Illusions of Love

by Michelle Betham

  She couldn’t help but smile slightly at that because, in her eyes, anything to do with Michael Walsh messed with your head.

  ‘When did you find out?’ she asked, turning her body so she faced him head on, tucking her legs up underneath her. ‘About Michael being your dad?’

  ‘My mom told me, just before she died... just a few months ago,’ Dominic replied, turning away briefly, staring down at his still-clasped-together hands. ‘I guess she finally felt the time was right.’

  India noted a slight hint of flippancy in his voice, but that was purely understandable, given the fucked-up circumstances they were dealing with. ‘Do you resent her at all? For keeping it from you for all those years?’

  ‘Did you resent your mom for not telling you about Reece?’

  India flinched slightly as the memory of finding out about Reece being her father filled her head. And, yeah. Yeah, she did resent her mum for keeping Reece from her for all those years. But the circumstances were different. And her mum had only revealed who India’s real father was to benefit her; nothing to do with feeling guilty about keeping the truth from India for a good part of her life.

  ‘We’re not talking about me, Dominic.’

  Dominic shook his head, his eyes meeting hers again. ‘No. No, I don’t resent her, India. How could I? I had the best life… she was a great mom, and Alan, he was a fantastic father. He was the best, and he was my real dad, y’know? In every sense of the word. Because he did all that important stuff. He gave me a childhood I’ll never forget. He made sacrifices for me and my mom, he gave us everything he had and I loved him. So much. He was a good man, a great father. And my mom – she was amazing. She did everything she could for me, I know that now, and if she thought it best I didn’t know about Michael until now, well, I respect her for making that decision.’ He sighed, sitting back and closing his eyes for just the briefest of seconds. ‘I just wish I’d fucking handled it better.’

  ‘Like a grown-up, you mean?’ India smiled, and he looked at her, smiling back. Not quite the movie star smile, but getting there.

  ‘I don’t blame you for reacting the way you did.’

  ‘You hurt me, Dominic. The fact you even considered using me as some kind of pawn in a game…’

  He sat up, reaching out to take her hand but she pulled away slightly. She wasn’t quite ready for that, not yet.

  ‘I’m sorry, India. Really, baby, I am so, so sorry.’

  She sighed, throwing her head back, staring up at those twinkling fairy lights again, lights that gave the small cabana a warm, almost ethereal glow about it.

  ‘Can we stop saying sorry, okay?’ She looked at him, tired of the talking now. ‘Everyone’s sorry, I get that. It’s time to move on.’

  ‘And how do we do that?’ Dominic asked, desperate to touch her, to know that she wanted him as much as he wanted her because this whole situation was killing him.

  ‘Can I trust you, Dominic? Because I need to know I can trust you. Whether you like it or not you’re a Walsh, and that name isn’t one I find myself trusting too much anymore, so I need you to be different. I really need you to be different.’

  He looked right into her eyes, staring so deep he swore he felt his heart flip right over in his chest. A feeling that was still quite alien to Dominic. ‘You can trust me. I promise you that, baby. I promise you that with every inch of my heart. I will never let you down again, you have to believe me. I will never do that again.’

  This time she smiled a smile that sent a wave of relief coursing through Dominic’s entire body. ‘Then we start over,’ she said.

  ‘Start over?’

  She finally made a move, leaning over towards him, touching his mouth quickly in the briefest of kisses but it was enough to make her skin tingle, a sharp shiver running right up her spine. It was enough to tell her that there was a chance she could fall in love with this man, a chance that she could do that in a heartbeat, and she couldn’t deny it any longer. No matter how dangerous or risky that may turn out to be. She’d already let him in. It was too late. She’d tried walking away and it hadn’t worked, so it was too late. She may not forget what he’d done in a hurry – he’d said she could trust him but he still had to prove that – but she needed to know where this journey was going to take them now, because being without him had made her more miserable than she’d cared to admit.

  ‘Let’s try again, Dominic MacDonald. Movie Star.’

  And there it was, that smile she’d been longing to see, his face lighting up in an instant, making him ten times more handsome than he already was. Heartbreakingly handsome.

  He tentatively reached out to her and this time she didn’t pull away as he touched her face with his fingertips, moving closer so his mouth rested on hers, closing his eyes as he kissed her long and deep. A kiss that made him feel as though he’d finally come home, somewhere safe and warm, somewhere he’d ached to be for days now because every second without her had felt like that clichéd eternity he’d heard people talk about so many times before and in his own cynical way had never believed. Until he’d almost lost this woman here with him now. Now he knew how long, drawn out and painful those seconds could be.

  ‘It won’t be easy, you realise that, don’t you?’ India said, her mouth still close to his as she spoke. ‘This relationship, it’s going to be played out in the spotlight, we can’t avoid that. Not now.’

  ‘We can try,’ he smiled, and she couldn’t help smiling back.

  ‘I admire your optimism, Mr MacDonald.’

  He continued to smile that movie star smile and she felt her heart start to race, thumping hard inside her as her breathing quickened, her skin tingling every time he touched her. It all signalled the start of another crazy ride and she had no idea where this was going to lead, but right now she didn’t care. Dominic was here, beside her, and that was all that mattered. Who he was and who he was related to, she had to put that to the back of her mind if this relationship was going to go anywhere. But, tonight, she wasn’t even going to think about that. She was just going to enjoy having him here.

  ‘We’re not in the spotlight now, though. Are we?’ He moved even closer, and India knew exactly where this was heading, there was no other way it could go. There was something between the two of them that neither of them could fight any longer so it was easier all round just to give in.

  ‘We’re always in the spotlight, handsome,’ India smiled, running her fingers gently over the stubble on his chin. ‘Everyone knows everything we do.’

  ‘Yeah, well, I kinda get a kick out of that – sometimes,’ Dominic smirked, letting his hand slide up under India’s strapless dress, and just being able to feel her skin underneath his fingertips was like receiving a fix of a much-needed drug after way too long without it.

  ‘Don’t you think we’ve already done enough in public?’ India asked, her heart now racing at a speed that was making her breathless, the anticipation of what was going to happen next filling her with an excitement akin to that of a kid on Christmas morning.

  That movie star smile lit up his face once more. ‘Baby, we’re only just getting started.’

  She threw her head back and bit down on her bottom lip as he kissed the base of her throat, sliding her dress up over her thighs, removing her underwear in one swift movement, even though he was shaking, if the truth be told. Dominic MacDonald really had never been in love before, and this was all a very new and very daunting experience for him, despite the fact he was about to make love – once more – to someone he considered to be one of the most beautiful women he’d ever had the pleasure of being this close to.

  She was complicated, she was crazy, she had a past that he couldn’t even begin to understand with a man he’d just found out was his father – but he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anything before in his life. He’d thought all he’d wanted was some kind of unexplainable revenge on Michael Walsh – for what reason? He hadn’t known Dominic was his son, so how could he have done anythi
ng? How could he have been there when he hadn’t known there was a reason to be? But all Dominic wanted now was India. He didn’t want revenge; he didn’t even care that Michael was his dad. He only cared about this woman here beside him.

  Sitting back against the cushions he held onto her hips as she climbed astride him, straddling him, positioning herself over him, sliding a hand round the back of his neck as she looked deep into those incredible eyes of his. The eyes of his father, but she had to get over that, she had to. Or this was going nowhere.

  ‘We’re going to be okay, aren’t we?’ she whispered, her need to feel him back inside her colliding with that still-present wariness of letting Michael Walsh’s son get too close to her.

  ‘We’ll make sure we’re okay,’ Dominic smiled, gently tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, leaning in to kiss her slowly, and in an instant any still-remaining doubts just disappeared as that bubble they wanted to retreat back into cocooned them, giving them permission to finally move this forward, to go for it. To take this relationship where it needed to go.

  India smiled back, reaching down to touch him, wrapping her fingers around him as his mouth touched hers again, the kiss getting deeper as he grew harder in her hand and it was all he could do not to lose control right there and then. But he needed to hold on, he needed to be there, inside her, to be a part of her and know that he was back in her life. Back where he wanted to be. In a body so beautiful it hurt to even look at it sometimes.

  ‘Okay, Mr Movie Star. Are you ready for this?’ she breathed, her mouth resting on his as she spoke. But she was already guiding him in, putting him where he needed to be and as he pushed deeper, into a place so warm and perfect, he could’ve cried with relief, because he’d honestly thought he’d never feel this again. He’d honestly thought he’d lost her.

  So he didn’t need to answer her question. He didn’t need to do anything except hold onto her and know that he was back. And now he finally had the chance to love her like he wanted to.

  ‘Take it all off,’ he whispered, desperate to see her naked, because being inside her just wasn’t enough anymore. He wanted to see everything she had, everything she could give him; he needed to see that right now. And she did exactly as he wanted, stretching out and pulling her dress up over her head, throwing it aside, arching her back as his hands covered her breasts. And he did nothing for a few seconds, just looked at her, taking her all in, his heart beating like a jackhammer against his ribs. Then, slowly and gently, he began running his fingers over her firm breasts, making her gasp out loud as, once again, the breeze blew back the curtains round the cabana, letting the outside in.

  The cool evening air made India shiver, heightening everything she was already feeling. Making love with Dominic, being outside and so close to so many people, it was a rush she was in no hurry to end. And she knew Carlos would know exactly what was going on between her and this insanely handsome movie star, but at least having him out there meant that nobody else would get near them. The last thing they needed were paparazzi snaps of this. So she felt no need to stay quiet, had no qualms about shouting out or screaming Dominic’s name as he thrust deeper and deeper into her, and she helped him go as far as he could by leaning back, giving him the best view possible of everything she had to give him.

  And it was a view Dominic was never going to tire of. She had the body of someone twenty years her junior, the body of an angel sent down to fuck with every inch of him but he could handle that. He was ready for everything she had to throw at him, and right now she was giving him one hell of a ride, sending both of them crashing to a simultaneous climax that rocked the tiny cabana to it’s foundations.

  ‘Jesus, you kill me, baby. You freakin’ kill me,’ Dominic breathed, still holding onto her hips, his head thrown back against the sofa as he tried to get his breath back. ‘But it’s so fucking good to be back.’

  India smiled, still gripping him tight, reluctant to let him go because it felt good, having him there. It felt nice. For whatever reason.

  ‘Are you cold?’ he asked, opening his eyes and looking at her, still eager to take in every inch of her incredible tanned, toned and naked body with the perfect breasts and thighs so hard he had no doubt they could keep him inside her for hours without letting him go. He could stare at her for days. He could look at her forever.

  She shook her head, quite enjoying the liberating feeling being naked and outside was giving her. ‘I’m fine.’

  He ran his fingers gently up over her hips, running them along the curve of her waist, his eyes following their every move. ‘We are gonna be okay, baby.’ Dominic looked up, his eyes meeting hers and she smiled again, stroking his face with her fingertips, kissing him so softly it made his heart skip that proverbial beat.

  ‘Yeah. I know we are, Mr Movie Star.’

  A movie star she was, quite possibly, falling in love with. So she really hoped that he meant what he’d said when he’d told her he was different because, right now, as she looked at him, into a face so handsome it didn’t seem real, there was more of Michael in him than she really wanted to see. But she had to get over that, they had to deal with the fact he was Michael’s son or they – as a couple – were never going to work.

  But she knew, in reality, that that problem was hers rather than Dominic’s. It always had been. And it always would be.

  CHAPTER 28

  Charley stood in front of the mirror and ran her hands through her dark brown curls, shaking them out so they fell around her shoulders in loose, natural waves.

  Staring back at her was a determined, strong and beautiful woman, although Charley felt anything but strong. She felt trapped and scared, terrified that her life was going in a direction she couldn’t control because, despite Vince doing everything he possibly could to try and stop Jimmy from exposing every element of her past life, Jimmy was letting nothing stand in his way. Nothing was a hurdle to him; legalities didn’t register in his warped and evil mind, so if he was hell-bent on some kind of revenge then he was going to go all out to get it. And no injunction in the world was going to stop him.

  But did that mean she had to sit back and let him slowly dismantle everything she’d worked so hard for? Did it mean she had no other option but to sit back and watch while he pulled apart her wonderful new life, bit by bit, until it crumbled around her? At first glance it may look that way, but Charley knew she had to get out there and fight for what she loved, what she’d worked so hard to build up because, if she didn’t, Jimmy Cash was going to take it all away from her.

  ‘You can do this,’ she whispered to her reflection, running her fingers through her hair again, staring at the image in front of her. ‘You can do this, you can do this!’ she repeated, like some kind of mantra. ‘He will not do this to you again, he won’t drag you down, you won’t let him. You got that? You won’t let him.’

  And she wouldn’t. Because Charley was going to take the only course of action she could see left open to her now. And she was going to do it on her own because if Vince knew what she was about to do he would stop her, no doubt about that. He would stop her. And maybe what she was about to do wasn’t the wisest route to take, but in her eyes it was the only one left, because Jimmy obviously wasn’t listening to anything anyone was saying to him.

  Staring at her reflection one more time she took a long, deep breath and stared up at the ceiling as she exhaled, as though banishing away any nerves or doubt she might be feeling.

  Charley had survived Jimmy Cash once before, and she could do it again. Only, this time, she needed to finish it for good.

  ***

  ‘Everything back on track then?’ Kenny asked, sitting down opposite India who was grabbing a quick cup of tea at one of the on-set catering wagons before filming began.

  She looked up at him, blowing on her tea to cool it down. ‘If you mean am I back with Dominic, then yes. I am.’

  ‘Did you spend the night with him?’

  She narrowed her eyes as she stared
at Kenny. ‘Who are you? My father?’

  ‘No, but your father would also like to know what’s going on with my two co-stars, if that’s alright,’ Reece said, sitting himself down next to Kenny.

  India felt as though she was being slightly ambushed as she took a sip of her finally-cooled-down tea.

  ‘I’ll get Carlos over to remove the pair of you in a minute,’ she said, half smiling, kicking Kenny under the table. He immediately kicked her back, causing them both to collapse in a fit of giggles.

  ‘How old are you two?’ Reece asked, looking from one to the other. But secretly he was just pleased to see his daughter happy again.

  ‘Oh, lighten up, Dad,’ India smiled, leaning over the table to kiss him quickly on the cheek. ‘Everything’s fine. Dominic and I, we had a good talk last night. Everything’s okay now.’

  ‘Everything’s okay?’ Reece asked, raising an eyebrow. ‘What does that mean, exactly?’

  ‘It means the pair of them kept me awake half the night with noises I’ve not heard the like of since I watched one of those ‘SAW’ movies,’ Bobby shuddered, sitting down next to India, sliding his glasses down onto his nose as he tapped away on his phone.

  India looked at him. ‘My father is sitting right there, thank you, Bobby.’

  Bobby looked at her over the top of his glasses. ‘Yes, I can see that, Angel.’

  India turned her attention back to Kenny, smiling at him again, but the second he smiled back she dissolved into another fit of giggles.

  ‘Here we go again,’ Bobby sighed, rather too dramatically, looking up to the heavens for a second. ‘A love-struck India is never a good sign.’

  ‘Who said anything about being love-struck?’ India laughed, taking another sip of tea, if only to stop her from giggling. ‘He’s making me laugh, that’s all.’ She indicated Kenny with her head just as Dominic walked over, his hands in the pockets of his jeans, his handsome face carrying that movie star smile off to perfection as he threw it in the direction of anyone who looked his way.