His Secret (Man Of The House Taboo Erotica)

“It wonderful, mom,” I said. “Thank you.”

“Of course. Let’s go! We need to get there before 7:00 PM,” she said, hustling me from the chair and out the door.

We ran through the parlor and hopped into the limo, my mother and Dallas sitting on either side of me. When we arrived at the theater, the area was packed with people taking photos and fans waving. I didn’t realize my mother had such celebrity status.

“Just smile,” said my mother. “And follow my lead.”

She exited the car first, waving to the crowd before holding her hand out to me to pull me out of the car. I stepped out on the red carpet. This would be my first time in front of the media. Cameras flashed in every direction as photographers yelled my mother’s name. Dallas came out of the car behind us and joined my mother, our arms interlocking as we walked up the carpet. We stopped once to take photos for a man dressed in a black suit, posing elegantly in front of the movie poster that my mother had designed.

I followed her into the theater which was already crowded with other celebrities, flushing as I watched them chatting politely. Did I look alright? My mother took my hand, assuring me that everything was fine. I felt a little faint. We sat in the front row and I played with a loose strand of hair, feeling incredibly out of place even though I looked the part. Although Dallas had turned me into a Hollywood woman, I still felt like the dull country bumpkin from the east coast who knew nothing about the LA lifestyle and how to act.

This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Six

The premiere was a huge success. My mother was incredibly proud of her creation and I would have been happy had her and Dallas not been necking the entire time next to me. It was disgusting. I could hear their lips smacking together and it enraged me, the green monster returning in full force. All it did was inspire an attitude of revenge. Before the movie ended, I excused myself to the restroom and ran from the darkness of the theater. I stared at my reflection in the bathroom, feeling the anger fill me. I didn’t want to face them again, but I didn’t have a choice.

To calm myself, I ran cold water over my hands and gently patted my cheeks to make the red go away. I left the bathroom and promptly bumped into Dallas in the hall.

“Are you alright?” he asked, noticing my expression.

“I’m fine,” I lied as I headed back for my seat.

He stopped me.

“I want to take you out again,” he said.

“Why?” I asked.

“To celebrate. Your mother is attending a party somewhere else and I don’t want to go,” he explained.

“So, I’m your back up plan?” I snapped.

His face went dark.

“Really, Maddy?” he said sternly. “After all the things I’ve done for you?”

My anger deflating as the truth of his words cut deep, I looked at the ground, feeling ashamed. I should have known better than to say something so harsh. It wasn’t like he was trying to make me jealous. It simply came as a natural reaction to seeing them together. I tried to understand the feeling, but it only made me more frustrated.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered.

Dallas sighed loudly, taking my arm to lead me back to our seats. After the movie had finished, the audience erupted with applause and my mother stood up front to bow and say her

thanks. The shining moment ended quickly and we retreated outside in the night air where my mother explained where she was going.

“I might be gone for most of the night. Dallas knows how these parties usually go. I wish he would come with me,” she said teasingly as she squeezed his cheek. “And I wish I could bring you, dear, but it’s a mature party.”

“I understand,” I said even though I didn’t. “Have fun and be safe, mom.”

“I will. You two get home safely. I’m riding with the director,” she said as she headed in the opposite direction.

Happy to have her gone, I started to reach for Dallas’s hand. My fingers brushed his and he shot me a firm glance as if to say, “Don’t you dare do that here.” We climbed into the limo and the driver took us to a different club than we’d gone to the previous night. I was elated to have the lights surrounding me, to get lost in my green drinks while trying to forget the awful sound of my mother kissing my sweet Daddy. When had I become to territorial of him? I hadn’t been in LA very long and was already growing attached.

I sipped my drink slowly as Dallas talked about the movie, highlighting my mother’s genius and how the audience had been receptive to the strong female lead. Part of me was proud of her, and yet another part of me was angry. I couldn’t get the image of them kissing out of my head, so I walked off towards the dance floor where I found a group of guys dancing. I twirled between them, showing off my curves in my gorgeous gown and giggling like a little girl when they would grab my waist. It was my great effort to make my Daddy jealous, who was watching from the table on the other side of the dance floor.

As I moved, I beckoned the men with my hands and rubbed their shoulders sensually as they pressed against me. One of them trailed his fingers down my torso and tried to grab my flower. I whacked his hand away. Offended, he grabbed my arm and shouted into my ear that I was being a tease. My flight response took over and I tried to pull away, panic filling every part of my body. His grip was too strong on my arm. It caused me to tumble into a memory of when I had disobeyed my papa as a child, and him pulling me out of the car as I threw a tantrum.

That had been the first day away from my mother. I didn’t want to go inside the farm house, but instead return to my home in Charlotte. Papa said that my mother had other plans and she had already flown away, that I should get my sorry hide inside before he gave me a reason to cry. It was an overwhelming moment. As I watched the scene in my head unfold, Dallas intercepted the overly rambunctious man who still had a grip on me. I could hear him shouting, but I wasn’t sure what he said. The man looked flustered as if he were about to fight and Dallas waved to a bouncer on the other side of the room.