Page 18 of Haunted Nights & Savage Sins
6
CORMAC
Two weeksof living with this woman.
The trees have already started to change. The air is getting colder. Everything is changing and I hate it.
In the two weeks since Brenna has been here, I’ve felt more like a prisoner than I ever have in this place.
The ghosts that haunt me point out every last thing I’m doing wrong.
And all the pleasures I should be taking part in.
Brenna told me that she would be out of sight. That if I let her wander around the property it would be just as it’s always been but that was a lie.
On several occasions, I’ve found her in random rooms and places. Most of the time, she was either lighting more candles or examining pieces of my past.
I did my best to stay in the shadows and away from her but instead of just walking away, I’ve found myself examining her the same way she would examine the artifacts in the house.
I watch her expressions when she finds something that piques her curiosity. The way her eyebrows furrow in when she doesn’t understand something. The way she gasps and bites her lip when she’s lost herself in one of the many books I have scattered through the mansion.
Instead of getting more pissed that she’s invading my space I find myself curious about what she’s thinking, wanting to strike up a conversation with her, wanting to know how she feels about certain things.
One sleepless night, I found her wandering around the kitchen, listening to an iPod I didn’t know she had. She was busy making herself something to eat, not paying attention to her surroundings at all. The smell was enticing.
Only then did it dawn on me that I hadn’t even been making sure she had everything she needed to survive here. I stuck her in that room and basically told her to make do. She’d been taking it upon herself to eat when she thought I was asleep.
That’s worse than how I treat my dogs. At least I remember to feed them twice a day. How pathetic of a man am I that I can’t even remember to make sure my wife eats.
I watched her from the doorway as she cooked. She was wearing a long T-shirt. I assume what she wears to sleep. Her legs peeked out from under the hem and before I could stop myself a wave of lust washed over me. I’ve had sex a whopping two times in my life. Both times the experience was paid for. Once when I was fifteen before my father scarred me and he found out I was stilla virgin. The second at twenty because I was determined to do anything I could to silence the whispering in my head. It didn’t work.
In fact, the woman I paid to pleasure me could barely look at my face. She spent the entire time with her eyes closed. After that experience I promised myself I’d never do it again. I had no need.
At least I thought I didn’t. With Brenna dressed like that I started to feel desire I hadn’t known.
Since that night, I’ve done my hardest to stay away from her. That’s just not the kind of relationship she and I have and I don’t ever see us creating one.
Still, her presence is becoming a distraction. Exactly what I told my father would happen.
It’s nearly ten in the morning and I’ve yet to finish my daily check-ins.
Just as I send off an email correspondence, my cell phone rings.
I pick it up and look down at the screen. My father’s number and face pops up on the screen. I really don’t have time for him right now but I know if I don’t answer he’ll just call back, or worse call one of the security to demand that I speak with him.
Sliding the indicator to accept, I press the phone to my ear. “Yes, Father.”
“Cormac, don’t tell me you’re still in bed?”
“No, of course not.”
“That’s good.” He quiets for a second. Unusual for him. There must be a request coming with this call. What more can he ask of me?
“Did you need something, Father? I have a few calls to make,” I say, trying to get him to hurry up and get to the point.
“Yes, Brenna’s father has made his way to the States to check up on some of his businesses. I, honestly, believe that he’s there to check on his daughter. You’re going to put his mind at ease. We have to make sure that the alliance is solidified.”
My head falls and I pinch the bridge of my nose trying to fight off the migraine I can already feel starting to grow behind my eyes.
