Another knock sounds, and as if my memory has conjured him, Freddie’s voice sounds through the thick wood.
“We’re waiting!”
Stepping back, he straightens to his full height, his eyes never leaving the gap in the shirt where my tummy peeks through.
“Breathe and wait.” He laughs as he walks to the door, turning before he opens it. “It’s like déjà vu.”
As if my body wasn’t already wound tight with the game he’s playing, my insides scorch at the memory of the one time I tried to refuse him what he wanted. The way he tortured me with his hands. Teasing, taunting, promising…he pushed and pushed until I was nothing but an open flame in the palm of his hand.
He worked me up and then made me wait hours until he followed through and delivered me of the agonising ache inside me. His ache. My violent need for him.
The need eating at my every cell as he leaves me burning for him.
Chapter 28
Christopher
The lounge is quiet as I step out of the bedroom. Anger and frustration ribbons around all my other spiralling senses. They spin, knotting like DNA. Strand for strand. Rung to rung. They meld until my entire being is vibrating, screaming for me to rid of the two men waiting for me.
What are they doing here?
Casper and Freddie are both looking at me with confused expressions. Like I’m a stranger. Or maybe like I have morphed into something they don’t recognise.
You have.
We all have.
We’re all strangers trying to hold on to what’s left of the people bound together by duty, friendship, brotherhood, and blood…
The voice in my head nags at me with guilt for pushing Arabella. For leaving her. For being a bastard when any other man would be doting and docile.
Leo was right.
That’s not what she needs.
And her words from earlier come back to flay my soul, tearing my insides with loath at myself for how I’ve fumbled to do the right thing by the normal standards the world demands.
You looked at me with your whole world broken in your eyes.
My whole world is broken. Because she is my world. And I won’t rest until she realises that. Until she realises that we aren’t two people bound together.
We are one existence.
Her soul is my soul.
Her heart is my heart.
Her blood is my blood.
The clearing of a throat drags me from my thoughts, but I’m still in that room with her.
I feel her apprehension pull me backwards, tempting me to sack all this off and torture her some more.
She lives for it. Her need is palpable beneath my fingertips. It coats every fibre of her being…and the harder I push, the higher it sings. Pulsing between us a staccato crescendo that will culminate in an explosion of wills and sex and power and love.
So much fucking love. More than an eternal lifetime’s worth. More love than an endless sky and bottomless ocean.
Inhaling as I run my finger along the seam of my lips, my mouth waters at her sweet scent. My dick threatens to full mast, and as much as I want to fuck Arabella, I want to undo her more. Because if she isn’t strong enough to show me her scars, then she isn’t strong enough to pursue our vendetta.
If she can’t face the demons between us, then she can’t fight the ones around us.
“Why are you here?”
Freddie looks at Casper with a wave of his hand. “It was your idea, I’ll let you explain it.”
Standing with a roll of his eyes, Casper moves closer, perching himself on the arm of one of the sofas. Freddie’s already made himself right at home.
“Well?” I press. “I’m not interested in late-night tea.”
“What?” Freddie purposefully takes a sip from his teacup. “You were taking your time, so I thought I might as well fill my reserves. Want some?” He nods to the cake slice on the coffee table. “Besides, we had to shut her up somehow…apparently cake is all you need.”
“You’re some kind of imbecile, you know that? Who would’ve thought you’d go from crybaby to fucktard?”
I don’t bother looking into the dining room where Georgina’s voice grates from. Instead I direct my question at Casper, knowing he’ll go straight to the point rather than play stupid games. “What’s she doing here?”
“Yes, what is she doing here?” Freddie swipes his finger through the cream on the cake and licks it off.
Tonight’s not the night for his theatrics. My patience is already worn thin.
“We need decoys, otherwise we’re asking for another…” Pausing, his eyes flick to the dining room. “For another accident. Especially after what happened at the dinner.”
“Ryan has it handled.”
“Ryan? You’re on first-name terms now?” Freddie stands with a grimace twisting his face. It’s like I’ve betrayed him in some way.
“You need to learn to let shit go. You’re not a dog and he’s not a bone, so fucking drop it already!”
“I have no idea what the hell is going on, but the housewife bickering is giving me a headache.” All three of us turn to Georgina, trudging towards us. “Why am I here?”
Looking at Casper for an answer, I let her stand beside me for now. She’s taller than Arabella, skinny and fair…but like her older sister, she has presence. And I’m all too aware of the look Freddie’s giving her.
The notion that she’s managed to hit a nerve with him makes me laugh. At the same time, it worries me, because he looks ready to either fuck her or kill her.
He might actually want to fuck her to death. Seems like a Freddie thing to want.
Fuck, it’s what I want. I want to fuck Arabella till the day I die. I want to fuck her so hard that both our bodies might disintegrate.
My dick agrees with a jerk I can barely hide, my need barrelling out of control like a wildfire. Fisting my hands into my pockets, I adjust my stance. The closed door of the bedroom taunts my peripheral vision.
All I can think about, as I hardly make out what Casper’s saying, is how she must be ready to surrender to me in there. I can imagine her squirming. I can hear her fast, uncontrolled breaths as if I’m standing in the room with her.
“Are you listening?” Casper snaps at me.
“Yes.”
“Lies!” Freddie laughs. If he’s not careful, his head will be going through the fucking window.
“I’m trying to fucking help. What the fuck is wrong with you? Huh?” Casper spits at me with impatience. And every single one of my frustrations blows.
“Don’t push me,” I warn him. “It’s been a long day. You’re lucky you still have a living father…so spare me your cunting attitude and get on with whatever it is you’re here for.”
Twisting to look at me in horror, Georgina gasps.
“What the fuck are you even doing here?” I snap at her.
“If you had been listening, you would know,” Casper growls to a low whistle from Freddie.
“I’m listening.” Facing him again, I position myself so I can’t see the bedroom door, hoping it’s enough to boost my attention on him.
“I’ve spoken to Murphy. He agrees, you can’t go around like there isn’t a target on your head.” This conversation sounds familiar. “We need to be smart about this because Leo’s right, that guy was an inside job.”
“I can’t find him on any database,” Freddie adds with sombre seriousness. Finally. “Foreign or domestic.”
“So, until we know what we’re dealing with, we’re going to have to band tighter. Leo and Cassie are on their way. They’re taking my car. You and Bella take Freddie’s. You two—” He looks between Freddie and Georgina. “—you’re going with Murphy.”
“Us two?” she asks with a dramatic laugh. “Firstly, I’m not going anywhere with him. Secondly, where do you think you’re sending me exactly?”
“What about you?” Freddie snaps at him.
“Did you hear me?” Georgina inches forward with he
r hands on her hips and a scowl on her face.
But without any acknowledgement, Casper carries on. “I’m taking Leo’s. They’re picking Fleur up.”
“Why’s she coming?” I don’t understand why we need to bring her along. She might be as good as family, but we have enough to worry about without adding her to it. “I’m sure the Foreign Secretary can protect his own daughter.”
There’s a moment of silence. I’m not sure whether he’s avoiding my question or whether he’s pissed that I’ve asked it. But we have enough shit to go through without having an entire entourage to ensure is safe.
“Leo,” he finally replies, but it sounds off. “Well, more what he said about their conversation at the hospital. Besides, she and Cassie can do their thing. Bella and George can do theirs. That’s everyone catered for whilst we’re figuring shit out. No one to worry about down here.”
His longwinded reply doesn’t sell me on his reasoning. But it’s not worth pushing.
“We need to look like we’re backing away. We’re doing what they told us to do—nothing. Staying clean.”
It’s clear Leo filled them in on our conversation earlier. Or maybe he was filling me in on their conversations.
“We can call it the bachelor party you never had…a bit of hunting, shooting, and snow. Who doesn’t love some snow?”
Casper pats him on the back with a smirk. “See? He talks sense. But seriously, we need to make a move. The darker it is, the better; the roads are quieter, and it makes it easier to spot any problems.”
“What’s going on?” Taking a step closer to Casper, Georgina stands taller.
“Need-to-know basis.” Freddie shrugs.
Slapping her hand on his mouth, she glares at him. “I wasn’t talking to you, Psycho.”
Oh shit.
In a fraction of a second, his hand closes around her ponytail, yanking her back.
“Freddie,” Casper grits, hands balled tightly at his sides. “Let go.”
Shit.
“Next time you stick your hand in my face, I’ll break every motherfucking bone in it. You ever call me crybaby again, I’ll rip out your tongue. Got it, Swan?”
“I said let go of her!” Casper squeezes his hand off the bunched hair even as Freddie keeps staring Georgina down. His jaw is so tight that the grind of his teeth is audible.
Fucking hell.
The minute Casper backs away, she gets in Freddie’s face. “You don’t scare me.”
“Try not to flinch next time you say that.” Pushing past her, he walks away. “Keep her the fuck away from me.”
“Don’t flatter yourself!” Yelling after him, she looks every bit the spoilt princess she is. “I don’t do cunts anyway! Dicks are my prefe—”
“Shut it!” Casper puts an end to her tirade with growl.
“Lo odio!” Her tantrum chips away at my patience some more.
“If you hate him so much, stop winding him up.” Eyes wide and jaw clenched, she looks ready to stomp her frustration at me, at him…at her unanswered questions.
“What on earth is going on out here?”
Turning to find Arabella standing in the bedroom doorway, I grin when her stare meets mine.
She swallows, her breathing quickening, and I swear my heart pounds in tune with hers. I’m barely able to contain my excitement just as she can hardly hide the realisation of what will happen when we are alone.
You disobeyed me, morena.
A small, jittery smile tips her lips as though she’s replying, I know.
Chapter 29
Arabella
The look Christopher’s giving me should worry me. I should be entirely concerned of what’s going to happen when we step foot behind closed doors. But even with all the commotion and my siblings’ eyes on me, I can’t think of anything other than what he’s thinking.
Delicious knots pull taut in my belly, and for the first time in so long, that full, fluttery feeling doesn’t make me want to shrink away and mourn. Even with the knowledge of what he wants from me…with the unmistakable determination that he’ll get it at any cost, any way he can…I don’t feel anything but need for him. For his control and his fire.
Slipping his hands into his pockets, he takes slow, calculated steps in my direction. Our gazes never part ways even though we’re not alone.
Raising his hand to his mouth, he licks his lips as he smooths his fingertips over them. When I realise those are the same fingers he’d teased me with, heat flashes in the apples of my cheeks so hot that my skin feels aglow.
He stops in front of me, deep, heavy breaths pulling his waistcoat taut over his chest, the thick charcoal weave inviting my touch.
“I don’t recall saying you could move.” Looking down on me, he curls a hand around my hip possessively.
“There was shouting.”
“And?”
“It was loud.”
“So?”
“I was worried.”
“Now.” Tilting my chin up so he’s looking down on me, he smirks. “Now, Belles, you should be worried.”
I swallow, my teeth sinking into my lip with the way his eyes are blazing. Amber and ember. His touch crackles along my skin as he drags me flush to him.
“You disobeyed me.”
The air around us thickens, and as I suck my lip between my teeth, I try to drag it into my lungs.
We must look crazed with the way we’re standing, breaths loud and voices hushed. In the middle of whatever is going on…
“What shall I do with you?”
“What’s going on?”
Christopher’s hand rounds my bare arse to the juncture of where cheek meets thigh. His short nails bite into my flesh, and all I can do not to gasp is bury my face in his chest, clutching at the V of his vest as he grinds my body against his hard, muscled one.
“Tell you what,” he murmurs, burying his face in my hair, “I’ll let you decide on the punishment. You have all night. A long drive to think about it.”
Where are we going?
“What do you think you deserve?” Breathing into my ear, he claws deeper, his other hand cupping my jaw. “Should I tie you up and leave you until you understand the meaning of do not move?”
I try to steady my shaking breaths, but it’s impossible with the way my entire body is tightening and coiling.
“Or maybe I should spank some acquiescence into you. Do you think it could burn through your skin and flesh, to your bones?”
The images in my head that translate into feeling won’t let me speak. I can barely think.
Pressing my thighs as tightly together as I can, I hold on to him for dear life. For fear that all my bodily functions are screwed, and if he lets me go, I’ll fall flat on my arse.
Perhaps that’s what he wants. Me completely stupefied by lust at his feet. Perhaps anticipation is the punishment, because I’m dying to feel him use and abuse my body, but I already know it won’t happen anytime soon.
Releasing me, Christopher steps away, wrapping his arm around my shoulders as he faces Casper and Georgina again.
“I’ll let Herald’s Hold know we’re on our way. To avoid any unnecessary blood spillages, she goes with you. Fleur goes with Fred.”
“She?” Georgina grits at his dismissiveness of her.
“Yes, she. You, Georgina.” Christopher sighs. “You’ll go with your brother, and before you ask what’s going on or what we’re doing again…all you need to know is that we’re keeping you alive. We’re keeping all of us alive. Co-operate.”
“I have rehearsals. I can’t simply up and leave.”
“You’re sick, but you’ll be all better by Tuesday.”
“By Tuesday?”
“Yes.”
She stares each of us out with a scowl.
“What? Do you think you’re the only one with a job?” Christopher starts towards the bedroom, turning his back on the room.
“Wait.” Grabbing my arm when I turn to follow him, she looks me over from head t
o toe. “Arabella…”
My gaze darts to Casper. I expect him to be more forthcoming with how to proceed. I don’t know what to tell her. If it were up to me, I’d tell her everything.
I’m aware of what Christopher just said, but we’ve been down this road before, withholding secrets and danger from the people we care about, and it only results in more secrets, more danger, and immeasurable tragedy.
She should know the truth.
Casper’s shrug doesn’t enlighten me on what to do. So, I go with my gut. “Tell her.”
“Tell me what?” She squeezes my arm, pity glowing in her eyes like it always does.
Maybe after this she won’t look at me like that again. Perhaps she’ll finally see my choices differently.
“What you want to know,” I tell her plainly, my heightened emotions nudging me towards exhaustion.
Looking behind me to Christopher, Casper nods before pulling Georgina with him towards the sofas. He pours her a cup of tea, pushing a slice of cake in front of her like that’s what’s going to stop her from losing her mind.
Leaving them, I back towards the bedroom. My chest tightens as I close the door behind me and search the dimly lit space for Christopher.
There’s an air of uncertainty around him as he lies on the bed. Arms at his side, eyes on the ceiling, he lies there quietly. His body is tense despite being sunk into the plush bedding. Without saying anything, I wander over to him, my body sinking beside his in the quietness. Our pinkies brush before his hand swallows mine.
With it cradling mine, all I can think of is the photo on his phone. The way his hands hugged our daughter. So protective. So caring…
“What do you think she’d sound like?”
“In my dreams she always sounds like you,” he replies softly.
Tears bruise my chest and my eyes, clogging the back of my throat. I keep waiting for the pain to obliterate me, but it never does. I’m overwhelmed by wonder and awe at his statement. The wistfulness of his words and softness of his gravelly voice wrap around me like a warm blanket.
“She has your hair and your smile. Your soft nature and your fierce heart.” Taking a deep breath, he threads our fingers together. “She has your contagious laugh, and you always have her curls bunched into pigtails right behind her ears with the silly bows you have in all your baby pictures. You put her in anything but pink, because Barbies are—”
Scorch (Virtues & Lies Book 2) Page 21