Providence, Rhode Island – April 20th, 2013
I
freeze and let his words sink in. He doesn’t know me. Not even my name. What is
going on here?
“It’s
me,” I say, placing my hand on my chest. “Lillith.”
He
frowns, his nose twitching in disgust. I hate that suspicious gaze in his eyes
and the way his body is slightly slanted, as if I’m a lunatic approaching him
for no reason.
“And
I’m supposed to know you?” he says, raising an eyebrow.
My
lip lowers, my heart strangled by tangling dismay. “How is this possible?”
“I’m
sorry; I think you have me mistaken for someone else.” There’s a twinge in his
voice, and it’s almost as if he’s in a hurry to speak the words. “Excuse me,
Miss, but I have to get going now.”
He
steps past me and walks down the sidewalk while I stare at him from behind. I’m
baffled—completely shaken—from his blatant denial. This can’t be right. He
knows me and I know him.
“Wait!”
I call out, and I run after him, blinking my tears away.
“What
do you want?” he grumbles.
“Why
don’t you recognize me? You know you know me.”
“I’m
sorry; I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Yes,
you do. Stop denying it.”
“Miss,
leave me alone, please.”
His
ignorance hurts, but I won’t let it get to me. “No, I want to know why you’re
denying that you know me. You know full well what we did in the hospital.”
He
takes a big gulp of air but doesn’t exhale, which tell me he’s upset. Good, he
should be. I am, too. I don’t understand any of this.
“Stop
ignoring me.” I grab his jacket. He stops and looks back at me, his face so
dark, so volatile; it scares the shit out of me. One jerk is all it takes to
make me release him from my grasp.
“I
don’t know what you want, but I suggest you leave before I call someone.”
“Like
who, exactly?”
He
starts rummaging in his pocket and takes out his wallet. “I don’t care, just
leave me alone! Do you want money? Is that it? Here. Now go away!” He pushes
something into my hand. Baffled, I gaze down at the hundred-dollar bill. No, no
way.
“I
don’t need your money,” I say as I follow him, crumpling it up so I can hand it
back to him.
“Then
what do I have to do to make you leave?” he says. “Call the cops? Is that what
you want?”
“No,
of course not.”
“Then
why do you insist on following me? You don’t know me.”
“Care
to explain how I know your name then, Mister Sebastian Brand?” I scoff.
“You
could’ve gotten that from anywhere. I’ve heard about enough now,” he hisses.
“I’m
not leaving.”
He
doesn’t respond, so I follow him into the building next door to the gym—the
exact address that I found on the internet when I searched for him. I knew it;
he does live here. Why else would he go in here?
“Mister
Brand, are you honestly going to deny the fact that we have been talking for
ages now?” I try to ignore the guard at the desk, staring at us from under his
glasses.
“Yes.
Yes, I am.” He smiles at me while pressing the button on the elevator.
I
make a petty face. “You can’t fool me. I know you know me, and I know you
remember all those nights at the hospital. Don’t tell me it wasn’t real. I’m not
sure what kind of game you’re playing here, Mister Brand, but I’m not falling
for it.”
“Oh,
I’m not playing games, Miss. If I was, you’d know.” There’s amusement on the
surface of his voice.
“Oh,
do tell.”
We
step into the elevator, and he presses a button. I look around and notice that
even the elevator looks expensive. Wood lines the walls, the bars are colored
gold, and on the floor is a velvety red rug. Everything about this entire
building is expensive, and from the looks of it, Sebastian is anything but
poor.
“I
actually happen to enjoy plenty of games, but this is not a game to me,” he
proceeds. “This is serious. I’m honestly wondering why you are following me.
You do realize I could have you arrested for harassment, right?”
“I’m
sure you could.”
He
chuckles. “I like that you’re not at all terrified. I admire that in a woman.”
“I’m
not intimidated by men in suits, and you, sir, don’t scare me at all.”
“How
unfortunate …”
I
gulp and look at the numbers on the panel in the wall. There are still a lot of floors to go. This building is
huge, and he lives on the top level. This could take a long time. A very long
time alone with him. Oh, shit.
As
the elevator doors close and I’m left alone with Sebastian, or whoever in the
hell he thinks he is, my heart beat speeds up. I shift in place to try to hide
my discomfort. I must push through. I will not leave him, no matter what he
says.
“Listen,
I don’t know what game you’re playing, but you know just as well as I do that—”
Suddenly,
Sebastian grabs my arms and shoves me against the wooden wall, trapping me
between his arms. The money that was in my hand drops to the floor.
“What?
That I know you or you know me?” He leans forward. “That I did something with
you?”
I
swallow, staring him dead in the face, not giving in to his taunt. “We had
sex.”
Squinting,
he steps closer, tightening his grip on my arms. “And?”
“And
it was wonderful.”
He
smiles cheekily. “Of course it was.”
I
breathe a sigh of relief.
“I
rock every woman’s fantasy. Too bad it’s only a fantasy.”
“What?”
I say. “It wasn’t just a fantasy.”
“Oh,
Miss, whatever your name is …”
“Carrigan,”
I sneer.
“Miss
Carrigan …” The way he says my name sends shivers down my body. “Whatever you
have in your mind, you’re mistaken. I would not take a woman and not remember her.”
“Don’t call me a liar.”
“I’m
not. I simply think you’re confused. That’s okay. I know how to deal with
confused women.”
I
snort. “I bet you cause most of that confusion.”
He
smiles. “Touché. You’re right, I do.” He cocks his head. “And you know what
else?” He leans forward, pushing himself up against me. My nipples perk up from
arousal, smoothing along his casual attire. Even though he denies every single
thing I say, he still turns me on.
“What?”
I ask, my lips still parted, inclining toward him.
He
moves his head to my ears, making me gasp for breath.
“I
mess with their heads.”
I
take a sharp breath. Jesus Christ.
He
places a hand on the wall beside me, squeezing my arm even harder with his
other hand. “What do you want from me, Miss Carrigan?”
“I
want the truth. You know me. Tell me you do. Tell me you want me. Tell me you
need me. I miss your touch.”
He
sniffs in my ear, but then I realize it’s partial laughter. After a while, he
opens his mouth, breathing hot air into my ear. I clench my legs together from
the heat.
“I
don’t need anyone. Ever.”
“I
know you said I shouldn’t come to you, but I couldn’t go anywhere else,” I
whisper in pure despair. I don’t want him to deny me this. I can’t deal with
it.
“You’re
right, you shouldn’t have come. You have no idea what you’ve done.”
“I’m
sorry …”
“You’re
messing with the wrong man.”
I
gasp as he reaches for my throat. I squirm under his arms but don’t fight his
tight grip pinning me to the wall. Why is he being this cruel?
“You
think you know me?”
“No
… but you know me. You know I need you … I need you, Mister Brand, to make it
all okay again.”
“You
need me? You think you need my hands touching you? How does it feel so far?”
I
struggle to stay put with his fingers slowly digging into my neck. I cough.
He
comes close to my lips, almost kissing me. “You think you want this? Guess
again.”
“I
do,” I whisper.
“Fine.”
With
haste, he spins me on my feet, pushing me down until my face is against the
wall and my ass is pointing in his direction. He yanks my dress up and rips my
panties down in one go.
“I’ll
show you what I do to women that has them shamefully begging.”
Suddenly,
his hand comes down on my ass.
I
yelp in shock. Jesus Christ, he spanked me.
“Do
you like this, Miss Carrigan?” He slaps my ass again, making my body rock up
and down.
I
push away from the wall, but he won’t allow me to back away.
“Oh
no, you’re not going anywhere. You wanted me to touch you then let me put my
hands all over you.”
“Not
like this …” I whimper as he smacks me again.
“Yes,
like this. You might deny it, but I can tell you’re that kind of lady. Someone who enjoys being
conquered.” He groans. “What a nice round, perky ass. Cherry colored as well.
My favorite.”
“You
should see it when it’s not painfully red,” I retort in a brief moment of
courage.
He
chuckles while spanking me again. “Oh, playing games, are we? I like women who
are a little feisty.” He spanks me again, his fingers spreading wide on my ass.
“See, now this … this is what I need.”
He
growls as he slaps me again, my skin tingling from the burn. I can feel the
burn, and yet it excites me like nothing else. “Didn’t I tell you it was a bad
idea to follow me?”
I
know I’m stuck here, but I refuse to believe it was a bad idea. He is Sebastian
Brand, and he knows me. I won’t stop until he says he does. However, I never
imagined he’d put his hands on me like this. This elevator has us both trapped,
and his hands don’t feel like they’re going anywhere else than on my ass right
now. I have to deal with this a different way. “I’m sorry, Mister Brand.”
“Sorry
doesn’t cut it.” He smacks me again. “Besides, since you seemed so adamant on
having me touch you again, I figured I’d give you what you want.” He jerks my
hair and pushes me further down. “Uh-uh, I didn’t say you could leave.”
“I
never asked for this.”
“Oh,
but you did, Miss. See, that’s the problem. You ask but you have no idea what
you’re asking for.”
I
growl, and he laughs in return. “Don’t tell me you’re backing out now; it was
just starting to get fun.”
“I’m
not.”
He
squeezes my ass, making me squirm. “Pity.”
The
bell of the elevator dings, and then it comes to a stop. We’ve reached the top
level.
His
hand leaves my ass, making it feel bare all of the sudden. “Playtime is up. I
hope that was enough.”
Feeling
humiliated, I take in a sharp breath while pulling my panties back up and my
dress down. “It’s not.” I won’t back down. He might think I’m scared now, but
I’m not.
“Damn,
and here I was thinking you wanted me to touch you and that was it.”
I
turn around, frowning, a blush growing on my cheeks from what just happened.
“Is that what this is all about? Getting rid of me?”
He
smiles so cheekily, so infuriating, that I growl from it.
“Aww
… are you mad now?” He raises an eyebrow. “I gave you what you wanted. You
asked me to need you, and I needed your ass to be red. I have what I want now,
so we’re done here.”
“What?
You can’t do this!” I say as he turns around.
“Actually,
I can, and I have. And now you know what a prick I am. So let this be the final
time we see each other.” He starts walking out of the elevator, leaving me with
a gaping mouth.
“You
just groped me in an elevator and now you leave? Just like that?”
“Just
like that,” he calls back as he walks away.
“What
kind of man are you?” I ask, baffled, as he stops in front of the only door on
this level. He places his thumb on some kind of machine, and the door opens.
“Not
the man you were hoping for, unfortunately. I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more
help, Miss Carrigan. Goodbye.”
I
look down at the floor, utterly shaken, and notice the hundred-dollar bill. I
pick it up and throw it at him. “You forgot your money, douchebag!”
“Keep
it!” He waves.
His
voice resounds in my ears as he shuts the door behind him, not even once
glancing back at me to check if I’m okay.
Asshole.
I
never, ever, imagined that
Sebastian could be such a huge dick, but he was. I wonder why. I still don’t
believe him. Nobody in their right mind would touch me like that. Nobody would
spank a stranger. Nobody. This has to be a farce. I don’t know why he’s doing
this, but I will find out somehow. After all those nights at the hospital, I
won’t give up easily. This is not the last time we’ll see each other, that I’m
sure of. I’ll make it happen.
