Broken Ever After

by Natalie Graham

  “Umm, thanks. The plates are over in the second cupboard, I’ll be back in a sec.” I called pointing to the kitchen as I followed Riley. I ran into my room to see him placing the bags on to my bed.

  “Riley I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have led you on like that; I honestly didn’t mean to, I don’t know what I was thinking, if I was thinking at all.”

  He looked at me with a cold, blank stare. “Don’t, Miss Stevens. You didn’t. Don’t worry. I was fully aware of your situation and I tried to take advantage of that. I’m sorry. That was a massive slip on my part and it won’t happen again I can assure you. Now, if that’s all you need, I’ll be in my room.” He walked over to my bedside phone. “This button here, it’s a panic button. Press it once if you need me, it will alert in my room and to my phone. You have the same installed in your bathroom and it is in the kitchen, lounge and gym too, they are also in your uncle’s room and office.” He nodded his parting to me and left the room. When I heard his door close; I walked over to the phone, smiled and pushed the button. He came back in, bursting through the door making me laugh.

  “Just testing” I giggled.

  “Not. Fucking. Funny!” He glared at me and went to push the button to cancel the alert.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “You will be.” He growled at me then muttered under his breath “should have fucking known.” and walked back out to his room again. I started to pull the things from my bags and lay them on the bed when Uncle Austin and Jamie came in with the last of my things.

  “I spoke to your parents today; they agreed you should stay here rather than return home when we fix this threat.”

  “Permanently? Why?”

  “Security is better here than at home, no one can get in here without access codes, your parents are working too much to protect you and Riley is right next door to you here, he can’t stay at your parents’ house, there is no room is there?”

  “Ok. I guess that’s fine.” Fine… That’s what Riley said I was. I could feel the blush creeping back up to my cheeks.

  “We can organise with Riley to give you self-defence lessons if you’d like? That would make me relax knowing you had some idea how to defend yourself. You seemed to enjoy it.” Uncle Austin smirked at me from behind Jamie’s back.

  “Ok.” I managed to squeak out. My fists bunched by my sides as I tried not to react to his comment.

  SIXTEEN

  Uncle Austin had sent Jamie home shortly after eating, telling him that he and I had some things to discuss and as I hadn’t been sleeping much I needed to catch up and have a proper night’s sleep. Jamie and I had sat and spoke privately for a little while and I explained that I didn’t feel comfortable with anything until I’d been to the office and seen the security recordings for myself. I even refused to kiss him goodnight much to his displeasure and annoyance. I went to my room once he’d gone and decided to call Lily, I felt like I’d neglected my friends since Friday and I desperately wanted to see how Violet was. Her phone was off which was odd so I called her house instead.

  After a brief and blunt conversation with her dad and he’d hung up on me, all I’d managed to discover was that Lily was ok and was out with Scott. Did he really just hang up on me? I looked at the receiver like it would give me an answer and slammed it back down in its place on the bedside table. I went back out to sit with Uncle Austin again slumping down on the sofa beside him and kicking my feet up onto the table in front of me, he informed me that my parents would be visiting me at some point during the next couple of days and bringing more of my things over.

  Uncle Austin began watching a documentary on the Wall Street Crash of 1929 which set me off yawning. “You know, you should pay attention to this; you’ll have to learn about it when you go to Uni.” I snorted and rolled my eyes in his direction.

  “I’m not having this conversation.” I grumbled at him and covered my eyes with my arms, slouching further down the sofa.

  “You’ll need to have it soon Liv.” I stood up and started to pace the floor in front of the floor to ceiling windows, looking out over London, clicking my fingers and clapping my hands as I walked. After a few minutes Austin sighed at me “Will you sit down? God, you’re making me nervous with your pacing!”

  I sighed loudly and looked to my piano stood in the corner of the room, my eyes roamed longingly over the black, glossy wood and the gold Steinway & Sons logo on the side. I walked over to it running my fingers delicately over the keys so I didn’t press them down and disturb Uncle Austin as he watched TV. “Play for me?”

  I looked around to see him watching me; he lifted the remote to the TV to turn it off and lifted his briefcase from beside the sofa pulling his laptop out. He liked to listen to me play when he was working, he often said it helped him concentrate. I sat down on my seat and tried to think of something I could play; I glanced to my left at the view over the London skyline. Austin liked Adele’s music so I flexed my fingers, tested the keys and began playing, singing the lyrics of Hometown Glory. Once I was done I began playing another song; Uncle Austin let me reach the chorus before snapping through my thoughts

  “Olivia, no bubble-gum shit.” My hands thudded down on the keys making an awful sound of notes mashed together. My head snapping up as my eyes opened.

  “What would Sir like me to play for him?” I looked around to see Riley stood beside him clutching a pile of papers, trying hard not to laugh. I smiled at him watching as he stopped trying to hold his laughter in and gave me a genuine smile back.

  “Anything. Just nothing… bouncy. I can’t concentrate with it.” He snapped and drew his eyes away from me again. I rolled my own at him and thought for a minute as I dragged my palms up and down my thighs. I’d never been nervous playing the piano before, an eerie calm always descended over me when I sat at it; Uncle Robert had taught me to play so as long as we were doing that he wouldn’t be doing anything to me, but knowing that Riley was watching me set every nerve ending on fire.

  I resorted to Austin’s favourite piece of music to keep him quiet; I’d played it so much the last couple of months in preparation for my music exam that I was getting sick of it, but if it made him happy I’d try anything. I began to play Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata in full. I looked around at him to see his lip quirk up at the side as the peaceful sounds washed over him.

  I usually stopped after the first movement as he wasn’t so keen on the second, but I loved the third so I kept going. As I moved into the third I saw Uncle Austin put his pieces of paper down in his lap; both he and Riley stopped their conversation; I looked around to them both watching me. Riley with a mouth open stare, in what I hoped was awe; Uncle Austin had a cocky grin, which meant he was waiting for me to mess up the notes. He gave up before I did, returning my gaze to the keys as I played, aware that Riley was still watching me.

  ***

  Austin received a call around eight from his new girlfriend saying that she was outside; he told her to go home and he’d meet her there. I noticed he was carrying his work stuff, an overnight bag and a clean suit. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” I called as he was heading out of the door.

  “Doesn’t really leave me with much does it? Don’t wait up.” He laughed as he closed the door. I made sure he locked it. I returned to my piano for a while, putting off having to figure out the mess that my room was in. I looked around the enormous living area, loneliness shaking my bones. I cried to myself as I played which only resulted in me being annoyed at myself. After three or four songs I turned off the lights to go to my room.

  Spending an hour unpacking, singing and dancing tired me out but thirty minutes after climbing into bed I was still wide awake. All I could think about was how awful I felt for Riley who was now avoiding me. I thought about how much I was missing Jamie even though I had doubt screaming in one ear not to trust him. Most of all I was dying for one of his ‘goodnight kisses’. Wondering what a goodnight kiss from Riley would feel like made me want one even more.


  The more I thought about them both, the more turned on I felt. I hadn’t had sex with Jamie since the previous morning and I was starting to feel deprived of it already. Was it possible to be addicted to sex when you’d only had it a few times?

  I rested my hand on my stomach, feeling the silk of my new pyjamas under my hand; Jamie would love these. I lay there getting frustrated with myself and starting to wonder if I could fix my problem myself; I’d never done it before but I’d never get to sleep unless I tried. Closing my eyes I moved one of my hands down over my shorts feeling myself through the material, wishing so badly that Jamie was here.

  Should I call him? No, I couldn’t, not after I’d sent him away. Picking up my phone anyway, I scrolled to his number. ‘Hey, Jamie… Wanna do phone sex?’ I looked at the picture of his smiling face and dumped my phone back on the nightstand. I couldn’t do it. That horrible little corner of my mind said that he was probably with someone else by now anyway – I ignored it.

  Slipping my hand inside my shorts, I thought about how Jamie did it. I found my clitoris and began rubbing circles around it; I wanted Jamie so badly, I needed to feel him inside of me. I pushed my other hand down into my shorts slipping one finger inside of my silky folds, feeling and hearing how wet I was.

  My breath caught in my chest, little moans escaping my lips as I brought myself closer to my climax. Thoughts of Jamie’s tongue flicking over my sensitive skin burned through my mind, but the memory of Sasha and her comment quickly killed that idea. I slowly slipped another finger inside my wet warmth, igniting my need for more as I thought of Jamie buried deep inside of me. My release built faster; tingles were beginning in my feet, slowly making their way up my legs.

  I could feel my cheeks flushing; my back arched up from the bed pushing into an imaginary strong chest. Blue eyes flashed through my thoughts; strong but gentle fingers running over my lips ‘I want to kiss these so badly’. Soft moans escaped me as I thought of him. His hand gently squeezing my waist ‘What are you doing to me?’ His hot breath blowing in my ear and on my neck. ‘Olivia.’ His voice sounded in my head. ‘Olivia… Olivia.’ I fell over the edge as my body shuddered under the mercy of my own touch.

  “Riley… Oh God… Riley!” His name whispered its way off my tongue. With my heart was racing I smiled to myself, feeling sated and ready to fall asleep as my breathing returned to normal.

  Embarrassment washed over me; I couldn’t believe I was thinking of Riley. I ran to the bathroom, washing the shame away before getting comfy in bed. Just as I was falling asleep I heard a small tap on my door.

  Riley was leaning his hands on either side of my door frame, his arms tensed, his face pointed towards the floor not saying a word. A soft light coming from his open door cast a shadow over him, obscuring his face. His shoulders and hair held a faint glow giving him the appearance of an angel. A sexy as fuck, angel.

  “Riley?” He shook his head slightly and balled his fists. “Riley, are you ok?” I took in his appearance; he stood in front of me in just a pair of jeans. His hair was still wet from showering, water dripping down his neck to his perfectly sculpted chest, abs and holy fuck… that ‘V’ that dipped from his hips into the top of his jeans. They hung loosely on him; the top button undone giving a small peek at the trail of hair leading down.

  I bit my lip hard; I had an irresistible urge to run my tongue up his abs and chest to his neck to catch the rivulets of water. Below his buttons sat a massive bulge straining against the material of his jeans. I blushed looking back up to his face.

  “Riley look at me.”

  “I can’t.” He growled.

  “Why not? What’s wrong?” I took a step closer to him, his frame visibly stiffened.

  “If I do, I’ll end up doing something we both regret.” He said in a strained voice.

  “You aren’t making any sense.” I sighed and shook my head.

  “You need to turn the intercom on your phone off.” He said through gritted teeth. My eyes widened as my hand flew to my mouth. “You must have hit it at some point because I had the pleasure of listening to your beautiful singing for an hour… I thought you had gone to sleep… I went for a shower and just as I was coming back out I had the pleasure of hearing your… pleasure.” I stared at him in shock. I didn’t know what to say. “It’s Connor by the way.”

  “What is?” his gaze slowly lifted from the floor running over my feet, up my legs, my stomach, my chest which was heaving as I tried to control my breathing, to finally meet my eyes. His blue eyes were almost eclipsed by his pupils as they dilated. He swallowed hard and bunched his fists tighter.

  “My name… is Connor… Connor Riley.” How did finding this out make him seem even sexier?

  “Connor” I whispered, seeing if it suited him. It so did, I smiled. He flinched in the doorway looking like he wanted to charge through and take me with him crashing to the bed. Or the floor would do. Even right here in the doorway. I desperately needed to stop thinking like that. “I’m not sure what to do.”

  “About what?” He looked like he’d forgotten what he’d said.

  “The button.” I nodded towards the phone. “I don’t know which one I hit.”

  “Right. May I?” I nodded and stepped aside pinning my back as much to the door frame as I could to let him in. He went straight to my phone and pressed the intercom button, glanced down at my bed which was a mess from me kicking at it; he shook his head and walked back to the door pausing in front of me in the doorway. “Goodnight, Olivia.”

  “Goodnight Riley.” I smirked up at him and saw his lips twitch slightly as he kept walking. I watched as he walked to his door, he looked back pausing at it then rushed in, slamming it behind him. I’m pretty sure I heard him kick something inside too. I got back in bed and got comfy, my phone beeped with a message.

  From Jamie: Night night beautiful x My bed feels so cold and empty without you by my side, but at least I know you are safe there. I miss you Angel x

  To Jamie: You too. Night.

  I threw my phone back on the table feeling disgusted with myself. For so long I’d liked Jamie, loved Jamie and just as I finally get him all to myself another girl and guy comes along to cloud my judgement. I fell into a restless sleep filled with nightmares about Robert.

  ***

  I hadn’t heard from Jamie all morning and I was starting to get worried. I knew he didn’t need to be in work this week so he couldn’t have been that busy to not even respond to a single text that I’d sent him.

  I needed to see him because I missed him so much, or that was what I was trying to tell myself. It was nothing to do with whatever the previous night with Riley was. Thinking about him hearing me made my cheeks flush all over again. His mouth-watering body poised in my doorway, his eyes devouring me inch by inch, the cut of the v that sat on his hips dipping down below the waistband of his faded jeans to the impressive strain, bulging against the buttons. Oh God… I’d have to take matters into my own hands again, literally, if I didn’t stop thinking about it.

  I quickly dialled Austin’s number to find out where Logan was. He said he’d send him over to me so he could take me to my parents to collect some things and to see Jamie.

  Picking the nicest set of underwear that Jamie had bought for me I quickly changed in to them. I slipped on some shorts, a cute white sleeveless shirt that I tied low at the front and slipped my Converse on. Logan messaged me to say that he was outside. I gingerly left my room keeping my head down and my eyes firmly fixed on my phone as I headed for the door. Riley stepped in my way blocking what I’d hoped was an unnoticeable exit.

  “Going somewhere?”

  “Out.” I said as I kept staring at my phone, opening up a game for something to keep my eyes away from his.

  “Let me grab my jacket and I’ll be right with you.”

  “Logan is waiting for me, you don’t need to come.”

  “It’s my job to escort you when you leave the apartment.”

  “I just need t
o grab some things from my parents if I’m staying here. It won’t take long and like I said, Logan will be with me.” He raised his eyebrow at me as he pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling a number.

  “Miss Stevens informs me that you are escorting her to collect some belongings from her parent’s house is that right?” He listened to Logan on the other end. His jaw tightened. “Ok. Aye, see ya later.” He stuck his phone back in his trouser pocket and turned, heading for the door, swiping his jacket from a chair on his way.

  “You’re not coming.”

  “I know. I’m just making sure you get to the car ok.” I rolled my eyes and followed him. He called the lift then stood close to me as we waited, watching each other in the mirrored doors. I lowered my head, my hair falling down in a veil attempting to shield me from his stare. I risked another glance back up, to find his eyes doing a slow rake over my body. What the hell is he playing at? The edge of his lip quirked up in a smirk, with his eyes filled with pure lust. I knew from the lump forming in his trousers which he made no effort to hide, that in his mind he was doing obscenely hot things to me.

  A shiver ran through my body, as his eyes landed on my chest. His tongue flicked out over his lips, moistening them. I could feel my nipples tighten, budding up for him as he continued to ogle me. His lips twisted into that smirk again as he took in my chest’s obvious reaction to him.

  The lift pinged to signal its arrival and the doors parted to let us enter. Riley offered his hand forward, gesturing that I enter first. I considered making a break for the stairs but stepped in and turned around to face the doors. Riley’s tall frame stepped in, in front of me; he pressed the button for the lobby before turning to face me with his intense stare. I took an involuntary step back; a smirk appeared on his lips as he stepped forward placing his palms on the wall, his forearms brushing my shoulders, trapping me in.

  “I haven’t seen you all morning. Have you been avoiding me?” I shook my head but inside I was screaming yes. Of course I was avoiding him, I was humiliated.