Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  “Anabella,” I smirked.

  “You,” she spat, and before I could blink she lunged towards me.

  A Billionaire’s Strength

  Part Four

  Lola

  “Anabella,” Arsen smirked. He looked as if he was reaching him out to introduce himself. I kind of smiled at how nice he was being.

  “You,” Anabella spat. She began to lunge towards Arsen, and thankfully, there a worker nearby watching the entire situation. Before she touched Arsen, the other waiter hooked an arm around her body and snatched her back.

  “I’m so sorry about that, Mr. Lockhart!” The waiter apologized to Arsen and pulled Anabella away, leaving me shocked and Arsen very confused.

  “What was that all about?” My eyes widened in disbelief. “W-why would she even do a thing like that?”

  “I have no idea.” Arsen sat up straight in his seat and shrugged his shoulders. “Did I do something?”

  “No.” I shook my head. “She’s just been acting really strangely since I met you. I think the fact that I may be paying more attention to you than her may have gotten into her head a little too much.”

  “That’s unfortunate.” Arsen spoke with a saddened tone. He sounded really genuine and I couldn’t believe Anabella would even be that upset about what was going on between us.

  “Yeah …” I sighed and looked down at the menu. “You probably want to leave, don’t you? I can’t believe she just ruined everything!”

  “No, no, no. Not at all”

  My head shot up and I saw a smile on his face. I felt my heart melt. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I’m not going to let a little incident like that ruin our night. I planned this night specifically for us and no one’s going to come between that.” His smile got bigger.

  “Well, then.” I smiled back at him, picking up my menu and nodding. “What do you plan on eating?”

  “Let’s find out” He let out a small chuckle and picked up his menu, scanning over it with his eyes.

  I couldn’t do much but blush. I couldn’t believe that something extreme had just happened, but we were still here enjoying ourselves.

  The waiter came back to our tables and introduced himself, apologizing once more for what had happened with Anabella. I nodded along with Arsen, and we proceeded to order our meals.

  “So, I have an interview with this magazine for novelists and they want me to bring someone along with me who’s a great writer.” He smiled.

  “That’s so cool!” I exclaimed. “Who are you going to take?”

  “You.”

  My mouth dropped. M-me? Out of all writers, why me? I mean, I completely agreed that I deserved the opportunity, but how did he even know if I were a good writer or not?

  “Why me?” I raised an eyebrow. The waiter came back with two waters and a plate of lemons. I dropped two slices of lemon into my water and swirled them around with my straw.

  “I forgot to mention that whatever is saved on the computer in your room automatically syncs to every other computer in the house.” He chuckled.

  My mouth dropped again, opening wider than before. That meant he had read the story that I had begun to write about the girl betraying her ‘master’ and being thrown into a basement under lock and key. I wondered if he noticed that the story slightly related to the situation between us.

  “Don’t worry,” he laughed. “I loved your story, and honestly, I think you’re an amazing writer. The way you write is similar to the way I write and I think you’d be perfect for the interview.”

  “Wow. Thank you so much, Arsen!” I smiled and took a sip from my water. Could this night get any better? This could be my big break for my career. What better way to celebrate than with the man who made it all happen?

  I wondered what the rest of the night had in store for us. I would have never seen all of this coming a couple of weeks ago, but I'm glad it came as a surprise. It was crazy how the one time I decided to do something that I shouldn't, I was introduced to a man who could change my life forever. God, what did I do to be this lucky?

  We began to eat soon as the food got to the table. We must have both been starving. Arsen ordered the steak with rice and asparagus, and I ordered a hearty salad with a side of mixed veggies. I wanted to stay light on the stomach. He began to talk, going on about something, but I wasn't paying attention because I got lost in his eyes.

  They glistened in the restaurant's light as he continued to speak.

  "Are you okay with that?" he asked.

  "Um ...yeah," I said, not really knowing what he was asking me. I didn't want him to know that I hadn’t been paying attention. Whatever I had agreed to couldn't have been that bad.

  "Great!" He smiled and finished up his meal. I did the same.

  Arsen paid for the meal and we left. When we got back inside of the car, the driver pulled off in the direction of Arsen’s home. I frowned a bit, not really wanting the night to be over with.

  I looked out of the window and watched as others walked hand and hand through the city streets. It made me happy. I hoped that Arsen and I could be like that someday soon. I looked over at him and he was staring directly at me.

  “What?” I laughed. “Is there something on my face?”

  “No.” He stated bluntly, with a mild expression. “You’re just really beautiful, Lola.”

  “Thanks.” I blushed, brushing a piece of flyaway hair behind my ear. “You’re beautiful too, Arsen.”

  “I know.”

  We both looked at each other and laughed. He was doing a good job of keeping me amused tonight. Other times he had been very pushy, but tonight he’d been really laid back and I appreciated that.

  We took the highway back toward Arsen’s house, but I noticed the driver took an unexpected turned. I turned to Arsen to see if he had noticed, but he didn’t seem to care.

  We soon pulled up to the harbor and my eyes lit up. I’d always wanted to go, but never did. I felt myself become very excited, like a child in a toy store. The lights were bright and lit up everything around us. What made everything better was that it was right on the beach. The waves were crashing and couples were making their way toward the water as the sun began to go down.

  When the driver came to a stop, Arsen got out and jogged around the car to open the door for me. I stepped out and grabbed Arsen’s hand, pulling myself closer to him. I looked over the harbor in amazement.

  He led me down a path over to a stand. We walked hand in hand under the trees. He bought me two roses from the florist at the stand, one red and one white.

  “Thank you for all of this, Arsen.” I smiled.

  “Anything for you, princess,” he mumbled in a low but audible tone.

  I felt my cheeks burn red. I didn’t know why I got so shy and child-like around him. We walked down to another stand where he bought me cotton candy. I didn’t know exactly where we were heading, but I hoped it was somewhere great. He led me to yet another stand, but that time bought me a teddy bear. It was red and white, just like the roses.

  We continued walking down the same path and Arsen told me to close my eyes. I closed my eyes and walked with him slowly to our destination. I felt a gush of wind blow across my face as I felt him guide me on to some type of seat. I sat there with my eyes closed and I felt him sit beside me. He was rather close, too. I heard what sounded like metal clamping together and that completely erased my thoughts of us being inside of the building.

  "You can open your eyes now, Lola," Arsen said softly, and I felt us begin to move.

  I opened my eyes and saw that I was on a Ferris wheel. I clapped my hands together in excitement and flashed a big smile at Arsen.

  "I saw the way you looked at it on the way to the restaurant and figured that I couldn't miss out on the opportunity to see that smile on your face. The exact smile that you have on your face right now. I know this will be a great decision." He smiled at me and took my hand into his.

  "You've made me so happy tonight. I don't kn
ow how I could repay you." I stared him directly in the eyes.

  "You don't have to pay me back. This night is about you." He said, while taking a piece of my cotton candy.

  I laughed and looked out at the sunset. The sky was various shades of pink, orange, and purple. As the sky was going dark slowly and the Ferris wheel was heading up toward the sky, I started to drift off into a deep thought.

  Was I getting in way over my head or was I actually falling for this guy? It was just a simple date, but it was just the way that he went about things that made this more than ordinary. Everything about him, besides him being a murderer, was perfect. It was sort of scary. He could kill me at any time and get away with it, but for some reason that was completely okay with me.

  I felt wild, carefree, and reckless when I was with Arsen. I wanted this feeling to last forever, but I’d have to wait a little to see if the feelings are real or if it was just lust.

  “Lola.”

  “Huh?” I came back to reality and looked over at him.

  “We’re back on the ground.” He chuckled and opened the metal door for us to get out. We got out and started to walk toward the beach. The walk gave me just enough time to eat my cotton candy. I shared most of it with Arsen because I wasn’t that big into sweets. I held the stuffed bear and roses close to my body as we neared the water.

  “Beautiful, isn’t it?” Arsen asked, referring to the now-dark sky and sparkling stars.

  I nodded in agreement and took off my heels. I sat the bear and roses next to them and walked toward the ocean, letting the water come up to my calves. I pulled my bun down and loosened my hair, letting the soft wind blow through it.

  Serenity. I felt pure serenity.

  “You are absolutely stunning.” Arsen took me by the hand and spun me around. Was this a fairytale? It felt like it.

  I felt Arsen’s hands slide around my waist and pull me close. He rested his chin on my shoulder and took a deep breath. All I could do was smile. I couldn’t find the words to say. I didn’t have any words to say. I just wanted to take in everything at the moment.

  Who knew the next time this would happen again? I laid my hands on top of his and looked out at the stars once more. I felt him place small kisses on my neck and I tensed up.

  “Let’s go, beautiful.” He spoke under his breath, but clear enough for me to hear. He walked away to get my things. I slid on my heels and followed behind Arsen like a lost child. Funny how he made me feel like a child and a grown woman at the same time.

  When we made it back to entrance, the driver was waiting for us. It was odd. I never knew if he waited outside of places for us the entire time or if Arsen texted or called him. I laughed a little and got inside of the car.

  The driver has classical music playing softly and it actually put me at ease. I laid my back against the seat and felt myself begin to doze off.

  Arsen

  We made it back to the house and Lola was fast asleep. She looked so beautiful, but she was so unaware of it. She looked like a fallen angel. I smiled slightly and rested her roses and teddy bear in her lap. I scooped her up in my arms and went inside. I took the elevator up to her room and took her inside, laying her in her bed. The room was loaded with flowers that I had delivered while we were out.

  I wanted to undress her, but the moment between us was just so …innocent. Though I wasn’t planning on doing anything sexual to her, I still wanted my first time seeing her fully naked to be with her consent.

  I jogged to the bathroom and got a washcloth. I brought it back and gently wiped off her makeup. I smiled at the view of her bare face and threw the now-dirty cloth in the hamper. I called Ms. Rose upstairs to change her out of her clothes and into a gown so that she could sleep comfortably.

  When she made it to the room, I left and went to my room. I sat on the bed and sighed, rubbing my hands over my face. What was I feeling? I asked myself that every day, but I really needed answers. Even with women I found myself really liking, I had sex with them the first night and maybe even before we got the chance to go on a date.

  But with Lola, everything was different. Of course, I lusted after her, but I just wanted to wait until she was ready. I wanted to wait for the right time for the both of us in general. She was special and I didn’t want to lose her.

  I took a quick shower and slid on a fresh pair of sweats. With only the light of the moon and stars shining in my room, I went to sleep.

  I woke up the next day without a care in the world. It was my day off from everything—the cartel, the office, etc. I didn’t really know what to do, so I just sat in the bed thinking about the night before.

  Her skin was flawless and so was her smile. I didn’t think she had any imperfections other than being nosey and looking through my emails. I shook my head, thinking back to why I’d had to lock her back in her room. I didn’t quite know if I was ready to let her free just yet. When I had told her at dinner, she seemed completely okay with it.

  I grabbed my phone and texted David, giving him all of the details about what happened with Anabella. I told him that we now knew that worker’s daughter’s name and that we could use his last name to track her and her mother down. Just thinking about how she had lunged at me like that pissed me off. Who did she think she was? What did she think she was going to do to me? Choke me to death? Ha!

  Did she know who she was fucking with?! I got angry just thinking about it. I decided to go to the gym I had built in my basement to blow off some steam.

  Lola

  I woke up in bed, dressed in night clothing again. I must be a really hard sleeper, because I never felt it when I was changed or carried to bed. I looked at the clock and it was 8:13 on the dot. I finally looked around the room and there were multiple bouquets of roses around the room, some white and some red. I blushed and pushed myself out of bed.

  I walked over to roses and smelled them. They smelled absolutely beautiful and they put me in an even better mood than before. I looked over at the window seat and there was a huge box of black roses with a note attached. It read:

  Dear Lola,

  Last night was beautiful and I hope we can share more experiences like that. You bring out a side of me that hasn’t been out in a while. Thank you so much for that. I hope these flowers can show you a little of how I feel.

  Enjoy, princess.

  Arsen

  I felt on top of the world in that moment. I just wanted to hug and kiss him! I skipped over to the door and turned the knob, but it barely moved because it was locked. My eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

  We’d had such a good night together. I didn’t see why he would still keep me locked in the room. I rolled my eyes and went into the bathroom to take a shower.

  I let the warm water run through my hair and down my body. It relaxed me instantly and let me think clearly. I began thinking back to dinner, when I absentmindedly agreed to something that I hadn’t heard Arsen say.

  Maybe I had agreed to continue being locked away in this room. I sighed and got out of the shower, drying myself. I went to the closet and threw on some sweats and a sports bra.

  I opened the journal I was given, with all my tasks inside, and saw that I had nothing to do that day. I shrugged and decided to work on more of my story since I had that interview with Arsen soon.

  He has the most beautiful mind I have ever come across. I know that after just a couple of months he is becoming much more than just a dominant to me. I am falling for him. And he is falling for me too. It was kind of cool, because it was just strictly BDSM and a contract at first, then it stemmed into a strong relationship because of the bond we have.

  I remember when it happened. We had just finished up a session, and while we were getting dressed, he offered to take me out to dinner the next night. Of course, I agreed. With a gorgeous man like that I couldn't pass up the offer.

  His personality was amazing and so charming that I developed a huge crush on him. Before that night it was just lust, but after I got
to know him a little better, we really connected and it turned into the best relationship I've ever been in.

  I had basically just described my feelings for Arsen. I wondered if we would read it later on. I hoped that he would read through the lines and see what I was saying about him. I shut off the computer and went over to my bed to watch some TV.

  I appreciated what I had done the previous night with Arsen, and I definitely loved the roses. It was a brand-new day and I wished that there was something for me to do other than lying around. If this had been the weekend, back when I was in school, then I would have totally been okay with watching movies, reading a book, or writing. But it was the summer and I wanted to have fun.