Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  Everything in Noah’s world stopped. ‘Did Charlie do this to you?’

  She nodded, gasping for air. ‘I’m sorry, Noah…I’m sorry…’ As the medics rushed in to help her, to help him, Tinsley’s head fell back and her last breath sighed from her lungs.

  A medic listened to her chest and started to perform CPR but Noah knew it was too late. There was so much blood. Tinsley was dead.

  And Lila was gone…

  She had watched him stab her friend to death and now, as she started to regain consciousness, she wondered why she wasn’t dead too.

  Charlie. She opened her eyes. She was laying on her back on the back seat of a moving car, her hands and feet bound. She turned her head to see him driving, his face set and grim. It was Charlie. It was Charlie. It didn’t take a genius to figure it all out now. As far as Charlie was concerned, Lila belonged to him. He’d stopped her wedding by stabbing her, framed Riley – had he known she and Riley had slept together? – and probably killed him, arranged Richard’s murder. Had he coerced Lauren into shooting Noah?

  God. You should have finished me in that changing room, she thought angrily, then at least the others could have been saved. You bastard. You cowardly fucker.

  Now she thought about it, it was so obvious. He’d called her that day….

  Charlie Sherman smiled grimly to himself. She was at the bridal boutique. So easy…he’d checked it out a while back when she told him about the place. Security was minimal – yeah, they set an alarm at night, but during the day... The fire exit he could jimmy open in seconds…wasit really going to be this easy?

  He could hardly wait. He’d dreamed of this day for years, ever since that night that she’d given her virginity to him. God the feel of her skin, her silky tight cunt as he’d thrust into her. She’d been so drunk that any inhibitions had fled and she’d enjoyed herself as much as he had. Then…nothing. ‘Let’s keep that one night special, I don’t want to ruin our friendship because of sex.’

  Bitch. He’d agreed, of course, how else was he going to keep her close and he’d waited, and watched as her beauty, her warmth, her quick wit had brought the men flocking. His Lila wasn’t a whore though, she chose her lovers carefully. And then she’d met the billionaire and it had all gone to hell. Richard fucking Carnegie. When he’d found out that Carnegie had cheated on Lila, he was sure that she’d end it. She even knew about the cheating and stayed with him and then promised to marry the motherfucker.

  But it was the night, a few days before the wedding when he’d known what he had to do. He’d gone to meet her at the bar, a little later than normal. The door was locked but he’d gone around the back and sure enough, the back door was open. He walked into the bar – and saw them. Lila and Riley. Fucking, right there on the floor. He watched them silently – well, he watched her, her face when she came, when Riley’s face was buried in her sex.

  Bitch.

  Slipping in the back door of the bridal boutique was easy. A quick check of the other fitting room and then he was there. She pulled back the curtain and he drove the knife into her soft belly. So easy, so beautiful. She barely had time to gasp; he stabbed her quickly, brutally, blood spattering then gushing from her wounds.

  Afterward he made his escape but the adrenaline inside was raging what a rush, what a thrill…

  Charlie looked back at Lila and smiled. ‘You’re awake. Good.’ His voice was almost tender.

  Lila’s eyes filled with tears. ‘You murdered Tinsley.’

  Charlie shrugged. ‘She got in my way.’

  ‘She used to be your girlfriend…I thought you loved her.’

  Charlie laughed. ‘For a bright woman, Lila, you can be dense. The only woman I’ve ever loved is you.’

  Hearing him say it out loud in such a matter of fact manner was terrifying. ‘You were the one who stabbed me.’

  Charlie steered the car to a stop and turned to her. ‘Yes.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Richard.’

  She shook her head. ‘What about him?’

  ‘Riley. And then Noah. And every other man you’ve fucked. Every one of them took something from me. And the only way I can think of to right that wrong is to take you.’

  She stared at him and didn’t know the monster in front of her. ‘You’re going to kill me.’

  ‘Yes, Lila, of course I am.’

  She felt strangely relieved. ‘And you won’t hurt anyone else?’

  He smiled, a strange rictus. ‘No, Lila. I won’t be able to, because you and I will die together. Once I stab you, I’ll cut my own throat. I don’t want to live in a world without you.’

  She closed her eyes. ‘You’re insane.’

  ‘And you’re going to die today. Now, lie still and quiet and it’ll all be over soon.’ Charlie started the car again and pulled out onto the highway.

  Harry Carnegie stared at the police in disbelief. ‘No. No, she can’t be…oh god…’ He covered his mouth as if he were about to throw up. Tinsley dead? No, they must be mistaken.

  When he’d got to the airport and she hadn’t met him, he’d called the suite and one of his security men had told him Tinsley had insisted on going to the hospital. He’d taken a cab there only to be greeted by reception full of police and shocked faces. He heard a whisper. Someone was murdered in the hospital. His chest had clenched tight but he brushed it away. He’d asked for Noah’s room at the desk which is when they’d called a policeman over and he’d been taken into a private room.

  There, the detective in charge had told him gently that a Miss Tinsley Chang had been stabbed to death in a stairwell, and that a Miss Tierney had been abducted.

  Tinsley was dead.

  Harry turned away from the other men so they couldn’t see the raw grief in his face. I just found you again, baby. Why didn’t you wait for me to come here? ‘Can I see Mr Applebaum now, please?’

  ‘Of course…he wanted to tell you himself but we thought you two might be too close…’

  Harry gave a humorless laugh. ‘We’ve never even met.’ And yet they were bonded in blood.

  Noah Applebaum looked haunted. As Harry stepped into his hospital room, Noah turned and saw him. The two men stared at each other for a long moment then Noah unsteadily moved towards him. These two men, who had never met, embraced, hugged each other tightly.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Harry, I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Me too, Noah. There’s still hope, right?’

  Noah pulled out of the hug and tried to smile. ‘You bet there is, Lila’s a fighter. If I wasn’t in this damn hospital, I’d be out hunting that son-of-a-bitch down, but they’re watching me like a hawk.’

  Harry nodded. He studied Noah’s movement. ‘So you feel okay? You can walk?’

  Noah half-smiled, knowing something else was coming. ‘Yeah, why?’

  ‘I can distract anyone that needs to be distracted.’

  ‘They took my clothes so I couldn’t sneak out.’

  Harry sized him up. ‘Okay, so I’m about two inches shorter but we’re a similar build.’

  Noah did grin then. ‘You sure?’

  Harry nodded. ‘If the roles were reversed?’

  ‘You betcha, buddy. You could come if you want.’

  ‘I don’t want to leave Tinsley,’ Harry said simply, as he began to undress. Noah nodded, understanding.

  ‘Man, when this is over and Lila’s safe…’

  ‘Go,’ Harry brushed his gratitude away. ‘We’ll have all the time to talk after. You got any idea where he would take her?’

  Noah shook his head. ‘But I know her history and I know how obsessed people think. If he’s going to kill her, he’ll want to do it somewhere significant. I’ll start where they first met – at the old children’s home in Puget Ridge.’

  Harry nodded. ‘Good. Then I’ll give you a one hour start before I go to the police. Back up, you understand?’

  Noah shook Harry’s hand gratefully. ‘I owe you big.’

  Harry gripped his hand tight
ly. ‘If you can, kill the fucker. Please. For Lila. For Tinsley. For my brother.’

  Noah sneaked out of the hospital easier than he expected. Everyone was just wrapped up in Tinsley’s murder. When he’d been trying to guess where Charlie would take her, he’d had to think back to the times he and Lila had talked about her childhood. That was back in the early days, when she was in rehab, before they’d even kissed, before that dream of a day when they’d made love – and made Matty. God, he wanted the chance to make babies with Lila, to build a house, a family with her. She was his heart and now his heart was being ripped from him and it was a million times more painful than the bullet Lauren had fired into him.

  In spite of his bravado, his assurances to Harry, Noah’s body was screaming at him. His chest burned, his one remaining lung working overtime. Despite his calm exterior, Noah was in the worst agony of his life – physically and emotionally but the adrenaline, the need to get to Lila was all-encompassing.

  Just be alive, sweetheart, please. Fight, Lila, fight…I’m coming for you.

  Charlie parked the car behind the old children’s home and pulled Lila from the back seat. He’d taped her mouth so she couldn’t scream. After he’d taken her in and laid her on the floor of an empty room, he took the tape off.

  ‘Scream all you want, no-one will get to you before I kill you. There’s no point, there’s no hope now, Lila.’

  He grabbed his backpack and pulled out a gun and a knife. The knife was stained with blood. ‘Whoops,’ he said, grinning nastily. ‘Better wipe Tinsley off of this before you get it.’

  Lila’s temper exploded then. ‘You killed innocent people Charlie, and my whole life I’ve been defending you from people saying that you’re bad news, that you’re bad and mean and scary. I defended you!’ She started to cry now. ‘I loved you, Charlie, not as a lover, but as a friend, as a brother. You were my person.’

  She was sobbing and to her amazement, he scooped her up and held her. ‘That’s all I’ve ever wanted to be, Lila, is yours. Yours alone.’

  ‘You stabbed me,’ she whispered and he nodded.

  ‘I did. And I’m going to again, Lila, you understand that now, right?’

  Lila drew in a breath and when she pulled away and met his gaze, she smiled. ‘I know. I know, baby, it has to be this way.’

  Charlie’s smile spread across his face. ‘It does.’ He wiped her tears from her cheeks.

  You fucking deluded psycho…’Charlie, if we’re going to die today…then surely we should celebrate us before you cut me open.’

  A frown crossed his face. ‘What do you mean?’

  She smiled and leaned forward brushing her lips against his. Would he fall for this? Her heart was thudding madly. She looked up at him from beneath her lashes. ‘Fuck me, Charlie…let’s go out on a high. Fuck me good and then I promise, I won’t fight you.’

  He stared at her and she couldn’t tell if he would go for it but then he reached for the knife. She held her breath then he severed the tape around her feet, around her hands. He tore open her dress and placed the tip of the knife against her belly.

  ‘I swear, if you’re messing with me, Lila, I’ll stab you so many times they won’t bother to count them…and then I’ll do the same to your fucking Doctor.’

  Slowly, Lila lay back and spread her legs. ‘Fuck me, Charlie…please….’

  With a growl he yanked the zipper on his jeans down and shoving her legs further apart. Playing along, she reached for his face. ‘Kiss me, baby.’

  He ground his mouth down on hers and Lila kissed him back…and then clamped her teeth down on his tongue hard. Charlie screamed and rocked back, and Lila jammed her foot hard into his exposed groin, then kicked him in the face and rolled out of his way. She scrambled to her feet and went for his gun but he grabbed her leg and dragged her back toward him.

  ‘You fucking little bitch! I warned you, I warned you.’

  God, he was strong but Lila, fear and anger raging through her, managed to fight him off again as he swiped at her with his knife. The tip of the blade caught the soft skin of her belly and she cried out.

  ‘You’ll scream for me again and again before I’m done, you whore,’ Charlie was getting the upper hand again as he grasped both of her wrists but she twisted away from him and ran through the old derelict house. The back door hung open and she headed toward that, would have made it too but she didn’t see the hole in the floorboards and her foot disappeared into it, her ankle snapping with a loud crack. Lila did scream then as loud as she could because she couldn’t move and Charlie was advancing on her, the knife glinting in his hand.

  The pain in her ankle was making her light-headed but as Charlie dropped to his knees beside her, she tried to move. Charlie just laughed and to her horror, he pressed his face to the cut on her abdomen and lapped at the blood with his tongue.

  ‘Does your cunt taste as sweet as your blood, Lila?’

  ‘Fuck you, Charlie.’

  ‘My pleasure…’ He reached under her dress and yanked her delicate panties off with one motion. Lila rammed her legs together but he just grinned, his hand burrowing between them. Lila screamed as loud as she could, more out of desperation than hope.

  The door, the front door, was kicked in and a whirlwind of fury threw himself at Charlie, knocking them both flying.

  Noah. ‘Oh my god,’ Lila whispered as her lover wrestled and fought with Charlie. Charlie punched him hard against the chest, against the wound and Noah was winded. Lila dragged herself up on one foot and dived to help Noah, throwing herself bodily at Charlie while Noah recovered his composure. Noah roared as Charlie grabbed Lila by the throat and raised the knife to kill her; Noah grabbed Charlie by the back of the head and dragged him away. Lila scrambled for the knife Charlie had dropped and swiped at the man as he got away from Noah and went after her. Lila and Charlie tumbled to the floor and for a second, it looked all over.

  The knife in Charlie’s hand was driven hard at her – just as Charlie’s throat exploded and covered Lila in blood. The knife dropped from his hand and he slumped, very, very dead to the floor, his eyes bulging from his head, staring straight into Lila’s.

  Noah lowered the gun – the gun that Charlie had forgotten about – and dropped it to the floor. He came to Lila immediately and they held each other.

  ‘It’s over now, my darling Lila. It’s all over.’

  And for once, she was glad to hear those words…

  Epilogue

  Lila and Noah stepped from the plane and took a limo back to their penthouse. The flight from Australia had been a long one but they’d enjoyed the luxury of business class and managed to sleep most of the way.

  Tinsley’s funeral had been both sad and joyful. Her family had shared their memories of the lovely young woman and had embraced Lila, Noah and Harry as a part of their family.

  Now, as they lay together in their bed, Lila and Noah finally believed they would be okay. Noah was still recovering and Lila’s broken ankle was in a cast, but they were healing. Noah stroked her face, drinking her in.

  ‘You are the love of my life, Lila Tierney.’

  ‘And you the love of mine, you wonderful, wonderful man.’

  Noah smiled as she chuckled. ‘What?’

  ‘I’m thinking that before, I was always wondering what’s next, and it was in fear of the worst happening. Now I’m thinking, what’s next knowing it can only be good.’

  Noah laughed too. ‘In that case,’ He rolled on top of her, his cock already hard against her thigh, ‘I only have one question, Miss Tierney.’

  She gasped as he entered her slowly and smiled. ‘What’s that, Dr. Applebaum?’

  Noah kissed her tenderly and grinned as they moved together. ‘Well, Miss Tierney…what’s next?...

  The End.

  The Dark Season: A Christmas Romance

  Romance Anthology

  La Petite Mort Book 1

  In an exclusive 1920’s Paris sex club, heartbroken over a lost engagemen
t, Emile makes love to a beautiful woman, Seraphine, only to discover later that she was murdered hours before they even met. Unable to believe that the most erotic night of his life never happened, he returns to the club on Christmas Eve and finds his dead lover waiting for him. He is overjoyed and pledges to make this mysterious, enigmatic woman his forever. They enjoy another passion-filled night but as the clock ticks down to midnight, Emile discovers his new love is not all she seems and that to spend eternity with her, there’s a high price to pay …

  Paris, 1926 …

  Emile St Jacques sat in the back of the cab as they moved through the snow-choked Parisian streets. The cold was breathtaking, and yet he did not feel it. His only thoughts were of Iseult and her words to him the previous week, on the night she broke his heart.

  “Emile, my heart will not allow me to accept you as my partner in life. I am sorry for the pain this will cause you.”

  So sincere, so genuine. Except that he knew different. He had known Iseult was cheating on him with his best friend Gaston, and after Iseult’s calm and cold rejection of his proposal, he had taken a cab straight to Gaston’s home and had beaten him senseless. It had taken both Django and Hippolyte to drag him away from his friend before he killed him.

  He stared out of the cab window at the wintry scene outside. A week before Christmas and the street were filled with people shopping, huddling around the braziers of the vendors selling hot chestnuts and cinnamon-spiced mulled wine. Steam rose from the carts, mixing with the falling snow, making the streets slushy and slippery.

  Emile sighed. Normally, this was his favorite time of year with riotous parties and gatherings of friends and family. This year, as luck would have it, his parents had decided to winter in Lucerne, and now that he and Iseult had parted, he would be spending most of the time alone.