Melinda
The guards marched me upstairs and into my room.
I knew I had to try something – anything! – to get them off my back. I didn’t know if it would work, but even a failed try would be better than nothing.
“Are you planning to stay in here with me?” I asked, making my voice as sweet and syrupy as sugar. “Don’t you know that girls like a little privacy?”
The two guards exchanged looks. They were both big, hulking men…but they looked so incredibly stupid. I wondered if they had a combined vocabulary of more than twenty words.
“Boss’s orders,” the bigger one said. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “You gonna tell me your father lied?”
“Of course not,” I said quickly. “But don’t you know, he trusts me enough to give me a lock on the door.” I pointed. “See?”
The guards exchanged another look.
“Well, maybe just one of us can stay,” the bigger one said. Just as I thought he was about to leave, he walked over to my bed and sat down. “I’ll go first. You go back downstairs,” he told the other guard. “I’ve got this from here.”
Inwardly, I groaned. That hadn’t worked at all!
When the smaller guard had left, I plugged in my phone. “I need to call my best friend, Cassandra, is that okay?”
The guard glanced at me skeptically. “Show me the phone,” he said.
I pulled up Cassandra’s contact page. Her picture was a thumbnail shot of the two of us enjoying a day at the shore back in happier times. Looking at our happy smiles made tears come to my eyes once again.
“Okay,” the guard grumbled. “But I’m not leaving.”
I rolled my eyes behind his back. “That’s fine,” I said sweetly. “I shouldn’t be too long on the phone.”
The guard grunted. For a moment, I thought about calling Antonio instead. But the room was so quiet, I knew the guard would probably be able to hear the voice from the other end.
Please pick up, I prayed as I held the phone to my ear. Please, Cassandra, please!
“Oh my god, where have you been?” Cassandra demanded. “You left the club hours ago! We were so worried about you! Alexander was there, too, did you see?”
I couldn’t believe I’d been out with Cassandra and Gloria hours ago. It already felt like days had passed since my confrontation with Alexander at Hurricanes.
“Um, yeah, I’m okay,” I said shakily. Tears came to my eyes and I wiped them way.
“Melinda, oh my god, you are so not okay!” Cassandra said. “What happened, did Antonio—“
“Um, about that,” I said quickly. “It’s happening tonight. I mean, tomorrow. Tonight is my last night at home.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Cassandra asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” I said after a pause. “Um, I’m fine.”
“You don’t sound fine,” Cassandra said slowly. “You wanna tell me what’s going on?”
I shot a quick glance over at the guard. Thankfully, he was fully immersed in flipping through one of the fashion magazines piled up next to my bed.
“I’m not going to be allowed to go out anymore,” I said carefully. “My father is angry with me, and I know he won’t let me leave.”
“What about Antonio?”
I sighed. “Um, that, too,” I said. “Alexander and I are getting married.”
“What?” There was a loud clunking sound and then static, like Cassandra had dropped the phone. When she came back, her voice was loud and angry. “What the hell did you just say?”
“That’s right,” I said brightly. “You could try to sound happy for me, you know.” My palms began to sweat with anxiety as I kept one eye on the guard and one ear listening to the phone.
“Melinda, I’m confused,” Cassandra said slowly. “Alexander is scum. He’s worse than scum – you hate him!”
“Well, I’m marrying him,” I said in a false, bright voice.
A pause. “Do you want to marry him?”
I glanced at the guard. He was still enraptured by the magazine.
“No,” I said quickly.
“Oh my god, Melinda, what the hell happened?”
“I’m going to marry Alexander tomorrow,” I repeated. “Right now, I have to stay at home. Dad isn’t letting me go out.”
“You want me to call Antonio?”
Sweat broke out on my forehead and I shivered. “Please,” I said. “I’d love that. Thanks, Cassandra! You’re such a good friend to be so excited for me.”
When Cassandra and I hung up, a nervous chill ran through my body. I tried going back over our conversation in my head – how else was I supposed to remember if I’d told her everything she needed to know? But I was so anxious and distressed that it was already a distant memory in my head.
“Excuse me,” I said to the guard, clearing my throat.
He looked up, startled. “What?”
“I need to get some things from under my bed,” I said, pointing to the clear plastic storage drawers that contained summer clothes and purses. “I need to pack, right? I’m going away with Alexander.”
The guard nodded. “Big honeymoon plans?”
I fought the urge to tell him to fuck off. “I don’t know,” I said wearily, getting down on my hands and knees. “Whatever Alexander has planned.”
The guard walked across my room and leaned against my door, crossing his arms over his chest. He seemed to remember that he was here to make sure I didn’t try anything funny – not to lie on my bed and read fashion articles from an old magazine.
I made a big show of pulling out my rollerboard suitcases and dumping clothes inside. I wasn’t even looking at what I was throwing in – it didn’t matter. Assuming that Antonio would be here soon, I knew I had to be ready to leave at a moment’s notice.
“Excuse me,” I said sweetly. “Would you mind turning around? I’ve got to change.”
The guard grumped and rolled his eyes.
“My father and James wouldn’t like it,” I added quickly. “Neither would Alexander. He wants to make sure he’s the only man to ever see me naked.”
The guard’s cheeks colored but he turned around, facing the wall. When I was sure he wasn’t looking, I pulled off my dress and changed into my favorite pair of distressed jeans and a white blouse.
“Okay,” I said. “Thank you.”
The guard frowned. “You don’t have a dress?”
“What?”
“A wedding dress,” he said, stretching his words out. “You need a dress.”
“Trust me,” I said darkly. “I don’t.”
As the night wore on, I started feeling more and more anxious. I hadn’t heard from Cassandra again – not even after I’d texted her to be sure to wish Alexander and me a happy marriage tomorrow. I wondered if she’d had trouble finding Antonio.
I wondered if Antonio hadn’t been able to come up with a plan. He’d seemed so distraught earlier, so panicked. A horrible thought rose inside of me like vomit: what if Antonio chickened out? What if he was so afraid of my father that he decided to just skip town and abandon me?
What was going to happen to me if Antonio didn’t show up?
The guard yawned.
“Do you want me to go get you some coffee?” I chirped. “I could use some myself.”
The guard narrowed his eyes. “Long day,” he muttered. “And, no, I ain’t letting you out of here.”
I sighed and flopped down on the bed. I was exhausted, but I knew that even if I turned out the lights and took a pill, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. This was all too much, too fast – and time was running out.
My phone read three in the morning by the time I finished packing. My eyes were red and stinging for want of sleep, but my limbs were restless, like I’d drunk four cups of coffee in a row.
I couldn’t stop the horrible intrusive thoughts from slamming into my brain like a car crashing into a brick wall. Where the hell was Antonio? Had Cassandra misunderstood me? Was she angry with me?
God, what was keeping him?
“Stop pacing around,” the guard snapped. “I’m getting tired. Just relax for a little while. It’s almost light outside.”
His words sent a fresh bolt of panic through my chest and I shuddered.
“You cold?”
“No,” I said. “Just excited, you know.” I tried to smile.
Just as the guard was about to open his mouth, there was a knock on the door. My heart froze. This is it, I realized. This is the end of everything. It’s too late. Antonio didn’t make it, and now I’m going to my doom.
The guard opened the door.
Antonio was standing there, grinning.
I covered my mouth with my hands so I wouldn’t squeal. Thankfully, the guard didn’t notice. He narrowed his eyes at Antonio.
“Who the fuck are you?”
Antonio chuckled. “I’m her bodyguard,” he said. “Sorry I’m late. I know I was supposed to relieve you an hour ago.”
The big guard narrowed his eyes. “What are you talking about?”
Antonio strolled into the room, pointedly refusing to meet my eyes. “I’m here. You can go home.”
The guard frowned. “Mr. Rodrigo said I can’t leave until he comes back.”
Antonio shrugged. “Rodrigo makes mistakes sometimes,” he said casually. “Come on, I’ve been guarding her for weeks. You really think I’d fuck with you like that?”
“Well, I don’t know,” the guard said slowly. I almost laughed when I saw his face – he was obviously concentrating so hard that he was about to burst a blood vessel in his eye.
“We can call Rodrigo up here and ask him,” Antonio said, “but he’s gonna be pretty angry at the interruption.”
The guard nodded. “Right,” he said. “Okay.” He yawned. “I’m off, then.” He glanced at me. “Good luck.”
I forced a smile.
The guard walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. A moment later, I heard his heavy thudding down the staircase.
Rushing over to Antonio, I threw my arms around him. Tears came to my eyes and before I could blink them away, Antonio was holding me close and kissing me passionately. Antonio’s fingers wiped my cheeks and he kissed me so deeply that I felt my soul come alive once more.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I whispered loudly. “I was getting so scared, Antonio!”
“I know, baby,” Antonio whispered. He pulled me close and kissed me again, searching my mouth with his tongue. I closed my eyes and melted against him. I was feeling hope and relief now that my lover was here, but the panic hadn’t begun to ebb just yet. After all, I was still locked inside the house of Rodrigo Cantonneli…and whether I escaping it wasn’t going to be simple.
“We have to hurry, Melinda,” Antonio whispered. “I made a plan with Cassandra, but we can’t leave just yet. I have to make sure the other guard gets out without alerting your father.”
“What took you so long?” I demanded. “I was starting to get really worried!” I blinked and a hot tear rolled down my cheek. “Antonio, I thought you didn’t care about me anymore! I thought you were scared!”
“Shush, baby, it’s okay,” Antonio whispered. He pulled me into his arms and kissed the top of my head. “I’m here now. I’m sorry it took me so long – I had to wait until all of the men weren’t watching.”
I nodded. I was still terrified out of my wits – but being around Antonio was calming me, and I felt the most relaxed I’d been since my father had confronted me with his plans that night.
“Are you okay?” Antonio stroked my hair. “I know this has to be upsetting for you.”
I winced as his hand touched my cheek. “The guard hit me,” I said. “He kept slapping me when I was in Dad’s office.”
Antonio balled his hands into fists. “I should’ve killed him,” he said darkly. “That asshole would have deserved it.”
I shook my head as quickly as I could. “No, it’s better this way,” I said softly.
Antonio gazed into my eyes and I felt my heart swell. “I’m just glad to see you,” Antonio said. “I’m glad I wasn’t too late. I was so worried when I got the call from Cassandra; she sounded really distraught.”
I nodded slowly. “Antonio, I owe you an apology,” I said. My cheeks blushed bright red. “I’m really sorry that I didn’t listen to you earlier when you told me this was a bad idea. I should have paid attention and trusted your instinct.”
Antonio sighed. “It’s okay,” he said. “I know you’re a brave, headstrong woman. I didn’t expect you to listen.”
“It’s not okay,” I said miserably. “If I’d listened to you, we wouldn’t be in this mess!”
Antonio raked a hand through his hair. “Well, here we are now, and we have to make the best of it, okay?” He cracked a smile. “You look incredible in those jeans,” he said.
I knew it was wrong, that we didn’t have time, but I couldn’t stop the flood of hormones surging through my body. I plastered my body against Antonio’s and wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him close. Once our mouths met in a deep, warm kiss, and I sighed and relaxed against Antonio’s muscular body.
Hot lust burned through my body. Instead of ignoring it and peeling away from Antonio, I pushed him closer and closer to the bed until we toppled over, still clutching and kissing. Antonio’s kisses grew more intense with every second, and he nuzzled me into the bed before nudging my chin up and kissing my neck until I moaned softly with pleasure.
Antonio clamped his hand against my mouth, but he didn’t stop giving me those slow, honey-like, sensual kisses. Desire flared in my lower belly and I arched my back, wriggling against the mattress as Antonio’s tongue played on my neck and collarbone. His hand was tight against my mouth, and even though I was whimpering, the air was silent.
I could feel that Antonio was hard inside of his jeans. Reaching between our bodies, I fondled his erection through his pants until he groaned in my mouth.
“Wait,” Antonio growled softly in my ear. “We shouldn’t do this Melinda, not here; it’s too dangerous.”
I looked at Antonio with lustful fire in my eyes. “I don’t care,” I whispered back. “I want to have sex in my bedroom, if only once.” I grinned wickedly. “We can leave the sheets for Alexander.”
Antonio pressed me against the mattress and kissed me until I swooned in his arms. I kept rubbing his cock through the thick material of his jeans until he was bucking his hips and groaning in time with my ministrations.
Antonio tugged my shirt up over my breasts and buried his face in my cleavage. When I felt his tongue licking my nipple, I moaned and arched my back. Antonio’s hands wandered all down my body and I spread my legs as the heat from his fingers seeped through the denim. My pussy was pulsing with a frantic, desperate kind of arousal – like I’d die if I didn’t manage to have an orgasm.
“God,” I moaned softly into Antonio’s hand. He didn’t release his grip on my mouth, but moved up to kiss me, only taking his fingers away when his lips were right there to replace them. I cried out into his mouth as his fingers fumbled with the snap of my jeans and began tugging them down my hips.
“I want you. I want you so badly, Melinda. I want to make you mine.”
I shivered with lust as Antonio pulled my jeans off and tossed them to the side. He reached down and pushed the crotch of my panties to the side, sliding his fingers inside me until I was writhing and wriggling on the bed. When his thumb found my clit, he stroked me until I was whimpering for more.
“I want you, too,” I whispered, reaching down and stroking Antonio’s cock. I was clumsy as I unfastened his jeans and tried yanking them down with one hand. Antonio groaned and pushed my hand away before tearing his jeans down. He wasn’t wearing boxers, and I eagerly wrapped my hand around the base of his cock, guiding him closer to me.
Antonio arched his back and groaned through gritted teeth as I stroked him. He reached between my legs and slapped my thighs apart, then lowered himself against my body and thrust inside of me with one smooth motion. The way he shoved my panties to the side with a careless hand sent a rush of thrilling lust through my body and I cried out softly as Antonio began rocking back and forth, his cock sliding in and out of my body with a delicious, soft speed.
We moved together on my bed almost soundlessly. Whenever I knew I was about to moan, I kissed him deeply, shoving my tongue into his mouth and grinding fiercely against his body. This wasn’t about love, or even lust – it was desperation. I couldn’t have stopped myself from having sex with Antonio any more easily than I could have stopped myself from breathing.
It was completely natural and wonderful.
Antonio grabbed my hips and held me firmly against the mattress as he fucked me. His body was slamming against my clit with each thrust and I bit my lip to keep from crying out in pleasure.
“Melinda, come for me, baby,” Antonio moaned. “Come for me.”
Throwing my head back, I pressed my lips together and shoved my face into the mattress. Antonio’s cock filled every inch of my pussy as our bodies moved together in a frantic, lustful rhythm. My orgasm came over me so quickly that it felt like I was being held hostage by the emotions and lust racing through my body. As Antonio came inside of me, my pussy clamped around him with each powerful wave of pleasure that ripped through my body.
Afterwards, I was shaking and sweating. Antonio reached up and tenderly wiped my forehead before pulling out of me and yanking his pants up. I was flushed and breathing hard, but aside from that I felt completely normal. I tugged my blouse down, fixed my panties, and slid my jeans back on.
“That was fun,” I said, giggling. I’d always wanted to fuck a guy in the bed I’d grown up sleeping in, and the quickie with Antonio had given me the energy and courage I needed to go forward with the next step of our plan.
When I thought of my dad discovering the truth, I grinned.
“Come on,” Antonio said. He walked over to the window and peered out, shielding his eyes with his hands. “Cassandra’s parked down the street. She’s waiting for us.”
“How the hell are we supposed to get outside?” I demanded. “Dad’s having that huge party, remember? They’re all downstairs.”
Antonio nodded. He looked serious and grave. “I know,” he said. “I thought of that, too.” He looked outside. “Your window is a sheer drop from the second story, Melinda. You can’t jump out of that. You might break a bone.”
I shivered at the thought of pain. I’d only ever broken one bone in my life – my wrist, during gym class in elementary school – and it had been the sheerest hell imaginable.
But breaking a bone was preferable to letting Alexander break something else.
“I don’t care,” I said hotly. “I don’t give a shit about whether or not I have to jump out of the window. It doesn’t bother me.”
Antonio nodded. “Well, it bothers me,” he said gruffly. “You’re going to attract a lot of attention, and we can’t have that.”
I frowned, tapping my chin with my finger. “There has to be another way down,” I said slowly.
Antonio nodded. “Your father has the master suite, right? Above the back porch?”
“Yes,” I said slowly.
“Come on,” Antonio said. He jerked his head towards my bedroom door. “We gotta do this now, or we’ll never be able to make it. It’s almost five in the morning. The sun’s going to be coming up soon.”
I sighed. Glancing around my bedroom, it was hard to believe this was the last time I’d ever see it. It didn’t even seem real.
A lump formed in my throat and I blinked back a fresh wave of tears. I remembered picking out the paint for my walls when I was in elementary school. Dad hired one of his guys to paint my room during the day, and when I came home, he surprised me with a stuffed pig and a box of candy. I still had the pig. It was sitting on my bed.
For a moment, I stepped towards it. But then my dad’s ugly, smiling face came back to my mind, and I shivered. I was still reeling from the hurt and pain he’d caused.
I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to think positively about Dad ever again.
“You okay?” Antonio put an arm around my shoulders. “Is everything okay, baby?”
I sighed. “It’s just hard to believe this is happening,” I said softly. “Part of me wishes I would wake up and all of this shit would be a nightmare.” A tear dripped down my cheeks, and I blinked it away, wiping my eyes before Antonio could see.
“I know,” Antonio said. He sighed. “Trust me, I’ve had the same thought.” He rested his forehead against my cheek and I felt love radiating from his body in waves. “It’s hard to believe that someone I trusted could turn out to be so evil. He’s giving you away like a man would sell a farm animal.”
I glanced back at the stuffed pig on my bed. Smiling sadly, I nodded.
“Come on,” Antonio whispered. “It’s now or never, Melinda. We gotta get going.”