Chapter Six – Contract

"Elyshia"

He breathed out my name, his velvet soft voice still the same, as I remembered, flawlessly smooth as he uttered my name. The syllables that constructed my name echoing around the small space, travelling through the air and washing over my body. Just his utterance of my name, the sound of his voice ignited all kind of reactions inside me that both terrified and surprised my by their intensity. I quivered and took another deep breath but it did no good. His eyes flickered up and down my body, perusing my clothing with his powerful gaze and I stilled myself while still tilting my chin up in defiant way, waiting at what I was sure would be a querulous result, an angry response to my seemly disobedience but none was forthcoming. It didn't seem as though my rebellious actions surprised him at all. If anything, it was possible that he was simply amused. A hint of a smile touched up his rosy pink colored mouth. He stood up, a stunning giant donned in a tieless fine black suit with a white shirt. Holy Mary, mother of our Lord, by God he really was a fine piece of specimen. He was big however, and it took all I had in me not to flinch or back away as he stepped towards me, gazing down at me as his eyes flashed with intensity I could not wholly define painted in the indigo irises of his eyes. I was captured under the fiery azure of his corneas, a spell that seemed to encompass me whole. I was utterly lost under his scrutiny, overwhelmed in his uncomfortable presence, and intimidated by his inexplicable stare that I had to turn away unable to look at him any longer. It was just then that I thought perhaps I had lost. That a battle had just occurred, a war of wills momentary fought with our eyes being the battle ground and by turning away, somehow I had lost.

"Please" He said ever so politely, taking my palm into his and led me around the rather small table and pulled out my chair like a gentleman of the old world would. The concierge turned and left, leaving just me, myself, and him.

I was hesitant, he was too close and my heart was beating a mile a minute, fear and excitement intertwined in a combative battle. Fear, however was winning by a landslide and I coward that I was decided to do as he wished, planting my ass firmly to the seat indicated. I waited for him to move to his seat but he stayed. He said nothing standing there beside me but I could feel the heat of his gaze boring into my frigid, rigid form. My thoughts were more than a little jumbled, unable to think properly in his close proximity, my heart hammering away, and filled at the brink with apprehension. Unable to tolerate our stalemate any longer, I turned and looked up to him intent on asking HIM to take a seat but if anything, that move was a mistake. For a moment there, I lost the ability to breath, my heart stopped with a petrified thought.

I shouldn’t have sat down.

While he had been a giant when I was standing up, now that I had sat down the effect was even worse. He was a rock; a hard pillar of strength in human form, huge like a mountain and eclipsing everything else in sight, my eyes unable to see anything else around me but him. I remembered that strength, holding me down, evading all attempt to escape his grasp. He looked down on me, his eyes once again perusing the sweatpants and sweatshirt I had worn when I made the choice to hide from him, to evade this daunting reunion. He leaned down and I tried to back away feeling very much like a cornered mouse, but that was an impossible feat.

"I am glad you could join me, Elyshia" He said, his face close to mine, his hands gripping the arms of my chair and holding me hostage in a tiny prison. I refused to look at his face, in his eyes and instead focused my attention at a slight opening at the top of his shirt that revealed the unblemished blush of an apricoted pink chest. His right hand moved and touched the collar of my sweatshirt lightly before moving onwards to grasp my chin with his fingers. Gently he tilted my chin up until I was looking into the oceanic hue of his eyes once more.

"You look unraveled Ms. Jenkins" He said, "Did the gown not fit?"

At first I did not reply. Instead I staring into his eyes trying to read them but that was completely impossible, utterly improbably, and there was something about his eyes, simply alluring. I felt myself enthralled, captivated by those eyes that his question all by escaped my mind. And he was so close I could inhale his smell, his scent was refreshing, with a hint of aftershave and some other masculine smell I could not identify.

"I don't know" I said in a barely audible voice, my eyes flickering briefly to his lips and before I knew it the room was moving, the space between us expiring, our faces drawing closer, closer and....

NO!

IDIOT!!

A voice screamed in my mind, my voice tearing me out of my disconcerting actions and bringing me back to reality. Yes, I was an idiot. I had found myself in a very odd position; our faces inches apart, our lips close a position that was the direct result of my actions. In full mode panic, I ripped myself away from his hold, I drew my head escaping from his fingers. Shocked to the core by what had just happened, by what I had almost done. The room hadn’t moved then…it was a shame, an utter shame because to It was me, not the room.

I had moved.

I couldn’t look at him; I didn’t want to know what he thought about what had almost happened. I didn’t want to see the look on his face. This was completely unreasonable, ludicrous to the tenth degree. How could I, Elyshia Jenkins, almost kiss HIM, out of my own free will? No it was not of my own free will. My body had betrayed me yet again, somehow my body was predisposition, designed to react in a chemical level in response to Liam Caldwell. I had to resist this obvious attraction or I would surely lose myself. If anything was to take place between the two of us as it was becoming impossible to deny this undeniable fact. If it was to happen however, if I was going to partake in this sinful venture, it couldn’t be because I had lost all sense of right and wrong. It wouldn’t be because I had initiated it. I will not encourage these gratuitous wicked liaisons, not now and certainly not ever.

"You didn't like it" He spoke again and with a start I realized he was no longer leaning towards me. Indeed he had moved back to his side of the table, the door behind him, my only escape. He was looking at me, with a beseeching eyebrow raised. I was confounded with utter confusion for a moment, what did I not like? Could it be possible he was talking about our almost kiss?

Goodness gracious surely not.

"The gown" He said after a moment of silence.

"Oh" I said, relieved that he was talking about that instead of what almost taken place a few moments ago. I didn't want to acknowledge what I had almost initiated and gave a small shrug, "Pink is not my color"

"I see" He said nothing for a moment, just looking at me, staring at me intently as if he knew the truth, the truth I was trying desperately to hide. I could feel those eyes boring into me but I refused to look into his eyes again, those eyes were dangerous. "Well then I guess now I know"

He was still staring, and I was looking at anything and everything but him. The room that separated us from the outside world was very tiny, intimate; the walls were a shade of red the color of passion and romance. But red represented violence as well didn't it? My thoughts were obviously not on romance, this wasn’t romance, and this was something else entirely. Our first meeting had already set the standard to what the future would hold. This was not a date although it was starting to feel so much so like one. The round table was white; a glass-rose container wielding candlelight, a banquet of pink, white and red roses decorated the middle of the table. There was also a stand with a bottle of wine in a silver place holder. He took the bottle of wine and poured some in his wine glass then glanced at me again raising the bottle up a little, I shook my head in response to the unasked question just the waiter, a young man, walked in the room.

"I hope you don't mind but I ordered for the both of us" He said, just as the waiter placed the plate of food in front of me.

"A glass of water please" I said to the waiter and said nothing at all in response to his statement, wondering to myself whether or not it would matter if I did mind. He didn’t seem like the type of person to consider other people. From what I knew about Liam Caldwell, which wasn’t much really, he was the kind of man who did what he wanted, when he wanted, and offered no apologies whatsoever.

"Its pasta" He said when I made no move to eat, "made fresh right here at Quality, it’s rather brilliant to say the least, I am sure you will enjoy it"

There was a moment of silence once again; uncomfortable silence that descended upon us in this close knit space when the waiter left us alone and we started to eat. He was right, it was good, fresh made pasta with a drizzle of parmesan cheese and it tasted like heaven on earth. I had never in all my life… still he was wrong, I could not enjoy the food, it was a battle, a constant battle. Suddenly I wished I was back in the car, at least in the car I wasn’t trying to protect myself from the one foe I wasn’t sure I could win against.

It was awkward to say the least.

No, awkward couldn’t begin to describe the feeling that washed over the small room. Sitting opposite the man to whom I had given my virginity too. I suppose it would have been more comfortable had I been in love with him, perhaps if I knew little more about him than his name and his country of origin. Perhaps even more so had this been more than a proposition, forced to give my body to a stranger, the most important part of who I was, my very being reduced to nothing more that the summation of ones and zeros. If only that night had been the beginning and an ending, perhaps I would have pushed the unpleasant memory aside, but even with the days passing I knew, though I made it my absolute mission not to dwelt on the inevitable, on wishes upon the powerless stars, I knew that my dealings with Liam Caldwell was not at all finished. A proposition had been made, money had passed hands, figuratively speaking, and a contract struck. It was all my doing, and therefore I forced myself to eat, trying so hard not to look at the man opposite myself although I could feel his eyes on me, constantly on me, from the moment I entered his domain.

"Do you mind?" I finally worked up my nerve to say, a whisper that broke the tense silence. I was unable to take it any longer. I was trying, hard as I could to hold myself together feeling as if I would burst. I was barely able to sit still let alone force myself to keep taking one bite after another. I chanced a glance at his direction and I was pleased to see that my words had some effect. He was no longer looking at me. I breathed a sigh in relief, my heart even felt lighter inside my chest in momentary calmness. Giving myself an invisible pat on my back, I turned my attention back to my singular feast.

"You’re not pretty"

I froze my hand, holding the fork still from further twisting about, the words vibrated in the air as I slowly raised my head to look at him, my eyes blinking furiously, wondering if I had heard him right. Had I been drinking, I probably would have spluttered my drink all over in a rather unforgiving embarrassing manner shocked as I was.

"Wha...um, what" I said slowly as thought I had misheard him. He looked up at me, our eyes meeting and I forced myself not to turn away.

"You're not pretty" He said again with brutal bluntness and no hesitation at all to his words. His cold inference in regards to my physical appeal was more than a little offensive to say the least but my tongue was catch up on my throat. I had lost all ability to speak at the moment. "Not really now that I've in fact looked at you I find that you leave much to be desired, and you are a novice, an innocent little virgin. I so loathe virgins, virgins get attached too easily"

I was silent as he spoke, his voice did not waiver at all through out his little speech and I turned away losing the battle once again, feeling overwhelmed, momentary submerged in many emotions that I could not understand. I felt hurt by his words; there were little swords, daggers that pieced a piece of me when uttered. It did not seem as though he was being perversely cruel, not by his tone alone but I couldn't be sure. I wanted to understand the supposition of this discourse but just thinking about his words, trying to understand them was like trying to find a way out of a labyrinth. I was breathing hard.

"I am not a virgin anymore, remember" I finally said just to say something, I was proud of myself at keeping my tears at bay.

"That’s neither here or there" He said, waving his hand dismissively then leaned forward a little, "There is more than one way to be a virgin sweet Elyshia, cause that's what you are, isn't it?"

"I wouldn't exactly say that" I said in denial, taking a sip of water, wondering what he was going with this entire conversation.

"And modesty" There was a hint of mockery in his voice, his lips twisting in what could have been a smile, "a rare find indeed still...you should have told me" He turned his full blazing gaze on me, the anger was blatantly conspicuous even with his sugar coated sweet voice, "I am no mind reader and honestly in this day and age, how many woman are still pure after their 20th birthday, hell after their 16th..."

Oh I see, this is my fault.

At least that’s what it seemed; he was blaming me for this entire situation. I felt my insides of my stomach tighten in disbelief, I couldn't even hear the rest of his words as he spoke, I closed my eyes and blinked the tears away, and my fingers tighten its grip on the fork and knife. As the images of that night filtered in.

"You should have used those lovely lips of yours to string a sentence or two about your sexual status perhaps we would not find ourselves in this delicate situation perhaps I might have been inclined…"

"I said no" I interrupted him with a hardness that was obvious, my voice no longer weak or quiet, but instead fused in anger. I opened my eyes and looked at him in the eyes, glad for once that his eyes did not make me waiver, "I asked you to stop, you didn’t"

There was a pause after my accusation as he looked at me, studied me in a fierce moment.

"No I didn’t" He said with no slight apology, as though what he had no reason to do so. And the rage inside me intensified.

"You seemed to know so much about me" I said, barely able to hid the anger that was boiling inside, "My family, my likes, my dislikes, my habits, you had an entire file with specific notifications about my life so how was I supposed to know you wouldn't know? Because I'm sure as hell not a mind reader either am I?"

I ended my statement with a mini-shout, borrowing from his earlier remark then waited for the backlash.

"Not just sweet then such bitter words from such a pretty mouth"

"What do you want?" I asked, I had had enough, first I wasn't pretty, then I was sweet, now pretty again but all those insults were nothing in the scale of things. But being blamed, as though I had approached him, propositioned him, asked him to give me money, or offer myself, offer my services to him was just too much. Too much for me to bear in the moment.

"You know what I want" He said.

"Why?" I asked, my voice choking on the laughter and tears, shaking my head because the hilarity of the situation had taken its toil, "You took a closer look at me and I leave much to be desired"

"Good thing then that the darkness of night can hide all manner of imperfections" He said taking a sip of wine, then gave a nod in my direction, "I prepaid for you sweet Elyshia, 15000 dollars, and you will hold you end of the deal"

There was no need to read between the lines of that statement, no need to elaborate at what would be the ramifications should I decide to negate of the deal. I had used the money already to pay part of the hospital bills.

"I am here aren't I" I reminded him though I really had no choice.

"Yes, yes you are" He said, then smiled.