Double Betrayal (Surviving Book 3)

by Frost, Ada

  “You don’t have to be shy. Em sleeps like the dead; she won’t hear a thing.” She stepped toward me, allowing the sheet I hadn’t noticed wrapped around her, to fall. She stood stark naked in front of me. I stepped back and averted my eyes. The woman made me sick. “Unlike me. I heard everything last night. Made me all hot and bothered; I couldn't sleep when I heard you grunting. I had to slide my hand –”

  “Stop! I’m not listening to this.” I turned to walk away and she snagged my arm.

  “Did you get off to thoughts of me, fucking me? I got you riled up, didn't I? That’s why you pounced on her the minute you went upstairs.”

  I laughed. What else was there to do? The bitch was delusional and hilariously misguided.

  She crossed her arms over her chest, thankfully shielding some of her body. “What the fuck is so funny?”

  “You are. Quite pathetically funny. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to go upstairs to see my woman.” I grabbed the bag from the counter, annoyed I couldn't take her a drink. Note to self, pick up fucking coffee next time.

  “Fuck her all you want, William; I know it’s my bed you’ll end up in.”

  “My name isn’t William.”

  “What is it, then?”

  “None of your concern, seeing as you’ll never need to use it.” I closed the lounge door behind me to her muffled voice. She was one twisted bitch. I climbed the stairs two at a time. When I opened the door to Emily’s bedroom, she was hugging a pillow. Her face rested against the soft material and her eyes were fixed on me. I held up the brown paper bag.

  “I brought you breakfast, but the demented guard dog prevented me from making you a drink, so next time I’ll get takeout.”

  Her slow, lazy smile warmed me from my chest outward. But the doubt in her eyes crippled me.

  “Where did you go?” She ran her eyes up and down my body like an intimate caress before wrinkling her nose. I knew my shirt was soaked through with sweat. I opened my mouth to apologise and ask if I could use her shower, but she beat me to it.

  “You ran? In the morning?”

  I chuckled and crouched down in front of the bed. I pressed a kiss to her lips. “I need to do some exercise to keep my giant body in shape, so you still find me irresistible.”

  She rolled onto her back, stretching her arms above her head, making the comforter slip down her gloriously naked body. I could see tiny little red marks where I had sucked on her soft skin. I couldn't help smiling. I had marked her as mine. My girl!

  “I had a giant between my legs last night, so I don’t even think walking is possible for me at the moment,” she said in a breathy yawn.

  “A giant, you say.” I leaned over her, taking her ripened nipple in my mouth. The soft moan coming from her throat had my cock hardening. “Was he a master? Did he make you come, pixie-girl?” I nipped her peak, making her gasp and clutch my wet hair. I needed a fucking shower.

  “He’s the master of my body.”

  “I like the sound of that.” I moved up her body, needing to feel her mouth against mine. She opened for me almost instantly, tangling her tongue with mine. Her hands again slid into my hair and I was acutely aware of how sweaty I was.

  “Pix, let me shower. I feel gross.”

  “You don’t feel gross to me.” She peppered kisses down my neck, licking at my skin. She made a humming noise in her throat, teasing little devil. I pulled away quickly and pointed at her.

  “You little minx.” I pointed down at my hard-on. She giggled and buried her face in the pillow. “Eat your breakfast and, hopefully, your idiot sister will have disappeared so I can make you a hot drink.”

  She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and stood. Creamy skin, naked and beautiful, captured my interest. Her rosy nipples were pointing at me, begging for attention. She grabbed a robe and hid the goodies away from me.

  “I’ll go make us some drinks.”

  “Okay, but I want you naked back in this bed for when I'm nice and clean for you.” She walked to the door, shimmying her hips. She glanced over her shoulder with a coy grin on her face.

  “But don’t you know, baby, I like it when you’re dirty.” I lunged for her but she giggled and ran out the door. I stood staring at the closed door with a huge grin on my face. Rarely did dreams come true, but I thought I had found the girl of my dreams. I shook my head out of sappy thoughts when my phone pinged.

  I picked it up. I had a few messages.

  Ryan: We running in the a.m?

  Johan: Lunch with mom, dad, and Ry?

  Mom: Where is the laundry detergent? Your room is a mess.

  I smiled at mom’s message. It was some ingrained shit with her. I’m thirty-five, and she still thought she needed to pick up my dirty socks. Then my eyes caught sight of another message and immediately my good mood fucked off.

  Marissa: We need to talk. You can’t avoid me forever Will. I love you.

  I forwarded the message to my lawyer in the States. He was dealing with the divorce, seeing as Mar was fighting me on it. She still insisted we could work it out. I insisted there wasn’t a hope in hell it would ever work. Besides, I’d officially moved on. Em was my future. I slumped down onto the bed as reality hit me in the stomach. My initial plan was to stay here for a while, spend time with Jo and his family, before moving back to the States. But what now? Em wouldn’t leave Izzy behind to come back with me and I couldn't stay here – could I? I mean, we hardly knew each other. A permanent move to the UK would be insane after knowing her a few months. What if we didn't work out? What if –

  “Get a fucking grip, dickhead. She isn’t even asking you to stay,” I muttered.

  “Who isn’t?”

  I snapped my head up to stare into clear blue eyes.

  “Nothing, it’s nothing.” I stood and went to walk past her. Her eyes dimmed and the corners of her mouth dropped. I lifted her chin to look at me. “You would never leave the UK to go live in the States, would you?”

  Her eyes widened to the size of coins. She opened her mouth and closed it again. I could see in her eyes I had shocked her. “Not without Izzy, no.”

  I bobbed my head and pursed my lips. I’d known the answer, but it still stung. “I thought so.” I pressed my lips to her forehead and headed to the bathroom.

  “Would you…” her voice was urgent before the pause. She took a deep breath and looked bravely into my eyes. “Would you stay here? In the UK, I mean?”

  I turned my body fully toward her. “Would you want that?”

  She knotted her fingers together and stared at the ground. “Jo and Lou are here; it would be great for them if you stayed.”

  A lump fell like lead into my stomach. I nodded. I couldn't speak, so I turned and opened the bathroom door.

  “And I want you to stay.” The words exploded out of her mouth like verbal gunpowder. I spun around. She had her hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have said that. It’s selfish –”

  In one stride I stood before her, cupped her face and slammed my lips against hers. She clung to my sweaty body, lifting onto tiptoes. She still needed more, so she stepped onto my feet and hoisted herself against me. I smiled against her mouth, loving how impatient she was.

  “I want to stay, for you. For us.”

  She released a breath.

  “Well, that’s a relief,” she said, deflating in my arms, as if all her energy and despair was evaporating from her. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her to me. “I only came upstairs to ask you how you took your coffee, and maybe get a look at your bare arse.”

  I shook with laughter. “Cream, no sugar.”

  “Milk will have to do; I haven’t got any cream.”

  I pressed a kiss to her mouth and nodded. I didn't want to let her go.

  “You smell pretty bad,” she whispered, her nose crinkled in the cutest way.

  “I did warn you.”

  “Okay, stinky, go shower.” She turned to head down the stairs, but before she did, she looke
d at me conspiratorially, leaned toward me and whispered, “Lock the door, there’s a rampant sex kitten after your body. And her wicked twin can’t be trusted, either.” She blew me a kiss and skipped down the stairs.

  God, I lo–

  I froze and gripped my chest. Fuck, I’d done the impossible and allowed a tiny magical pixie to break my number one rule. Never fall in love – again.

  Fuck me!

  Like a weird stalking creeper, I listened as the boiler hummed and I could hear the water running upstairs. As soon as it stopped, I was going upstairs to lick him dry. I didn’t care that I ached like mad and my legs felt like wobbly jelly. As I poured milk into Will’s coffee, I could feel Rhea’s eyes tracking me, haunting my every move.

  “He just came on to me you know. We could have been –”

  I slammed the spoon down on the side. I spun around and glared at her.

  “Me looking after your daughter does not come with a side of you shagging my boyfriends. Grow up, Rhea; it’s getting real bloody old, you acting like a spoilt slapper. If he wanted you, he would have bent you over the kitchen table, seeing as there was little to stop him in the way of clothes. And you are paying for my sofa to be steam cleaned after your bare arse was all over it last night.” Her stunned face was laughable. “Yes, sister dearest, I came down last night for a glass of water; all the exercise had me parched. You were sprawled out like a nude model. I saw more of your cooch than I ever have of my own.” I crinkled my nose in disgust and shuddered dramatically.

  “What the fuck?”

  “I heard you this morning, Rhea. I couldn’t see, but let me guess, you stripped your robe and gave him the ultimate come to bed spiel. Did he fall for it? Are you going to tell me the man upstairs was between your thighs fucking you while his clueless girlfriend was upstairs?” I sniffed around her. “I smell total and utter bullshit.”

  She stepped toward me and squared her shoulders. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but remember who you are talking to and what I can do.”

  “I know who it is I’m talking to. And you can do absolutely nothing. Will isn’t interested in you, Rhea; get a fucking clue.”

  “I’m not talking about the drippy twat upstairs. I’m talking about the little freak you love so much.”

  It was my turn to challenge her. I pressed my finger into her chest hard and pushed. I danced gleefully inside when I saw her flinch. “Izzy isn’t a freak. She’s beautiful, intelligent, and –”

  “Qualities she gets from her parents. You do remember who her mum and dad are? Not you; your kid died. Too fucking weak to even carry a kid to term. Stop trying to replace your fuck up –”

  My hand reared back and before I could stop it, cracked against her cheek. I pulled my stinging palm back toward me and cradled it against my chest. The sting on my hand was nothing to the pain her words had caused. I was shaking from head to toe.

  Rhea cupped her cheek and glared at me. Her eyes were watery, but I knew they weren’t tears of sadness; more like the slap bloody stung. She was too cold to fucking cry tears of regret.

  “You are going to pay for this, Emily.”

  “Send me the fucking bill, you silly cow. Now get out of my house.”

  “I’m waiting for –”

  “Now!” I screamed. I refused to cry in front of her, and the pain of her words hit so hard it had felt like a physical blow.

  She opened her mouth to argue, but Will filled the room with his presence. “You heard her; get out, or I will throw you out.” He stepped toward her and the dark look in his eyes had me flinching away from him.

  She huffed out a disgruntled sound and cast me one last glare before pushing past his mighty body. He glanced at me and smiled reassuringly. Slowly, he turned to escort Rhea out of the house. I slumped against the kitchen work surface. I hugged my arms around myself, feeling the black hole of despair taking its hold on me. I felt empty and broken again. I was eighteen, lost and alone.

  “Why have you never fought for custody of Izzy? You could have Rhea—”

  “I don’t want to talk about that right now.”

  He regarded me for a few moments before nodding his acceptance of my need for quiet.

  “What time is Izzy due home?” Will’s voice startled me. I looked up into his face; his lips were pressed tight together. His hands inched toward me. He wrapped them around my shoulders and pulled me against his chest. His clean, comforting scent swathed me in warmth.

  “In about an hour.” My voice was embarrassingly shaky and weak.

  “Okay, go upstairs and get dressed. We are going to go get your baby girl.”

  “I can’t –”

  “Jack has an issue, he can take it up with me. You need Izzy at the moment, and I need her to bring back your smile.”

  I stared into his eyes. His arms tightened around me, his unwavering support obliterating any defence against the emotions trying to break free. A fat tear escaped and rolled down my cheek. I closed my eyes and started to lower my face, but Will’s warm lips captured the lone tear. I slid my arms around his waist, buried my face in his chest, and released my hurt. I purged my body of Rhea’s words, of my anxiety of losing Will, and the fear of Izzy being taken from me. Will’s large hands comforted me. One ran circles against my back, the other held me firmly against him, a tight embracing cocoon of comfort.

  “You would have made a great mom to Clara. Never doubt that. God decided he needed another angel. Nothing was your fault.”

  I gripped his shirt and sobbed louder.

  “When you have kids –”

  I started shaking my head, but Will slid his hands between us and cupped my face. He dipped his head so we were eye to eye. “When you have kids, Emily, you can tell them about Clara, about how beautiful she was. Never be ashamed to talk about her. She was your daughter. Don’t let Rhea destroy that.”

  I grasped his wrists in my palms. I couldn’t even wrap my fists around them.

  “Will,” I pleaded.

  “Don’t cry, pixie; let me fix this. Let us go pick Izzy up from her dad’s and take her somewhere. Where will she want to go?”

  “I don’t know,” I choked; my throat was scratchy.

  “What about the movies? I looked it up online. They do special screenings with subtitles.”

  My heart skipped, stuttered, then galloped at full speed. I stared at his handsome face. His stubble was wild and his ears started to turn pink as I just gawped at him.

  “You are too perfect; you know that, right?”

  “Nah, I fart too much.”

  I giggled and pressed my face into his shirt. His deep chuckled echoed through his broad chest.

  “You don’t have to do this. Izzy and Jack will be back soon, anyway.” I wiped my eyes.

  “No, you’re right; I don’t have to. I want to. Besides, I got the kid some ginger snaps and I’m dying to try them.”

  “You…you got Izzy something from the bakery, too?”

  “Obviously, my girls like me more when I bring them treats. She loved the flower; bring a chick candy and I’m a god.” He stood back and made a ridiculous muscle pose. I covered my mouth as laughter burst free.

  “You’re ridiculous.”

  “But you love me, right?”

  The room came to an instant halt as we stared at one another. My ears buzzed with the deafening silence. His face paled, and we stayed glued to the spot. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs‘ Yes, in fact I do love you, so bloody much my heart is about to explode.’ But the stunned looked on his face and the lack of heat and look of total fear in his beautiful emerald eyes made me feel sick. It was obvious it was a slip of the tongue and he really didn’t mean to say it, or imply there was more between us.

  “It’s okay, I get it; you’re not there yet. I can wait.” With those words, he turned and headed upstairs. Like a fish out of water, I opened my mouth, closed it again and repeated, then gasped for air as what he’d implied sank in. I reached out a hand to stea
dy myself on the counter. He couldn’t mean… could he?

  A few seconds later, he came downstairs wearing a sweatshirt.

  “Go get dressed, we have Izzy to collect.” I nodded numbly at him and headed through the kitchen into the lounge. Just as I reached the door to the stairway, his voice drifted through the thick fog in my brain.

  “And just a heads up, what I just said, so we’re both clear and your mind isn’t playing fucked up tricks with you, because I ain’t a fan of that shit, what you’re thinking I meant, stick with it, we have time. I will wait for you to understand where this is going. But make sure you know one thing, pixie-girl: I’m here to stay.”

  I gripped the wooden frame of the door so hard I was sure to feel splinters.

  “Am I making myself clear?”

  “You want me?”

  “Pix –”

  “You want me!” I laughed. Skip, flip, beat, my heart danced a wild tune at his words. When my smile became uncontrollable and spread across my face, Will graced me with his devilish grin. When I saw a line of perfectly white teeth, I ran at him and launched myself into his body. He wrapped his arms around my waist and hauled me from the floor. I wrapped my legs around him and peppered kisses over his face and neck.

  He chuckled, clutching me to him. “I think I should take you upstairs and help you dress.”

  But when we got upstairs, it was me helping him undress.

  ***

  “Mummy-Emmy, can I have popcorn and a Coke?” Izzy jumped up and down, holding her paper bag of sweets. She was ecstatic to be on another ‘date’ with Will and me.

  “No, you already have –”

  “Oh, come on; a movie isn’t the same without popcorn and soda.” He pulled out his wallet and stepped toward the counter.

  “Will,” I called, reaching for my purse. He’d already paid for the pick and mix, and let me tell you, gold costs less, and he also bought the tickets. Izzy stood beside him and tugged on his jacket.

  “Yes, my little pumpkin?” She giggled, completely smitten, and a total traitor because she no longer listened to a word I had to say.

  “Can we have sweet? I don’t like the other stuff.” She made a face. The little minx. I purposely bought the unsweetened stuff so she didn’t get a sugar rush.