Out of the Darkness (Untwisted #2)
Page 19
‘Rebecca left me shortly afterwards … she’s gone home, Nathan,’ Nicholas murmured thickly.
‘She’s OK?’ I demanded.
‘She’s not OK, but she’s not dead if that’s what you mean,’ he confirmed grimly. ‘She’s furiously mad and massively disappointed with me and she’s going to have some bruises tomorrow, but she’s basically fine.’
My back sagged with relief at this news, thank fuck for that. For a few minutes there, I thought I was going to be dealing with the aftermath of something far worse than a bruised arse.
Nicholas was frantically tugging at his hair again, his eyes wild and darting around endlessly. ‘I drew blood, Nathan, I fucking drew blood.’ Suddenly as if remembering something Nicholas began to look agitatedly at his trousers, searching across the fabric in the dim light of the lamp. A scrambled yelp left his throat and then Nicholas jumped to his feet. ‘Fucking hell!’
He practically ripped his trousers off, I assume because he found some of Rebecca’s blood there, and flung them across the room before collapsing on the sofa and staring at me.
‘What the hell have I done, Nathan? Why did you tell me to finish with her?’ His voice no longer held the anger of earlier, now he simply seemed to be pleading for answers that I couldn’t really give him.
‘Nicholas, I’m sorry things worked out this way. Christ, I never meant for this shit to happen, but basically you’ve done the right thing, the way we grew up … the beatings from Dad … we’re never going to be normal, Nicholas,’ I explained with absolute belief in my words.
‘Rebecca accepted me for who I am. Now I’ve lost her I realise just how much I need her,’ he murmured, looking at me as if imploring me to believe him.
‘Did she know about our past? About Dad? About your suicide attempt?’ I asked, feeling like a complete shit for going down this line with him, but Nicholas needed to understand how things stood, he was damaged, just as I was, relationships for us would never work out in the long run.
‘No, she didn’t. But she was so fucking amazing, she would have understood. I’ve never felt trust like that before, Nathan. I think I fucking love her and now she never wants to see me again.’
My eyes widened. Love? Holy shit, this was so much more intense than I had expected. But love? Could we love? My broken brother and I? After everything we’d been through at the hands of our own supposed loved ones? My eyes narrowed as I thought about my relationship with Stella. Would it ever move beyond a physical need for me? Wincing as I thought back guiltily to her hurt expression as she left I wondered if it already had, but dismissed the ridiculous idea with a scowl.
‘You know I respect you more than anyone in the world, Nathan, but I think you’re wrong on this one, and I think I was a fool to follow your advice,’ Nicholas said, laying himself down on the sofa and covering his eyes with a bent arm.
Shaking my head, I narrowed my eyes as Stella’s face refused to fade from my mind. Fuck. Was I wrong? Was it possible that we could love and need someone as he was suggesting?
No, no. I didn’t think I was wrong, and I was fairly sure that, given time, Nicholas would understand too and see that I was correct. Even with my conviction in this belief, I couldn’t seem to erase the hurt look Stella had given me as she’d left, which wasn’t helping my head to clear at all. I wasn’t used to these feelings that seemed suddenly lodged in my chest, but it probably came pretty close to what normal people would describe as affection. Screwing my eyes shut I tried to shake it off, but only succeeded in making the bruise on my head throb. Fuck. Now not only did I have to try and sort out my brother’s mess, I also had to deal with the very real possibility that just as I was developing a meaningful relationship for the first time in my life I’d probably pissed Stella off so much that I might never see her again, a thought that actually made my stomach churn with anxiety. Christ, what the hell was I doing advising my brother on relationships when I was clearly no better off? This whole night had been totally screwed up. But as I sat staring at my distraught brother whilst simultaneously panicking that Stella was gone for good I rephrased my last thought – it wasn’t the night that was screwed up, it was me.
Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed this book please review on Amazon to help spread the word!
If you are keen to find out if Nathan and Stella can overcome their issues and continue their passionate relationship then the story continues in Into The Light, Book Three of The Untwisted Series, out soon!
I write for my readers, so I’d love to hear your thoughts, feel free get in touch with me:
E-mail: aliceraineauthor@gmail.com
Twitter: @AliceRaine1
Facebook: www.facebook.com/alice.raineauthor
Website: www.aliceraineauthor.com
When I write about my characters and scenes, I have certain images in my head. I’ve created a Pinterest page with these images in case you are curious. I hope you enjoy this little glimpse into Nicholas and Nathan’s world. You can find it at http://www.pinterest.com/alice3083/
You will also find some teaser pics for upcoming books to whet your appetite!
Alice xx
The story continues in
Into the Light
Nathaniel Jackson and Stella Marsden’s complex and intensely erotic relationship continues in Into the Light, the third novel in the highly addictive Untwisted series, following from The Darkness Within Him and Out of The Darkness .
As Nathan and Stella try to continue their casual ‘no strings attached’ meetings, Nathan begins to uncover something inside himself he thought he’d never experience, and as Stella falls harder for him, he discovers his jealous side – throwing their potential relationship into turmoil when he tries fighting against his own emotions.
When a misunderstanding threatens their entire relationship, Nathan needs to get past his engrained, cold behaviour influenced by his abusive father, and learn to finally let Stella into his heart – or risk losing her forever.
The Darkness Within Him
If you enjoyed Fifty Shades of Grey or Bared to You, you will love the Untwisted series which starts with The Darkness Within Him and follows the highly addictive relationship between Nicholas Jackson and Rebecca Langley.
A dizzying, all-consuming affair with famous pianist Nicholas Jackson drew in bookshop owner Rebecca Langley, engulfed her with his passion and dominance, and then spat her out heartbroken and bruised.
Now, Rebecca is left trying to move on from the relationship she shared with Nicholas, but just as she starts to clear her head, he reappears in her life determined to win her back.
But seeing as Nicholas has already shown once that the darkness within him is lurking just below the surface, can Rebecca really take that risk again with her heart and body?
Out of the Darkness
Out of the Darkness is the second novel in the highly addictive Untwisted series that begun with The Darkness Within Him.
Businesswoman Stella Marsden has put her personal life on hold to further her career. But all work and no play leave Stella realising that she misses a man.
Deciding to seek out a no-strings attached relationship, Stella joins Club Twist with the aim of finding some stress-relieving fun.
What Stella finds is the sexy, cool and domineering Nathaniel Jackson. Nathaniel appears to have it all together, but under the surface, he’s struggling to deal with a past he’d rather forget.
Can Stella lead him Out of the Darkness…
The Untwisted Series
For more of our titles please visit our website
www.accentpress.co.uk
Published by Accent Press Ltd
ISBN 9781783756650
Copyright © Alice Raine 2014
The right of Alice Raine to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
The story contained within this book is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author
’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be copied, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the written permission of the publishers:
Accent Press Ltd, Ty Cynon House, Navigation Park, Abercynon CF45 4SN
Published by Accent Press Ltd – 2014