Dark Cherries by Eve Bradley

Author:Eve Bradley [Bradley, Eve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-04-30T16:00:00+00:00

Nine

Make Me Up

Shawn and I slept together that night, and fucked at what I think was two a.m. But as I lay in his arms that night, my mind was racing. Had I really, earlier that day, tried to leave them to go back to Illinois? Had I really been threatened by members of the mob? I think about my mom and sister, all the hopes I had this morning floating away like feathers that had once made up my wings. I know that someday I will have to go back, but right now, all I can do is rest in the promises that this man has given me.

I’d be stupid not to. Honestly, I’ve never cared if a man was rich. I don’t think I’d care if he was or not because that’s not what makes me blush under his gaze. It’s his solidity, his raw, powerful, seductive masculinity. Is it selfish for me to want more of him? To be so enchanted that I can’t even say no? I know I’m not a weak person. I’ve survived two years on the streets, and I think I’d do more if I actually wanted to leave. The truth is that I feel safe, warm, and for once in my life…I’m not lonely.

Today Anita arrived bright and early. She hummed cheery little tunes as she whipped me up some pancakes as we waited for Shawn to return to the house with Alexi and Rhett. Orlando, the driver, who apparently also does landscape work, shuffled in through the gates and began to prune the bushes in the front yard and clean the pool.

I watch him out the sliding glass doors, elbows propped on the marble counter, as I cup the coffee mug and pick at the banana pancakes Anita has made me, reflecting on the past week as if it’s been something out of a storybook. But, like in any good storybook, there’s a shit ton of conflict. How can I be around both Rhett and Shawn when I’ve kissed them both and fucked one? If I tell Shawn, will he be angry? Would everything he’s told me about trust and the exchanges of power shatter and his temper take over? I’d rather not see that side of him.

“Allie!” Anita’s voice breaks through my mind’s endless ramble.

“Yeah?” I ask.

“Shawn told me to give you this,” the middle-aged woman smiles broadly, and I return the smile, reminded of how lovely this feisty little woman is. I’m caught off guard as she pushes a white iPhone box towards me. “He said the number should already be working, and that he’s pre-programmed a few essential numbers into it.”

“Wow,” I say as I gently shake the lid off of the box. The reveal makes my jaw drop. I’ve never had an iPhone. In truth, I’ve never had a cellphone. I was always limited in the way of communication with my peers, and this makes me feel strange like I don’t deserve it or can’t accept it. I guess this is what he meant in that he’d take care of me.

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