by Tara Hart
She’s a good actor, better than her sister. If I didn’t know any better, I’d believe the bullshit spilling from her mouth.
Nevertheless, I indulge her. “What way?”
She shuffles closer to me, her ass sliding against the sofa until she’s touching me. “Like this.” She brushes against the bare flesh of my arm. “Selina told me,” she says with a slight smile on her lips.
I cock my brow, this should be good. “Selina told you what?”
She bites her lip. This one simple gesture used to make my cock twitch, but now I don’t feel anything. I’m numb from the waist down—numb all over.
She smiles as her usually pale skin flushes. “You told her that you love me.”
I purse my lips ready to burst into a fit of laughter. If this chick thinks there is any chance that I feel the same way about her, she’s dreaming. I suppress the urge to laugh and shake my head.
“I never said that,” I lie. “Not even close.”
She looks hurt but shakes the emotion from her face. “I don’t believe you. I know it’s true because I feel it too.”
I shake my head. She will never get the enormity of what she’s done. She will never understand that there’s no turning back from this. I saw something with her, a future of sorts, and now I can barely look at her.
She stands before me, her lip trembling as tears fill her eyes, ready to fall as soon as I utter my next statement. I lick my lips, ready to tell her that it’s over, that I can never trust her again, but the words don’t come.
“Jared?” she questions. “Jared, please say something.”
My hands fall to my sides. There’s no easy way to do this. I want to hate her, but my heart won’t allow it. I want to tell her to go fuck herself, but I could never be that ruthless with the woman standing before me. All I can do is tell her the truth.
“I will never love you, Savvy.”
I imagine fragments of her heart breaking as I utter the words. The tears fall from the corners of her eyes. She blinks to try and stop them, but it only makes them fall more freely.
She clears her throat. “Then why do I feel like I can’t go on without you?”
Her hand snakes around my neck, fingers drumming against my skin gently.
“I can’t go on without this.” Her lips hover over mine, waiting for my permission. I don’t give her anything. My face remains stoic, void of any emotion, although I can feel my heart drumming deep in my chest.
Her breath tickles my skin as she waits for me to respond.
“What are you doing?” I ask when I can’t take it any longer.
She smiles slightly before drawing in a breath. “This.” The word hisses from her lips as she kisses me slowly, seductively.
My one good hand pushes at her shoulder, urging her to stop, but when her tongue enters my mouth, I know I want this more than I care to admit. My fingers wrap around her neck, holding her close as her tongue continues exploring my mouth.
She pulls away eventually, her long eyelashes tickling my nose with each second that passes by.
“Tell me,” she says. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
I shake my head slowly, my eyes focused on her plump pink lips. She runs her tongue over them instinctively, taunting me.
“Tell me,” she says again, this time pulling away so I can see her whole face.
She brings the palm of her hand to sit flat against my chest. My skin is hot compared to her touch, her palms are cold.
I cock my head to the side, I wonder what is going through her beautiful little mind right now. Perhaps she’s planning her next move and this is just another ploy in her vindictive game.
“Is this another one of her plans?” I ask and it comes out exactly the way it should, like an accusation.
“What? No.” She shakes her head.
I stand up, the ice cubes falling to the floor as I walk in the opposite direction.
“Don’t lie to me, Savvy.” I throw my hands in the air as I walk. “You’re playing me.”
She stands, taking a step toward me, in turn, I take two steps backward.
“I’m not playing you, I promise.”
We both pause when her phone starts ringing.
“That’s probably Selina calling now.” I laugh ironically.
We both look to the sofa where her phone sits, the display lit up by a picture. Whose picture?
We both lunge for the phone, but I beat her, my fingers wrapping around it before she can grasp it.
“It’s not Selina, huh?”
I press the decline button and throw her cell to the sofa. It bounces off the cushions and hits the floor with a thud. I look down at the cracked screen with not a single ounce of remorse. She can buy a new phone with the money Selina plans to steal from me.
“I swear to you, Jared,” she pleads, picking up her phone and shoving it into her pocket. “Selina’s been calling me every other hour. She’s mad at me because I walked out on her. I’m not playing you.”
I rest my hands on my hips and shake my head. “I don’t believe you,” I say. “I don’t fucking believe you.”
There’s nothing she can say, there’s no coming back from this. I can’t believe I even let this whore into my house. I’m a fucking glutton for punishment.
She tilts her face to look at me, her lashes shielding her eyes so I can’t see into their depths. Not that it matters anyway, I’m pretty sure there’s no purity left in them.
“Whatever I felt, whatever you think I felt…” I shake my head as I look at her face. “It’s gone.”
“You don’t mean it,” she whispers.
“Don’t I?” My eyebrows reach up my forehead.
I feel a sharp pain deep in my chest. “You broke me, Savannah.” I bite out between clenched teeth.
“I don’t love you, Savannah.” I hope the words hurt her as much as they pain me to say them. “Now get the fuck out of my house.”
I turn my back, but it doesn’t stop her cries from reaching my ears.
“I won’t give up on us,” her voice echoes through the foyer.
I turn to look at her, my teeth grinding together as I close the distance between us.
“There is no us,” I bark. “You’re a dirty, lying bitch and you mean nothing to me. You’re worse than your scum sister. She pimped you out like a prize at a fair and you agreed to it like the whore that you are.”
She winces. Her eyes blinking repeatedly as she tries to process my words. It’s time someone told her the cold hard truth. She’s a follower, a servant to her sister’s demands and a tool she used to trade.
To her sister, she’s a possession and to me, she’s a conquest. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Chapter 3
I knock once more.
“Hurry up, man,” I shout from the other side of the door.
This time I use my fist to pound the stained wooden surface.
“Jared?” Shaun blinks at me, his hair is a mess and his eyes are open barely a sliver.
Without waiting to be invited in, I push the door open and make a beeline for the sofa. I sit down and take the bottle of scotch from my jacket pocket.
“Glass?” I shake the bottle to catch Shaun’s attention.
Shaun struggles to focus on my face as he tilts his head to the side. “Jared, it’s two in the morning.”
I lean back on the sofa and rest my feet on the coffee table. “So get a glass for yourself and join me for a drink.” I lazily drape my arm over the back of the sofa as if I haven’t got a care in the world. I really wish that were true, but I figure after a few drinks, the outlook won’t seem quite as grim.
He walks into the kitchen of his two-bedroom apartment in downtown Seattle. Returning with two glasses and an annoyed look on his face.
He hands me the glasses and gives me the once over.
“You look like shit,” he tells me.
Shaun’s usually tanned skin looks pale at this time of day. His blonde hair is missing its usual
veneer of gel and the dark bags beneath his eyes are doing him little favors.
I laugh arrogantly. “Like looking in the mirror, huh?”
He lets the insult roll off his back as he settles on the black leather recliner across from me. He pulls the lever and rolls the seat back.
“How’d you make it past the doorman anyway?”
I pour him a healthy portion of scotch, while I let a free stream cascade into my glass, pouring myself a double. He eyes my portion before taking his glass and clinking the rims together.
I tilt the glass and let the bronze liquid warm my insides.
“I told the doorman it was an emergency,” I say. “Which it is.”
Shaun cocks an eyebrow as he downs another mouthful. “Selina?” He asks although I suspect he knows the truth.
I nod my head.
He looks sympathetic. “She found out?”
Shaun knows everything. Of course, I told him about the affair. He’s my closest friend and while the conquest of fucking two sisters is something guys would usually brag about, Shaun knew it was something more. We never talked about feelings or shit like that, but he knew by the way my face lit up every time I talked about Savannah that I felt something for her. I hate that he knew the truth because now I look like a fucking fool.
“Savannah was just a fuck, plain and simple.”
He presses his lips together because he knows the truth, but he’s too polite to call me out on it.
I down the rest of my drink and slam the glass onto the coffee table.
He kicks off his shoes, resting his white-socked feet on the coffee table. “I envy you, man.” He smirks at me.
“Oh yeah?” I raise my eyebrows. “How so?”
“Sleeping with twins, it’s kind of always been a fantasy of mine.”
I try to fight it, but the scowl wins in the end.
“I didn’t sleep with them at the same time you prick.”
He snickers. “Even so. It must have been amazing. The comparison.” He leans back in his chair, his fingers drumming against his chin thoughtfully. “Tell me, do they climax the same?”
Sometimes Shaun can be such a fucking douche. I shoot him a look of warning as I shake my head. “Don’t even go there, man.”
I stand up and reach for the bottle of scotch, pouring myself another glass before slamming the bottle on the table.
“Come on, Jared.” He smirks. “At least tell me, who was a better fuck?”
“Stop talking.” I rub my temples as I walk across the room to the floor-to-ceiling windows on the opposite side of the apartment. The city is dark. The streets below are clear of traffic that will fill the lanes in a matter of hours. Something about the empty streets makes me feel so alone. Even in Shaun’s presence, I feel as though no one can truly understand what I’m going through.
His feet drag across the floor as he lazily approaches from behind.
Inhaling deeply, I speak again. “She’s going to take everything.”
He offers me a sideways glance. “Selina?”
I nod my head, not ready to verbally confirm the fool I’ve become.
He turns his body to face mine, but I can’t stand to look at him. I’ve known Shaun since high school. He’s seen my build my empire from a small consulting business that started in the living room of my one-bedroom condominium to an international investment firm. While Shaun was still in law school, I was buying us first class tickets to travel to Ibiza for the Summer and Switzerland for the winter. He admired me for the life I created for myself and now I’m about to lose it all.
He shakes his head. “You have a prenup man. No need to worry.”
I close my eyes and my forehead rests against the window. The glass feels cool against my skin, it’s refreshing.
“I cheated, Shaun,” I mumble. “You’ve seen the prenup, you know what that means.”
I turn to look at him, my eyes narrow in on his face. He looks petrified for a moment, the realization reaching his features before he can even contemplate holding back his reaction. I wonder if his expression is this telling in court. I seriously hope not.
“The infidelity clause,” he says, thinking aloud.
He scratches the side of his head as he mulls over my situation, coming up with his next argument. “She has to prove it.”
I squeeze my eyes closed. My head is thumping and I wonder if it’s from the alcohol or the emotional mess that I’ve become.
My tongue swishes around in my mouth, testing the words before they leave my mouth. “She has evidence.”
He scoffs. “What type of evidence?”
Turning at the waist, I focus on his face. I want to see his reaction—I need to know how fucked up my situation really is and Shaun’s reaction will tell me that much.
“She has a tape,” I start, “of me and Savannah.”
He looks at me incredulously. “Fucking?”
I swear his cheeks flush and I know that’s not a good sign. It takes a lot to make Shaun blush.
He nods his head as he seemingly contemplates his rebuttal. “They’re twins.” He has a groundbreaking revelation. “Identical twins,” he says as if it’s his closing argument.
Shaking my head, I realize how much of a chump I’ve been. “I say Savannah’s name, multiple times.”
He’s disappointed. He shakes his head violently. “Fuck, Jared. Really?”
Turning around, I brush past him and return to the bottle of scotch that’s waiting for me in the living room. I welcome the bottle into my hands as if it’s all I need in my life. This will work, this will numb the pain.
I uncap the bottle and take a long swig. The glass bottle hits my front tooth. I run my tongue over the enamel, when I don’t feel a chip, I tilt my head again, taking another swig.
“She’s going to screw me over,” I tell Shaun. “She’s going to take everything.”
Shaun sits on the seat across from me, contemplating how he can fix my mistakes. I’m seriously beginning to doubt that anyone can fix my epic fuck-ups, least of all Shaun.
“Turns out she was playing me—they both were.”
Shaun looks genuinely surprised.
“What do you mean, they played you?” he asks, his interest well and truly piqued.
I sigh before drawing in another mouthful. “Those dumb fucking bitches were working together. Selina wanted me to have an affair.”
The liquid burns, but it doesn’t stop me from drinking more. The pain is fading, slowly but surely.
“Bullshit.” He throws a hand in the air. Even Shaun can’t believe that Savannah could be so conniving. Turns out she has everyone fooled.
“Yep.” I nod my head. “It’s true.”
“Savannah,” he continues. Hearing her name causes my heart to ache. “She was playing you this whole time?”
I nod my head.
“That bitch.”
I clench my fists. Hearing him refer to Savannah as a bitch angers me more than it should. I shouldn’t give a shit anymore.
Thinking about earlier, when Savannah came to my house, the story doesn’t make sense.
Selina has the tape, why would Savannah come over and continue this nastiness. It doesn’t add up.
“Savannah came over today,” I tell Shaun, not entirely sure what I’m hoping to gain from telling him this. “She was begging for my forgiveness, saying that she regretted everything, telling me that she misses me.”
Shaun rubs his hands over his face as he leans forward in his seat.
“Why would she do that?”
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. I thought she loved me,” I answer honestly. “Now I’m not so sure.”
We remain silent for a few moments, each of us stuck in our own thoughts, trying to solve the problems of my life.
“You think she’d turn on Selina?” he asks.
I’m not sure what exactly he’s asking, but I’m willing to hear him out.
“I don’t know, man. Why?”
He drums
his fingers against his chin as he contemplates our next move.
“Savannah played you. She seduced you, fucked you to get the evidence her sister needed to void the prenup.”
I nod my head. “And?”
His face lights up like a Christmas tree. “Who’s to say she won’t turn on Selina?”
He had my hopes up, he truly did. I thought he had a plan, but in no world would Savannah turn on her twin sister. She’s not that type of person, not after everything she’s done. It’s seriously left me wondering if Savannah’s the evil one. She’s a conniving, menacing bitch who now rivals any of her sister’s previous antics.
“No way,” I say without contemplating Shaun’s harebrained scheme. “There’s no way she’d go for it.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t she? Think about it man, just hours ago she was at your house, begging for your forgiveness, who’s to say she wouldn’t turn on Selina in a heartbeat. This is it, Jared, your one chance to screw Selina over and show Savannah who the fuck she’s messing with. This is your chance—our chance—to beat them at their own game.”
My brain is foggy, both from emotion and too much alcohol. I think I’m crazy for even contemplating this, but I’m willing to do whatever it takes to protect what is mine.
I’m a businessman first and foremost. A man who gets what he wants and it’s not often that I let my guard down and allow people into my life. I let Savannah into my life—into my heart. That was my mistake and one I vow to never make again.
I will never let another woman cross me, so help me God if she even tries, I will not be responsible for the consequences. In a moment of clarity, Shaun’s plan makes perfect sense. Use Savannah to get to Selina.
And for the first time all day, I feel as though things may start to swing my way, with a little divine intervention of course.
Chapter 4
She gave me a key. That’s how good she is at this game. She gave me a key to her house and told me I could come at any time. As I sit in her bedroom, I go through the plan once more in my mind. I can do this. I can play games with the best of them.
We’ve slept in this bed together a few times now, but today the bed feels different. I’m an intruder in her house and for the first time it dawns on me, perhaps I was never welcome here.