Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (53 page)

Mom just rolled her eyes as D
addy laughed before heading out the patio door.

***

I took the beer that Collin handed me and gave Calida a quick kiss on the cheek before following her father outside to the backyard.

“Have you
been dating my daughter long?” he asked once we sat down at the patio table.

The humor
he had in his voice while in the kitchen had vanished as he settled in to have a serious talk with me.

“Yes
, for several months now.”

He took a drink of his beer
, never taking his eyes off of me. “And what do you think of her?”
What do I think of her? That sounded like a loaded question
. “Well, I think she’s a refreshing change.”

“That
’s another vague answer, son.”

“Yes, I suppose it is, but it
’s the truth. She’s not like the other women that have come through my life.”

He eyed me suspiciously, taking another drink of his beer. “And have there been a lot of those
, son?”

This time I couldn
’t keep the smile off my face. “Enough to know she’s different.”

“Okay, fair enough, but let me explain something about my daughter. She
’s a lot like her mother. The sensitive, wear your heart on your sleeve type of girl.”

I nodded, taking a drink of my beer
, knowing exactly where this was headed.

“She’s a good girl who often
times thinks with her heart and not always her head. She bends over backwards to please those around her, and that’s gotten her taken advantage of a time or two.”

Most often by her own flesh and blood.

“I’ve always known Dorian was strong enough to take care of herself. She had a determination and drive far beyond what a normal little girl should ever have. But my baby girl,” he smiled when he mentioned Calida, “she’s never been outspoken. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe she’s very capable of kicking the world in the nuts if needs be, or maybe it’s just my hope. She was, and is, much more timid and introverted. Sandy and I, we did everything we could think of to bring her out of her shell, but nothing we did ever seemed enough.”

I sat quietly, drinking my beer
, listening to this man talk as if he cared about Calida. If he and his wife did, they would know that her major problems started in their home, but they remained clueless.

“Do you get where I
’m going with this, son?”

Calida walked outside
as I started to answer.

“Dad, Mom said to let you know Daniel was here and we would be leaving for dinner soon so you two need to get changed. And
she told me to come rescue Seth before you talked his ear off.”

She walked over
, wrapping her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

“I wasn
’t talkin’ his ear off, Babygirl. I was simply letting him know I will shoot him and bury his body in the hills if he breaks your heart.”

Collin stood, giving a hard glance in my direction making sure I understood his warning clearly.

“Dad!”

“I gotta look out for you
, Babygirl,” he said, kissing her cheek before heading into the house.

“Sorry about that,” she said when I pulled her into my arms. “He won
’t really shoot you.”

“I
’m not worried,” I replied, completing the kiss that was interrupted earlier.

Chapter 38

I watched Calida run around trying to get dressed, flustered because she was late and the sister was down in the lobby waiting on her.

“You know she
’s gonna bitch at me about this right?” she asked, stopping a moment to look over in my direction.

“You weren
’t worried about that when you were screaming my name and begging me not to stop a little while ago,” I answered, propping up on the pillows.

Calida stopped to smile at me
, her face still flushed from our early morning romp.

“Yes
, true, but I told her I would be downstairs when she called forty-five minutes ago, and now she’s in the lobby waiting.”

“You had more important things to do,” I replied, not caring that the sister had to wait.

She covered her face, giggling softly. “At least cover up.”

“Why
, am I tempting you back to bed?”

Her answer was interrupted by a knock at the door.

“Shit!” Calida muttered, walking towards the door. “Put
that
away,” she said, pointing at my semi-erect penis.

“What
’s taking you so long?” Dorian said the moment she walked in the room.

“You only called up five minutes ago, Dorian.”

“Yes, but you were supposed to be in the lobby waiting for us.”

“Sorry, I got...sidetracked,” Calida apologized quickly.

***

Dorian
stood scowling at me. I knew she’d be pissed, but it’s hard to say no to Seth. Correction, it’s impossible to say no to him. He was particularly persistent this morning right after I got Dorian’s call. Her eyes went past me, and I turned to see Seth leaning against the door frame, looking smug and sexy.

“Good morning, Dorian,” he stated dryly.

“Seth,” she replied in the same dry tone.

“I
’m ready, we can go,” I said, wanting to get her out of our room as quickly as possible.

All week had been this strange battle of wills with them, with Seth coming out on top most times.

“No kiss goodbye?” he asked.

I walked over to him with the intent to give a small, quick kiss, but he had other plans. His mouth claimed mine, and his hands roamed down my back to cup my ass
, pressing me closer to his body. A moan escaped my lips while my arms circled his neck. His ability to make me forget everything but him at any given moment was a dangerous thing. Dorian cleared her throat loudly, pulling me back to reality. My face heated as I straightened my dress, avoiding her gaze.

“Have fun,” he said, looking devilish.

“I will, and don’t forget you’re meeting Daniel and the guys around noon.”

He grimaced slightly but said nothing. Dorian thought it would be a good idea for Daniel to include Seth in his boys
’ day since I would be occupied all day. Seth, however, repeatedly tried to decline until I finally was able coerce him into it.

I was so happy this was the final day. T
he wedding was tomorrow then we could go home. I was looking forward to it being over, but I was going to miss my parents. Being able to spend time with them this week made putting up with Dorian almost worth it. She had always been a bitch, but she had truly turned into a Bridezilla. Like always, I kept my mouth shut at her snide comments. Surprisingly, she’d only made me cry once this trip, so I would say things all-in-all had gone as well as could be expected.

“Good morning, sweeti
e,” Mom said, giving me a hug when we walked into the lobby.

“
Mornin’, Mom. Sorry for keeping you waiting.”

“Yes, your daughter is rude and inconsiderate that way,” Dorian commented as we headed out to the valet.

“Oh, Dorian, don’t be like that,” Mom scolded softly. “I’m sure Calida had a very good reason for being delayed,” she continued, winking at me.

I blushed instantly. H
onestly, how did she know? We all climbed into Dorian’s silver, E-class Mercedes, with her still frowning at me. It was going to be a long day spent with her, but at least the morning started out well. We were having a spa day with just the three of us followed by lunch. After we dropped Mom back off at the house, it would be dinner then the bachelorette party. I felt bad for leaving Seth all day. Pulling out my phone, I fired off a quick text to him.

Try to have some fun today. Love you.

A few seconds later, my phone buzzed.

I was having fun then you left me.

I smiled thinking about the fun we had this morning. I would have much rather stayed in bed with him, but I didn’t want to miss out on spending this time with my mom.

Sorry. I
’ll make it up to you later. ;)

I glanced up to see Dorian scowling at me in the rearview mirror.

“I swear, Calida, if you think you are going to be spending all day texting that overbearing boyfriend of yours, you have another thing coming. I will confiscate your damn phone.”

“Dorian, leave your sister alone. My goodness, you should be happy for her.”

“Mom, we both know it won’t last. Once he’s done with her…Ow.” Her sentence was cut off by Mom hitting her leg. “What was that for?”

“For you being rude and inconsiderate.
Honestly, Dorian. Apologize to your sister.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

“Mom!
This is my wedding, it’s about me, and she’s done nothing but try to steal the focus and attention that should be mine,” she complained in her whiny voice.

Mom shot her that
‘I mean business’ look.

“Mom, it
’s okay,” I said quickly.

Dorian looked back at me in the mirror. It was going to be a really long day, and I was wishing more and more I had just stayed in bed.

***

Male bonding; not something I
’ve had to deal with since boarding school. Sitting around listening to boys lie about how many girls they’d fucked was never a productive way to spend my time, but keeping up appearances was always important. The lunch with Daniel, Collin, and Eric, Daniel’s father, was relatively painless. Now, sitting at the bar, watching Daniel and his friends shoot pool and flirt with all the waitresses, was more than I cared to deal with.

“Seth, come join the game,” Daniel called out waving me over. Reluctantly
, I walked over to join them.

“So, Seth, man
, is it true what they say about redheads?” Brad asked, slapping me on the back. He was Daniel’s younger brother and best man.

“I
’m not sure I know to what you’re referring.”

“Come on
, man,” he said, laughing while elbowing my arm. He was already near drunk, and this low class, country bar, was only the first stop for the night. “I always heard they were real firecrackers in bed.”

My hand tightened around the pool cue. I fought the urge to snap it in half and jab the jagged edge into his throat.

“Dude, what did I tell you?” Daniel scolded his brother. “She’s off limits.”

“I
’m not gonna try and sleep with her. Well, not anymore since she’s with you,” he added, looking over at me. “But come on, we’re all thinking it. I mean damn she’s a real looker,” Brad continued to joke, playfully hitting his brother’s arm. 

The large smile on his face dropped instantly when he turned to look at me.

“True gentlemen never kiss and tell. Take that as a reminder and never broach the topic again,” I said evenly.

A collective silence settled over the group,
and they all eyed me warily.

“Dude, chill I was only teasing,” he said, moving to the other side of the pool table.

That was smart of him because I was seconds away from flipping his ass onto the pool table and choking the life out of his worthless body. Calida was mine and therefore was off limits, but she was also expecting that I enjoy my night out.
Killing him would be enjoyable, but I’m sure that’s not exactly what she meant.
A smile played on my lips as I thought about killing him for a moment longer.

I motioned for the waitress.
“Another round please. Actually, make it one round for the house. It’s that man’s last night of freedom,” I said, pointing at Daniel.

The waitress winked at me and made the announcement that the next round was on the house which brought cheers from all the patrons. The party b
us that Brad ordered waited outside. They all climbed in, and I headed towards my car.

“Hey man, it would be safer to ride with us. Drinking and driving is always a bad idea. We are just getting started and
should be a lot drunker by the end of the night,” Daniel commented when he saw me walking off.

“I know my limits
, so it’s not a problem. Plus, I’d rather not leave my car parked here all night.”

He just shrugged and boarded the bus. I rolled the tension out of my neck
, taking a seat behind the wheel. It was Calida’s greatly improving oral skills that got me to agree to this night. It was going to take that and more to make up for the control I’ve had to exercise this evening on her behalf.

The next stop was the predictable strip club. It wasn
’t exactly a high class establishment, but it did have a private VIP room. I sat on the couch, watching Daniel and his friends ogle the dancers. They behaved like frat boys slapping the girls on the asses and doing a lot more touching than was allowed for lap dances. The girls weren’t complaining because the more they drank, the more they spent. It would be a good take for them tonight.