by Faye Avalon
“Happy to help.” Her tone had turned as dull as her eyes. Then she raised her chin, selected a chocolate for herself, and sipped her champagne.
He felt like a bastard, but it had to be done. He wasn’t about to let her think this meant more than it did. She’d come into this to get her life back on track, which was his end of the bargain to fulfill. The least he could do was stick to it.
In the morning, he’d call Jack.
Chapter Ten
Lissa walked into the lobby of what would soon become one of the south coast’s most prestigious five star hotels. It was a project of Reed’s and since he’d told her about it at length, she wanted to see it for herself.
Ten days after their wedding night and she still couldn’t shake the realization that something fundamental had changed between them. She’d racked her brain trying to remember if she’d said anything to make him put up that barricade, or if he’d said anything that might have alerted her to the shift in his attitude. But she couldn’t.
Not that he wasn’t still attentive, generous, and caring toward her. He was all of those things. It was that she felt he kept her at a distance, if not physically then emotionally. Of course, she shouldn’t expect anything else, seeing as the nature of their relationship didn’t demand an emotional link between them. But she’d felt a growing closeness and now that it was no longer there, she missed it.
She already knew, and had admitted to herself, that she was falling for him. Perhaps it hadn’t been apparent until she’d sensed his withdrawal, but it was there now and she cursed herself for allowing it to happen.
“Can I help you, miss?”
A middle aged man with a shock of grey hair and kind brown eyes walked up to her. He wore torn and dusty jeans and an oversized t-shirt. Lissa smiled back at him.
“I was wondering if Reed’s around. He said he’d be here most of the day.” She lifted the folder she carried containing the most recent statements from her accountant and several supporting documents. “I’ve got some paperwork he wanted and thought I’d drop it off.”
Although she hadn’t intended to call at the hotel, she’d thought that as Reed had a business function that night and she wouldn’t be seeing him, she’d take the opportunity to get the papers to him. It made sense, seeing as he needed the information sooner rather than later.
Liar. That wasn’t the reason at all. She wanted to see him. Hadn’t wanted to wait until the next evening when they’d arranged to go over the remaining paperwork, so that Reed could finalize payment of her debts and put the finishing touches to the business plan they’d worked on together.
“He was here a while back,” the man said. “I think he had an on-site meeting. Let me go see if I can find him for you.”
She felt a flutter of nerves and thought perhaps this hadn’t been such a good idea. He wouldn’t be pleased if she interrupted his business meetings. Maybe she should just leave. Stick to their arranged meeting the following evening.
It wasn’t as if she had nothing to do herself. She wanted to check out new photographic equipment online, design some new business cards, and then drive over to the nursing home to visit her aunt.
She was about to call after the man not to bother when she heard Reed’s voice coming from behind her. Turning, she saw him emerge from a corridor. Their eyes met and for long moments they stared at each other.
Without diverting his gaze from her, Reed addressed the man walking beside him. Whether because of the intensity in Reed’s eyes or because some sixth sense alerted her to trouble, Lissa glanced at the other man.
The breath froze in her lungs and a chill ran through the entire length of her body.
Ethan.
He looked at her with the same striking blue eyes as Reed’s. In them, she could see the glimmer of recognition and the moment it fully sprang to life as he slipped his hands in the pockets of stone-colored cargo pants.
“Lissa?” Reed stepped to her. “Something wrong?”
Only my nightmare come to life.
She forced herself to meet his steady gaze as her hands went clammy. “Nothing wrong. I was working out this way,” she improvised. “Thought I’d just pop in and see how the hotel was coming along.”
She clutched the file to her chest. This was so not the right moment to discuss anything pertaining to their arrangement.
“I’ll give you the tour.” He angled his head to his left. “My cousin, Ethan. We’re working out the intricacies of the elevators he’s installing for me. Ethan, Lissa.”
Ethan smiled at her, with a warmth in his eyes that surprised her. “Hi Lissa. How’s it going?”
He didn’t look half as uncomfortable as she felt, which made her wonder if Marco had already alerted him to the fact she’d been present at his wedding as part of the photographer’s crew.
She felt compelled to offer him a nervous smile in return, but was unable to meet his gaze as her face burned and her hands shook. “Fine. Thanks.”
Aware that Reed was watching her closely, Lissa knew she had to make her exit before her legs gave way. She badly needed some fresh air in the hope she could breathe again. “I don’t really have time for a tour,” she said, still avoiding Ethan’s eyes. “Maybe another time.”
Reed’s eyebrows drew together. “Okay. I’ll walk you out.” He nodded at Ethan who smiled at her again.
Oh God. Would he say something to Reed after she’d gone? Reed hadn’t introduced her as his girlfriend, lover, and certainly not wife, so maybe he wouldn’t. But she wasn’t convinced. He might nudge Reed and say, “You’re onto a good thing there, buddy. I’ve had her and know it for a fact, so has Marco come to that. As it happens, we fucked her at the same time.” As unlikely as such a bold statement might be, she couldn’t help but envision the worst. It would be just her poor fortune for Ethan to openly admit his dalliances with her.
Her knees went wobbly and her head swam a little. Thankfully, Reed took her arm, told Ethan he’d be back in a moment, and steered her out into the cold, bright day.
Lissa grabbed in oxygen through a chest that felt so tight she could barely get her breath.
“What’s in the folder?”
“What?” Her face burned so hot she could barely look at Reed for fear he’d glimpse something in her eyes that would alert him to her distress.
“The folder,” Reed repeated, his tone dark.
“Oh. I brought the papers you wanted. I thought it might be easier for you to have them now rather than wait until tomorrow night.”
“And you thought you’d take the tour while you were here?”
“Yes. You’ve told me so much about it, I thought I could see it firsthand.”
“Yet you couldn’t get out fast enough.” His jaw set into a tight line, his spine ramrod straight as his flinty eyes bored into hers. “Something change your mind?”
Lissa swallowed. She had the distinct impression things were about to get very awkward. “I remembered I had to get back.”
He gave a slow nod. Lissa swallowed.
“If I didn’t already know it was Zutini, I’d be putting my money on it being Ethan you were trying to avoid at the wedding.” When his fingers tightened around her arm, she looked up into narrowed eyes. “Don’t lie to me, Lissa.”
“I don’t lie.” But one look at his stony expression and she might be tempted to bend the rules a little. Yet they’d gone too far for that. And what did it matter anyway? He’d made it perfectly clear that he was more than ready to end what was a temporary business transaction.
He’d changed since the night they’d got married. Become harder, cooler. The epitome of someone forced into a situation he hated but had no option but to carry through to the end.
It wouldn’t really matter if she told him the truth, except it might make things more difficult between him and his cousin. Ethan was working on Reed’s building. For all she knew they had a permanent arrangement and she didn’t want to put that in jeopardy by stirring up trouble where it wasn
’t needed.
When she remained silent, he continued to glare at her and for long moments the air buzzed. Then before she knew what was happening, Reed grabbed the folder. “Nobody makes a fool out of me, princess.”
“It isn’t like that.”
“No? What, it simply slipped your mind to mention that you’ve been fucking my cousin?” His eyes narrowed again. “Did you dump him for Zutini? Or was it the other way around?”
She swallowed, but forced herself to meet his hard glare. Her throat squeezed shut and the muscles of her ribcage froze so that she could barely draw in any air.
At her silence, Reed’s shoulders drew back and the skin across his forehead stretched tight. “Damn it all, Lissa. Just how many fucking men have you screwed?”
Hurt pierced her chest like a poison-tipped arrow. “I don’t deserve that. Perhaps I should have mentioned about Ethan—”
“Perhaps?” He almost spat it out. “You agreed to marry me and yet you think that perhaps you should have told me you’d screwed my cousin?”
“It was only once.”
“Yeah. Fine. That makes it okay then.” He ran his hand through his hair and dragged in a long slow breath as he looked away from her. “So what about Zutini? Was he another one night stand?”
“Yes.” And her stomach continued to churn as she realized she had to come clean. “Look, Reed. I didn’t plan it. It just happened.”
He looked back at her. “What? You didn’t plan on first night shags, they just happened?” He gave a humorless laugh. “Not sure why I’m so surprised. You let me fuck you on the first night.”
That hurt more than she’d imagined anything could, but she pushed it aside to stand her ground. “Technically, it was the second night. We’d already met at Ethan’s wedding and I didn’t let you fuck me then.”
He huffed out another laugh. “I wasn’t trying that hard. Maybe I should have found a secluded tree and gone for it.”
She shook out of his hold. “You’d have been wasting your time.”
“Yeah? You put out for my cousin and his buddy at first meet, but not me, is that it?”
“I told you, it just happened.”
“Two one night stands just happened? I’m supposed to believe that?” When she hesitated, his eyes darkened and he drew his shoulders back. She saw the moment he put it together. “Shit. You did them both. Together.”
Since it wasn’t a question, Lissa didn’t respond.
“A fucking threesome?” His mouth stretched into a thin line, then he shook his head as if to get some clarity. “That explains why you were so interested in my take on threesomes on our wedding night.”
“Reed—”
“What, princess? You want me to go back in and get Ethan so we can get some action going?” He widened his stance, planting his feet as he faced her with a thunderous expression. “Is that what does it for you? Two cocks, one pussy?”
She might have felt bad about keeping it from him, but she wasn’t about to let him insult her. “Don’t you dare, Reed.”
“Just stating a fact. You like sex. I know that firsthand. If you like experimenting with group sex—”
“Oh, I see,” Lissa’s temper snapped at his imperious expression and the insulting way he sneered at her. “It’s okay for Ethan and Marco to indulge, in fact you’ll probably pat them on the back in some sort of bizarre male solidarity thing. But when a woman indulges her sexual needs and desires it makes her some sort of slut, is that it?”
His own silence inflamed her more. “You know what, Reed? You’re a damn hypocrite. You bang a woman, promise her marriage if neither of you are married by age thirty, then you find the quickest, easiest way to dump her by bribing a woman you don’t know or love to marry you and use her as your get-out clause.”
Still he said nothing, but only glared at her.
“I went to Papa Niko’s that night because I needed a distraction. Ethan and Marco happened to be there and I was attracted to both of them. I needed what they could offer me and you know what else? They treated me a damn sight better than you’re treating me right now.”
“Yeah. I bet they treated you like a real lady.”
“They did.”
“So much so that you felt compelled to avoid them both at Ethan’s wedding.”
“Of course I did. How do you think they might have felt if they saw me there? Ethan was just married and Marco looked to be in a steady relationship. There was no way on earth I was going to spoil the day for them in any way. They’re nice guys.”
“I’ll bet.”
“For God’s sake, Reed.”
“So you didn’t think to avoid the wedding completely? Didn’t the names of the bridegroom and best man alert you to the fact that your ex lovers would be in attendance?”
“It wasn’t like that.”
“Oh yeah? And how was it, princess?”
Since there was no way to avoid answering, Lissa drew in a breath. “I didn’t know their names and they didn’t know mine.”
He stared at her for a moment and she chilled at the contempt in his eyes. Then he ran his hand over his mouth. “I have to go,” he said tightly. “I’ll take a look at these and get back to you.”
Lissa’s temper rose with the curt brush off. “If you need anything else you know where to find me.”
“I won’t.” He slapped her file against the palm of his hand, his eyes angry slits as he looked down at her. “I don’t need anything else.”
He didn’t need her, that was what he meant. They were done. No doubt he’d want Jack to draw up the divorce papers as soon as possible. Any hope she might have harbored that they could continue some sort of relationship after their divorce had been severed because of her past with Ethan and Marco.
Well, she wasn’t going to apologize for it. She damn well wasn’t going to apologize for anything. If he had a stick up his backside about it, that was his problem.
Her only regret was that she’d gotten herself involved with a Neanderthal who thought it was okay for men to experiment sexually, but not women.
When he started to turn away, she felt her temper hike. “You know Reed, you’re like something out of the dark ages.”
He glanced back to her. “Was there anything else? I’ve got to get back.”
She dug into her bag for her car keys, then hoisted the strap of her bag onto her shoulder. “So you said.” Aiming the remote at the car, she yanked open the driver’s door. “Well, don’t let me keep you.”
She didn’t look back at him as she drove away. She didn’t even know if he stood watching after her or had simply walked away. Right then she didn’t care.
And if she did, it was her own stupid fault. She couldn’t believe she’d let herself get hooked up, even temporarily, with someone so chauvinistic. Egotistical bastard.
Oh, it was okay for him to experiment with her. Okay, if she let him do just about anything he wanted with her and she with him, but heaven forbid if she actually went experimenting long before she’d even met the stupid idiot man.
Her one time, she thought scathingly as she drove back along the coast road. One time.
Most of her sexual adventures before the damn threesome had been of the vanilla variety. The couple of men she’d hooked up with had been strictly “On your back, darlin’ and spread your legs. Let’s see if I can come in two seconds flat and leave you totally unsatisfied and frustrated by the whole experience.”
Which wasn’t entirely true, Lissa thought as she cracked open the window for some much needed air. But her experiences hadn’t been anything like the erotically satisfying one she’d had with Ethan and Marco.
And Reed.
Oh, God. Reed.
Her heart squeezed around the ache in her chest.
Not that she would allow it to affect her for too long. Okay, she’d fallen for Reed, but she wasn’t going to let him treat her as if she had something to apologize for.
She’d carried out her end of the bargain, now it w
as up to him to carry out his.
When he confirmed that he had everything he needed from her to do that, she would demand the divorce papers, sign them, and throw them in his arrogant face.
She shouldn’t have too long to wait. Knowing the way Reed conducted business, he’d have everything signed and sealed for her within twenty-four hours. Which meant that tomorrow night she could start making demands of her own.
Tomorrow night she’d ask him for a divorce.
****
Reed stood with his clenched hands in the pockets of his trousers and watched until Lissa’s car disappeared from view. His chest ached, his head thumped. And he felt so damn tight with fury, he could barely think straight.
A Neanderthal, she’d called him. Antiquated. Well fuck, if despising the idea that the woman whose finger you’d slipped a ring on just happened to forget to tell you that she’d banged your cousin and his best friend—together—made him an antiquated Neanderthal, then so be it. He wasn’t going to fucking apologize for his reaction to the news. Wasn’t going to simply swallow it and go merrily on his way as if it didn’t affect him.
Aware he stood in the parking lot staring off into nothing, Reed sucked in a breath.
He was a bloody moron. He should have seen the signs. Put two and two together on the day of his cousin’s wedding. He should have realized that Lissa’s skulking around had a damn sight more to it than merely trying to avoid any old guest.
She was trying to avoid the bridegroom and his best man. Two men she’d screwed.
At the same fucking time.
His heart thumped painfully against his ribcage and blood soared through his veins like a river free of the floodgates. Damn right he should be angry. Wouldn’t any man be incensed by the fact his wife had indulged in a ménage with his cousin? Damn right.
Before he could think, could reason, Reed turned and stormed back into the building. He saw Ethan crouched down measuring something in the shell that would become the elevator shaft. Reed marched over, aware that one of his men called for him on the other side of the lobby. He didn’t break his stride, but shot up his hand to acknowledge the call as he headed for his cousin.
