Breathless Promises (Alluring Promises Series Book 3) (29 page)

Thinking of the oddest thing Clark would come up with, I went ahead with it. I was a little more than bored with his lies on the way over and if he opened his mouth, I was sure anything else he said would just annoy me.

With a straight face, I told him, “Married to a rich man. I was dating a real estate tycoon, but that kind of fizzled out when I saw his wrinkled up balls.” Gerard practically choked on his water. Good. At least I can make this a more interesting night for both of us.

“You’re not serious are you?

“Of course, I am.” I looked him in the eye. Those green eyes that seemed warm yesterday were now full of lies. “Isn’t that what you’re doing right now?

“What do you mean?” He sat back, his expression was one of amusement.
Was he laughing at me? We’d see who got the last laugh.
Maybe I was wrong, but I wanted to go ahead and call him out. What did I have to lose at this point?

“Well, I just caught you in about two lies and if you open your mouth again I’m sure you’ll go for a third.”

He exhaled and looked to the ceiling. He leaned in and lowered his voice. “All right, so I don’t really own anything. I’m actually trying to be an actor and was visiting my agent down here.” He sat back and looked a bit relieved. “New York is brutal. I keep going on all these casting calls. I came down here because a buddy of mine lives here too and is friends with a director back up in New York. He was going to give me some tips tonight. But then you were at the hotel and I remembered how sexy you were last time we met. I thought a little practice and hooking up would be perfect to boost my confidence.”

I had so much to say but at the moment, I was too stunned at the gall of this asshole. In perfect timing, my phone chimed.

Clark:
Want to meet me outside?

Me:
Yep
.

“Excuse me, I have to use the restroom,” I told him as I stood up, grabbing my phone and purse. He stood like a gentleman. Maybe he’d get a role as a gentleman at his next audition.

“Should I order for you?” he asked politely.

I barely turned to him as I began walking and called out, “No, I’ll order when I get back.”

Out of sight from our table, I handed the coat-check guy my ticket. I took my wrap from him and slipped him a twenty. Leaning in, I allowed him to get an eyeful. Some habits are hard to break. “Can you please tell the guy at that table that I’m very sorry but an emergency came up and I won’t be returning. Thank you.” I smiled as he nodded, accepting my money.

Clark stood outside looking handsome as he always does. The guy was just born beautiful. Too bad his mouth didn’t have some sort of filter on it. He smiled at me and then pulled something from behind his back. I beamed as I eyed shoes from my closet with lower heels. They sort of matched this dress, but they weren’t going to stab my heel as I walked any more.

I placed my arm on Clark’s shoulder and began to put on my new heels as Clark nodded his head to the restaurant. “What happened with dick face?”

“He was lying the whole time. He was quoting stuff from Gregory’s company that I knew cold.”

A triumphant smirk appeared on Clark’s face. He shook his head. “I knew the guy was too good to be true for you.”

“What does that mean?”

“A guy like that would have had a limo, that’s all. At least I would have thought so.”

I shrugged. “Gregory and I used to walk to places. It’s not that uncommon.”

“When you’re dressed up like that?”

The times that we had walked, we were dressed casual and heading out for coffee or lunch at a nearby bistro. Anytime we’ve ever gone out to a nice restaurant, he drove or we took a limo. “You’re right.” I shrugged and finished slipping on my other heel, holding Clark’s arm for stability.

Clark nodded in the direction we were headed and we began walking together.

“You’re not going out tonight?” I asked, wondering what would prompt him to meet me out. I glanced over to see him shrug.

“Nah. I didn’t feel like it. I figured that guy would be an ass anyway.”

“And what made you think that?”

“He wore a cheap watch, but was trying to impress you with that place.” I chuckled that he noticed and picked up on something like that.

Turning down First Street, Clark pointed to a door that I never noticed before. It was down a couple of steps and I would have never thought to come here. The door was heavy weathered wood and I reached for the wrought iron door handle. Clark swept in before I could touch it and pulled the door open for me. His expression was proud, as if he were excited to bring me here.

I stepped onto the stone floor admiring the old world decor. Small intimate tables, each with their own small candle centered in the middle provided an intimate setting and were scattered around the large dimly lit room. The restaurant itself was dark and the ambiance was quite romantic. Clark and I seemed mismatched since he was in jeans and regular t-shirt and I was in my cocktail dress. I wondered how many women Clark brought here before having his way with them for a night.

The waitress brought us our menus and I studied all the entrees. My mouth watered at everything I read. Clark peeked over his menu and chastised me with his tone. “You better order something fattening too. Something you really do want to eat. Not a salad.”

“I wasn’t going to. I’m actually drooling at every entrée.”

He brought his menu down and his eyes lit up a like a little kid’s. “Yeah?” His broad smile made me chuckle.

“Yeeess.” I told him with a little lilt to my voice. I put my menu down having decided on the lasagna. I hadn’t had that in a really long time and just thinking about it made my stomach growl.

“Ha! I knew you’d enjoy this more than that stupid restaurant he picked,” Clark touted.

I shook my head laughing that he probably thought it was some sort of contest. Men.

After we ordered, I went ahead and asked the obvious. “So, how often do you bring your dates here?” I smiled awaiting his answer as I glanced around the room. There were mainly couples here, although I noticed a few tables that seemed like a groups of friends.

“Actually, my niece, Ariana found it. We had a date night when she was twelve and she heard about this place.”

I froze and felt the bile rise through my throat. Clark looked around the room, smiling bright as if remembering something. “It was her birthday and I promised to take her anywhere. I had no idea about this place, but I guess one of her friend’s parents came here and couldn’t stop talking about it. She wanted me to take her here.” He leaned in, still smiling as my heart pounded and nausea filled my gut. “I realized once we were here, it wasn’t really appropriate, but she was so excited to be on a ‘date’ that I couldn’t let her down.” He laughed and then shook his head. “I know, it’s weird, but that little girl has me wrapped around her finger. I just can’t say no to her.” He looked and his smile dropped. “Are you okay? Do you feel sick or something?”

I quickly took a drink from my water glass and tried to calm down. My hands were shaking and I couldn’t stop them no matter how hard I tried to calm myself.

“Oh shit,” Clark exclaimed as he sat back in his chair. “I’m so sorry, Aub. I forgot about your uncle passing away. I bet you guys used to do stuff like that, too, huh?” He leaned in and covered my hand with his. “I’m sure he loved you very much. You know that, right?”

I jumped up just as I felt my stomach start to lurch and ran to the hallway in the back, looking for the restroom. After getting sick, I splashed cold water on my face and took deep breaths trying to calm myself. I chastised myself for even thinking Clark would ever do the same thing to his niece that my uncle did to me. I stared at my reflection in the mirror and blinked several times, trying to come back to reality.

I love you so much, Aubrey. My uncle’s voice cooed to me after what he did to me.

I shook my head, hoping to rid myself of the memories.

Shh. It’s our secret. I’m helping you become a real woman.

I turned on the faucet again as more tears flowed and splashed the cold water on my face.
Breathe. In through my nose and out through my mouth. Breathe. Deep breaths.

I slouched against the sink, angry that these memories were flooding me now, of all times. I was actually enjoying being with Clark and then this.

Knock. Knock.

The sound echoed in the tiny bathroom. “Just a minute,” I called out with a shaky voice.

“Aub, it’s Clark. Just…checking to see if you’re all right.” Clark’s muffled voice came through the door.

“Fine. I’m fine. I’ll be out in a second,” I told him as I stared at my reflection in the mirror.
Deep breaths.
My stomach was starting to calm a little, but I couldn’t get my heart to stop pounding. My hands were still shaking as I placed them on the porcelain sink in hopes to steady them.

“I asked for our food to go,” he told me through the door. I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. I closed my eyes knowing I’d just messed up what could have been a nice evening between the two of us.

“K,” I squeaked out, barely audible.

No man will ever love you for you. Just what you can really give them.
Would these thoughts ever leave me? Would I ever be able to be with a man without shit like this triggering these horrible memories?

******

A blanket of stars lit up the night sky while my ass froze from the hard concrete beneath me. Somehow that didn’t matter as I gazed at the twinkling lights above me. It was pitch black except for those stars. Well, and the city lights below, but I managed to push all of that out of the way and concentrate on those bright dazzling balls of fire so far away.

When we left the restaurant, neither of us had spoken. It must have killed Clark, because I can tell he seems to hate silence. But he held back on whatever thoughts he may have wanted to get out and instead he wrapped his arm around me as we made our way home.

I went straight to my room and changed my clothes to yoga pants and a loose top. I was going to sit on the couch and watch a movie with Clark, but I told him I was going to go to the gym and work on some yoga down there. Oddly enough, he didn’t question me. Of course, instead I decided to come up to the roof. It was cold and I should have brought a sweatshirt, but at that point, I didn’t really care.

I heard the door open, but didn’t turn to see who was up here. If anything it might be a couple, and in that case, I’d just keep quiet anyway. But then I felt him. I welcomed the warmth beside me, knowing it was Clark without even looking over. Even though his body was warm, shivers ran through me as his hand grazed against mine.

He didn’t say anything, which was odd. I’d give him a moment. He can’t let it be quiet. It’s as if he has to fill the stillness with something.

He stared up at the night sky with me. I heard him inhale a deep breath. Maybe he could be quiet. Maybe he could enjoy the quiet with me.

“There’s gotta be a constellation of two people fucking, right? And just no one’s discovered it yet.” And there it was. In true Clark fashion. Always something sexual.

I didn’t bother looking at him, just continued my wonderment of the world up there.

“Whatever it was that set you off in the restaurant, you need to talk about it. If you don’t want to talk to me, you can write it down. Or Sarah. You could call Sarah.”

Glancing over at him, I noticed he was still staring up at the sky, but his eyes flicked to mine before returning to the night sky.

“It’s not an easy thing to talk about.”

“But it has everything to do with your uncle, doesn’t it?” His question made my heart speed up. Just asking about my uncle made me nervous.

“Yeah,” I whispered. I quickly swiped the tear that fell into my hair and swallowed. I felt my lips begin to tremble. I still couldn’t bring myself to tell him.

We were both quiet for a while, both of us staring at the same starry sky. I couldn’t help but wonder what he might be thinking about. I wanted to ask, but with Clark I knew I’d probably get a smart-ass response. Then I thought back to all that he’d done for me. The journal he’d given me. Maybe it would be easier to write it out in a letter, but somehow I just felt that after all he’d done for me, he deserved more.

Then I felt it. A surge of excitement making my heart beat faster. Shivers shook my body as Clark’s fingers entwined with mine in the still of the quiet. It felt the same as the last time we were up here. Neither of us spoke. We simply held hands. I was as still as possible enjoying the warmth of his hand on mine. His thumb strummed back and forth over the back of my hand. Maybe he was prompting me to tell him. Maybe he was just enjoying the silence like I was. I took a deep breath and turned my head to face him. The warmth from his eyes finally coaxed the words to flow freely. It felt so good to finally be honest with him.

Clark

“My…um. Uncle Chad. He…wasn’t as cool as everyone made him out to be.” Aub’s words hung in the cold night air.

I wanted to scream at her to tell me more and it took everything I had in me to shut up. I took a deep breath, knowing I wasn’t going to like anything that was going to follow. The city sounds in the background did nothing to hide what she told me.

“He did things to me. It started when I was sixteen and he continued to.”

Stunned. I was completely stunned. My anger swelled and then left me and was replaced with sympathy.
Her uncle.
The guy she trusted, like Ari trusts me. The anger returned like a wave in the ocean, pulling back and then crashing over the shore. It took everything I had to lay there and listen to her. I’d promised her. But inside—inside I wanted to beat the living shit out of a dead guy for what he’d done to Aub. What he’d done to his niece. What he’d done to an innocent girl.

I watched the tears fall from her eyes and all I could do was squeeze her hand tighter, allowing her to continue, to get it out in the open, to finally tell me everything.

Guilt engulfed me. I’d heard her scream about him and hadn’t asked about it. It was suffocating to think how I hadn’t helped her. I was another asshole in the line of many who didn’t see her silent pleas sooner.

I fought to keep the bile rising. If she could lie there, looking into my eyes, then I could listen to her. I owed her that much. If not more. For all that she went through.

She finished telling me her private hell that she’s been through all these years. Her head dropped to the other side to stare at the concrete wall, tears now streamed down her face.

After several deep breaths, I calmed down and just looked at her. A woman that was completely taken advantage of by the guy everyone seemed to love.

I got on my knees and pulled her into my arms, just needing to let her know how enraged I was for her. The weight of her in my arms made me hold her tighter as I felt her body shake with sobs. I wanted to take all those tears, all the pain she’s been carrying around. No one should have to hold that in for so long or bear this secret for so long by herself.

“Why didn’t you tell me that’s what he did to you?” I asked into her hair as I gripped her tighter. She wrapped her arms around my neck and continued to sob as I held her. “Oh fuck, Aub. I’m so sorry. Baby, I’m so sorry,” I apologized hoping to take some of the pain away from her.

I rocked her back and forth as both anger and sympathy fought a battle in my head. The sympathy in me was rocking her and the how tightly I was squeezing her was really me trying to extinguish some of the anger I had for the dead bastard. I kissed her hair, then her cheek hoping to show her how much I care and how sorry I was for the horrible crime that was committed against her by someone she trusted so much.

The ring of my phone interrupted our quiet moment. I ignored it and continued to hold Aub, wondering how she dealt with this secret of hers for so long. She pulled back and wiped the tears from her eyes, giving me a half smile.

Swallowing, she looked away and she asked, “You gonna answer that?” I nodded briefly and pulled my phone from my back pocket to check who was calling. Tina’s angelic face flashed on my screen. I silenced the ringer and returned it to my back pocket wrapping my arm back around Aub, knowing she needed my comfort right now.

“How long have you kept that hidden?” I asked, still holding her tight.

“My mom knew right after it first happened, but she thought I was making it up. She told me I was full of drama and just wanted attention.”

Pushing her shoulders away from me so I could look at her face, I questioned her with my own eyes. “What…why would she ever think that?” Disgusted was probably the word that best described how I felt. What mother would do that to her child?
What mother would leave her child either?
A thought from the back of my head popped up. Maybe they’re related somehow, I resolved as I shook my own issues from my head.

“Uncle Chad was her brother and well, mom isn’t my biological mom. She’s my stepmother. I guess she never believed her brother would do such a thing.”

“What did your Dad say?”

“He just found out when I told him at the hospital,” she choked out. My stomach churned wondering how he must have felt hearing that all these years his little girl was being raped by a guy he trusted. “I think they’re getting a divorce.” She choked on a sob as I felt her collapse into tears. Pulling her to me, I held her tight while she let it all out again. Placing a kiss to her temple, I inhaled deeply hoping the divorce of her parents wasn’t going to send her into another suicidal tailspin.

Her arms tightened as I pressed another kiss to her temple. Her skin was so soft as my lips brushed against her. She moved her head closer to my neck stirring something incredible inside of me. The smallest touch of her lips on my neck sent shivers through me. My heart sped up and my breath became heavy—just from the touch of her lips.

I swallowed as I pulled back to gaze into her eyes. Her warm, deep brown eyes questioned me. I glanced to her mouth as her tongue swept over her bottom lip. Usually, I have no hesitation, but this time I did. I bent down and was just about to press my lips to hers when I stopped. After what we just talked about, should I be doing this? Was I taking advantage of her?

All questions left my thoughts as she inched in to close the gap between us. She pressed her soft lips to mine as we continued to stare into each other’s eyes. I watched as hers fluttered before finally closing. Inhaling everything about her, I pulled her closer to me as I savored every second of our kiss. I felt warmth rush through me as her tongue entered my mouth, entangling with mine. Never have I ever felt this close with anyone. This
intensity
. Yeah, I usually get excited from a kiss, but this was something different. It was a tenderness that had been brought on by what she just told me.

Her moan drove me to kiss her harder, to have her closer to me. Her fingers curled through my hair, tugging light but with passion. It was my turn to moan as she took away my breath with every second her tongue encircled mine.

A sound rang out somewhere in the back of my mind. Slowly, Aub pulled back as she pressed her lips together as in disbelief of our moment together. Her eyes questioned me in the same manner as they flicked away and then met mine again. I inhaled deeply trying to gather my thoughts when I realized that sound I heard in the distance was my phone ringing again.

“I…think you need to answer that,” Aub told me as she pulled away. I took another deep breath trying to gather my wits about me. I was still in another world with Aub, feeling that incredible sensation with her. I swallowed as I took out my phone.

“I’m at your door,” Tina sang into the phone. It took a moment to register what she said while I stared at Aub. She looked everywhere but at me. I pressed my lips together, still tasting her gloss on my lips and the feel of her tongue on mine.

“Clark?” Tina’s voice rang in my ear again. I swallowed and tried to remember what she just said. Something about being at…

“You’re where? I thought you were in London and then heading down to Barbados?” I was glad I could remember her itinerary at least.

“I was, but I forgot we have a day here before my next flight out again,” she explained. “I thought I’d spend my layover in your arms. Where are you?”

I looked around wondering how to explain where I was and I was pretty sure telling her I was alone with Aub would set Tina off. “I’m downstairs…” I trailed off and was about to say the gym, but looking down at my jeans, she’d know I was lying and with someone. I looked up to see Aub lifting her hand, pretending to take a drink. “The bar. I’m at the bar. I’ll be right up.” I told her quickly and hung up the phone.

“I guess your girlfriend is back,” Aub surmised with a pressed smile. I watched her fake smile and immediately felt horrible that Tina had interrupted our moment.

“I’m sorry…about that. I…shouldn’t have.” I swallowed while trying to figure out what to say.

“Nah, it’s fine. We were just both upset and our feelings were…mixed. That’s all,” she assured me. Her eyes told me the opposite as I watched them dart away from me. I wanted to tell her I was sorry that Tina’s back, not about the kiss, but I had no idea how to say that. Or what she’d think about it.

I nodded, still unsure of what actually happened between us and how to define it. I was still dazed as I watched her stand and even more so when she held out her hand. I grabbed it and pulled myself up to standing. I wanted to hug her or something. The whole situation felt awkward, but I wasn’t sure how to handle it.

Clearing my throat, I motioned toward the door as Aub nodded. Disappointment was clearly written over her face, but I had no idea what to say or do. And even though Tina was waiting for me, I wanted nothing more than to stay up on the rooftop with Aub.