A Twist of Fate (The Twisted Trilogy)

by Simpson, Christa

  After reaching for a dry towel, Cameron gently patted my legs dry, pausing between my thighs and rounding on my wet behind. He wrapped the towel around me and drew me into the warm bed with him. He tucked me into his arms and his caress tickled my senses.

  I couldn't help but feel guilty, when Edwin popped into my thoughts. Why did he have to send me that secret message before he left, and why was he so concerned with me and Cameron all of a sudden? We had separated for a reason. He had made his decision loud and clear.

  Cameron made me happy. Things were going great - amazing really - until Edwin started to stick his nose in our business. I could only hope that one day Edwin could stand to be in the same room with Cameron and me without cringing.

  "I hope you're not still thinking about what a jerk I've been tonight."

  "No." I brushed my fingers across Cam’s chest and watched his body respond to me. "I just want things to go back to normal. Can't we just be ordinary for a change?"

  Cam rested his hand on top of mine, stopping my motion. "You'll never be just ordinary." He softly kissed my temple. "I sure as hell can't predict the future, but I can say that right now I'm the happiest I’ve ever been. In case you haven’t noticed, I’ve gotten used to having you all to myself and I don't like to share." The curve of his smile crept higher.

  I outlined his sexy lips with my index finger and there was no need for words. He kissed my fingers, then hovered over me to find another kiss. His hands trembled as he unwrapped my towel, exposing my naked breasts and taut nipples. He sucked in a sharp breath, as he took in my naked figure, then he lost his own towel and trailed soft, wet kisses across my flesh.

  I squeezed my eyes shut enjoying the sudden pleasure, as his hot mouth closed around my nipple. "Mmm. I definitely didn't do anything tonight to deserve this."

  He smiled against my skin, his tongue still teasing me. "This is just for you being you. Isn't that reason enough?" Cam’s lips teased downward, until his tongue circled my belly button, tensing every muscle in my body. "I want to show you exactly how much you mean to me," he growled, sprinkling wet kisses across my hips and down between my legs.

  Cam worshipped my thighs, as he gently spread them apart, his tongue doing amazing things. He closed his mouth over me, sucking gently, then dipped his tongue inside. A muffled moan sounded from my throat, as I squeezed my legs around him, overwhelmed with sensitivity.

  I ran my fingers through his hair and gripped onto a handful, as every muscle in my body began to vibrate internally. With the flick of his tongue, he had me screaming inside, and with a brush of his thumb, I exploded into a thousand pieces. I yelped out in pleasure and Cameron didn’t stop until the tremors quit rocking my body.

  He replaced my towel, protecting me like a valuable treasure, then pulled the blankets over us. With a brush of his wet, salty lips, he gave me a taste of his handiwork. "I love you, Abigail," he said, his voice turning harsh. “And I won't let anyone get in the way of that; as long as you'll have me."

  There was so much emotion flaring around the room, but I was physically and emotionally exhausted. "I love you," I whispered in response, before curling into his arms and nodding off.

  ***

  I AWOKE TO THE sound of the blinds opening with a heavy swoosh. My face still hurt a little from my door incident, but it was nothing compared to my headache.

  "I'm never drinking ever again," I mumbled, covering my eyes from the bright, winter day.

  "Forget drinking; are you up for a little skiing?" Cam asked. He was so damn chipper and at this hour I was always so cranky.

  Skiing was not my thing. "I feel like hell today. I’d bet I look even worse. I think I'll hang back."

  "Oh, no you don't," he insisted, dropping to his knees on the bed. He crawled over top of me and kissed me good morning. "You're coming with me, whether you like it or not."

  I couldn’t help but smile. "You realize I suck at skiing, right? The last time I went I did more falling than actual skiing. You'll be better off without me."

  Cameron growled insistently, the reverberations urging me to reconsider. He made it very difficult to say no to him.

  "Don't forget what I told you," I warned, giving in to him. "You're going to be stuck on the bunny slopes all day and I'm even gonna complain about that." I smiled at him, though it was mostly true, then snuck another kiss before slipping out from under him.

  After a shower and a very light breakfast, I started to feel somewhat human again. I plopped down and lied back on the bed that Cameron had made, and stretched my arms above me.

  “I just got off the phone with Maddie,” Cameron said. “Turns out, Jessica is staying back with her.”

  “I should really stay back too,” I insisted.

  Cam rested his hand on my shoulder and then smoothed it down my arm. “You’ll do fine.”

  “I’ll make a total fool of myself. You must want me to have two black eyes to go with my crooked nose."

  He chuckled, but I wasn’t joking.

  "When does the destruction start?"

  "We're supposed to meet the others in the lobby in about five minutes." Cam was smiling at me, as though he was going to burst into laughter at any second.

  "What are you smiling at?"

  "You." He yanked on my shirt to pull me up against his chest and started to kiss me.

  Our kiss grew more heated within seconds. "I have to get ready,” I said, in between scalding, hot licks of his tongue.

  "Just a little dip?" Cameron begged.

  "If I have to suffer out there today, then so will you." I struggled to fend him off. He looked so edible. I spun away and readied myself for the day, before I could change my mind.

  Before long we were down in the lobby, where Hunter and Aliah were canoodling and Edwin was listening in on another guest’s horror story about the black diamond slopes.

  "There’ll be none of that today," I ordered, stopping next to him. "I'd like to get home after this trip; preferably in one piece."

  Edwin gawked at me, like I was a delicious piece of chocolate cake. "Hah! Abby's coming? This ought to be fun," he said to the others, as though I wasn’t standing right next to him.

  "Zip it,” I snapped. “Cam's making me go.”

  "He can be the one that peels you off the slopes then," Edwin teased, as he walked toward the exit.

  After tromping through the snow to the nearest lodge and renting out skis for the day, Edwin snickered at me again. "This is your last chance. Are you sure you don't want to go hang out with prego and prissy pants instead?"

  I scowled at him. "I'm doing this." And after locking my boots into place, we skated toward the small rolling slopes.

  I demanded that everyone join me on a practice run before we took the lift up the mountain. Reluctantly, they all hopped onto the conveyor and let it drag us to the top of the small hill. I was shaking in my boots.

  When we got to the top, I tried to shuffle out of the way to wait up for the others, but my skis had other plans. They started to slip and I couldn’t right myself. My skis inched forward until, sure enough, they began to carry me down the hill. Straight downhill.

  Faster and faster I went, terrified that I would never stop, as I headed for the roadside ditch bank filled with snow. As I neared the bottom, I saw a rather worried skier with the same trouble and she was coming right for me. I was sure our paths would collide in a matter of seconds but, to my surprise, we crisscrossed awkwardly and fell into the snow.

  I avoided the crash, and had fallen backwards onto my butt, stopping mere inches from the ditch bordering the private road. My breaths were ragged and my head ached, as I rested it back in the snow. I glanced up at the sky, begging a higher power to give me strength to get through the rest of the day. Edwin was so fast that when I looked up, he was standing over me, smiling.

  It was Cam, though, who untangled my skis and lifted me to my feet. "What happened?"

  "I couldn't stop. Obviously." I rolled my eyes, embarrassed but not
surprised.

  "Maybe you should get some ski lessons," Edwin suggested, as Aliah and Hunter effortlessly glided up next to me. “Not that I think it’ll work.”

  "Nah, I can teach her," Hunter insisted. “Piece of cake.”

  After a quick refresher course from Hunter, and a few successful trips down the bunny slope, Hunter figured I was ready for a bigger mountain. I had my doubts, as we climbed up the hill toward the ski lift.

  Eager to hit the steeper slopes, Aliah and Hunter lined up ahead of us and the chair scooped them up and away. Next it was my turn.

  Cameron cupped my cheek and gave me a quick kiss. "You ready?"

  No. And yet I found myself being pulled in front of the lift anyway. The chair swung around and came up behind us. At the last minute, Edwin snuck up next to me and hitched a ride. Being squished between the two men in my life would have been awkward on a good day; put skis on me and it instantly became my worst nightmare.

  "You don't think you could've waited your turn?" I squealed, clinging to Cameron. It was scary enough hanging from a chair with sticks strapped to my feet and now I didn't even have a side to hang onto.

  Cam smiled, somehow amused by my horror.

  "Get over it," Edwin said. "You should be thanking me. You’re gonna need all the help you can get." And Edwin was the one man that knew that for a fact.

  The last time we returned from a ski trip, I had landed more than a few bruises, including a really big one to my ego. I turned to Cameron with the sudden realization of what I had gotten myself into.

  "I think this was a mistake. I don't think I'm ready."

  "It’s a little late for that," Cam said, as we were met with the top of the smallish mountain.

  Mental imagery was a waste of my time, because there were so many skis dangling from the chair. When my sticks touched down, they immediately tangled with both Edwin and Cameron’s. Cameron managed to break free from me, leaving only Edwin to come to my rescue. I dropped a pole and grabbed for his arm, causing us both to tumble into a pile in the worn snow.

  Edwin fell hard, sending one ski sliding down the mountain. With no control over my body, I crashed on top of him. Though the weather was windy and cold, Edwin was warm and soft.

  "You've gotta be kidding me," he moaned, his head flat in the snow. He lifted his body up, so we were both on our asses, then waved a hand toward his stray ski.

  I rolled away from him and stuck out a pouty lip. "This is your fault, you know."

  Hunter and Aliah had been watching for us and were laughing. "You are too much, Abby. I wish I would’ve caught that on video,” Hunter teased.

  Cameron lifted me to my feet, again. I scowled at Hunter, with a sore frown.

  "What about me?" Edwin asked, hobbling on one foot.

  "I'll get it," Hunter hollered, skillfully retrieving Edwin's other ski. How he walked back up the mountain was a mystery to me and I couldn't quit watching in awe. "And that's how it's done," he proclaimed, as he handed the ski to Edwin. His eyes quickly strayed to Aliah, who had competitively sped off down the hill. Hunter took the bait and eagerly chased after her.

  Cam stole my attention and held my gaze. "Ready?"

  "No," I replied, honestly. “But I don't think I'll ever be ready."

  He smirked at me, not realizing how serious I was. "You go first and I'll follow behind you. Just remember to put more weight on your downward ski.”

  If it were as easy as that, I would have been at the bottom already. “Here goes nothing,” I said, as I started to head to the left. I instantly began to pick up speed, until I was racing out of control. As I desperately tried to turned back up the mountain, I wiped out, slamming sideways and losing a ski in the process.

  Cameron hurried over to me, but he was smirking. “Try to remember to angle your skis together if you want to slow down,” he said, as he reached for my snow-covered mitt.

  All of those tips were but a foggy token, while I tumbled head first down the mountain. I gave Cameron a cold, unwholesome eye, and yet he couldn’t stop smirking at me. I decided it was time to take my next chance at death.

  When I made it half way down the mountain, I actually thought I might make it out alive. That’s when I fell flat on my back and slid down the remainder of the mountainside, ass-first. Cameron found it just hilarious. Needless to say, I didn't think it was quite so funny.

  Determined to give it another go, up the lift we went for round two. This time, I was amazed to make it half way down the mountain in one try. I thought I was making great progress, but I must have decided that too soon. Again, out of control, I zoomed into an icy area blocked off by the resort, marked DANGER. No warning sign was enough to keep me from slamming right into the solid ice and landing flat on my ass.

  Ski patrol was on me in a matter of minutes, hollering at me to come back into the safe zone. Unable to skate on my feet, I crawled my way back, one ski in my left hand, both poles in my right. When I finally made it to the fresh, powdery snow, Cameron laughed at me and that was it. I couldn't take it anymore. My anger heated my face and melted the snowflakes on my jacket.

  "I'm sorry," Cameron said. "I don't want to laugh, but it's so funny."

  "Screw off." I scowled even more, wishing he would leave, so I could wallow in my failure, with my sore body and hurt feelings.

  "Abby, I'm not leaving you," he insisted, his smirk still firmly in place.

  "Yes, you are," I stated, then shoved him down the hill. He flashed a worried look back over his shoulder and then continued down the mountain - without me.

  I pouted to myself, angered by his ignorance and also in actual physical pain from my multiple falls. I decided I would sit on this mountain all day, if it meant never having to fall down it ever again. That was until I saw Edwin skiing toward me. He stopped right at my side.

  "You okay," he asked.

  My arms were folder tightly across my chest. "Do I look okay?"

  "No."

  "There you go then," I snapped.

  He didn't smile. "Hey, I'm just trying to help. If you want to give this a try, I'm not gonna give up on you. You’re almost at the bottom. You can do this."

  “You know I can’t,” I pouted, knowing I couldn't very well sit there the rest of the day either. I accepted his hand when he reached it out to me, and he pulled me back to my feet. I was terrified for my life and didn’t want to let go.

  His eyes rested on me momentarily and he took a sharp breath when I clung onto him. A smile softly replaced the serious look on his face, as he helped me snap my boot back into the ski.

  A terrified yelp escaped my throat, as Edwin set me free. I tried to traverse the mountain but, after one turn, my skis directed me straight down the slope, again at full speed.

  I screamed in fear as I sped to the bottom, but managed to stay on my feet. As I headed closer to the foot of the mountain, I slowed just enough to bring myself to a complete stop, only a matter of feet from Cameron. He was smirking again, but I was feeling proud for not falling this time.

  "Will you stop?" I ordered.

  He fought hard to not smile, until Edwin caught up with us. Then he had no trouble keeping a straight face.

  I smiled at Edwin and he gave me a wink. Cameron caught it too and growled at him, but managed to keep his words to himself.

  "I'm gonna go back up. I can probably make it down twice for your single trip," Edwin teased.

  "You're so funny," I retorted, as Edwin turned away and headed for the lift.

  Cameron skied closer to me and took my hand, staring at me until I met his gaze. "Are you mad at me?"

  "Kind of. You hurt my feelings and I really hurt my ass," I admitted, sorely.

  "I'm sorry for laughing."

  It was hard to believe him when he was still smirking. "Are you done yet?" I retorted, scowling.

  His smile was about ready to burst. "No, just a second." He paused, and cleared his throat. He even managed to wipe the smile from his face this time. "Okay, now I'm done." />
  I rolled my eyes. "I think maybe I should just watch from down here." There was no way in hell anyone was going to get me to go back up there again.

  Cameron looked disappointed. "Oh, come on. You got better near the end there. You're getting the hang of it."

  "Really?"

  "Sort of.” His smile was killer. “You went through all the trouble of renting the skis and everything. You want to end the day already?"

  "Ugh. Fine. One more. But that's it!" Damn his good looks and powers of persuasion.

  "Good. Let's go." He skied off toward the lift, before I could come to my senses.

  This time around, I got off the chair with little trouble.

  "There you go," Cam hollered.

  "Stop with that," I snapped, getting tired of being treated like a child.

  If it were at all possible, my skiing actually got worse. I found myself heading for an area for more skilled skiers. I had to purposefully fall to my knees before running into some nearby trees.

  Cameron made an attempt to come help me out, but when he hit the steep slope, he slid farther down the mountain and was unable to get back up.

  "I got her," Edwin hollered, with his above average skill. Edwin came slicing down the mountain and hauled me to my feet. "Why is it that I have to keep coming to your rescue?"

  "Will you shut up and help me already?"

  "Okay, okay. Take it easy." He tried to help me stabilize myself, but when I stood up, my feet came out from under me.

  Edwin caught me in his arms, but lost his balance and crashed down on top of me. I couldn't help but laugh, even after cracking the back of my head off the ice.

  "You think this is funny?" he asked, his face only inches from mine.

  I couldn't wipe the smile off my face, even when Edwin's features had turned deathly serious. I was helplessly pinned beneath him, when I realized he was going to kiss me. I timidly examined his eyes and I think he could sense that I was alarmed, but he didn't let it affect his decision.