by Reyner, Jade
Elise decided to ignore that comment; out of the two of them she was fairly certain that Cole was the least insane.
“I was worried about you yesterday” she continued, all the while aware of Vaughn absorbing every word. “You tied it on fairly heavy – what on earth is going on with you these days?”
That, she knew, was a rhetorical question. They both knew what was going on but until Dale was willing to face up to his demons, nothing would change.
“I don’t really remember much,” he said, “I remember you leaving for work but from then, up until I got here, it’s all a bit of a blur.” Dale shook his head as if to encourage his memory cells to respond. “Vaughn has been telling me that he was the one that gave me the knock-out punch – he came to apologise.”
At her husband’s easy reference to Vaughn, Elise stiffened a little. It was clear that Dale was still in the dark about everything that had happened yesterday and she was grateful to Vaughn for his silence. Whilst she was feeling uncomfortable with the passion that had flared between the two of them, she was scared to realise that she didn’t actually regret it, and coming to that realisation whilst at her husband’s hospital bedside, was not something she was particularly proud of.
She could feel Vaughn’s eyes watching her as she continued to look at her husband and a telltale heat began to course through her.
“That was good of him.” she said, addressing Dale and continuing to ignore Vaughn in the hope of desperately trying to calm his effect on her.
“I know,” Dale replied, “Sounds weird but I’m actually grateful to him.”
Grateful?
“If it hadn’t been for him, I don’t know when I would have stopped. Seems like I was pretty wild and, as much as I dislike pretty-boy, I don’t want his murder on my hands!” He laughed humourlessly.
That was one way of looking at it she supposed, but if he hadn’t been so over the top in the first place then Cole would never have jumped in to defend her. Even though Dale was showing some remorse, she knew that he would never fully acknowledge his issues and admit that ultimately, he was the one at fault. He would still rather blame Cole for some nonexistent crime that he had long since decided that Cole had committed, than accept responsibility for his own actions.
Elise blew out a frustrated breath. This conversation would just go round and round in circles so she decided to change the subject and summoning her resolve, turned to address Vaughn.
“Mr Granger – it really is very kind of you to visit my husband and offer your apologies. We both appreciate your er.. part.. in this situation but I think Dale and I both agree that no apology is really necessary.”
For the first time since she had arrived, she risked looking at him properly and instantly regretted it. His eyes were studying her, scrutinising her and following her lips as they moved over the words when she spoke, tracing the outlines of her face and then dipping lower, roaming over her casual jeans and t-shirt and finally lingering on her breasts. As his eyes came back up to meet hers, she couldn’t miss the unmistakable heat in them and shivers began to form somewhere in the base of her spine and travel throughout her body. She repressed a shudder and crossed her arms over her breasts to prevent Vaughn from seeing the pointed evidence of her arousal brought about by his brief inspection. It was a fruitless gesture. Vaughn was well aware of the effect that he was having on her. That infuriating half smile when she looked back up at him indicated that he knew all too well what she was trying to cover up. The way this man made her feel was just insane, and Elise knew that she was way out of her depth.
Nervously she darted her eyes to the bed – if she was aware that Vaughn was mentally undressing her then surely so must Dale be. Thankfully, he was lying back with his eyes closed and she realised that Vaughn must have already known that. He seriously didn’t miss a thing.
She turned back to Vaughn, realising that he had not responded to her statement. This situation with him was becoming too close for comfort and she had an overwhelming urge to get him to leave – right now. She had no idea what game he was playing; all she knew was that by him being here, it was getting increasingly dangerous and she needed to get him to leave. He had no right to look at her like that. Maybe if she could convince herself that she felt no reciprocal attraction then she would stand a chance of getting away from this madness unscathed. She needed time alone with Dale, time to begin to help him to mend and heal, and to deal with whatever the future held for them. She couldn’t do that whilst her brain was scrambled by six-feet of scorching testosterone.
“I think you should leave now,” she tried again “Dale is tired, he needs his rest.”
She wondered absently if he was in the habit of making hospital calls or had he made an exception for her? It didn’t matter, but oddly, she found that it did.
“Elise...” it was the first time he had spoken since she had arrived, his smoky voice rolling over her name.
“I am pleased to see your husband – recovering.” he said, a glint of mischief visible in his too dark eyes. “It was quite a knock he took to his head.”
“Why are you here Vaughn? What the hell do you want?” Elise began to panic as she registered his expression and went straight into panic mode, convinced that this was it - he was going to mention what had happened between them yesterday.
“I needed to see him – sober.” Placing his fingers gently under her chin, he lifted her face up allowing their eyes to lock. “I needed to see what I was up against.”
Elise shivered involuntarily as their eyes continued to hold. Gathering every ounce of strength she removed his fingers and looked away.
“I don’t know what you think this is, Vaughn.” She glanced back to the bed and, hearing Dale lightly snoring, she took a few paces away and lowered her voice.
“We shared a ‘moment’. That was all. We were overwrought, emotions were running high – it was a release. It was nothing. A brief coming together in a time of need.”
Vaughn had also moved slightly away from the bed and reached over to lightly grasp her upper arm as she finished speaking.
“Look at me, Elise,” he commanded, shaking her gently when she refused to comply. “Look at me, dammit.”
Hesitantly she raised her eyes, unprepared for the hardness she saw on his face.
“Don’t you ever refer to what happened between us as nothing. It was a hell of a lot more than just a ‘moment’ and you and I both know that. You can deny it all you want but this is real and this is going to happen. If you cared anything for your marriage then you would never have let me touch you, let alone kiss you like I did.” He paused and shook his head.
“Your marriage is over, Elise, and you need to wake up to that fact.”
Shocked, she stood speechless at the simplicity with which this man had summed up her life. She had no reply or at least nothing that made any sense and so she stood waiting, feeling increasingly out of control.
He leaned closer into her and brushed his lips against her ear, re-igniting the shivers. His hand drifted down her arm and came to rest on her left hand, his fingers seeking and finding her ring finger which he lightly touched, before bringing his hand back up to cup the side of her face. His breath was hot and heavy in her ear.
“I am going to fuck you, Elise, soon. And you are going to love every minute of it.”
With a final lingering kiss on her neck, he collected his jacket from the chair and walked out of the hospital ward without a backward glance.
Dale snoozed much of the afternoon away, which was completely normal in cases of concussion, according to the nurses. At least it meant that he behaved and they were able to complete all of their tests without any of the dramas of yesterday.
The doctor had been round and reassured Elise that he would be absolutely fine after another good night and that she should probably leave him to rest. They would call her in the morning to confirm but she should be able to collect him around 11am.
Taking their advice, she
decided to head home to give herself enough time to grab some food and a shower before she was due to meet Celeste and the others for their night out at Indigo.
Now that the evening was approaching, Elise was beginning to feel nervous and started thinking about changing her mind – pleading a headache or something similar. Caught up in the moment this morning with Celeste, it had seemed like a great idea. She knew that it would do her good to get out there and have some quality girly time, but this morning’s runin with Vaughn had unsettled her. The main problem was that she was shattered; mentally and physically and wanted nothing more than a hot bath and a good book. Anything to escape from the reality of her life.
Dale had been on much better form today and she had started to see the man that she had fallen in love with coming back to her. Although the abstinence from alcohol was forced, it was much needed and Elise now hoped that he had the strength to continue with the treatment and give them a proper chance when he got out of hospital.
She hadn’t mentioned her plans for the evening to him as that would have only caused a scene. She hated lying to him but she reassured herself that she was doing it with the best of intentions. He was mentally fragile enough without the added stress of knowing that she was going out without him. She also knew that if she had told him, then he would have forbidden her from going and she hated that he had that much of the balance of power in their relationship.
Arriving home, Elise was still trying to summon up the energy to get herself ready to go out. Although she had managed to square the evening out in her head, she still had to contend with her lack of enthusiasm. She was fairly certain that one of more of her counterparts would be completely wasted by the end of the night and she really wasn’t sure if she was up to witnessing that. Christ, why did everything in her life always seem to come back to alcohol?
Plodding up the stairs to her bedroom, she was immediately met by the sight of her new ‘killer’ dress hanging on her wardrobe and suddenly some of her earlier enthusiasm returned. The dress was simple, a deep navy coloured sheath which set off her eyes. The front had a light cowl neck, which scooped just above her breasts with the back dropping to halfway down her back before flaring out over her backside to rest just above her knees. The skirt was fitted and Elise had fallen in love with the dress on sight. Whilst she was relatively slender, she did had curves and sometimes found it hard to buy clothes that flattered, particularly when most of them these days seemed to be manufactured for stick insects. This dress however, fitted her perfectly and she knew that she looked good. The plan was to wear it with sheer tights and her favourite pair of navy heeled sandals.
Lightly fingering the material, she made her decision – she would go out tonight and she would have a good time. Celeste was always a good laugh and, as long as she knew some of the music, she would be able to dance the night and maybe some of her worries away.
Glancing at the clock, she opted for a quick shower and shave before dressing and applying her make-up. She very rarely used make-up but, now and again, she treated herself to a bit of pampering. She had decided to tie her hair up in a loose bun in deference to the openness of the back of her dress and added some fairly heavy eyeliner to complement the look.
After slipping on her heels, she took a final look in the mirror, pleased with what she saw. She didn’t scrub up too bad for someone in their thirties and she was surprised to find herself looking forward to the evening ahead.
Before heading out the door, she grabbed her jacket and keys and made a quick call to the hospital to make sure that Dale was still alright and that they had her mobile number in case. All was well and they promised to call her should there be any changes so she locked up and walked to her car, a state of almost nervous excitement encompassing her. It felt a bit like playing hooky and she had to train herself to stop keep looking over her shoulder for someone to pop out, just ready to burst her new found bubble of independence.
Elise had offered to drive as she knew that she would be picking Dale up in the morning and given what alcohol did to her husband, it wasn’t high on her list of priorities anyway. Celeste had arranged to meet the others there so she only had one stop to collect Celeste before getting on the main coast road and heading out to Indigo.
Celeste looked amazing. Never one to be a wallflower she had finally settled on a tight-fitting gold sequined dress, which finished a good few inches above her knees. She too had tied her brunette hair up and gone heavy on the eyeliner so they were both inadvertently rocking a similar look.
Celeste was bouncing up and down on the seat beside, Elise bursting with excitement. She had met an old friend of hers in town after Elise had left to go to the hospital and he turned out to be one of the bouncers at Indigo. Celeste had worked her magic and he had agreed to get them a free pass and access to the VIP area. Celeste couldn’t stop telling Elise how lucky they were - a VIP pass meant free drinks and the best view in the house, not to mention, hot rich single men. Elise groaned at that part. The last thing she needed in her life right now was any more hot, rich and single men.
Chapter Eleven
True to his word, Celeste’s friend had left passes for them at the door and they were ushered into the club and straight to the VIP area. The club was large; situated on two floors with the lower floor consisting mainly of the dance floor and a few booths with a small bar in the corner, whilst the upper floor had seating areas, the main bar, and a gallery which allowed guests to view the dance floor below.
The VIP area was next to the gallery and had its own bar, booths with privacy screens and a full height glass panel looking down onto the dance floor. It had been designed to allow its members a full view of the rest of the club but also to give them privacy and some measure of tranquillity too. The instant they entered the area Elise fell in love with it, recognising it as a sanctuary from all the mayhem below.
Choosing an unoccupied booth, Celeste wasted no time in calling Amelia and Annabel for whom she had also secured VIP passes. They were on their way to pick up Olivia so Celeste told them where they were and said they would see them in a few.
A uniformed waiter arrived on silent feet and Elise giggled with the lavishness of it all as she ordered a glass of wine - her one allowance for the night. After that, she would be drinking water in deference to driving and for the first time she actually regretted her decision to drive.
Celeste ordered a fancy cocktail - some name that Elise had never heard of before - and then cheekily swatted the waiter’s backside as he walked off to get their drinks.
“’Leste! You’ll get us thrown out and we’ve only just arrived!” implored Elise, “Behave!”
“Nah! What’s the point of that?? Besides, we’re in the VIP area, I’m sure he’s used to a lot worse than a swat on his delectable derriere!” Both women giggled and then were silent for a moment, taking in their surroundings.
Up here secluded from general view, it was like being in another world and, although Elise could hear the music pumping down below, it was a revelation to be in a club without having to stand on top of someone and shout directly in their ear in order to communicate. You could tell how long it had been since she’d last been in a club. Back then, they had been more like mosh pits and general all-around scrums with absolutely no way you could talk to anyone – you just ended up gesticulating and hoping it made some kind of sense. She didn’t even realise that clubs had VIP areas or if maybe it was just this club. She was so out of touch she really didn’t have a clue.
Their drinks had arrived and they downed them in an unhealthy amount of time, keen to get out onto the dance floor although they had decided that they would wait until the others arrived. A loud squeal erupted from the doorway and they both simultaneously stretched out of their booth looking around to see Amelia, Annabel and Olivia arriving, eyes wide in total disbelief.
Spotting Elise and Celeste they hurried over, all three clearly bursting with undisguised excitement.
“Oh. My. God. C
eleste. This is waaaay cool,” said Annabel, who had chosen a bright red off-the-shoulder number which highlighted her auburn hair. Looking at her now, Elise could see why Cole would want to hook up with her; she was absolutely stunning and had a figure to die for. Elise didn’t know her very well and despite being one of the more indiscreet members of staff, Elise had a feeling that they could become friends – eventually. They would just have to get over the whole Cole, Dale and Vaughn incident first.
Annabel glanced over at Elise who had subconsciously shrunk back into the booth when the other girls had arrived. Catching her eye, Annabel mouthed “You OK?” and the concern in her face seemed genuine. Shocked, Elise managed a weak smile and a small thumbs up and then the moment passed and Annabel was back to her usual self, ordering a large vodka and coke from the passing waiter to ‘get the party started’.
Amelia and Olivia also looked beautiful. Both had gone heavier on the make-up than Annabel whose natural beauty really didn’t require much help. Olivia had opted for hot pants over sheer black tights with a silver sequined top and had finished the look off with knee high leather boots. The look was almost of a dominatrix and Elise had to prevent the smile from forming as she thought of Vaughn and what he had potentially let himself in for the other night. Who knew that inside this shy new girl was a strong independent woman waiting to get out? Abruptly she stopped her train of thought as she realised that she was thinking about Vaughn again.
Amelia was the only one of them who had opted for trousers although they were skin tight leather which made Elise’s eyes water wondering how on earth she had managed to pour herself into them. She wore a cream satin halter top which left her midriff exposed, and sported a visible black bra underneath. The look was good and suited her although the bitch in Elise did wonder if it was just a bit too obvious. Whilst she had nothing personal against Amelia, she knew that Cole was having issues with her and although she had no idea what had gone on between the two of them, her sense of duty and love for her best friend dictated that she side with him - even without knowing anything about the situation. Maybe that was wrong but she trusted Cole’s judgement implicitly and if he felt that she was a bitch, then she guessed that there must be a good reason.
