Chasing Paradise (Chasing Series #3)

by Pamela Ann

  Toby emerged from the lift, looking like a ghost of himself. Frowning with concern, I scanned his face, as he got closer. “Mate, you all right?”

  Toby’s blue eyes looked stormy when he shook his head as he strode past me and plopped on the cushion. “Amelia is with child.”

  “Blasted fuck! You’re not serious? Tell me you didn’t shag her after Courchevel?” I questioned, and when he didn’t meet my gaze, it merely confirmed the answer for him.

  “I spoke to her family last night.” Toby finally lifted his face, eyes desolate. “I’m set to marry her in two weeks time back in Spain. I was hoping you’d stand next to me at the altar?”

  “Marriage? To that heartless bitch? No bloody, fucking way, Watson!” I thundered out, past angry; knowing quite well that Amelia was using all weapons to secure him. The bloke had simply walked into a life sentence when he kept shagging that woman after what had happened in France.

  “Lucy,” I muttered, thinking about the only woman who my friend loved more than himself, knowing that this was going to break both of them.

  “Lucy doesn’t want me; or have you forgotten? Besides, everything is set. All I have to do is show up at the location they want me to show up and it will be done. My family’s flying to Spain next week to get to know them,” Toby huffed out, looking like he was having a difficult time breathing.

  “Shit, Toby!” Sienna screeched behind me, walking towards Toby before hugging him, tears falling from her eyes. “Think this through; once you go through this, there’s no going back.”

  “What’s the point? The woman I love doesn’t want to be with me so why not marry for the sake of my child? I want something to live for, Sienna. My life’s been really bleak since she left; I’m shattered and pretty much gutted that she could survive living without me.” He gave a dry chuckle, shaking his head as if he’d gone mad, which he truly had from where I was standing. “Hell, wouldn’t it be odd if I ended up falling for Amelia in the end? What a twist that would be.”

  “You’ve completely gone mental, mate, if you’re wishing for one second to fall in love with a trollop.” I paced, moving towards the windows, barely managing to contain the turmoil inside. “Let me speak to her father. Just tell me you don’t want to go through this farcical arrangement and I will fix it for you.” Toby was my best friend; one that I could always count on, no matter what, and I wasn’t going to let him go into a trap of a marriage because the woman was with child. I was sure Amelia Mendoza and her family had a price.

  “Bloody hell you will, Knightly!” Toby thundered out, frustrated. “She carries my child. Why shouldn’t I be a part of that?” He looked away, calming down. “Besides, Amelia isn’t all that bad. She just needs getting used to. At least she couldn’t get enough of me in the bedroom. I suppose that’s a decent incentive.”

  Hearing him now, I could truly see that he was giving up on Lucy. The prideful blonde beauty would certainly be affected when she heard the sad news, although the real question was, would she finally come to her senses and beg him to come back?

  ~B~

  “Babe?” Sienna crawled closer, kissing my jaw before sighing. “Can we talk… about Kyle?”

  Cristo Santo! I tensed, knowing that this was not a subject I wanted to discuss with her when I hadn’t seen her in weeks. “What about Matthews?” I hissed out, closing my eyes and thinking that I was going to detonate soon. Each time I heard his name, the devil in me took over and I simply wanted to tear him apart, limb by limb, until he was no more. The man was the scalawag who’d tried to take her away from me. The thought of him shagging her erupted like a blasted outbreak of hives. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, I was going to be in a shambles soon if I kept on going with this off-putting tribulation.

  “He arrived yesterday. I know how you feel about him and I don’t blame you for feeling and reacting the way you do each time you hear his name.” Sienna pushed herself up with her hand, watching me while her face contorted with pain. “I’m still going to see him and have him as a part of my life.”

  The hell she was! “You ought to be joking, surely? After what’s happened due to that cretin’s relentless meddling, you still want to see him?”

  “I know this angers you, but you must understand that he’s been my best friend since I was young. He was my rock, and at one point, he was my everything.”

  Bloody fuck! Will he ever go the fuck away? He was such a vile creature that my tongue couldn’t even manage to utter his name without my detonating. I loathed the man that much.

  Sienna cupped my face, slowly guiding it to meet her gorgeous eyes. “I love you. The depth of my feelings cannot be fully expressed because words aren’t enough. I know it’s not fair, however I have to ask something of you that will be extremely difficult to do. I want you both to get along and be civilized with one another.”

  “Like bloody hell I would be conversing with that twit!” I grated out, growling as I slid off the bed, naked. The effervescent high I had been on after making love to Sienna had certainly worn off. She was asking for the impossible! In my blasted foul mood, I went inside my walk-in closet, pulling off a pair of black, drawstring pants and putting them on before striding towards the bedroom again.

  Sienna was still on the bed with the sheet barely concealing her nakedness, aggrieved at my reaction. “Blake?”

  Even when my insides were being wrung about, twisted like a bloody tornado, I still went to her side and gave her forehead a peck. “I’m going to be in my study.” I would quite possibly drown my sorrows away and murder Matthews in my head a million times while I was at it.

  “Don’t shut me out, please. Don’t do this.”

  “I need to think. I promise you, we’ll discuss this tonight.”

  She nodded in agreement. “I love you.”

  “And I, you, mi amore.” Someway, I had to find a solution to this problem. Kyle Matthews being welcomed into my home, spending holidays with us, being a part of our lives. The thought was enough to put me into overdrive. I needed a drink to douse my body in liquid fire because I was going mad. This was one of the keys to making Sienna happy. I had to do what was best her. What was best for us. I knew this, yet I was still having a hard time capitulating to the very idea.

  Two hours later, I was still in my study, pondering what Sienna had bombarded me with as well as the major catastrophe that was Toby’s life.

  As for Kyle, even though he was the vile cretin who’d tried to break us apart, he was part of Sienna’s life before, so some way— somehow—I had to find a common ground to stand on with him and to put away the hatred that I felt for him, just to make Sienna happy. By far, this was the hardest thing I had ever considered, though for the woman I loved, I’d walk through Heaven and Hell just to put a smile on her face. As long as she was mine, as long as Kyle knew where he stood, I could somehow tolerate him, but only for a shortened amount of time.

  Toby, on the other hand, was a man who was simply lost. I understood his situation most because it felt like it had been just yesterday when Sienna had broken up with me and left for LA with Matthews. That feeling of dejection and worthlessness rotted you from the inside out and utterly poisoned your way of thinking. It was a wretched thing, however it happened to the best of us.

  Finally, I decided to retire for the night and join Sienna. I had promised that we’d speak tonight and I intended to fulfill that. Our relationship was shifting and I wanted it to be a mature one. We had played enough games to last a lifetime and I certainly did not want to carry that into our marriage.

  Entering our bedroom, she had lit a candle. The smell of roses in bloom was enticing to the senses. Smiling, I quickly glanced at the sleeping form on the mattress before going for a quick shower. Ten minutes later, I was ready to move past another hurdle.

  Pulling her against me, I breathed her in, knowing that my decision was the right one. Anything to make her happy, I would gladly do. “Sienna?”

  “Babe,” she responded in a tone, which was r
aspy from sleep.

  “You can be friends with Matthews as long as you two will keep it at that level. I’m taking this monumental step forward, for you as well as for our future. I beg of you, don’t let me down this time because, if that ever happened again, I would never be able to take you back.” I wasn’t trying to sound threatening, although it seemed to come out that way. It was true, though; I wasn’t going to tolerate one more mishap. Never again.

  Sienna slowly spun around, facing me with bewildered eyes. “I’m not going to cheat on you. I’m not capable of hurting you like that ever again. You know that, don’t you?”

  Did I? Maybe, maybe not. I wasn’t so sure, really. “I don’t know, cara.”

  “I promise, but I will show you that you can trust my word for it.” She circled her arm around my body, tugging me close as she breathed on my chest. “You’re all I need.” She kissed my neck, gently trailing down to my stomach, making me tense with the anticipation of what my lovely woman had in store for me tonight. “You’re my it, Blake.”

  “Sienna,” I gutted out, voice almost wispy from the adrenaline that my body was experiencing when she expertly pulled my cock out of my brief’s hole and toyed with the head of my shaft. Her hand stroked me, not fervently; instead she used a measured, leisured pace and simply didn’t appear to be in any kind of hurry. While her hand was busy tending to my length, we ended up on our sides before Sienna flung her leg over my hip and nestled my throbbing member on her slick core, touching, though not penetrating.

  “Thank you for loving me the way you do, Blake.” The enchantress hungrily kissed me, hands gripping the back of my head as she rocked back and forth in such a deliriously rhythmic manner, I was having a hard time fighting myself not to spin her on her back and enter that enticing sweetness of hers.

  “Kiss me. I want to see how long you’d survive without sex,” she moaned against my lips and her breathing hitched when the tip of my cock paused at her entrance before slipping back down.

  Fuck. Me. To. Hell. And. Back. A violent growl emanated from me as I swiftly rolled her onto her back and plunged into her in one maddening, obliterating stroke. “Sienna!” I bellowed, pounding her harder as she started shaking from her orgasm. I was like a man hell bent on something to prove. I couldn’t, for the life of me, stop annihilating this glorious beauty that had owned my heart from the very beginning. I simply wanted her every moment of every day. To consume her. Love her. It wasn’t hard to comprehend that I was proudly addicted to her. “Mine, you’re mine. No more other men, Sienna.” I ached, saying the words out loud.

  “I promise. There’ll be no one,” she panted out, barely coherent before I pulled out and entered her tight rectum.

  “Bloody fuck. Each fucking hole is bound to my cock. Do you hear me?” I growled in her ear, tensing as my insides tightened, draining all blood to one particular spot, my groin. I held back as much as I could, stroking her until I couldn’t any longer. With an earth-shattering howl, I pummeled her one more time before I released all of my seed into her, while she tightened around me, sucking the life out of me to the very last drop while I panted into her ear. “No more, amore.”

  Sienna captured my lips, kissing me. “It’s only you now, Blake. From here on out, I swear to you—my life, my parents—that I’m yours.”

  Closing my eyes, I nodded, smiling against her lips as our noses touched. Her words were enough to warm my heart.

  Eight

  Blake

  “Here, let me help you make this outfit complete.” I murmured behind her, before I took out the necklace I had made for her, loving how shocked her was at my extravagant present.

  “Blake!”

  Her reaction was what I aimed for. It was worth everything—it was what I lived for, thrived for. “What do you think? They mined this when I was there in Australia and after I found out, I had it made for you. Pink diamonds are rare just like the woman I’m so crazy in love with.”

  “Uhuh—there’s no need to milk for brownie points. You’ve earned enough.” Her eyes very bright as she admired the intricate diamond design of the jewelry, but most of all the large size that sat in the middle of it. “It’s so beautiful,” she murmured, before spinning around to face me. “Thank you. Now if you could just get us through the night without being robbed, I’d gladly appreciate it.”

  Reaching for her hand, we walked towards the elevator and then out to get my car. Now in my Vanquish, we headed towards where Chad held his wedding in South Kensington. My thoughts dwelled on my friend, feeling his pain.

  “How positive is he that the child is his?” Sienna blurted the question, glancing at me.

  This was the first thing that popped in my mind, but before he agreed to marriage, they had one done. “It’s his. The DNA results sealed the deal.”

  She took a sharp breath, before cursing. “What the hell! He should’ve wrapped his tool each time, especially with her! God! Men and sex, they don’t ever think straight!”

  I gripped the wheel, bothered. I knew she was talking about Toby, but I felt like she was targeting me too. “I assure you, I made sure mine was covered and protected.” I was referring to that time we broke it off, and I went wonky.

  Sienna looked out the window, not saying a word.

  “Sienna?”

  She didn’t glance at me, purposely ignoring my question, but when she did ask, I was skirting on thin ice. “How many women are we talking about, Blake? Roughly.”

  How many? Hell. How as I to know? A man doesn’t count how many women he’s slept with unless he was a wanker or a loser, I’m neither of those. “Roughly—and I’m really emphasizing on the word here—about one a night—if they don’t bring a friend or two. Some I shagged a few times afterwards, so I’m not so sure what the number is.”

  Sienna reached for my hand, before giving me a small sad smile. “I thought as much.”

  “Are you mad?” I asked cautiously. “I knew I threw a major fit with Kyle, but I also knew that there was only him and no one else. I would understand if you would be upset by it.”

  She grabbed my thigh and squeezed it. “Do you really want to go through one of those fights? I’d rather not. That was exhausting. I think we’ve moved past it. Even though the thought makes me sad and yes, even angry, I can’t hold it against you. You were single then, you were just living the bachelor life.”

  The relief of hearing her say that was uplifting. Broken-hearted men, sex and alcohol—those factors came hand and hand. It was a horrible experience I would gladly not want to revisit.

  We were handling things rationally. Compared to last year, this was truly a different level of compromise and understanding.

  “You’re the only one in my mind, cara. You never left it ever since you came in the picture, back in Toby’s apartment. I just want you to know that.” I knew it wasn’t necessary, but I needed her to see, her and understand that she was it. She was the only woman I wanted, needed and loved.

  “I know.” She finally smiled at me. “How do you think I’d survive the thoughts, hmm?”

  Christ, I do love the hell out of this woman.

  Nine

  Sienna

  “Hey, Luce! You’re late!” I glared at her, but the second our eyes met, I regretted the tone I had used with her. “What’s wrong, babe?”

  “I just heard; he’s not really getting married in two weeks, is he?” Lucy sounded flabbergasted, as though she couldn’t believe it either.

  “He is.” I cupped her jaw, looking directly into her blue eyes, pleading with her. “Talk to him, Luce. You’re the only one he’ll listen to. He loves you dearly. Hell, I’m sure he’s just waiting to hear from you.”

  “How the hell do I fucking face him after knowing this? He got her pregnant, Sienna! From where I’m standing, he can have the filthy tramp to spend the rest of his life with!” Lucy flashed her eyes at me.

  “Lucy, he’s already going through so much… feel a little sympathy for him,” I urged the angered w
oman as she looked around and took in everything. Chad’s theme was hot pink, black and white. The whole place was decorated in that fashion; even the swans had bowties in those colors.

  “Lucy! Where the hell have you been? How dare you be late to my wedding!” Chad pouted as he walked into the room before he hugged her. “I have ten minutes so if you want to cry, you can do it now, honey.” He patted her back as he tried to soothe her.

  Lucy gave a small, tight smile before she pulled herself off him and kissed him on the lips. “Silly man, I’m not about to breakdown on your wedding day, love.” Lucy then glanced at me thoughtfully. “Can you believe this bloke is getting married before us?” She laughed, teary.

  I closed the gap and hugged them both. “We love you and we’re so happy that we get to spend this amazing day with you, Chad.”

  Chad groaned, huffing. “Seriously, baby loves, I’m about to cry.” He sniffed again, patting the sides of his eyes. “As much as I love you both, I’m not about to ruin my make-up. Hello!” He tried to laugh it off, but his tears were unstoppable. “Oh, shit cakes! Where’s my Mighty Knightly? Maybe a good boner will make me stop crying.” Give it to Chad to make us crack into boisterous laughter before our tears could really start.

  Chad hugged the living crap out of us as we laughed a bit more. “I love you!” He kissed my lips before he bounced to Lucy’s face and announced the same sentiment before kissing her again. “My beautiful she-devils!”