Betrayed: Keeping her in the Dark Vol. 3 Read online

  “Fine.” I shrugged my shoulders and climbed in my side of the bed. He leaned back and raised his eyebrow.

  “What do you mean, fine?” he was confused. Poor guy. I never made it easy for him.

  “I mean fine. You win. Let’s go to bed.” He kept looking at me like he was confused.

  “Really? I win? Just like that?” he asked and raised the covers on his side in frustration.

  “Yes. The Americans retreat. Get in bed,

  I’m tired.” I lowered myself in the bed and moved my feet back and forth. He started to climb in his side of the bed.

  “Okay. Well I don’t know how I feel about that….and I’m quite positive this is going to come back to haunt me.” He slid his body close to me.

  “It might,” I huffed. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” I rolled on top of him and pressed my body against his. “Now if you are not going to wear a ring to represent our marriage, maybe you should show me right now that I am still your wife. Because I could forget without a ring to remind me.”

  I had three ‘reminders’ that night.

  Chapter Two

  Liam

  I really thought Norah was going to give me more of a problem about the ring. I didn’t think my argument about my father held much weight but it was the best thing I could come up with at the time. I just didn’t like wearing jewelry. It wasn’t for me. It was nothing against Norah or my love for her. I just didn’t want to wear a ring. When she said I had won the argument, I knew she didn’t really mean I had won the argument.

  The next morning I fully expected another argument, but I didn’t get one. She didn’t mention it while we ran on our treadmills, she didn’t mention it while we showered and then brushed our teeth side by side, and she didn’t mention it while we ate breakfast. She wasn’t silent either.

  We chatted a little while we ran, she eagerly went down on me in the shower, and we talked about the days ahead of us while we ate. I really thought she was going to say something with her smart mouth the entire morning but she didn’t. Either she was truly over it and wasn’t going to make it an issue, or she was thinking and planning her attack. Either way, I was just going to have to sit back and wait until the bomb dropped.

  I sat at the kitchen table and waited patiently while she finished her conversation on her cell phone. I swear that company can’t run without her. I guess that is a good thing…for her.

  “I’m sorry. I know we said no phones at the table but it seems Brenda is having some trouble with the Witherspoon wedding arrangements and can’t seem to get anything done without my help.” She slid her chair across the floor to get closer to the table and reached out for her glass of orange juice.

  “How is she going to manage without you?” I asked as I poured myself some coffee. The wedding was in Italy, but I couldn’t get away and even though it had been almost a year since he took her from me, I didn’t want her out of my sight. Letting her go to work and have her own life was hard enough. I wasn’t about to let to travel without me.

  She shrugged her shoulders while she buttered her toast.

  “I don’t know. I hate that I can’t be there for our first big event,” she looked up at me as she took a bite. Her eyes were sad and pleading with me.

  “Norah, I said no. I can’t. Don’t you understand? It’s just too soon.” I wiped my mouth and walked to the kitchen with my plate. Rosa took it from me and I stood there with my arms crossed.

  “I didn’t even ask again. You said no, and I do understand. I think you are over working the whole caveman aspect, but I do understand.” She nestled her face into my neck and tried to get me to uncross my arms so she could get closer to me. I pulled her away from me and made her look me in the eye.

  “I just got you back. I know it has almost been a year, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. I can’t even think about losing you again, Norah.

  I will lose my mind. I’m not trying to be an asshole about this, I’m really not.” She nodded as if she understood but I knew she was still upset.

  She went to finish dressing and I went to the study to gather my things. We met at the door and she adjusted my tie.

  “Someone I know has a birthday coming up,” she sang her words. “I wonder who that could be?” she gave me a sexy little grin.

  “Norah, I don’t want anything for my birthday. I haven’t celebrated it in years.”

  “But thirty is a milestone. We should celebrate…oh, oh, oh, I could plan a party!” she was tapping her hands against my chest like it just occurred to her that she was a party planner.

  “No. Absolutely not. I don’t want a party. I don’t want anything…except you.” I pulled her closer. “How about you and I go away for a weekend? That would be a great birthday present.” I kissed her slowly and tried to tangle our tongues.

  “Well that sounds nice, but my husband can’t bear to be without his work for a weekend. So I can’t imagine where we would go?” She chuckled.

  “It’s just this weekend, Norah. I can’t get away this weekend. I have a big meeting on Saturday and a business brunch on Sunday. I can’t miss it. But I can go away another weekend.”

  “Oh, oh, oh,” she was jumping up and down like a little girl. “Can we go to Florida?” she asked.

  “Florida? That sounds very exotic. Where is that near the Cayman Islands?” She rolled her eyes. “Norah, when I say I want to go away for the weekend with my wife, it means I would like to somewhere tropical and exotic so I can watch you walk on the beach in a little bikini.” I kissed her nose. “Let’s talk about this later. We’re both going to be late.”

  “Oh, you just can’t wait to get to work so you can see ‘Charlie’s Angels’,” she joked.

  “Norah,” I huffed at her.

  “Do they say ‘Good Morning, Liam’, all in unison?” she had her cocky smile on her face.

  “Does it bother you that I have 4 secretaries, Mrs. Hastings?” I put my hands around her waist.

  “No I guess not,” she put her hands on my face. I gave her another kiss and then we went our separate ways.

  It was hard letting her go every day. The nightmare of what happened to her still haunted me. I couldn’t help but worry whenever she was out of my sight.

  John was still her driver and I had hired another bodyguard named Winston to be with her at all times. He didn’t follow her into meetings or to the bathroom or anything like that. Winston was like the Secret Service, you really didn’t notice him, but he was always around.

  I spent a lot of time looking for the right person to trust with my most precious possession. Winston graduated from MIT and was in the Marines for four years. After he was medically discharged for a cartilage problem in his knee, he was recruited by the FBI, where he worked as a field agent for another two years, before he was again recruited by the Secret Service. He served as a Secret Service agent for eight years and was working private security for a billionaire CEO in the states when I found him. It took some convincing on both our parts, but he has proven himself very trustworthy.

  Knowing Norah had these two men with her made it easier for me to do my work, but I still worried. It could happen when she least expected it. It could happen when she was out with her girlfriends and trying to dodge their protection. It could happen even if they did everything right and followed all my rules. It could still happen. He was still out there, so I knew it could happen again.

  Tracking Nick Meyers had become an obsession of mine. I didn’t tell Norah about it, in fact I never talked about it at all. Speaking his name in my house wasn’t allowed. I hadn’t forgiven nor had I forgotten. I would make him pay for what he did to my sweet Norah.

  He disappeared after I found him in New York. His flat in London went up for sale and a few of his homes in the states had either been sold or deserted. All of his credit cards had been closed out as well. The only thing he managed to keep was the two percent of shares he owned in my company.

  Just a little reminder that he was o
ut there somewhere. But everything else disappeared with him. He was gone.

  Until I found him again in a little town in India. He was living in a small beach house and driving a jeep. He looked like he was enjoying life as a beach bum. He had let his hair grow out a little and had a scruffy beard. He also had two blondes that seemed to adore him.

  In our last conversation about Nick, just before our wedding, Norah told me to let it go. She told me I had to move on and stop letting it control me. She said he was out of our lives and she knew in her heart he would never come back. I wasn’t as sure as her heart. That’s when I started keeping the truth from her…again. I knew I would keep tracking him until I found him but I didn’t want her to worry about what I would do when I did.

  By the time I found him living it up on a beach and set up a plan, he was gone. He had packed up and left India like he was never there. He made stops in Brazil and Mexico.

  He stayed in Bali and even went back Palolem for some time. But he never stayed long enough for me to formulate a plan as to how to deal with him.

  I lost him over six weeks ago. Maybe he sensed I was close again. Maybe he knew I had finally made up my mind as to what to do with him. I had a plan now, I was ready. I don’t know what happened, but Nick Meyers had disappeared again. Now I waited for my people to find him again, so I could get my revenge. Nick Meyers had become an obsession. But I still had my day job.

  I sat through two meetings, one conference call, and answered what seemed like endless emails before lunch. Then I sat and ate my salad while Will told me about how he and Jane were planning a trip to the Red Club this coming weekend.

  The Red Club just happened to be a very exclusive BDSM, sex, swinger club. Pretty much anything related to sex went on there. The membership was very hard to obtain and was also very expensive.

  “Jane is actually ok with this?” I asked. Will just laughed.

  “It was her idea. I was telling her about our history with those kinds of clubs and she said she wanted to check it out.” He laughed and leaned in close to me. “I think I have even convinced her to let me fuck another woman too. I mean how great is that? She thinks it was her idea as well.” I nodded and smiled but couldn’t believe my ears.

  After the very intense relationship that Will and Jane had shared, which was even more intense than mine and Norah’s, they still kept pushing their limits. She was his slave, then she ran from him, then he ‘punished’ her when she came back to him. After they reconciled I thought they would settle down, but that didn’t happen. They had been to private sex parties, hot tub socials and many, many strip clubs. Apparently now taking part in the acts performed in front of them was next on their list.

  I was happy for both of them. Living without each other was something they didn’t want to do. Something in their crazy relationship worked for them. Adding to it and spicing it up seemed to work as well.

  In a strange way I envied him. Although

  I loved my relationship with Norah and I was so happy we were married, there was a small part of me that craved a little more excitement. Thankfully our sex life hadn’t become mundane. Norah did allow me to take her to my basement and ‘play’ every once in a while. Since my tantrum in the basement before we were married, she wasn’t nearly as excited about going down there again. She did it for me and I knew that. Adding some spice never hurt any relationship.

  “You should come with us! I can get you in as a guest. Didn’t you say Norah had a wedding for this weekend anyway?” He was actually serious.

  “Yes, her company has a wedding in Italy, but she isn’t going. And I have that meeting on Saturday with Mr. Miller and then brunch on Sunday with him and his wife. I need her here with me.” He told me to tell if I changed my mind and we went back to work.

  I had a mile of paperwork to take care of on my desk. We had just closed a deal with ‘Tuttle Dailey’ an internet startup company that almost went belly up when the economy turned. “Dammit, Marcy!” I dropped my pen and put my bleeding finger in my mouth. Marcy opened the door and shuffled to my desk.

  “You rang?” Marcy was like Norah in that she too was very sarcastic.

  “There is a little button on your desk that you can touch and calmly talk to me like a person.” Her hands were on her hips.

  “Can you leave the attitude at your desk and help me please?” I held out my finger and showed her my paper cut.

  “A paper cut? Do you need a band aid or are we amputating the finger?” she crossed her arms against her chest. “Because I think I left my scalpel at home.”

  Then without another word she stepped behind the bar in my office and pulled out a first aid kit. She wiped my finger with a cold cloth then put a band aid on it. I nodded.

  “You’re pretty mouthy today. What happened to the assistant that was so eager to please me and jumped at the sound of my voice?” I asked.

  “She got pregnant and moody. Not to mention you hired 3 other girls to replace her before she was even out the door and in case you didn’t notice I did jump at the sound of your voice, sir.” She crumpled the paper from the band aid and dropped it in the trash.

  “Thank you.” I waited for her to look at me. “I didn’t replace you. I hired 3 girls to help you out and by extension help me out when you go on maternity leave. Now can you help me with these forms? I can’t be thinking about this paper work on my desk when I am meeting with Mr. Miller this weekend.” As she sorted the papers on my desk she explained that Mr.

  Miller’s wife had some kind of facial peel that went wrong and now had chemical burns all over her face. They wouldn’t be here until next week.

  “So the meeting and brunch is cancelled? That is great news!” I patted Marcy on the butt and grabbed my cell phone.

  “You’re so lucky I’m not sensitive about all your butt patting and am too lazy to file sexual harassment charges,” she said as she walked out of my office.

  “Marcy, sweetheart, if I wanted to sexually harass you I can think of better things to do besides pat your ass. You already run the company what more do you want?” I winked at her as she shut the door behind her. She was right. I was lucky she wasn’t sensitive to my butt patting.

  “Norah, I’m free this weekend! My meeting was cancelled. So you can go to your wedding event this weekend, and I would like to go with you, if that is ok?” She started laughing.

  “Are you kidding me? Liam! That is so wonderful! I am so excited!” She started squealing so loud I had to hold the phone away from my ear. We talked a little more but she hurried me off the phone so she could start making plans for the weekend. I ended the call with a big smile on my face and turned to see Will standing in front of my desk.

  “So, you get the weekend off and have decided to spend it with the ol’ ball and chain? Come on, Liam. Come with us. Let Norah go to her wedding and you come with Jane and I?” I shook my head no.

  “Then bring Norah with you! Married life has to be getting a little predictable by now. You guys should join us and kick things up a notch.” He chucked some peanuts in his mouth.

  “That isn’t going to happen, Will. I don’t want Norah in a place like that ever again. And please remember when you speak about Norah, you aren’t talking about someone I am dating or my live in girlfriend. You are talking about my wife.” He apologized.

  “Will the difference between you and I is that I like to make my wife happy every chance I get. When Norah is happy it makes my life easier. You on the other hand, like to convince Jane that your screwing another woman is really her idea.” I sat down at my desk.

  “My sex life doesn’t need a kick. We like it on the notch we have it.” Will apologized again and went back to his office. I grabbed some of the paperwork off my desk and went to Steve’s office. He usually just handled the finances but I couldn’t handle anymore papers and signatures at the moment.

  “Steve, please handle the rest of this stuff. I can’t sign my name anymore. The CFO of ‘The L.T. Hastings Group’ is just
as sufficient as the CEO.” I dropped the papers on his desk.

  “Well I would beg to differ with you, sir. Most people want to hear from the good looking business owner, not his average looking second in charge.” Steve always under sold himself. He did way more than just keeping track of the money and spending. He handled over half of the negotiations, brought in new business all the time and rubbed elbows with clients whenever it was needed. Out of all the people in my life, except for my house staff, he was the least complicated. We met when I started coming to work with my father, back then he was head of Accounting. When I finally took over, the previous CFO retired, and I promoted him. I knew I could trust him. He did his job and then some, and he was very good at it.

  When I opened the door to the house that evening I smelt something wonderful. I wasn’t sure if it was Rosa cooking up one of her famous recipes or Norah trying something new. Whatever it was I couldn’t wait to taste it.

  “Well hello, Mr. Hastings. You look lovely this evening.” Norah handed me a martini and gave me a wink.

  “Come join me in the kitchen while I finish dinner.” She turned back and swished her hips as she walked. She was wearing an apron with a full skirt underneath and red heels. Her hips swayed back and forth as she was waltz in the kitchen.

  I loved watching Norah in the kitchen. She moved like she heard music in her head. Her apron was leopard print and had lace around the edges. She was chopping, stirring, and tasting everything. She hummed and bobbed her head.

  “You’re in a good mood,” I leaned over the island and kissed her cheek.

  “I am in a great mood. My man is going to get to see me in action this weekend, and we are going to get to take a little ‘us’ time. Life is good.” She jerked her head so a little piece of hair moved from her eye.

  “I thought I would celebrate by playing ‘June Clever’ tonight,” she gave me a sexy smile.

  “Well you know how I love June,” I replied.

  She finished dinner and we ate while we laughed. I told her about my paper cut and how Marcy told me to quit my crying. Then she told me how Tim had managed to trip and break an entire case of wine, while at the same time ruining invitations to an event in two months. When dinner was over, she washed and I dried the dishes. We slow danced around the kitchen floor as she hummed the song from our weddings.