The Seduction 2(12)

The server brings the bottle, and pops the cork for us. Vaughn dismisses him with a look, and pours my glass full of the sparkling amber liquid.

“We should toast,” I say, feeling out of my depth. Everything here is so perfect and romantic.

Vaughn raises his glass, his smile almost mocking me. “To a perfect date. That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?”

“No.” I frown. “I want to get to know you. You realize getting any kind of personal information out of you is like pulling teeth. Don’t you ever let anyone in?”

Vaughn’s smile drops. “Not as a rule, no.”

I take a sip of champagne and press him more. “Friends? Exes? Family? Come on, there must be someone who knows your deep, dark secrets.”

“My friends know better than to dig around in my life.” Vaughn shrugs. “And I don’t have relationships. I prefer to keep things simple.”

“It sounds lonely to me,” I remark. Vaughn just gives a steely look.

“I get along fine on my own.”

He’s a fortress. A sexy, controlled fortress. And dammit, I need to know more.

“What about your family?” I try. “Are they still in LA?”

I know right away I’ve said the wrong thing. Vaughn visibly hardens, a flicker of something dark racing across his face.

“Can I tell you about our specials?” We’re interrupted by our waiter.

I let out a sigh of relief as Vaughn turns away. I’ve barely looked at the menu, but it doesn’t matter. Vaughn orders for the both of us without asking: a seafood starter, and the steak as a main course.

“What would you have done if I was a vegetarian?” I ask, when the waiter leaves.

Vaughn cocks his eyebrow with a suggestive smirk. “Baby, I know you eat meat.”

I laugh. “Maybe I’m just picky.”

“Then I consider myself a lucky man.” Vaughn is leaning back in his seat, at ease again, but I can’t stop myself dragging the conversation back to him, and all the things I don’t know.

“Where did you grow up?” I ask.

He sighs. “On the east coast. One brother. Dead father. Mom prays for my soul every Sunday in church. Is that enough information for you?”

He gulps his champagne, draining the glass, then pours another.

I feel a stab of guilt.

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. “You’re right. I shouldn’t have pried. My parents are dead too,” I add. “It was a car crash, when I was eighteen.”

Vaughn looks up. For a moment, his scowl softens. “That’s tough. My dad blew his brains out when I was eight years old.”

I gasp.

“Don’t.” He stops me before I can say anything else. “It’s ancient history. And we’ve wasted long enough talking about it. No more.”

Regret takes over. I should have known there was a reason he didn’t want to talk about himself. I just wanted to get closer to him, to know who he is and what makes him tick. But I had to push him -- too far.





9

VAUGHN

Dammit, she had to go digging. She couldn’t just let it slide.

I clench my fist under the table, fighting to keep back the suddenly flash of memory.

A half-open door. An unfamiliar pool of red. A young boy who didn’t even realize what he was seeing, not at first.

And then nothing but the gates of hell.

“Vaughn?”

Keely’s whisper breaks me out of the past. She’s staring at me across the table, wide-eyed with clear concern. For a reckless moment, I think about telling her everything.

She sees through me. She would understand.

In a way, she’s just like me.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her abruptly, leaving the table and striding back towards the restrooms. I don’t go in, I just pace in the hallway, hating the way my heart is pounding.

The damn weakness that pulls me under, every time.

What the fuck are you thinking? Get a fucking grip.

I take a few sharp breaths. Better. It’s been a long time since I let myself revisit the past, but with the Ashcroft shit bringing everything to the surface, the demons have been knocking louder every day.

That bastard tore my family apart, and even now, twenty years later, I’m still dealing with the wreckage he left behind.

“Mr. Vaughn?”

A breathy voice comes from behind me.

I turn. It’s the hostess, the brunette with an epic rack poured into a skintight dress. Now, there’s a distraction. She’s got legs I can already picture wrapped around my neck, and a mouth made to suck my dick.

“Is everything alright?” she coos, licking her lips. She sidles closer, pressing her breasts against my arm. “I thought I told you, I can help you. Whatever you need.”