A Twist of Fate (The Twisted Trilogy)

by Simpson, Christa

  On a sigh, I clicked the remote and the lights dimmed, until they faded out entirely. I stared blankly at the shadowed, white ceiling for what seemed like hours, until it became apparent that neither of us were going to get a wink of sleep until we dealt with the situation at hand.

  In the dead of night, finally, he spoke. "I have never felt so alone, as I do right now." His words were stark, spoken straight from his heart, cutting off my circulation.

  It startled my nerves with a jerk. I did that to him. My chest heaved, trying to accommodate my rapid breaths. I turned to face Edwin and shifted in the bed, sliding a little closer, but careful not to interrupt his personal space.

  "The last thing I wanted to do was hurt you," I said, with emotions spilling from my words.

  He stayed cold. "You're getting good at it though."

  "Hey, that's not fair." My snappy words hung in the air between us and another lash of guilt struck my heart when I realized that he was right. I was always hurting him. I had to try another angle. "Eddie, you can't possibly feel alone when I'm in the same bed as you."

  "You’d might as well be in a different hemisphere, then maybe you'd be a little warmer."

  It was true. I had been a cold hearted bitch tonight, but I had to protect my heart. Somewhere along the line I forgot that Edwin had his own heart to worry about.

  "I’d like to join you in your hemisphere, if that's okay."

  I sounded sarcastic and demanding, but I didn't wait for a response. I shimmied up against him, so we were both lying on one quarter of the massive bed. Under the blankets, I rested my hand on his solid thigh, then gently ran my fingers up and down it. I wanted to comfort him. I wanted him to know he wasn't alone, though I was suddenly feeling awfully lonely myself.

  "I won't let you be alone, but we can feel lonely together," I whispered.

  He nudged me aside and I backed up to the middle of the bed. Edwin turned to lay on his back and our skin touched again, but there was no electricity anymore. I felt ruined.

  "I don't want to fight with you, Abby. You're drunk. Why don't we get some sleep? We can talk about this tomorrow."

  I swallowed back my emotion. "Okay."

  He can't possibly think I don't care about him, because I do so much.

  Desperately wanting to feel our connection again, I snuggled up against him. I nudged his arm around me, nestled my head on his warm chest and smoothed my hand over it. That did it. I felt the very moment when the flame reignited again.

  "You don't have to do this, Abs."

  "I want to." I wrapped my leg around him, for good measure.

  I was worried that he might try to remove me from him, but he didn’t. Only moments later, the heavy shadows tried to close in on me, but I was safe in Edwin’s arms drifting off to sleep. My eyes fluttered back to a happy place and I was out. In my dreams, Edwin kissed my hair and whispered to me. "I love you, Abs."

  ***

  I AWOKE TO THE growl of an engine. A car was passing the guest house. I peeled my drooling mouth off of Edwin's chest and stretched an arm out with a yawn. Edwin was still pinned beneath my leg, not having moved the entire night. I slowly retrieved my leg and snuck to the bathroom. He stirred, but never opened his eyes.

  When I slipped back into the bed, I was a little chilled from running around the house, so I curled up behind him again. He warmed my skin, but my feet were frozen. Desperate for his warmth, I slowly drew my foot close to his, then dragged it up his leg.

  He awakened immediately. "Whoa! Cold toes," he said, but he didn't make me move my feet and so I didn't.

  Clutched onto Edwin in reality, still clinging to my dream, I realized that he wasn’t really mine for the squeezing. My eyes burst open on that stark realization and I tumbled back into reality, loosening up on him.

  Edwin stretched out with a growl. "Well," he said. "I'm up." He certainly was. His morning wood was terrifying, but tempting.

  I cleared my throat. "How are you feeling?"

  "I'm fine, but I'm not the one who drank the house down last night. The question is: how are you?"

  "I feel like hell," I admitted, with pause. "But better, if you know what I mean."

  He groaned and it tickled my entire body. "Not really, but I'm sure you'll get around to telling me later."

  Eek! I wasn't ready to talk about that yet. Without thinking, I squeezed him again, hating the way I worried about our relationship.

  "You seem happy this morning," Edwin said, quirking up an eyebrow.

  I released his stiff body, not trusting myself being that close to him. "I slept surprisingly well. You make a good pillow," I teased.

  Edwin’s face lit up and a smile curled on the edge of his lips. "You know some men might take offence to that."

  I swirled my finger across his smooth, rock hard chest. "But you're not some men, now are you?" I struggled with putting distance between us, when I wanted to straddle him and lick every sculpted inch of his body. After that dream I had, I really wanted to shake his tree, and his morning trunk was making it difficult for me to pry myself off of him.

  For my own sanity, I gave him a smooch on his nose, crawled out from under the blankets and pranced around the bed toward the bathroom. I peeked around the corner at him, flirtatiously. "I'm going to get ready now, since I know I'll be a little longer than you."

  He laughed at me. "A little?"

  I didn't reply, before skipping to the bathroom, and I didn't lock the door this time. I secretly hoped he would come join me in the shower, but how could he possibly know that?

  After a refreshing shower, that did wonders for my state of being, I heard a knock at the door. Yeah?" I called out, standing under the warm, steady rainstorm.

  Edwin cracked the door open. "You've been in there forever and I have to use the facilities."

  "Go nuts," I answered.

  Like an old married couple, he talked to me while he peed. After that, Edwin let on like he had left the room and, after a few minutes of silence, any other person would have expected that he had. I knew better.

  As I finished rinsing my hair, I thrust out my chest and arched my back, knowing that Edwin was likely watching my naked silhouette through the foggy glass doors. After turning off the water, I squeezed out my hair then peeked my head out the shower door.

  Edwin was fully dressed and leaning back against the vanity, a good ten feet away. He was watching me. He was also holding my towel.

  "Edwin," I said, sternly. "May I please have my towel?"

  Edwin lifted his arm and draped the towel over it, like he was my own personal towel boy. "You're going to have to come and get it." His slanted smile touched me from across the room.

  "No. You're going to give it to me, or you're gonna get it," I threatened.

  "Which one is it?" His voice was low, his words wet with sexual innuendo. "Am I gonna get it or am I going to give it to you? Either way I win."

  I spoke through gritted teeth in an attempt not to laugh, but Eddie had a way of making me smile. "Edwin. Give me the damn towel."

  He started to inch toward me. "Oh, come on. Just a little peek."

  I pressed my lips together to stop the smiling and kept my body hidden behind the shower door. "There's nothing here you haven't seen before."

  "Then why don't you prove it," he insisted, raising an arched brow.

  Ah, what the hell. I had just finished shaving and was sure it would stun him if I were to be that bold. I whipped open the shower door, exposing my naked, hairless body. He gaped at me as I approached him and yanked the towel out of his hand.

  "Thank you," I said, smartly, and then wrapped the fluffy towel under my arms.

  He stumbled backward and caught himself on the vanity, still stunned that I actually had done that. Continuing with my shameless act, I brushed against him to reach for a fresh hand towel. Then I bent over, flipping my hair upside down to dry it. Edwin cocked his head sideways, but I was sure he couldn't see anything. And oh well if he did.

 
; I flipped upright, with a towel wrapped around my head and joked with Edwin, who was still speechless. "How do I look?"

  His jaw was still glued to the floor, so I closed his mouth with two fingers and brushed past him to get my clothes from the bedroom. He didn't follow me right away and it gave me enough time to pick out and slip on a matching bra and panties. As I pulled on some jeans and slipped on a wool sweater over my tank top, Edwin watched me in a daze, mystified by my vanity.

  "Cally leaves tonight,” I said. “What are we going to do until then?"

  "We won't have access to the main house after today. I thought we could spend the day up there with Cally, if you want."

  "Kay. Let's have something to eat first, then we can go see what she's up to."

  Edwin went to the kitchen, turned on some music and rummaged through the cupboards, while I blow-dried my hair. He whipped up some fried egg sandwiches and didn’t even ask for a hand.

  When I returned from the bathroom, the table was set and the sandwiches were coming hot off the pan. "Wow, Eddie. What's up with you? You going all Molly Maid on me?"

  "You shut your mouth and enjoy it while it lasts."

  I dramatized my silence and took a seat at the small, but tall, table. Then I picked up one half of my crustless sandwich and admired how he had cut it into two perfect triangles. He remembered just how I liked it.

  "There are other things I’m good at too," he said, trying to get me flustered. "But you already know that."

  For some reason, this morning had become all about sex. Worse yet, Edwin’s goofy come-ons were actually turning me on something fierce. Cleaning up the table turned into a touchy-feely job, laced with flirtations.

  After I stacked the dishes in the dishwasher, I pulled on my jacket and some hiking boots, expecting to have to walk back up the hill. When I walked out the door, I saw that Edwin had already warmed up his truck. I smirked at him and gave him a little shove while he locked up the door.

  "I thought my princess would appreciate the ride," he said, smirking.

  I really did appreciate the gesture, even if he was only teasing. The drive was very short, but the walk would have been frosty and tedious. When he parked his truck, I leapt out of it and moseyed toward the door of the eerily quiet house. I instantly noticed a note tacked there.

  I waved Edwin off and he slipped back into the warm truck, as I feverishly snatched the letter off the door. Ignoring the chill in the air, I deftly unfolded the note and read every inky word.

  Hey Guys,

  So sorry I couldn't say goodbye, but I caught an early flight. The pool house is unlocked just for you. I hope you two have a good time! J

  Love ya,

  ~ Cally

  Just another part of her plan. I would choke her for it later. For now, I had to return to the truck before suffering from frost bite. I reluctantly held up the paper to Edwin. He pried the note from my fingers. I watched him read it, but he gave no hint as to what he was thinking. His face was blank until the last word, then a smile crept onto his lips.

  "That Cally. She's a piece of work.”

  I felt like it was my fault. “I’m sorry.”

  “What are you sorry for?” He smiled at me warmly, when I shrugged my shoulders, and the last of the ice on my heart melted away. "What do you say we go check out the pool house?"

  I nodded and left the truck again, anxious to discover another paradise. Edwin met me around the front of his truck and followed me down the recently cleared path. We walked past the massive house of glass to the log-built pool house, nestled along the tree lined forest on the far side of the yard.

  Steam escaped from the doorway when we hurried inside. The room felt like a sauna. I watched Edwin slide his jacket off. Then it was off with his sweater and t-shirt, in another swift motion. Damn. I nibbled on my bottom lip, with a new heat affecting me from the inside out.

  Edwin tossed his clothes over a pretty, white wicker chair. "Hey. Check this out," he said, lifting a pair spa robes out of the open faced lockers. "What do you say?”

  "I didn’t bring a bathing suit."

  "You don't need one," he informed me, then paused to smirk. His eyes slipped over my body, reminding me of the way he gawked at my nakedness earlier this morning. “Nothing I haven't seen before." Edwin stripped out of his pants and stood there looking like an underwear model, while I was still bundled up in my winter wear.

  Attempting to be as brazen as I claimed to be, I stripped down to my hottest panties and caught the thick, white terry robe when Edwin tossed it to me. Suddenly, while I wrapped it around my mostly naked body, Edwin dropped his drawers and flashed his amazing ass before my eyes. My eyes greedily consumed him, until he covered himself with the robe.

  "What are you doing?" I asked.

  "Oh. You didn't get a good enough look?" He flapped open the robe, flashing me his solid thigh.

  I knew what was hiding just behind that panel of fluff and it made my mouth grow dry. "That's not what I meant." I pointed at his shorts on the floor, to take my eyes from that delicious handout. "Those."

  "I don't want my underwear to get cold," he said, completely serious.

  Skinny dipping? Shit! I am so naïve.

  Edwin was definitely upping the ante and I greedily followed after him. It was absolutely frosty outside and I was instantly second guessing the idea of swimming in the middle of a winter wonderland. Edwin forged on, wasting no time. He hung his robe on a nearby hook and stood there buck naked in the dead of winter.

  Standing next to the pool in all his naked glory, he looked like a gorgeous gladiator; a work of art. Shattering my dreamy thoughts, he leapt in the pool, hugging his knee. A can-opener. Real mature. Half of the water splashed outside the pool, a few drops spraying me in the face, making me shiver.

  "Oh, yeah. This is nice," he said, with a wolfish grin.

  I dipped my toe in to test the water, even though he claimed it was perfect. The steam constantly escaping off the surface was another good indicator of the temperature. Edwin reached up for me and I scurried to back away from him.

  "Are you going to join me? It's downright hot in here."

  I checked out Edwin’s wet, nude muscles, and then turned away to work up some courage. I hooked my robe up, swathed my sharp nipples with an arm and looked to the main house.

  "No one's here, Abs. What are you afraid of? It's just you and me."

  That's exactly what I’m afraid of. I scowled at him over my shoulder and then slipped off my panties. Embracing my daring self, I dove right in. Pins and needles tickled every inch of my frozen body as I resurfaced.

  Edwin stayed at the far edge of the pool, with his arms casually stretched out at his sides. Besides his head, his hands were the only skin above the surface, attaching him to the pool ledge. I could see the full width of his chest just beneath the clear water. After slicking my wet hair back under water, I treaded in the middle of the pool, considering my next move.

  There was no turning back now. I am going to make a move.

  I swam closer to him, the splash of the water growing more intense with every risky stroke. His eyes dipped below the surface and I let him have his look. But I kept my distance, careful not to touch him, leaving a smooth blanket of water between us.

  Edwin locked his frosty, aqua eyes on mine and I watched his features harden before me. "I won't bite," he growled. His eyes darkened and he immersed his sexy stubble in the water, so his lips were partially submersed. "Unless you want me to."

  Under Edwin’s brooding spell I daringly swam closer, my lips now skimming the surface, mirroring his. When he released the wall, my razor-sharp nipples grazed his arm and I had to grip onto the edge of the pool to catch my breath. My fingers tingled from the cold, as my feet found a ledge to secure me to the wall. My fingers weren't the only things tingling.

  Edwin kept his back pressed against the pool wall, waiting for me to make the first move. My heart skipped erratically, as I considered telling him how badly I wan
ted him. My emotions flared as fiery as my lust, in sharp contrast to the cold air and the velvet water. A fire burned in my heart, as every thump dared me to lay it all out on the table.

  With a quick breath, I scooped the water behind me, and drove myself around Edwin, until my naked legs were spread on either side of him. My skin skimmed his, sending delightful bumps skipping down my arms and up my spine. My lashes fluttered shut and the atmosphere grew thick with desire. His. Mine.

  I lifted my eyes to meet his and held his gaze through dark, wet lashes. "I have something to tell you," I said, my voice soft and shaky.

  I flattened my palms on his chest to distract his dark stare, but he didn't remove that fathomless gaze from my face. My cheeks turned pink, but I forced myself to continue.

  "Last night you kissed me.” My teeth grazed over my bottom lip, as I remembered his chaste kiss. “I haven't been able to think about anything else since."

  A devious smile slanted across Edwin’s sexy lips, but he didn’t speak.

  “I feel like I'm under your spell and I can't lie to you."

  I felt his body stiffen, his confidence waning. "What are you saying then?"

  "I'm saying I'm still in love with you, Eddie."

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  I COULDN’T BELIEVE that the words had actually left my lips and I became too terrified to cover his mouth with mine. What if that's the last thing he wanted to hear? I held my last breath in my lungs, waiting for his response, feeling unpredictable, unprotected and free.

  Edwin didn't remark smartly or do anything to validate my feelings, and it only made me feel foolish to think that he might have felt the same way. I dipped my chin, humiliated by his lack of response. Then Edwin slipped deeper into the water and gently guided my chin upwards, forcing me to see him eye to eye. I knew that look. I recognized it well.

  When Edwin slowly leaned into me, my eyes fluttered shut, my body painfully aware of his nakedness. Then he kissed me. It was gentle at first, a reproduction of our innocent kiss from the club. Then his warm tongue trimmed my mouth and dipped inside. His large hand massaged over my breasts, as he swallowed my soft whimper.