Warped (The Manipulation Trilogy Book 2)

by Alicia Taylor

  Her question is directed at Ella but my beauty just looks to me for my answer. I nod my head. We’ve spoke about this already, and I know she’s just checking if I’d still like to know.

  “Yes please,” Ella answers.

  The nurse presses the wand deeper into her belly before she looks at us. “Congratulations, you’re having a girl.”

  “I knew it,” I shout.

  My smile is so fucking big it hurts my face, and as I look from Ella to my mum I know everything I’ve ever wanted, and everything my mum has ever wanted for me, is being given to me by Ella.

  Ella’s smile is breathtaking as she sobs and smiles at the same time. I stand and rush to kiss her all over her face. I’ve not felt this overwhelming protectiveness of love before now. This is a completely different kind of love.

  It must be a father’s love.

  I quickly wipe the goo from Ella’s belly with the tissues handed to me by the nurse. Once she clean enough I cup Ella’s bump and get face level. “Hi princess, I love you.” I kiss the bump before returning my lips to my beauty’s. “I love you, baby,” I say against her soft mouth.

  “I love you too, Damon.”

  “We’re getting a granddaughter.” I hear my mum say. I turn and look at her and see her sitting down, on the phone and crying happy tears. “A baby girl, George.”

  I smile and walk over to pull her into my arms.

  I fucking love my life.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  SEPTEMBER 12TH 2014

  ELLA

  We are sitting on the sofa watching a movie when Damon's phone rings. He leans forward and picks it up off the table, and frowns when he sees the name. I instantly know that it’s Leona. Hitting the button, he speaks into the phone.

  “Leona... What do you want?... Really?... Are you okay?... What happened?... Have you spoken to the police?... What am I meant to do?... I don’t see how me being there will help the situation Leona...Okay, I will see what I can do, but I’m busy with Ella at the moment... Bye.” With that he hangs up and places his phone back down on the table.

  “Everything okay?” I ask, and wait for his answer when he just stares at his phone for a minute.

  “Leona got attacked. She’s at the hospital,” he announces. “She said she wanted to see me.” He shakes his head, but I know part of him wants to go and see her.

  “Why don’t you just go see her, Damon?” I say. I trust him. I know I have no reason to be jealous of her and if she’s lying and not really at the hospital then Damon will see her for what she really is. He turns his attention to me at my words.

  “Do you think I should?” He looks at my face for reassurance that I am okay with him going. Part of me believes this is another one of her games, but another part of me wants to know for some reason if she really is hurt. I don’t know why he feels he has a duty to her. I don’t know what secrets they hold, but I want to. I nod my head that I do think he should go.

  Damon kisses me chastely before jumping to his feet and moving around the living room to gathering his things. When he reaches the table and bends to pick up his phone, he stops and looks at me with a frown.

  “Are you ready? Do you need me to get anything for you?” I look at him with confusion in my face, not understanding his question.

  “What do you mean Damon? Am I ready for what?” I ask. He walks over to me and bends over placing a quick kiss on my lips before speaking.

  “You’re coming with me, baby. I told you I won’t leave you again, and if I go and see Leona you’re coming with me.” I jump up and slip my feel into my ballerina pumps before taking his hand, and smile at him. I feel like I have won a small victory, even though I’m no longer playing a game.

  ****

  When we arrive at the hospital Damon helps me out of the car and takes my hand and we walk to the entrance. Just as we’re about to go in I spot a familiar face that shakes me to the core. I’m sure I just saw Simon, but it was too quick of a peek to actually tell if it really was him. I snuggle closer to Damon’s side and pray I’m wrong. We ask at the reception where Leona’s room is, and make our way up to see her.

  When we finally get to Leona’s room she is sitting up in bed. She has a bruise to her cheek, but other than that, she looks completely fine. When she sees Damon walk in, her face lights up with a smile which quickly turns to a scowl when she sees that I am standing beside him.

  “Leona, how are you feeling?” She completely ignores his question instead she glares at me.

  “What the fuck is she doing here?” she snaps. Damon’s grip on my hand tightens as he takes a step toward to the bed.

  “Leona, Ella is with me. If you can’t accept that then it is probably best if we leave.” He tells her calmly but I can see his mask slipping. She’s pissing him off. I let go of his hand, sit down in the chair, and place my bag on the floor. If she expects Damon to be here then I will be too. I’m going nowhere.

  Leona doesn’t take her eyes off me, and her scowl is firmly in place, as she silently fumes. I really struggle to stop myself from smiling at her.

  “Fine. Get the fuck out. NOW,” she screeches. Damon reaches for my hand and pulls me to my feet, before dragging me out the room without another word. I dig my feet into the ground to get his attention. He didn’t give me chance to pick up my bag, which I have left at the side of the chair.

  I pull my hand free of Damon’s and he turns to look at me.

  “Damon, go and speak to the nurses to find out what happened. I’ve left my bag so I’m going to run back and grab it.” He hesitates for a second as though he is wondering if he should let me go back in there alone, or if he should go for me. I raise my chin and dare him to object, but he reluctantly lets me go.

  When I get back to her room, I hear Leona on the phone. I stop outside for a second and listen to her conversation.

  “He fucking brought that slut with him... Can you believe it?... He actually had the nerve to walk in here holding her hand... I really thought this would work... Maybe you didn’t hit me hard enough... I don’t fucking know,” she says, her voice getting higher by the minute. “I don’t know okay... I have to go... Oh no, it’s not over, not by a long shot... I'm not letting him go without a fight... See you soon.” Leona hangs up and throws her phone down on the bed in a huff.

  I walk into the room, and gain her attention. Her head snaps up at me as I reach the chair and grab my bag. I give her a grin and turn to walk out without speaking. I ignore her vicious stare and as I get to the door I turn and look at her, really look at her. She really is a pathetic bitch.

  “What the fuck is your problem?” she asks. I have to hold back a laugh at how stupid this bitch is.

  “You won’t win Leona. Don’t you get it? He doesn’t love you, he will never love you. Damon is mine. If you want a fight I will give it back to you and then some. Except I will win because for some reason, he actually does love me, and nothing you say or do will ever ruin that.” I turn and push open the door not giving her the chance to reply before I leave.

  When I get to the nurse’s station, Damon is standing waiting, and I watch as a couple of nurses walk past and take in all that is Damon Hunt. It used to make me jealous to see women fawning all over him, but now I feel so special just knowing that this man has chosen me, for whatever reason I'm the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

  Damon really is mine.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  SEPTEMBER 19TH 2014

  I sit down on the sofa with a huff. I need some cherry pie. God damn, Flora. She’s got me addicted. No, not me, jellybean is addicted. I’ve tried cherry yoghurt, cherry bakewell tart, shop bought cherry pie, and even just plain cherries from a tub. Nothing works.

  I need cherry pie. Badly.

  I sigh and look towards Damon. He’s sitting at the table doing some work on his laptop, not paying me any attention. I shift, cross my arms and cross my legs, huffing and puffing as I move. I look back to Damon again and he’s watc
hing me with a smirk on his face, amusement shining in his dark gaze.

  “What?” I snap. He just doesn’t understand. This baby won’t let me settle without some pissing cherry pie.

  “What’s the matter, beauty? Why are you pouting?” I didn’t even realise I was. I don’t stop either.

  “I need some of your mum’s cherry pie,” I tell him casually. He smiles.

  “Okay. I’ll ring her in the morning and ask her to bake one. We’ll go pick it up.” He speaks to me like I’m a child and that just pisses me off. “It’s simple, beauty. So again, why the pout?” Casual doesn’t work. I’ll have to be blunt.

  “No. I need your mum’s cherry pie now. Right this second.” Damon laughs at me, but his smile soon falls when he takes in my expression. He just doesn’t get it. I don’t want the pie. His baby does. I’m restless because I’m craving pie. Damon’s mum’s cherry pie to be exact.

  Tears fill my eyes. Stupid hormones. I wish I didn’t have the bloody craving. It would be easier for me, but nothing, and I mean nothing, is satisfying me. The baby is sad to not be getting what she wants, and that makes my moods erratic. My stupid hormones make the stupid tears fall.

  Damon rushes over to me. He crouches down in front on me, cupping my face in his large hands. His thumbs brush each teardrop away as his eyes search mine.

  “Beauty?” He leans forward to kiss some of my tears away. “Why are you crying? What’s wrong?” he breathes against my ear.

  “The baby wants cherry pie. Your mum’s cherry pie.” I shut my eyes. I sound so stupid but it’s really how I feel. It’s like the baby’s emotions have taken over my brain. “I’ve tried everything we have that’s cherry flavour, and nothing works. I’ve needed it for two days now.”

  I can’t sleep. I can’t get comfortable. Nothing else appeals to me, and the thought of Flora’s juicy cherries covered in the sweetest cherry sauce I’ve ever tasted, wrapped in the tastiest, buttery short crust pasty known to man, are the only think I can think of.

  “I’ll get you a pie tomorrow, beauty.” I rest my forehead on his shoulder. He’s not listening to me.

  “I need it now. Not tomorrow. Not in an hour. I need it now.” I say in a small voice. I know I sound silly, but I can’t help it.

  “Okay. We’ll make one then, Ella. It can’t be hard.” Damon’s voice rings with such determination that my head snaps up. Did I hear that right? He can’t be serious? Then the smell of Flora’s pie takes over my senses and I shake my head. That won’t work.

  “No I need your mum’s. It has to be Flora’s.”

  “Then we’ll ring her. She can tell me what to do and I’ll make my woman and baby a pie.” He wipes my tears away and I laugh and sob at the same time. He’s amazing.

  Okay, so maybe I’m being over the top and it’s not all that amazing, it’s just cherry pie, but he is trying to help with the craving. I lean towards his mouth and lay a smacking kiss on his lips.

  “Thank you.” I pull back and smile. Damon nods whilst smiling. He stands and walks over to shut down his computer.

  “Why don’t you go have a soak on the bath? I’ll ring mum and get started on the pie.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  DAMON

  WHAT. THE. FUCK.

  What the actual fuck was that? Ella had a meltdown over cherry pie. Cherry fucking pie. I don’t even try to understand but if my girl wants pie, she’ll get pie.

  I walk in to the kitchen and there’s an open bakewell tart on the counter, still in the tin tray. A spoon is left lying on top of the tart, and the middle has been gouged out where the cherry should be. I laugh and shake my head.

  Fucking cherries.

  I’ll never understand women. Why not just ask for a fucking pie when the craving first started rather than wait days until she’s crying for it?

  I pull my phone out and hit dial on my parent’s house and wait for someone to pick up. How hard can a recipe be to follow? Dad and Spence will have a field day when they hear about this.

  “Hello.” My mother picks up after just a few rings.

  “Mum, its Damon.”

  “Hello, darling. Are you well?”

  “Yes. You?”

  “You know me, I’m always well. Your father is too.”

  “Mum I’m calling because I need your cherry pie recipe.” She stays silent for a minute. I know her brain is swimming with questions she won’t voice.

  “Okay, darling. Do you want me to get your father to computer it to you?” she asks seriously. I chuckle. She never fails to make me laugh.

  “You mean email it?”

  “Yes. You know what I mean. He can email it to you or I could help you...” she leaves her suggestion open, hoping I’ll fill her in a little more as to why her twenty-eight year old son, who has never baked a pie before, wants the recipe.

  “Is it easy?”

  “If you know what you’re doing.” Fuck.

  “Ella said the baby wants cherry pie. Your cherry pie to be specific. She just sat in the lounge crying the past ten minutes, so I’m going to bake her one.”

  “Do you want me to bake one for her, darling?” Mum asks. I check the time, 7pm. “I’ll have your dad bring it over before nine tonight.”

  “No, it’s alright Mum. Thanks though.” It’s getting late, and I can’t expect her to start baking now. I hang up after getting some strict instructions from my mum and look for everything I’ll need to make my beauty her fucking cherry pie.

  My phone beeps with an email. I pull it up and check the instructions with added on tips from my mum. I have to make the pastry? Fuck. Maybe mum should have made one. I pulse the flour, cubed butter, and sugar in the mixer to make the pastry.

  Flour clouds in the air around my face, coating me in a fine layer of white, when I press the pulse button on the mixer. “Fucking flour,” I mumble to myself as I try to wipe away as much as I can.

  “Need a hand?”

  I turn and find Ella leaning against the counter, a grin on her perfect fucking face. She’s sexy as hell. Standing there in sweats and vest, her hair is in a messy knot, no makeup. She looks like a goddess. My cock twitches as I take her in. Her braless tits hang free and as I stare, her nipples pebble. I fucking love her body’s response to me.

  “I thought you were going for a soak?” Her shit eating grin, along with her massive fucking owl eyes sends all my blood south. My eyes drift down her curves, taking in her expanding waist and rounded hips, our baby making her stomach round out with her growth. I wish I could see her arse. Fuck, her arse is fine.

  This girl is so far under my skin that it freaks me out at times. I want her every time she’s near, and I need to be balls deep in her. Those fucking lips are my undoing, and I have to taste her. I can’t fucking wait to marry her. She’s the best thing to happen to me, and I know I could lose it all in one hit, but I’ll do everything I can to get her so fucking hooked she can’t leave me when I tell her my secrets.

  I can’t fucking lose her.

  I won’t lose her.

  I have plans for her.

  “I’ve run it. I just wanted to see if you wanted help first.” She smiles at me and I nearly come like a horny teenager. Those fucking bee-stung lips always look well kissed and fucked. They don’t get bigger when she’s sucked my cock, because they’re as full as they can be all the time. She’s fucking incomparable.

  I stride over to her and take her in my arms, my hands gripping her arse to me. She fits me just right. She’s made for me. I look in her forest green eyes, outlined in long, black, thick lashes, and see love shining but I don’t know if it’s enough yet. She’s not ready to know the real me.

  I kiss the tip of her nose. She wraps her arms around my neck, and her tits press into my stomach. Fuck these tits are as perfect as her arse. I pull her closer to me, letting her feel my cock. It’s all for her. I don’t see other women any more. She’s fucking ruined me for all woman.

  “I’ve got this covered. I said I’d bake yo
u a cherry pie, and a cherry pie I will bake. You go and relax.” I release my grip on her arse and mould my hands to her stomach. My baby is starting to change her body now. She’s rounding more in places, getting curvier, not that I give a shit. I fucking love her curves. I love seeing the changes as she grows with my child.

  It’s still hard to believe a little person is growing inside her. Seeing the scan was mind-blowing. Not that I understood what I was seeing. The doctor tried pointing body parts out to me but it just looked like a gray ink blob on black paper. Ella fucking glowed, actually lit up, when she saw our baby again. Our daughter. Tears glistened in her eyes and she clung to my hand. She’s glowing now too.

  “I can’t wait to try it.” She looks up at me from under her lashes. The innocence that shines out of her drives me insane.

  I kiss the shit out of her, tasting her, controlling her. She melts into me. I grin against her lips. Her reaction is incomparable. I pull away when she starts to get carried away, rubbing up against me, grinding her pink pussy against me. Usually I’d be down for that shit. I’d never turn her down but I want to bake what my baby wants.

  I let her go and walk back over to the mixer. I put the lid on this time and pulse once again, looking over my shoulder and see her trying to catch her breath. I smile, satisfied that she’s in deep.

  “Maybe you could finish the pie later and join me in the bath first?” Ella’s voice husks. I’ll never finish the pie if I get her naked because I don’t plan to rush with her tonight. I lean on the counter pretending to consider her offer. I straighten up and walk over to her. A beautiful smile splits across her face. She thinks she’s going to get what she wants.

  I tap her on the tip of her nose, leaving a white flour dot behind, and shake my head. “Not going to happen. If the baby wants pie, the baby will get pie.” I turn her around and slap her arse, pushing her towards the stairs and get back to attempting my first ever cherry pie.