Finding Acceptance in His Arms (12 page)

“Okay,
I get it.” She straightaway intuited what he was doing. “My former insecurity
has passed. You d
on’t have to prop me up any longer.
I feel better now.”

“Good.”
He looped an arm over her shoulders to pull her into him. “But that’s part of
my job, you know? To make you feel sexy and confident. Because if I can’t give
emotional support when you need it
then what the hell
am I doing introducing you to this business? It preys on the weak and sometimes
people need a little boost to help them acclimate to the rarified air so they
can survive. And, for the record, I fully intend on seeing you not only survivi
ng, but thriving.”

The
sentiment contained within his words touch her heart. “I really appreciate
that, Evan.”

While
the cabbie navigated the heavy traffic heading into the suburbs, their
conversation turned to insignificant things—the stagnant heat holdin
g Atlanta in its grip, Evan’s sister’s desire for a child,
Evan swearing off ever having children, Kara’s corresponding desire for a life
of carefree, childless frivolity, and Jennifer’s devotion to her job at the
insurance company.

The
conversation drew
to a close as the cab pulled into
the entryway of a private drive. Although Kara had paid little attention to her
surroundings thus far, she now saw the neighborhood they’d stopped in appeared
pristine. Every towering mansion sat on at least five acres of
well-manicured lawn. Elaborate fountains and blooming
flowers seemed to be the agreed upon décor of the community. That is, all
except for this property. The differences between this one and the others were
readily apparent.

Most
obvious, it hosted a tall
brick wall with security
cameras placed along the top at short intervals. Iron gates covered in black
privacy panels were attached to the brick and mortar buttresses on either side
of the driveway. Two additional cameras were attached midway either buttres
s, their lenses aimed at an angle whereas to be able to see
into the cab.

“Give
them a few seconds and they’ll open the gates,” Evan instructed the cabbie.

In
less than ten seconds the gates slowly swung inward to reveal an immaculate
lawn hosting enormous
pine trees bordered by blooming
azaleas. The cabbie eased up the blacktopped driveway to stop in front of an
enormous mansion. It looked Victorian in scope and design, rising three stories
tall. The many windows reflected the brilliance of the sinking sum
mer sun.

Evan
paid the cab driver and escorted Kara up the steps to the front door. Like the
house itself, this door appeared enormous. It was painted bright red and stood
out in relief against the yellow clapboards. A small brass plaque inscribed in
what
Kara thought might be Latin drew her attention
as it was inlaid into the door jamb directly above the doorbell.

“What
does it say?” She pointed at the plaque.

“Sex
is our holy religion. Feel free to worship with us. But do not dare blaspheme
in this house.
”

“What
does it mean by not blaspheming? I don’t want to offend anyone by accident.”

“Don’t
lead anyone to think you want to have sex with them and then suddenly change
your mind. Be cordial and friendly but not overly so. Remember, your purpose
here is to
incite sexual desire in these people
without giving them the impression you are available. So no flirty eyes
directed anywhere except toward me because in this house it will be interpreted
as an open invitation. Got it?”

“Okay.
I’ll make sure to stick wit
h you all night.”

“That
would be wise.” Evan reached to push the doorbell when the door suddenly
opened.

“Welcome,
Mr. Evan. Forgive me for the short delay.” A liveried manservant held the door
open. He appeared to be approaching sixty years old with a bal
ding head and stooped posture.

“Hello,
Charles.” Evan stepped through the doorway into the foyer with Kara on his arm.
“I hope we’re not imposing by showing up here a little late.”

“Oh,
no sir.
Your presence is always welcome here, no matter the circumstan
ces. Why, just this morning Mr. Lance expressed how much he
is looking forward to this coming Saturday’s performance. He thinks it will
trump anything you’ve done so far.”

Kara
glanced around at the rich hardwood décor of the room, recognizing straightaway
that the rustic ambience denoted masculinity. She thought
it also declared old money drawing interest.

“So
he’s read the script?”

“No
sir.” The servant’s eyes gleamed triumphantly. “I read all of your scripts to
Mr. Lance. He says I have a perfect pitch a
nd tone of
voice to narrate your masterpieces. I especially enjoyed this last one because
the premise appeals to one of my sexual fetishes.”

Evan
grinned. “I’m glad you approve of it, Charles. By the way, this young lady on
my arm is Ms. Kara.”

The
servant
bowed. “It a very great pleasure to meet you,
Ms. Kara. You couldn’t have picked a better escort.”

“It’s
nice to meet you too, Charles.” Kara stifled the urge to bow back since Evan
had shown no such deference to the man. She added, “And I couldn’t agree
with you more. Evan is a consummate gentleman.”

“Yes
ma’am, he certainly is.”

“Say,
Charles? Has the exhibition started yet?” Evan glanced toward the empty hallway
leading out the rear of the foyer.

“No
sir. We have quite the treat this evening. One of our
guests has agreed to play the queen for us tonight. And her personal attendants
have the longest—oh, my… I almost gave away the most exciting part. You’ll have
to forgive me for my loose tongue, Mr. Evan. Seeing it in person will prove
much more interesti
ng than any inadequate description
that I can give. Now if you will both please follow me into the ballroom.”

Evan
and Kara fell into step behind Charles to enter the hallway. More hardwood
covered the walls and floor and electric lighted sconces made the
lacquer on the wood glisten. For the first time in her life
she realized how hardwood décor also lent the impression of austerity.

Despite
her unwavering trust in Evan, she couldn’t suppress the feeling of being out of
place, like this house catered only t
o men and their
masculine desires. Upon turning a corner, the distinctive melody of
lighthearted piano music combined with the rising and falling of chattering
voices grew louder with each step. Peeping over their escort’s shoulders, she
saw a crowd of peo
ple through the open doorway at the
end of the hall. Charles stood aside to motion them forward to make their
entrance.

“Thank
you, Charles,” Evan said in passing.

“It’s
my pleasure, Mr. Evan.” Charles bowed.

Kara
glanced around awestruck as they entered.
A humongous
crystal chandelier glistened brightly under the domed ceiling three stories
above. Two decorative staircases ascended upward from either side of the
entranceway into the second and third stories. The landings above encircled the
room on three s
ides and acted as balconies. Several
well-dressed men and women stood conversing on the second story landing. She
saw no one in evidence on the third story landing.

Thinking
this room resembled an opera house, it was only then she noticed the long
curtains
hiding what she thought must be a stage set
into the forward wall, roughly fifty yards distant. Perhaps as many as seventy
people of different races milled about the main floor area, all finely dressed
in tuxedos and evening gowns.

The
chattering of voice
s continued to rise and fall in
volume as Kara let Evan weave them though the crowd toward a long bar on the
left hand side of the room. A few of the guests turned to watch them pass. She
couldn’t help thinking her yellow sundress wasn’t doing anything to
help them blend in.

“Evan!
You made it! I’d about given up on you,” a dapper older gentleman with an
eagle-like face and a head of thick, silver hair called out from his standing
position in front of the bar. He towered above every other man in the room at
approximately six feet eight inches. He had the good
fortune to also possess the enviable athletic build of a man twenty years his
junior.

Evan
smiled at the acknowledgment and drew Kara closer to his side. He cast a
cautious glance her way before angling
them directly
toward the man. Upon arriving within arm’s reach of the fellow, Evan nodded
politely, but did not release Kara’s arm to shake hands.

“Hi,
Lance. I’ve been running late since waking up this morning. Charles told me we
haven’t missed the exhib
ition yet. So maybe I’m
catching up a little after all. Who can say for sure? I’m just glad we made it
in time.”

“I
am too because I want to tell you I think your new script is the best one yet.
I can hardly wait for you to put on a show for all of us. Spe
aking of which, is this beautiful angel on your arm the
young lady who will perform with you?”

Evan’s
smile started to look a little fake to Kara. She’d picked up on his unspoken
warning to be cautious of this man. She couldn’t help wondering why she shoul
d be so. In absolute obedience to Evan’s former
instructions, she smiled and bobbed her head at the man, but said nothing. Her
thought process decided that the less she said the better the evening would
fare for her.

“Yes,
she’s the one. Her name is Kara.
She’s never
performed in front of an audience before so I’m thinking it should be
interesting come Saturday to see if she’s got what it takes.”

The
gentleman’s black eyes became lecherous as he regarded Kara as though he
entertained the fulfillment of some
secret sexual
fantasy. “We could put her on stage tonight if you’re having reservations about
her performance on Saturday. It could be sort of a coming attraction before we
get to the main exhibition tonight.”

“I
wouldn’t be opposed to doing that,” Evan c
onceded,
and then paused as if having second thoughts. “Except for the fact I haven’t
fucked her yet and I don’t intend on anyone—not even myself—fucking her in
front of an audience until she wants it to happen. Besides, just look at her;
she’s definitely
not ready tonight. So I suppose
we’ll all have to wait until Saturday to see if she’s going to be ready.”

Lance’s
shoulders slumped and his face twisted into a scowl. “I knew you really
wouldn’t agree to it. You and your fucking integrity get on my last ne
rve, Evan. Why couldn’t you have just played along? We
wouldn’t hurt her.”

Kara
immediately felt the muscles in Evan’s arm tensing up as if he was getting
prepared to do battle. She waited on edge to see what would transpire between
the two men. To her sur
prise, Evan grinned.

“I’m
sure you wouldn’t, Lance, but I still have to say no. I brought her, so I have
say-so over what she does and doesn’t do. And I say she’s not getting on
stage.”

Lance’s
countenance turned sullen. He looked Kara over from head to to
e several times. All of sudden something akin to
recognition flickered in his eyes. He addressed her directly. “Have we met
somewhere before? You’re starting to look very familiar to me. Might it have
been at a society function somewhere here in Atlanta?”

“Possibly,”
Kara answered with her worst fear of all surging up inside her. She quickly
thought up a lie to throw the man off her scent. “Didn’t you give a speech at
the—uh…uh…I know the name like my own…if I could only remember it.” She snapped
her finger
s several times as if trying to help joggle
her memory.

“The
Slater House,” Lance conjured up a name. “I received a humanitarian award for
my continued support of their women’s shelter three months ago.”

“Yes,
that was it. Your speech was moving and we
shook
hands afterward as I recall.”

“Honey,
we did more than that in the back of my limo if you’ll only search your memory.
You are an amazing cocksucker.”

He
smiled a look of superiority onto Evan. “I don’t know why you think she’s not
ready, Evan. That e
vening she was ready to do
anything I wanted. I just happened to only want a blowjob. And, as much as it
pains me to say it, I think you’re being duped by a slut posing as an innocent
young piece of ass. I assure you my driver can verify my story. He enjoy
ed sloppy seconds.”