Skin Tight (Skin Deep #4) (16 page)

So I took a chance…and failed miserably, much to the delight of my sisters, and the comical horror of my brother.

“You must be Grace! Nice to finally meet you!”

She froze with her hand in mine, her eyes narrowing on me. “Um, no. I’m-”

I cut in again, trying to rectify the situation by letting her know that I did know her name…which I didn’t. “Lucy! I’m so sorry…I don’t know where…I…hi!” I finally finished, my cheeks pinched into a wide smile so fantastically fake it might as well have been plastic.

She pulled her hand from mine and gritted out, “Lilly. My name is Lilly.” With teeth still clenched, she turned to Calland (who was glaring at me, by the way) and asked, “Who’s Lucy? And why would she call me Grace? That’s my sister’s name…oh my God. You’re the douchcanoe!” She wailed the last part, then buried her face in her hands before standing abruptly and darting out of the room.

My eyes found Calland’s and I smiled sheepishly. “Wow. She picked up on that pretty quickly, huh? I uh, take it you didn’t tell her about her sister yet?”

He glared at me and then yelped as my mom swatted him, calling him a cad and man slut while my dad grunted with what sounded like muffled laughter.

“Jesus, Leah, what a way to ruin my date!” Calland growled. “I hadn’t had a chance to tell her yet.”

“Well, I’m sorry. I honestly thought I had the right name at first. It’s not my fault that you’re a whoredog,” I replied snarkily.

He sighed. “Oh well. The only reason I brought her was because I hadn’t figured out a way to tell her, yet, but that’s not how I wanted it to happen.” He puffed out a breath again and turned, mumbling about making sure she got home okay.

When he’d walked away, I noticed that the rest of my family was all looking at me and shaking their heads, but their lips were twitching with smiles.

I shrugged. “My bad…”

I drifted away to find the bride and smack her for not warning me.

Her response? “He said he wasn’t bringing a date, but then changed it at the last minute. And I’m sorry I didn’t warn you, but that’s exactly why I didn’t—I couldn’t remember her name either!”

The rest of the night passed in a blur of dancing, drinking, and once again toasting the happy couple before we sent them off on their honeymoon in Key West, Florida.

Once the reception hall was cleaned up (I’d told Chloe I’d make sure it was taken care of so they could leave), Ian and I headed home.

I’d barely gotten in the door and disarmed the alarm when his hands slide up my body to cup my breasts as he whispered in my ear, “You look fucking hot in that dress.”

I whimpered as he tweaked my nipples through the satin bodice, turning my head to nip at his shoulder as I breathed, “I bet I’d look a lot hotter out of it.”

“Probably. But I’ve had this fantasy all night…”

He didn’t say another word, but he sure as hell showed me what fantasy he was talking about as he suddenly dropped to his knees and slid under the long skirt of the dress I was wearing. I gasped, reaching for his shoulders to brace myself as he wrenched my panties to the side and buried his face in my already drenched folds, his tongue dragging along my clit with unerring precision that swung me up into near detonation almost immediately.

He didn’t stop until he’d taken me over the edge twice, literally holding me up with his hands as my knees buckled after the second orgasm, but still not moving until he’d lapped up my release with long, languid strokes that made me writhe against his face.

After that, he bent me over the table in the kitchen, tossed my skirt up over my back, and proceeded to fuck me hard and fast until he brought me screaming once more before he rocked up high into me one last time and let go, spending his scalding hot release deep inside my body.

When we caught our breath, we managed to make it to the bedroom before stripping down and collapsing in a satiated heap on the bed.

All in all, I’d say it was a pretty good way to end a pretty good day.

Chapter 23

It was official. I was Mrs. Leah Nicole Mitchell.

And it was
awesome!

The wedding was perfect, even though it was a little different than we’d originally planned, but I know neither one of us would change a thing. Shockingly, Ian’s parents had made the trip, showing up to surprise him half an hour before the ceremony.

Of course, I’d been pretty surprised myself when Margot had walked into the room I was getting dressed in, asking if she could talk to me alone for a minute.

My mom had taken one look at her and went full on Mama Bear, telling Ian’s mom that she had two minutes and if she made me cry, she’d pay for every single tear that left my eyes.

Have I mentioned that I love my mom? Cause I totally do…she’s pretty fucking awesome.

But she didn’t make me cry…though it was the most backhanded apology I’d ever received in my life.

She’d looked me up and down, sniffing once before grudgingly admitting, “You look…pretty.” She’d continued on after I’d thanked her, saying, “I’m sorry that I was rude to you and that I threw Victoria up in your face all the time. It’s just that she’s more suited to our Ian and the life he’s been accustomed to, you understand, and you’re…well, you’re not. Really it’s nothing against you, dear, but for what it’s worth, welcome to the family. I suppose.” She’d brushed her hands together then, almost like dusting the apology off of them, straightened the jacket of her very smart, sleekly fitted skirt-suit, and said, briskly, “Now. If you’d find it in your simple little heart to forgive me, I’d appreciate it, and we will expect you both at the annual Christmas party.”

She’d then leaned in and given me one of those perfunctory, barely-touching-almost-hugs and an air kiss before she’d turned on her heel and left the room, leaving me standing dumb-founded and a little confused. But she’d apologized, so that counts for something, right?

I won’t say that things miraculously turned around one hundred percent, but a tentative truce had been put into play for now. We’ll see how things turn out when we go over there for Christmas next week.

We had an impromptu reception after the wedding at a restaurant there in Gatlinburg; they’d graciously allowed us to take over a back room where we ate a delicious dinner and then danced along to the soft music playing from the restaurant’s speakers overhead. When we’d left to return to our hotel, we somehow got shuffled around behind everyone and were the last ones out of the door of the restaurant, only to walk out to a shower of bubbles everywhere as our friends and family lined the sidewalk, blowing their little hearts out.

I wasn’t sure how Mom had managed to finagle that whole thing, but I wasn’t surprised.

Ian and I didn’t get to take a honeymoon just yet, because I had to go back to work on Monday after the wedding, but since this Friday starts the holiday break, we had been talking about maybe taking the week between Christmas and New Year to go somewhere, hopefully a place that was warmer and had a lot less snow. You know, like
none.
But that didn’t mean that we weren’t still acting like we were on our honeymoon…wink wink!

It’s funny when you think about it, I suppose. Ian and I lived together for almost a year already, and our sex life was already pretty hopping. But there’s something about the whole newlywed thing that increases your sex drive like crazy.

So the first couple of days after the wedding were almost perfect, even though we were pretty much back to normal life, both of us working during the day, and then spending the nights secluded together, locked in just about every carnal position we could imagine, and then some. We’d sorta-kinda told everyone we were putting a hiatus on friend/family visitation for at least the first week, which got us a few knowing grins and a lot of understanding, especially from Chloe and Brandon who’d adopted the idea for themselves.

By Wednesday, I was ready for a vacation for sure, not only to spend some uninterrupted time with my husband (I love calling him that!), but because the kids had been on a whole other level since I’d been back. I’d never seen them so wound up!

I called Ian on the way home from work to see when he’d be home so I could start dinner for us, or to see if he just wanted to pick something up, but he didn’t answer. I was pleasantly surprised to see that his truck was in the driveway when I got home.

I pulled in and shut it behind me, entering the house and calling for him as I sat my bag down on the counter. I heard a muffled response coming from the back of the house, so I went to find him.

And find him I did.

I pushed open the bedroom door and froze as I saw Victoria standing there, pointing a gun at Ian. I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, the gravity of the situation dropping like a lead weight in the pit of my stomach as dread curled through my veins.

Against all odds, I hoped and prayed silently that she hadn’t seen me…but she had.

Ian was standing, hands out in supplication, unmoving. I could see the fear in his eyes, but I was almost certain that it wasn’t fear for himself; no, he was afraid of what Victoria would do to me.

She smirked and cocked her head, not taking her eyes off of Ian as she addressed me. “Oh, good. You’re here. I was hoping you’d get to see this part.”

“Victoria-” Ian roared, stepping forward, to do what, I’m not sure.

But he didn’t get anywhere.

She pulled the trigger, and I screamed as blood bloomed on Ian’s chest. He fell backwards onto the carpet, hitting his head on the dresser as he went down. His body was still and silent when he landed, not responding as I screamed his name over and over again.

I moved to go to him, but found myself blocked as Victoria stood in front of me, her hand shaking as she pointed the handgun at my face. I noticed in that moment that she was perfectly coiffed as usual, but her eyes gave away just how far she’d come unhinged, and I wondered if I would make it out of this alive.

“Why?” I shouted at her, tears of rage filling my eyes and spilling over as helplessness washed over me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t go to Ian to see if he was alive, because what good would I be to him if I ended up with a bullet in my brain? I cursed myself a dozen times over for the fact that my phone wasn’t in my pocket, but instead, was tucked inside my purse, sitting on the kitchen counter where it would do me no good.

Victoria let out a chilling laugh. “Why? Why not! That’s the real question,
LEAH
.”

She backed away from me, motioning with the gun for me to follow. I stepped forward cautiously, following her silent directives until I was standing inside the room, about five feet from Ian.

“Let me-” I began, taking one more step towards him, but stopped when Victoria screamed, “NO!”

“You want to know why, so I’m going to tell you. I mean, like I said before, why not, honestly, because he was pretty much asking for it. Traipsing around with you, waving you under my nose when we ALL know he’s supposed to be WITH ME!”

Victoria screamed the last part, making me flinch as she swung the gun back into my face, pushing it forward until it rested against my forehead, right between my eyes.

“Well.” She started speaking once more, her voice wavering slightly, but otherwise remaining low and calm. “I’ve decided that I don’t want to go to jail. And I’ve decided that I’m not waiting any longer for him to come to his senses, so, if I can’t have him, neither can you.”

She said it simply, as if she was reciting the weather to me, or some other mundane topic of conversation.

“You’re crazy,” I bit out through clenched teeth.

She tilted her head back and let loose with a loud, long, psycho-killer laugh that confirmed the fact that she’d gone beyond unhinged.

It was killing me to not be able to check on Ian, so I tried reasoning again, rushing the words this time so she couldn’t cut me off. “Please, just let me check on him!” I cried out fervently.

She tucked her chin into her chest and stared at me, her laughter cutting off sharply. “No. You can’t help him. He’s dead. And you know what? You’ll have to live with that for the rest of your life.”

I swallowed hard, then breathed a sigh of relief as she pulled the gun away from my head once more. My jaw was aching with the pressure of clenching my teeth so much, but I was so afraid of setting her off…and I couldn’t let myself believe that Ian was gone.

“You know, if you’d have just listened when I tried to warn you off, when I told you I was his girlfriend…we wouldn’t be in this predicament, now would we? But you didn’t listen. Oh! Thank you, by the way. I forgot to tell you how much I enjoyed using your little love toys while Ian watched me on video. He really enjoyed the pictures, too. Did he tell you that?”

“You disgusted him, Victoria.” The words were out before I could stop them.

She paused, turning her head sideways as she studied me, a small smile playing about her lips. “You’re trying to distract me. And you’re lying.” She smirked. “I wasn’t disgusting to him when I had my lips wrapped around his dick, sucking him off.”

A low growl sounded through the room, and it took me a second to realize it was coming from me.

Victoria sighed and rolled her eyes. “Oh, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy that night, too. See how nice I can be? I was willing to share him with you, went as far as shoving my fingers up your greedy little cunt to keep you happy, but did you appreciate that fact? No! No, you didn’t, you stupid little bitch!”

She’d reverted back to screaming at me, her face blood red, and her eyes squeezed shut.

I took that opportunity to glance at Ian, trying against all hope to see some sort of movement from him, but that was a mistake.

While I was distracted, Victoria struck out with the hand still clutching the gun, slamming it against the side of my head. It was a glancing blow, catching me more on my forehead just above my temple, but as warm wetness started trickling down my face, I knew my skin had split.

“I didn’t say you could look at him, you fucking bitch!”

Victoria was breathing hard, the sound sawing in and out loudly in the silence. My head was pounding, and I was blinking quickly, trying to keep blood out of my eye.

She stepped away from me again, keeping me in her sights as she lowered herself on to my bed, scooting into the center of it and arranging herself artfully. “Now. Here’s what’s going to happen. Since you came home and caught us,” she waved back and forth between herself and Ian, “you shot him in a jealous rage. Then, you shot me.”

I gaped at her. Surely she saw the gaping holes in her plan…but if not, I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell her. I shook my head in denial, but kept quiet.

“Get over here, Leah, and take the gun,” she yelled.

I shook my head again, my body trembling from trying to hold myself so still for so long.

Victoria lunged to her knees, anger painting her face a dull red as she screamed, “Take this fucking gun right now and fucking shoot me! DO IT!”

A high-pitched, half-delirious squeal of laughter formed on my lips, bubbling free at the ludicrous reality that a woman was sitting in front of me, begging me to shoot her. “You’re insane, Victoria. You’re seriously fucking insane.”

She brandished the gun again, only this time, she was using it to gesture with. “You’re supposed to do what I say,” she whined, her eyes wide, lips pouting, poking the barrel of the weapon into her chest to emphasize her words. She sat like that for a minute and then said, softly, “I’ll just have to shoot you instead. I mean, you were coming at me. You were going to kill me, so I had to protect myself. I had to get the gun from you. Just such a shame that you died in the process.”

“Victoria…” I breathed, imploring her almost wordlessly not to do this.

A low moan had us both looking toward the floor where Ian was lying, still unmoving. But that sound gave me hope that he was alive, that she hadn’t hit anything vital, and that maybe, if this ended soon enough, he wouldn’t bleed to death before I managed to get some help.

I whispered Ian’s name, tears once more flooding my eyes as I saw his fingers twitch, and finally saw his chest moving slightly with his breathing, something I’d been unable to detect before now.

“Shut up, bitch!”

Her words brought my attention back to Victoria, who was now kneeling on the end of the bed, having moved closer to look at Ian.

“Well, that’s perfect,” she purred, giving me a sly, secretive smile. “Now he doesn’t have to die, and he and I will live happily ever after with you out of the way.”

She once again used the gun as an extension of her words, pointing it at different parts of my body to punctuate every word as she mused, “Where. Should. I. Shoot. You?”

Another groan sounded from Ian, but Victoria ignored it, pressing the barrel of the gun under her chin in place of her hand or finger as she adopted an exaggerated thinking pose.

Two things happened then, both of them seemingly in slow motion.

A loud bang sounded outside, startling me…

And it also startled Victoria.

The difference? I didn’t happen to be holding a gun pressed to the bottom of my chin when I jerked.

But she did.