Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (15 page)

“Oh, sorry.”
I sat my glass down to search my pockets in search of an elastic band but came up empty. “I normally keep it up…unless I’m sitting around the house.”

Seth
’s brows scrunched together briefly before he stepped back to return his attention to our dinner. “Food will be ready shortly,” he stated curtly. “Go, relax.”

Picking up my glass, I exited my kitchen. After sitting my glass down on the coffee table, I quickly ran to my room to get a hair tie. Mentally, I chastised myself as I put it up into a messy bun. It was stupid to let my hair down; I knew better. Taking a deep breath, I went back to the living room. I turned on the TV, flipping through the channels before finally settling on the news. I could see Seth moving around in the kitchen. I thought about going in there, but stayed on the couch watching him for a few minutes before turning my attention to the TV.

“In breaking news, the body found in the woods near

the
Silver Comet Trail has been identified

as
missing college student Nicole Cook. Ms. Cook had

been
missing for just over five weeks before her

partially
decomposed body was discovered

last
week. Due to the severity
of the

damage
to the body, it took police a while to identify her.

So far there aren
’t any leads or suspects…”

Seth walked out of the kitchen, carrying the plates over to the table as I listened to the news anchor.

“That
’s so sad,” I commented, turning off the TV.

“What is?”

“That poor girl being murdered then dumped like that. I remember her parents on the news making a plea for her return. They must be devastated. She was their only child.”

Seth held out my chair for me to take a seat. “There are scary people in the world,” he replied, sliding my chair up to the table.

I felt his hands in my hair. Seconds later it was tumbled free once more. I looked up at him, confused.

“I like it down,” he said, giving me a wink.

I smiled at him when he took a seat across from me. I was wrong, I thought he was annoyed by my hair being down, but the attitude I thought he had in the kitchen must have simply been my imagination.

“It looks and smells delicious. Thank you again for cooking.”

“Bon appétit.”

I cut into the steak, and the flavors exploded on my tongue when I took the first bite. I let out an appreciative moan as I savored it. He wasn
’t lying about being a great cook. Had I not witnessed him actually making the meal, I would have thought he snuck in food from a restaurant in an attempt to play it off as home cooked.

“This is great, and I don
’t normally enjoy asparagus. But even it is delicious. No one’s ever cooked for me like this. I mean Macy and I take turns fixing dinner, but…well you know what I mean.”

“I think I do, and you
’re welcome.”

After filling him in on my day, leaving out the part about my boss hinting that he expected me to have sex with him to advance my career, we again settled into silence.

“Do you have plans for Christmas?” I asked, feeling the need to talk.

“No, I don
’t celebrate normally, but your house is looking very festive,” he replied, looking at the decorations scattered about.

“Macy and I decorated last weekend. Mitch came over to help hang the lights outside.”

“Mitch?”

“Yeah, Macy
’s latest…” I paused, trying to figure out the best term. I didn’t want to make my friend sound like she slept around, but he wouldn’t be a boyfriend. She didn’t do those. “Guy friend.”

Seth picked up his glass, taking a slow drink of his wine. “Does she have a lot of those?”

“A lot of what?”

“Guy friends?”

I shrugged in response picking up my own glass. “I wouldn’t say a lot,” I responded before taking a drink.

I waited to see what his next question would be and hoped it wasn
’t heading in the direction I felt it was. My thoughts went back to high school and Kevin Johnson. I remembered how humiliated I felt when I found out he was only being nice to me in hopes of getting a date with Macy. He was the first guy to do that, but sadly he wasn’t the last. I didn’t want to think Seth was a man that played games like that, but the way he kept things platonic, I couldn’t be sure.

“Have you had a lot?” he asked, looking at me intently.

“No,” I replied shaking my head for emphasis. “How about you?” I asked in return.

“I
’ve not had any
guy
friends,” he replied with a very serious expression that slowly turned into a smile.

I covered my mouth when I realized how I
’d not clarified the question but felt relieved he seemed to take it lightly.

“Oh, sorry, I…I didn
’t mean it like that.”

The sound of Seth
’s laughter filled the room, adding to my embarrassment.

“I should hope not. More wine?” he asked, still smiling.

“Yes please.”

Seth pushed his empty plate forward, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the table.

“Have you had any?”

I nearly choked on my wine when I heard the question. I knew what he was asking, but I wasn
’t sure what shocked me more, the fact he was direct and asked or that he actually thought I could be a virgin. I stood and gathered our plates. My time with Paul was the last thing I wanted to think about. In fact, before Seth, I’d done a fairly decent job burying all of those memories.

“No, Seth, I am not a virgin,” I replied before walking away.

My hands were shaking, and I could feel those soul searching eyes boring into my back as I walked into the kitchen. I busied myself with cleaning while I tried to get my emotions under control. What the hell was wrong with me? It was a simple question. We’d been hinting around the subject over dinner, so why was I so bothered by it?
I know I’m not that experienced, but do I really come off as a virgin?

“Did I upset you in some way?” Seth asked as he propped himself up in the doorway.

“No,” I replied, turning on the tap so I could wash dishes, trying not to look at him.

“I think I did,” he countered, stepping up behind me to turn off the water.

I waited for him to step back, but he stood there, close, invading my space and my senses.

“Why would you think that?” I asked, gathering up some of the dishes and putting them in the sink. I really wanted him to take a step back, to give me some space, but he didn
’t move.

“Because of how you ran off.”

“I didn’t run off,” I countered, turning to face him finally.

“You left in the middle of the conversation,” Seth replied, placing his hands on either side of the counter where I stood, effectively trapping me.

Having him this close made it hard to think. My eyes zeroed in on his lips. When his tongue peeked out to moisten them, I had a hard time containing the whimper that threatened to escape.

“No,” I said, shaking my head in an attempt to break free of the hypnotic effect he was having on me. “I…I answered your question. What more did you want?
A complete list of my past sexual partners?”

“Would you have given it to me?”

“Would you give me yours?” I countered, feeling more annoyed by the second.

Seth looked down at me, smiling. Things were getting out of hand, and I needed to stop it. His presence was suffocating me, so I pushed against his chest, needing my freedom. He didn
’t budge at first; instead, he stood his ground, studying me briefly before taking a step back.

“So, sex is a touchy subject for you?”

“What? No…it’s, it’s just not a subject I’m in the habit of discussing with…people.”

“People?
Men? Or just me?” Seth’s voice had a suggestive tone that sent shivers down my spine. It was like he knew the effect he was having on me.

I let out an exasperated sigh as I fought a battle to hold off the memories from the last seven years of my life.
 Four of them were spent in a relationship with a man I believed loved me as much as I loved him only to be made a fool of time and time again. The last three were spent trying to move past it. Closing my eyes, I took a few steady breaths, not wanting to cry in front of Seth. It’d been three years. I was supposed to be past this, yet the tightening I felt in my chest told me I wasn’t.

“Seth, I
’m sure you are used to women more…worldly than I am.” I paused, letting out a slow breath. The amount of wine I’d consumed was not helping with my attempts to keep my emotions in check. The evening had started out so promising, yet somehow it was now ending in such a mess. “My list is a short one, very short. While I am not a virgin, there’s only one name on it. Paul Gallager. I let him take my virginity six months into the relationship because he cheated on me.” I stopped and laughed at the absurdity of that statement. “Oh, I was so stupid. He told me he had sex with the other girl so he wouldn’t ‘pressure’ me into something I wasn’t ready for, so essentially he was doing me a ‘favor.’ If I had known then what I know now, I would have kept letting him do me that ‘favor,’ but I didn’t. We dated for four years, but he continued to have trouble with fidelity. Things ended…badly.”

When I finished, I looked up at Seth who wore a stoic expression on his face. I covered my mouth with my hand, realizing that I
’d just totally flaked out and given him more information than either of us wanted him to know. Pushing past him, I fled down the hall to the bathroom, and once inside, I started pacing back and forth in the small room.
I can’t believe I just blurted all that out.
 I hadn’t even told Macy the truth about how many times Paul actually cheated on me, yet I just dumped it all at Seth’s feet. I was mortified.

Chapter 14

I stood in the kitchen, stunned by the admission I’d just heard. I was wrong. Calida wasn’t just tightly wound; she had some deeply suppressed feelings. Now I was more curious than ever to discover how she ticked, what her motivations in life were. 
What does it matter?
I heard the door to the bathroom open and went to meet her.

“I
’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all those things. Just…forget what you heard. Please.” She couldn’t look at me as she spoke.

I lifted her face so she could meet my gaze.
 Those sparkling green eyes were filled with so much sadness that normally wouldn’t register with me. Yet something stirred in me when I gazed upon her, and I found myself wanting to take her in my arms to offer comfort. Calida ran her tongue enticingly across her bottom lip, causing me to drop my hands from her face and step back. Those lips that I saw in my dreams were calling out to me. Damn this woman! This reaction I was having to her was troublesome.

“I should go.”

“Yeah, okay,” Calida agreed, stepping back also. “Thank you for dinner.”

“It was my pleasure.”

She walked over, politely opening the door for me.

“Goodnight, Calida.”

“Goodnight, Seth.”

***

For the first time since meeting him, I was glad Seth was gone. Walking over to the table, I picked up the glasses that were still sitting there. I felt like such an idiot telling him all that stuff. Why couldn’t I have just given him the same one-worded answers he tended to give me?

“Ugh!” I groaned in frustration, dumping the remaining wine out of the glasses. “You were supposed to be different. You were supposed to be someone who didn
’t fall apart so easily,” I muttered, scolding myself.

Seth had this uncanny ability to turn me into a bigger fumbling idiot than I was normally. As much I was hurt by the lies and unfaithfulness, I was more ashamed of myself for turning a
blind eye to Paul’s behavior for so long. With Seth bringing up those questions, all of that hurt and shame I’d thought I’d buried rushed to the surface.

“It
’s the best decision. We aren’t ready for a baby.
” Paul’s words echoed in my head. He was right. It was probably best for me not to have his baby, but that didn’t stop the gut-wrenching pain the day I saw them together. Angrily, I wiped away the tears I felt running down my cheeks as the memories started. It wasn’t enough for me to see them having sex on my couch. No, the real heartbreak was seeing her pregnant. All that shit he told me about it being too soon for us to have a family, he’d talked me into aborting my baby only to keep hers. 

I scrubbed harder at the plate when I thought about how stupid I
’d been. The more I scrubbed, the more tears fell. Headlights shining into the window pulled me out of the moment. Quickly, I dried my eyes with a paper towel and took a few calming breaths. I knew Macy would be able to see I was upset, but I didn’t want her walking in on me in the middle of my breakdown.