Unveiled

by Alice Raine

  Unveiled

  The Revealed Series – Book Three

  Alice Raine

  Allie is feeling the strain of trying to cope with the realities of dating a Hollywood star, but every time she thinks things are back on track with Sean, Savannah Hilton, Sean's deviously cunning co-star returns with a vengeance. Can they make it as a couple?

  Meanwhile, Cait has managed to secure herself a job, but her troubled past continues to haunt her. Tempted by the possibility of lowering her defences and developing a friendship with Jack Felton, Hollywood heartthrob and the feature of her fantasies, she's torn between the chance of happiness, but struggling to comprehend how she can let a man in again when the very man who hurt her is still lurking in the shadows.

  Can the girls find the happiness they chase, or is Hollywood just a step too far for them?

  CONTENTS

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

  CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

  CHAPTER FORTY

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

  CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

  THANK YOU FOR READING!

  THE UNTWISTED SERIES

  OTHER ACCENT PRESS TITLES

  Acknowledgements

  As always, my first thank you must go to you readers. I can never express in words how grateful I am for the support you give, and I truly hope you enjoy this third instalment of the new series.

  Many thanks to my beta readers, Sam Berwitz, Grace Lowrie, and Suzanne LeBrun-Berry. Your input has helped me to carve the direction of the storyline as it develops, and has been so incredibly useful. An especially big thank you to Sam Berwitz, your advice and feedback during the initial editing phase has been invaluable. Thank you for putting up with my constant emails and questions, and also for the assistance with re-wording the vital final line!

  A huge thanks also to my advisors: Dr Helen S. for the medical advice, Eve K. for sharing your knowledge on prop making and prosthetics, Joanna R. for the technical advice on film studios and author Laura Carter for the technical advice and support.

  Once again I need to extend a huge thank you to everyone at Accent Press for the hard work and dedication that goes into supporting my writing. Especially Alex for your fabulous editing and advice, and Bethan and Kat for all the marketing and promotion work.

  This instalment is my favourite so far, I’m really relishing the character development in this series, and I hope you all enjoy it too. Alice x

  Prologue

  Cait

  Bursting through the front door into the early summer evening, I felt the breeze on my skin, warm and soft, but instantly blowing my long hair across my face so I couldn’t see. A frustrated mewl flew from my lips as I continued to blindly run, raising a hand to drag my hair back from my eyes to clear my vision.

  Down the driveway, or through the field? That was my only choice. I barely hesitated, diverting my feet towards the relative safety of the tall wheat crop to my right. At least in the field he wouldn’t be able to jump in his car and drive after me.

  A loud, furious bellow behind me broke the peace of the evening and made every single hair on my body stand up in fear. Fuck. He was coming. I’d hoped it would take him longer to get up and get his trousers back on. I barely had a head start on him, and I knew from experience that he was a fast runner. Too fast.

  The cut on my temple from his punch stung, and sweat began to pop on my forehead as I urged my legs to move quicker, my arms pumping desperately at my sides to try and propel me forwards. Usually a good runner, I found that tonight, fear was paralysing my lungs and stopping me from breathing properly. Instead, I was gasping and stuttering, panting so desperately that it seemed to be echoing in my ears.

  Finally I reached the edge of the crop, ducking my head as I began to blast my way through. Pointy ears of wheat stabbed at my arms and face, surprisingly vicious for their small size, but I ignored the scratches and threw my hands out in front to help clear a path through the stems.

  My pulse has hammering in my ears and my breathing was ragged and wheezy, but I heard the exact second that Greg joined me in the crop. The crunching and smashing of the wheat stalks behind me was unmistakable.

  As was the sound of his heavy, determined breathing as he began to gain on me. Shit, shit, shit. What had I been thinking, coming in the field? I was disorientated and isolated. At least on the driveway I would have stood a chance of making it to the main road and signalling down a car for help.

  It was too late now, and as the helplessness of my situation fully dawned on me, panic surged up my spine, making me light-headed.

  My feet stumbled on a lumpy root and before I even realised it I was tumbling forwards, my arms flailing as I tried and failed to regain my footing. Given the speed I had been running I hit the ground with considerable force, and any remaining air in my useless lungs was forced from me in a sharp exhalation as my ribs connected with the hard soil.

  I saw stars before my eyes, my body shocked and my vision swimming, but my brain was still alert enough to urge me on, and I was up on my knees and crawling almost as soon as I had fallen. The rough ground cut at my hands and knees as I tried to push back to standing while still scrabbling forwards, but then I felt an iron grip on my ankle and knew it was too late.

  He’d caught me.

  A high-pitched scream left my lungs, but knowing it was useless out here in the middle of nowhere I saved my breath and began to fight. There was a second or two of battling; my free leg desperately stamped out in an attempt at kicking him to free myself, but gradually his strength overcame me and I felt myself being dragged towards him.

  Greg was swearing now. Drops of his spittle landed on my scratched bare arms as he called me all sorts of filthy words and muttered exactly what he was going to do with me now he’d caught me. It made me shudder to my core, silent tears sliding across my cheeks and falling helplessly to the dry ground as his words washed over me in terrifying waves. They were dirty and violent and too much for me to take in, so my mind seemed to switch my hearing off.

  For some reason, as I lay there sprawled on my stomach, I noticed just how much dirt was embedded under my fingernails. That would take ages to wash out, and I didn’t own a nailbrush. There was blood too. Why such an insignificant detail was stuck in my mind I had no idea, but it was better than listening to his vile words. Perhaps I just needed something mundane to focus on to ground me from my terror.

  Strong fingers bit into my shoulders, gripping hard and yanking me over onto my back as he smirked down at me. ‘Gotcha. You
know I love the thrill of the chase, babe.’

  Dropping to his knees, he grabbed my wrists into one of his huge hands and smashed his lips down onto my mouth so violently that I felt my top lip split under the pressure. Blood leaked into my mouth, tangy and coppery as I fought to turn my head away. Greg leant up, a smear of my crimson blood flared across his triumphant face like a proud battle scar.

  ‘I’m really going to enjoy this.’

  My body went limp at the determination in his voice. There was no point fighting him; I was pinned below his wiry strength and totally useless without my hands. His free hand skimmed down my arm, across my breast, fondling it so hard I winced, and then it slid down the front of my trousers.

  ‘No!’ I sat bolt upright, unsure where I was. As I blinked wildly and took in the calmness of the room I realised I’d been dreaming.

  Holy fuck.

  I had no clue what had triggered the horrific nightmare, or why my hands were clutching at my mouth until a huge, hiccupy sob ripped from my throat, quickly followed by a hot mouthful of bile. Choking on the acidic burn I flung myself from the bed and ran to the en suite, only just making it to the toilet before the contents of my stomach expelled themselves violently into the bowl.

  Staggering to the sink I rinsed my mouth out, brushed my teeth, and splashed several handfuls of water on my face before daring to look in the mirror.

  Ugh. I shouldn’t have bothered. I looked even worse than I felt. My blotchy cheeks suggested that I had been crying in my sleep, and the bags under my eyes led me to believe that the slumber I had got hadn’t been particularly refreshing.

  Plonking down onto the toilet seat I tried to get my composure back. That had been one hell of a nightmare. Except it wasn’t just a figment of my imagination, was it? It was the reality of my past. My lips twisted as my mind flooded with memories of Greg. Now that I was awake I could only remember parts of the actual dream, the rest of it lost to my sleep, but my cruel mind was more than capable of filling in the blanks.

  At least I’d woken up before the worst part.

  Shuddering, I raised my hands and rubbed furiously at my face, trying to wipe away the cloying, disgusting memories.

  I hadn’t had a full nightmare like that for over two years now, but during the months that had immediately followed Greg’s final attack I’d had them practically every night. Letting out a long sigh, I wondered briefly what had prompted it, before shaking my head resolutely. I would not let him fuck up my life any more. I just wouldn’t. Full of resolve, I practically leapt from the toilet and headed to the shower, determined to wash the lingering dream down the plughole.

  ONE

  Allie

  The mix of emotions swirling in my chest was practically choking as I stared in shock at Savannah’s smug and irritatingly beautiful face. The last two minutes left alone with her since Sean had left the room had sent me spiralling out of control. I didn’t know what to believe any more, or who to trust. I was so overwhelmed that I could barely think straight, but her words just kept rolling over and over again in my brain until my sensibilities had been drowned out with the pain searing through my heart.

  ‘You’re very good for overlooking the fact that Sean and I still fuck …’

  Savannah and Sean had slept together? And still did? I hadn’t believed it initially, but her cruel, malicious confessions were ringing inside my head over and over again like a tuneless record on repeat. Could it be true? Sean was an insatiable lover – that much I knew for sure. And Savannah was clearly a temptress with her sultry smiles, touchy-feely fingers, and fluttering eyelashes.

  ‘It’s understandable that our sexual urges sometimes get the better of us …’

  The idea of Sean and Savannah rolling together amongst sweat-soaked sheets was enough to turn my stomach almost to the point of retching. But depressingly, I knew how spontaneous Sean was when it came to sex, so her statement could potentially hold some truth. In our time together in England, the relationship between Sean and me had been incredibly sexual and completely impulsive – our liaisons on a bar stool, kitchen counter, and his office desk were a testament to that. In fact, we’d probably had sex out of his bed almost as much as we’d had in it.

  The two of us had been drawn together like moths to the flame, and had never gone long without something sexual occurring. Was it possible that he’d given in during our eight weeks separation and slept with her to ease his needs?

  ‘Sean was like a man possessed that night, I don’t think he’s ever taken me that roughly before, or so many times. It was incredible …’

  The fact that he had obviously told her about our argument, something so personal, only seemed to support her claims that they were indeed close. But were they intimately close? Had he turned to Savannah to release his pent-up anger after our argument with a few rounds of angry, rough sex?

  The breath left my lungs as a deflated whisper. It was too much to deal with: my anger at Sean for lying to me, my annoyance at Savannah's irritating smugness, a feeling of complete inadequacy when I compared myself to her beauty, and lastly, a hot coil of jealousy that was working its way up my throat and threatening to erupt as a string of curse words, or worse, a flurry of fists and a flood of tears.

  I wouldn’t lower myself to hitting her, even though I desperately wanted to slap that look from her face, and I would not let them see me cry. I kicked the stool out of the way and it sailed sideways and crashed into the table, sending the salt and pepper shakers falling to the floor noisily as I staggered away. Tipping my chin back to boost my flagging confidence, I glared at her one final time as I decided that my best hope of escape would be the open patio doors.

  ‘Sounds like a herd of elephants has arrived. What on earth are you two doing?’ I heard Sean’s joking voice from behind me as he re-entered the room, but I didn’t bother to turn around and face him.

  Bloody celebrities. Fucking with other people’s lives and trampling on their hearts, thinking they can do whatever they like without considering the consequences of their actions or the hurt they might inflict. I’d had enough. I was done with all of them.

  Without saying so much as another word to either Sean or Savannah, I side-stepped her false boobs and walked directly out of the back door to find myself on a large deck overlooking the enormous garden.

  After the cool interior of the house, the warmth of the day hit me full force, almost knocking the air from my lungs, but I was a woman on a mission – an escape mission – and nothing would stop me getting away.

  ‘Allie?’ It’s was Sean again, somewhere in the distance and sounding completely confused, but in response I quickened my pace, trotting down the steps towards the lawn.

  ‘Savannah? What the fuck is going on?’ His voice had now risen to a yell. My lip curled into a sick grimace – they’d probably be having sweaty, passionate, angry sex on the kitchen counter in less than two minutes.

  I was running now, so desperate to get away that my legs were working on autopilot as my eyes tried to seek out the best route to help me escape. Flipping hell, this garden was immense. There was even a statue and a fountain in the middle of the lawn. How the other half lived, eh? How on earth had I ever considered that I could fit in with someone like Sean? We might have been sexually compatible, but apart from that we lived completely different lives, and clearly finding willing sexual partners wasn’t an issue Sean struggled with.

  Rolling my brimming eyes at my naïvety, I charged down a path that seemed to lead towards the side of the house before groaning as I saw how far I had to go. I hadn’t realised how ridiculously big the bloody house was. It might be mostly on one level, but it was gargantuan. Grimacing, I shook my head angrily as I jogged along the side of the property and finally rounded the corner to the front driveway.

  I didn’t know who I was more annoyed with – Savannah for her crude words and bitchy, mocking face, Sean for outright lying to me, or myself for believing a man as handsome, charismatic, and famous as Sean
Phillips could be monogamous, truthful, and seriously interested in me.

  What an idiot I was!

  A multitude of colourful swear words slid from my tongue as I realised to my horror, that as much as I wanted to leave, I wasn’t going anywhere.

  The gates.

  The fucking, stupid, fancy, electronic gates were looming ahead, but they were shut tight. With a defeated groan, I slowed my pace slightly. I wasn't going anywhere unless someone let me out and there were only two people capable of doing that, neither of whom I wanted to speak to.

  Bloody bugger it.

  TWO

  Sean

  It took me about three seconds to re-enter the kitchen and work out that Savannah had used my toilet trip to get up to no good. The main clue was the absence of Allie, who I couldn’t see anywhere, but the other indications were pretty unmissable: a stool was toppled across the floor, the fruit bowl had been knocked over, and the salt and pepper shakers had cascaded to the ground, spilling their contents across the polished marble.

  In short, it looked like someone had had a wrestling match in here, and I could only assume that the contestants had been Allie and Savannah. Seeing as Allie was no longer in the room, and Savannah was looking particularly smug, it seemed like my co-star had been the winner.

  ‘What’s happened?’

  Taking a slow, leisurely sip of her drink, Savannah raised her eyebrows as if unaware that anything untoward had occurred, and then shrugged, her mouth pouting like a spoilt child. ‘Whatever do you mean, darrrrling?’

  A flash of gold outside the patio doors caught my eye and I felt my stomach drop as I realised it was Allie’s blonde hair swirling down the deck steps and into the garden. ‘Allie?’ But she was already gone. ‘Savannah? What the fuck is going on?’ I demanded, stepping towards the patio doors and scanning for any sign of her. ‘Where’s Allie going?’

  ‘Who cares? Now she’s outside, you and I can catch up properly.’ Savannah moved like a spectre; one minute she was a few feet away, and then the next she was right in front of me and running a blood red fingernail down the centre of my chest.