Deceived Read online

  “Oh wow! That’s a cool table and chairs set.” I heard Aubree exclaim and I turned to look out my window to see what had captured her attention. My heart thumped a little as I spied Caldwell following moving-men carrying a table set up my front walkway.

  “It’s…he’s perfect.” Aubree beamed.

  I wanted my sister to shut up as she was supposed to be on my side—team Daphne!

  “Umm…I’ve got to go, Madison,” I said, pushing the end call button without giving her a chance to question or, most likely, react with advice.

  Running downstairs with Aubree on my heels, I flung open the front door ignoring the moving men. “Hello Caldwell. What can I do for you?” I asked, blocking the doorway, standing with my arms folded across my tender breasts. Not to mention, I was attempting to hide my aching nipples that always seemed to pop to attention when he was near. And they seemed to be even more pronounced the minute I saw him coming up to my door.

  “You wouldn’t answer my calls or text messages today. I needed to make a delivery before Harrison moved the table off to one of his properties. It’s perfect for here. What you’ve been searching for since I started—”

  I cut him off, “—well, let’s see.” I put a finger up to my chin, tilting my head at an angle. “As I recall you announced that I was a dickhead and that I had nearly ruined your life and reputation in front of a rather large crowd.” Truthfully, I had gotten over that part, but I hadn’t gotten over the fact that he had ignored me for weeks. And what did he mean by saying he had texted me? “Why would you bring me something that I didn’t order or purchase?”

  “You didn’t say what you did for a living,” Caldwell shot back at me.

  “I told you I was a journalist. I did not lie. You claimed to be a handyman.”

  “You said you were working in fashion.”

  “No, I said I worked for Fashionista Forward. You knew I was interested in writing about art and architecture. It was you that deceived me from the very beginning!”

  “Woah, guys!” Aubree was butting in with her arms up in the air like a referee in a sparring match. “Why don’t you two move aside and let these gentlemen bring in the furniture while you two continue to bicker about nonsense.”

  Doing as she had suggested, I shifted to the side, allowing the guys to come in. Then I turned to walk into my living room as Aubree led the way to the dining room, off the kitchen.

  “I am…I do…I know how to do construction work from my father.” Caldwell’s voice was not far behind me so I turned to face him as he continued, “my brother actually owns the company now. I didn’t lie…I just…” I loved watching him squirm while I really wished that his hands were all over my body and not nervously rubbing his face and the back of his neck. “He was sick with a virus, he asked me to go consult with you. I said no at first because he tends to over-exaggerate when he’s sick…but he actually puked on me—”

  “—guess you bring that out in people.” I couldn’t stop myself.

  He ignored me. “When I saw you, I had to do the work. I wanted to get to know you…to make you mine.” Caldwell moved closer to me. “I love you, Daphne.” I didn’t say a word. “Ireland made me realize that when you find the right one you have to go all out and never back down…never let it go.”

  “Who is Ireland?” I admit to sounding a bit jealous.

  “She owns NetworkConcierge. She helps businesses network. She’s great at pairing people.” Caldwell was rambling fast. “She had me meet with a big marketing firm in New York and all I could think about was our perfect match.”

  “Anything else I should know about? A hidden wife or love child?”

  “As far as I know…only one child created with love.” Caldwell reached out and moved my hand that had been subconsciously touching my little bump. I loved the way he snuggled up behind me and caressed my body. “You know Renaldo Rossellini is my client…he’s ready to make a public appearance.” His voice was just above a whisper, sexy in my ear.

  Still avoiding the subject of us and the baby, I asked about his client, “He?”

  “The Artist.” He corrected himself.

  “Seriously, you’re not going to tell me?” I turned to look up at him.

  He grinned in a sexy fashion. “What will you do to get another exclusive?”

  “Well…” I looked around. “It depends on who is still in the house.” I toyed with the front of his button down shirt which was not part of his usual attire. “If everyone quietly slipped out…”

  “Yes?” He lifted my chin, leaned forward, and brushed his lips softly against mine. “Should we investigate?” His questioning words vibrated against my skin. “Or should we throw caution to the wind…and I just attack you right here on the spot?”

  I pushed back gently, out of his reach. I wasn’t sure what should happen at that moment…or with us. Did we just fall into each other’s arms and take up where we had left off? Did we need to work out what steps to take next? Move in together…Caldwell move into my house? He still had stuff here and he had made it perfect. And then there was the baby…raise a baby together…co-parenting…get married? My raging hormones told me to shut the hell up and let him satisfy their cravings while my brain said be logical. I tried to think of a happy medium to take care of everyone’s needs, but I was lost as he mentioned that the house was empty.

  I hadn’t even noticed that he had moved to the window and was looking out. “Do you want me to leave, Daphne? I will. Just say the word. I am sorry for not telling you the truth from the beginning.”

  “I’m sorry that I hurt you…your gallery.”

  “The truth is you did me a big favor but I didn’t know it. My ex-partner was the real dickhead, not you. I should thank you daily even if I did have to sell my house to buy him out.” I started to apologize, but he put his finger to my lips so he could continue. “It all worked out. My brother took me in and did me a favor by being sick. Right or wrong, I deceived you—”

  I didn’t let him say another word as I moved quickly into his arms and brought my lips to his as he had often done to stop me from rambling.

  I just wanted him.

  I just wanted him to shut up.

  I just wanted him to show me everything I had been missing for weeks.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Caldwell

  Having Daphne in my arms again cemented the deal for me and I was not about to let her back out—I would negotiate with her. She could have everything she wanted—exclusives on my showings, any kind of improvements or furnishings to the house…or if she wanted a different house. I just wanted her and a life with her…and our child.

  I loved her little bump. It was barely there but I knew what lurked beneath. I couldn’t stop myself from sinking to my knees and kissing her belly while whispering faintly so Daphne couldn’t hear me. “I’m your daddy. I love you already.” I was a sappy fool, but who wasn’t at one time or another.

  I have to say that I was seeing Daphne in a different way; she was even more precious to me. Needing her to know that, I scooped her up in my arms and carried her to the bed we had been sharing. I loved the fact that I had bought the bed for her and even better, I loved that it had only been used by us.

  Gently settling in the middle so I could easily curl my body against hers, I kissed her slowly, deeply, making sure she felt loved…wanted…needed…mine…all mine forever. My hand roamed reaching out to skim every bare part of her skin. “Too many clothes.” I heard her pant when I allowed her to take a breath. Reluctantly, leaning away from her, I removed my shirt and encouraged her to do the same—she moved with swiftness to discard everything. I grinned and attacked her with my mouth and hands. She was like a fine piece of art to be appreciated from head to toe.

  I missed her so much and had no intention to rush…to hurry toward the grand finale. I wanted to last—instead of going off like a pubescent teen boy—so that I could please Daphne. I was just so happy to be wrapped up in her arms. I sensed a hint or
two of frustration as I licked tender spots on her body as she, without words, shifted or nudged me. I grinned against the warmth of her flesh and continued to slowly build a need within her until she whimpered some words that sounded like begging.

  Alternating attention to each of her firm nipples with my mouth, I moved my hand straight down the middle of her torso. Arching her back and wiggling her hips, I skimmed a little faster to reach her pleasure spot. She seemed to like that and relaxed right into the mattress with a moan as I circled, strummed, and lightly pinched. “Yessss…” I’m pretty sure that I echoed her as she quickly came undone and clinched my fingers that had slid inside of her.

  “Yessss…” I maintained the right amount of pressure using the heel of my hand precisely where it needed to be to throw her over the edge and have her begging for more.

  Watching her beautifully basking in an afterglow, I moved to discard the rest of my clothing. I was the one craving more—painfully dealing with a raging hard-on that had me wanting to drive into her full force for relief. Although, as crazy as I felt, I still refused to rush. I wanted to feel every sensation and wreak havoc on her nervous system—to overload it with pleasure. That wasn’t an easy task as I inched inside her warmth. She was so fucking wet…sopping and tight…pure heaven.

  “Sooo good, Daphne.”

  I slipped in and out, hesitating and watching her looking up at me and then swiftly moving all the way in, to still again. Repeating this movement a few times over and over the intensity between us built until I couldn’t take it anymore. I was certain that she was relieved when I really started moving—slamming into her with force.

  “Thank God. Not a porcelain doll. Harder. Yes. Oh. Oh. Oh.”

  Yes, I was sure that I was giving her what she wanted. I didn’t stop until I felt her tighten and spasm around me—my cue to let go with my own release. I swear that it was the best one I had ever had…or maybe not, but it was fucking phenomenal.

  Holding Daphne’s body against mine afterwards was equally mind-blowing. “I missed you,” I whispered clutching onto her—perfectly molded together, her smooth back against my hard front—like I would lose her otherwise. “Never letting go.”

  “I was missing you at first too and then it gave way to anger when that damn decor magazine contacted me for an article about my house. The mention of your name had me wanting to scream—”

  I cut her off. “—you still missed me.” I was either brave or completely stupid with those words. Thankfully, she didn’t move away and just shook her head before twisting in my arms to look at me. What a gorgeous sight!

  “I think you should do the interview for the magazine…they come next week.” Pushing away a tad, she lifted her arm and used her hand to gesture the words in her next sentence, “My Exclusive—so they know you’re not for hire—Project. Or I like My Special Project.”

  “You were my special project. It was all to get the girl…the ultimate goal…the prize.”

  “See you have to do it! You will have every woman swooning across the nation…around the globe. And even better, you can mention your gallery… Oh my God! You could put a Ford James sculpture on my back garden patio area!”

  “Next you’ll want a Renaldo painting in the house.”

  “Hmmm.” She looked adorable with her beautiful blue eyes, flecked with green, glancing up while she tapped her chin with one of her fingers. “Maybe for the photo shoot… I’m certain I couldn’t afford one but maybe a sculpture. They have to be okay for the outdoors since they are made from cars…the paint has to be durable…able to weather the elements. And besides, you might owe me after the name calling and avoiding me for weeks…”

  I laughed as she tried to convince me and I avoided the last part. “You’re right.” She could take that answer to mean a lot of things and then I quickly moved on to add, “They are perfect for outdoors and you can see for yourself tomorrow.”

  “Tomorrow?” She shifted to look at me.

  “I’m taking you on our first official date.”

  My friend Harrison is part of a historical society for old homes in LA County and they often do different fundraisers. The one I planned to take Daphne to, was right up her alley—Hollywood Glam. It featured homes built in the late thirties to mid-forties and similar to her house. A fun feature of the event was that character actors dressed in period clothes were to be present in each home and a couple of them had musicians playing hits from that time period. Had Daphne’s house been completed sooner, I was sure that Harrison would’ve asked her to open it up to the public—instead a home decor magazine got the honor of photographing it.

  I figured she’d like the idea of spending a day in the past and was thrilled when she thanked me profusely before even seeing what it was all about. Of course, I didn’t complain as I had no problem going with the flow. A perfect current between us that went from slow and steady to wild rapids. We only left the bedroom for a dinner break and to raid the fridge in the middle of the night on a quest for frozen Parisian macarons and pistachio almond gelato.

  Waking the next morning from a sugary sweet and lust-filled coma, we showered together and dressed in comfortable clothes before I made us breakfast.

  “I’ll just have coffee and a slice of cake…or did we eat that too?”

  “A sensible breakfast is what you need and no coffee.” I spoke with authority in my voice, knowing that she was feeding my child.

  “Relax! I have some instant decaf coffee and I will be drinking it with fat-leaded half and half.” She huffed after telling me what she planned to do. “But, I will agree to a good breakfast if it includes bacon…assuming we have any. Aubree shopped for me a few days ago…damn, I am really going to miss her.” I loved to listen to Daphne chatting away.

  I was glad she didn’t fight me on the no high-heeled shoes thing. Then again, it could’ve been that it said no heels on the invitation. She did try to talk me into heading to her favorite thrift store to buy some vintage clothing since she needed to drop clothes anyway. Luckily, I talked her out of it. Not that I was opposed to wearing used clothing, I just liked to wash them myself before wearing them—even if the vintage shop washed them prior to selling them. In fact, I have some great stuff from the same one Daphne liked and I did tell her we could stop by there after touring homes.

  And I may have had my own reason for wanting to stop in.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Daphne

  I could not believe how bossy Caldwell became once I confirmed that we were going to be parents. Not that he hadn’t been commanding in many past situations, but this was different. I really kind of liked the protective thing and the way he spoke to my belly when he first saw the wee pooch. And his morning greeting—that I am sure he meant to be private—nearly brought me to tears. The careful sex stuff was not going to win him any brownie points and, thankfully, I persuaded him to knock that shit off. My hormones had definite needs!

  I was happy to find that we had no problem regaining the comfortableness we had so quickly fallen into since he darkened or lightened or enchanted my doorway. There was one thing—or a few things—we had never spoken about that probably…most likely needed to be addressed. Like, for starters, how much did I owe him for his work? When we were apart and I had time to myself, I realized that I had never ever paid one dime for materials or any of the furnishings that had been brought into the house. It had to be a very large amount as I knew that what Caldwell had installed included all top of the line items.

  The other thing we should’ve talked about; were we going to live together to raise our baby? Of course, it wasn’t necessary in modern society. However, since the storm, minus our few weeks of separation for work and our feud, Caldwell had been living with me. No complaints there. Did he want to continue our same cohabitation? Did he want his own place? Did he want us to find a place that was neutral? I really hated to leave my house since he had done so much to make it our dream house. When he first arrived he said it was a house he had
driven past several times and even dreamed of purchasing.

  “What are you so deep in thought about?” Caldwell’s sexy voice stirred up my thoughts and had them dancing right out of my head. He had the ability to make me melt with his voice, his manly citrus scent, his touch…his looks.

  What wasn’t appealing about him?

  “Ummm…” I stumbled to find the right words. “I heard your brother sold his house and is going to live in a reality mansion.” Let him take it from there I told myself after opening that little can of worms—bait?

  He laughed. “Yes, the little shit left me high and dry…without a place to live. But, I couldn’t blame him. They offered a crazy amount to buy it and, at the same time, he got a call back from a show he has been auditioning for since it first aired on the home channel.” He shook his head as he finished and paid attention to the street signs as he slowed.

  Damn! It looked like I was going to have to be bolder. “So where have you been staying?”

  “I was away for the week he moved stuff out. Ashton was not terribly pleased with me, but I did help a little before the movers took over.” He stopped speaking as he turned up some residential street and I tried to think of my next investigative question. Fortunately, he started up again, “I’ve been staying in my office at the gallery and taking cold showers in a funky little stall or heading over to shower at a gym I belong to downtown. When I was on my trip to New York, I made sure that I had a peace offering ready to bring to you…the dining set you had shown me in a magazine.” He had pulled to the curb and turned off the car. “I hoped it was my key back in?” There was an unmistakable questioning element in his last words.

  What the hell?! Just spit it out already! “Do you want to live with me in my house? We can make it ours. We already have. I owe you so much money. Probably as much as I paid for the damn house. Shit! Maybe more. I’m sorry I haven’t paid you…and…”