by Roxie Odell
The truth was that he didn’t walk at all; rather, he fell through the door, stumbling in as it opened, with the key still dangling in the lock. He was roaring drunk, but that wasn’t the worst part. In the crook of his arm, just as inebriated as he was, was a giggling woman.
Cheri choked and blinked twice, trying to tell herself that what she was seeing was not real. It has to be a nightmare, she thought, hoping she was still fast asleep on the sleigh couch. When she came to her senses enough to realize it was all too real, she quickly searched the room for a pair of shoes and her cell phone. It was much too late to check in at the hotel, but she had no problem evicting herself from his house and sleeping the best she could on the uncomfortable office lounge couch.
The two drunks were too busy laughing at the fact that they almost fell flat on their faces to even notice her. Thomas’s eyes crossed as he focused on removing the key from the door, and Cheri was sure they were so oblivious that she could easily slip by them.
She stared at them for a moment, taking note of the intimate way he held the woman. Is she someone he knows or just some random slutty barfly he picked up? Do they have a history, or did they just meet? Did that mascara belong to her? Plus, how could he have driven to his father’s hospice, gotten loaded, picked up this woman, and drive all the way home in just a few hours? None of it made any rational sense, until reality blanketed her and made her stop to think. She speculated he never went to the hospice at all, that he had had asked her to go back to the Four Seasons because he had every intention of bringing that woman home. Cheri died a little inside as that idea smacked her in the face and tore her heart in two.
Thomas and the woman finally managed to close the door, but they couldn’t possibly find the hand/eye coordination to lock it. They smiled stupidly at each other, gazing into each other’s hooded eyes as if there was no one else in the world.
It was something like a car accident; Cheri almost couldn’t bear to watch, but she couldn’t pull her eyes away either. She tried shutting her eyes, but that didn’t even remove the cruel image from her mind. She needed to get the hell out of there. She could have easily holed up in one of his guestrooms till that nasty little storm blew over, and he would likely have been none the wiser in his drunken state, but this… this woman… it was too much. She certainly did not want to be in the house while they did what they were clearly about to do. She would hear it, as well as picture it in her mind.
As she raced around them to head up the stairs, she caught sight of them out of the corner of her eyes. They were kissing, practically gobbling each other up. When she saw it, a powerful force erupted from deep within her. She literally cried out in anguish, like an injured bear in a trap. She had no idea how loud her cry was, because she basically detached herself from the horrible situation. She had already slid her feet into her shoes, and she quickly found her purse and shoved her phone into it.
She stole into his office and locked the door as the two of them fell on top of one another on the sleigh couch. Cheri opened his desk drawer, chose a couple credit cards, and slipped them into her waistband. He wanted to be an ass, she’d get him back.
She walked past the two of them, who were oblivious to her, and slipped out to the front of the house and called the Four Seasons, finding much relief in the fact that they still had vacancies.
The weather was mercifully light, without a hint of rain. The spotlights in his yard provided enough security and light for her to read, so she recited the numbers off his Visa and reserved a suite. She also ordered a cab ride from the app on her phone.
While she waited for the taxi, she thought about the fact that Thomas Graham had served nearly two years in prison for signing his name on someone else’s check because he thought he was justified. Now, she was doing the same thing. Karma, she thought, and I dare him to make me pay it back.
She didn’t want to, but couldn’t stop herself from spying on Thomas and the woman through the window. The drapes were drawn, but there were enough gaps and movement that she knew exactly what was going on. She wondered if another woman had ever stood where she was, peeking in the window at the two of them, her heart broken in a million pieces and her mind screaming with rage for having bought into his lies. She wondered if he ever told that poor woman the same bullshit sad story he’d told her, that he was just a jerk who didn’t handle emotions well.
The cab pulled up, and Cheri hoped in. “Four Seasons, please.”
“No bags?” he asked.
“No,” Cheri said, releasing a half-hearted laugh into the dark night. “Only… emotional baggage.” Her face was bent and tight with the pain of needing to cry, but she would be damned if she was going to break down in the back of a taxi.
Guess I need some new clothes, she told herself, deciding that she would do some online shopping back at the hotel.
“I’ll have you there in a jiffy,” the cabbie said.
“Good. The quicker, the better,” Cheri answered, glad when the car pulled away so she could leave Thomas and all his lies behind once and for all.
THE END
… To Be Continued
Endure
Sinner-Saint Series Book #3
By
Roxie Odell
Copyright 2016 by Roxie Odell
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to an actual person, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
All rights reserved.
Copyright 2016 by Roxie Odell
Find Roxie Odell:
Newsletter:
http://eepurl.com/bHD6Vr
Facebook Page:
https://www.facebook.com/RoxieOdell
Sinner-Saint Series
Book 1: Strength
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N8WN4S5
Book 2: Passion
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01N0CCBIT
Book 3: Endure
http://www.amazon.com/dp/
Box Set: Coming Soon!
Endure Description
Beautiful Cheri Holt climbs inside a bottle, trying to drown away the awful night when the love of her life brought another woman home. Try as she might, though, it’s as unforgettable as it is unfathomable, and she knows sooner or later she’ll have to pick up the pieces of her shattered heart.
It’s no easy realization to handle, but Cheri somehow comes to accept that the only way to mend the broken is with the help of the man who tore her world apart. She knows she’s still deeply in love with Thomas Graham.
As Cheri tries to drink her blues away, her ruggedly handsome bad boy pulls her out of that bar, kicking and screaming, bound and determined to fix the damage he’s done. He is willing to do anything to win her back.
They are fire and ice. Every other battle melts into kisses, and it doesn’t take long before they are all over and under each other. The flames of passion spread like wildfire, and Thomas and Cheri once again find themselves helplessly caught in the burning flames of their love. This time they want to make it forever.
As is often the case with their rollercoaster love affair, yet another mistake rears her ugly head and wants to claim Thomas for her own. The barfly whose unexpected visit in the wee hours of the night can’t seem to let go of Thomas either, and she may have news that could keep Thomas and Cheri apart once and for all.
Contents
Find Roxie Odell:
Sinner-Saint Series
Endure Description
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Sinner-Saint Series
More by Roxie Odell
Find Roxie Odell:
Chapter 1
Cheri balanced on the squeaky perch as she pressed her thigh across the leg of the man sitting next to her. It wasn’t an easy maneuver, considering her dress was way too short to sit that way, looking like a Band-Aid stretched across the hips of a Barbie doll. Her barstool buddy, a man she’d met just a little over an hour before, was obviously into her and she wanted someone, anyone, to help her take the edge off. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know his name; after two shots and three beers, she didn’t care. “Le’s gitt outta here,” she slurred, then draped her arms around his neck loosely and stared at him like she was in love. She wished that was the case, but was coherent enough to know that any attraction was entirely alcohol-induced. She also wished they could just skip right to the part where they couldn’t get enough of each other, because she needed to belong to someone. What did the bartender say the other night? “Regulars don’t make friends. They take hostages.”
Cheri was no stranger to intense love, or so she thought. Now, yearning for it sent a sharp pain ripping through her, one that no number of shots could dull. Remembering that love almost made her angry, and knowing the stranger on the other barstool was nowhere near the love of her life suddenly frustrated her.
“Y-Yeah, b-baby,” he stuttered, oblivious, then stood to take her up on her offer.
Who knows? Maybe taking this fool to my room will let me forget, if only for a little while. She grabbed her purse and planted her foot on the floor, seeking to find her balance as she slowly slid off the barstool.
She was just about to leave with the virtual stranger, to invite him to the hotel where she’d been living for the last month, when she felt a biting grip on her upper arm. She looked over her shoulder and saw the bartender glaring angrily at her, a person she’d been chummy with for a while, since she first showed up in his establishment weeks ago. After night after night of sitting in that bar, though, she’d grown tired of his company, and she was sure he felt the same.
“Aren’t you forgettin’ somethin’?” he snapped.
Cheri looked around. “No,” she replied with a wobbly shrug, genuinely clueless.
“You need to sign for the tab,” he said.
Cheri smiled. “He’ll get it,” she said, nodding toward the one who was about to entertain her for the evening.
“Uh, no he won’t,” retorted the man who had been groping her just seconds before, suddenly quite sober.
Instantly Cheri’s nerves cleared her fuzzy head, too. Her month-long drinking binge had changed her life dramatically. When she’d lost the love of her life, and her job of eight years, all she had left to support herself with a stolen credit card that she was now reluctant to use, outside of the necessity of her hotel bill. She assumed her friendliness toward her fellow drunk would be currency enough to cover her drinks. That little trick for treats sometimes worked and sometimes didn’t, and this time she was obviously not going to be able to pull off a drink-and-ditch. It proved fruitful at first, when she first started her dive into drunkenness, but in becoming a regular she’d somewhere lost her touch. The routine was getting old for the bartender, who had seen her in action night after night, then even in the late afternoons almost every single day.
“Sorry lady,” said the half-drunk partner. “I don’t even know you.”
“Well I don’t know you, either, asshole, and I’m sure as hell not about to buy your drinks,” protested Cheri with a stomp of her foot. Nor sleep with your sorry ass.
“You said you would,” he argued.
The bartender glared at Cheri, as if he was in full agreement with the man. “You ordered the round, and you told me to put it on your tab,” he said, crossing his arms. “You need to settle up…and don’t come back.”
“What?! This is a public place, and I have every right to—”
“’Fraid not, missy. I’m the owner of this establishment, and I’ve got a right to deny service. Consider yourself denied. There are plenty of other watering holes around here. This don’t need to be yours anymore.”
“Keep your panties on, Mel,” Cheri slurred. “I’ll sign for it.”
Mel rolled his eyes, ran the bill, and handed her the receipt and a pen.
As Cheri reached to sign for the purchase, her drinking buddy became friendly again.
“Fuck off,” she said, shoving him as hard as she could. She turned to the bartender as she held the pen, frozen above the dotted line. “Can I stay if there are…no more games?” she asked, arching a brow at him. “I really like this place, Mel. Hell, most of the time I even like you. Really, do you have any objections to me sticking around?”
“I object!” said a loud, booming voice behind her. “Don’t let her sign.”
The bartender’s face tightened with alarm when he spotted the man behind Cheri.
Shit! Cheri dropped her head, knowing the jig was up. She knew that voice, and it was clear that he was calling her bluff. How’d he find out so fast she’d used his card? Her brain couldn’t process it fast enough.
“You’re not an authorized signer or user of that card,” said Thomas Graham.
She didn’t even turn to face the man she’d been head-over-heels in love with once. Instead, she just rolled her eyes like some spoiled millennial, as if she was entitled to do whatever she pleased, and he was the one in the wrong for demanding she stop using his stolen credit card. “Buzzkill alert,” she said under her breath.
“You got that right,” said Thomas. “If she comes in here again, call me and then the cops,” he instructed, then easily handed his card to Mel, reaching right over Cheri’s head.
The drunk-cheapo Cheri had been eyeing, hoping to peg with her tab, was speechless. He stared at Thomas for a moment, a big and looming figure, then scooted away
“How’d you find me?” asked Cheri coyly, lifting her half-empty drink to her lips.
Thomas intervened and pushed her wrist to the counter, calmly but firmly, splashing the liquor out of the glass. “You’ve had enough,” he said. “As for finding you, it wasn’t hard. For one, you checked into the same hotel you were at before…”
Cheri smirked. “Do go on, Thomas. Before you brought a woman home hours after you declared your love for me, right? Fucking her while I was in your house, waiting for you like a patient, trusting girlfriend,” she added snidely.
His face scrunched up with pain, as if he’d eaten something sour. “I’ve known all along where you were,” he continued, doing his best to ignore her remark. “Every time my card is charged, I get an email. This little routine of yours is getting old. You’re nothing if not predictable.”
“Good,” she said sarcastically. “At least I won’t surprise you.”
He gripped her elbow firmly. “You can tell me all about it on the way home.”
“I’m right upstairs. I can walk to my room all by myself.”
“Not anymore it’s not. The bank’s closed. Your house is finished, and it’s time you go home sweet home.”
“You can’t tell me where to go!” she hissed. “Who do you think you are, my daddy?” With that, she tried once again to pick up the glass. “My sugar daddy, because you owe me.”
“Definitely not your father, but this Daddy Warbucks isn’t paying for your shit anymore, Cheri,” he said in a stern voice that told her he
meant business.
Cheri stiffened, which made it difficult for Thomas to maneuver her. “Whatever, but I’m going by myself. I refuse to ride in that car where you did hell knows what with that woman. For all I know, her bare ass was on the seat!” she screamed, drawing several curious glares from the bar patrons and an angry one from Mel as he wiped down the counter. “Just get away from me. Give me the keys to my house and piss off!”
Thomas lowered his face close to hers.
Why does he have to be so damn hot? Cheri thought as she looked right into his eyes. She knew where that mouth had been, where his tongue had been, and her body shivered involuntarily just remembering those passionate explorations, fulfilled fantasies she’d never forget.
“You’re not going anywhere by yourself in this condition,” he announced with finality.
She wanted to tease him, to let him know she secretly found it almost intolerably hot when he was so commanding. She had to resist the urge to call a truce by offering her body up to him. She was usually quick to cave in to those desires when it came to Thomas, but this time he’d royally pissed her off and humiliated her, and remembering all that only made her madder. “This so-called condition is all your fault!” she yelled with a scowl.
“Yeah, I know,” he said, wearing an expression that made it clear that he meant it. “I’m an asshole, Cheri. I admit that. Now let’s go.”
“I already said I’m not going with you. My stuff’s upstairs, and I can handle it myself,” she said dismissively.
Thomas’s voice rumbled like thunder when he replied, “I’ve already handled it, and I’ll be handling it from here on out. You’ve been drunk for a month, Cheri. I’m sorry I hurt you. I intend to make it right, whether you like it or not.”