SmokeandMirrors Read online

  She heard his voice when she stepped out into the hall. Tiptoeing to his bedroom, the open cuffs dangling from her hand, she could feel the silly grin on her face. As she stepped through the open doorway, she saw Alex sitting at a desk, talking on the telephone and looking at a computer screen. She was about to call out to him when she heard him say, “Very good. As soon as the money transfers, you can see your daughter again.” He hung up the phone, still looking at the computer screen.

  His words echoed in her head. Her stomach rolled and she thought she might pass out.

  That bastard. A dull chill ran through her body. She didn’t think she made a sound, but Alex looked up and saw her standing there. She’d dropped the cuffs and hadn’t even heard them clatter to the floor over the blood pounding in her head. He jumped to his feet and called out her name.

  Fury, disbelief and a deep sense of betrayal surged to the surface in a cry that tore from her throat. She spun on her heels and dashed down the hall. If she could make it to the front door, she might have a chance to escape.

  He was on her in seconds, wrapping his long arms around her. She kicked and screamed, but he’d pinned her arms to her sides and she couldn’t get away.

  “Listen to me, Gabriella! Listen to me!”

  “No!” She threw her body to the side as hard as she could and they tumbled to the floor. She tried her damnedest to land a kick where it would count. So many horrible thoughts were flying through her head. How could this possibly be? Her heart pounded so hard her chest hurt. She finally stopped kicking and lay there on the floor with Alex on top of her. His arms were so tight around her she could hardly breathe.

  “Gabriella, please let me explain.”

  She glared at this man she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Stupid! She knew better and she’d still let him trick her.

  “Ransom, Alexander? You’re holding me for ransom?” What was left of her heart shattered into a million tiny pieces. “What? Did your theater cost more than you thought and you decided to get the some quick cash from my father?”

  He shook his head and sighed. Without another word, he released her and sat up, leaning back against the wall. He was breathing as hard as she was. “It’s not like that.”

  Gaby got up on her knees and glanced at the door. She wasn’t giving up the hope of escape. “I heard what you said, you bastard. It wasn’t about me. This is all about money. It wasn’t about us or the magic. Money! I guess that’s all I’ve ever been to you.”

  “You know that’s not true.”

  “All I know is that you planned to seduce me. You knew I liked bondage and you used that to get me here. To keep me here. For money!” Hot tears sprang to her eyes, but she refused to let them fall.

  He got to his feet and offered his hand to help her up. “Gabriella. I wasn’t demanding money from your father. I was demanding to pay him back.”

  She stared at him. “What are you talking about? That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “Please understand. I was desperate. You were sick and I couldn’t take care of you. Your father offered me a lot of money to never see you again.”

  She was going to throw up. “You took money from my father?”

  “I refused at first. Then I reconsidered. I may have been young and foolish, but I knew it took money to make money. And I wanted to make money as quickly as possible.”

  “Money,” she spat. “Why is everything about money?”

  “It’s easy to be cavalier about money when you’ve always had it,” he said dryly. “It was a stupid thing to do, but at the time all I could think was that I had to be rich to get you back. Trust me, I did it all for you.”

  “Trust you?” She laughed bitterly. “Alex, I can’t trust anything you say. Anything you do. You made me think you loved me.” And that’s what hurt the most. “You made me think I loved you, dammit. But it wasn’t real. It was only another one of your lies.”

  He held out his arms, but she backed away. “Don’t touch me. I want to go home. Now.”

  He nodded. “Foster will drive you home.” He took a step away, then turned to look at her. “I’m sorry, Gabriella. Please try to understand.”

  She couldn’t bear to look at the anguish on his face. “I have to get out of this outfit.” She ran past him into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her.

  * * * * *

  After Foster put his arm around Gabriella and ushered her out the door, the usual silence in Alex’s apartment was deafening. He returned to the practice room to blow out the candles he’d lit with such high hopes. Smoke from the extinguished wicks swirled around the room, filling the space like fog.

  He stared at his reflection in the mirror. He didn’t see the Great Alexander Black who practiced here for hours on end to perfect the tricks he played on the audience. Instead, he saw a charlatan. A man who’d been living an illusion.

  A man who’d fooled himself into believing he hadn’t fucked up his life years ago.

  Chapter Seven

  Gaby asked Foster to drop her off at her parents’ house. She found her purse and panties in the back of the limo. Foster asked her to sit up front with him, but she wasn’t in the mood for conversation. She spent the trip home thinking about her time with Alex ten years ago.

  Had she idealized that time they spent together? Yes, they’d roughed it. To her it had been an adventure. Now she could see how different it might have been for Alex. The longer she thought about it, the easier it was to recognize how Alex felt, understand his reasoning. He thought he’d let her down. He wanted to come back to her a success. She could see how the money her father had offered could accomplish that sooner.

  And he’d done it. Even though her heart was breaking all over again, she still felt pride for what he’d accomplished. It took a lot of work, talent and perseverance, regardless of the money. It didn’t make what he did right, but it didn’t make it unforgivable.

  Ten years ago, she’d been devastated when she woke up and found him gone. She’d cried for weeks. Months. And then she’d buried her grief in homework and marketing plans. She should have gone after him herself instead. He would have been easy to find. Would she have done that if she’d known her father had been responsible for Alex leaving her?

  Foster slipped her a card with his cell phone number on it as he helped her from the limo. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. Saying goodbye to him was like leaving Alex again. Foster kissed her cheek and told her to call him when she was ready to talk.

  Her father opened the door for her as if he’d known she was coming. “So he let you go.”

  She brushed past him, her heels clattering on the marble floor in the foyer. “He didn’t let me leave. I told him I wanted to go and I left.”

  “He let you go that easily?” Now why did her father sound disappointed instead of thrilled?

  She whirled around to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed in front of him. “I wouldn’t say it was easy. For either of us.”

  Her father pushed away from the wall and gestured for her to follow him into his den. Instead of sitting behind his desk as he usually did, he sat down on the old leather sofa and patted the seat beside him. He waited until she sat down to ask, “Why did you leave him if you didn’t want to go?”

  “How can you ask that? He took money from you!” She jumped to her feet. “And you paid him off! My own father.” She was trying to be strong, but her voice cracked. “I loved him.”

  He took her hand and brought her back down beside him. “I had to make sure he loved you and not the Winslow fortune.”

  Or course he did. It’s what any father would have done. Evidently, today was the day Gaby learned to walk in other people’s shoes.

  “I knew if he was only after the money, then he’d take what I offered. And he did.”

  Gaby nodded. She wanted to tell her dad she knew why Alex took the money, but her father was showing a whole new side and she wanted to see what else he ha
d to say. She just stared at him and waited.

  “Yes, I offered him money to stay away from you and I won’t apologize for that. At first he refused, but then he said he’d pay me back someday. I didn’t believe he ever would. But I have to give him credit, he promised to never try to contact you until he came back with the money, and to my knowledge, he never did.”

  “He said you wouldn’t take the money back.”

  Her father shrugged. “I know better than anyone how easy it is to write a check. I wanted to see if he loved you enough to work for it. I didn’t think he’d whisk you away to Las Vegas. It was quite a grand gesture. That impressed me.”

  This was her father talking? She frowned, trying to absorb what he was saying. “You wanted him to fight for me?”

  “Exactly.” He studied her over his horn-rimmed glasses. “But you left him, so I guess you didn’t love him enough.”

  “I love him with all my heart.”

  “Do you trust him to handle that love with care?”

  The answer was easy now. “Yes.”

  “Then what are you doing here?”

  She stared at her father, speechless. Good question. Alex had come up with a grand gesture to get her back. She’d have to come up with something just as grand to prove her love.

  * * * * *

  Alex had always imagined that the opening night of his theater would fill him with joy. With a sense of accomplishment. But instead, the sense of pride was bittersweet. He’d always thought he’d have Gabriella beside him when this time came. The week since she’d walked out of his life seemed longer than the past ten years.

  The house was packed, the audience enthusiastic. He’d had numerous offers of drinks or parties afterward, but he wasn’t up to any of it. He wanted to get this damn costume off and go home. He’d sent Gabriella a ticket for a front row seat, but it had remained empty. Just like his heart.

  Foster had done a good job of clearing most of the fans from backstage after the performance. Alex signed a few autographs and then went back to his dressing room. A huge vase of blood red roses sat on the far end of the dressing table. But he hardly gave them a second thought when he saw Gabriella standing in middle of the room.

  She was naked, her wrists tied together and her arms raised above her head, the rope anchored to one of several rings he’d optimistically had installed on the walls and ceiling. She held a red rose in her teeth and her magnificent hair was spread out around her shoulders. His heart nearly leapt out of his chest. He was frozen to the spot, could only stand there and stare at her like an idiot.

  “Are you going to stand there all night?” she asked. At least, that’s what he thought she said as she tried to speak around the stem in her mouth.

  He slowly crossed the room and took the rose out of her mouth. His hand shook. “I didn’t expect to see you.”

  She lifted her brows. “That’s why it’s called a surprise.”

  Alex wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. “I’m not letting you go again.”

  “Good. I don’t want to leave. I love you. I want to be a part of your show. And a part of your life.”

  “But…”

  She swept her soft lips across his cheek. “I finally took the time to put myself in your place. And my father’s. I love you both. I’m not happy that you played around with my life, but I understand why you did it.” She took his bottom lip between her teeth and lightly nipped the skin. “But if you ever do anything like that again, I’ll saw you in half.”

  Alex laughed, suddenly energized, aroused, hopeful. He let go of her and stepped back, taking in her pale perfect skin, the rosy nipples peeking out from the fiery strands of hair, her beautiful pussy tempting him from between her legs. “So Foster helped you set this up? He saw you naked? I may have to kill him.”

  She laughed. “He kept his eyes closed. If I didn’t already love you, I’d run away with him.”

  “I still might have to kill him.”

  “How about if you just love me.”

  “I do.” He lightly swept the soft petals of the rose across her cheek, along her lips, down her throat.

  “Mmm. Soft,” she murmured.

  He teased her nipples with the rose, smiling as they hardened into little red pebbles. His cock jerked in his trousers, crying out for attention. “This has been the longest week of my life.”

  “I’ve been busy,” she said. He swept the rose across her abdomen. “I made peace with my father. I resigned my position at Winslow Enterprises.”

  He stared at her. “Just like that? Are you sure that’s what you want to do?”

  She nodded and smiled. “I’m a magician’s assistant.”

  He was so full of love for her, the feelings nearly overwhelmed him. He pushed her feet farther apart so he could see her pretty pussy. She gasped when he ran the rose over her pink folds. The petals grew wet. He tickled her again.

  “I…um…I put my house on the market too,” she said as she shifted slightly. “I’ll need to arrange to ship my things here.”

  “We’ll talk about it tomorrow.” He tossed the rose onto the table by the vase. He loved playing with Gabriella’s luscious body, but tonight he simply wanted to love her. To claim her as his for the rest of their lives.

  He quickly released the rope and untied her hands. Then he swept her up into his arms. “I have a surprise for you.” He carried her to the door at the back of the dressing room. A push of a button and the door slid open to reveal a full bedroom he’d had built with the two of them in mind.

  “For the nights when we can’t keep our hands off each other,” he told her. He flipped on the light switch and Gabriella gasped when she saw the white and gold canopy bed that took up most of the room.

  “It’s beautiful.”

  He set her down on the edge of the mattress. “I want to make love to you, Gabriella. No more ropes or scarves or cages tonight. Just you and me and the love we make.”

  * * * * *

  Gaby sighed with delight. Her skin felt all shivery just from his words, his smooth voice, the way he was looking at her.

  He turned from her and began lighting a few candles that sat on a table nearby. He struck match after match, touching the bright flames to the wicks. Alex had always made everyday tasks magical, as if he’d just discovered fire, as if he conjured the flames out of the heated air around them.

  When the flames glimmered from half a dozen candles, he switched off the overhead light and plunged them into flickering shadows. She rose from the bed and began to unbutton his shirt. His skin was hot beneath her fingers. Once the shirt was open, she slid it off his shoulders and let it fall to the floor. His sculpted muscles stood out in sharp relief from the shadows around him. Gaby swept her hands over his bare chest, reveling in the feel of the hard muscles under her fingers.

  It was still hard for her to believe that she was going to be able to touch Alex whenever she wanted. Not just for the weekend. Not just for a few stolen hours or days. But for the rest of their lives. She wanted to show him how happy that made her.

  She cupped his hard erection and rubbed him through his black trousers. His cock twitched in her hand. Alex moaned. “Easy.”

  Gaby grinned. She unbuttoned the waistband and eased the zipper down over his erection. He shoved his trousers and briefs down his legs and kicked them away. After she led him over to the bed, she sat down on the edge of the mattress and took his cock into her hand. She stroked the velvety skin from tip to base, enjoying the soft skin and hard shaft. Taking the time to explore a little more, she traced the veins that seemed to throb beneath the skin and lightly rubbed the tip with her finger. It bobbed in front of her. A small amount of fluid seeped from the tip and she rubbed it into his hot skin.

  Alex groaned. He caught her around the waist and lifted her back onto the mattress. She dropped onto her back, her head falling onto a soft pillow. Alex climbed onto the bed and looked down on her. She could see the love shining from his eyes.
The knowledge that he truly loved her got her even hotter than she’d been before. She opened her arms to him and he came to her.

  His body was hot and hard and covered her like a blanket. His cock pressed into her stomach. His lips teased the sensitive skin at the base of her neck. Shivers ran along her skin. His hands ran along her ribs. She wriggled beneath him, trying to feel him everywhere at once.

  “You taste so good,” he murmured, his tongue laving the skin behind her ear. “I think I’ll have to eat you up every night.”

  “I like the sound of that,” she replied. She wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and pulled him even closer. A buzz of arousal ran through her body, dancing along her skin and gathering between her legs. Her hips seemed to move of their own accord, lifting up off the bed and pressing into him. She’d never get enough of him. Her body cried out for him to fill her. To claim her. To become one with her.

  “I need you inside me,” she cried, begging as she never had in the past. This lovemaking was different. They weren’t playing the game tonight. “Please, Alex. Please.”

  “In a minute, love.” His lips tickled and teased along her throat and down one arm. “I’m going to kiss every inch of your delightful body. Make love to every bit of skin. Every dimple and freckle.” He swept his tongue across the palm of her hand and down each finger. She shivered from the delicious tingles running through her.

  He didn’t stop there. Gaby melted into the mattress as he kissed down her body, moving his mouth over her breasts, across her abdomen and then down her thighs and calves and ankles. She’d never felt so loved, so adored.

  She moaned in delight as he nibbled on her toes, licked the arch of her foot. Oh God, she couldn’t lay still. She wriggled beneath him, thoroughly enjoying what he was doing, but itching with need. The tension building between her legs grew stronger with each swipe of his tongue, each brush of his lips, each nip of his teeth.

  She clutched at the bedclothes, gathering the cloth into her fists. Alex started moving up her leg, slowly kissing along her calf, behind her knee, finally reaching her needy center. A whimper escaped her lips before she even realized it.