Forget Me Not 2_SEDUCED

  Forget Me Not 2: Seduced

  ~

  Copyright © 2015 by Liv Bennett

  All rights reserved.

  Red Pearl Publishing

  ~

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. The uploading, scanning, and distribution of this book in any form or by any means—including but not limited to electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise—without the permission of the copyright holder is illegal and punishable by law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Cover Image: Kiuikson / iStockphoto LP.

  Cover Designer: Sommer Stein, Perfect Pear Creative Covers

  Table of Contents

  CH 1

  CH 2

  CH 3

  CH 4

  CH 5

  CH 6

  CH 7

  CH 8

  CH 9

  CH 10

  CH 11

  CH 12

  CH 13

  CH 14

  CH 1

  ~

  I have only seven days to seduce Kenneth Carter. Not five months as his wife, Loraine, initially gave me when she first opened up to me about her indecent proposal.

  From Tuesday to Tuesday.

  The same question pops up in my mind whenever I have a free second to myself: Can I do this?

  I’m tired of the question as much as I’m tired of doubting myself. The odds are against me—I’m well aware of that little annoying fact. More so, because out of those seven days, I’ll have a chance to be in the same room with Kenneth for seven hours—tops.

  The stars have to align and I must get over the insecurities tearing me down from inside out. Only then, might I manage to take advantage of the limited time I’ve been given.

  I have to complete the task, however small my chances. Lives depend on the $200,000 I’ll earn if I can actually succeed in getting photos of Kenneth during a sexual act with me. Monika, her baby, our future...

  My hands hang loose on each side of my torso as the waves of anxiety once again wash over me, and I pace the hall of the abortion clinic with impatient steps. I couldn’t wait in the waiting room. Too much sorrow in the air.

  The middle-aged lady at reception gives me a reassuring look as if promising me everything will be all right. She must think I’m worried about Loraine’s wellbeing while she’s terminating her pregnancy. I actually should be, but I can’t, for a second, forget the cash reward dangling in front of me to focus on Loraine’s troubles.

  She must be one hell of a crazy woman for hiring me, practically a stranger, to lead her husband astray and going through an abortion while having lied to her husband about it.

  Even if I accomplish the task she expects of me, I’m not sure she’ll pay me in full, since we haven’t exactly signed a contract to make it official.

  The more I think about the very possibility of not earning the money I was promised due to her unstable mind, the tighter my chest gets.

  I stop and lean against the wall. Right then, the door opens and a nurse brings Loraine out in a wheelchair.

  Her skin is a scary hue of pale-gray, her eyes red, her lips shaking, Loraine looks like the living dead, ripped from her life resources. She cries into the tissue in her hand, while her other hand is persistently pressed against her belly that should now be empty.

  She has everything a girl can dream of; a loving husband, two beautiful and healthy kids, a house that can compete with the model mansions on the covers of home décor magazines, money in the bank, yet she’s not free from anguish and suffers dreadfully just like any other soul on earth.

  Guilt for labeling her as crazy spreads deep in my chest. I don’t know a single thing about this woman whom I met just two days ago; why did I think I had the right to think less of her?

  I rush to her side and reach for the wheelchair, thanking the nurse. I can’t help the feeling of sympathy for her that warms my heart. We stop before her car and I start opening the front door for her. She pushes to her feet and moves to the back door to open it. I quickly help her in, close the door behind her, and round the car to get behind the wheel.

  She has her phone in her hand as I insert the key into the ignition. I force myself to focus on the driving to keep myself from paying attention to her conversation. She’s whispering into her phone but her words are clear, albeit interrupted frequently by her sobs.

  “It’s done…” she says. “No, he doesn’t know… Yes, it was painful… I don’t know… I can’t tomorrow… Maybe Thursday… I want that, too.”

  The affectionate way the words come out of her mouth speaks of the deep bond she must share with the person on the other end of the line, and I ponder, once again, her real motivation.

  Does she have a lover? Is that why she’s chosen to abort her baby and her marriage? He must be one hell of a man for her to sacrifice the happiness of her children and to separate them from their father.

  Or, maybe the kids aren’t Kenneth’s to start with and she’s been lying to him the whole time. It’s not an impossible theory since it’s said 30% of fathers raise other men’s children without knowing it. Perhaps, this last baby was indeed Kenneth’s, and that’s why she chose to terminate the pregnancy.

  Jesus. How awful!

  Eight years of lying to a man you share a bed with. It sounds so revolting, it’s criminal.

  My brain completely absorbed with my speculation, my eyes move up to the rearview mirror as I bring the car to a slow stop at the first red light. Loraine’s eyes flicker to the rearview mirror right then and she meets my gaze. “Me too,” she whispers into the phone before disconnecting, her glance at me turning stern.

  I immediately tear my gaze away from the mirror and accelerate as soon as the light turns green, feeling blood rushing to my cheeks. Contrary to my fears, she doesn’t reproach me for my gaze at her, although I’m sure my expression must have conveyed my speculative thoughts.

  If my thoughts are in anyway close to reality, Kenneth is in big trouble. The woman he thought to be his soulmate is digging his grave. She’ll steal away the family he thought he had and ruin the business he sacrificed his youth to found and grow.

  And, I’ll be a part of the scheme.

  CH 2

  ~

  The TV in my room refuses to switch on, and I’m reluctant to figure out how to fix it for fear of breaking it in the process. As beautiful as my bedroom is, there’s not much to distract me from my boredom while waiting for five o’clock so I can pick up the kids from their school.

  I take a long bath to kill time, and then try on my new clothes. One of my favorites is a green halter dress with large flower prints on its hem. Its straps are of soft silk that connect in a fist-sized bow around my neck.

  The other is a bright yellow that steals all the light from the room as I try it on. Despite its long sleeves and conservative neckline, it’s short enough to show my underwear were I to sit down in it, even if I tried to prevent it. The dress was, like most of the others, Loraine’s pick, and I have a suspicion that she imagined her husband peeking at my underwear beneath this super revealing dress.

  I turn around before the tall mirror and glance over my shoulder at the reflection of my buttocks. My ass cheeks bulge out like two large melons, and strangely enough the sight of them turns me on, especially when I think of Kenneth’s eyes on them.

  My breath hitching, I move toward my bed and drop my hands at its edge, bending over slightly to see my red thong exposed through the dress. If Ke
nneth was in this room, by some inexplicable occurrence, he’d peel up the hem of the dress to free my buttocks and pull down my underwear. That thought immediately heats up my sex, and I see a damp spot appear on my thong right where it cups my sex.

  God! There’s no denying how much Kenneth turns me on. Loraine was smart to choose me, although I have no idea how she knew I’d so easily fall for her husband. Possibly because of the way I couldn’t even do my job for ogling him at the coffee shop. Or, perhaps she just took a chance, having seen how other women react to him.

  My skin burns the longer thoughts of having Kenneth in my room, right behind me, flood my mind. My hands itch to relieve the aching need between my legs. I reach back and hook a finger through my thong, my eyes still fixed on the mirror. My lips whisper his name, and I wish he would burst open the door and witness my arousal through my panties. Slowly, I pull the thong down my thighs and let it dangle around my knees.

  It’s only four p.m., but there’s a chance Kenneth could decide to leave work early, and pay me a short visit in my room. I imagine how he’d react if he found me in this position, my sex fully naked and exposed to him. Would he find me irresistible and just position himself behind me exactly as I wish him to be? My eyes move from the mirror to the door and I gaze at it, wanting it to move with Kenneth behind it.

  My phone rings, the unexpectedness of it shooting up my heart rate. Quickly pulling my underwear up and my dress down over my ass, I reach for my phone and stare at its screen. An unknown number.

  “Hello,” I speak softly, curious.

  “Lisa.” It’s Kenneth, and his thick voice has my heart nearly jumping out of my chest. “Are you at home?”

  “Yes, please come and take me,” I wish I could say, but instead, I whisper, “Yes, sir,” My jaw trembles in shock, my legs squeezed together to calm my lust. I wonder if he can feel my arousal through my voice.

  “I’ve been trying to reach Loraine, but she’s not taking my calls. Is she with you?” He’s worried about his wife; what a surprise!

  “The last time I saw her, she was in her bedroom resting. Do you want me to go check on her?” I offer, although I’m not sure how I’ll leave my room in this dress. Loraine will surely get curious when she notices I’m wearing a different dress.

  “Yes, please.”

  Quietly, I open the door and walk out. The dress is indeed very short and slips up my buttocks while I head for Loraine’s bedroom. There’s no way I can wear it while the kids are around. I straighten the dress while still holding the phone against my ear, listening to Kenneth’s even breathing, imagining it gliding down the skin of my neck with its heat.

  “Her bedroom door is closed,” I say softly in case Loraine is sleeping.

  “Open it,” he orders curtly.

  I reach for the handle and slowly push it down. The curtains are pulled, leaving the room completely dark. I barely make out Loraine’s body on the bed, tucked under the beige comforter. She lifts her head and shoots me a questioning look.

  “Sorry to disturb you. Kenneth is on the phone,” I explain quickly and hold the phone out for her.

  “Tell him I’m not feeling well.” She falls back down on her pillow and pulls the comforter over her head.

  Hesitantly, I pull her door closed and place the phone against my ear. “I’m sorry, sir. She says she doesn’t feel well.”

  “I heard.” He pauses, not even breathing in the next seconds. “All right. I’m heading home now. I’ll pick up the kids on my way.”

  “Thank you, sir. I’ll get the dinner—” The phone goes dead before I can finish my sentence and I gape absently at its screen.

  He’s worried about his wife’s health and perhaps grieving over the death of his unborn child. What would he do, if he knew his own wife chose to end his baby’s life?

  I hurry back to my room to change into a more comfortable dress. Besides its awkward shortness, its bright yellow color is too festive for a gloomy day like this and will definitely anger Kenneth more than anything else.

  I put on the green, halter dress without any bra. I decide to take off my thong since it’s too damp to keep on. Having no underwear feels liberating and arousing at the same time. My breasts feel heavy against the thin fabric, and my nipples peek through the silk of the dress. Even so, I don’t look half as desperate for attention as I did in the yellow dress.

  Loraine’s bedroom door is still closed when I walk past it and head for the kitchen. A large glass container covered in aluminum foil is sitting on the kitchen counter along with a tall jar of freshly squeezed strawberry and orange juice. At least that’s what it says on the post-it note plastered on it. And according to the other note, chicken fajitas and Mexican rice are the dishes inside the glass container. My stomach growls as I open the foil and inhale the delicious aroma of the food.

  The lasagna from last night was heavenly enough to make me want to turn up my nose at every other lasagna, to say the least. And now this insanely delicious-looking food… The family must have a chef cooking for them, although I have yet to meet him or her.

  I go through the fridge to locate food for the baby, grab the plastic cup with the label frozen peas and meat on it, and warm it up in hot water.

  The sound of the car engine outside immediately makes me shift my gaze to the kitchen window to see Kenneth’s BMW parked before the front porch. I should go out and help him with the kids, but my feet remain paralyzed as I stare at him while he gets out of the car, looking breathtaking in his black suit and blue shirt.

  His eyes, blue topazes shimmering brightly, glance up at the second floor, possibly in search of Loraine. He remains there for a second, his eyebrows knitted together, his jaw tight, worry the only emotion I can read on his face from this distance. His miserable expression fades away as he reaches for the back passenger door and takes his daughter out. She walks around the car and rushes to the front door while her father takes the baby out.

  I smile as I hear Jamie’s loud banging on the front door. “Mommy, we’re home,” she yells with her adorable voice. I run to get the door and she looks up at me with her face turning from happy to angry in an instant.

  “Mom?” she calls out in disappointment, and Kenneth walks to her side with the little baby in his arms. He urges Jamie inside with the gentle tug of his hand but Jamie crosses her arms over her chest and ignores her father’s hand.

  “Your mom is sick today,” he explains and moves closer to me.

  I stare at him, getting lost in the deep sea of his blue eyes, feeling electrified by my close proximity to him, but then realize he’s trying to hand me little Jack. As soon I hold the baby, Kenneth reaches down to Jamie and attempts to lift her up. She pushes his hands away, still adamant to have her mom greet her.

  The baby pulls my hair with both hands, and I come close to screaming in pain. Then an idea suddenly pops into my mind.

  Despite the pain, I bend my knees to reach Jamie’s eye level. “Do you want me to show you how to braid hair?”

  Jamie frowns at me, looking not in the least fazed by my offer. Jack pulls my hair harder again and screams.

  “Jack looks very excited to learn it.” I smile encouragingly despite the pain pulsing at my scalp from the pull of my hair. Jack laughs as if he’s understood my joke, and the sweet cheer in his laughter evokes a shy smile from Jamie. Quickly forgetting about her mother’s absence, Jamie takes a hesitant step inside and then rushes toward the living room.

  I stand and face Kenneth’s appreciative smile that comes with a quick nod of his head. I feel my cheeks burning hot under his stare and my gaze instantly drops to the floor. He walks past me to climb the stairs, heading for the bedroom to see his wife.

  “Now! Now! I want you to teach me how to braid now!” Jamie yells from the living room, and I find her jumping on the leather couch.

  Gently, I lay Jack on the carpet, wondering if I should feed him before anything else, but Jamie looks very insistent, and I’d feel guilty if I didn’t imme
diately assuage her disappointment over not having her mom to herself for the evening.

  I grab two baby dolls with long hair out of the toy box and hand her one. “Let’s try it on the dolls for now, but if you get the hang of it, I’ll let you braid my hair.”

  “Yes!” She claps her hands and jumps down to sit next to me on the couch.

  I place one doll between my legs and the other between Jamie’s legs and start with my quick instructions. Of course, she can’t quite get it on the first try, but her mood is visibly elevated as she tries to braid her doll’s hair.

  I laugh when she claims she’s finished and shows me the braid with pride evident on her small, adorable face.

  “You did it so much better than my first time. Good job!” I pat her back to encourage her more and turn around so she can experiment on my own hair.

  My scalp protests when she tugs at my hair. “You have too much hair!” Jamie exclaims while running her little fingers through my curls. “I’ll make you look very pretty.”

  “I’d like that. Make me as pretty as you are,” I say and lower my head against her small body behind me. I stretch my legs on the couch and rest my arm on the back of the couch while Jamie works on my hair.

  “I don’t want this.” She pulls something. From the tightness around my throat, I guess she’s complaining about the halter strap of my dress.

  “Do as you like, darling,” I urge her and relax my shoulders and the rest of my body to cope with the pain on my scalp. My eyes fly to the door right then and meet Kenneth’s gaze.

  He’s holding his phone against his ear, but not talking. His pupils are so wide, the blue of his irises are barely visible as he stares at me with an unshakable focus that causes my whole body to freeze in an instant. The world stops spinning, Jamie’s murmurs behind me, Jack’s coos on the floor fading into the background while Kenneth is eating me alive with his eyes.

  Strangely enough, I feel exposed, naked with each second our eyes remain locked. It’s only he and I, and my pounding heart…and the cold air gliding softly against the skin of my chest, over my nipples. I feel them turning hard and aching.