Ending with Forever (10 page)

“Baby, you know I want to,” he whispers, gripping my hand and tracing it along his hard erection. His lids seal loosely as he appreciates the feel of me on him. Carson presses his lips against my neck, drawing in the tender flesh above my clavicle, my most vulnerable place. Now I’m as wet as he is hard. Going for his pants, I unzip his jeans and snake my hand under his cotton briefs. My fingers wrap around his hardness. His head falls back with a soft groan. I can feel the moisture of his excitement. He’s ready. I’m ready. “Stop,” he pleads, his voice is desperate. “This is your mother’s house.”

“I don’t care. I need you now,” I exhale as my hand glides up and down his shaft. “Don’t make me beg.”

Switching off the lights, he locks my arms behind my back and coerces me to step backward until I fall on the bed. My weight shifts the mattress and the broken spring betrays us with an audible squeak. The sharp sound slices through the night and snaps Carson out of his lustful trance. He refuses to remove my panties and enter me. “I shouldn’t,” he tells himself out loud. “Your mother will hear us.”

“That’s the thrill of it. Live on the edge, Carson,” I urge mischievously, like he did me when I was afraid of getting caught while we were making out on some stranger’s property that turned out to be his.

“You’re on, babe,” he accepts my dare and pulls me and the comforter off the bed. On the carpet, the comforter lands and then he lays me down gently. “The rule to this game is complete silence, no screaming or moaning. No matter how hard I fuck you or how intense you come. You can’t make a sound. Are we clear?” I nod eagerly. All I want at this moment is him inside me, filling me and giving me pleasure.

After an hour of hot, sweaty, and soundless sex, I fall blissfully asleep in Carson’s arms on the floor until the alarm on his phone goes off. He’s not taking any chances of getting on my mother’s bad side. I’m shooed back to my bedroom. “Shh…Don’t make any sounds,” he whispers to me. Half asleep and drained of the all life in me, I nod and tiptoe across the hallway, doing my walk of shame. I climb into bed and resume my sleep without effort.

I’ve been to a few bachelor parties in the past, but none were this tame and enjoyable. Beers, pool and a private striptease from the woman who keeps my cock hard and ready every time she’s in the same room with me is what I call a party. I paid the shop to close down for the evening after I saw the black lace and fish netting Lil pulled out of Isabella’s surprise bag. No pervert was going to lay his greedy eyes on her if I can help it. Her body is the temple I worship. It’s off limits to everyone. The premise was also surrounded by three bodyguards, including Luke. I challenge any asshole to bypass them without having something broken.

Severe weather is never welcomed, but it was an asset for me last night. It ended Lil and her friends’ party prematurely, which saved me a confrontation with anyone who dared to look or touch her in that damn slutty outfit. I was also able to relieve some of my raw, sexual tension and then somewhat sleep with her through most of the night which helped mellow my anxiety out quite nicely. To avoid a setback with her mother, I set the alarm to wake us up before Lia could find us in the same room. She offered me the guestroom, not the guestroom with her daughter.

A chime from my phone alerts me. It’s a text message from Luke.

Bianca attended a dinner party at the Montgomery mansion.

Seeing the word
Montgomery
perturbs me instantly as I stare at the text on my phone. Is Lil the late Charles Montgomery’s granddaughter as well as Marcus Ly’s? She doesn’t have the answer for me, but I know who does—Lia.

I roll off the floor, toss the comforter back on the bed and straighten it out neatly. The light shining through the window brightens up the room, illuminating things I didn’t notice last night, like more pictures of Lil. One in particular catches my eye. She’s standing with her mother, holding her and another woman’s hand. She looks about four or five years old. Never once has Lil mentioned any family other than her mother. How is it possible to not have any relatives—unless you left them behind somewhere or you are guilty of concealing something? Wait a minute. She did mention a grandmother who lives in Hong Kong. They visited her when she was four—about the same age she was in this picture that I’m studying in my hand. I think I just answered my own question.

~~~~

The aroma of fresh brewed coffee is a delightful smell for me—one of my favorites—especially early in the morning. Lia set three white mugs and plates on the kitchen table with a basket of croissants and orange marmalade in a small bowl.

“Morning,” she greets as she pours steaming coffee into a mug for me.

“Good morning,” I reply, anxious to ask her a hundred questions. But first, I have to figure out how to ease them into a light breakfast conversation.

“Come. Have some coffee with me. Lily won’t be up for a few more hours. That girl really loves her sleep,” she enlightens me. I want to endorse her statement but it would reveal to her that Lil and I are already sleeping together.

“Thanks. Are you a coffee person?” I ask.

“I am, but only in the mornings,” she replies. “Sugar or cream with yours?”

“Black is fine,” I answer and take a seat across from her. I need straight caffeine this morning—forget masking the bitter jolt with condiments.

“How was the party last night? Did you have a good time?”

“Yes. It was amusing.”

“Lily’s very fortunate to have Emma and Isabella in her life. She doesn’t allow herself to have much fun. I blame myself for that,” she discloses sadly, sipping her coffee.

“Don’t blame yourself. She’s a beautiful person, inside and out. I’m envious that she’s surrounded by so many wonderful people who sincerely love and care for her.” She smiles at my response.

“I didn’t know what loving someone meant until I had her. She became my reason to be happy again,” she slips. “This is why I can’t bear to see her heart get broken. Please don’t hurt her.”

“I swear I would never hurt her. She’s also my reason to be happy again.” I divulge. “If I’m not being too forward, may I ask if you’ve been betrayed by someone in the past?”

Her bewildered eyes contemplate, looking down into her swirling coffee as she decides whether she should tell me or not. “Yes. I was betrayed,” she retorts, surprising me with her openness. Her tone is full of resentment.

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’m fine now. It was a long time ago, and I’ve moved on.”

“Do you know where Lil’s father is?” This is my opportunity to get my answers.

“No. Why do you want to know?” she asks defensively.

“I believe in honesty. Now that we have your blessing to get married, I don’t want to keep anything from you and I don’t want you to keep anything from us either. With that being said, I want to ask you if you know a Marcus Ly?”

“But…how did you find out?” she stutters.

“I’m not sure what you mean. Lil and I met with him a few weeks ago for a business meeting. At that time, he seemed more interested in Lil’s necklace and your whereabouts than anything I had to present to him. It didn’t click for me until you insisted I call you Lia. Lia is also Marcus’ youngest daughter’s name. I came across that information when I was preparing for my meeting. Is Collin Montgomery the man who betrayed you?”

Her face falls into her palms as my words sink in. She doesn’t respond. I want to reach out to her, but I’m not sure how she’ll react. After all, I just revived a miserable part of her life that probably took her years to suppress.

“I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to go to medical school,” she discloses. “I blame my father for every miserable thing that’s happened to me. He didn’t care to know the family he married me into. The Montgomerys are horrible people who only love money. Charles forced his son to marry me to keep his struggling company afloat with my father’s help. After they got what they needed, it was their plan to get rid of me so Collin wouldn’t have to stay married to a woman he didn’t love. Thank God he developed real feelings for me. He found a way for us to escape to Indiana. I was never sure what getting rid of me meant, but I was glad I didn’t have to stick around to find out. His men found me a few months later, very pregnant. I begged them to not hurt me. I swore I’d do whatever they wanted me to do to save my baby,” she pauses to maintain her composure and to catch her breath. “To fool my father, Charles rigged a plane crash and informed the press that Collin and I died in it. He threatened that if I ever contacted my father, he’d take my baby away and I’d never see her again. Collin was forbidden to have anything to do with me or his baby. We both knew what kind of man Charles was, so we did exactly what we were told.”

“Oh God, Lia. I’m…so sorry. I had no idea.” I’m completely stunned. That wasn’t anything I expected to hear. I can’t imagine the weight she’s been carrying around, protecting her daughter and herself from that despicable son of a bitch. “He’s dead now. Did you know that?” She nods as she wipes away a tiny tear escaping the corner of her eye. “He can’t hurt you or Lil anymore.”

“But his son, Chandler, is still alive. He’s just as malicious as his father.”

“How do you know this?”

“After Charles passed away, he sent two men to remind me that his father’s threat still stands. It might’ve been coincidental, but the apartment building I lived in at that time caught on fire. Lily and I were lucky to escape before it burned to the ground. That is why Lil’s scared of heights and tight spaces. I was so frightened and desperate that I called my mother for help. She flew us to Hong Kong without my father’s knowledge and gave us money to start over. To this day, my father still thinks I died in that plane crash. I made my mother swear on our ancestors’ altars that she would never tell my father or I’d lose Lily.”

“Lia, you have my word. He’ll never be a threat to you or Lil ever again,” I vow as I grind the words out of my clenched jaw. Anger consumes me but I fight to contain it. I can’t have Lia seeing me lose my control. It might forfeit her confidence in me. “I know that wasn’t easy for you. Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me your story.”

“It’s been a living nightmare holding it all in.”

“I can’t imagine.”

“What do I tell Lily now?” she asks. “I’ve only recently shared bits and pieces with her to satisfy her curiosity. I’ve pretty much lied to her all her life to protect her.”

“The truth,” I insist. “But not quite yet. I need to clarify a few things.” She nods in response. Talk about hitting a brick wall. One thing’s for sure. Those damn Montgomerys are fucking with the wrong people. I’m almost positive they’re the same ones behind the kidnappings.

Lil must be up. I hear her brushing her teeth in the bathroom and heaving again. Something’s definitely not right. This is the third time in a row. I’ll have to have Dr. Laurent check her out when we get back to Boston. Can she possibly be pregnant again? It’s too soon, but she’s showing the same signs as last time.
A baby…our baby.
The thought ignites a smile to embrace my troubled face.

Luster, from a shivering sun, peeks through the window blinds and presses down on my body, rousing me to wake up and urging my limbs to move. I don’t want to open my eyes yet, but I must. Today is Emi’s big day. It’s my duty, as her best friend, to be the greatest co-maid-of-honor that I can be. The actual festivity doesn’t start until five this evening, but Emi wants Belle and me to meet her at our special place, an elaborate treehouse her father hired a construction crew to build for her when she was eight. We made three items that were blue and found three items that were old and sealed them in a cookie tin. We agreed that when the time came, the first person to get married would open the tin and take two items out to use for her special day. If I remember correctly, I made a charm with a safety pin and three letter L’s and a blue diamond heart. Belle made a bead bracelet with a blue butterfly charm and Emi bought a decorative hair comb with white and blue rhinestones. The something old was silver coins made the year we were all born.

Finally, I’m ready to get out of bed to tackle my fun-filled day. I toss the quilt off my body, change into sweats and dash to the bathroom to brush my teeth. On my way, I stick my head into the guestroom to greet Carson, but he’s missing and the bed is perfectly made. How dare I forget that he’s an early riser? One of these days, I’ll have to tie him down and force him to stay lazy in bed with me.

As the soft bristles sweep up and down my teeth, I sense this queasy feeling creeping up my neck. Toothpaste running down my throat is the worse for me. With all my might I try to force the nausea back, but it doesn’t work. The sour bile in my empty stomach shoots up and makes me hurl until my eyes water down my cheeks. What the hell’s wrong with me? This is the third time I’ve vomited.
I can’t be pregnant again. Can I? It’s much too soon, but I did forget twice to take the birth control pills.
Rinsing my mouth out, I wash the heavy makeup off my face and dry off. I look in the mirror and see my old self again. Both Mom and Carson will like this face much better.

My nose leads me to the kitchen to find Carson and Mom having coffee and croissants with jam. Their eyes shift in my direction when they hear my footsteps. The conversation between them stops midstream. I can’t decipher their mood. It’s not down or up. It’s almost secretive.