Caged Heart (9 page)

“Y-yeah. I’m sorry. I know you’re probably not ready for this with your career and I-I will get rid of it if…” and he leaned forward and crushed his lips to hers, ending her stammering.

He held on to her as if for dear life, soaking her blouse with his sweat.

“Selene…don’t worry about that right now. It’s gonna be alright.” he whispered in her ear. “You were afraid weren’t you?”

“Yes… I was.” she sobbed against his chest. “I didn’t know if you would be mad at me.”

“No Lene…never! I’m here for you. Listen, how about I drive you home. It’s really late. You shouldn’t have come down here all alone. Why didn’t you call me?

“I wanted to tell you face to face Dorian.”

“Well next time just call me and I’ll come to you okay…I don’t want you taking any chances.” he whispered and his hand rested on her belly.

She didn’t expect to feel his hand on her and looked down at it as if in a trance. His finger lifted her chin and he leaned in to kiss her lips again.

“Come on babe. I’ll take you home.”

***

Selene woke up the next morning feeling only a little better. Dorian had driven her home the night before and he wanted to make up for the time lost. He planned to pick her up tonight so they could have dinner together.  He had been very quiet during the drive and she didn’t know what to think. She knew that he would take responsibility but he never gave her the impression that he was entirely happy about her pregnancy. Everything happened so fast.

Her intention was to get to know him better and spend more time with him, maybe meet his parents in the long run. Things had taken a left turn and the order in which they were supposed to happen was completely reversed. Still, she was thankful that she would get to see him again. Not many positive things happened to Selene in her life and her usual plan was to just run with it. In the end she expected to be alone and without Dorian. At least she could enjoy what little time she had left tonight.

Dorian picked her up at 9pm sharp and dressed to impress as usual. He had a black Dolce and Gabbana suit on and looked as if he had just stepped out a magazine cover. Selene wore a knee-length, satin emerald dress with a black lace bodice which hugged her figure beautifully. Her hair was tied up into a bun and she wore black pearl earrings to complete the ensemble. Her attire was simple and not very impressive in her eyes, but Dorian made her feel beautiful. He twirled her around and admired the dress. He was very good at making her forget the doubts in her head.

“You look beautiful Lene.” he smiled. “Ready to go?”

“Yea, but you never told me where we were going.” she replied curiously.

“It’s a surprise!” he winked and led her out the door.

He drove her to an area in town where mostly wealthy people lived. She was very quiet as she admired the huge mansions and realized that he was probably taking her to one of the fancy restaurants in the area. Every time they hit a red light he would lean towards her seat and make out with her, or kiss her neck. She had no idea if he knew it, but he was turning her on.

It first started when she saw him in the suit. Now her desire for him was growing every time he touched and kissed her. She kept herself in check and tried to control her thoughts. She was thinking of straddling and riding him in the car but there were too many other things on her mind which diminished the wonderful fantasies. For now she behaved and tried to calm her urges.

After a few minutes
Dorian pulled up to a large white mansion. Selene marveled at the gorgeous estate and assumed it was a private hotel from the sheer size of it. It was surrounded by large palm trees and decorative pools of water encased in white marble. Something about the expansive lot made her realize that it wasn’t a hotel at all. For one there was a security gate leading up to the estate and there were no other vehicles outside to indicate that guests were housed inside. Selene looked to Dorian who was already expecting the reaction to come.

“Is this…is this where you live?”

“Yup!” he exclaimed.

“Wow…on a fighter’s salary?”

“Well babe besides fighting I took courses in business and stock management. I made some good investments and yeah…this is home.”

“You are full of surprises aren’t you? And to think I called you a meathead.” she said feeling embarrassed.

He only laughed as he parked the car.

“You haven’t seen anything yet!” he winked.

Dorian led her through the French doors of the house to a white parlor which was lit by large cylindrical glass vases containing flickering, floating candles. In the center of the white marble room was a white table with a violet tulip bouquet and two white tapered candles in the centerpiece. On the table were two covered courses on each side. White bowls of assorted berries and cubed slices of pastries were arranged neatly next to a white chocolate fondue fountain.

She giggled as they approached the gourmet masterpiece. She didn’t expect such an exquisite layout and turned to Dorian.

“This is really beautiful Dorian… I don’t know if I deserve all of this. It’s just too much!”

“Selene, baby come on! You deserve more than this! I don’t know why you feel like you’re so insignificant. Ever since I met you I wanted to tell you how beautiful you are. I even told Tony how I felt about you. Don’t you want to be my lady?”

“I do… I’m just not used to this treatment.”

“It’s ok babe…Tony told me everything…about your mom, your past…your drinking.”

“He-he told you?” she said in a startled tone.

“Yea…and I’m not trying to make you feel bad Lene. But you’re gonna have my baby. I want both of you to be healthy. I’m not gonna criticize you because I drank a lot when I was a kid, so I know what depression and anger feels like. I care about you Lene… I don’t want anything to happen to you or our child.”

“Dorian…I was just expecting something else. Like scolding or you saying that you weren’t ready. I thought that most men would feel trapped in a situation like this and I was ready to be on my own. You never said that you were happy.”

“That’s because I was surprised babe… I never really thought that I would ever be a dad or even find a good woman. Believe me Selene… I want you and our baby to be happy. I spent all my time in the cage, running away from life. I never seemed to meet any women that were worthwhile. But when I met you…I don’t know… I saw something that made me stop to think about my life and my priorities. I didn’t want to hurt you and I didn’t want to go against Tony either. I made a decision and I’ve been working ever since to help you see how special you are.”

Selene could only smile at his confession. She didn’t feel so alone anymore. It’s true that Tony was gone but Dorian was slowly filling the vast emptiness inside her.

“Come on babe, we can’t let all this go to waste.” and he motioned for her to sit down as he pulled out her chair.

He lifted her tray and presented a dish of Penne and Italian sausage. Its savory aroma made Selene’s mouth water. She hadn’t eaten all day
, partly because she felt a little sick and also because her nerves were on end. He made his way to the opposite end of the table and sat down.

“I hope you don’t mind but we’re not having any wine tonight.”

“Oh it’s fine… I got rid of all the alcohol in the apartment a few days ago.”

“Good babe, I’m happy to hear that.” 

“Did your dad tell you that he came to see me?”

“Yea…he did. I went to him after I dropped you off last night, to tell him the news. He admitted that he already knew and he calmed me down.”

“So you were upset?” she said in a disappointed tone.

“I was afraid Lene. Everything happened so fast. I just needed a little advice, that’s all. He set all of this up for us you know.”

“He did?”

“Yea, he knew that I wouldn’t have the time to do it so he and mom helped me out.”

“I should thank them.” she said with a smile.

“You’ll see them soon babe. Mom really wants to meet you.”

“Do you think she would like me…I’m a little nervous about that.” and she shifted in her seat.

“My mom is really cool. You guys would get along great.”  

Dorian spoke more of himself and his education as the two enjoyed their courses. He worked very hard to get where he was. He also let Selene know that he planned to retire from fighting in the cage after his next fight. After what happened to Tony he didn’t want Selene to worry about anything, especially about losing him. He planned to open a center for underprivileged kids where he would coach instead. Selene was very flattered to hear this. She had no idea that he put so much thought into their future together.

As soon as they were done eating he took her hand and led her up a white staircase. To the right of the long hallway, was a path of red rose petals leading to a closed door. Selene felt like she was dreaming. This only happened to women in the movies. He opened the door with a smile and both stepped in.

“What do you think babe?”

“It’s gorgeous Dorian! “

“This is your room… or I should say our room.” he grinned.

The large room was furnished with black and white Italian furniture, with a king sized black canopy bed covered with the crimson rose petals. The walls were painted with a cherry red color and stylish black and white picture frames lined the wall. In the ceiling’s center was a grand crystal chandelier which sparkled in the dimly lit room.

“Dorian…I don’t know what to say. I…” and she stepped forward to look around.

“Say you will Lene.” he said behind her.

“What?” and she spun around expecting to see Dorian towering over her.

Instead Dorian was down on his knee, holding a tiny silver box in his hand, big enough to fit a ring. She was frozen in place as he gingerly opened the box and presented her with an emerald cut engagement ring.

“Say that you’ll marry me.”

There was a lump in her throat and she couldn’t speak.

“I know everything happened so fast… what do you say we do this the right way babe? I want our baby to grow up in this house with a mom and dad.”

“Oh my God…Dorian.” she whispered as hot tears sprang from her eyes. “Yes!”

“I guessed the size but we can always have it fitted.” and he rose to his feet as he placed it on her finger.

It was one size too big but Selene didn’t care. She wiped the tears from her face and Dorian happily embraced his new wife to be.

The tears were still falling and he leaned forward to kiss her lips.

“Don’t cry baby, you’re supposed to be smiling, not crying.”

“I’m just really happy Dorian… I never thought any of this would ever happen!” she said as she wiped her face clean.

“How am I supposed to make love to my fiancé if she’s crying?” and as he said this his hands traveled down her back, over the curve of her buttocks and hiked up the back of her dress. “You look so pretty in that dress tonight, but I think you look much more beautiful with nothing on.”

Those words caused a flood between Selene’s legs and she caught her breath when she felt Dorian’s fingers reaching into the back of her thong, pulling the flimsy strings down her legs. He cupped the soft cheeks of her bottom and lifted her up.

“How about we break the bed in tonight?” he asked with a sly smile.