Deceived - The Complete Series (14 page)

Thomas logged off and a photo of Angela and Joanne popped up on the screen. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts in the picture and it looked like it was taken on the Fourth of July. It pissed him off to think of her spending it with Steve...but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the hell out of looking at her in that skimpy little red, white and blue tank top and cut off shorts. She has a smoking hot body and a face like an angel...and that hair. He loves the way her dark hair shines in the light and the way it smells when he gets close to her. He loves the way her eyes change color with her mood. They’re a much lighter brown...almost gold when she’s laughing and in a good mood. When she gets angry or upset they get darker. He couldn’t wait to find out what color they were when he made love to her. Just thinking about it made his cock hard. He shut off the computer and made his way down the hall to her room. Letting himself in he went straight to the hamper and took out the pink, frilly underwear she’d taken off right before her bath.

He went into the bathroom that was still dewy from her soaking in the tub. The soft fragrance of jasmine wafted up and filled his senses with her scent. The idea of her in the tub, naked and vulnerable only an hour earlier caused him to shiver. He brought the panties to his face and inhaled as he thought about running his hands across her warm, wet skin. He had to reach down with one hand and set his cock free. He wrapped his hand around it, continuing to hold the panties to his face. With his eyes closed he imagined bathing her, kneading her sensitive flesh. He stroked himself harder as he thought about washing that long, sexy hair. He wanted to tangle it up in his fingers and tug her head back, exposing her neck to his lips so that he could finally taste her skin....

Thomas felt his cock grow in his hand and his body began to tense all over. He put the panties in the hand that was wrapped around his cock and began to stroke frantically. One of these days...soon, she would know that the one she needed was right here in front of her all the time. He cried out her name as he came all over the silk and lace that had been touching her body only hours ago.
One of these days baby...you’ll see how good we can be together.

******

“Y
ou’re lagging Ang,” Joanne said, “I’m two drinks up on you at least.”

Angela sat at the high top table. She and Joanna had just gotten off the dance floor. She watched the couples and even the singles dancing...but the joy that usually brought her wasn’t there. It had been three days since she’d gotten the email from Steve. She hadn’t responded to it and she hadn’t talked to Kim. She did run into Kim a few times in the office, and Kim had acted as if everything between them was okay. Maybe she had meant to send that message to someone else. Surely if she was semi-stalking Steve, she wouldn’t be so nice to Angela...would she?”

“I’m sorry, I’m just not in the most fun-loving sort of mood tonight,” she told her friend.

“Have another Cosmo. That’ll help,” Joanne said with a giggle. “Oh...looky there, a cowboy. Will you excuse me? I think I want to fuck him and the horse he rode in on.” Angela cracked up and as Joanne walked away she said,

“No more alcohol for you!” Joanne ignored her and headed for the tall, handsome cowboy sitting alone in a booth on the other side of the bar.

“Hey there, can I buy you a drink?” Angela looked up. A nice looking guy with dark hair and blue eyes and dressed in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up was standing next to her table. She smiled.

“I’m good, but thanks.”

“Okay, how about some company?”

“I’m here with my friend...”

“I saw her. Cute blonde, hitting hard on the grumpy cowboy in the corner.”

Angela giggled. “Yeah, that’s her. I’m not here looking for anything tonight.”

“That’s okay. I’m alright with just being in the presence of a Goddess.”

She laughed again. “Nice line. Have a seat, but don’t waste any more of your good ones on me. It’s not going to work.”

He laughed and sat down. “It was worth a shot, right? I’m Dan.”

“Hi Dan. I’m Angela.”

“See there, you are an angel! I was right.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “If only I had a dollar for every time I heard that one.”

“Yeah, that one was kind of lame,” he said. “So, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, I may or may not answer it.”

“Fair enough. Why is a gorgeous woman like you, who is not looking for anything, sitting here all alone?”

“It’s complicated,” she told him.

“You want to talk about it?” She suddenly realized that she did...but not to this cute little stranger. She looked over towards Joanne who seemed to have the “grumpy” cowboy coming out of his funk. He was smiling.

“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “But I think there’s something I have to do. It was nice to meet you, Dan.” She stood up and he said, “Wait! Can I get your number...maybe for another time?”

She smiled. “No, but it was worth a shot.”

Chapter 4

Thomas opened the door and immediately started to slam it shut. “Wait! I just want to see her for five minutes, that’s all.”

Thomas pulled the door back open. Steve looked like shit. He almost wished that Angela was here to see him looking like a bum. He was unshaven and his eyes were bloodshot. He had on a t-shirt that said, “Los Angeles Dodgers” and a pair of faded blue jeans. Thomas guessed he didn’t have any big Saturday night plans.

“She’s not here, but even if she were, she wouldn’t want to talk to you. Give it up and get a life, loser...and shave, maybe.”

“Do you know where she is?”

“Do you think I would tell you if I did? She’s way too good for you, asshole. She finally figured that out.”

“I’m not seeing Kim.”

“I don’t give a shit if you are or not. Whether Kim sent that text by mistake or not doesn’t matter. She did Angela a favor, getting her away from you.”

“Why are you so intent on keeping her miserable?”

“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve done everything for her since her husband died...everything. She doesn’t need you. She has me...for everything she needs.”

“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”

Thomas leaned in close to Steve’s face and said, “How I feel is none of your fucking business. All you need to know is that she is my best friend and I will do whatever it takes to protect her from scumbags like you...got it?” His tone was low and vicious and his eyes focused on Steve’s face, filled with a passionate hate. “You don’t want to get on my bad side,” he spat.

Steve didn’t flinch. He waited for Thomas to finish and then he said, “You’re not going to get away with keeping her a prisoner here. Even if she still refuses to see me, she’s looking for a place...to get away from you.”

Thomas laughed. It was a creepy, almost frightening laugh and totally inappropriate for the moment. He slammed the door in Steve’s face, and Steve could still hear him laughing when he got to the elevator.

*****

A
ngela left Joanne only after having the cowboy promise her that he wasn’t a serial killer, show her his I.D. so if anything happened to her friend she could report him to the police and lastly taking a photo of him and Joanne together on her phone. The cowboy complied because it seemed he was smitten with her pretty friend, but he acted like he thought she was a little bit crazy. After telling Joanne she loved her and to stop drinking now because she’d had enough, she left the club. She sent a text to Steve while she waited for a taxi that said,
“Starbucks in Nob Hill? I’m ready to talk.”

She was getting into the back of a cab that pulled up when she got one back. It said,
“Absolutely! Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me yet. We’re just talking, okay?”

“Okay. Thank you.”
She smiled at the second thank you.

When Angela got to Starbucks, Steve was already waiting for her at a table outside. She almost didn’t recognize him and when she did, it made her heart hurt. He was wearing an old t-shirt and jeans and looked like he hadn’t combed his hair or shaved in a couple of days. His eyes were bright red like he hadn’t slept either. He stood up as soon as he saw her. “Jesus, you’re so beautiful.” She felt her face color and before she could say anything he said, “I’m sorry. I know I look like shit.”

She laughed. “I was thinking slightly pathetic...I’m not sure you could look like shit if you tried. You’re too hot.”

He pulled a chair out for her. “Good to know you still think I’m hot,” he said.

“Your actions didn’t change your looks. Will you order me a Grande Vanilla Latte?”

“Absolutely,” he said. She watched him go inside. She’d purposely sent him away because the desire to touch him was so strong she wasn’t sure she’d be able to fight it for long. When he got back with two coffees, he sat hers down and took his seat on the other side of the table. That was good...out of her reach.

They stared at each other for a long while before Angela finally said, “I got your email. That was a very sweet letter...but...”

“I know,” he said, “It’s the actions that matter, not the words. I promise you baby, I haven’t had anything to do with Kim.”

She nodded. “I would love to believe you. It’s hard for me to describe the feeling I had when I saw those pictures and that text on your phone.”

“You don’t have to describe them. When it all happened, I put myself in your place. Just imagining it caused me physical pain. I know it’s soon Angela and I know that you’ve been through a lot...but I am falling head over heels for you. I haven’t been able to function this last week, knowing how upset you are. I would never do that to you...never!” The look in his eyes was so intense and so sincere. Angela wanted to take him into her arms and hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But, there was still that part of her that couldn’t bear the thought of being hurt...again.

“Like I said, I want to believe you...and I’m leaning towards it, obviously, or I wouldn’t be here.” He smiled and shook his head again as he looked at her.

“You’re so damned gorgeous. I don’t know where you were tonight, but anyone who laid eyes on you was a lucky son of a bitch.”

Angela laughed. “I went out with Joanne. Some guy hit on me and asked me why I was alone. It made me think about how badly I don’t want to be alone lately...how badly I want to be with you.”

His eyes lit up and he reached for her hand. She pulled it back and said, “But...I still need a little time. I need to take baby steps. I can’t just jump back into this. It happened too fast. I need to take a step back and decide if I really trust this before we go any further.”

He nodded. “That’s fair, and it makes me feel better. I’m going to prove to you that you can trust me, baby. I’m never going to hurt you. I’m going to show you that you can believe that.” Angela nodded then and stood up. Steve stood up too. “Can I take you home?”

“No, I’m going to take a cab,” she said. “Baby steps, remember?” He looked disappointed but he nodded again.

“I need to say one more thing,” he told her.

“What’s that?”

“Thomas...I don’t trust that guy. Something is way off with him.”

She furrowed her brow. He sounded like Joanne now. “What do you mean?”

“I went to his loft tonight to see if I could talk to you. He warned me to stay away from you and then when the conversation...if you want to call it that...was winding up, he started laughing. It was bizarre and totally inappropriate. I’m worried about you being alone with him so much.”

“Thomas wouldn’t hurt me. He’s a little intense sometimes. I’m sorry he talked to you like that...but you don’t have to worry. You don’t know Thomas like I do.”

“Just be careful,” he said. “Can I kiss you goodnight?”

Angela could feel her insides shaking at the thought. God, she wanted him so bad. She leaned in and pressed her lips softly to his. He tried to deepen the kiss and it took every fiber in her body to work up the strength to take a step back. “Baby steps,” she told him again. He grinned. She melted.

Chapter 5

“Thomas! Have you been doing my laundry?” Angela was putting her dirty laundry in the basket to take down to the laundry room. There was only one pair of underwear in the hamper. That didn’t make any sense. She hadn’t done laundry in a week.

Thomas poked his head around the corner and grinned. “Are you serious? I barely do my own laundry.”

She smiled. “I thought it was a stretch...I just seem to be missing...some things.”

“Uh oh, the laundry room thief strikes again.”

“The laundry room thief?”

“Yeah, about a year ago, people were complaining that they’d put their laundry in and when they went to get it out, things were missing. Mostly lingerie. What did you lose?”

“Um...I don’t think the laundry room thief took mine. My underwear is missing but they seem to be missing out of the hamper.” Thomas curled his lip.

“You don’t think I’m a creepy pervert who likes dressing up in my best friend’s frilly panties, do you?”

She laughed. “Well, I didn’t...”

“I’m sorry,” he said, “I confess. I tried it on, but it didn’t fit. They all split right down the middle.”

Angela was laughing and shaking her head. “You’re crazy.”

“But you love me.”

“Yes, I do,” she said. “Can I ask you a favor?”

“Absolutely anything,” he said. She caught a glimpse of that look he gets every now and then...the one that makes her wonder if Joanne and Steve were right and Thomas felt more strongly about her than she thought. It was gone almost as soon as it appeared.

“Don’t threaten Steve again. I’m a big girl. I can decide who I want in and out of my life.”

His eyes darkened. “What do you mean? Are you and Steve back together?”

“No...not yet. We’re talking. Please respect that and be nice, okay?”

Thomas’s breaths seemed to be coming more rapidly and Angela could tell that he didn’t like the idea of her talking to Steve. He was silent for a few seconds and he seemed to be calmer as he said, “You know I respect you, Angela. I just don’t want to see you hurt. So, I’ll be nice...for your sake...but I don’t have to trust him.”