Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  Ellie wondered how long he'd been sitting there. Had he witnessed the kiss?

  "Lady Luck seems to love riding Me." he shrugged broad shoulders, his gaze lancing through Ellie, making her feel naked and vulnerable. "I keep hoping I won't fuck it up, but knowing me," he shrugged again, this time the gesture brought him to his feet. "It's only a matter of time."

  "And I'll be there to pick up the pieces when you do."

  Nicholas mirthlessly grinned. He leaned his hip against the banister and shoved his hand in his front pockets. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

  Ellie felt like she was standing in a middle of the biggest dick contest. Like testosterone driven boys, who thought no further than the size of their cocks! "Honestly, you're both acting like imbeciles." She said, her exasperation putting a chink in the tension that had managed to box them in. "Dev, it's late and I think you and I are done here, so please, leave."

  "Ellie,"

  "Just go!"

  Before he walked out Devlin turned around and said. "You know where to find me when he leaves." The door slammed behind him.

  "Damn it." She cursed, before turning her contemptuous fury on the dark haired man standing on the top of the staircase. "Would it kill you, not to revert to the proverbial asshole every time you're upset? This may be hard to grasp, but you're not the only one hurting here."

  "You seemed to be doing fine a few minutes ago."

  Momentarily stunned, Ellie opened her mouth and then closed it again, than knowingly smiled. "You were jealous."

  Nicholas descended the stairs, his feet bare, he advanced on Ellie and came to stand a few feet away, "Most men might be after witnessing their lover pawed…"

  "I wasn't pawed."

  "You enjoyed it."

  His accusation hurt, but Ellie understood Nicholas far better than he realized. It was preservation, human nature, to hurt before being hurt and Nicholas had become an expert over the years. He always reverted to Charles's scion, when he was upset and as natural as that was for him Ellie wanted Nicholas to understand that he didn't need to hide anymore. He had her to lean on now.

  "Would you believe me if I said I didn't feel a thing?"

  "Why didn't you just go with him? It seemed like you wanted to." The open palmed smack across Nicholas's face was as unexpected as the forceful shove that came afterwards.

  With his head set at an angle, Nicholas was astounded, his cheek burned and he was trying to come to grips with the reality of being bitch slapped. He tongued the inside of cheek and rightly so tasted blood.

  "You slapped me." Nicholas said wondrously.

  Ellie silently regarded him, " yeah and I’d do it again, damn it. You deserve a good kick in the nuts too. For someone so smart, you can be awfully dense."

  "He kissed you," Was Nicholas's obstinate retort, staring into Ellie's face like a sullen child.

  "Yes and along with kissing him, I also told him to leave, or did you not catch that part of the conversation?" It was becoming increasingly hard to keep the annoyance from her voice.

  How had they gone from touching each other in the bedroom, to arguing in the foyer?

  "I won't be second choice, Ellie. I don't share."

  Ah, yes, because Nicholas Grayson was a moron!

  "And you don't listen either!" Now, Ellie was angry and to prove it she tried to slap Nicholas again, only this time, he expected it and captured Ellie's hand mid-way down.

  "Don't."

  Ellie scowled and wrenched her hand away, "God! You stupid, stupid man!" she fumed, her eyes ablaze. "Would that have made you happy? Did you want me to leave with him, Nicky? I can still catch up to him if I want, I'm a fast runner, remember?"

  Nicholas looked at her, his own gaze incensed, his cheek reddening from her slap, "Don't play these fucking mind games with me!"

  "Oh I wouldn't dream of it," Ellie feigned innocence, bringing her hand to her chest, "How could I ever fool, the master of mind games? That's your thing, Nicky. You excel at it." Nicholas grabbed hold of her, his face furious. He smashed his lips to Ellie's, the kiss hard and punishing. It was demanding and overflowing with passion. Nicholas forced his tongue between her mutinous lips and took control.

  Ellie held onto his shoulders, not knowing whether to push him away or pull him closer, nevertheless, she held on tightly afraid that her weight would give out from under her. The onslaught too much for her to stay unaffected, she kissed back, submitting to the ravishment of the man who held her so tightly, mastered her so forcefully. She loved every minute of it.

  "I hate that he kissed you." He whispered gruffly. "I wanted to rip his throat out." His eyes were beautiful filled with emotion, filled with a sort of possessive love that it shone like diamonds. "I hate the fact that he might be right. I may not deserve you, Ellie, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to let you go and I'll be damned if it takes another ten years to make me realize it." He took hostage of Ellie's mouth again, only this time, the meeting of their lips and tongues was a languid lovemaking. "I will never let you go." A shiver ran down Ellie's spine, delicious and erotic, those words, Nicholas's words, producing in her something unexplainable and volcanically hot.

  ~*~*~*~

  Sophie stood in the alcove, eyes wide, shock and delight played a great role in the dance of emotions crawling across her face. She couldn't stop smiling even if she tried. To stop the fizzing glee erupting through her core, she slammed her hand across her mouth, stifling her joyous laughter. She watched them devour each other, like the imported chocolates Aunt Maddie loved to eat. Nicholas held her mother to the wall, where one began the other ended.

  There wasn't room for anything but the thin layers of clothes separating their bodies. Their mouths warred, while their hands roved. Sophie saw, more than heard her mother breathy moans, her lips parted, eyes tightly closed as Nicholas suckled at her neck. Sophie wasn't naïve enough not to understand exactly what she was witnessing, they had cable, and she saw things. With her cheeks stained pink, Sophie decided she'd seen enough.

  This was incredible. After so many years, after wishing so hard, her parents were finally together! Again, her smile did not desert her. In fact, it got impossibly wider. With a little effort, she turned on her heel and attempted the journey back to her bedroom. Unfortunately one of her crutches slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor. She cursed, looked up from the fallen crutch and straight into her mother's dilated hazel eyes.

  "Sophie! Are you all right? What are you doing up?" Ellie clucked, fretting and coddling just as Sophie knew she would. She cursed again, this time directed at her clumsiness. The last thing she'd wanted was interrupt them, now it seemed she'd done more than that as her mother gently ushered her back to her room, concern clearly evident in her voice. Nicholas followed at a more sedate pace.

  "Mom." Sophie patiently called to her babbling mother, once she settled in bed. "Mom!" She called a little more firmly, taking hold of her mother's trembling hands.

  "What?" Ellie met her daughter's dancing gaze. "What?" she asked again, cheeks pink, lips Dahlia red.

  "Mom, I'm happy." She took a glance at where Nicholas stood, leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest. Over her mother's shoulder, Sophie and Nicholas shared a knowing look, and before Sophie turned her gaze back to her mother, she received a wink from Nicholas.

  "Why?"

  Sophie grinned, then pulled her mother down and planted a kiss on her warm cheek. "Because you're happy."

  Ellie smiled softly, "Do I look, happy?"

  Sophie nodded, "And in love."

  "And you're okay with this, right? With me and Nicholas?"

  "Mom, are you kidding? Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? I am more than okay with this, trust me." She accepted the hug from her mother and the kiss and another hug, before Nicholas managed to pull her away.

  They bade her goodnight and vacated the large room that now belonged to Sophie in Nicholas immense estate. Once the door softly clicked behind h
er mother, Sophie reclined back on her bed, the bevy of fluffy pillows was a welcome. She brought her arms behind her head and stared aimlessly up at the ceilings, her smile bright and joyful.

  She'd witnessed the conversation between Devlin and her mother and for a brief moment, Sophie had feared that her mother would leave with Devlin. But everything had turned out wonderfully and now, Devlin was out of their lives. Nicholas could finally be with her mother, as they were meant to and soon, Sophie knew that they would all be a family.

  Before she succumbed to sleep, Sophie silently found a new appreciation for birthday wishes and with a smile on her lips, she turned on her side and drifted away.

  ~*~*~*~

  Samantha Harris lived approximately fifteen minutes from downtown, over the bridge, just before taking that scenic route into suburbia town, were the single-family homes of newlyweds. Rent or owned the quaint little houses, with their daily manicured lawns, and whitewashed exteriors, painted a nostalgic picture, reminding Dom of Rockwell painting he had seen once, a very long time ago. He parked his pick-up next to Samantha's Lexus in the driveway and grabbed the Chinese food in the passenger seat, before exiting. On his way to the door, he had to alternate the bag from one hand to the other, to rub his clammy hands against his Levi's, his nerves getting the better to him.

  Unfortunately, he'd had to cancel on her last evening. Brandon had fallen ill and as per usual, Evey had been nowhere to be found. Therefore, it had fallen on Dom to care for the ailing child. After a teaspoon of children's Tylenol and a bedtime story, Brandon had fallen asleep, allowing Dom the chance to phone Samantha and deliver the news.

  She had sounded disappointed and somewhere deep down Dom had wishfully hoped that it was because of their canceled date. Again, she'd wanted to call everything off and it had taken him close to forty five minutes to convince her that a second date would undoubtedly be worth her troubles. Dom had hung up the phone, once he'd wheedled a 'yes' from her, afraid that she would change her mind, he'd gone even further and turned off his phone for the rest of that evening.

  It was foolish, he realized, mooning over a woman he barely knew, had only slept with once and had close to nothing in common with except their love of greasy, MSG ridden fast food and a bottle of cold Heineken to wash it down. They were so different, she was the personal assistant to a man who ran a billion dollar corporation, and he was a down on his luck associate of a company that barely acknowledged his presence. She was vibrant, intelligent, beguilingly beautiful and had legs that went on for days. Around her, Dom found himself at ease, freely flirting and content to bask in her laughter when he made a stupid joke and that in itself was a marvel, she actually got his jokes, found him amusing!

  Despite what he'd told her yesterday, he wasn't just interested in sex-he wasn't the sort of guy to casually screw and leave. If he had been he would've cheated on Evey ages ago. Sam was different...special. Odd as it was, since he barely knew her, but there was a strong attraction there, something that impelled him to pursue her.

  It was refreshing being with Sam; sort of like seeing the bright cerulean blue skies after a storm. Finding, hope where there was once none, understanding that life could be much more than what it is now. Dom wanted better...he deserved better. He had suffered far too much in his nine-year marriage to Evey; he would no longer genuflect at her manicured feet and salivate for crumbs of her affection. The divorce papers he had his lawyers draw up sat on her vanity table, if she had any decency left Dom hoped that she would quietly grant him a divorce and leave, before things spiraled further out of control.

  As he waited for Sam to answer the door, Dom silently hoped that he received custody of Brandon when all was said and done; Evey was far too self-absorbed to properly care for him, once Dom was gone. Brandon would undoubtedly be the one to suffer and that was the last thing Dom wanted for his son. Before he could further ponder the issue, the door flew open and Sam stood before him, in nothing but a pair of shorts that displayed her gloriously long legs, and a black NYU long-sleeved shirt. Her sun kissed mane, swept up in a messy chignon, with her bangs held back by a hello kitty clip. Gone, was the astute PA of Grayson Corp with her dreary, shapeless business ensembles and in her stead stood a golden nymph with curves smooth enough to tempt any man.

  She smiled and Dom almost forgot to breathe.

  "Hi, Dom, I didn't know whether we were going for casual or not…" she gave him the once over, "I hope you don't mind?" it took Dom a few seconds to recuperate from the unexpected brain freeze and another half a second more to remember how to speak.

  "Yeah, it's fine." He stepped inside and closed the door behind him; keeping Sam and her shapely ass in full view.

  "Did you have a hard time finding the place?"

  Her home was small, decorated in pastels, with the occasional painting hanging on the walls to draw the eyes; it was simple and sweetly warm, just like the woman who inhabited it. Seated in her living room, waiting for her to come back with the plates, Dom glanced around and absentmindedly answered her, "No, it was pretty easy." He stood and headed to the mantle, grabbed a frame and grinned at the image there. The little girl staring back at him through the picture couldn't have been more than six, with her pale blond hair and laughing eyes, she sat on a man's shoulders, who Dom suspected to be her father; he wore his daughter's joyful smile.

  "So," Dom almost dropped the frame, he whipped around and abashedly stared at her.

  "Cute picture."

  Sam smiled and grabbed the frame from his nerveless hands; she stared down fondly, before turning to look at him. "We were on our way to my very first Carnival, my mom took this picture." She put the picture back on the mantle and headed to the large brown paper bag eliciting mouthwatering aromas. "Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to join me?"

  Her words prompted Dom to move and soon, laughter rang. Chopsticks and an assortment of Chinese food littered the floor while they animatedly conversed, recounting tales from their childhood and learning odd little things about the other. Like Sam's compulsive need to arrange her daily wear with her undergarments and her closeted love for Disco music. Dom had a few chortles at her expense after hearing that.

  "And how about you, 'Mr. never been maced.' What are your quirks?"

  Dom grabbed some noodles with his chopsticks, shoved them in his mouth before speaking. "I don't have any, sorry to disappoint you, Sammy, but I'm perfect." He guzzled down his beer and involuntarily burped.

  Samantha laughed. "Perfect my ass, you're no better than a pig! So did you play any sports?"

  "Lacrosse."

  "Were you any good?"

  "Made varsity my freshman year, became captain my junior year and took our team to states two years in a row. Yeah, I think I was good."

  "Wow, perfect and modest, how did I get so lucky?"

  "I don't know, but I'd advise you not to let me go, it doesn't get any better than this."

  They shared a look, before bursting into laughter; a little drunk and definitely full, they basked in the moment.

  "Is that how you know, Nicholas? Did he also play lacrosse?" somehow imagining Nicholas in lacrosse gear caused her to wrinkle her nose. Nicholas, was meant for business suits and designer clothes, anything else was just foul and inappropriate.

  "Hell no! Richie Rich, preferred playing his games in bed and from what I heard, he was pretty good. I think he even fucked my wife…ex-wife." He didn't sound bitter, just oddly amused.

  "So what's the deal?" food abandoned, they lounged on the plush carpet, twilight gleamed brilliantly outside her French doors.

  Dom didn't feign ignorance, understanding that it was either now or never, he wanted to get his and Evey relationship out in the open.

  "I really loved her." he began, "Back at J.E.H I knew from the first time I saw her that I wanted to marry her, unfortunately she was more into mindless sex than love."

  In a span of a few hours, Samantha had Dom's life story out in the open, including his whirl
wind of a marriage and the utter shit his self-serving twat of a wife had put him through. She didn't doubt for a second whether he spoke the truth, because no man could possibly fake the angst that had come and gone on Dom's face, and Samantha felt for him.

  Dom, from what she now knew of him, seemed like a good person, goofy and sweet; he didn't deserve an adulterous wife.

  "So, you're getting a divorce?"

  "It's always been inevitable."

  "Are you going to miss her?"

  Dom shrugged, "It's hard to miss something you never had."

  "Well, if it helps any, you have me now," her heart thumped against her chest, unflinchingly meeting Dom's dark blue gaze. She didn't know why she'd said it, maybe the alcohol loosened her tongue a little, but she didn't feel the need to take it back.

  "It actually helps a lot." His voice dropped an octave, his eyes smoldering.

  Samantha reached over and took hold of his hand, before standing. "I can help in other ways." She pulled him towards her bedroom and coyly smiled, when Dom closed and locked the door.

  Chapter 28

  Ellie picked up the cell phone and glanced down. The name N. Grayson flashed across the screen, as it had on various occasions in the last two months. And just like she'd done in that timeframe she waited for it to ring for the 'beep' indicating she had a voicemail to sound, before putting it out of sight. She would check the message later, but she knew it would be the same. Nicholas had become predictable in that way and the thought brought a smile to Ellie's lips.

  It’d been two months since she'd last seen or spoken to him. Ellie did not regret her choice because she had needed the space and the time to gain a new perspective and sort out the jumble her life had become, without Nicholas's searing eyes tracking her every move.