Secrets Read online

  “Hey little man,” I greeted Ura, as I passed by what I assumed to be his bedroom with him sitting on the floor watching television. Again, I noticed no moving boxes in his room, just a suitcase and a duffle bag.

  He looked up and gave me a smile. “Привіт.”

  I carried on though the living room to the second bedroom to find Anastasia sitting cross-legged on the floor reading the assembly instructions for her bed. As per usual just seeing her sent my cock onto alert, causing it to thicken and strain against my jeans. I cursed the fact I hadn’t worn boxer briefs to help camouflage my desire. She already thought I was a womanizer and wasn’t in the least impressed, if anything she seemed repulsed. I didn’t need to give her additional proof.

  “If you have to read the instructions then you really shouldn’t be putting it together.” I wandered into the room to stand beside her.

  She sighed and tossed the manual onto the floor. “That’s why I need you.”

  Glancing around her room, all I noticed was a single suitcase and a duffle bag. One suitcase of clothing for her as well? Weirder and weirder. There was definitely something not on the up and up going on here. “All right, well, payment first.”

  Looking up at me, she made a “pfft” sound. “That’s not how service/payment deals work. It’s supposed to be work first, payment later.”

  I shrugged and began to turn toward the door, pretending to leave. “Guess you don’t want help bad enough.”

  “All right! Fine.”

  Grinning, I turned back to her. “Okay. Where’s your stuff?”

  Her expression darkened and I could see her mind beginning to race, trying to come up with an explanation for me.

  “I want the truth.”

  Her shoulders fell and she shrugged. “Everything we have is here already.”

  “How is that possible?”

  “It just is.”

  “Where did you live before here? Did you just leave everything behind?”

  Her blue eyes narrowed at me. “One question now. I answered it truthfully. Time for services. Then another question.”

  Oh, I could think of some services I could offer her, but they had nothing to do with putting together furniture.

  “All right. You’re right. Thank you for your honesty.” I extended my hand to her, to assist her to her feet. She took my hand and like the previous day, just the feel of her hand in mine sent a surge of desire for her through me, making my cock throb. Definitely shouldn’t have gone commando.

  As our eyes locked, I couldn’t help but wonder what she’d sound like with my head between her legs licking and teasing her most private of areas. She was so refined and put together, damn, I’d love to see her break down for me. The bar hoochies were becoming boring. Not like I was ready to give them up yet mind you, but she was a challenge – a challenge I wanted to take on.

  We made idle chitchat as we assembled her bedroom furniture. With her assistance, it didn’t take long to put together her bed. It was a simple pine IKEA model that might have cost a couple hundred dollars, which was a little off when considering the clothing she seemed to like. Even the t-shirt she was wearing read Gucci across the chest and I’d noticed her jeans were Versace. I’d taken the liberty of examining her tight ass a number of times when she bent in front of me; while the name brand of her jeans wasn’t what attracted my eyes to her ass, I couldn’t have helped but notice.

  Once the bed and then dresser were assembled I leaned against the dresser and crossed my arms over my chest. “All right, your room is done so I get another question.”

  She sighed. “All right.”

  “Why do you try so hard to cover your accent?”

  “Because we’re in America. We don’t want to stand out.”

  “Baby, you stand out, but it has nothing to do with the accent you’re trying too hard to get rid of.”

  Her cheeks took on a rosy hue and a smile touched her lips, but she refused to lower her gaze. “I can’t believe you say such silly lines on women and they still have sex with you.”

  “It’s not a corny line if it’s the truth.” She embarrassed so damned easily, I liked it. It was adorable. It was like she’d never received a compliment in her life and there was no way a woman that beautiful didn’t get hit on constantly. Surely she had men falling over her, telling her an array of sweet things hoping for a shot.

  Turning the tables on me she gave me a blatant once-over. “All right, I have a question for you.”

  I spread my hands out to the sides, demonstrating I was an open book. “By all means.”

  “Why so many women? Why not a good woman who makes you happy?”

  “I haven’t found that yet,” I snapped, a little more sharply than intended. That wasn’t the complete truth, but she wasn’t about to know that. It wasn’t something I was anxious to talk about. I guess we both have our secrets.

  Anastasia

  “Maybe you’re looking in the wrong places. Meeting the wrong types of girls.” I crawled onto the newly assembled bed and crossed my legs under me, eyeing Jaxson for a clue on why he felt the need to go from woman to woman. Maybe it was the woman vs. man mentality? Men liked to roam, while women just wanted security? I didn’t know. All I knew was that I’d give just about anything to have a man to love me, protect me, a man who wouldn’t hurt me in any way. For a brief time, I’d thought I’d found it in Alexander. I’d been so wrong, but in my defense the few times he visited me in Ukraine before bringing me to America he’d painted a beautiful picture. Too bad it was all a lie.

  “And where am I supposed to meet these amazing women, eHarmony perhaps, or some other online dating site where the picture of the woman may or may not actually look like her? Hell, the whole profile could be a lie.”

  “So? Isn’t it worth a chance to find love? The bar isn’t working.”

  “Maybe I like having a new woman each night,” he challenged. But something in his tone and the look in his eyes told me that wasn’t completely the case. “Maybe I’m one of those men who isn’t the type to settle down. I’m only twenty-eight, maybe I’m not ready for something heavy-duty.”

  It was a shame to me. I’d met so many men over the years, all with women at home, but looking for a quick, easy lay. Perhaps that’s part of the reason why I jumped at the chance to marry Alexander and move to America, I had a foolish dream that I would be given a stable relationship with a loving husband. I’d been so foolish. But was it so foolish to believe that the fairy tale may be out there for me, somewhere?

  “Have you ever been in love? Wanted to be married?”

  Jaxson’s expression turned cold at my question and he pushed himself away from the dresser, not meeting my stare. “Let’s get to the rest of your furniture, I have to open the bar soon.” I stared at his back as he exited the bedroom without another word.

  Chapter 3

  Anastasia

  “Hey, Anastasia, wait up.” I paused my step hearing Jaxson’s voice behind me. He’d been so damned cold the other day after I pressed him about his ideology on love and relationships, putting together the remainder of my furniture without much said except what was necessary and then taking off. I was starting to think he was pissed and avoiding me.

  “Yes.” Ura and I waited for Jaxson to reach our sides before continuing down the hallway and to the outdoors exit.

  “Look, I…” He thrust his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and let out a loud huff as we descended the stairs. “Listen, I think I was a little abrupt the other day. I apologize.”

  “Nothing to be sorry for, Jaxson.”

  “Jax.”

  “Huh?” I looked over at him next to me, brows furrowed.

  He smiled, displaying a hint of dimples, which gave him a boyish hint to his otherwise strong – almost hard – features. “You can call me Jax.”

  “Nothing to be sorry for, Jax.”

  Jaxson nodded. “Good. Where are you heading? Do you need a lift?”

  “We’
re going to the park. It’s down the road, we can walk.”

  “Mind if I tag along?”

  I flashed him a smile. “You really want to go to the playground?” We reached the end of the parking lot and turned right.

  “I’d like to spend some time getting to know you. With the agreement that I don’t talk about my philosophy on relationships –”

  “– or lack of,” I couldn’t help but cut in. While said in a joking manner, there was an underlying hint of hurt in my tone.

  He laughed. “Or lack of. And I won’t pry on your background.”

  I released Ura’s hand and thrust it out to Jaxson, “Deal.” As his hand closed over mine I felt the connection between us, hot and sizzling, turning my stomach to mush.

  “So friends? No expectations and definitely no anticipation of sex or a relationship anywhere in the future?”

  I crinkled my nose up at him and laughed and then looked down at Ura, hoping he hadn’t heard Jaxson’s last sentence. He didn’t seem to have, he was focused on heading to the park. “I’m not sure if I should be appreciative of the offer or insulted.”

  “Very appreciative. I’ll let you in on a secret about men.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Women can be friends with men and that be strictly it, but that’s not the case with men. Men are only friends with women they hope to score with. Now, they may pretend to be interested in only being friends, but that’s bullshit. It’s just talk so the woman will come to rely on him with the hope the woman will come to her senses and want to be with him.”

  I cocked my head to the side and stared up at him. “So what am I supposed to think about this offer of friendship from you after you just said that?”

  “Well, this is the one and only exception.”

  “Uh-huh.” But that was okay because I was beginning to want him to, although it wasn’t as though I had any intention on acting on it.

  The playground came into view and Ura made a whooping sound and immediately made a run for it, anxious to play and interact with the other children. In Miami, while lavished with more toys than any child could dream of, his access to other children was limited. It was Alexander’s way of keeping us both under tight control and secluding us from other people. His plan had been to hire a teacher to homeschool Ura this coming school year. His justification was that public schools and even private schools were overwhelmed with dangerous people and substandard teachers. He claimed a teacher homeschooling Ura would be the most beneficial. “Eager, huh?”

  “Very. He really didn’t have any friends or get to play with other kids where we come from.”

  “You come from?” he prompted.

  Hearing Jaxson’s question pulled me from my thoughts and I gave my head a shake attempting to clear my mind of Alexander. He was the past and Bangor, Maine was our future.

  “Mia–” I shook my head, angry at my near slip. “Ukraine. No.”

  “How come?”

  “Just because.” I attempted to dismiss the question, not wanting to give too much away. If Jax and I were to actually become friends it was going to be difficult, I was going to really have to watch what I said around him – although I’d love to have someone to talk to, it was so damned hard keeping everything I’ve been through locked away.

  “What are you thinking?” Jax grabbed my hand and led me over to a red painted bench skirting the playground, giving us a perfect view of Ura as he pushed himself down the slide, squealing with delight.

  “Ahhh.” I shook my head and gave him a tight smile as we sat down. “Nothing. Really. Just thinking.”

  “Looks like it was some pretty serious thoughts.” He kept my hand firmly in his, fingers entwined and I didn’t attempt to pull away; he gave my hand a gentle squeeze. It was nice to have at least that little bit of reassurance.

  “It’s been a tough few years.” I huffed and attempted to smile at him, but failed. “Hell, tough life really.”

  The look of concern in his dark eyes made me yearn to take comfort in him. It quickly dawned on me that being with him was dangerous, for both of us, even if it was just friendship. If Alexander ever tracked me down… The thought sent a chill through me. But I was selfish, I needed the friendship being offered to me.

  “But you’re starting fresh, right? I assume this is a new start for you.”

  I looked out into the playground again and watched Ura as he slid down the slide again, a wide smile on his face. Yes, this could be our new start. We had hurdles to overcome – such as the lack of identification and what I was going to do about school for Ura, but I’d think of something. As long as I was smart and extremely lucky Alexander would never find us here. I just prayed my luck wouldn’t run out.

  Jaxson

  “Hey buddy. Got a present for ya.” I said as I let myself into Anastasia’s apartment with a quick knock and not waiting for acknowledgment. Entering without permission was becoming a nasty habit over the past week of us being officially friends. One of these days I’d be entering to see her bent over the sofa with some guy fucking her from behind or something of the sort. The thought sent a surge of jealousy through me. The thought shouldn’t anger me being that we had a friends-only agreement, but it did. I could see in my mind’s eye pulling the bastard off of her and throwing him out of the apartment after kicking the shit out of him.

  “What is it?” Ura jumped from the sofa where he and Anastasia were playing a board game – Life – and rushed over to me.

  I held up the large Toys “R” Us bag. “Check it out, little man.”

  “Jax.” Anastasia stood and planted her hands on her hips, giving her head a little shake at me. But I saw the glimmer of thanks in her eyes, which made me smile.

  My eyes did a quick scan of her. As usual she looked stunning, even today wearing a pair of plaid boxers and a t-shirt that fit tight to her torso and breasts. In truth, I thought she looked better without makeup and without the insanely high heels and expensive clothing, it made her look sweet and approachable. However, regardless of how she dressed, just the sight of her put my cock on alert. This friendship stuff had seriously upped my masturbation frequency.

  “You’re spoiling him.”

  “Mamo! Xbox!” Ura looked up at me, his eyes wide with excitement. “Thank you!” He set the bag down and hugged my legs before grabbing the bag again and running over to show Anastasia.

  Her eyes narrowed at me. “Jax. Xbox? That’s a lot of money. We can’t accept it.”

  “Mamo!” Ura’s little blue eyes glanced up at Anastasia, his lips forming a frown.

  “Yeah. You can.” I knew it was an excessive gift, but for some reason I wanted to do stuff for them, for Ura especially. Seeing the light shine in Ura’s eyes was all the thanks I needed. Anastasia still kept tight-lipped about her past, but I suspected it was a hard life, just by the darkness that would flash in her eyes when I noticed her reminiscing. The designer clothes and bags were still a mystery to me, but I figured there was an explanation I just had to be patient and wait for her to tell me. One thing I did notice was that she didn’t seem to spend like she had money. Something was seriously up.

  “Jax.” Anastasia planted her hands on her hips and challenged me with her eyes. I wasn’t about to back down. We stood staring at each other for close to a minute before she huffed and threw up her hands in defeat. “Fine.”

  Ura let out a little yelp of joy and grabbed my hand, pulling me into his room, intent on putting me to work. And I was more than happy to do it for him.

  Anastasia

  Leaning against the door jamb, I watched Jax and with Ura as he finished setting up the machine, inserted a game into the console and sat legs crossed in front of the small TV with Ura next to him. Passing Ura a controller they began playing whatever game it was, something with a little blue hedgehog – I think it’s a hedgehog anyhow. He seemed a natural with Ura, which made me wonder what made him so good, young siblings? I knew he didn’t have a child of his own, he’d mentione
d that the day at the park. It warmed my heart seeing them playing together.

  There was so much I didn’t know about my neighbour and landlord, but then again the plan was to keep a low profile. Crossing my arms over my chest I continued to watch them, a soft smile on my lips. Ura looked so happy, I supposed that was one benefit of being his age, he was resilient and adaptable.

  After close to forty minutes of intense ring-gathering play Jax glanced over at me, shot me a sexy, seductive smile, turned to Ura, said something to him, set down his controller and got to his feet. “Sonic the Hedgehog is really addictive,” he explained to me, placing his hand on my hip and ushering me from the room.

  The heat from his hand as it slipped from my hip to my lower back warmed me from head to toe, sending a wave of need through me. It both frightened and excited me. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been touched tenderly by a man. My body had been used for someone else’s pleasure for so long…

  “Are you okay? Anastasia?”

  I was so caught up in my thoughts that I hadn’t even noticed we’d stopped walking across the living room and he’d shifted so he was directly in front of me, his arms circling my waist and looking down at me with concern in his eyes.

  “Umm. Yes.”

  When I attempted to pull out of the protective circle of his arms, he refused to let me go, instead tightening his grip on me and pulling me closer. “I don’t believe you.”

  His grip became tighter, trapping me against the hard wall of his body and something snapped in me. He wasn’t hurting me and I knew in my heart he never would, but something about the tight, forceful grip sent a rush of memories into my mind. Panic overtook all reason as I screamed, balled my hands into little fists and began striking out at his chest, until he released me and took a hasty step backward.