by Anna Antonia
Before I could say anything else, I saw Patrick striding towards us. We’d been lucky to have the ten minutes or so we had without him.
He simply couldn’t stand to be away from Melissa, to not be the center of her attention for long.
I’d be crushed if I didn’t learn and understand long ago that Melissa wasn’t my mother but my father’s wife.
I was on my own.
Melissa patted my hand and whispered her thanks before turning a bright smile towards her husband.
“Honey! I’m so glad you came out to see us.”
The tension eased out of his broad shoulders the closer he got to her. I stepped away before he reached us.
I knew my place and it wasn’t with them.
“I’ll leave you two alone. I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
Melissa smiled while my father dismissed me with another one of his grunts.
As I walked towards the house, I acknowledged the dysfunction of my life with them.
Any outsider would wonder “How could a man be so cold to his own daughter?”
I imagined it was guilt. I represented a terrible calculation of Patrick’s spite to the love of his life. Shunning me was the only way to show his undivided loyalty to Melissa.
It made sense in a backwards way and it was this backwards way that helped me not take it personal.
At least, not anymore.
Now that I understood the real reason why Melissa wanted me here, I was positive I’d be dismissed sooner versus later. I imagined I’d be gone before lunchtime.
I checked my phone as soon as I got to my room. There were several missed calls from Gavin but no texts. I wanted to call him back but I knew it wasn’t safe.
Not just yet.
My father didn’t acknowledge the existence of the word “privacy”. If he saw me with my phone he’d have no issue with snatching it away and checking through it, looking for anything to unleash his temper on me.
Resigned to playing by the rules of my prison, I shut my phone off again and slipped it into my bag. I wouldn’t be able to call Gavin until I was at the airport. I just hoped he was so busy he’d overlook the delay.
I glanced at my watch. Any time now…
The house phone rang. I smiled.
THIRTY-NINE
I landed in New York without incident. As I expected, Patrick dismissed me from his home with a curt, “Go back to whatever it is you do. Don’t forget to call Melissa daily.”
That was it.
I understood it had less to do with Melissa getting her fill of me and more to do with Patrick’s inability to share his wife with anyone.
It was sick and twisted. As far as I knew it always had been.
How else to explain how Patrick impregnated my birth mother solely for revenge against Melissa for leaving him and having a child with someone else? When I was younger I’d bitterly lament he didn’t let me stay with the poor woman who’d had me.
Instead, he gave me to Melissa as a consolation prize for leaving her own son behind. Then he monopolized Melissa’s time and affection, feeling jealous of a little girl because she wanted the woman she saw as her mommy.
“She’s not your mommy!” he snarled at me once. It was one of the few times Melissa had stood up to her husband, but the damage was done. I was inconsolable for days and that three-year-old girl never forgot she had no place in the world. I didn’t have to wonder if I still carried the little girl with me.
I knew I did.
So it was better this way.
Oh, and a deposit of $25k in my personal account today helped make it better. In theory.
Once I might’ve thought it was Patrick’s way of showing a modicum of caring for me. Now I just saw it as payment—handled no differently than a contractor.
I really shouldn’t complain. My situation could be much worse. At least I’d made a life far away from the Brookstones. Even better—I had someone to look forward to seeing.
Exhausted mentally and emotionally from flying ten thousand miles in less than two days, I was so eager to talk to Gavin. Two days was too long to be apart from him.
I’d left him a message right before I got on my father’s jet to leave. Nothing came back when I checked my phone twelve hours later. I called him. No answer but I left him another voicemail. I also sent him a text letting him know I made it safely.
Disappointed but trying not to put too much into it, I took a cab to my apartment and fell asleep less than fifteen minutes later. I could’ve gone to his place but I needed to decompress.
However, my last thoughts were of Gavin and how much I missed the feel of his arms around me.
I can finally have peace for a little bit…
Morning came soon enough and I popped up out of bed. Still nothing from Gavin. I texted how much I looked forward to seeing him. The lack of reply should’ve worried me but I was too excited to see him again to take much notice. Besides, grownups didn’t monitor their significant other’s moves like my father did with Melissa.
Gavin wasn’t anything like him. He was trusting and normal. The least I could do was return the favor and not flip out just because I hadn’t heard from him within my time schedule.
I took special care with my wardrobe and makeup, wanting to make sure I left a beautiful impression on my last day at Axis 3. Come this time tomorrow, I would no longer be an employee but I would still have something better.
Gavin.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I acknowledged I’d miss the little fashion doll I became. My feet were missing my flats more but it was fun playing dress-up. I’d leave this shell behind and adopt a new one soon enough.
I walked into the building less than twenty minutes later. My belly tightened with excitement even though I still hadn’t heard from Gavin. Logic prodded, telling me I needed to be aware of his odd silence. I ignored it in favor of anticipation.
I was wrong in ignoring my logic.
As soon as I arrived and made my hellos, I saw Gavin’s closed door. Innocent to what was to come, I gave it a series of peppy knocks.
He didn’t answer.
Not only didn’t he answer, Gavin left me there for a longer period of time than was usual or necessary. My smile faded as I called his name and knocked again.
Finally, he answered.
“Come in.”
I confirmed something was wrong as soon as I saw him. Especially when he commanded in a clipped tone, “Close the door.”
Noting he was dressed completely in black, I didn’t imagine the coldness of his gaze or demeanor. I wanted to turn around and flee but it was too late.
Gavin got up from his desk as soon as I closed the door. He stalked towards me, instantly making me the blindsided prey to his merciless predator.
“How did your trip go?”
“Fine.”
“Really? Fine? Just fine?”
My palms slicked with sweat. I couldn’t pinpoint why he could’ve been upset with me considering there were a million reasons.
“Yes. My stepmother was in much better spirits when I left.”
His hazel eyes were as hard as I’d ever seen them. Of course, my paranoia circled around the drain of discovery. Surely, he wouldn’t draw it out if he knew? No way would he want to risk contamination at his company.
Gavin crossed his arms. “How was California?”
I knew then he discovered I wasn’t in LA.
“Why do you ask?”
“Why did you lie to me?”
It was so soft, so gentle. Even so, I heard the knife of his suspicion cut cleanly through.
Evade. Dodge. Misdirect. All the lessons I’d learned living in paradise failed me.
Clumsily, I asked, “What makes you think I wasn’t in California?”
Gavin’s control slipped. “Don’t fucking insult me, Paige! I create apps that can do many things—including monitoring locations.”
I whitened. “You were tracking me.”
“I’m asking t
he questions here. Not you.”
“So you were tracking me.”
I felt sick. Not necessarily because of the tracking. That honestly didn’t sound so strange considering I knew my father did it to Melissa all the time. Not necessarily with technology but either because of his presence or bodyguards.
No, what got me was I didn’t see it coming. I didn’t think Gavin would even consider checking up on me.
It’s all over.
“You were supposed to be in California. Instead, you were in Hawaii. Why were you in Hawaii?”
Do or die time. I could tell the truth and lose everything. Or I could lie and get the same result.
“I was there with my family.”
“For only a day?”
“I had to get back to work.”
The magnificent lines of his face hardened with disgust. “You expect me to believe your parents asked you to fly twelve hours just to visit them for less than half a day?”
“Yes.”
Gavin’s eyes, cold as ice, narrowed. “I don’t believe you.”
The irony didn’t escape me. The one thing I said which was true was the one thing he didn’t believe.
I stood there, mind scrambling to fix this.
He took one step towards me and then stopped. “There was no reason to lie to me, Paige, unless the entire reason you went was a lie. Did you go to see another man?”
“No!” I didn’t have to feign shock. “Why would you ask that?”
“Why indeed?”
“I am not cheating on you! I’d never cheat on you!”
His mouth twisted into a painfully beautiful smirk. “I’d almost believe you, love, if you didn’t already prove to be such a good liar.”
I blanched. I spun around, doing my best not to let the nausea overwhelm me. I’d barely had any sleep, had spent too much time in a plane, and hadn’t eaten enough to feed a kitten.
Retreat was my only option.
“We can talk about this later. I need to get my desk in order for Caroline—”
Gavin grabbed me by the arm and marched us both out of his office.
“Wait! Where are we going?”
“Be. Quiet.”
He didn’t seem to care that the entire office watched us, in surprise and speculation. For a man who did his best to avoid gossip, he was giving everyone an eyeful.
All the way down to the lobby, Gavin shut me down every time I tried to talk to him. He shoved me into the car and commanded Frank to take us to his place.
He made sure he kept his hand around my upper arm when we got to his building, even in the elevator. He didn’t let go until we were in his bedroom. Once there he shoved me away.
“Tell me again what you were doing in Hawaii when you specifically told me you were going to California.”
I didn’t want to tell him about Hawaii. I didn’t want to talk about my reasons for being there. I didn’t want Patrick and Melissa to even share the same verbal space as Gavin.
“My parents rented a house for the month and that’s where they were. I saw them there.”
“For twelve hours.”
“Yes.”
Gavin took off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. I couldn’t help but look at his well-defined forearms and wonder if I’d ever get the chance to hold onto them again.
The temptation to come clean opened up inside of me.
If I just confessed the truth and begged him to forgive me, maybe things would turn out okay. Surely, it was better than Gavin thinking I was out screwing around on him?
“Why didn’t you call me back while you were there? You shut your phone off, Paige, for a reason.”
I licked my lips. Confessing the truth to Gavin would be utterly insane. He wouldn’t forgive me. Ever. In fact, he might just be tempted to kill me for keeping my identity a secret.
And considering he thought I was lying, I was surprised he didn’t already do some digging on me. There’d be no way I could permanently hide the truth of my Brookstone name. I should’ve already been caught by now.
Maybe it really was my masquerade’s end.
It was probably better this way. I wouldn’t have to feel like I was living on borrowed time. It could finally be over.
All of this lying would be over.
Letting Gavin go would be the most painful thing I ever experienced, but at least I had happiness for as long as I had it.
The time to do the right thing was upon me. I just had to take that first step. I just needed to let the light find me and cleanse us both…
“I shut my phone off because my parents needed my undivided attention. I couldn’t think about you while I was there or I’d want to come home. Even then you were all I could think about. I ran myself down to exhaustion just to make it back today.”
“Because of the party.”
“No! I don’t give a damn about the party! I came back because of you, Gavin.”
“If you weren’t doing anything wrong then you should’ve just told me where you were going.”
“I didn’t realize that I had to give you an itinerary of my movements away from you.”
“I’m not saying you have to do that.”
“But that’s exactly what you’re saying. You’re accusing me of cheating on you when it’s clear exactly how I spent my time away from you. Twelve hours by plane. An hour drive. Twelve hours at the home including sleep time. An hour drive back. Twelve hours back. Tell me just how cheating on you would go again?”
Gavin reared back. I felt guilty but something ugly and darker took its place.
Self-preservation.
I pushed deeper. “Why would I go all the way to Hawaii to cheat on you when I could find any man to fuck within five minutes of this place?”
Gavin lowered his head to stare me down square. “Be very careful there, love, or I’m liable to not be nice in return.”
“‘Nice’ isn’t the word I’d use to describe you now.”
“Trust me. I’m being very nice considering how I feel.”
“I should trust what you’re saying, but you won’t trust me. That doesn’t seem fair, does it?”
God, I wanted to strangle my vocal cords. I wasn’t supposed to back him up against the wall like this. I was supposed to come clean. What the hell kind of person would do this?
You Paige. You are the kind of bitch who would do this.
“What’s not fair is you shutting off all communication between us.”
“But I didn’t. I called you as soon as I got to the airport. I called you last night. You didn’t call me back. I texted you more than once and you never replied. So I wasn’t cutting off the lines of communication. You were.”
“I had good reason.”
“No, you didn’t. You assumed you had good reason. That’s not the same thing. It’s worse. You convicted me without proof. You didn’t even try to get my side of the story.”
“You don’t have a side. You lied to me.”
“Not purposely. I thought I was going to California. I didn’t know until I got to the plane that it was for Hawaii.”
God was going to strike me dead for lying so smoothly. I’d deserve every bit of it too. Why couldn’t I stop?
I needed to stop. Here was my chance to come clean. It could all be over right now…
I stalked over to him. “What’s it going to take to show you I’m telling the truth?”
Gavin watched me warily.
I unbuttoned my top and tossed it on the floor.
“What are you going?”
His vicious growl didn’t stop me. If anything, it inflamed me to continue my bad behavior.
“You won’t believe me so I’m going to have to show you.”
My skirt and belt landed on the floor. Standing there in my bra, panties, garter belt and stockings, I put my hands on my hips.
“Do you need to feel me to see if I’ve been stretched out?”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
I didn�
�t want to think about why I knew that kind of demand.
“Go ahead, Gavin. Finger me and see if I’ve been unfaithful. Feel if another man has put his cock in me and stretched me out. See if I’m walking around with another man’s come inside me.”
Gavin’s eyes blazed with a unique mix of shock, anger, and desire. “You’re crazy.”
“Yeah? So you won’t do it then?”
I turned around and got on the bed. “Then I’ll just have to show you myself.” Arranging myself on my knees, I bent at the waist, and pulled my panties to the side. “Look for yourself.”
I opened my lips up and spread myself wide. Dipping a finger and then two, I got lost to the lust and anger darkening the air between us.
Gavin took a step towards me and then stopped. “Don’t fucking push me, love. I mean it.”
“Why stop now, love? You think I’m a dirty whore, don’t you? You won’t accept my word so maybe you’ll accept this?” I pumped my fingers faster and moaned.
Gavin let out a vile curse and then stalked over to me. He yanked my arm away from my spread legs and pushed me on my back.
Caged over me, he bit out, “Fuck, Paige! What are you doing to me? Are you trying to drive me insane?”
My anger collapsed, leaving me drained. I shook my head. “No. I’m not. I just can’t help myself.”
It’s my truth. One of the few I can actually tell you.
His mouth crushed mine. He kissed me violently and I responded in kind. I was hungry for every pull of his lips and swirl of his tongue.
Gavin reached between us and deliberately yanked the silk panties off my body with one hard rip. It stung but not nearly as sweetly as when his fingers replaced mine.
Two fingers became three. He spread me open and then tapped his thumb across my clit. I shot up on the bed, wrapping my arms around his neck while moaning against his mouth.
I didn’t want to be teased. I wanted to come.
Gavin was of the same mind. He swirled his fingers against my clit, making it nice and wet, before pumping me hard. Heat sank its velvet claws deep in my belly. I was so close to the edge.
“Are you going to fucking come for me, love? Yeah? Then do it now. Come all over my hand until I’m soaking wet.”
