“Do you really have to ask?” He passes by me and stares up at the first portrait. “I knew it was you the moment I saw them. Your body…” His voice sounds like warm milk. “The curve of your hip. Your skin. I remember every piece of you, Alice.”
I look away from them, sick with disgust. “So you bought them all,” I whisper, “so no one else could own me.”
“You don’t sound surprised.”
“You never let me go at all…” I swallow hard to keep the lump in my throat at bay. “Did you?”
Charles turns to me now and he shows me his true face. His forehead casts a shadow over his eyes, an eager menace rousing from a deep slumber. “No,” he says.
“I knew it.” I feel no satisfaction in the phrase. Vindication, yes. But no satisfaction.
He holds his head high and shows me no sign of remorse. “For five years, I’ve watched you stumble through a life without me. Every twist and turn. Every failed lover. I know you better than you know yourself.”
“Why?” I ask him. “Why would you go through the trouble?”
“Because eventually…” he clicks his tongue, “I’d find a weakness. Something I could use to my advantage.”
“And you found… what? My mother? My boyfriend’s career? Who the hell do you think you are?”
“You know exactly who I am, Alice,” he says.
“That doesn’t make this okay.” I shake my head. “You could have come to me. You didn’t have to involve him or my mother.”
“Would you have listened? No, Alice. I wanted to remind you what you felt for me once, and I could only do that by making you believe you could never have it again,” he says. “You felt it. I saw it all over your face… and I see it again right now.”
“Stop it, Charles. This isn’t right.”
“You missed me, just as I’ve missed you. Even more than you’ll miss that artist.”
“Leave him out of this,” I warn.
“You’ve wasted enough time being his muse,” Charles observes. “Cut him loose, Alice.”
“He’s talented.”
“He’s mediocre — at best.” His eyes fall on the portraits once more. “No, darling, the only thing that makes these pictures worth gawking at is you.”
“Don’t call me that.”
“And you…” He shakes his head slowly. “A poor waitress.”
“It’s respectable work,” I argue.
“It’s wasted potential.” He sighs and stares me down. “No, quit the job. Ditch the boy. He’s worthless, Alice. The only reason he carries more than lint in his pockets right now is because of me.”
I bite my tongue to keep from screaming. “You’re a monster,” I hiss through my teeth.
“I’m a realist.” He takes a step towards me, but I counter him with a step back. “Your boy will continue to be a success because of my silent influence, I can promise you that…” His eyes flick up and down. “But you’ll have to promise me something first.”
I shake my head. “No. I’m not giving you anything else.”
“Then you’ll both starve,” he growls with dark eyes. “Stay with him, Alice, and he’ll lose everything. You can keep the money I’ve gifted him, but it will run dry very quickly… and I’ll make sure he never sells another piece for as long as you’re both together.”
I tremble. Even after all these years, his tongue cuts deep. He has me trapped, but I fight hard inside not to admit it. “What do you want, Charles?”
“Leave him,” he says. “Return to me. His work will continue to sell… and I’ll support you.”
“I don’t need your support.”
He smiles. “I know you don’t, Alice. You can keep fighting tooth and nail to hold yourself afloat in the big, bad city, and I have no doubts that you’ll survive — if that’s your definition of living. You’re more than capable of taking care of yourself, but you’ll never make it if you have to hold his head above water, too.”
“That’s not true.” My voice shakes.
“Consider, for a moment, what a life with me can provide for you. You’ve tasted it before. Imagine complete and utter freedom to be whomever you want to be.”
“I’d rather starve.”
Charles leans in closer. “You’re lying,” he whispers. He reaches out to me but I turn away before he can reach me.
“I never should have let you touch me.” I hold back my tears, fighting with all of my strength. “You’re trying to manipulate me again, but it won’t work this time.”
“There’s that word again,” he says, ticking his tongue. “I don’t remember you dodging responsibility for your actions so much before. You’re better than this, Alice. No, you chose my bed, just as you chose to return to it each time after.”
“You seduced me.”
“Of course, I did.” His lips curl. “It’s what I do, Alice. I made that very clear to you before I ever laid a hand on you.”
My tears flow freely down my cheeks. “I was just a child.”
“And you still are,” he notes, “but I want you all the same.”
“Until someone younger and prettier walks by.”
“I’ve had younger. I’ve had prettier,” he says. “I want you.”
“Does this really sound like consent to you, Charles?” I ask him.
He tilts his head. “Sometimes, a little persuasion is necessary.”
“You’re despicable.” I turn on my heels and march out of the room.
He follows me closely and grabs my arm at the top of the stairs. “You know, Alice…” He jerks me around to face him and his eyes hint at the dark fringes of anger. “Instead of casting blame at the easiest target in the room—”
“St—”
“—I want you to turn the spotlight on yourself until you realize that I gave you exactly what you wanted and nothing more.” His voice maintains a slow and steady rhythm. He reaches out to cup my face. I involuntarily lean into it. “Accept it, Alice. Push aside any feelings of shame and discomfort and admit to yourself, and to me, once and for all, that you enjoyed every minute of the time we spent together and that you haven’t gotten it quite as good from any other man since then.”
“Get away from me.”
He lets go of my arm but keeps close with his hand on my cheek. “Drop the hatred and see yourself as I see you — as I’ve always seen you and will always see you — no matter what you do to pull away from me.” My senses tremble with a deep fire. “I became a desperate man the night you walked away from me, Alice,” he whispers. “I struggled with the loss of you for... far too long. Tell me, darling, how does it feel to break an unbreakable man?”
“Charles…” I whisper his name, feeling the entire weight of it against my lips. “You’re not the only one who’s broken.”
He takes me into his arms. I allow his embrace to take me in as desire pulls me down. “I know,” he whispers. “I have nothing more to say. The choice is yours, Alice.”
“There is no choice,” I mutter. “You’ve made sure of that.”
His fingers push against my chin and he tilts my face up to his. “There is always a choice, darling,” he whispers. “Some are just better than others.”
“I want to marry him.”
He exhales a laugh. “Alice…”
“What?”
“You? The blushing bride…” He regards me with amusement and shakes his head. “That life is beneath you. Isn’t it?”
“Why?” I ask. “Because it’s ordinary?” I shrug. “Maybe you were wrong about me from the start, Charles.”
He narrows his eyes and stares at me. “No, Alice,” he whispers. His thumb grazes my bottom lip. I taste his skin. “Not about this.”
His words jolt my heart, each beat sending painful agony throughout my body. “This isn’t fair,” I say.
He nods his head. “Fate never is.”
“And what about my mother?” I ask. “Was she just a pawn to you?”
“She was a means to an end.”
> “This will destroy her, Charles…”
“She will be fine,” he smirks. “Trust me.”
“But what about me?” I ask. “I’ll lose everything.”
“You’ll never lose me, Alice.” His lips slip across mine as he speaks, but he refuses to give in. “I promise.”
I cling to him, my heart racing in my chest. He wipes the tears from my cheeks and smiles down at me. The passion takes me, far deeper than it ever has before. I push up onto my toes and find his lips once. Twice.
I pull away and rush down the stairs. “I can’t—” I breathe.
He’s on me fast, quickly overrunning me down the stairs and blocking my path. “Alice—” he groans my name and takes me back into his arms.
I fall for him all over again and let his tongue explore my mouth. He tastes so good, so familiar. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted and more. I fall back onto the stairs as my knees quake beneath us. He stays on me, clinging to me like a magnet.
“Charles…” The stairs dig into my back, pressing against my spine as he pushes my legs apart. “Don’t…” I sigh as I feel his strong hands pull my panties down to my ankles.
He leans over me, facing me, locking eyes with me. “Stop me, Alice,” he challenges me.
He’s giving me a way out. He’ll stop if I ask him to.
The word lies on the tip of my tongue.
No.
Charles lives by this principle. All I have to do is open my mouth and say it out loud.
No.
One syllable lies between myself and freedom.
I kiss him instead.
He raises my skirt as he descends my body. My fingers blend with his black hair. His warm breath strikes my folds and I melt like butter. I can’t fight my desire for him. I stop fighting.
His tongue splits my delicate tissues. My screams of ecstasy echo through the foyer. I grip the railing above with trembling fingers. I can’t move. I can’t think about anything other than how good his tongue feels against my clitoris. His ravenous hunger dominates me. He moans against me and I feel the vibrations deep inside.
“Charles!” I call his name, the name I’ve dreamed of calling out again and again.
His teeth release me and he grabs his belt while I squirm on the stairs. I try to catch my breath, but he gives me no reprieve. I purr with desire as I feel his cock against me again. This passion for him, suppressed for five years, returns with a startling vengeance. I cling to him as enters me and pounds me harder than I’ve had it in years. I didn’t realize how much I missed it. His thickness fills me perfectly and I buck my hips to meet his eager thrusts.
Charles grunts with each movement. He grabs my wrists and forces them above my head, holding me in place while he watches me submit to him.
I close my eyes and we exchange another kiss of passion. My taste buds ignite and my senses soar to experience him all over again.
“Look at me, Alice,” he whispers.
I obey without question. He stares down at me, studying me as he always did, and smiles as his own passions meet mine. I ride his wave to a powerful orgasm, larger and more breathtaking than I’ve ever known, and watch the satisfaction peak in his eyes.
With one, final growl, he pumps his warm desire deep inside of me. I throb around him, milking him for every drop as our bodies shake against each other.
As my desires subside and my pulse diminishes, my rational mind returns. Each thought pieces together one-by-one, and I realize with full clarity the mistake I’ve made.
I pull my wrists free of his grasp and push against him. Charles stumbles backward but remains upright above me.
“Get away from me,” I cry with shivering lips. I push my skirt back down in shame and silently curse my warm sex for pulsating with satisfaction. I shield myself from him. Tears form in my eyes. I cradle my head in my shaking hands.
Charles pulls his trousers back up, inhaling long and slow breaths. He passes by me on the stairs, ascending to the second level, and leaves me alone with my misery.
What have I done?
It repeats over and over again in my head. I pray for a miracle, a twist in time that’ll take me back to the moment I decided to come back here. I pinch myself, convinced it’s all just a cruel dream.
Percy, I’m so sorry.
When he returns to me, Charles carries a glass of water and a white pill in his palm. He offers them both to me.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Emergency contraception.”
I take the pill, place it on my tongue, and force it down without the aid of water.
“Alice—”
“Shut up.” I grip the railing but find no strength in my limbs to pull myself up. “Just — get away from me.” I sit in a shaking heap and I turn away from him, hiding myself from his prying eyes.
Charles descends the remaining stairs and sets the glass down the entry table near the door. I hear him lingering there, waiting for me to move, but I keep my head down.
“Stand up,” he demands.
“No.” I wipe the tears off my face.
“Stand up, Alice.”
I force myself up and lean on the railing for support. “Dammit, Charles,” I stutter. “Stop. Just stop! Isn’t this what you wanted?”
He says nothing and stares back at me with emotionless eyes.
I push down the stairs, darting towards him, hating him as much as I hate myself. “You give me the life I want. You make all of my dreams come true… all in exchange for my body. That was the deal, right? We’ll make each other happy! It’s more important than love!”
“Alice—”
“See, Charles?” I hold up my hands and present my tortured face to him. “Don’t you see how happy we make each other?!” He blinks once. “Are you even listening?” I weep at him. “Do you even care about what I’m going through right now?”
“Do you think I enjoy seeing you like this?” he asks. “Do you think it brings me pleasure?”
“Oh, I think you’re very pleased with yourself right now—”
“On the contrary, Alice,” he says, “I get no satisfaction from this.”
“You make me sick.”
“You’ll get over it, I promise.”
My lips tremble. “Your promises are worth nothing to me now, Charles.”
“My promises are worth more to you than you realize, I assure you.”
“Charles Kent,” I mock, “the patron saint of knowing what women want.”
“No, Alice,” he laughs. “Just you.” I brush past him and move slowly towards the door. “Where are you going, Alice?”
My hand rests on the door handle. “I’m going home.” I wipe my eyes and grab my purse off the table. “I can’t stand to look at you right now.”
“Let Harvey take you,” he says. “You’re in no state to drive.”
“Yes, master,” I snap as I pull the door open. I don’t wait to hear his response. I slam the door closed behind me and I travel the short walk down to the black car.
***
“Ms. Hughes.”
I stare straight ahead, unable to speak. The car isn’t moving anymore. The world passes by my window, living and thriving while I can do little else but watch. I recognize the street. It’s my street, the one I live on inside a small and cozy downtown apartment with my fiance. That’s what it was an hour ago, but now—
“Ms. Hughes.”
I blink and a tear tumbles down my cheek. “Sorry, Harvey,” I say as I wipe it away. I look up and see that he’s turned around in his seat.
“Are you all right, Ms. Hughes?”
I chuckle slightly. “No,” I say. “No, Harvey. I’m not.”
He smiles at me with warm eyes and turns back around. The car lurches forward and we pull back into traffic.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“Where would you like to go, Ms. Hughes?”
I swallow to force my tears down. “I want to go home, but…” I wipe the moisture from my nose.
“I don’t know if I can.”
“One can always go home again,” Harvey says as we round the first corner. “Otherwise, it was never our home in the first place.”
I shake my head. “I suppose that’s true for some,” I say.
“It was true for Mr. Kent.”
I meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. “What?” I ask.
“I knew a young man once,” he begins with a sigh. “He had great ambition, a brilliant and colorful mind, but he was reckless — as youth often are.” The car turns to the right. “He left home with a smile on his face, determined to be something more than what he was born to be.”
“What happened to him?”
“He came home.”
I stare out the window and watch the street until we turn again. “Why did he come home?” I ask.
“He experienced a great personal tragedy,” Harvey answers. “After which he felt he had nowhere else to turn to. My point, Ms. Hughes, is that home isn’t always where the heart is, but where we are most met with open arms.”
“Are you telling me that love isn’t important?” I ask, remembering Charles’ words.
“I’m telling you that forgiveness is,” he says. “And if you are not welcome at home, well… then perhaps you should find a new home.”
I stare straight ahead for a few minutes until the car comes to a stop once more. I recognize my street again and watch as pedestrians pass by the car.
“Thank you, Harvey,” I tell him.
“Take care of yourself, Ms. Hughes.”
I nod as I push the door open and step outside.
***
I hear him stirring in the bedroom as I step into the apartment.
“Alice?” His voice brings me happiness, but it doesn’t last long. I wander into the kitchen as he walks in from the bedroom.
“Hi,” I say to him.
He immediately pauses when he sees my dark face. “Hey—” he says. “What’s going on? I tried calling.”
“I have to talk to you.” My voice feels stiff and cold. The pitch sounds off, like an old recording.
He stares at me through his glasses. “Alice?”
“Sit down.” I pull out a chair and fall against it. I wait patiently for him to take the seat across from me.
Blind Girl: A Dark Billionaire Romance Page 15
