. I got out of bed wondering how I was going to live under the same roof with him and pretend nothing happened between us.

I have to p
rove to myself that I’m strong and that I’m not some woman he can just screw around with. With that a silent cold war began, Dennis and I never sat together or did anything together unless Carmella or someone else was present. Even as everyone did something together we were always different to each other, sometimes even avoiding each other altogether. We never said anything more to each other than “hello” and “goodbye.” It made me feel so depressed. Sometimes he would come home late, looking like he just ran twenty miles and on other nights he didn’t come back at all. Those nights were torture to me because I knew very well what he was doing and my stomach turned at the thought of him with another woman.

I even
started dressing a little sexier with tighter jeans and tops, mini dresses and high heels, playing dress up made me feel slightly good about myself but he didn’t even spare me a second glance which made me feel a little disappointed. It has been about a week since I’ve been kidnapped and now with everything going on between us I was more than ready to go back to my old life. When will he let me go? Let him go and this silly fantasy I had too. I was in my room when I heard familiar voices downstairs. Of course curiosity always gets the best of me so I crept down the hallway. No one ever came here, well not after I came here. I quickly checked my appearance. I look decent. I was wearing a black and silver mini dress that flowed from the waist and down to my thighs. I matched it with silver platform heels. At least I looked like I belonged here, maybe that’s why Dennis bought me all of this, so that if anyone came here I would look like I belonged. I snorted to myself, I could never belong here.

I almost screamed as I came down the stairs and
seen who was sitting the living room. It was the guys from OneRepublic, my favorite band. Ryan, Zach, Drew, Brent and Eddie were all greeted by Dennis. They looked like long time friends. Now I was sure this place is driving me crazy. They all looked up at me and I had the pleasure of watching six pairs of eyes bulge out of their heads including Dennis. I thought I heard Ryan whistle under his breath as I approached them. Don’t fall, I said to myself. Don’t make a fool of yourself Angie, relax and breathe.

“Oh my gosh, OneRepublic!” I said nonchalantly while avoiding Dennis. I could feel his blue eyes burning a hole into my body. “I’m a huge fan of yours, I’ve always been for long time now,” I said as I shook all of their hands.

“Are you now?” Drew asked.

“Definitely, it’s great to finally meet all of you. I’m Angelina by the way but you can call me Angie,” I said smiling.

“It’s great to meet you too Angie,” Ryan chimed. “Um, wow you look great,” he said while clearing his throat.

“Hands off bro, this one is mine,” Drew warned as I blushed. I couldn’t believe Drew Brown was flirting with me. Suddenly Dennis cleared his throat from behind us.

“Let’s get down to business,” he said calmly, but it sounded
a little forced. “Excuse us Angelina?” He turned to me with his blue gorgeous eyes looking fierce.

“No, she should join us, would you Angie?” Drew asked. Ha! At least someone around here wants my company.

“I would love to
,” I said as Drew smiled widely at me. Dennis looked furious.

“Very well then
,” Dennis said stiffly. He led us to the living room and we all took our seats; I took the recliner chair, crossing my legs.

“I’ve never seen you here before Angie, what’s your relationship to Dennis?” Zach asked and I froze. In the corner of my eye I saw Dennis tense up.

“She’s my girlfriend
,” Dennis quickly replied. And for a second we all sat there in shocked silence, me included. Before the guys could look at me I had to control my expression not wanting to blow our cover. “I recently asked her to move in with me,” he lied so well even I was convinced that it was true.

“Well I’
m sorry man for trying to make a move on your girl,” Drew said.

“Hell dude, I’m glad you finally got yourself one,” Ryan gestured then turned to Drew. “Pay up bro, you lost the bet,” he murmured.

“What bet?” I managed to ask as my heart was doing somersaults in my chest.

“If Dennis ever got a girlfriend and of course Drew bet against it, I knew it would take a very special girl but we didn’t know when it would happen,” Ryan laughed. “Congratulations, you were able to tame Dennis here, something most women tried and failed and what most of us thought was nearly impossible,” he added to Drew who frowned and gave him a hundred dollar bill. I have no words for what I just heard.

“Thanks, I guess
. Oh, I just remembered I had to help Carmella out with something,” I lied. I had to go somewhere else so I could hyperventilate peacefully and in private.

“Aw
, you’re leaving?” Zach asked.

“Yeah unfortunately, but it was awesome meeting you guys and I love your music,” I said.

“Does that mean we are invited to the wedding?” Drew smirked.

And here I thought nothing could shock me anymore, I was sadly mistaken.
Dennis looked at me, I couldn’t really tell the emotion that was in his eyes; it was so careful, concealed even. I saw red in an instant; these guys were talking about me doing things I knew I could never do. Tame him? Ha, that’s a real joke even talking about being invited to the wedding, yeah right that will never happen.

“Of course you are
,” I tried to keep the sarcasm out of my voice. “Actually I think you should perform when we take our first dance as husband and wife. What do you think of that honey?” I smirked then turned my gaze back towards Dennis.

“Yes that would be great,” he replied much to my surprise but the sarcasm was nowhere to be heard in his voice.

“It’s settled then!” I said excitedly as I clapped my hands together. I think I deserve an academy award for this excellent performance.

“Awesome. We’d be honored,” Zach replied.

I turned
to leave and muttered a goodbye over my shoulder to everyone. As I made my way out of the living room, I gave myself a huge pat on the back. I’m so proud of myself, I gave myself some credit for being so strong. But why was my heart breaking into a million pieces at two of the simplest words, girlfriend and wedding. I made my down the first floor’s hallway, for a moment I leaned against the wall for support. I’ve never been so exhausted in all my life. I couldn’t even tell if it was physical or emotional. My heart was racing as I tried to make sense of what just happened back there.

“Angelina? Are you ok?” It was Amber, another one of Dennis’s employees who also lived in the estate on the far west side.

“Yeah, I just felt a little woozy. I’m fine now. Hey let’s go bowling, I challenge you to a game. Are you up to it?” I asked her while grinning. I wanted… check that, I needed a distraction to get my mind off of Dennis and the whole ‘girlfriend’ thing.

“Um, I don’t know
,” she said reluctantly.

“Oh come on,” I begged as I grab her arm and started walking her towards the game room.

I didn’t see the need f
or a game room only because he never came in here, but then again it’s a family estate so he probably spent lots of time here as a kid. I let my mind wander back to the cute boy I saw in the picture in his study, he looks the same except now he’s an unbelievably handsome man. I saw something in that little boy’s eyes that I see looking at him now, something happened to him and I knew he wasn’t going to tell me. Amber turned on the radio as a noisy pop song poured out of the speakers and flooded the game room, distracting me from thoughts. The music is not my style but I don’t care it has a good beat to groove to so I started to dance.

“Ok you go first,” Amber said.

“Okay,” I grabbed a bowling ball from the ball rack, aimed and chuck the ball down at the pins, nailing my first strike. “In heals none the less,” I added with pride. Amber laughed and clapped.

“Nice shot!” She said as she grabbed a ball.

Amber is
a blonde haired girl with hazel eyes, she’s very pretty. I think she’s about my age but at times she seems younger than me. We often enjoyed each other’s company besides that she was easy to talk to and I liked that about her. I clapped my hands as she also nailed a strike. She curtseyed then bowed and we both started to laugh. I was losing track of time as we made bet after bet; challenging each other. I was having so much fun and oblivious to the stress from earlier. Out of nowhere the music suddenly stops so I turned to see what happened. I saw Dennis saunter towards us.

“Hey, turn th
e music back on,” I said with a little irritation in my voice. I know it was childish of me to say that but I was tired of caring what he thought about me.

“Excuse us for minute Amber,” he said in a firm but calm voice.

My heart started
to pound, oh crap! I panicked, why should I be afraid of him? I didn’t do anything wrong.

“No stay Amber,” I called back to her over my shoulder. “We didn’t finish our game. What do you want Dennis?” I asked. Now we’re having a full-blown stare down, eye to eye.  He then looked away bringing his gaze back towards Amber.

“I um…just remembered that I um…have some laundry to do. I’ll catch up with you later Angie,” she said quickly as she darted out of the game room. Ugh! Why did everyone have to give him his way all the time? Then I remembered yes they do, myself included for agreeing to stay here.

“Are you purposely trying to make my life miserable?” I asked in an angry tone.

I didn’t wait for his answer
. I didn’t want to hear what he had to say, I walked right past him. Just before I walked out of the room I felt his strong hand grab my arm. I froze as my heart started to pound out of my chest. His touch always made me feel weak but this time I had a little willpower. I yanked my arm out of his grasp, like his hand burned me. Truth to be told, it did. His touch alone was enough to set my skin on fire and make me want him but not this time. Hurt flickered in his eyes for a second then anger soon took over and replaced it.

“What the fuck was that?” He shouted at me barely containing his rage.

At first
I didn’t get what he was referring to and then it hit me, my academy award winning performance. I don’t understand why he is so angry though? I thought I helped him.

“It’s called improvising and you’re welcome,” I said as I took a few steps back.

“Yeah well
, it was a little over the top with the whole, ‘I’m your biggest fan’ shit. That was totally uncalled for. They came here to discuss business. Not to flirt with you,” he added.

I wa
s beyond shocked, that’s what this was all about? That’s why he came down here, to fight with me.

“Well for your information, I am a big fan of their music and just in case you weren’t looking, Drew was the one flirting with me. I think the last time I checked; not being able to flirt with hot guys was not part of our little deal. What’s it to you anyway, huh? I think I’m allowed to flirt with whomever I please and I’m pretty sure I don’t need your permission to do so, you don’t own me. I’m not one of your staff members you go to and boss around.” He just stood there glaring at me. “He liked me, didn’t he? Admit it,” I asked smiling at the thought, well at least someone wanted me. “Maybe I should call him when I get out of this prison sentence that I’m in. I’m sure he would love to take me out and show me a good time,” I giggled.

“You will not!” He shouted. He towered over me, my face inches from his chest. I’m surprised I didn’t stagger backwards from the angered sound in his voice. I lifted my chin up bravely, even though my insides were trembling from the angered tone in his voice. Be strong Angie, I thought to myself, be strong.