Kisses and Revenge

by Riser, Cherron

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Soreness blissfully reminded her of her night with Warren. He was always passionate and aggressive, but he had taken it to a whole new level this time. Not that Leslie was complaining. She loved being able to feel him even when he wasn't there. It reminded her of how much pleasure he had given her and made her body quiver in response.

  Smiling, Leslie pulled herself out of the bed and gave her body a deep stretch. Clothes were everywhere, littering the floor and making her giggle. She had decided a shower would be the best way to start the day, and then she would get started on packing. Somewhere in her files was the number to the real estate agent who had sold the house to Adam and her, and she felt it only right that they help sell it now that she was getting ready to move in with Warren.

  Once she was showered, Leslie went into the office and started to search the room for where they kept the records for the house contracts. Adam had always made sure to keep the files organized, and Leslie was sure the records would be in the room somewhere. The office wasn't a room she often ventured into, especially not since her husband's death. It was strange for her to be in there, seeing everything pretty much the way he had left it.

  Opening drawers and folders, Leslie got to work. All of their bills and taxes had been carefully labeled in a filing cabinet. Leslie was surprised that Adam had done such a good job with keeping records. Slowly checking each file, she shook her head as she realized the drawer she was in was not the one she was looking for.

  With a sigh, she tried the next one and cocked her head to the side as she realized it was locked. Her face crinkled up a bit as she pulled again, trying to get the drawer to open. Unable to make it budge, she looked around for a key or something that would break the lock. Settling on an envelope opener, she jammed it into the lock until it opened with a loud pop, sending the drawer flying out toward her.

  At first, Leslie expected to see some sort of safe or other valuable items in the drawer. However, unlike the other files, this drawer was filled with a mass of strewn about papers. Reaching in, she pulled out a pile of them and started going through them. Her heart started to race as she realized what she was looking at. Letters. There were hundreds of them stacked in some sort of haphazard fashion as if tossed in the drawer to be forgotten about. Why would Adam have just thrown these letters in the drawer? She stacked them all together; some were printed emails, and others were handwritten missives. All of them were shocking.

  Carefully Leslie began to read the letters, as if they were from another world. The first one was from his father, telling him about concerns he had over Warren and his reckless behavior. It wasn't the first time Leslie had heard such things, and she wasn't sure why something like that would be in a locked drawer. Shuffling it to the back of the stack, she read the next one. It was from Warren, and it was very violent and argumentative. The email conversation was over their company and how Warren wanted to work and Adam wanted Warren to grow up.

  More of the same followed, all of them nasty and hateful from both brothers. The more she read, the more she started to see just how bad their relationship had gotten. Shaking, she read more and more of the letters, some going back to before Adam and Leslie had even gotten married. She had always known Warren cared about her, but several of the notes spoke about his love for her and how angry he was Adam had been the one to get her. In a couple of instances, Warren even threatened to hurt Adam for "stealing the love of his life."

  The whole thing was disturbing, and before she could stop herself, she began to throw the letters back in the drawer, not wanting to see any more of them. It wasn't what she had come into the room to do, and it certainly wouldn't change anything going forward. Taking a few moments to breathe and collect herself again, Leslie went back to looking for the mortgage paperwork so she could make arrangements to put the house up for sale. It took her a little while, but she finally found the information she had been searching for. David Arlington, real estate agent.

  Relieved to have found the card, she picked up the phone and called the number, hoping it would be the same after all the years that had passed. "David Arlington, how may I help you?"

  "Hello, Mr. Arlington, my name is Leslie Finn. A couple of years ago my husband and I bought a house from you." Leslie figured it would be best to introduce herself first before proceeding forward.

  "Yes, I remember. Lovely place right on the beach. How are you doing? Is there something I can do to help?" he answered. He had that voice that made him sound friendly and egotistical all at the same time. Leslie was sure it was a sales thing.

  "I am hoping so. My husband passed away this last year, and I am looking to sell the house now. I was wondering if you would be interested in helping me with that," Leslie returned, noticing that it was starting to hurt less and less to talk about Adam's death.

  "Oh, I am so sorry to hear that. I couldn't imagine what you must be going through. Yes, Mrs. Finn. I would be more than happy to help you put the house on the market. It is such a lovely house with a great location. I am sure we would be able to sell it fairly quickly." The sympathy in his voice was real, at least, and made Leslie feel better about her choice.

  "That is good to hear. I appreciate you helping me out. We enjoyed working with you when we bought the house, so you were the first person I could think of to call." Relaxing a bit, Leslie began to doodle on the writing pad on the desk, not even realizing she was doing it.

  "Well, if it is all right with you, I could come out this afternoon and take a look, get some pictures, and we could go over some details. I am honored you thought to call me first, and I promise to do everything I can to make sure you get the best deal possible," Mr. Arlington suggested. For the next several minutes, they went over schedules and got a time together for them to meet up. Leslie wanted to have enough time to make sure the house was cleaned up before he came over, not that it was necessarily messy, but if it was to get ready to sell, she knew she wanted it to be perfect.

  ***

  David Arlington looked like his voice, friendly and determined. He stepped out of his metallic beige BMW, pulling his sunglasses off and placing them in the pocket of his suit blazer. His blond hair was cut short with just enough length he could comb it back. He was a bit tall with an athletic build. His skin had that light tan many people in Florida seemed to sport, and his winning smile rested on his charming square jawline. It was like looking at a nicely dressed Ken doll.

  He walked over to where Leslie stood in the door, extending his hand out to her to shake. "It is good to see you again, Mrs. Finn."

  "Oh, please, you can call me Leslie. No one ever calls me Mrs. Finn," Leslie laughed, giving him a firm handshake. Leslie had never been the type to give weak handshakes.

  "Well then, Leslie it is. Again, I am sorry to hear about your husband. Now, if you don't mind, may I have a look through the house again? Do you have a price in mind you wish to sell it for?" Mr. Arlington asked.

  Leslie smiled and opened the door wider so they could both enter. She wasn't really sure what she was doing being on the selling end of the deal, but she trusted David to lead her in the right direction. He took his time walking through the house, checking out everything to make sure there was no new damage or if they had done any repairs or renovations. There was a huge smile on his face as he walked through the house. "We haven't done much, but it is still in great condition. Adam was adamant about making sure he got anything fixed right away when he found it. He said it was better to repair early before it turned into something big."

  "You had a very smart husband. The house looks beautiful. I am very certain you will make money off of this. With the growing market and how nice the place looks, I know I can get you a good deal on this," David said, pulling out a camera so he could go around and take some pictures. Leslie felt nervous about selling the house, but Warren had been right about maintaining two houses.

  "I am actually going to start packing things up soon, so if you want to come back and
get pictures of it empty as well, you can. I am moving into my husband's family house. I think it will be easier if I am not here," Leslie explained as David took all the pictures he wanted.

  "Whatever you think is best. It is easier to sell an empty house, that is for sure," David answered.

  Once in the kitchen, he pulled out some paperwork and a blue pen. He went over all the information on how to put the house on the market, pricing, and what to expect from him. She read over everything carefully and filled in the pieces she needed to in order to make the paperwork official. Signing the last document, David informed her he would send over copies of everything when he got to his office and shook her hand again. "I am so glad to be working with you again. I am sure we will be able to get your house sold fairly quickly."

  Showing David out, Leslie could feel herself shaking. The reality hit hard, but deep down she knew she was doing the right thing. Once David was gone, Leslie went into the living room and started to pack up things. She had a pile of newspapers to wrap up breakables figuring that was the best place to start. Most of her things would end up in a storage shed somewhere. The things she wanted to keep, she would just drive over to Warren's house. Their house. The whole concept was still taking a little getting used to.

  Warren had told her he would like her to be moved in by the end of the week, but she was sure it wouldn't take that long to get her things packed up and moved. She would call to see about getting movers to help her with the transporting of the stuff to the storage unit. Getting lost in the mundane task of packing, she jumped when she heard the door open and close. Walking in with boxes and other packing things, Warren set everything down and came over to her, giving her a kiss.

  "I got some of these from a client. They were misprints and they were going to throw them out. I thought you could use them for packing. How did the talk with the agent go?" Warren asked, leaning down to give her a kiss. The little things he did always seemed to make her day.

  "I think it went really well, and he said he should be able to sell it quickly. He is pretty sure it will sell for a great price and I will make some money off of it. That will be nice. I can put it back for when we want to do something special or doing any repairs on your house," Leslie answered, setting the figurines she had been wrapping down on the table.

  "That is good to hear. I want to make sure you get the best out of your house. I know how much it meant to you and how hard the idea of moving has been on you." Warren took a seat next to her on the couch and looked around. "Wow, baby, you have done an amazing job in here. I can't believe how much you have gotten done."

  "It is amazing what having nothing to do can accomplish. Though, we should probably order some pizza or something for diner. I didn't bother since I'm trying to get everything washed and dried before I pack it up," Leslie answered, looking around the room. She really had managed to get a lot of work done, and it pleased her to know she would have the place packed up and ready when the week was over.

  "Makes sense. I can order something if you want to take a break. You have been working hard all day. Let's have dinner and maybe watch a movie or something. No one should work all the time." He gave her a wicked grin, telling her that watching a movie meant also flirting and playing. He was not good at just sitting there and watching a show. A hot blush worked its way up her cheeks, and she shook her head at his words.

  "Incorrigible," Leslie laughed, getting up and stretching. "Yeah, I will go take a quick shower while you get us some food."

  Wiggling her butt at him as she walked out of the room, she couldn't help the huge smile that burst out over her face at the sound of his laughter. Leaving her old home would be difficult, yes, but living with Warren was probably going to be the best decision she had made in a long time.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  It had taken a little over a week for Leslie to get her house packed and moved into a storage unit and her to get moved in with Warren. Even though they planned to stay in the same room together, Warren had also given her a room to herself for times she wanted privacy and so she would have plenty of room for the things she really wanted to keep with her and not store. For the first couple of days, Leslie had been a bit disoriented, especially when she first woke up, but after that she started to feel more at home.

  Not much really changed from how things were before, only the location. Warren spent long hours at work, coming home late in the evening. They would eat dinner then spend time together, often ending the night in wild sex. Leslie was surprised with how quickly and easily they were able to fall into a routine, and she wasn't really sure she liked it.

  To add to her discomfort about the monotony, Warren seemed less and less interested in her as the days went on, as if now that she was there she was no longer interesting. He demanded more of her as well, wanting her to cook, clean, and be available to him at all times. She wasn't sure if it was the overall stress of moving making her see things opposingly or if there really was a problem, but Leslie was starting to feel very out of place. Not having Sharron to talk to didn't help either. She had not tried to reach her ever since their fight about work.

  Leslie was starting to think Sharron had been right.

  Sitting on the swing on the balcony outside of the master bedroom, she thought about how distant she had become with everyone in her life. Warren was really the only person she saw anymore. Even her visits with Dr. Halbert had lessened. The doctor didn't seem to agree with her life choices, and it had become increasingly stressful for her to go to the appointments. Now it seemed most of her days were spent alone, only to entertain Warren in the evenings. She wasn't sure if it was depression, because the feelings weren't as powerful as the extreme despair she felt over losing Adam, but she certainly wasn't happy.

  The sound of Warren's car echoed down the drive, and Leslie turned to watch the car make its way toward the garage. A sinking feeling came over her, but she got up to head downstairs to greet him. As usual he came in with a wicked grin and charming aura, but it wasn't having much of an effect on her. "You are home early. I haven't even started dinner yet."

  Warren walked over to her, taking her face in his hands and pulling her to look up at him. She could see him trying to read her, figure out what was going on in her mind. It was interesting to watch the thoughts roll through his eyes as he peered into hers. "I was starting to get worried about you. You haven't seemed like yourself the last couple of days. It was bothering me so I came home early today. Figured maybe we should talk about some stuff."

  How was it he seemed to always know what to say and when to say it? It was like he had a line directly to her mind. She screwed her face up a bit, curious and surprised. "How ... how do you always seem to know this stuff?"

  "Leslie, I love you. It is part of my job to know when you are upset and need me. I told you I was going to take care of you, and I'm going to keep that promise." He pulled her in tighter to him and kissed the top of her head.

  She couldn't help but wonder if part of her melancholy was caused by the letters she had found when she was packing up the house. She hadn't talked to him about them, not wanting to bring up bad memories for him either, but they certainly had been heaving on her mind. She had ended up searching the drawer thoroughly, reading each letter. There were even accusations Adam had been cheating on her with some of the women at work. All of it had been shocking.

  "I know you did. You do a great job. I think the change is just difficult to deal with. I feel so alone these days, especially since Sharron and I had our falling out," Leslie answered, pulling away and walking toward the living room.

  Leslie had always liked the living room here. It had an old southern feel to it with all the wood trimming and knick-knack decorations. On the mantel over the fireplace was the urn Adam had been put in. It was one of the few things Leslie had asked Warren to let her do. Looking to the mantel, she realized the pain was less, but she still missed her husband, and the loneliness only made it worse.

  "Leslie,
I know losing Sharron was hard on you, but she was trying to make you do things you didn't want to do. You know once you get settled you will feel better. Leslie, I want you happy. It is important to me. I can't always be here though. I have a company to run now, and I'm having to figure it all out because no one ever took the time to teach me. Do you know how hard it is to be thrust into that?" Warren said, walking into the room behind her. His arms circled around her, and he once again pulled her close. It was something he loved to do. Having her tight in his arms was very important to him, it seemed, and he was almost always touching her if they were in the same room.

  "That is just it. You can't be around all the time, so I am here alone with nothing to do and no one to talk to. My mind is starting to run away with me, and I'm starting to feel like the only reason you wanted me here was so I could keep your house clean and make your dinner. I know you say you care about me, but sometimes it feels like I'm just a trophy, and now that you have me, you are ready for something else." Leslie turned, moving away from him again. She refused to be persuaded by his warm arms. This was really bothering her, and it needed to be discussed.

  "Do you think I'm cheating on you? Leslie, if I could, I would stay with you all day. When I'm gone, you are the only thing I think about, but I have to work too. You told Adam to trust me to be a man. He isn't here now, neither are my parents, so it is up to me to be a man. I have no reason to cheat on you. You are the only one I have ever wanted in my life," Warren protested, a hurt look crossing his face.