Warped (The Manipulation Trilogy Book 2)

by Alicia Taylor

  CHAPTER FORTY

  ELLA

  I wake feeling refreshed after my soak and nap. After soaking in the bubbles for half an hour, I was so relaxed I could barely keep my eyes open. So I didn’t, I slept for a few hours. My stomach grumbles, demanding the promised cherry pie. I pat my bump. Soon, jellybean. I go and empty my bladder before heading in search of pie.

  As I walk towards the kitchen the smells perfuming the air have my mouth watering. It’s seems Damon has done well. It smells exactly like Flora’s cherry pie does. I pick up my pace, needing to get to the pie ASAP.

  I round the bottom of the stairs and go straight to the kitchen. The pie sitting on the counter looks amazing. My mouth feels like it’s been taken over by a waterfall, and I’m sure if I just open my mouth saliva will gush out.

  My brain zones in on the pie and nothing else exists. I pull a spoon from the dishwasher and dig straight in. I moan as the flavours hit my taste buds. Damon will be making this on a regular basis. It’s perfect, just like his mum’s.

  I devour more than half the pie before my craving starts to ease. The baby is as satisfied as I am. I pick the remaining pie up, continuing to eat, and go in search of Damon.

  I hear him speaking on the balcony. He must be on the phone, so I make my way outside to find him. Damon must have heard my approach as he meets me at the door.

  “Beauty, good nap?”

  “Mmhmm,” I say, pushing another piece of pie in my mouth before continuing with my mouth full. “This is so good Damon. Thank you. I hope you don’t mind that I’ve nearly eaten it all?” Looking in the tray I only have two pieces left, I really have nearly eaten it all.

  I bring the spoon up with piece of cherry pie to Damon’s mouth, but pull it back at the last minute and eat it myself. Damon chuckles at me, his eyes twinkling.

  “You have a little something here.” Damon’s lips brush against mine before he licks the corner of my mouth. He sets my blood on fire and I need more. I turn my head slightly to connect my lips to his. I push my tongue into his mouth, and Damon groans against my lips before pulling away. “Hmmm, cherry. I didn’t think you could taste better beauty, but I was wrong.” I giggle at him before eating the last piece of pie.

  “Damon that was better than an orgasm. It was exactly like your mum’s.” Damon raises a brow with a smirk on his lips. “Well maybe not as good as orgasms you give me but better than ones before you. I’m hoping my night will be topped off with an orgasm on top of that orgasmic pie.” I pause and think a minute. “Maybe you should make another tomorrow so I could eat it off you?” I suggest, really liking that idea.

  Damon almost chokes before his eyes bulge out. It would almost be comical, if it wasn’t for the chuckle and other choking sounds behind him. I cover my face in mortification when I realise for the first time that we aren’t alone.

  Damon steps away from me and I notice who is here. A blush creeps up my neck, painting my cheeks pink as embarrassment sets in. Flora and George are watching us with warm smiles gracing their faces. I glare at Damon for not making me aware of their presence, but he just grins.

  “We were waiting for you to wake before we all have some cherry pie.” My mouth drops open in shock. I’ve just eaten it all. Shit. I’m so mortified, I just want to go back to bed and hide. I turn and look at Flora and George apologetically.

  “I’m so sorry. I’ve eaten it all. I didn’t realise you were here.”

  “No worries, dear.” Flora says in a motherly voice, with a warm smile. “I made three. I knew you’d need more. I remember what cravings are like.”

  So that’s why it tasted so perfect. I thought Damon had made it and he hadn’t. Flora had. I walk over to where they’re seated and place a kiss on both their cheeks in greeting before taking a seat. “Well in that case, Damon, why don’t you go cut some pie up seeing as you didn’t make it?” I smile at him as he chuckles.

  “Yes, beauty. Mine burnt. Mum must have known I wouldn’t have been able to do it, so she baked them for you. I didn’t think you’d eat one all by yourself though.” Damon says with a grin, before he enters the house. I roll my eyes.

  ****

  After George and Flora leave Damon and I go to bed. The evening has been pleasant and I’m full to the brim with pie. I’m so satisfied but stuffed. Damon’s pie didn’t come out right, but Flora, being the loving person she is, decided to bake some and bring them over even though Damon told her not to.

  “Beauty, next time you get cravings just tell me. Don’t let that shit stew until you’re sad. If our baby wants something, she will get it.”

  He grins at me before pulling me to him. He kisses my head before snuggling me in the crook of his arm, and my head rests on his shoulder.

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  SEPTEMBER 26TH 2014

  ELLA

  I’ve left it too late. Every time I’ve plucked up the courage to tell Damon about who I am, something comes up and I’ve not been able to. I know I have to tell him today, I know I do. I can’t let him marry me without him knowing everything.

  I feel sick to my stomach, and I know it has nothing to do with the baby and everything to do with the possibility of losing Damon. I just hope he can take it.

  I take a deep breath and make my way downstairs. The smell of cherry pie wafting through the air makes my mouth water, and I pick up my pace. Damon wanted to spend the final hours together before he goes to stay at Spencer’s house for the night. Sofia offered to come and stay with me, but I declined. I just want to sleep and be refreshed for the big day tomorrow. If all goes well when I tell him my secret.

  I go to the kitchen where Damon is standing, plating up Flora’s homemade cherry pie. I walk over to him and slip my arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. My baby bump makes it difficult to hold him tight but I try with everything in me. If this is the last time I get to hold Damon I want to make sure I make it count.

  “Beauty, you okay?” Damon asks. Bringing his hands down to hold mine, he entwines our fingers together, giving mine a gentle squeeze. I sigh knowing I could lose it all, but I can’t let him marry me without knowing the truth.

  “We need to talk Damon.” He turns in my arms, concern shining in his eyes but he tries to mask it with a smirk.

  “Cold feet?” Worry in his voice makes me swallow hard.

  “No, just... Damon I... I love you. I really do.” I sigh as tears fill my eyes. “I have to tell you some things about me. Who I was, who I am, why we met.” I stop when his eyebrows lower into a frown, and inhale deeply. “Damon you might want to call the wedding off but–” Damon cuts me off.

  “Never, beauty, I want to keep you forever. You know that.” His hands come up to cup my face, and his thumbs gently wipe away my tears.

  “These things I’m going to tell you aren’t nice Damon. I should have–” a sob breaks free choking my words away.

  “Shhh beauty.” He pulls me to him and wraps himself around me. I’ve never felt more loved and safe than when I am in Damon’s arms and just knowing I could lose this safety, this love I never believed I could have, makes me cry harder. I clutch his shirt, clinging to him. “I’ve got you, Ella.”

  Burying my face in his neck I inhale, trying to take him into me, trying to breathe him into my soul. Damon’s phone rings but he ignores it, and just continues to hold and comfort me. I feel his lips brush against my hair as he rocks us.

  When my tears finally subside, Damon pulls away slightly. He lifts my chin until I look into his eyes, and the love glistening in his takes my breath away. How did I ever get so lucky? How did I ever get this man?

  “Ella, whatever it is, whatever you need to tell me won’t make a bit of a difference. I love you. I.Love.You.” he says with so much conviction. “I’m keeping you and nothing will change that. Ever.” He kisses me chastely, never taking his eyes from mine, brown to green.

  “You don’t know that.” I say in a small voice. “I... Damon.” His phone ringing again cuts me off. Damon fr
owns but waits for me to continue. “When we met I was so lost, so hurt. I was surrounded by darkness but I...” I don’t know how to say this, and I don’t know how to explain.

  “Do you love me, beauty?”

  “Yes.” I say without hesitation and I mean it.

  “That’s all that matters then.” He kisses me again before pulling back and smiling.

  “We really need to talk Damon.”

  “We will, beauty, after you eat.”

  “Okay.”

  “Does our girl want some cherry pie?” His phone ringing again prevents me from answering.

  “Maybe you should get that? It could be important.”

  “Nothing is more important than you, Ella.’ I stare at him until he sighs. He pulls his phone from his pocket and looks at the caller ID, frowning again. He rejects the call before pocketing it.

  “Pie?” he asks. I laugh and nod my head.

  I lift myself up to rest on the edge of the counter, my legs swinging as I wait for Damon to dish up my pie.

  Damon feeds me, enjoying my reaction to the delicious cherry dessert as much as me(I). His eyes darken with desire with every moan that slips past my lips. He kisses me between each piece, and he groans against my mouth.

  “Fuck, beauty. What you do to me?” He shakes his head in wonderment. I giggle at him, placing a chaste kiss on his lips before hopping down to get a drink.

  I’m filling up a glass of milk when Damon’s phone goes off again. Obviously the caller needs to speak with him to keep bombarding his phone like this. I sigh and turn towards Damon. His jaw is clenched tight, his eyes are strained.

  “Damon, just answer your goddamn phone.” He doesn’t respond but he does pull his phone out and answer the call.

  “What?” he snaps. His eyes widen as panic shines bright within his golden eyes. My heart rate spikes with nerves. “No,” he gasps. “I’m coming... don’t do it... just wait for me.” His face pales as he listens to whoever he’s speaking with. “I’m coming.” He starts to exit the kitchen with me hot on his tail. What the hell is happening? “Leona, just wait. I’m coming... no I’m on my way now. I’m just leaving... I’ll see you soon.” He hangs up the phone and starts slipping his shoes on.

  Leona? Surprise, surprise. I knew she wouldn’t keep away. She’s fucking manipulating him. Anger begins simmering in my veins, a storm brewing.

  “Damon, we need to talk,” I tell him as calmly as I can. “Now. Before we get married. I can’t marry you without talking about some things first.” Damon just carries on as if I haven’t spoken. I walk over to him and place my hand on his arm as he starts putting on his coat. “Damon, I’m serious.” He sighs before looking at me.

  “Ella, I can’t do this right now,” he sighs.

  “We’re getting married tomorrow.” I point out still as calmly as I can.

  “I need to go.”

  “Will she always come first?”

  “No, beauty.”

  I snap. I need him to listen to me for a minute. I turn and walk away from him. I guess the wedding is off after all, not because of my past but because of Leona. Because he won’t know the truth if he goes to her now. I should have known something like this would happen. Damon growls, his footsteps following after me.

  “I don’t have time for this, Ella. This isn’t about you and me, it’s about Leona. She needs me.” Wrong thing to say buddy!

  Really? Because in case you forgot we’re getting fucking married tomorrow, and you’re leaving me once again for that bitch!” I shout. “Well guess what? I can’t marry you, and won’t because I will NEVER be third to my husband, and I won’t let my baby be second best. That doesn’t work for me. I needed to speak with you and you won’t listen. Well I can’t marry you.” I storm up the stairs trying to get away from him. My anger isn’t simmering now, it’s boiling. That woman will never be out of my life.

  “Second best? Ella, you’re overreacting. It’s not like that. Look, I love you, you know that. Nothing you say will change my mind. I want you to be Mrs. Hunt tomorrow. Just...” he sighs, his voice softening. ‘I have to do this, beauty. She’s not in a good place at the minute, and I can’t let anything happen to her. It’s not about us, it’s about her state of mind.

  “You don’t get it Damon. She isn’t your problem.” I swish my hands between us. “This is the problem. You always running off when she beckons.” I close my eyes for a moment. “What kind of hold does she have on you?”

  “Beauty I’m yours, all yours. Why can’t you see that?”

  “Because when it matters, you choose her,” I say defeated. “We really need to talk before the wedding Damon and after what I’m going to tell you, you probably won’t want to marry me anymore.” My throat tightens.

  “Never. It will never happen, Ella. You’re it for me. I don’t just love you, beauty, I fucking breathe you, and I live for you. I wake for you, baby. I am yours.” Tears spill from my eyes. God I love this man. The things he says, what he does to me. He’s it for me too.

  “Damon.” My voice breaks. He walks to me and takes me in his arms.

  “I love you, beauty. Always.”

  “I know.” And I do know. I do believe him when he says it. I can hear it in his voice, and see it in his eyes.

  “I have to go,” he says into my hair. ‘I’ll see you at Mum’s tomorrow. I can’t wait to see you, beauty, and to be able to call you mine. Forever.”

  “I’m already yours, Damon,” I mumble into his chest. I pull back and give him a watery smile.

  “I don’t want to leave you like this, Ella. I don’t want you sad.” He looks so torn and that’s when I know, I know, I’m not second best. He loves me and there is nothing Leona can do to come between us. I stand up on my tip-toes and place my lips to his.

  “I love you,” I whisper against his lips. Damon goes to deepen the kiss but I pull away. “Go. Do what you’ve got to do and I’ll see you tomorrow.” I bury my head in his neck and take in his scent.

  “I miss you already. We’re never spending another night apart again after tonight. I need you by my side. Always.” That’s all I needed to hear because I feel exactly the same.

  I step away from him and smile. “I’m going to take a bath and get to bed. I need some beauty sleep.” I laugh, trying to lighten our last moments together.

  “You can’t improve perfection, beauty. I love you.”

  After a longer and more passionate kiss, Damon leaves.

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  DAMON

  I slam my fist against the steering wheel as I wait at the traffic lights. What the fuck am I doing? I’m yet again running to fucking Leona when my girl needs me. I don’t for one minute believe that she’s going to take her life but I need to make sure. I’ve made that mistake before and I won’t make it again.

  I make the fifteen minute drive to Leona’s in just under ten. I put the car in park and run to her front door, pounding on it. This is fucking déjà vu.

  “Leona, open the fucking door.” I continue to pound as I wait for her to answer. She throws the door open muttering under her breath. I storm past her into the house before turning on her. “What the fuck was that?” I growl.

  “Don’t marry her, baby.” She walks over to me and tries to press herself against me. “I can make you happy.” I grip her arm and push her away from me.

  “You have got to be shitting me. That fucking phone call was a ploy to get me here to ask me not to marry the woman I love? You’re out of your fucking mind.”

  “She isn’t right for you, Damon. We fit together. We belong together.” Tears fall down her cheeks but I know they’re not real. I’ve seen her crocodile tears too many times to be fooled.

  “She’s who I want, Leona. It’s time you accept that.”

  “You love me too or you wouldn’t be here now, on the night before your fucking wedding Damon. You can’t keep away either.”

  “I’m here because you said you were going to end your fucking life, Le
ona. You know the shit I’ve been through. You knew which cards to play.”

  “I love you, Damon. You know I do. No one can love you like I do.” I’ve heard those fucking words before and she fucking knows it. This is all a goddamn game to her, and I’ve had enough of games. I need to leave. I can’t believe I left beauty for this.

  I turn to walk away but her words stop me in my tracks. “I won’t let you marry her. I’ll tell her everything Damon, and I’ll go see her right fucking now,” she says calmly.

  My blood runs cold. She can’t fucking do this to me. I won’t let her take my only slice of heaven away. Ella and our baby mean everything to me and I could lose it all because of this bitch. I stride over to her and grab her arm, shaking her.

  “The fuck you will. Why are you doing this, Leona?” I snap at her.

  “BECAUSE YOU’RE MINE,” she screeches.

  “I’M NOT,” I roar back. She has to see this is all wrong. If she loved me she wouldn’t want to take away my only happiness.

  She slams her fist into my chest again and again screaming incoherent words. She sounds fucking crazy, and I need to put a stop to this shit right now. I calm my voice and try to reason with her.

  “If I lose it all so do you. You think that would make me want you? By taking everything from me?”

  “You were mine before she came along. Why did she have to ruin everything? She doesn’t fucking deserve you, no one does.”

  “I’m the one who doesn’t deserve her, Leona. She’s done nothing but love me. She’s the fucking innocent one here.” I tell her and I mean it. Ella is the only innocent person in all this shit.

  “Then leave her. Be with me. We deserve each other. We can be just as happy together.”

  “No we can’t.”

  “You only have one choice Damon, or I tell her everything. Everything.” She emphasises that word, letting me know what she means by saying everything. “Don’t marry her, leave her at the altar and come to me. Be mine. Her heart will hurt but someone will come along and put the pieces back together for her.”