Denial (4 page)

“Exactly.” His shirt pulls apart, the muscles across his ribs flexing as he takes off his suit jacket. I get a whiff of him as I wrap it around me like a blanket. No cologne, just musk and pheromones that are majorly affecting mine right now.

If anyone looks great right now, it’s him. His crisp white shirt is untucked and he must have left his belt in my car because his pants are slung low, revealing a flawless example of those V shaped muscles above a man’s groin that drive me crazy. Now he’s rolling up his sleeves to show off probably the most perfect forearms that anyone has ever had in the history of humankind. Running his hands through his hair, he flips his head over and ruffles up the waves, leaving it tousled and casual when he pops back up. My pulse increases, but this time I feel it in my clit instead of my ears. I can’t do this just because he’s hot, that shouldn’t be the deciding factor. What if he’s a psychopath?

Luke doesn’t let me to sleep with men that are better looking than he is, so how he settled on Isaac to train me is a mystery. Maybe he didn’t realize how much I liked lean, bad boy, rock star looking guys before I met him. This one is off the charts.

“We have to look like we know each other a lot better than we actually do, so I’m going to wrap my arm around your shoulders if you don’t mind.”

Yes, please!
“That’s fine.”

“And you will put yours around my waist?”

That is not going to be a problem.
“Sure.”

“Take your hair down.” For whatever reason, this makes me feel like I’m on display a lot more than my bare legs. Isaac
’s eyes widen as I shake my head for a little extra volume. “Holy shit.” He’s giving me that crooked grin again. “It’s actually that long.”

“Sorry. I’ll put it back up.” I start gathering my hair into a ponytail before he answers.

“No, you won’t.” His fingers gently circle my wrist and guide it back down.

So he likes my too long, frizzy, used-to-be blonde hair. That would be nice if it were true, but Isaac is probably just trying to make me feel better about being the plainest person at this party. I suppose that counts for something, though.

I stifle a gasp when he wraps his arm around me and pulls me tight against his flank, leaving a trail of sparks across my shoulder blades. I dutifully thread my arm around his waist, my hand lingering on the channel of his spine as it savors the impossibly solid muscles flexing on either side. Despite the fact that I’m about to walk into a
very
freaky scene, I’m oddly at ease and more than a little excited.

“We are going to walk around the side into the kitchen.” He’s whispering into my ear so close that his nose is against my temple, igniting a strange energy that travels from my thighs into my throat. “Avoid eye contact. If someone talks to you, just keep looking down and don’t answer. They will just assume you’re my submissive and you’re not allowed to speak without permission.” He squeezes my shoulders.

“Okay,” I peep, my heart thudding faster with each step.

“It works that you look so anxious, but don’t be. Nothing is going to happen you.” I would like to feel more of the heat of his breath on my jaw
is and we do not need to be this close to look like we know each other. “You can lean your head against my shoulder. If you want.”

My
face flushes as I rest my head on his arm. I bite my lip to conceal a grin of my own when I feel him kiss the top of my head as we saunter towards the house. It’s a good thing I’ve been practicing walking long distances in stupidly high heels.

“What a fucking disaster,” Isaac spits under his breath with a glance toward the scene.

“So this really isn’t normal?”

“No. I can’t believe my brother gave these people this address. This isn’t one of our clubs. It’s typically a very discreet crowd.” No one notices us as we sneak around the back and slip quietly into the kitchen. The first thing Isaac does is check to make sure the door is locked. Who has a lock on their kitchen? “Are you hungry?” he asks, obviously distracted by the sounds of people invading his home on the other side of the door.

“No, thanks.”

“Are you sure? We were supposed to eat.”

“I probably would have been too nervous, assuming I ever made it inside.”

The aroma hits me before he actually shows me the food. My mouth waters and my stomach grumbles. “Real butter. Homemade pasta. Red meat. I made it just for you and I’ll let you eat as much as you want.”

“Seriously?” I haven’t had any of those things in months. He nods, that corner of his mouth lifting into that insanely hot crooked smile. “I guess you could wrap it up, I wouldn’t want it to go to waste.”

Now that we’re inside I can see him even better and I like every single thing that I see. The way his nearly black hair curls at the ends above the collar of his shirt. Just the right amount of stubble. The muscles of his upper arms stretch the fabric of sleeves when he moves. Somehow his eyes are even more intense than I’d thought, lime green with flecks of bright blue and an amber star surrounding his pupils.

It’s unlike me to physically react like this to a guy, no matter how good looking. In a way I feel like I’m at a party in high school or the first two years of college flirting with a cute boy, back before I realized that no matter how hot they were, sleeping with them would most likely be a disappointment or worse. That won’t be the case with Isaac. He’s a professional. Am I seriously doing this?

“Sit down for a moment. I need to make a call.”

Was that a request or a demand? I’m not sure which I’d prefer. “Sure.”

He taps his foot and waits. “Mike. I need security at the house. Yeah, our
house
. Now.” He pauses. “I don’t give a shit. Get them over here. At least five. Ten if you can.”

His face drops at the muffled sound of glass shattering on the other side of the wall and the laughter that follows. With a frustrated sigh, he walks over to the liquor cabinet, pulling out two shot glasses and a bottle of
Patron. I told myself I wasn’t going to drink anything tonight, but my resolve crumbles as I down the shot he sits in front of me along with the one he pours after that. He raises his eyebrows at me and doesn’t pour one for himself. Tricks.

We both look towards the door at the sound of a woman apparently having a rather intense orgasm as people cheer. Isaac drops his face into his hands and lets out exasperated sigh.

“I guess that’s our cue to get the fuck out of here.” He pours me another shot. “I’ll drive.”

“I don’t want to leave my car here.”

“That’s why I’ll drive your car.”

It seems like he should be asking me instead of telling me, but I suppose that isn’t how this works. I drink this final shot and push the glass away. His eyes fall to the floor, closing as he rubs his temples and takes a deep breath. His skin is a magnificent shade of gold.
It is so not fair that guys are always the ones that end up with perfect eyelashes. We both jerk at the sound of something slamming into the wall and people start shouting. What the hell is going on out there?

“Let’s go upstairs.”

He doesn’t sound as friendly, like he’s as uneasy and conflicted as I am. I’m frozen in place, my legs disobeying my mental command to follow him no matter how much I try. After a few steps, he notices I’m not walking and comes back over to me, taking my trembling hand into his own.

“Are you going to…” I trail off. Why did I walk into this crazy house? What was I thinking?

“Maya.” His voice becomes low and soothing. “I am not going to do anything to you. Right now anyway.” My only response is to swallow and blink at him as he brings my hand to his mouth and kisses my knuckle softly. Every inch of my skin starts to tingle, my heart racing. “You can’t stay in the kitchen by yourself and I’m not sending you alone to your car. It will only take a few minutes.”

“Okay.” I do not want to be alone either but I’m not sure I want to be out there with all of those people, even if Isaac is with me. It’s so loud and rowdy. He said we wouldn’t have to talk to anyone.

He wraps his arm around my waist and we start walking, but not towards the locked door as I expect. Instead we’re approaching a door to what I assumed was a pantry but actually opens up to a narrow staircase. Seriously? A secret passageway. How awesome is that. I can’t stop myself from grinning.

“So you like it.” That was more of a statement than a question, but I nod and get him to smile again.

“Where does it go?

“To the third floor, completely bypassing the second. I designed it myself.”

“Are you an architect?” Maybe he is older than I am.

“No, but I work with several of the best in the city. I customized the apartment.”

“For…”
The freaky sex we’ll be having there?

“Yeah.”

The stairwell is cramped but well lit. Isaac is eye level with my barely covered ass as we ascend, so I do my best to stay as upright as possible, but these ridiculous heels force my hips to sway. He squeezes past me to unlock the door and leads me by the hand into a hallway.

There are three locks on his bedroom door, which appears to be made of metal that’s been painted white. My anxiety spikes as he opens it and I wonder if it was a mistake to come up here with this gorgeous stranger. What the hell is in there?
Luke wouldn’t have set me up with someone who was going to hurt me… well, no one that would hurt me that badly.

I keep my eyes closed as he leads me inside and when I open them I see a totally standard bedroom. Well, it’s two or three times the size of a typical bedroom, with a couch and a large flat screen TV on one side, but nothing like the sex dungeon I expected. It looks so normal and inviting, lots of blue, sparsely decorated with a relaxed vibe. A giant four-post bed dominates the room. How many girls have been tied to it?

“I’m glad I cleaned up. You’re the first woman I’ve ever brought up here.”

“You don’t honestly expect me to believe that, do you?”

“I’m serious,” he responds, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He is not used to someone questioning him and I can’t figure out why his response is so satisfying. “The entire basement of this house is a giant, open sex dungeon and aside from a normal living room, the second floor has nothing but private playrooms.”

“Oh.” Holy shit.

“My bedroom is my sanctuary.”

“It’s nice.”

“I won’t take long.” His demeanor changes, as if he’s concerned or distracted and I get the sense that it has nothing to me.

I nod, turning towards the huge picture window. On my way over I’m distracted by a framed photograph on his dresser of a beautiful girl, probably no more than fifteen, with a tattered burgundy scarf covering her head. She has the saddest look on her face that I’ve ever seen, like she’s never smiled in her entire life and doesn’t think she ever will. Her eyes are Isaac’s. Exactly. It’s eerie. Beneath the picture is a coarsely woven cloth that looks like the one on the girl’s head except it’s a bit lighter.

Reluctantly, I pull my eyes away because I don’t want him to catch me staring at it. I hear him shuffling around at that dresser until he appears next to me at the window, grumbling obscenities as we look down on the front yard that is covered with more people than I can count.

“Let’s get the hell out of here,” he whispers.

He’s holding a large duffel bag in one hand, the other reaching out for mine. That picture and cloth on the dresser are gone. He glances around his room nervously as we slowly make our way toward the door. After locking up his fortress, we descend the narrow, secret staircase and exit the kitchen quietly.

4

The crowd has easily doubled since we went into the house and I doubt we are going to make it to my car without running into anyone. What is the deal with the horse masks? Isn’t there a law about being topless in public? That woman in red leather rips a kneeling man to his feet by his hair and throws him over the railing. She’s just beating him with a whip while everyone laughs. His face is so red and he’s obviously trying not to scream and cry, but fails after a few blows and insults. How can they just stand there and laugh? Is that what Luke wants from me?

Anxious to get the hell out of here, I try to keep up with Isaac’s long strides but then I stop dead in my tracks.
Christina. This is the first time I’ve ever laid eyes on someone that fucks my boyfriend regularly. She’s even prettier in person, rocking that black vinyl corset and thigh high stockings better than I ever could. We’re at least a hundred feet apart and I can’t hear what she’s saying, but she’s laughing loudly as she talks on her phone. Luke’s on the other end. I’m absolutely positive.

I can’t breathe. I can’t move. All I can do is stare at her. How long have they been together? Is it really just sex like he says, or does he actually care about her? I still can’t decide which would be worse. She’s not wearing a collar and I should feel a touch of relief but instead I’m probably going to puke, hyperventilate, and start crying all at the same time.

Isaac steps in front of me with a confused expression, then spins around to see what I’m staring at. When he turns back, I can tell he knows exactly who it is and why I’m staring at her. Which means he’s seen them together and he can probably answer all sorts of questions about Luke’s other life that I keep telling myself I don’t need to know.