Betrayed (Dark Desires 2)

“I’ll talk to him about it tonight and I’ll tell you what he said tomorrow,” Veronica said. “And if it all goes well maybe we can set a date and time.”

“Great!” Calvin said, excitement evident in his voice. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow then. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Veronica said, her heart heavy. “Goodbye.”

“Goodbye,” she heard Calvin say, and she immediately hung up the phone.

Veronica let out a long sigh and leaned back against the wall, shoving her phone roughly into her pocket. This whole thing was really starting to wear on her, and she didn’t know how much longer she could effectively keep it up.

“Calvin, I assume?” Veronica turned to see the familiar figure of Frank in the doorway.

Veronica nodded, and took in his appearance. He wore a pair of dark wash jeans and a grey cable knit sweater. He stood with his arms crossed and his brow raised, a somewhat cold look on his face.

“Please don’t look at me that way,” Veronica said to him.

“Fine,” Frank said, raising his hands, and then putting them into his pocket. “So are you going to ask me or what?”

Veronica’s brows met and she cocked her head at him, annoyed.

“So did you just eavesdrop on my whole conversation, or what?” Veronica asked.

“Well I couldn’t help but hear,” Calvin said, his voice very calm and measured.

“Well since you asked,” Veronica said, irritated. “Calvin wants to know if I can take an afternoon off to go on a date with him soon.”

Frank raised both eyebrows.

“Would that be agreeable with you?” Veronica asked. “My contract states that I am not absolutely required to be here if you are present with the girls, and it assures me some time off as well.”

“I am not opposed to abiding by your contract,” Frank said, his voice as a calm and cool as ever. Somehow, that made her even more furious than if he had raged at her.

“Fine then,” Veronica snapped at him. “I’ll be calling him back tomorrow so I can set a time and a date.”

Frank said nothing, merely looking back at her.

“Say something!” Veronica hissed at him.

“What do you want me to say?” Frank bit back. “That I don’t want you to go? You’re a grown woman Veronica. That’s your relationship. You have a right to do what you want with him. I can’t stop you. As you’ve already pointed out, you’re well within the limits of your contract to take an afternoon off and spend it with him. To be honest I’m a little surprised you haven’t already done so.”

“That’s not what I wanted to hear,” Veronica said, her voice now betraying her conflicted emotions.

“Well then here’s something else,” Frank said, his voice incredibly low and deadly cold. “I don’t want you to go. I don’t want you to speak with him. I don’t want you to ever see him again. The truth? I’m horribly jealous. I want you to myself Veronica. I don’t want to take you to bed every night knowing that there’s another man out there with a claim on you. If you were any other woman in the world, there is no way on earth that I would ever put myself through what I am going through now.”

Veronica could have sworn her heart stopped at his words. She could feel the sincerity of his words resounding in her bones, and she knew that he meant everything he said. She felt numb in the face of such raw truth.

Silence stretched between them for a long moment, and the only communication that occurred between them was solely between their eyes.

“I don’t want you to go,” Frank said.

Veronica stayed still as he pushed off the wall behind him and began to move toward her. He came to stand in front of her, and she covered his hands with her own as he cupped her face. He lowered his head and kissed her softly. Then, he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.

“I want you all to myself,” Frank said softly. “And for a while I thought that you wanted me too. But right now, … I get the feeling that you don’t even know what you want.”

Veronica said nothing, and lowered her eyes. If she was completely honest, Frank was really right. She stayed silent, and she heard Frank release a long sigh through his nose. His hands moved down to rest on her hips, and his fingertips slipped beneath the hem of her shirt.

Veronica’s eyes flicked up to Franks, and she saw darkness and lust swirling there. She felt his hands move higher up inside of her shirt, and she gasped as he easily undid the clasp of her bra.

“Frank, we’re in the kitchen,” she protested in a hushed whisper, but she couldn’t deny the heat that had started to build up in her core.