Deceitfully Yours
Authors: Bethany Bazile
Deceitfully Yours
Bethany Bazile
Copyright © 2013 by Bethany Bazile
All rights reserved.
Warning: No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Table of Contents
You know that moment when you realize you’re in so deep no amount of climbing will get you out of that hole? Well, I surpassed that, and at some point I stopped trying to climb out. I became someone I barely recognized, a deceiver.
Some people say you don’t have to play the hand life deals you, but sometimes life lands you into such a
fucked-up situation that you’re too scared to even pull out the ace card you’re keeping up your sleeve. Fear can be a very compelling factor. How can anyone change what she hates about her life when she’s frozen in fear?
One
Kylie
The lights are dim,
soft jazz music drifts through the restaurant, and the wine is exquisite. My date gently caresses my hand on the tabletop with his fingertips as he gazes into my eyes. I smile innocently at him and pretend to be flustered. The setting screams romance and love, but this is far from that. This is my job, and he is my client, only he doesn’t know it. He’s part of my plan, the victim in my next ploy. As much as he thinks I should be concentrating on him, I can’t keep my gaze from wandering to the table a couple of feet to his right. The man at that table is my real mark tonight.
Jude Baxter
is not an ordinary man. He calls attention to himself without even trying. His suit is over the top, like something a runway model would wear. The jet-black, silky material clings to his body and shows off the extraordinary contours of his physique. The gray shirt under his jacket hangs loose, and enough buttons are open to make a V shape on the bottom and display his crotch. I love a man with snuggly fitting pants. That’s a man who’s not afraid to show off his greatest asset, and I’m his rapt audience.
Jude
shifts his gaze toward me without stopping his conversation with the man opposite him. He tilts his head slightly and lifts an eyebrow. I’ll get what I want from him in no time at all. He’s already made contact; now all I have to do is reel him in, then figure out how to get rid of the guy sitting across from me. I can’t even remember his name at this point, and it’s not necessary because I’ve caught the attention of the man who’s the real reason I’m here tonight.
“
Would you like dessert, Kylie?”
“
Huh?” I ask as I bring my attention back to my “date.”
“
Dessert?” he repeats.
“No…
no, thanks.” I glance back at the other table, and he’s now leaning back in his chair, making no effort to pretend he isn’t staring at me like I’m his next meal. His head is resting on his index finger and thumb, like he’s contemplating a business deal.
How to get the blonde at table number three?
He doesn’t realize I already have him, and there are no negotiations necessary.
He smiles at me
, and I shiver. That smile surprises me. Not because of how good he looks when he smiles, but because I know that smile. I perfected that smile. It’s the smile of a predator, and all of a sudden I feel like the prey.
A
nother man walks up to his table and stops to speak to him, breaking the silent moment of electricity that buzzed between us. The moment his gaze strays from mine, my heart starts to pound. I recognize the new addition to his table. I’ve never forgotten a client, and I know which ones to avoid, and I need to avoid Raul. I decided a while ago to call them
clients
. It helped me deny what I was doing, made me feel less guilty.
“Excuse me, I need to go to the restroom,” I mutter as I gather my bag and rush to the back
of the restaurant. The restroom is as posh and stuffy as the rest of this place. I drop down on the plush lounger and try to figure out how I’m going to get out of here without Raul seeing me.
Raul was
my
in
to a bigger fish. I needed to get an in to a very important man’s apartment, and Raul was his chauffeur and butler. He had the kind of access I needed. So I seduced and talked him into letting me into his boss’s home. Once I was in, everything else was easy. Raul was passed out, and I was leaving the apartment with the files I needed in less than half an hour. After that night I cut all contact and haven’t seen him since.
“Shit,” I grumble as I get up and walk to the mirror. I take my time fluffing my blonde hair and touching up my makeup
. After a few minutes of unnecessary grooming, I’m brave enough to venture out of the restroom and hopefully slip from the restaurant unnoticed. The hallway appears to be empty as I step out, but I realize I’m wrong when someone pulls my arm and drags me around the corner. The dark corridor leads to an emergency exit. My assailant slams my back against the wall, then presses his thick arm against my neck.
“
Kylie.” Raul smiles at me like he’s searched for me for the past year and finally hit gold. “Still up to the same tricks?”
I shake my head
, wrap my fingers around his forearm, and attempt to push him away. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Raul.”
“You
disappeared on me. You slipped something into my drink and—”
“No, I didn’t
.
“Shut up
, you lying bitch.” He presses his arm against my neck until I’m gasping for breath. “The last thing I remember is you stripping down to your underwear, then giving me that drink.” He shakes his head as though he can’t believe he got taken by me. “What’s your scheme?”
“I don
’t have a scheme. You passed out drunk, so I left,”
He moves in until his body is pressed against mine. “You walk around like you
r pussy is gold. Dangling it in front of men’s faces but never letting anyone close enough to taste it. Does your date know you’re a dick tease?” He seethes at me, his eyes wild with rage. He digs his other hand into my thigh at the hem of my skirt, then yanks my leg around his waist, and grinds his erection against me. The pressure on my throat prevents me from screaming for help. I push and shove at him, but my one hundred twenty pound body is no match for his six foot, two hundred fifty pound frame.
“
I woke up that morning to you gone and my boss hovering over me. You cost me my job. Maybe I’ll get payback between these sexy thighs.” He smiles at me as he inches his fingers higher.
“Please,” I
strain to say.
“What’s that?”
He puts his ear near my mouth and slightly loosens his hold on my neck.
“Please,” I beg.
He looks into my eyes and cocks his head to the side. “Please what? I almost don’t recognize you when you beg. What happened to the hardcore player who drugged me? You had to have a reason for doing that. What did you take?”
“I didn’t take anything. Did your boss find
something missing?” I ask, knowing there’s no way he’d have known I took anything. I copied all the files and put everything back in its place. “Please, Raul.”
He chuckles then whispers into my ear, “Is this game not fun for you? Or maybe you’re begging me to fuck you.”
He grazes the shell of my ear with his tongue, and I whisper, “Fuck you.”
“No, you’re the one getting fucked this time.”
He moves his hand off my thigh, and I can feel him fumbling with his belt. I close my eyes, but that only enhances the smell of alcohol on his breath and the cigarette smoke lingering on his clothes. I knew coming here tonight was a bad idea, but I couldn’t get out of it.
I haven’t actually slept with a man in three years
, and this is not the way I imagined it happening again. My heart is pounding so fast I can hear it echoing in my ear. Moisture pools in my eyes as his arm presses harder into my neck. Just as the edges of reality blur, I hear my savior.
“Let her go, Raul,” he says. His voice is rich
with a soft gravelly tone. It’s also intimidating and direct. I open my eyes and watch him stop beside Raul and raise both his eyebrows, challenging Raul to question his command.
Raul loosens
the hold he has on my neck. “This is personal, Mr. Baxter. She drugged me and left me—”
“
Why would I do that,” I snap, all of a sudden feeling a lot braver with someone else around. “You’re just a glorified chauffeur. What could I gain from drugging you?” His forearm presses back into my neck, and he growls at me.
“Raul.” With that one word Raul steps
away but doesn’t stop glaring at me. I turn from him and finally get a look at the beautiful man from earlier. I knew he would look even better up close, but my God, he's unreal. His dark hair is short and straight, but he somehow mussed it up on top to give it volume. It would take me an hour to get my hair to look so good, but I bet he rolled out of bed looking that way.
His eyes are
a dark, sinful chocolate, and a light dusting of five o'clock shadow covers his perfectly chiseled jaw. Under the beard is probably his only imperfection. A small scar runs from under the right side of his chin and ends under his lip. His beard is not thick enough to cover the scar, but it distracts attention from the jaggedly healed cut. If anything, the scar enhances his looks. It gives him a dangerous flare, and it matches the fierce look in his eyes.
“Go get the car, Raul
,” he says without moving his eyes from me. Raul grumbles as he walks down the hallway and leaves us alone.
His
gaze runs over my body like he’s taking in something he just made a bid on. “You’re a troublemaker,” he declares.
“No, Raul is a liar.”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. You look like the type of woman who makes men lose common sense.”
“You don’t know me.”
“You’re right.” He puts his hands in his pockets and a concerned look crosses his face. “Are you all right?”
I run a hand through my hair and stand up from my slumped position on the wall. “I’m fine
. Thanks for that.”
He shrugs his shoulder and turns away from me. “Stay out of trouble,” he says before striding down the hallway.
This is not how I intended this night to go. Things got really crazy; now all I want to do is go home. I stop at the table, make a quick excuse, and escape a date that is no longer necessary.