Free The Devil's Touch by Vivien Sparx

confessed. “I don’t know what happens, or what he would expect from me.”
    For a romantic like Lea Foglesong, Angelica’s adventure was like something torn from the pages of the steamy erotic romances she read. This was her chance to be a part of a real-life romance – she wasn’t going to allow Angelica’s reluctance to stand in the way.
    “Come back to my apartment,” she said. “I’ve got some stories about Masters and their submissives on my kindle you can read. They’re written by a woman named Vivien Sparx. After you’ve read ‘Her Master’s Kiss’ you’ll know what to expect. Then you can make up your mind.”
     
    * * *
     
    It turned cold in the afternoon. A mean little wind hunted through the city’s streets and the sky began to fill with cloud.
    Angelica settled herself on Lea’s lumpy old sofa and pulled a blanket over her knees.
    She began to read.
    Time passed quickly. While Angelica became absorbed in the Vivien Sparx bestseller, Lea hummed around the apartment doing housework. Occasionally Angelica would look up from the kindle and stare off into the distance as her mind filled with erotic images. Then she would bow her head back over, and apart from gasps and murmurs, she remained silent.
    Lea found half a bottle of wine in the bottom of her refrigerator. She drank, and she watched.
    “Good story?”
    “Good,” Angelica nodded.
    “Still scared?”
    “A little – but I’m kind of intrigued as well.”
    There was a sudden loud knock. Lea set her glass down on the kitchen counter and Angelica looked up sharply. When Lea opened the door, Duncan Charleton was standing there.
    He was a tall, thin man, a few years older than Angelica with lank sandy hair. He had a narrow face, sallow cheeks and a scruffy moustache.
    Angelica gaped at him from the sofa, and then her eyes slowly narrowed. “What do you want?”
    Duncan stepped into the apartment. “I want you back, Angelica. I’m miserable without you.”
    Angelica said nothing and Duncan pressed on in a rush. “You’re the woman for me,” he said. “You’re the only woman I want or need. I… I made a mistake.”
    Angelica set down the kindle and stood up, her hands on her hips. “And what happened to Penny, Duncan? I thought you and your new girl were planning a life together.”
    “It’s over.”
    “Already?”
    Duncan nodded.
    “After one night?”
    He nodded again.
    Angelica kept her expression cold and remote, but inside she felt a surge of deep vindication and satisfaction. Looking at Duncan then, she wondered what she had ever seen in the man.
    “I broke it off,” Duncan lied. “I missed you too much.”
    Angelica nodded. “I see,” she said softly.
    “It’s only been a day, baby. I was hoping we could just put this behind us – move on from here. I want you to come home with me. Come back where you belong.”
    “It hasn’t been a day, Duncan,” Angelica said. “It’s been a month. For a whole month you’ve been cheating on me. You told me that.”
    “Yes… but -”
    “And I do want to move on, Duncan. But not with you,” her voice became louder, firmer. “I’ll never come back to you. We’re finished.”
    Duncan shook his head again. “Angelica! You don’t mean that!”
    “Yes, I do,” she said adamantly. She pulled the small white card from her pocket and smiled. “Now, if you will kindly get out – and go to hell – I’ve got a phone call to make.”
     
    * * *
     
    Angelica packed clothes, shoes and cosmetics into two large bags and carried them down the steps of Lea’s apartment to where the limousine waited.
    Edward, Lucien Lance’s chauffeur, put the bags in the trunk and handed Angelica an envelope before holding the door open for her. She climbed into the limousine and waved goodbye to Lea.
    Inside the envelope was a key to the penthouse and a plain white card with three lines of neat handwriting on it.
     
    I knew you would make the right choice.
    You can’t deny the temptation