His Absolute Betrayal - Elise's Love Story: The Billionaire's Continuum (#2) (A Contemporary Romance Novel) (15 page)

Out of the corner of my eye I saw a taxi coming down the street.  I had no car, and I needed to go somewhere, so why not see if I could get a ride?  I stepped into the street and raised my hand, hoping he'd see me and stop.

He did.  He pulled up alongside me and rolled down his window.  "Ride?" he asked.

"Yes," I said.  "Please."

"Get in."

I hurried to the back and got in.  We were off and away a few seconds later.

I sat there quietly, hands folded in my lap.

"Where to?" he asked, pressing the button to start the meter for the fare.

Belatedly, I realized I had no money, no purse, no nothing.  I could get some, though.  Maybe.  Did Lucent leave his car unlocked after we fled into the night like a pair of thieves?  Probably not, because it was something he'd never do, but we'd both been so distracted that I thought it was my only hope.  The only other option I had was to go back to my apartment and borrow money from Vanessa, but that seemed like an awful idea, all things considered.

"Can you go to Landseer Tower?" I asked.  "I left my car there, and my purse.  I can get you into the parking garage, then pay you from there."

The driver looked me over through the rear view mirror, lips pressed tight together and eyes staring into mine through the reflection.  "Yeah," he said after awhile.  "Don't try and skip out on paying me, though.  I'm not saying you will, I'm just saying.  I've got no problems calling the police."

I almost laughed at the horrifying irony of his statement.  How ridiculous would it be if I did skip out on the fare, he called the police on me, and that's how I got arrested?  Stupid, really.  I'd be the worst criminal ever.

Unfortunately for me, there was a real possibility of that happening.  I realized it a block later while I sat in the back of the taxi, thinking.  What if Lucent's car was locked and I couldn't get in?  How would I pay for the cab ride then?  Would he be nice enough to bring me to my apartment instead, and just wait outside while I prayed and hoped Vanessa was home?  I didn't have the keys to my apartment, either.

I didn't have anything or anyone.  I was completely alone in the world.  I wanted to cry so badly but I didn't even have a tissue to wipe the tears from my cheeks if I did.

Lucent started to stir awake at the sound and feel of someone getting into bed with him.  In his sleep-addled state, tired and groggy, he barely realized he was in bed, or why he was there, or where he was exactly.  Only one thought cleared through the fog of partial slumber, which was that he wanted to hold Elise close while they slept side by side.

That must be her, his mind told him.  He couldn't form precise cohesive thoughts, but he instinctively expected her to come into bed with him.  Whether she'd been sleeping all along and gone to the bathroom quickly, or she stayed up later than him, it didn't matter.  He was here and she was here, so...

He forced open fatigued eyes in order to greet her with a half-smile.  Instead of Elise, he saw Elle laying next to him, almost entirely naked except for her panties and a large plush stuffed rabbit held tight to the front of her body.  The plaything covered her breasts and most of her stomach, but it was rather obvious she wore nothing beneath it.

Shocked and dismayed, Lucent sprang up, waking almost immediately.  The rapid jump up gave him a sharp headache, making him dizzy for a moment, but his vertigo passed soon.  He stared at Elle, brow furrowed.

"What are you doing?" he asked.  "Why are you naked, Elle?"  He coughed and cleared his throat, correcting himself.  "Laura."

"This is my bed, Lucent," she said.  "I can sleep in it however I like."

Yes, well, she was as feisty and bothersome as always.  Why did she play these absurd games with him?  She wanted him to punish her, of course, except...

He never meant to admire her body, but she was obviously on open display right next to him, and he could see the telltale signs of redness near the side of her ass, marking her as the recent recipient of some sort of spanking.  By the looks of it, possibly a paddle, and then something smaller.  Riding crop?

She shifted to the side, laying on her back and resting her head on a pillow nearby.  One of her breasts pushed loose from being covered by the stuffed rabbit, giving Lucent a good look at her red and swollen nipple, too.  Clamps?  Odd.  She could have done those herself, and in fact she might have spanked herself, too.  It was certainly possible, though entirely unlikely, he thought.  Who, then?  He honestly didn't know.

Thankfully the bed was large, giving him decent distance from Elle's mostly naked body.  He turned away from her, refusing to look at her anymore.  Even if she wasn't nude, he didn't want to be in a bed with her.

"Where is Miss Tanner?" he asked.

"Mistress Tanner left," Elle said.  "She said you can stay here if you want and she won't tell anyone.  Of course you're not going to do that, though."

Elise left?  "Where did she go?" he asked.

"I don't know.  She didn't say.  I don't think she knew where she wanted to go, either."

Why?  He asked himself that over and over, and couldn't come up with an answer.  Why would she leave when it was obviously dangerous?  What could be so awful that...?

And with that, he realized it wasn't even a question.  Of course it was awful here.  She hated it, and for good reason.  He wasn't sure what he'd first thought when he decided to bring her here, but whatever it was he was wrong.  He wanted to bring her somewhere safe, and safety should be possible here, but not every safe area was the correct safe area.

Elise was safe at Landseer Tower, too, but she disliked being there.  She'd told him as much the other day when he found her working on her writing in the library.  And then after everything fell apart in a span of a few hours at the Landseer party, they'd both gone to the library again.  That was safety to her; it was her haven.

Lucent realized this now.  He didn't know why he hadn't realized it before.  Possibly because he didn't have something like that of his own.  Not exactly, at least.  He tried to consider logic when making rational decisions, except occasionally extreme amounts of logic completely overwhelmed emotional response.  That's what he usually preferred, because it seemed better that way.

No anger, no fear, no worry, just reason.

Except a lack of emotions also meant no happiness, no smiles, no love...

What had he done?  The worst thing possible, no doubt.

Only one thought gave him hope.  Elise didn't have her purse, nor her keys.  If she went anywhere, it would be to his car parked at Landseer Tower, possibly the library, to her apartment with her roommate, or to Margaret's house.  Four obvious options, but he needed to figure out which one she would have chosen.

He grabbed Elle's phone from the bedside table and checked the time.  It was early in the evening, so he must have slept for awhile.  The library would still be open for another hour or so, which meant Elise probably wouldn't go there.  She likely didn't want to disrupt Margaret or Vanessa's life, either.  Elise Tanner had a very bad habit about never bothering people with her problems if she could avoid it.

She also liked to be alone, to read quietly, to spend cozy nights in, cuddling and watching a movie and eating popcorn on the couch.  She was soft and gentle and considerate, though also stubborn, curious, and strong.  She was far too much for him to keep track of easily, and he doubted he'd ever be able to do so.  She was a pleasant mystery to him.

If Elise had a choice, she'd go get her purse first, and then see what she could do from there.

If
she realized that choice, he thought.  Unfortunately she also occasionally forgot things, and made rash and unusual decisions.

He wouldn't blame her if she acted that way now, though.  He'd fallen asleep in the bed of one of his previous submissives just minutes after angering his girlfriend with the revelation of whose apartment they were in.  Not only that, he hadn't tried to apologize.  He didn't have a chance to.  That was an asinine excuse on his part, but also somewhat the truth.  What sort of person fell asleep like that, though?

He felt awful.  Alone.  Vile and vicious.  He felt completely criminal because of everything he did, despite the fact that he'd never felt this way before.  He rationalized and reasoned with himself about his actions, claiming justice through a greater good.  He wasn't sure if that was the truth, though.  He wasn't sure if that had ever been the truth.

He didn't know if Elise could forgive him.  In all honesty, he didn't know if he could forgive himself.  That didn't mean he should lay here and wallow in self pity, though.  He could help her, still.  He could do something.  For her, not for him.  Safety, yes, but specifically hers, custom-suited to her needs.  He wasn't sure what exactly that involved at the moment, but he'd figure it out on the way.

He picked up Elle's phone again and texted a specific code to a number he'd memorized, then lay the phone back on the bedside table.  If Elise did choose to go to his car, that should help.

"I'm leaving," Lucent said.  "Let me borrow your car.  Didn't I tell you to throw that stuffed animal away, too?  Why did you keep it?"

Elle sassed him.  She infuriated him.  "You aren't my master anymore, Lucent.  I don't have to listen to you."

He turned on her, desperately trying to maintain a calm composure, but fully realizing he would assuredly fail.  "Laura, this isn't a game anymore.  This isn't for fun.  You think that by doing this you'll force me to punish you?  To spank you and tie you up and fuck you like before?  It's been years, Laura.  You need to stop.  You need to get over it.  I'm sorry that I can't be there for you, but you can find someone better who truly cares about you.  I need you to understand that.  I especially need you to understand that right now, because it's of dire importance."

She rolled her eyes at him.  He almost reconsidered spanking her.  Almost.

Elle turned away from him, showing him her back and her bright red rear.  She reached down the side of the bed and grabbed something, then offered it to him.  It was the hard drive Elise took with her.

"Mistress Tanner left it here," Elle said.  "You should bring it to her."

Lucent took the hard drive, holding it loosely in his outstretched hand.  He should leave this here, he thought.  If he let Elle keep it, he'd have a lot less to worry about.  He wouldn't need to tell Elise, either.  She'd left it here on her own, whether on accident or on purpose, so why should he second guess her decision?  He shouldn't.  It was better if he didn't.

"You can borrow my car," Elle said.  "I give you permission.  Be careful, though.  I put zolpidem in your tea.  It's been a few hours, so you should be alright soon, but it's not a good idea to drive immediately after taking it.  You might still have some of the effects."

"Thank you," he said.

He refused to acknowledge the fact that she'd just admitted to drugging his tea with a prescription sleep aid.  It gave him an excuse for falling asleep when he should have gone to Elise and apologized, but it didn't excuse anything else he'd done.  Even then, he despised excuses, and refused to accept his own shortcomings.  Perhaps that was flawed logic, but he didn't care about logic anymore.

He wanted more than that.  He wanted happiness.  He needed it.

He needed her: Elise.

The taxi driver was reluctant to pull into the parking garage of Landseer Tower, but I knew the password to gain entrance, so that seemed to put his mind at ease.  I somewhat understood his reticence, but it didn't help me all that much right now.  Yes, let's just ask this man to drive into a dark parking garage after common business hours when everyone's left for the day.

The only thing helping me out right now was the fact that I knew the password for the parking garage blockades, and possibly also the fact that I was a woman without a purse.  For all he knew, I kept a gun hidden in my car and I wanted to rob him, though.  It was technically Lucent's car, but still.  Driving a taxi seemed like a rather unsafe business, at least compared to the work I was used to.

I told him where to find Lucent's car.  He found it easily enough.  When I stepped out, I prayed for a miracle.  Lucent almost never left his car unlocked.  Probably more like flat out never, but there were exceptions to every rule, right?  I stepped across the smooth concrete floor to the passenger side door, walking in much the same way I might if I were headed to my execution.

My fingers slid beneath the door handle, holding tight.  I took a deep breath, hoped and prayed, then I pulled.

The door didn't open.  I let go of the handle, shocked and confused.  I never expected it to open, but somewhere deep down I thought that maybe if I hoped and prayed enough, it would open because of my desperate need.  Life didn't work like that, though.  I should have realized this.  I shouldn't have been so foolish to have thought I could change anything.

I couldn't.  Not this, not my life, definitely not Lucent.  Nothing.  I lacked control of anything.  I...

I started to think of what to say to the taxi driver, but then a small red light flashed inside Lucent's car.  A second later, I heard a click.  I tried the door again.

This time it opened.

The interior light came on, illuminating the inside of Lucent's car.  I flashed a smile to the cab driver.  He stared at me and lowered his hand.  He wasn't waving, he had his cell phone ready to call the police in case I tried something suspicious.  Now that I had the door open, I was slightly less of a risk, I supposed.

I found my purse and pulled it out.  I considered searching through Lucent's car for more to take with me, but I didn't have any way to carry it besides my purse.  Also, I wasn't a thief.  I doubted he'd mind if I took anything, but I wasn't happy with him at the moment, so in my mind it was different.  If I took something out of necessity, while we were in a good spot in our relationship, that seemed different than if I took something out of malicious intent.  Not that it'd be truly malicious, but still.