Delusive (38 page)

The palm of his hand pressed against my back, holding me still while the other slipped down the front of his boxer briefs. He slipped the band down, freeing his cock, and grabbed the shaft in his fist. His hips pushed forward, sliding himself inside my exposed sex.

“Shit,” I moaned low and soft.
 

The moment he filled me, his expression lightened, revealing the tinge of longing he felt and the release over it finally being requited…he needed and missed this as much as I did.

I sucked in a breath as my back curved forward. He lifted my thighs, forcing them to tighten around his waist. With a firm grip on my ass, he moved me, rocking me up and down.
 

“Don’t let go,” he groaned against my neck. Torment and need bled with every word. “I want to make you come. Behave.” Lifting his head, he stared at me fervently. His groin crashed into mine as he rocked me hard.
 

“Oh…fuck, Elias,” I grumbled, shuddering and on the verge of an exquisite release.

He pumped me full, pushing to the edge of my core and driving me mad with ecstasy. The pads of his fingers dug into my ass, another reached toward the cleft of my ass, circling my puckering hole.

In a startled reaction, I let go of the pole.

He immediately put me down on solid ground, pulling me out of my ascension and confusing my body. He pushed his cock back down into his boxer briefs and pulled them up to sit properly on his waist.

I stepped forward in protest and slipped my arms around his waist. “Don’t be so mean, Elias.”

He palmed the back of my head, keeping me close but at a distance. “What you don’t understand is this; I don’t tell you to do things because I want control of you. There are times when I will need you to do exactly as I ask without questioning me because it’s the difference between keeping you safe and putting yourself in direct danger. I need to trust you’ll do those things without a single second of hesitation. You keep failing me. Even now, you still don’t understand.”
 

He ducked down and kissed me, sinking his teeth into my lip. Releasing me before I wanted to let him go, he stepped backward, leaving me aching for him.
 

With a heavy sigh, he dropped his head and rubbed the back of his neck. “Honestly…I don’t trust you anymore, Hanley.” His last words to me were so quiet, I hoped I heard them wrong.

As he walked away, he took my confidence with him, leaving me with a feeling I’d never felt before.

Elias had just broken my heart.

TWENTY-FIVE

IN THE MORNING, ELIAS was gone, but breakfast was on the dining room table along with a vase full of fresh lavender flowers.
 

“
Bom dia!
I just learned that today. You would think with as many times as I’ve been here, I’d know more. Earl never usually let’s me play. I just stay in the house, bored, or act like a personal shopper. I’m never allowed to have any girlfriends with me. I’m so glad you’re here.”

I turned around to see the woman who gave me one of the longest greetings I’d ever heard. Her unique high-pitched voice made it easy to decipher who she was before I saw her—Daniella.
 

I smiled tepidly at the familiar face. “Nice to see you again, Daniella.”

She sat across the table from me, crossing one leg over the other and made her white mini-dress rise up her tan legs. She folded her arms on the table, giving me a friendly smile. “We’re going shopping on Elias’s dime.”

I pushed my plate of breakfast away with a frown. “I couldn’t.”

“He has a credit account at a few stores in Braga, so don’t worry about a thing. Have you ever gone to Braga? You’re going to die, I swear. It’s shopping heaven.”

Having lost my appetite, I dropped my fork and sank back in my chair. “Of course he would have an account, because of the models he brings here.”

“Nah,” she said, shaking her head. “He usually pays me to pick up a few things for them at times. He either nays or yays what I bring and takes it back with him.”

“Takes it back?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”

She stood and leaned over the table to pat my closed fist where it rested on the table. “Well, I’ve been married to Earl since I was sixteen and that would make it seven years I’ve been married.” She nodded at herself, affirming that her estimation was correct. “This is the first I’ve ever—I mean ever,
ever
—seen him take someone to his family’s home country.” She picked at the flowers on the table, plucking the petals and letting them fall onto the glass dining room table. “He’s having a shindig with big, important people tonight. You have to look crazy good, or it’ll piss him off.”

Married Earl at sixteen? It was hard to swallow, but it wasn’t my business to dig. “Just give me a few minutes to get ready.”

AFTER SEEING THE gorgeous sights of the city of Braga, I couldn’t help feeling a little despondent. Elias should’ve been the one to show me around; it would’ve meant so much more. After last night, I went from having a slight idea of where I stood to being thrown completely from the idea of comprehending where I stood with him.

Daniella took me to a small luxury boutique to find a dress to wear for the dinner. As I perused the racks, I couldn’t stay focused enough to pick anything out.

Daniella pulled out yet another dress that didn’t move me. “This will look so hot on you.”

“I’m not big on the color white,” I stated quietly and checked my phone. I had hoped for a message, anything, from Elias, but there was nothing.

She reached inside her purse and pulled out a small vial. Twisting the cap, which doubled as the tiniest spoon I’d ever seen, she scooped out white powder from the vial. Bringing the spoon to her nose, she placed a finger against the opposite nostril and inhaled deeply.
 

In shock, I looked around the store, hoping no one had seen her.

“Don’t worry.” She waved at me with the spoon in her hand. A light sprinkling of dust dropped from her spoon onto the floor. “I won’t get in trouble, because it’s for personal use. Want some?” She held her spoon out toward me. “You look like you could use it.”

Still in awe, I shook my head and continued to search through the rack affixed to the wall of the boutique.

She sauntered over to me and tucked a stray curl behind my ear. “Penny for your thoughts,” she said quietly while continuously sniffing.

Shaking my head, I gave her a friendly smile. “I’m fine. Thank you.”

“You’re really hot, Hanley. I wanted to tell you at Earl’s dinner, but I couldn’t.” She pushed forward and pressed her breasts against my arm. “I’ve been bi-curious for about a year and I hear—heard—you swing that way.” Her hand lingered in around my ear a little too long and began to circle my lobe. “They say no one knows how to get another woman off better than another woman, and to tell the truth”—she leaned even closer and cupped her hand over her mouth to whisper—“I don’t think I’ve ever had an orgasm. Earl sucks in bed. Big time.”

Backing away from her, I picked up the first black dress I saw that didn’t cost an absurd amount of money. “I’ll take this.”

“Don’t just take one, hun.” She picked up the dresses she showed to me before that I didn’t care for. “Elias would be pissed if you didn’t get a little more.”

I took the dresses from her arm and went to the cash register with her.

She jutted out a hip and began to pout as she toyed with the bracelets displayed on a glass arm. “Is there…something wrong with me?”
 

“No. Not at all,” I assured her with a small grin while averting my eyes. “You’re beautiful. I just…I don’t fuck just anyone, and Elias—”

“Oh, shit.” Patting my shoulder, she bobbed her head repeatedly. “No need to explain. I totally get it. I know how he can be. I thought maybe it’d be different because you, you know, like girls. I didn’t think he’d look at another girl as competition or something, but I can’t even remember if he’s ever dated a woman who was like you.”

“How long have you known each other?” I asked, watching the clerk ring up the dresses.
 

“Well, since I married Earl. But Earl has known Elias since he was a kid. Now…Earl reports to him. It’s causing a big stink.”

She suddenly had my full attention. “As in issues? What kind of issues?”

“Wanna get lunch before we go back to the house? Coke makes me so hungry.” Ignoring my question, and apparently not expecting an answer to hers, she wandered off toward the front of the store.

WE RETURNED TO the Villa and watched a movie in the upstairs game room. She later told me her parents gave their blessing, permitting her to marry Earl. She said they accepted her marriage because Earl could take care of her financially. She also said if she had known what she knew now, she wouldn’t have married him. When I asked her to clarify, she mumbled something about never having an orgasm again and that Earl was cheating on her with younger girls on her way out of the room.
 

Shortly thereafter, I went through the motions, showering, getting dressed, styling my hair, and doing my makeup to prepare for the night.

By the time I was done, the din downstairs indicated most of the guests had arrived. I smoothed out the hem of my little black dress—it was short and sleeveless with leather accents and a deep plunging back. I put on my heels and brushed my freshly flat-ironed hair before heading downstairs. The clicking of my stilettos on the tile stairs announced my arrival. About ten people, mostly couples, turned to look at me.
 

Daniella took my hand once I reached the landing of the steps and introduced to me to a few of the guests in the sitting room. More or less, she introduced me and had problems remembering the name of the guests, forcing the guests to introduce themselves. While the women gave me hugs and kisses on either of my cheeks, not a single man touched me…except for Earl.
 

He was a lot friendlier than he had been the first time we’d met. I blamed it on the fact he reeked of whatever alcohol he decided to overindulge in earlier. When he hugged me, he squeezed my ass, briefly and quickly.
 

I called him on it, and he immediately apologized.

His good behavior was short-lived. As he spoke to me, he stared at my breasts instead of my face. He gave me a kiss on the back of my hand when I excused myself and had a hard time allowing me to leave. When Elias finally arrived, Earl quickly separated from me.

Elias wasn’t alone, he was accompanied by an older man who was dressed in a three piece suit. The expression on the face of the man Elias was with said he meant business. With the shared features between the two of them and the similar mannerisms to Elias’s father, I assumed the man was his Uncle Silvio. Elias had a look whenever he interacted with Silvio that he lacked with his father; it was a tangible level of admiration and respect.

From across the room, Elias saw me and immediately came over, leaving Silvio where he stood. I couldn’t discern if Elias was pleased with the dress or hated it with the way he scanned down my body. He kissed my forehead and told me clinically, “You look beautiful, Hanley.” He shot a furious glance at Daniella when he felt the naked skin on my back. “The dress is a lot of almost nothing, don’t you think?” he asked her.

“I picked the dress,” I said, unabashed about my selection. “I liked this one the best. All of the others were too pricey.”

“Money should never be a concern when I’m the one who’s paying. It was probably the cheapest because of the lack of material.” Apparently, he was still upset with me. The vinegar his words were coated in was a dead giveaway.
 

“I’ll change if it’s an issue.” I wasn’t in the mood to push and wanted to diffuse the situation. Having him remain angry with me made me feel like slowly being burned alive. I wanted and needed a reprieve.
 

Pleased with my suggestion, he relaxed a little. “You don’t have time to change. Come with me.” He placed my hand in his and led me to the dining room table.

“Who was the man you were with?” I asked as he pulled out a chair at the long glass dining table for me.

“Silvio,” he answered simply, “my uncle.”

I felt out of place at the dinner and wished I had an interpreter; a few of the words I picked up on because they were similar to some words in Spanish, but the rest ensured I was just a statue at dinner. A statue who occasionally grinned and sipped wine while Elias spoke to Silvio the entire time.

Daniella engaged in small talk with me, but after our earlier encounter, I was strangely uncomfortable around her.

During dessert, I was pulled to look across the table. Earl couldn’t keep his eyes off of me. My attention toward Earl was noticed right away; Elias abruptly stopped his conversation to regard Earl. “She’s beautiful, isn’t she?” Elias asked of the man.

The various conversations at the table immediately quieted.

Earl smiled at Elias and tipped up his wineglass. “You always know how to pick them.” He glanced at his wife Daniella and began to scowl. “Maybe she can teach my wife a thing or two. To have that fine piece of ass in your bed every night?” He whistled. “The things you get to do to her? You’re one lucky son-of-a-bitch.”
 

Daniella pushed her chair out with her incensed gaze fixed on her husband. With a chastising look from Elias, she sat back down and stared at her lap. “He’s being stupid,” she stated apologetically, “because he’s had a little too much to drink.”