Depths of Depravity (20 page)

“
Then what
do
you see?”

He gripped my hands tighter in his then smiled at me.

“I see—”

Before he could finish, we were interrupted. Our waiter returned with our food. I quickly pulled my hands away from him to make room on the table. As the waiter served us, I looked b
ack at Luther curiously. I couldn’t wait a second longer for the waiter to leave so that I could hear Luther’s answer. When he finally left, I badgered him for a response.

“
Go on,” I said to him. “You see…”

“
I see… someone that I’m attracted to in so many different ways. I know that when you look in the mirror that you think you’re some ordinary brunette. You think that there are thousands of women in the city walking around that are better-looking than you.”

“
Because it’s true.”

“
It’s not. You know how I know that?”

“
How?”

“
Because I’m here with you now. And there isn’t anyone else I’d rather be with.”

As I felt my face beginning to turn red, I looked down at all of the food on the table and started to chuckle to myself. Luther didn
’t say anything more, so it gave me a moment to regain my composure. When I finally looked back up at him, there was a tenderness in his smile that forced me to sigh. I shook my head at him as I realized that I was letting myself fall even more for him.

“
This food looks good,” he said as he looked down at it. “You won’t mind if I get started, will you?”

“
No,” I laughed. “Be my guest.”

We ate lunch without any further serious discussion. Instead, Luther spent most of the time talking about how the food we wer
e eating was prepared. He talked about how it was seasoned and how it was cooked, proving he knew more about cooking than he originally led on. I was captivated as usual as I listened to him speak. When the meal was over, Luther did nothing but praise everything. He even took the time to thank the owners of the small establishment. Whether he had a genuine appreciation for the food or if he were doing it just for show, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I enjoyed having lunch with him more than I was expecting to.

As we headed back to my apartment, Luther continued to gush over how much he enjoyed everything.

“That was really good,” he said.

“
I know,” I giggled. “You don’t have to keep reminding me. I go there all the time.”

“
I should come out here more often. You never know what you might find out here.”

Luther smiled down at me. I turned away from him, trying my best not to get distracted by his eyes. As we walked down the street, I leaned in close to him. I didn
’t know what had come over me. It just felt right. Luther didn’t protest as I wrapped my arms around one of his.

“
Should you really be walking down the street like this?” I asked.

“
What do you mean?”

“
I mean, you’re worth a lot of money. Aren’t you afraid somebody might rob you or something?”

“
No,” he laughed. “People don’t recognize me. I work behind the scenes. Landon is the kind of man that actually needs a bodyguard.”

“
Well, I’m glad. I like that it’s just us.”

“
I like it, too.”

I rested my head against his arm and
sighed. I walked the rest of the way in a peace and contentment I didn’t ever remember having. When we got back to my building, the two of us stood outside of the entrance together.

“
Well, thank you again for the latte,” he said. “I hope that lunch was enough to pay you back for it. But if not, I’d be more than happy to try again.”

“
No,” I laughed. “If anything, I owe you now. Luther…”

“
Yes?”

“
I had a good time with you.”

“
I had a better time.”

As Luther stood there in front of me, I suddenly became unsure
of myself. I didn’t know why I was so nervous. Just a few moments ago I was so comfortable around him. Now I felt like an obnoxious schoolgirl with a crush all over again.

“
Luther?”

“
Yes.”

“
Would you… I mean… Would you like to come upstairs for a moment? Unless you have somewhere to go. I mean, I understand—”

“
Harley, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time than with you.”

“
Okay.”

I nodded to him and quickly turned around toward my build
ing. I could feel him standing just behind me as I fumbled with the door. When we finally got inside of the building, I swallowed anxiously as he walked up the stairs just behind me. My loft was only a few floors up. But it still wasn’t close enough.

Chapt
er 20

I went straight into my kitchen as soon as I stepped into my apartment. The sound of Luther clicking my door locked filled me with a sense of anticipation that excited me in a way that I was beginning to enjoy.

“Just make yourself comfortable,” I said. “Let me just…”

As I searched my kitchen for something we could enjoy, I looked at Luther through the corner of my eye. His eyes were wandering. He looked around my loft as if he was examining every little detail.

“I’m sorry about the mess,” I said. “I just haven’t really had a lot of time to clean up. I don’t usually have people over.”

“
I barely noticed,” he said as he took a seat on the couch.

I quickly put a pot of coffee on and waited patiently for it to finish. Then I made my way back out to the sofa
and took a seat right next to him.

“
I’m putting some coffee on,” I said.

“
First a latte and now coffee. I’m going to have to owe you for this, too.”

“
That’s the idea.”

I winked at him and the two of us chuckled at one another. When we finally stopped laug
hing, Luther looked at me with a devilish glint in his eyes. I smiled back at him, doing my best not to let the tension and silence of the moment get to me. Luther shifted in his seat and moved closer to me. I looked down at the table and I felt has hand fall upon my lap. He moved his face into me and softly began kissing my neck. I turned to him and met his lips with mine. His kisses were soft and gentle. I enjoyed every single moment of it. When he kissed me, it was like my mind would go numb. I would forget everything I was thinking and could only focus on the pleasure that was surging through my body.

He pulled his head away from me and I slowly opened my eyes. I grinned at him as he sat there and stared back at me.

“I have to tell you something,” he said.

“
Of course. What is it?”

“
It’s…”

Before he could finish, the sound of the coffee boiling filled my ear.

“Just one second,” I said. “I’ll be right back.”

I hopped out of my seat and headed to the kitchen to get him a drink. I was wondering what he was pl
anning on telling me but figure it wasn’t important. At least, that’s what I was hoping. I was enjoying my time with him. It was nothing spectacular but I felt like there was nowhere else I would rather be and no one else I would want with me.

“
I hope you don’t mind if it’s black,” I said. “I don’t have any cream or sugar at the moment.”

“
You have coffee but not cream and sugar?”

“
I… I haven’t really had the time to do any shopping lately.”

“
It’s all right,” he laughed. “I like black coffee just fine.”

He leaned over and took a sip. I sat next to him, staring at him curiously.

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” I asked him.

“
Right… That.”

He looked at me and sighed a deep breath.

“Harley, I want you to know that I enjoy spending my time with you. I like being here with you. Even if all we do is sit here.”

“
I… I enjoy your company, too, Luther.”

“
I know. I… I have feelings for you. And that’s why I want to be completely honest with you.”

“
Okay…”

“
I’m telling you this because you deserve to know the truth. But before I do, I don’t want you to get upset.”

“
I don’t know if I like the sound of this,” I sighed.

“
I care about you. And that’s why I have to tell you this.”

I wasn
’t sure what he was going to tell me.

He
’s too good to be true. I knew it. Victoria, you idiot. Why did you let yourself get caught-up with him so fast? I thought you learned your lesson, damn it.

“
All right,” I said to him. “I’m listening.”

He took my hands in his. He stared into my eyes as he gripped them tight.

“I know who you are.”

“
What? What do you mean?”

“
I know who you are. I know your name isn’t Harley.”

“
Well, that’s not really a big secret—”

“
Victoria Hill. You’re an investigative reporter for The High Standard.”

I had to hold back how shocked I was that he had said my name. I st
ared back at him, not sure of what I was supposed to say. There was no point in denying it. All I could do was just be honest with him.

“
How—”

“
Your phone number is in the database at Platinum. It’s on your profile. Come on, Victoria. You don’t think we do full background checks of everybody we hire? The number was linked to you and your phone bill.”

“
I guess I should use a different number when I’m investigating things like this.”

“
Maybe. But in this case it wouldn’t matter. We have all of the resources we need to find everything we want to about someone. Your phone number just made it easier.”

“…
All right. You know who I am. Now what?”

“
What are you investigating?”

I swallowed anxiously. He stared at me and I wasn
’t sure what to tell him. I slowly pulled my hands away from his and remained silent.

“
Is it me?” he asked. “Are you going to write a story about me?”

“
No! No, it’s not you… Well, not entirely.”

“
Then what is it about?”

“
It’s about Platinum. All of the things that happen there… and what happens after.”

“
I see… Landon was right.”

“
What?”

Luther looked distraught. He paused before he continued, sighing another deep breath then running his hand through his hair.

“Landon’s a paranoid guy. I can’t really blame him. People are always bothering him. When you’re the owner of a billion dollar company, everybody is always trying to get a piece of you. He’s constantly trying to stay out of the spotlight. It doesn’t help that he hosts these… events. Those things are private. He wants to keep them that way.”

“
And if I write a story about it, he’s going to lose that privacy.”

“
No,” Luther shook his head. “Everything that happens in Landon’s mansion stays there. The police wouldn’t have the authority to do a search. Nothing that happens there is illegal.”

“…
Luther, why are you telling me this?”

“
It’s not just about the police. It’s about everyone else. Landon doesn’t want the notoriety. If you write this article, then the secret will be out. He doesn’t want you to write this story… and he wants me to stop you.”

“
What?” I exclaimed.

“
Landon wanted me to get close to you and try to influence you. He wanted me to convince you to drop this story and look for something else to write about.”

I stood up from the sofa
and turned my back to him. I closed my eyes, not sure of what I was hearing. Not only did Luther know who I was but he was doing another man’s dirty work. When I looked back at him, I tried my best not to show him how I upset I was.

“
So all of this,” I said. “This was all some attempt to manipulate me into not writing this story? This was all a lie.”

“
It wasn’t all a lie,” Luther said as he stared back at me. “Victoria, listen…”

He stood up from the sofa and took a step closer to me. He took my hands back
in his. As he stared at me, I found it difficult to look back at him. I was still trying to take in everything that he just said to me.

“
I care about you,” he said. “I remember when I first saw you at Platinum. You looked like no other woman I’d ever seen before. I just had to get to know you. I didn’t know who you were. I didn’t know you were a reporter. None of us did. It wasn’t until after Landon found out did he want me to try and convince you not to write this story.”

“
You care about me? How can you say that when it’s taken you this long to be honest with me?”

“
This long? Victoria, I’m being honest with you right now. Ever since I met you, I haven’t even looked at another woman. And it’s Landon that doesn’t want you to write this story. Not me. That’s why I’m telling you this. This is the truth. All I care about is you. Nothing else matters to me.”

Luther stared back at me. There was nothing but sincerity in his eyes. Despite my best efforts, Luther had a way of always putting my mind at ease. Looking in
to his eyes put me in some kind of trance.

He
’s too good to be true.

“
Then what am I supposed to do?” I asked him. “I don’t want your friend to hate me for writing this article.”

“
I can’t tell you what to do, Victoria. I’m only letting you know that there are people who don’t want their secret out. It’s not just Landon. There are others.”

“
What about you? It’s your secret, as well.”

“
It is. But if it means losing you, then I don’t care who knows what I did before.”

“
So you’ll support me if I write this article on Platinum?”

“
Victoria, I’ll support anything you do.”

Before I could say anything else, Luther pulled me in close and wrapped his arms around me. I practically melted in his embrace. My head rested against his chest
as we stood there and hugged in the middle of my apartment.

“
How do I know you’re telling me the truth?” I whispered to him. “How do I know that this isn’t part of your plan to get me to drop the article?”

“
You don’t,” he said. “You just have to believe me.”

“
Then I’m still writing it. People have a right to read about these things.”

“
Okay. Whatever you want to do.”

He kissed me on the top of my head as he continued to hold me in his embrace. After a few moments, the two of us took a seat back on the couch.
While Luther calmly enjoyed his coffee, I sat there and tried to take everything in. My secret was out. There was no point in holding it back any longer.

“
So does everybody know?” I asked.

“
Everybody who’s important,” he said. “Landon, Romeo, Franklin…”

“
Franklin? Wait a minute. He has more to lose than everybody else. Why didn’t he fire me if he knew what I was trying to do?”

“
Because I spoke to him and told him not to. I didn’t even knew who you were when I first saw you. And the only way I would ever see you again was at the club. I convinced him to let you stay. I told him that he had nothing to worry about. It turns out that he was right about you.”

“
So, isn’t he going to be upset? I mean, he doesn’t have enough money to keep the cops out of his place.”

“
He’ll be under more scrutiny, that’s for sure. But as long as Landon, Romeo and everybody else continues to support him, his business will do fine.”

“
What about you? I’m not going to be working there for much longer. If you’re being completely honest with me, there’s no reason for you to ever go back to Platinum. You know where I live…”

“
You’re right, Victoria. As soon as you leave then I’ll have no reason to go back there. Why do you think I’m not worried about this article you’re working on? Hell, I’ll give you an interview about it if you want.”

“
Really?”

“
Well, anonymously,” he chuckled. “You have to understand that Landon, Romeo, Franklin… They’re my friends. I don’t want to ruin their fun.”

“…
I can see the position I’ve put you in.”

Luther nodded. I
almost felt guilty about working on this story. But I was determined to write it. I had already put in too much effort. Everything I had discovered about the club was wilder than anything I could ever imagine.

“
Thank you,” I said to him. “Thank you for being honest with me. I appreciate you telling me the truth.”

“
Victoria, I care about you. I’ll do whatever it takes to make that clear to you. I thought it was necessary that you knew exactly what you were getting into.”

“
I know.”

“
Will you still be attending the festivities tomorrow evening?”

I suddenly remembered that there was another party being hosted at Landon
’s mansion. Even with a disguise, I worried that somebody would find me out and do something to me. Luther must have sensed my hesitation. He leaned forward in his seat and took one of my hands in his.