Seductive Truths (Seductive Trilogy) (3 page)

     A touch to my arm jolted me back to wakefulness. 
‘
Alex?  You ok?
’
  I glanced across to see Zoe staring at me with concern.  I mumbled a confirmation I was and went back to pursue the rest of the note.

     There, staring back at me, in black, bold text were the cryptic words:

A
word is nothing but a sound and a sound is nothing but a feeling.

             
L
ooks hold more than the eye; they hold the soul and meaning.

             
E
very breath from a wounded person leaves room for healing.

             
X
anthippe you are not, but time with me could leave you pleading.  

             
B
rown is the colour of your hair and eyes as well as your name.

             
R
oaming hands is what will turn your skin to flame.

             
O
h temptress, you’re the prize I am starving to claim.

             
W
inning will be my mission, not my game.

             
N
ow it begins and will end with my aim.

     And that was it.  No name, just the poem. 

     At first it confused me.  Then I was in awe of its style and creativity, but the dominant e
motion was fear.  Fear that who
ever this person was knew my name.  Fear that this person must have been in close proximity to me at some point in time to discover what I look like.  Fear that this person had an aim and that aim appeared to involve me somehow.  What I feared the most, however, was the
subconscious sensation
of knowing there was more to come.  

     First I thought the letter came from Will.  Though totally out of the norm, he was one for random surprises.  Usually with a satisfying conclusion, but with my curiosity peaked I first needed to find out the person behind it.  Picking up the phone I dialled his number.

    
‘
No answer,
’
I divulged. 
‘
I’ll just have to wait till I get home.
’

     Once again the note held my attention.  The words drew me in bit my bit.  The more I stared the further it unsettled me.  It was these unsettlements that lead me to believe it had nothing to do with William.

    
‘
Alex, are you all right?  You’re looking a bit pale.
’

     Then out of nowhere an image appeared at the front of my mind - a hand.  It was firm and decisive, male, gliding up an elegant, smooth, cream leg.  A leg so delicate it could only belong to a woman.

    
‘
Alex?
’

     The hand was strong and sensuous.  A gold signet ring decorated his pinkie finger.  It symbolised everything that was dominant, powerful and important.  The persistent fingers were a source of pleasure and torment.  As the hand crept further up the leg so did the heat through my body, burning my flesh in its wake.

    
‘
Now you’re looking a little flushed.  Alex?
’

     I felt myself grow weaker with every touch.  Each fingerprint was a step in the right direction to submission.  The heat was becoming unbearable, but before it could fire out of control I was startled from my imagination by a cold hand touching my heated skin. 

    
‘
Erm.
’
  My eyes darted back and forth, reconfirming where I was. 
‘
Sorry.  I was miles away.
’

    
‘
I thought you were about to faint.  I was prepared to catch you.
’

    
‘
Sorry.
’

    
‘
Just don’t do that again, you scared me.
’

    
‘
Promise,
’
I smiled. 
‘
I don’t know what came over me.  Sorry for the scare.
’
  I peered down at the innocent item carrying so many meanings. 
‘
I’m fine now.
’

    
‘
You’re sure?  You’re not going to have another funny turn?
’

    
‘
I’m fine, no need to worry.
’
  She gave me a look of disbelief. 
‘
Come on, let’s get back to work.  Don’t want to be caught slacking.
’
  I changed the topic to banish further thoughts of the incident from Zoe’s mind.  I wish the same could have been possible for me. 




     Ten o’clock in the evening. 

     William and I were huddled up in one corner of the sofa watching television.  With his comforting arm around my shoulder I decided to broach the subject of the note.

    
‘
Thank you for the love letter today.  Never knew you were such a romantic.
’

    
‘
Hmm?  What’s that sweetie?
’
  Will turned to look down at me.

    
‘
The love letter you left on my desk at work.  Very romantic.
’
  I smiled up at him. 

     A blank expression was all I got in return.

     His lack of understanding unnerved me. 

     My pulse quickened.

    
‘
You did leave me a note today; at work; this morning, didn’t you?
’

     I desperately searched his eyes for any recognition. 

    
‘
Sorry love, but I haven’t the faintest clue what you’re rambling on about.  The only note I know of was the one you left me asking to pick up a pint of milk.  It wasn’t what I would have called romantic.  More like another one of your bloody orders you like leaving…
’

     Frowning, I leapt up from the sofa and made my way over to my bag.

    
‘
Where are you going?
’
asked Will, but I ignored him.  Instead I reached into the bag’s depth and gripped the formidable note.

    
‘
Here,
’
and I shoved it into his limp, disinterested hands.

    
‘
What’s this?
’

    
‘
The note.
’

     But his eyes remained locked on mine.  Brown orbs swimming with so many questions and something else.  An emotion I wasn’t entirely comfortable with.  One
I’d
never seen before and never wish to see again.  I nervously swallowed. 

     Sighing, he tore his penetrating gaze away from me and towards the centralised text.

     Watching him while he pursued each word, my mind drifted back to that emotion.  The slight fear it sparked in me.  In all the time I have known William, fear is a feeling I have never come across.  He has never given me reason to experience it, until now.

     It was as if someone or something else took possession of his soul.  For a split second he was a stranger.  It wasn’t the man I loved staring back at me.

     The more he read the harsher he gripped.  The paper’s edges were left disfigured.

    
‘
Who gave you this?
’
he growled.

    
‘
I don’t know!  That’s the whole point of anonymous!
’

    
‘
Who gave you this?
’
he yelled, turning on me.

    
‘
I-I do-do-don’t know.
’
  I took a step back.

     William is tall, but it was only
at this moment his height felt
imposing.  Pure rage lit his eyes in a way that made me fear for my life.  That emotion rushed through my veins.

     However, just as quickly as the stranger appeared, the man I recognised was back.

    
‘
I’m sorry.
’
  His free hand rubbed his temples. 
‘
I didn’t mean to lash out at you like that.  I’m just worried.  Sorry.
’

     Taking a tentative step towards my fiancé I replied,
‘
W-worried?  Worried a-about what?
’

     His eyes snapped up, the softness returned.  His love shined through causing my heart to sing. 

    
‘
Nothing,
’
he finally said.

    
What?
 
‘
It has to be something otherwise you wouldn’t have reacted like that.
’

    
‘
It’s nothing.  I didn’t mean it.
’

    
‘
What don’t you mean?  I don’t under…
’

    
‘
Just drop it will you!  You don’t understand because there’s nothing to get!
’

    
‘
But…
’

    
‘
No buts Alex!  For once in your life leave well alone!
’

     Anger bubbled to the surface as I watched his face contort with irritation, but that’s not all.  In the corner of my mind anxiety developed evoking my decision to flee.

     Turning on my heel I stomped off towards the front door.

    
‘
Now where are you going?
’
he asked.

    
‘
For once in my life I’m doing as I’m told!
’

    
‘
I didn’t mean for you…
’

    
‘
It appears there’s a lot you don’t mean, so while you’re trying to figure it out, I’m going to leave you well alone!
’

    
‘
Alex…
’
but I slammed the door before he could finish.

     Heart ramming against my ribcage I leant back against the solid oak, my rapid breathing gradually easing as the adrenaline faded.

     But it wasn’t to last.

     A huge crashing noise was heard followed by several expletives and then receding footsteps as he disappeared further into the apartment and away from the door.

     This was a side to William I never saw before.  It was a side I began fear.

     I couldn’t go back, not then.  Emotions were running high on both sides and if I’m being honest with myself, I was slightly terrified of what William would have done if I had.

     His eyes held a darkness I couldn’t, didn’t, want to
decipher
.  He wasn’t the same man I
had
known all these years.  Going back wasn’t an option, so instead I took off
into
the torrential
rain lashing down from the night’s sky
.

     I aimlessly walked the cobbled paths for hours before coming to my senses and headed for shelter.  My feet ached and my body began to shiver as the soaked clothes clung to my skin like another layer.

     Turning up on Zoe’s doorstep shivering, sniffling and drained, I rang the bell with a numb finger.  It wasn’t the only thing affected by the weather.  My head was stuffy leaving no room to think clearly.  Eyes were becoming strained from trying to see through the curtain of rain that never let up and my nose kept on
dripping
every five seconds.  How my battered body managed to make it to Zoe’s flat instead of dropping down dead, I do not know, but I’m thankful it rose to the challenge.

     On the other side of the door I heard Zoe’s high pitch sound, a clear indication she was having an animated conversation with someone.  Then her flirtatious laugh made it clear a man was present.

    
‘
Stop it you!
’
Zoe giggled. 
‘
Hold on, someone’s at the door.  Keep that thought in mind,
’
she replied provocatively.