Alana

I woke up and Tony wasn’t there. Looking around the room, I didn’t see him. I called his name like a helpless, little girl. No answer. I leaned over and reached for the light switch on the wall next to the headboard. How could he leave me here after what happened? He took my virginity then cut out. If it wasn’t his house, I would have felt really used. It was dark outside, but I wasn’t sure what time it was.

Wrapping the sheet around me, I got off the bed and went looking for my phone. It was in my bookbag. I hit it on, but the battery was low and I didn’t have a charger. “Shit.” I looked around the room but didn’t see a cord anywhere. There were three messages from Greg, and thankfully, Tony couldn’t get into them. I unlocked my phone and checked each one. He was worried that I didn’t make it out of the fire and asked me to contact him. Fuck that. Let that fucker think I died. The asshole set me up to be a pawn despite the danger. Then I refused to be Tony’s fuck toy, which is kind of useless now since that was what I’ve become, and he threatened me. I didn’t trust him anymore.

I turned off my phone and jumped into the shower, washing away the evidence that Tony and I had sex. Damn it, I hated Greg. All I wanted to do was feel safe, but I couldn’t now. I could never have the happiness with Tony because of how we came to be. Making my shower fast, I dried off and hit up my suitcase for something to wear. The weather was warm outside, so a pair of shorts and a tee would be fine. I was done dressing like I was easy. Maybe then I would be able to control myself around Tony.

Thinking of what happened in the last twenty-four hours, I was super freaking easy. I met a man and gave away my cookie in that short time. A man who I should avoid like the plague, but it seemed like I had a death wish. Instead of running for the hills, I was in his home, wondering where he left to and when he was coming back.

Shaking my head in frustration, I walked out of the room. Maybe he was in his office somewhere in this place. I made my way downstairs and down a long corridor that led to the kitchen area. The house was quiet and dark. I could see the fridge with the moonlight coming from the patio doors, so I opened it to get something to drink. Despite doing the mattress mambo and only eating once, I wasn’t in the least bit hungry. After grabbing a bottled water, I walked to the doors and slid them open. The yard was fairly large with a nice size pool. He probably hosted lots of parties with women in bikinis. I tried to shake off the jealous thoughts because I was foolish to be feeling anything for him.

The night sky was so clear that the stars were bright. I walked over to the lounge chairs and admired the view of the full moon. Maybe that’s what was wrong with me. They say a full moon brings the crazies out. I laughed to myself. It wasn’t the moon at all. Deep inside I just craved Tony. Where was he?

“Find her damn it. She couldn’t have gotten far,” I heard Tony roar as I heard a door slam. I jumped out of the chair and walked to the sliding door. He saw me and released a hard breath. Then he summoned me, “Come here, Alana.”

I came back into the house. “I didn’t know it was a crime to step outside.”

“It’s not, but the security is on and it went off. I thought you tried to leave me again.”

“Says the man who left me alone after taking my virginity.” I was annoyed as fuck with him. I walked past him and rushed back up the stairs. The man irritated me, he was the one who left me. I didn’t get halfway up the stairs before he got to me and pinned me onto the steps.

With his eyes looking hard and fearful at the same time, he gruffly replied, “Something came up at the club and I had to go there. I was already on my way back when I got the silent alarm.”

“You have me as a prisoner here?” I asked, wondering if he was always going to leave me locked inside away from the world.

“You didn’t seem to mind earlier,” he tossed out, like it was no big deal.

“Let me up. You’re hurting my back,” I grunted. I could feel the impressions of the stairs on my spine.

He was quick to let me up and turn me around, lifting my blouse. He groaned, then began to kiss my back.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you, Alana. I never want to hurt you.” His voice was so soft and pleading. He was scared that he hurt me and I was going to leave him.

“I wasn’t going to run away.”

“That’s not why the security is up. It’s because I want to keep you safe. I have enemies; any one with money does. That’s why rich people live with large gates surrounding their property. The average American homeowner has a security system in place. When it went off, I panicked. Your phone was going straight to voicemail.”

“I didn’t take my phone charger out of the wall because I was in a hurry.”

“Oh, I have one in the bedroom drawer that hides the cord, but it’s plugged into the wall behind the night stand. I have a thing with seeing cords everywhere.” I smiled up at him because that wasn’t an unreasonable dislike, but a bit much for a rumored mobster.

“Is everything okay?” I asked him.

“Yes, I just…” he paused, looking for a lie to tell me.

“Listen, Tony. As long as you’re not out fucking someone else or seeing someone else, you don’t need to tell me your business. I know everything you do isn’t above board.”

“There’s definitely no one else.”