Forbidden Allure

Chapter 5

Aleah sat with her back ramrod straight, and her fingers clasped together on her lap. There was a lump the size of a lemon stuck in her throat and she was grateful no one had asked her to speak after they were led straight to the dining room and sat at a long table set to perfection, as though they were expecting royalty.

Really, it was over the top. The table had the capacity to hold a dozen people. It had a polished marble top with six place settings for their lunch. An enormous chandelier hung above their heads. The Chandelier looked like an intricate, thin web of glass worked together like a spider web. Tiny lights glowed from within, adding to its mysterious beauty.

The Sunpan Asher dining armchairs surrounding the table were almost the same color tone as the marble top. A play of different shades of brown. At least they were comfortable. But all the beauty and comfort couldn’t take away the anxiety twisting her guts.

The man who had caught her last night had followed them at a distance and stood by the wall like a sentry. She had to have guessed right; she thought. He had to be working security for the Poverly house.

As much as she tried not to, Aleah still sneaked a peek at the guy several times. It was like looking at a statue of a Roman soldier. He didn’t say a word or move a muscle. His eyes were the only thing that moved, but they never stayed on Aleah when he swept the room, for only God knew what. But she still felt as though they burned holes right through her skin. It took everything in Aleah not to fidget and announce to the room something was wrong.

She had known there was a possibility she would see the man again. There was even a possibility that he would have reported the matter of her standing over Logan with a loaded revolver, even though he had let her go. But seeing him in the light of day still threw her and made it hard for her to breathe or think clearly. Thankfully, no one seemed to be paying attention to her.

Charlotte Poverly, Jacob’s wife, had been waiting in the dining room overseeing the finishing touches by the maids for their meal. Mrs. Poverly was a painfully slender woman who looked more like she had an eating disorder. But she carried her glowing to-perfection skin and bones with elegance and superiority. She and Jacob made the perfect couple; Aleah mentally concluded after studying them for a minute. They looked like the typical old money stereotype, inclusive of the cold, hard demeanor. Well, Charlotte was cold and didn’t have the decency to hide it like her husband who chatted away with Charles about nonsense in the news.

Aleah’s unwanted, soon-to-be-husband, Logan, was yet to make an appearance. Charlotte explained that her son had woken up with a terrible headache and asked to be excused for a few minutes while he took care of it. They were waiting for him before they could begin.

It was on the tip of Aleah’s tongue to blurt out that, of course, he would wake with a headache. The man had practically taken a swim in several bottles of hard liquor last night from what she had seen. Unfortunately, she couldn’t say that. Not only would it raise questions about how she knew about it, but she doubted the Poverlys would appreciate their son’s flaws being highlighted so openly.

And if she was honest, she wanted Logan to never come down those stairs. Hell, she wanted him to climb up on the roof and shout that he didn’t want to get married. It would save her a lot of trouble. Especially if he jumped off after making his announcement.

Laughter made her snap her head up. It seemed Jacob and Charles were extremely happy, the old goats. They were the only ones. Aleah shot a look at her mother and watched from the corner of her eye as Lauren studied the empty plate in front of her as though it held the answers of the universe. Simply dressed in a green off-shoulder dress she kept for special occasions and with minimal makeup, she seemed to be fighting the frown attempting to form between her brows. Her lips were pinched tight, so she wasn’t doing an excellent job of appearing relaxed and happy.

Charlotte looked almost as disturbed as Lauren, except she was staring into a glass of white wine the maid had brought her. With one gulp, she swallowed half the contents and then set the glass down almost too carefully, as though she was attempting not to draw attention to herself. That was not a happy woman, Aleah mused.

Just then, movement along the wall caught Aleah’s attention and her eyes flicked over just in time to see the mysterious statue of a man quietly walk toward the door. Without thinking, Aleah shot to her feet. The move was so sudden it killed the conversation at the table between Charles and Jacob.

“Is there a problem, Aleah?” Charles asked with a tone of disapproval that matched his scowl.

Aleah blinked. Damn, she hadn’t meant to do that. What was she thinking? Then it hit her again. She had to talk to him.

She looked toward the door, but the man was already gone. Still, that didn’t stop her. She knew she had to talk to him. All eyes were on her, and her grandfather was waiting for an answer, but Aleah focused on Mrs. Poverly. “Uhm… I’m sorry, but could you please direct me to the bathroom?”

“Oh.” Charlotte blinked for a second as though the question was odd. Then she stood.

“Please,” Aleah quickly stopped the woman by raising her hand. “I don’t wish to be a bother. Just the directions will be fine.”

A beat passed. The lady of the house narrowed her eyes slightly, but finally, she gave a nod and carefully told Aleah where to go. Aleah was out of the dining room within seconds, barely containing the urge to run.

The directions to the bathroom were on her left, but Aleah peeked to her right. “This is crazy,” she muttered under her breath, but didn’t change her mind.

The hallway was vast with pale beige walls decorated with thin, random gold lines. The right end led back to the front door, which looked closed, so Aleah assumed the man hadn’t gone in that direction. So on the left, it was.

She still had a vague recollection of the rooms she had seen last night and knew it would be almost impossible to guess which of the rooms the man had disappeared into. Fortunately, for the first time, luck seemed to be on her side.

Halfway down the hallway, a door opened, and the man she was looking for stepped out. Aleah hadn’t dared look at him properly while the others had been around. That wasn’t a problem anymore. She let her eyes roam over the man, from his clean, polished, black boots to the short black hair combed back and tamed with products on top of his head.

He wore another black dress shirt under his black suit but hadn’t added a tie, instead the first two buttons were left open, giving a hint of the tanned skin beneath. If she didn’t know he worked here, she might have mistaken him for the boss. He had more dominant power vibes coming off him than Jacob Poverly. It was mesmerizing, and she almost forgot why she had sought him out and just wanted to watch him a second more. But time wasn’t on her side.

For a guy working security, he was slacking on his job. Something on his phone had his full attention, and he didn’t realize he had company until Aleah was standing directly in front of him.

“We need to talk,” Aleah said quietly before looking over her shoulder to make sure they were still alone. When she looked back, the man was looking at her as though she had just grown an extra head. After a beat, he also shot a look over her shoulder in the direction of the dining room before suddenly grabbing her elbow and dragging her to a door on the opposite wall of the one he had exited.

Once inside the room, he had pulled her into, Aleah was momentarily distracted when she realized she was in the bathroom she had been given directions to. However, instead of the simple toilet and sink she had been expecting, the bathroom was a sizable room with not only a toilet with a privacy wall surrounding it but also a long brown comfortable-looking bench. Two large sinks with marble tops sat below a mirror that covered the entire wall. A small shelf of clean towels took up space against the wall next to the door they had entered and she could see a closed cabinet under the sinks but couldn’t fathom what they could possibly hold.

While Aleah looked around, Kade stared at her. It was the first good look he had allowed himself since she arrived with her family. A fact that had anger boiling within him. He didn’t want her here.

He took in the monstrosity of the dress she had on and almost wished he could rip it off her body to see her beautiful lean body with all the enticing curves he had watched change over the years until she looked like a woman and not just a little girl. Shocked by the path his own line of thoughts had traveled, Kade shook his head and clenched his hands into fists at his sides.

He couldn’t think of her that way. And he certainly couldn’t be with her in this bathroom. If anyone found them… s**t! This was the last thing he needed.

However, instead of leaving, Kade stepped into her personal space and grabbed her elbow. “What the hell do you think you are doing? Why did you come after me?” he hissed through clenched teeth.

Aleah frowned. She twisted the arm he held until he let her go and then she took a step back, glaring at him. “I needed to ask you a question.”

“Is it life and death?” Kade asked as he folded his arms across his chest to stop himself from grabbing her again.

The hesitation on her face told him the answer to his question was ‘no’. But to her credit, she went on, defiantly lifting her chin before she spoke.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone about last night?”

Kade scoffed quietly and shook his head in disbelief. “Seriously? If I didn’t know better, I would say you are desperate to get arrested and thrown in prison. I did you a favor.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Kade echoed.

Aleah took a step toward him this time. Until he could catch her scent of fresh oranges. He stiffened, digging his nails into the fabric of his suit so he didn’t do something stupid.

“Yes. Why did you do me the favor? You work security here, right? Isn’t it part of your job description to catch intruders and get them punished by the law? So, why didn’t you do that? Or at least tell your bosses I was here?” She waved a hand toward the closed door behind him. “Seems nobody knows. I don’t understand.”

“Haven’t you ever heard never to look a gift horse in the mouth?” he spat impatiently. They didn’t have time for this. Any moment and he was sure someone would stumble upon them, and then all hell would break loose. Aleah would be in trouble, and he would be fired. Kade couldn’t afford to get fired. He was finally finding some answers.

“Well, lucky me, you are not a horse. So I can look all I want,” Aleah stubbornly fired back. “I want an answer.”

“I have none to give.” That wasn’t, of course, the truth. Kade knew the reason he hadn’t reported her, but he couldn’t tell her. “Did you speak to your mother?” he asked, remembering his suggestion last night.

Aleah arched a brow at him before waving a hand at the hideous dress. “You see this, right? Does it look like anything I say could possibly get me out of this predicament?” She sighed tiredly and rubbed at her temples. “I should have shot him last night. There can’t be a marriage if the groom is dead.”

Kade shook his head. “You wouldn’t have done it.”

The eyebrow went up again. “So now you know me? You know what I would do and wouldn’t do? Do you have any idea how desperate I am to get out of this?”

He knew she was desperate. Kade could see it in her eyes and it was killing him that he couldn’t just whisk her away from all this. He didn’t want her getting married to Logan any more than she wanted it. If he had his way, she would marry him instead. But those cards were not on the table and the situation was delicate.

Kade parted his lips to respond to her questions, not even sure what to say, but just then, he heard footsteps approaching the bathroom door. Aleah heard them too, and her eyes widened like a deer caught in headlights. s**t.

Without a moment to second guess himself, Kade moved away from Aleah. He had barely taken three steps when the door opened and Lauren walked in. “What’s going on here?” the older woman asked with a frown.