Page 24 of Entrapped
"She’s drunk," the chef said, his voice tense as he moved the main dish of capons away from potential chaos.
Simone swayed on her feet, giggling to herself, oblivious to the chaos she was causing. She was supposed to be a guest, invited to celebrate Vaughn and Serena’s engagement, but of course, she’d arrived late and inebriated. I’d had enough.
"If my husband doesn’t want to deal with his daughter, I will," I muttered to myself, storming across the kitchen.
I grabbed Simone by the arm, her skin cold and clammy beneath my fingers, and began dragging her toward the French doors. She stumbled, slurring protests as I hauled her outside onto the patio. The rain drummed against the overhang, the sound drowning out her shrill complaints.
"Knock it off," I growled, shoving her away from me once we were outside. "I will not allow you to destroy another party."
Simone's eyes narrowed, and in a flash of drunken rage, she grabbed the front of my dress, yanking me toward her. Thefabric tore with a sharp rip, exposing the red lace bra underneath—a bra Colson had specifically requested I wear tonight.
"Let go of me!" I snarled, but Simone only tightened her grip, her fingers digging into the torn fabric.
We had an audience now—guests peering through the glass doors, their expressions a mix of shock and curiosity. But I didn’t care. I’d had enough of her antics, enough of her trying to ruin every moment of peace I tried to carve out in this hellish life.
Without thinking, I balled my fist and punched her square in the jaw.
Simone staggered back, slipping on the rain-slicked patio before falling into a heap on the wet stone. She lay there, blinking up at the sky in dazed surprise. I barely had time to register what I’d done before Vaughn was beside me, his strong arms wrapping around my upper body, pulling me back before I could strike again.
"Josephine, stop," Vaughn murmured, his voice low and close to my ear. His hand, meant to steady me, instead brushed against my breast, and I felt his thumb graze my nipple through the torn fabric of my dress.
I was too stunned to react, too shocked by the turn of events to do anything but freeze. Then, suddenly, Vaughn’s touch was gone, replaced by Colson’s arms, his grip firm and commanding as he pulled me away from the scene. His face was a mask of anger, his jaw clenched tight.
One of the servers rushed to help Simone, who was now crying, her mascara running in dark streaks down her cheeks. I pulled away from Colson’s grasp, the adrenaline in my veins urging me to run, to escape the mess I’d just created.
I didn’t look back as I fled up the stairs, the sound of the rain fading as I shut myself in our bedroom. My dress was ruined, the delicate fabric torn, and I was soaked through from the rain. But it wasn’t the wet clothes or the ruined evening that had my heart racing—it was the realization that tonight, something had shifted. And there was no going back.
Colson joined me a few minutes later, probably doing damage control. I shucked out of my soaked dress down to my underwear as he stormed into our bedroom.
"What the fuck did you do?" Colson hissed as he followed me into the closet, his voice sharp with barely contained rage.
I didn't even bother to turn around. I was too busy trying to control the shaking in my hands as I rifled through the hangers. "What you wouldn’t. She needs to be reprimanded, Colson. I’m not going to let her ruin another party."
He grabbed my shoulder, spinning me around to face him. His eyes were wild, and I could see the anger boiling just beneath the surface. "Well, congratulations, Josephine. It was ruined anyway. You looked like a... a..."
I tilted my head, offering him the words he was too cowardly to say. "A low-class wannabe?"
His expression darkened, but he shook his head. "No. Classless is more like it."
I let out a bitter laugh, finally turning away from him as I pulled a burgundy dress off a hanger. "I asked you to put her in the guest house, but I guess my requests don’t matter. Only yours."
"Joey..." His voice softened, trying to pull me back in, but I wasn’t having it.
"Save it, Colson," I muttered, stepping into the dress.
He leaned against the granite island, watching me as I slipped my arms into the sleeves. "Joey, listen to me. Simone had a hard time after Poppy died. She needed her mother, and I was less than adequate."
I paused, my hands hovering at my sides. Colson was showing his vulnerable side again, that rare glimpse into the man he was beneath the layers of control and cruelty. I sighed, turning to face him. "Can you zip me up?"
He stepped forward, his fingers grazing my skin as he slowly pulled up the zipper. The warmth of his lips trailed kisses along my spine as he did, and when the zipper was fully up, he gently moved my hair to the side, planting another kiss on the nape of my neck.
It was so easy to get lost in him, to forget the walls we’d built between us. I turned in his arms, capturing his mouth with mine in a desperate kiss. For a moment, I could almost see a future where I allowed myself to fall completely in love with him, to give in to this dangerous dance we did.
But then Vaughn’s touch flashed through my mind, the way his hand had brushed against my nipple earlier, the way his thumb had lingered, deliberately testing boundaries he had no right to cross.
I shuddered, breaking the kiss as Colson's hands roamed my body, cupping my breasts. His touch was familiar, comforting in a way that only reminded me of the chaos outside that room. But the memory of Vaughn’s hand burned against my skin, and I knew that what he did wasn’t an accident. He had done it on purpose.
Colson's hands lingered on my hips for a moment longer before he pulled back, his eyes dark with something I couldn’t quite read. “I’d like to continue this later,” he said, his voice low as he stepped away from me.
