Taken (Dark Desires 1)

I quickly covered my eyes with my hands. My cheeks were hot with embarrassment and I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry.

“Marty? Marty, your boss, Marty? The other successful billionaire you’ve been dating? They’re brothers?”

“Yes.” I said, tears starting to fall down my cheeks. “I don’t know why I’m crying, Di. I really don’t. But when I sit back and think of what has happened I feel like crying. So I do.”

Telling Diamond this weird twist of events had a very therapeutic result. I felt lighter and even though the tears rolled down my cheeks I wasn’t hysterical. In fact, for the first time I thought I might be getting close to sorting out my feelings. Thank goodness I decided to stalk Diamond today. I really needed her.

“Well, start from the beginning. Tell me how you first found out.”

I wasn’t even sure where to begin because it was a very peculiar night. I took a deep breath and let the words just fall out. Once I started I couldn’t stop.

“What is this benefit for?” I asked Joshua as I got dressed at his penthouse apartment in a new outfit he had picked out for me. It was a beautiful soft pink satin dress that clung to my curves yet covered everything quite modestly. Since we had just finished making love the pink rosiness of my cheeks was the perfect complement to the dress.

“I’m not sure.” He said as he watched me get dressed. It seemed as if he got just as aroused watching me get dressed as he did watching me undress.

“You don’t know who you are giving money to?”

“I’m invited to a dozen of these things a year. Sometimes I go. Sometimes I don’t. But, now that I have this beautiful ornament to hang off my arm, you can bet I’ll be showing her off every chance I get.”

“Is that all I am to you? An arm ornament?” I teased. Joshua didn’t make me feel like that at all. He made me feel like a princess being escorted to the ball.

He stood up, walked over to me and without touching me with his hands leaned down and kissed my lips. How I wished he would have swept me back to the bed right then but he didn’t. It was funny. Whenever I felt like that was all I wanted to just be in his arms, to feel his weight and burn with his kisses he’d give me that smoldering look that he was giving me now. I couldn’t be sure if it was the kiss or the look that made me pant with desire but either way, I was a ball of sexual frustration by the time we got into the limo to head off toward the mystery charity event. Something told me Joshua liked that, too.

Riding in the back of the limo I had to admit it felt like prom. Here we were, all dressed up going to such a grown-up affair. Joshua, who never seemed to be nervous or excited about anything except, well, me. I looked out the window as he rubbed my thigh over the silky-satin of my bushing pink cocktail dress.

“Will you know anyone here?” I asked, wondering if I needed to prepare for any questions from an Aunt Winifred or Cousin Momo or maybe an ex-fiance who was a supermodel because aren’t they all supermodels?

“These are mostly going to be people who know my brother. He likes to socialize in small, controlled groups. Like a science experiment.” Joshua’s voice took on a sharp tone as he spoke about his brother.

“Is he going to be there?” From the sound of it I was hoping not. They didn’t seem to get along.

“No. I swiped his tickets. He won’t be there.”

I knew I heard him wrong.

“I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“I stole his ticket. I took it from his mail at work. I thought you’d enjoy going so I took his invites.”

“My gosh. Joshua. Don’t you think he might get mad?”

“He’s always mad about something. You should know.”

“What?” I had no idea where this conversation was going.

“Isn’t he always grumping around every day, at the office.” Joshua’s face was calm but sly. “Marty Reid. Besides, he’s got a couple of big meetings coming up in the next couple of days, right? He’s too busy.

This conversation had taken me from Park Avenue down to some seedy alley in the Bronx.

“Marty Reid is your brother?” I almost choked. My whole body flushed yet I felt a chill. Was it possible to instantaneously come down with the flu? Now I knew why I had the luck of two billionaires vying for my attention. It was because the universe likes practical jokes. Somewhere some divine being was laughing so hard tears were streaming from his divine eyes. He’d be repeating this incident to the other angels or saints or whoever he told jokes to and they’d all be laughing with wide eyes saying “no you di-int” while they searched the cosmos for my face that I swear has the word SUCKER written on my forehead in some kind of invisible ink only these divine beings can see. I probably have KICK ME on my back, too.

“Didn’t I mention that?”

“No.” I said, barely hearing the words

come out of my own mouth.

“Yeah. He’s my big brother. How did you think I got you that job?”