The Darker Side of Love (A Dark Erotica Boxed Set)

by Tara Crescent

  Still shaking his head, Victor got into the driver’s seat and started the car. The vehicle drove slowly down the long, curved stone driveway and stopped at the road as the iron gate swung open. “Okay, Donovan. Which way should I go?”

  “Look, Victor, this has gone on much longer than necessary. Never having happened at all would be longer than necessary. The game is over. I’m tired and, thanks to you, I’m in a really bad mood. I just want to get home to my wife and my kids and I want to go now. I have no idea where in the state of Georgia we happen to be but get me home the fastest way you can get me there.”

  Without saying a word, Victor made a right turn out on to the road and started driving. Donovan recalled thinking that the ride seemed longer than usual when they were driving back from the airport but the streets seemed both strange and vaguely familiar. How was that possible? Perhaps they were fairly close to the home he shared with Laci.

  Donovan stared out the window into the darkness and attempted to figure out what his supposed-to-be friend and assistant was doing. Why would he want to remind Donovan about Anscombe Manor? Years earlier, thanks to his surveillance equipment Donovan had proven Laci’s former employer, Frank Harding, was responsible for setting the place on fire, completely destroying it. If it hadn’t been for an old and nearly forgotten coal chute, Donovan might have been incinerated along with the entire house. He didn’t miss anything about the place. In fact, the last time he’d even thought about the Manor was when he had to deal with the insurance company to settle the claim.

  Laci. Damn he missed her. He had probably fallen in love with Laci the first time he saw her, although it took a while to realize that. How was he supposed to know? He’d never been in love and Laci wasn’t like anyone he’d ever known. The important thing was that he knew her now, every inch of her, and couldn’t wait to get back so he could take her in his arms, kiss and caress every curve of her body while listening to those wonderful sounds she made when he touched her in just the right way. Right now, all he wanted to think about was making love to her for hours and …….

  He suddenly realized Victor had turned the car back through the iron gate and was pulling in front of the house that looked like Anscombe Manor. “Victor, I said you could come for the luggage tomorrow. Take me home. Now!”

  Victor sat silently for a moment before turning to the passenger side of the vehicle. “Look, Donovan, I’ve known you for a long time and I thought I was used to your habits and quirks but you’ve been acting weird since you got off the plane. You called me last night and told me what time the plane was landing so I could meet you. I’ve never heard of any of those people you were talking about. I know you have houses all over the place but this is the only one you have here and this isn’t Georgia. You haven’t been to visit your cousin in Georgia for more than a year. What the hell is going on?”

  Chapter Four ~ Dark

  Flames crackled in the stone fireplace making the entire office feel warm and cozy. Donovan sat just a few feet away from the blaze but every inch of him was chilled. Why was Victor doing this? There was no question his assistant and supposed-to-be-friend could be difficult but he’d never been cruel. Why had he told Donovan that he hadn’t been to Georgia for over a year? That made no sense. He was in Georgia with Laci and his two young children just a few weeks ago. Wasn’t he?

  Victor had coaxed an unwilling Donovan back into the Manor and gotten him settled in his office. No! This wasn’t his office. It used to be but now his only office was in the sprawling and comfortable Southern Colonial home he shared with Laci. The house that held this office had been destroyed by fire. Hadn’t it?

  Donovan was suddenly aware that Victor was standing in the open doorway, watching him. It was hard to ignore his assistant’s concerned expression. “Victor, how much longer is this going to go on? Is there some reason you don’t want me to go home? Did something happen to Laci or one of the kids? Is Marion okay? Just tell me the truth.”

  Victor added another log to the fireplace before settling in a chair opposite Donovan. “I’m not sure what truth to tell you because you don’t seem to know what the truth is and it’s not like you. You may be the most particular and persnickety pain in the ass in the whole world but you have a memory like no one else and you can’t even remember that you called me last night and told me to meet your plane. You called me just like you always do. It’s part of your regular routine. Then I picked you up and brought you back here only you seem to think this place was destroyed in a fire. I’ve been with you a long time and the only fires I’ve ever seen are the ones I’ve made in the fireplaces. This house is like some big drafty cave so I always build fires but I haven’t burned the place down yet. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head or have more to drink than usual?”

  “I already told you I didn’t,” Donovan snapped, “and I also told you it was Frank Harding who set fire to the place. Anscombe Manor was a pile of rubble the last time I saw it. What’s so hard to understand?”

  “Well,” Victor waved his arm, “look around. The place is a drafty cave but it’s hardly rubble and who the hell is Frank Harding? You keep tossing these names out and I’ve never heard of any of the people you’ve mentioned. You’ve been talking gibberish ever since we got back here. I thought if I gave you a little time you’d settle down so I went and unpacked your bag but you’re still acting crazy. What’s wrong with you?”

  “I could ask you the same thing. How much longer do I have to put up with this charade and what do you hope to gain by pretending you have no idea what I’m talking about? I don’t know how long and hard you looked to find this replica of the manor but I don’t find any part of the situation amusing.” Donovan wearily rubbed his head. “You said you unpacked my bag. Why? When do I get to go home?” He looked over at Victor. “And what did you do with those western play sets I bought for the boys? Matthew and Jeremy love those things. I always get them a couple of new sets whenever I go to Texas. Between them they must have an acre of those little plastic fences I’m always stepping on. They probably have enough to start their own ranch. Matthew is going to be especially excited when he sees the little horses that came with his set. There’s a white one that looks just like Albion and a big ugly grey one that looks like Horse-zilla, the growler. Make sure you don’t forget where you put them.”

  “Horse-zilla? The growler? Ranch? You bought a ranch? Okay Donovan, I’m calling your doctor. Now I know you’re having a breakdown or something. No way in hell would you buy a ranch. You go ape-shit crazy if you find a speck of lint on your lapel and a smelly ranch has a lot more than a few specks of stuff to get on you. A ranch?”

  “Victor, just shut up with this stuff. You know damned well I don’t own the ranch and I pretty much hate the place except for riding Albion and visiting Laci’s rock. Why the hell would I even consider buying it unless Laci wanted it?”

  “We’re back to Laci? Laci has a rock? What kind of rock? She doesn’t sell crack rock, does she? That could very easily explain your behavior. Which one was Laci again?”

  Donovan didn’t bother to answer the questions. “Victor, this has gone on long enough. Stop pretending you have no idea what I’m talking about. I want to go home.”

  Victor was quiet for several minutes while watching the fire. He looked as if he was attempting to select his words very carefully. Finally he glanced up at Donovan. “You don’t seem to be understanding this any better than I’m understanding what you’re telling me but I’m not pretending anything. Listen to me, Donovan. I unpacked your bag just a few minutes ago and there weren’t any ranch play sets. You’ve gone to Texas for business many times in the past but you sure as hell never brought any play sets back with you. And you weren’t in Texas. You left here the day before yesterday. I drove you to the airport and watched you get on your plane to fly to Vancouver for business. You called last night and told me what time to pick you up tonight.”

  “No, I didn’t,” he huffed. “I wanted to surprise Laci a
nd you can’t keep a secret.”

  “You called last night,” Victor insisted, “just like you always call the night before you get back because you’re obsessive and want to make sure I know what time you’re landing even though you’ve already told me about fifty other times,” Victor insisted. “I checked with flight control before I left here to confirm the plane was on time and only two private planes were inbound. One landed about ten minutes before your plane and it was arriving from Boston. Your flight was right on time and it came in from Vancouver. You weren’t in Texas, Donovan. You were in Vancouver.”

  Donovan silently scowled and Victor continued, “You’ve owned this place since before I started working for you. Your whole training facility is on the lower level. Uh … You can remember that you’re a trainer and a Dominant, right?”

  “I remember everything very clearly, except why you’re still working for me. That is a concept that continues to elude me.”

  Victor didn’t look especially convinced. “Yeah … well … The problem is you seem to be remembering things that didn’t happen. There never was a fire. You keep talking about all these people I don’t know. Like this guy Frank Harding. You know some pretty unusual people but I’m not recalling any pyromaniacs among your BDSM pals.”

  “Victor, you know damned well I don’t have BDSM pals. I have clients and Frank Harding was one of them before I turned him over to those people he tried to swindle. He’s been gone for a long time and the world is a better place without him in it. I’ve chastised myself a thousand times for ever getting involved with anyone like that degenerate. He was always very careful until he tried to do what he did to Laci. The only thing that gives me any consolation at all is knowing we saved her from him.”

  “We did?”

  “How much longer is this going to continue? You know we did. You took her to Kalake to get her away from here and I joined you after he set this place on fire. Remember?”

  “I took Laci, who I never heard of, to that God-forsaken island you own in the middle of nowhere, to get her away from Frank Harding, who I also never heard of. Yeah. Sure. I remember. Clear as crystal. Couldn’t be any clearer except I have no idea what the hell you’re talking about. That fucking island is as boring as all your other places. Only thing to do is juggle coconuts. And run naked on the beach. That’s always fun. Did I run naked on the beach with your friend Laci? Seems like I should remember that.”

  “There was no naked running on that particular trip,” Donovan’s scowling was accompanied with grumbling, “although you and Marion have certainly made up for it since then. Every time you two take a vacation, all you seem to do is run around naked. I don’t know why either of you even bother to pack a suitcase. I’ve known Marion my entire life and she was content to be fully clothed until you came along.”

  “Marion?” Victor shook his head as though attempting to make sense of his employer’s words. “Are you talking about your cousin? That Marion? Don’t get me wrong here, Donovan, ‘cause she’s damned hot and I wouldn’t mind running naked and doing a hell of a lot more naked with her but I hardly know her. I’d like to know her. Every time you get it in your head to visit her I’m always hopin’ to get a whole lot better acquainted and she sure looks like she wouldn’t mind gettin’ a bit more enlightened about me but it wouldn’t be fair to start something and have to take off with you when you want to visit one of your other mausoleums. Marion’s classy, the kind of lady who deserves better than a wham, bam, see you next time your cousin wants to visit ma’am.”

  “According to your many entertaining stories, you’ve been wham-bamming her since way before you married her and that wasn’t an invitation to discuss the matter. Last thing I want to hear about is how often you and my cousin bam each other. I find it preferable to think about bamming my own wife which I could be doing right now if I was in my own home.”

  Victor’s total silence forced Donovan to glance away from the fire and at his friend. The words he finally spoke didn’t take away the chill in the room; instead the temperature dropped even further. “This is getting out of hand, Donovan. I know I mess with you sometimes but that’s in fun and you know it. You’re always so damned serious and in control and I like to make you step outside of those dark thoughts you always seem to have. Sure, it makes you a little crazy but you kinda like it. What’s happening now isn’t me messing around. I’m not married to your cousin. You’re not married and you don’t have any kids, in fact, you’ve said a million times you might never get married and you like your solitude. You live in this house when you’re training and you have a bunch of other places that you stop to say hello to when the mood hits you. It’s just you and me, Donovan. You work, you train submissives, and I look after you. That’s the way it’s been for as long as I’ve known you. None of this makes any sense to me. None of it.”

  Donovan looked into his friend’s eyes and a horrified realization started to take hold. “You’re serious. You aren’t just being your usual annoying self. You’re being completely honest and you have no idea what I’m talking about.” He buried his face in his hands. “How can this be? I don’t understand what’s happening. Where is Laci? Where are my kids? What the hell is going on?”

  Chapter Five ~ Darker

  The flames danced without care as Donovan continued staring at them and doing his best to understand. Was he remembering things that hadn’t happened? How was it possible he remembered an entire life that didn’t seem to exist? He looked up as he heard Victor enter the office, carrying a tray with coffee and sandwiches. “Victor, tell me the truth. Am I dead? Did my plane crash and I died and went to hell?”

  Victor shook his head. “Don’t think so. Seriously, Donovan, I know you like loyalty but that’s asking a little too much. I mean if you’re in hell then I’m dead too. Do you really expect me to off myself and join you for all eternity? And this place is too damned cold to be hell. Next time you decide to buy some depressing house, how about making it one that isn’t always freezing? Have something to eat. It might make you feel better.”

  “It won’t. I’m not hungry. Nothing is going to make me feel better until I know what’s happening to me. I must be dead. What other explanation is there?”

  “Well … maybe you fell into another dimension or a black hole. Maybe you’re having some kind of hallucinations. Could be you’re just crazy. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “You’re not helping.”

  “Well, I’m going to try. Talk to me Donovan. Tell me everything you remember and maybe I can help you figure out what’s happening to you.”

  S-K-E-P-T-I-C-A-L was written on Donovan’s face in giant letters. “Right. You’re crazier than I am. How can you possibly help? It’s probably your fault I’m having a breakdown. You and Trent. Both of you can equally share the responsibility for my downfall.”

  “Got any better ideas and who’s Trent? He was gonna get one of the play sets so he’s one of your imaginary kids, right?”

  “He only thinks he is,” Donovan muttered. “I’m talking about Trent Nichols. The actor.”

  “You know Trent Nichols? How come you never introduced him to me?”

  “You know him, too. The two of you have become spicy wing eating and beer drinking buddies with the common goal of annoying the shit out of me on a regular basis. He lives in Georgia with his wife and newborn daughter. He claims he can live a normal life in Georgia. Normal. Ha! He’s the one from another dimension — Trent-sylvania.”

  “This from the guy who goes around whacking people with a riding crop and getting paid for it. People who live in glass houses … Hey! Maybe the next house can be glass. That’d be warmer than all the dark, dismal places you buy.”

  “You’re still not helping.”

  “Sure I am. Glass lets the sunlight warm up a place, plus it’s all nice and cheery, and spicy wings are damn good so this Trent guy sounds okay but that’s another story. How about you start from the beginning and tell me your story?” Victor s
ettled in to listen.

  Donovan’s deep sigh echoed around the cavernous room. “Fine. I’ll try anything that might help. A few years ago Frank Harding sent a young woman to me for training. At least that was what he told me. Laci worked for a local magazine and he told her she was coming here to interview me. He lied to both of us for his own reasons.”

  “Okay. Stop. Your computer is right beside you and I know you keep files on every one of your clients. Look up this Harding guy and see if it helps you remember something.”

  “That’s actually a good idea.” Donovan opened his laptop, tapped in the access codes and started reading through files. After a few minutes he started to frown. “I don’t get it. There’s no Harding. It goes from Hardcastle to Hardwick but there’s no Harding. Victor, did you screw with my computer?”

  “As if … damned thing has more security than Fort Knox and the Federal Reserve Bank combined. Not that I’ve ever tried or anything. Go on with the story.”

  Donovan’s eyes narrowed. “Laci arrived here late one night and I thought it was for training so we did a few things to her that she didn’t especially like and, as soon as she had an opportunity, she tried to rip my head off which seemed to be a pretty good indication that she wasn’t especially submissive.”

  “Wait! You’re a Dominant and you married someone who’s not submissive?” Victor gleefully started rubbing his hands together. “This is gettin’ good. Go on.”

  “I went to see Harding, got him to admit he wanted Laci and she couldn’t stand him so he sent her to me figuring I’d break her and she’d end up being his sex slave. Perverted bastard. I’ve never trained anyone without their full consent and I couldn’t let that happen to her so I sent you and Laci to Kalake to keep her safe from Harding. When he found out she was gone, he poured fuel everywhere and set this place on fire.”