Insufferable Proximity 2 (14 page)

“Really?”

“Yes. Check your email when you get a chance; you’ll see what I mean.”

“All right, thank you. I’ll talk to you soon.” She hung up the phone and lay back on the bed, analyzing what Ayden had just told her. She sat up again, ready to call her mother and tell her about it, when the phone rang. “Hello?”

“Sevigne, how are you?” Petal asked.

“Hey Petal, I’m doing well. Still locked up in the room.”

“King still won’t let you out?” she said with a giggle.

“Nope, not yet.”

“Well, at least he’s letting you out for our party this weekend.”

“What party?”

“King didn’t tell you?”

“No.”

“Well, Alex and I have decided to throw the ultimate party. This will be the party that outshines all other parties. We’re going for the party of the decade here,” Petal purred.

“A sex party?” Heaven asked as dread began to fill her.

“Yes, but not just any sex party. This will be full-out debauchery. I promise to deliver the kinkiest all-night fest you will ever experience.”

“And Julian agreed to this?”

“I believe he made the reservations with Alex.”

“Petal, I’m going to have to call you right back.”

“Is everything peachy keen, love?”

“Yes…I’ll call you back,” Heaven said and hung up the phone.

Heaven threw on her robe and the only shoes in her immediate proximity. She left the room and headed downstairs, ready for battle. She stormed out of the front door and stomped over to Julian, her heels clicking with each step.

Julian knew it was Heaven before he turned around. He knew that walk as well as his own. Whether at home or in the office—Heaven could always express her anger through her footsteps.

“Julian.” She put her hand on her hip as he turned to her.

“What are you doing out of the room?” Julian barked.

“I need to talk to you,” her tone was dangerously low, and her hazel eyes blazed with rage.

He knew that look; he hadn’t seen it lately, but he knew that look well.

“I’ll be right back,” he said to his cousins before he grabbed Heaven and headed towards the house. He took her upstairs to their room and slammed the door behind him.

“I told you to stay in the room! And where’s your walkie-talkie?” He was furious.

“Petal just called me.”

“So?”

“So she told me about their big party.”

“So?” Julian failed to see the point.

“So she said it will be the kinkiest sex party ever. The party that will put all their other parties to shame.”

“I don’t care. Where is your cell phone?”

“She told me that you made reservations for us! Let me tell you something, Mr. King, I am
not
going! There is no way in hell I will ever step into another one of those parties. Never! I agreed to it because I was under contract, and I’ll admit that
maybe
I was a little curious, but I will no longer participate in such debauchery.”

“I never made reservations. We’re not going.”

“I will
not
…" she paused and looked at him for a second. “Excuse me? Did you just say that we’re
not
going?” she asked in befuddlement, ready to continue arguing. She had prepared this speech the minute she got off the phone with Petal, and she wanted to get it all out.

“We’re not going to that party; I have no intention of taking you to another one. The fact that I took you in the first place makes me sick,” he scowled.

He was still angry with himself for trying to make Heaven fit into his perverse world. The thought of taking her to those places seemed obscene to him now. He was angry with himself for even exposing her to that lifestyle. He didn’t want her to be as he was. He appreciated her purity, and the respect that she had shown her body.

In the past, when he had disliked her, he wanted to disrespect her. Now he wanted to show her the respect that she deserved. He also wanted to keep her all to himself; she was his, and she was all that he had.

“Really?”

“Really. Those parties served their purpose, but I don’t need them anymore.” He grinned, although he was serious. It was strange how his feelings had changed. Things that he once enjoyed now seemed immature, preposterous and inappropriate. Not to mention boring in comparison to what he had now. Heaven was more entertaining than any of those parties had ever been.

“Seriously?” She didn’t think she would ever hear him say that.

“Seriously,” he said, grinning at her surprise, “things are different now. I’m different.”

“How?”  She needed to hear him say it.

“It was that last party I took you too. It changed me. When I saw everyone, including my friends, looking at you, I had an overwhelming urge to burn all of their eyes out. I wanted to go through that room like an axe-wielding maniac. I don’t want anyone to see you like that again…only me. I want to wrap you in fabric from your neck to your toes. I want everyone to respect you the way that I now respect you. I want them to see you as a princess, but I want them to know that you’re
my
princess. Only mine. I want them to realize that if they even look at you for too long, I will fucking kill them. I’ll never share you, and I refuse to subject you to that type of perversity again. Taking you to another sex party is a set-up for failure or a one-way ticket to prison.” 

“The sex addict of the world actually declines the kink fest of the decade?” She shook her head in disbelief. “I never thought I would see the day.”

“I’m done with them. They started out as a distraction and became a way of life. It was fine before, but not anymore. Again, things have changed.”

“Distraction from what?”

“My family. Growing up, I would have done anything to get out of my house at that time. The parties were the only time in my life that I was at ease. The chaos in my home was too much for me—my parents were always at war. The chaos at the parties was mind-numbing and sexually geared. They distracted me from dwelling on my life. Sex was the only way I knew how to ease my mind and my violent thoughts. I probably would have been ignorantly happy living like that for the rest of my days. But, I met you, and everything changed.”

“I can’t believe you’re not the least bit tempted to go to that party.”

“Not at all; you’re the only thing that tempts me. I would rather be with you in a tiny, bare room with no food or water than be anywhere else in the world,” he said with a sincerity that made her smile.

A Little Wager

“You said you would come up here for a late dinner. Where are you?” Heaven snapped into the phone.

“I’m still working on this, we’re almost done. I’ll be there soon,” Julian answered.

“Either you come up here now, or I’ll come down there,” she demanded before she hung up the phone. She grabbed her shoes and put them on, just in case he didn’t come.

She had no more than grabbed them when the door swung open.

“What’s the matter?” Julian yelled.

“What do you mean what’s the matter? You were supposed to be here, but you stood me up
again
! I’m done with this isolation. I’m done with the whole hostage situation; I’m not staying in this room another minute!” she screamed as she headed towards the door.

“You’re not leaving!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her back to him.

“Yes, I am—“

“No, you’re not!” He put his hand over her mouth, not wanting to hear another word from her. “You will stay in this room until I tell you it’s safe to leave. I don’t want any arguments from you.”

His gray eyes blazed with determination and his steely will. Somewhere in her mind, Heaven felt that she should be angry with him. However, the tingling that she felt in her heart and in the center of her vagina would not allow the anger to manifest.

“Stop fighting me, I’m trying to keep you safe.” He slid his hand down the side of her neck and then rested it above her breast. “I need to keep you safe. I would lock you away in a shrine if it were possible.”

“You’re being paranoid, Julian.”

“I am being cautious.”

“You can’t keep me locked up in this house all day and all night. I’m going stir-crazy,” she lifted her brows, her hysteria evident in her expression, “do not make me crazy, Julian King; trust me, you would not like me when I’m crazy.”

“I don’t care if you’re crazy—I care if you’re safe.”

“I keep a bow gun in my trunk, I carry a small handgun in my purse, you have two guns strapped to you at all times, you don’t sleep and you don’t leave my side. I am perfectly safe—you made sure of that.”

“You’re not leaving this house.”

“Gavin is in jail, Julian. What don’t you understand about that?”

“We didn’t even know Gavin. We thought we knew Gavin, but we had no clue who he really was. Hell, I didn’t even know who my father actually was until Gavin told me. I don’t trust the situation—I have a bad feeling. I don’t know that Gavin doesn’t have an accomplice. Maybe his mother had an angry brother or father? Or maybe another son? A twin perhaps?”

“We can’t live in fear of what could happen. Even if you put aside the constant protection and non-stop supervision that you supply, I can still handle myself.”

“I’m not taking any chances, and I don’t
want
you to have to handle yourself.”

“I want things to be normal again; like it was
before
Gavin turned out to be a psychopath.”

“It will never be the same; everything has changed.” He was different; everything that had happened had changed him.

“It will. You just need to relax.” She slid her hands down his chest.

“I don’t have time to relax.”

“You’re tense and you’re riddled with worry. You’re so worried about safety that you’re not eating well; you never sleep and you stopped having sex,” she said, and just the mention of sex had him leaning towards her. “You haven’t had sex since the night Gavin attacked us. That must be some type of record for you. How the hell are you holding out?”

“I’m afraid to sleep. I’m afraid to take my eyes off you; I need to see your face, and if I can’t see it, then I need to hear your voice. I can’t do that if I’m resting, I can’t protect you if I’m asleep. I already fucked up once; my negligence let Gavin right in here. I was too busy fucking you to see what was happening. I’m focused on keeping you safe—sex is a distraction. I’ve screwed up a lot of things because I let sex rule my life. I won’t make that mistake with you!”

Saying the words aloud snapped him out of his lusty trance. Now was not the time for sex. Too much sex distracted him, and he had difficulty paying attention to his surroundings. Sex was perfect when you had nothing to lose and cared for no one but yourself, but that was no longer the case. The thought of losing her made him physically ill and forced his violent tendencies to resurface. He needed to be on point right now, and sex would prevent that from happening. If by some chance Gavin did have an accomplice, that accomplice would not be able to get to Heaven under any circumstances. Even if Gavin escaped from jail, Heaven would be untouchable.

“We won’t let it get out of hand.”

“But it will, you know as well as I do. The longer I wait, the worse it will be. I want you so bad right now.” As he spoke, Heaven could see the determination it was taking to control his lust.

“But you’re going to try and hold out until you finish securing the house?” She almost laughed at the absurdity.

“Yes.”

“I don’t think you can do it.” She shook her head in disbelief. She was having enough trouble abstaining from sex, so she knew that he was in hell.

“I can,” he replied with faltering confidence.

“Would you like to place a wager on that?” she asked, allowing her excitement to show. She had long stopped using her poker face on Julian.

He saw the excitement in her eyes, and he hesitated for a moment. He knew she would go to the extreme to win; she always did.

Don’t do it man, it’s a trick! It’s a losing battle that you’ll never win! You’re setting yourself up for failure, you fool,
he mentally reminded himself.

“I would love to,” he answered with a wolfish grin. He couldn’t resist her, especially when she was in battle mode. He loved that competitive streak that ran so deeply in her, and he felt his cock shift at just the thought.

“If I win, you have to wait on me hand and foot for seven whole days. You have to prepare my baths, bathe me as well as feed me. I’m not going to lift a fork for seven days. You have to assist me as I redecorate this house, and you have to have sex when
I
say. In other words, you have to be my personal lap dog.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement at the thought of winning the bet.

“And if I win—you’re naked and on your knees, waiting on my every command for seven whole days. I’m taking it back to the contract rules.”

“I’m going to make you help me redecorate the room for hours before giving me a full body massage. And let’s not forget the long shopping trips.” She grinned, knowing how much he despised shopping.