Page 27 of Buying Angel

“I don’t want to leave. You have treated me better the past two days than I have been for the past five years by Vincent. I’m frightened that Mikhail will have told Vincent that he didn’t purchase me and then he will hurt me to find out who did. Also when he realizes that the money hasn’t been credited to the account.”

I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer as they came flooding out, and I found myself sobbing into Hudson’s chest. He just continued to hold me and comfort me, which only made it worse knowing what I would be going back to.

“Do you trust me, Gaby?”

I wondered what kind of question that was right now. Why would he ask me that? He must have known by now how much I trusted him. I loved him.

“Of course I trust you, Hudson. I more than trust you. I’m totally in love with you. But none of that matters. In a few hours, I will be back living the life I have been trying to get away from, and you and Nico will be on the way to New York.”

He placed his fingers under my chin and lifted it so my reddened eyes met his. He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I would never tire of feeling those lips against mine, his tongue running across them, coaxing my mouth open. It wasn’t very long before we were both sitting there trying to catch our breath as the kiss continued. I pulled away when the need to breathe became too much.

He smiled down at me before he spoke. “All of that does matter. Please don’t worry. I promise you that everything will be alright. Just trust me once more, please. Now, we still have a few hours until we need to leave. What would you like to do?”

IT WAS TIME FOR us to leave, and I still hadn’t seen Nico. However, I was sure that he would be waiting outside for us to drive me back to Club Lust. We had ended up going back to bed for the afternoon for what I hoped wouldn’t be the last time. I had showered, changed, and packed my bag. I could feel my mood drop as soon as I walked out the door and found a complete stranger standing there.

Nico wasn’t here to say goodbye. I shouldn’t have been upset by that, but I was.

Hudson guided me up to the car, gave my bag to the driver, opened the door, and helped me into the car, shutting the door behind me. I waited as Hudson walked around and got into the car next to me. I tried to hide my disappointment as the driver got into the front of the car. I felt Hudson take my hand in his.

“Nico wanted to say goodbye, but he got waylaid.”

I gave him a slight smile. It was a far cry from what I was feeling inside.

“It’s fine. It wasn’t as though I was meant to be spending the weekend with him. I was meant to be spending it with you.”

The drive back to the club was quiet. Neither of us really knew what to say to each other. The drive seemed so much quicker than when I had left on Friday night. I guess because I didn’t want to leave Hudson. Before I knew it we were pulling up outside the club. The driver pulled up near the door and got out to open my door for me. I got out of the car and waited while he went to get my bag out of the car. As I was waiting, Hudson walked around to take me back into the club. I guessed he had to return the key he had been given.

He took my bag from the driver and started to walk me to the door, but stopped just before we got there. “I so want to kiss you right now, but I’m guessing it’s probably not the time or the place.”

It wasn’t. Vincent or anyone he knew could have been waiting here to see who had purchased me, and I didn’t want to add any fuel to the fire if they were. I shook my head slightly, and Hudson just gave me a meek smile. We walked up to the door, and Hudson used his key to open it. We stepped inside and were greeted by two security guards and Edward.

“Mr. Bryce-Stanton, Miss Angel. You are right on time. If I could have your passkey, we will arrange for Miss Angel to be taken home.”

Edward walked up to me. “Was everything okay this weekend, Angel?”

“Yes, thank you, Edward. I had a lovely weekend with Mr. Bryce-Stanton.”

Hudson passed his key to one of the security guards, and turned to me. I could see in his eyes that he didn’t want to say goodbye. But we both knew this was the end. One day, I hoped that we could be together again, but I wasn’t sure that would ever be. I didn’t want a long, drawn-out goodbye, so I just smiled at him and spoke.

“Thank you for a lovely weekend, sir.” I stepped up to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

He smiled back. “Thank you, Angel. Don’t give up hope.”

With that, he turned and walked back out the door. I could feel my heart tearing itself to pieces as I saw him walking out of my life again. I was sure that I would never see him or Nico again in my life, if I even survived the night.

I ARRIVED BACK AT Vincent’s apartment at around 12:45. Before I had been allowed to leave the club, I had been asked a number of questions by Edward to make sure I had been treated well by Hudson. I couldn't say a thing against Hudson, he had been a gentleman all weekend. The only thing he had done wrong was to bring me back here, and that was something he had to do, as per the contract.

As I walked up to the door to let myself in, a feeling of dread came over me. What was I walking into? Would I find Mikhail there, waiting to get his money? Or would it just be Vincent, ready to take out all his frustrations on me that he had withheld for the past few months, not wanting to damage the goods?

I unlocked the door and walked into the apartment. I could see the lights on in the living room, so I placed my bag at the side of the hallway and walked in.

I found Vincent sitting there on the sofa, glass in hand, waiting for me. As soon as I walked in, he looked up.

“So you decided to come home. I was starting to wonder if I had to send Mikhail out to find you. Especially as there has been no deposit of five hundred thousand dollars in the account.”

I started to wonder if he knew who I had been with all weekend, but his next question told me he didn’t.

“Who were you with all weekend? Because I know it wasn’t Mikhail.”

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