Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (51 page)

I was in love with this man, and although he had started sharing more with me, I still felt sometimes he was holding back.

“It’s not a big deal. I’m sure they would have liked you. My father would have approved because he appreciated beautiful women.” He leaned forward, kissing me softly. “My mother would have approved because she only wanted to see me happy.”

“I do that? I make you happy?”

The corner of his mouth lifted in a half grin as he gazed down upon me. “Since being with you, I am sated in a way that does bring an unexpected level of contentment. And I told you before, you know a lot more about me than you realize.”

I cupped his face, the coarseness of his beard scratching at my hand. He wasn
’t an easy man to love, but underneath his sometimes harsh exterior, I would catch glimpses of softness, a vulnerability that made me want to be everything he needed me to be. My eyes drank up the sight of him; he said nothing while I moved my hands around his face, touching, feeling each of his features as if they weren’t already committed to memory.

“You know what feature I adore most about you?” I asked softly.

He leaned forward giving me a slow, sensual kiss. I moaned against his lips. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of feeling them on me. That mouth, those lips, that tongue, oh the things they could do to me. I was breathless when he pulled away; his eyes were darkened with desire.

Smiling shyly, I traced the outline of his lips. “Those I do love, but it
’s your eyes. I got lost in them the first time we met. And when you look at me…”

My words died away
, unable to find the right ones to fully express what I felt, but somehow I think he understood.  His eyes could show so much and could make me feel such a range of emotions even if he never spoke a word.

“Which of your parents do I have to thank for them?”

“My mother.”

“One day will you tell me about her? I mean really tell me about her.”

Seth settled down beside me, pulling me into his arms. The heat of his body warmed me, yet his touch caused goose bumps.

“One day? Yes, I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

“You
’re welcome.”

Tilting my head back, he met me halfway
, completing the kiss I was after. I let the silence engulf us for a while, content to feel so secure in his arms. I couldn’t explain the draw I had to him, but it was an intense gravitational pull that made me feel like Icarus knowing I shouldn’t fly so close to the sun but drawn to it anyway. I snuggled closer to him, peacefully ready to drift off to sleep.

“I love you, Seth.”

Just like last time, he said nothing in response. Instead, he flipped me onto my back, his lips, then his body, claiming mine. This was how he expressed himself. We didn’t have sex, and he didn’t fuck me. He’d done both, but this was different. In each of our encounters he was in charge. He wasn’t always aggressive, but the control could still be sensed, it was always there. His dominance in bed gave me a thrill I never thought possible, even though it scared me at times.

This time, however,
when he claimed my body, I didn’t sense that control or dominance. Instead, I felt as equally in control as he was. His eyes were on mine, asking if I were enjoying it, and he smiled every time I moaned. When he sensed I needed more, he gave it to me, and when he wanted me to pleasure him, he’d motion for me to take the lead. His touches were gentler; his kisses softer. There were no tight grips, hair pulling, or love bites. For the first time ever, he made love to me.

Chapter 37

“So what do you think of this place?” I asked Kerrin as she walked around the small house.

We
’d looked at several buildings for our new location. Seth had managed to get Kerrin to leave Patrick and I of course left with her. I suspected he wanted me to work for her more to keep me away from Patrick than actually believing in her talents, but she’d bought whatever sales pitch he’d sold her. First order of business was to find a location for A Woman’s Touch Interior Design. I’d loved the old Victorian house when I saw it driving around with Macy, and now being inside, I was sure this was the place.

“I think it has potential.” She walked around more
, looking at the different rooms, sizing up the place. “I think this just might work.”

I couldn
’t help but smile. I really had a good feeling about this place, and I was glad she seemed to agree with this one.

“We would have to see about the zoning because I technically think it
’s considered residential. We can ask Susan if we could make our offer contingent on getting the zoning changed,” I said.

“That works. H
ave you brought Seth by to see it?” Kerrin asked, walking over to the next room.

“No. He said all the b
usiness decisions were up to us. He was going to be a silent partner, or owner, or whatever he is.”

I tried not to bring my personal relationship with Seth into any of our work discussions. Kerrin had full knowledge that we were dating and wasn
’t bothered by it. Whatever contracts and paperwork we signed, she had her personal lawyer look over. She was pleased with the arrangement. I, however, had no clue what I was really signing. I tried to read it, but I quickly learned I didn’t speak legalese. Seth’s attorney talked me through the finer points, but I mostly put my trust in Seth and Kerrin that all was okay.

“So what do you ladies think of the place?” Susan asked as she entered the room.

We talked things over and wrote an offer. Susan said she would handle finding out the zoning issues, but since the house sat in a part of town that was going through revitalization, she didn’t see it being a problem. Kerrin and I headed to Chili’s for lunch. We discussed how this would be a great opportunity to showcase our work. With the house being in a state of disrepair, we would be able to bring it back to life and let clients see firsthand what our talents were when they came to the office.

“Have you talked to Patrick?” I asked, taking a sip of my lemonade.

“No. I tried to tell him I would stay and finish the jobs we had started, but he was being difficult. Said he didn’t need my assistance.”

“Well, that
’s better than I got.”

After Kerrin told him she was putting in her notice
, I didn’t even have a chance to talk to him. Patrick fired me soon as she left his office. I was going to stay, against Seth’s wishes, to train my replacement, but I wasn’t given the option.

“Well, it doesn
’t matter. I got a call from some of our vendors looking for payment. It appears the checks bounced. I explained to them I was no longer with the company,” she said.

Things with payments falling through became more frequent in the last few months I
’d worked for Patrick. I’d fielded dozens of phone calls from both vendors and clients. The vendors stopped working, so the clients were left with unfinished projects. Things were turning into a mess. I suspected that was one of the major things that made Kerrin decide to leave.

“Do you think that is going to hurt us trying to get established with them?” I asked.

“No. They were understanding and surprisingly I have good relations with most of them, so I think we will be fine.”

“I just can
’t believe Patrick was near bankruptcy this whole time. He always seemed to have clients. I never pictured him as a gambler.”

“I know. I worked with him for years and never knew. We
’d hit rough patches before. He would blame it on the economy, but I guess it was a bigger problem.”

“
That’s what I don’t get. If he’s been doing this for so long, what happened this time?”

“From what I figured out before I finally told him I was leaving, he was no longer able to b
orrow against the company. That’s how he’d been keeping afloat. Some other company bought his debt. He had to declare bankruptcy because they were calling for his loan to be paid in full.”

I finished off my food thinking about what she said. Seth was in the business of buying and selling companies,
so I wondered if he had anything to do with Patrick’s misfortune.

After lunch
, Kerrin dropped me off at my empty house. Macy was staying with Mitch, which was nothing new since she seemed to spend more time there than home these days. I kept waiting on the day she would come home to tell me she was moving out. It would be a sad day, but I was preparing myself for the inevitable.

I changed
and started trying to figure out what to pack for the week. I dreaded spending a week at home with Dorian, but I was more nervous about Seth meeting my parents. I told him he didn’t have to come for the entire week since it would be a whirl of final fittings and bridal showers, but he insisted on coming for the entire time instead of just the wedding.

These last few months of having to go back and forth nearly every weekend had been tiring but made more enjoyable since Seth flew us there instead of letting me waste money on a rental car. I was glad this whole ordeal was coming to an end and Dorian would be back to only talking to me for holidays. She was annoyed every time I showed up with Seth in tow, but since it was his plane I couldn
’t very well tell him to stay home. Besides, I liked that his presence got under her skin; it made me feel much calmer.

We would be staying at a hotel this trip. The last two times we
’d gone, we’d reluctantly stayed with Dorian because it was only one night. Since Mom and Dad would be staying with her, Seth thought it would be better to get a room instead. Seeing my parents was the biggest highlight of this trip. I told them that Seth would be there, so they were looking forward to meeting him. I couldn’t wait to tell them about the business and everything. I had even registered for classes at the Art Institute of Atlanta so I could complete my degree. I was excited about how things were going for me.

 
I hoped they would be proud of me. I knew it wasn’t as impressive as being a lawyer, but I was following my dreams, even if I did take an unexpected detour along the way. They were not happy with my decision to take time off from school so I could work to help Paul. When we broke up, I knew they had the ‘I told you so’ attitude, even if they never voiced it. Dorian voiced it enough for everyone.

“No, not gonna go there,” I whispered to myself, shaking those thoughts from my head. I needed to finish packing. I headed over to Macy
’s room to get her big suitcase.

“Holy shit!”
I screeched, stopping in my tracks at the sight of Seth standing in my living room. My heart was pounding in my chest from the scare he gave me. “What the hell are you doing here, and how did you get in?”

Seth stood with his arms crossed relaxed,
and unfazed that he’d just scared the shit out of me.

“I
’m here because you haven’t been answering your phone, and your door was unlocked,” he replied casually.

“Shit, my phone. It
’s in my bag. I put it on vibrate when I was with Kerrin earlier,” I said, walking over to the couch where my purse sat. I rummaged through until I located the device and saw I indeed had several missed calls from him. “Sorry,” I said, looking up at him. “But I locked the door after she dropped me off,” I said, mostly talking to myself.

“Apparently, you didn
’t.”

 
I wracked my brain trying to remember. I always locked the door, especially when I knew I was home alone. We were two females living in the city. We both made a habit of locking the door always and setting the alarm at night.

“I always lock the door,” I mumbled to myself.

Seth walked over and gave me a soft peck on the lips. “There’s a lot going on, you probably just assumed you did if it’s habit.”

I shook my head slightly still try
ing to recall my actions. “Even so, why didn’t you knock or ring the bell?”

“Why all the questions?
Should I not be here for some reason?”

“No, but
I...”

“What were you doing? You were supposed to call me,” Seth said, cutting me off. His question held that accusatory undertone that always managed to make me feel guilty.

“I wasn’t doing anything. I mean, I was, but not like that. I told you my phone was in my bag. I forgot about it being on vibrate.”

“And you also forgot you were supposed to call me?”

“Yes, I’m sorry. I thought I would be out longer with Kerrin, but she liked the first place we went. After that, we had lunch to talk over some things then she brought me home. I started packing and just didn’t think about it. Sorry.”

I dropped my phone on the couch beside my bag waiting to see how he
’d react. Although I did my best to accommodate him in attempts to avoid his mood swings, I wasn’t always successful. This was one of those times.

He brushed my hair back over my shoulder then tilted my chin up to give me another soft kiss. “Are you done packing?”

“Yeah, almost, just needed to go get Macy’s suitcase, which is what I was doing before you nearly gave me a heart attack.”