Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  “I’m well aware, Arsen,” I replied bluntly, trying not to say too much.

  “Well, do you feel the same way?” I felt him move a little closer to me.

  “Maybe.” I smirked and rolled over on my side. I felt him pull me back so that my body touched his and his hand grazed my leg.

  “So why aren’t we doing anything about that?” His hand slipped between my thighs and I began to melt, but I wasn’t going to let him know that he had full control of my body at the moment. I pulled his hand away and laughed lightly.

  “Goodnight, Arsen Lockhart.”

  “I really felt like the connection was there. I guess not.” He spoke quietly. He moved back away from me and turned over. “Whenever you’re ready, Lola, just let me know”

  “Again,” I smiled to myself. “Goodnight, Arsen Lockhart.”

  I woke up to a mist of water on my face. “Wake up, angel.”

  I sat up and rubbed my eyes to see a woman standing over me with a tray of food. “What was that you sprayed on my face? It feels … really refreshing”

  “Rosewater, ma'am. Mr. Lockhart ordered that we wake you up beautifully with a nice breakfast”

  “Mmm.” I smiled, closing my eyes and inhaling the smell of pancakes. The woman placed the tray of food on my lap and I automatically dug in. It was like nothing I’d ever tasted before, although it was a simple meal—pancakes, eggs, and bacon with a cup of tea and a bowl of fruit on the side.

  “Mr. Lockhart had to leave early for work but he says that you are welcomed to stay here until he gets home. He left you an outfit at the end of the bed and if you are ready to leave before he gets home, just let me know and I’ll phone the driver” The woman smiled and left the room without saying anything else.

  Who would’ve expected that Arsen would even let me stay after things didn’t go as he planned last night? I guessed he really liked me. I sat the tray of food aside after I was finished eating and slid out of bed, grabbing the clothes that were left for me. I walked to the bathroom and saw the most beautiful shower I had ever laid eyes on. The shower head was the entire ceiling and the doors to the shower were clear with a gold trim. I was in love.

  I took off my clothes and hopped inside. I turned on the shower and the water fell down on me like the mist of a rainforest. I looked at the shelf built into the shower and saw all of the beautiful bottles of body wash and shampoo. I helped myself to whatever I needed and got myself cleaned up. I grabbed the two folded towels inside and dried my body and my hair.

  After taking the best shower of my life, I put on the dark jeans and fitted shirt that he had left me. These really hugged my body, so I guess he picked them out for a reason. I walked back to his room and shot him a text asking if I could check my email on his computer.

  While waiting for his reply, I walked around the upstairs of the house and eventually found his daughter’s bedroom. She looked just like him, gorgeous and model-like. I saw why her clothes were too tight on me. She looked around seventeen or eighteen. I wondered if she knew her dad liked girls a couple years older than her. I saw a picture of a woman who seemed to be her mom. I wondered what the relationship was like between her and Arsen and why they weren’t still together.

  I shrugged away the thought and went to explore more of the house, then Arsen finally texted back and told me that I could use the computer. I continued my exploration down the hall and into another room, which was just full of plants and a different computer from the one in his room. For some reason, I felt the urge to use this one.

  I sat at the desk and turned it on. To my surprise, there was no password on it. I logged into my email as an extra account because I didn’t know if I should just sign out of Arsen’s or not. I clicked through a few messages and saw that classes were canceled today, so that was good on my part. I was going to skip them anyways. I really felt tempted to just switch over to Arsen’s account and see what an actual novelist’s inbox consisted of.

  So I did it. I scrolled through a couple of spam messages and emails for upcoming book events until I saw something interesting. A read message was titled, “I am going to kill you, Arsen Lockhart.” It reminded me of the crazy woman from the night before, so I decided to open it to see what it was about.

  “Dear Arsen Lockhart,

  I knew about this whole little business you and your rich friends were running and I had nothing to say about it because it didn’t affect me that much, but you have crossed the line. Michael was a kind, loving man and father of three who was just doing what he had to do to provide for his family, and you go off and kill him? He had a life! Whether he had your stupid drug money on time or not, he still had a life and a family and you took all of that away from him. You took him away from us. Now what are we going to do? He was the one who made a living for us. Either you give me 5 million dollars or I am going to kill you, Arsen Lockhart! I will sabotage your entire drug cartel and make your life a living hell!!”

  I quickly exited out of the email. My heart was beating extremely fast. I knew Arsen was hiding something by the way he reacted last night, but I didn’t know that it was a drug cartel. I didn’t know that he would actually kill someone! I shut off the computer and stood up. I turned to leave and saw Arsen standing at the doorway.

  “Hello, Lola,” He said sternly.

  A Billionaire’s Possession

  Part Two

  Lola

  Have you ever felt as if time has stopped around you, but in that specific moment you were unable to move? Unable to think and speak clearly. That’s exactly how I felt after learning that the man that I was developing feelings for was a murderer, then turning to see that him watching me go through all of his private information.

  My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach as I hesitated to respond to Arsen. He raised an eyebrow with a smirk on his face.

  “I see the clothes fit you well,” he spoke, looking me up and down.

  “Hello, Arsen.” I finally managed to speak and looked straight past him into the hallway. “Yes, the clothes fit very well. Thank you”

  Before I could even make it to the door, Arsen stepped in and closed it behind him. “Did you ... find all that you were looking for on the computer?”

  I gulped and nodded. “I’ll just be leaving now.”

  When I tried to walk past him, he grabbed my wrist and I felt myself being pushed against the wall. I gasped and looked up at Arsen, who was now hovering over me. I could tell by the look on his face that I was caught and this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “You know, it’s really not polite to go through people’s emails. You don’t have the right,” he spat.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking abo—“ I mumbled and was quickly cut off.

  “Don’t play stupid with me, Lola. I was standing in the doorway the entire time,” he scoffed.

  “Arsen, I swear—“ I was cut off again.

  “I know what you saw on that computer and you don’t know how much trouble you’re in now, Lola. But you don’t seem like the type to be a loud mouth about these type of things, so I’m considering letting you go.” After he said that, I felt so much relief. He smirked down at me and backed away slowly. “Just know that if you run your mouth about anything, you’ll end up like that woman’s husband. Unlike his situation, your family won’t have the fortune of ever finding your body.”

  That was oddly a turn on. Not the fact that he would kill me, but the way he was so serious. Not once did he crack a hint of a smile. His face showed zero emotion, almost as if he was heartless. No man has ever talked to me in that tone of voice and it gave me a bit of a rush. Feeling myself shake in fear and pleasure, I bit down on my lip and nodded in agreement. He flashed a look of confusion as his eyebrows knitted together. He was clearly confused about my reaction. For once, I felt …submissive, and I liked it too.

  “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home. You can grab your things from the bottom of the stairs.” He turned and left the room, and I followed after him
like a lost puppy shortly after. It seemed as if the hallway grew longer with every step I took. The tension was so heavy and the air was so thick that I found myself almost out of breath. I fanned myself to try to calm down.

  Once we made it down the stairs, I grabbed the bag with my things in them and slid on my heels. They surprisingly went well with the outfit I was wearing. I said my goodbyes to the house workers and went outside to Arsen’s car. He was already inside, staring forward toward the view of the city.

  I realized that this wasn’t some bad boy, good girl fantasy. This was real life and I was actually next to a murderer. I never understood how people could kill one another. It just didn’t make sense. I guess it could come down to that sometimes, but from what I had read, Arsen was completely in the wrong. If that’s how things were in drug cartels, I was glad I had never become a part of one.

  I sat in the front seat and as soon as I closed the door, he sped off. I didn’t even have time to put on my seatbelt. He must have still been upset about the situation. Why wouldn’t he be? Some random girl had found out his biggest secret. I’d be pretty upset too. There was an awkward silence between us.

  His grip on the steering wheel made it painful for me to watch. I found myself constantly switching my thoughts. One moment I was thinking about how amazing it felt to be put in my place and another moment I was realizing how my life was actually in danger at that point. I wasn’t sure if I actually had an attraction for this side of him or if I was just romanticizing the situation to make myself more comfortable.

  I wondered what he was thinking about. Maybe about the ways he would tell his gang that I had found out their secret, or maybe about how I had betrayed him by going through his personal emails. I guessed I would never find out, because I was too afraid that asking him that might just make him snap. I decided to just leave that situation alone and focus on the city lights ahead of me. They brought me some type of peace in this terrifying issue.

  Arsen was so deep into his thoughts that he didn’t realize that he had passed my building on campus.

  “You missed my building.” I spoke a little too loudly. He jumped a little and quickly put the car in reverse, moving back toward my building. I admired his tightened jaw and how straight it looked. His skin was very smooth without any wrinkles. I guessed anything was possible when you were a billionaire. I grabbed my bag and opened the door. “See you tomorrow, Mr. Lockhart.”

  He finally looked at me for the first time since we left his house and raised an eyebrow, questioning my statement. I smirked and stood from his car.

  “I’ll be at your office to finish my interview with you. Three o’clock, sharp.” I spoke with my back turned to him, and before he could respond, I walked away. When I made it to my floor, my door was wide open and Anabella was moving what looked like a few old things from the place. I greeted her with a simple hello and walked straight in toward my room. I clearly couldn’t talk to her about this new unexplained attraction I had for Arsen without her rude criticism. She didn’t even respond when I spoke to her.

  I laid back on my bed, wondering how I could possibly feel this way. This man had just threatened to take my life if I revealed his secret and I could feel nothing but lust for him after that. Was I going insane? In that brief moment of submission, I felt so alive. It was just something about the way he told me what to do and that look he gave me, like I had better listen to him or else. I wasn’t sure why, but I thought I was letting my guard down. I thought I might be able to open up to someone new. Arsen was different from the rest and I thought it was time for me to actually deal with a real man.

  I was definitely insane. I was risking my life, all for the sake of finding a lover who I could actually balance out with. I thought he could get over his hatred for me after seeing how trustworthy I would be with his secret. I turned on some music and started to sing along softly until I felt the presence of someone at my door.

  "So you were just going to stay out all night with no call or text, then come home and not tell me where have you been?" Anabella asked from my doorway. I looked at her and shook my head.

  "Ana, I called you like twenty times last night and you didn't answer the phone for me, which resulted in me staying the night at Arsen's house. I didn't think you would care to know where I've been since you ignored my phone calls and didn't even bother to respond when I just said hello to you." I rolled my eyes and continued to stare up at the ceiling.

  "Did you call my new number? That would be the smart thing to do, Lola," she said. “And great. Just great. You’re sleeping with this man now?”

  "Since when do you have a new number and when were you going to tell me, Anabella?" I sat up quickly and looked directly at her. "I'm your best friend for Christ's sake. What if it was an emergency?! And how dare you? Nothing happened between Arsen and I!"

  "I'm sure Arsen would be all the protection that you needed, Lola. And I definitely sent a text to all my contacts with my new number. You would have noticed if you had taken a break from that little novel of yours and paid attention to the real world." She scoffed. “Pathetic. I don’t even know who you are anymore”

  "Get out of my room, Anabella." I couldn't believe that my own best friend would even say such a thing like that to me.

  She had been the only one who supported my decision to become a writer, but the last few days had been really tense between us. I wasn’t sure where all of this built-up hate had come from inside of her, but I needed to find out, and I needed to know why she was directing it toward whatever Arsen and I have going on.

  "Fine," she mumbled, folding her arms over her chest and leaving my bedroom.

  I heard her say a few things under her breath, but I didn't care enough to extend the problem at hand. Since we were children, Anabella was always stubborn. She never cared if she was wrong or right as long as no one questioned her actions, and when her actions were questioned, she would catch an attitude. This specific problem never phased me because I was the most knowledgeable one in the friendship and she would always listen to me.

  Since Arsen and I had begun talking, Anabella had taken her stubbornness to an entirely different level. She had been very moody and disapproving of everything that had been going on, although I was a grown woman who was completely capable of making her own conscious decisions. I wasn’t quite sure what she didn’t get about that.

  Even if she didn’t approve of who I was dating, she could at least support me being in a relationship—and that was the thing! Arsen and I weren’t even dating, so I didn’t see what the big deal was. Whatever we had between us could either go really badly or really well. All I knew was that I wished I could have my best friend there for me through it all.

  I started to do a bit of studying to clear my mind, but also to gather some questions to ask Arsen. I searched his name on the internet and wrote down any interesting facts that caught my eye. I started downloading a couple of his books onto my laptop to read later. I wanted to know the ins and outs of his mind. One of his books caught my eye and I couldn’t wait to read it.

  The very first page caught my eye and I almost instantly fell in love with the story.

  "Idyllic is what I would describe him as." I spoke into the phone, letting out a small laugh. I was in the community kitchen of my apartment, filling up a small bucket with ice. I heard my best friend mumble, slightly confused, on the other side of the phone.

  "You barely even know the guy, Sarah. Plus, he’s like ten times your ag." She sounded irritated. I could just imagine how hard she rolled her eyes, but something drew me to this guy—my new neighbor directly across the hall. We bumped into each other once in the hallway and the way he caught me was breathtaking. I don't know what it was.

  Guys never really caught my eye, old or young. I was always on a level that they weren't. I liked to focus on my craft more than a silly relationship, but this was something different. His rich, tan skin and glistening smile. There was a little spark when I fell into his arms.
The innocence of the touch drove me up the wall and I have yet to understand why.

  "You don't get it, Rachel. I felt something." I smiled slightly and ran a finger around the rim of the silver bucket of ice.

  "You're irritating, you know that?" she exclaimed with a very nasty tone of voice. I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath.

  "Look, if you're going to continue with this lurid attitude, I don't think we should finish this phone call. Bye." And with that, I hung up the phone.

  When she made it back to her room, she opened up her journal to the entry she wrote after meeting Arthur.

  ‘He was just a guy and I was just a girl.

  No, wait, he was more than that.

  How could I devalue a soul with rich intellect and a consciousness that glows immensely to just a gender? Something so distant, something so man-made.

  I want to know your thoughts. I want to feel your vibrations. I want our subconscious minds to linger around each other and engage in an experience our physical bodies can't.

  I want to talk to you. I want to hear about your childhood, I want to know your deepest conspiracies, and I want you to take up all the space in my mind.

  Feed me knowledge. Enlighten me.’

  Sarah smiled down at the page before she started to draw hearts all over it. She felt that Arthur was the guy of her dreams.

  The story of my life. Midway through reading, I found myself still thinking about the argument I had with Anabella again. So I decided to just let the situation go and get some rest before class and my meeting with Arsen tomorrow.

  Arsen

  Why was Lola acting so …seductive after I practically told her that I’d kill her? Why was she so eager to see me again after she found out about my drug cartel? This was all so strange. Did she really feel this way, or was this all apart of some type of scam from my enemy? I wasn’t sure what it was, but I called a meeting with the guys at the clubhouse.