by Pamela Ann
“I do what I can to help my friends out,” he said with a big smile on his face. “Get some rest. I heard the guys, especially Jacques, kept you late. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Another wave of goodbyes and I went to the awaiting ride.
I released a long sigh as I entered my bedroom, my eyes longingly gazed at the large bed as I dropped my weekend bag on the floor. Taking my shoes off, I dropped to the bed with a soft thud. “So sleepy,” I groaned out loud, closing my eyes with a smile.
“Where were you all weekend?” Bass started yelling, momentarily confusing me.
Right, when did he get here? Why did he sound suspicious anyway? What’d he expect me to do? Stay here all weekend long and count as the time ticked by? Well, that was my plan… until Dimitris whisked me away to Paris and introduced me to the dark champions, giving me a night to remember. “Somewhere,” I finally murmured.
“Where?” Bass demanded.
Paris. “Sight-seeing.”
“Were you with him?”
Ah, here it comes, I thought with disdain. He thought I was with Carter. Funny, Carter was a baby next to those three bad boys, but why does it matter if I did or didn’t? It was obvious that he was through with me. “Think whatever you like, Bass.” I got up, ignoring where he was and left my bedroom. I was in the kitchen, drinking water when he pestered again.
“Did you fuck him?”
I just shrugged in response to his question. Even if I was hurting this much, I couldn’t help feeling good that he was the one seeking me now.
Bass strolled closer to me, just enough to make my heart gallop faster. His eyes were like they were made out of ice—cold, haunting and dead. “Answer the question, then I’ll leave you alone.”
“Sure. I did. Happy?”
Chapter 7
“Love is like a war: easy to begin but very hard to stop.”
- H. L. Mencken
Bass
“Sure. I did. Happy?” Emma had the gall to finish her glass before leaving me in the kitchen and then slamming her bedroom door shut.
I was shaking with rage that I didn’t even trust myself to be near her for the rest of the night.
The next afternoon, I was thinking of ways to lash out at Emma when I heard someone approach Dimitris. “Kosta! I didn’t know you were friends with Formula One’s Jacques Bertrand and Luca de Medici?”
Glancing sideways, I saw an overexcited Trick (a diehard racer, but loved making films, too) shove a magazine at Dimitris. “I thought after Luca got the second place in Monza, he and Jacques would be enemies.”
“Do they look like they’re fighting?” Dimitris sounded bored.
Trick was laughing as he stabbed the article repeatedly with his finger. “Nah. I think the only fight here was who gets to take home the blonde, right? Who won?” Trick kept yapping, and then stopped before releasing a loud, disbelieving gasp. “What the fuck, man! Is that our Emma Anderson?”
That made me crane my neck like a crazed person towards the men. Emma was out with Formula One men? WHEN? I launched myself out of my seat and grabbed the magazine out of Trick’s hand, almost crushing it. “What the fuck are you talking about!?”
Trick held up his hands, taking a step back from my sudden attack. Shocked at my intense reaction. “Shit, Bass! Sorry. We’re still tight, right? ‘Kay, man, laters.”
Emma in an extremely short, halter-neck, black dress with no bra on—her nipples were blatantly obvious—her beautiful legs looked amazing as she smiled at the camera as the two men sat on either side of her, comfortable as one man had his arm around her shoulder and the other had one on her knee. Her makeup was so dramatically done that I had to take a second look to make sure it was her. Yes, the woman in the picture was definitely my Emma.
I grabbed Dimitris by the collar as I angrily made my intention clear. “You better start speaking, Kosta, because if you don’t provide it in the next sixty seconds, you’re going to make an enemy of me.”
“Go ahead, I don’t scare easily,” Dimitris said, unruffled with my outburst.
That got me even more riled up. What the fuck was Kosta playing at with Emma? It was foul. “Don’t fucking push me. You’re messing with my life here and I take that very seriously,” I spat at him.
He snorted in disgust. “You mess your own life up very well. This place was practically dead, apart from the people who worked here. Emma was alone all weekend while you partied your ass away. I came back from Athens because I felt bad for her. She was alone, crying while eating ice cream! How could you leave her like that? I know the island is practically safe, but a drunkard could go in there and hurt her knowing that there are not many people to hear her screams.”
Fuck. My hand slowly eased off him as his words set in. When did I ever forget to protect Emma? I knew I was angry, but I should’ve thought of her safety first. “You’re right. I’m sorry, I was…” What? Ballistic? Going crazy with thoughts of Emma with Carter and now other men?
“If you’re just going to act like a teenager, Bass, and can’t see that she is a good woman, then maybe you should stop whatever it is that you’re thinking and leave things as they are. I know a few men who would gladly take your place.”
I bet he did. There was Carter and now it seemed that the list of men kept on growing. “Did she sleep with any of them?”
He thought for a second before he shrugged, clueless. “I don’t know. You have to ask that yourself.”
Dimitris left Emma alone with international playboys? “How can you not know!”
“Because I was busy with Claudine.”
Fucker was busy getting his dick attended before he made sure mine was safe. What the FUCK! “I can’t believe you put your sex life before Emma’s safety. She could’ve been drugged or hurt from any of those men!”
Dimitris darted me a murderous glare. “Of course I made sure she was safe, Bass! Or I wouldn’t have left her to begin with. Emma shooed me away anyway.”
Did she now. Why would Emma do that when the only man she knew there was Dimitris? Then—I remembered what she told me last night. “Who was she with?” I thundered, almost wanting to continue fighting. I wanted to roar and knock everything that was around me.
“Jacques. She was with Jacques Bertrand.”
“Jacques,” I whispered, choking the hateful name out of my lips. It was Jacques she slept with, not Carter.
Emma, what have you done to us?
What have you done to me? I thought as I walked out of the tent, stopping in my tracks when I spotted the person who was turning my life upside down; all the way down to hell.
Chapter 8
“Sometimes you need to run away just to see who will come after you.”
- Lisa Brooks
Emma
“Has he slept with any of these women?” I wondered out loud. If there was one person who knew the gossip here, it was Ants.
“There are rumors, but you know? Rumors are almost never true. Most are fabricated by jealous, crazy people,” he tried to reassure me, but failed.
“But do you think they are?”
“All I know, Emma, is that you and Bass are crazy for each other.”
“Were, past tense.” Well, mostly in his case. Me, on the other hand, I’m still trying.
Just as I finished uttering my last word, I saw Bass chatting with two women hanging onto his every word. He was their fucking golden boy who could do no wrong; I was getting sick of it, of him.
When my phone rang, I strolled away out of earshot, relieved that I had something else to do other than think of the fucking man. Without looking at the caller, I took it. “Hello?”
“Hey baby! I’ve missed you.” Carter.
Boy, was it wrong that I was relieved to hear his familiar voice? “Really, Carter, we both know your words don’t hold much meaning.”
“I know you don’t believe anything I say anymore, but I’m changing, Em. I haven’t been with anyone since you, physically or emotionally,” he imm
ediately added, reassuring me of his renewed ways.
Was this man Carter Mason? I think not. “There is no way you can go a few days without it, Carter. You always needed it.”
“That’s true, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have my release. I think I’ve thought of you in all ways possible.”
Um, shit. Heat suffused all over my body as my vivid imagination thought of him doing what he just clearly stated. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do. My memories of you are so alive that I sometimes feel like you’re here with me. You’ll know what I mean when you get back. I’ll be your slave if you’ll have me.”
That had me laughing, hard.
It was refreshing to laugh this freely. I forgot how great it felt. “If I asked you to massage my feet every night, you’d do it, no questions asked?” I asked, teasingly. The thought of Carter at my beck and call was surely pleasing.
He gave a throaty laugh before responding to me. “Anything you want Emma. I’m not asking for anything except for you to just see that I’m dead serious about you. If that means I’ll be your butt boy, then so be it. I don’t give a damn.”
I was grinning from ear to ear when I caught Bass studying me with extreme scrutiny. I didn’t know what it was, but I could tell, even from a distance, that he was trying to hold his anger down. His expression alone was enough to sober me up quickly. The truth was, as tempting as the sound of Carter’s offer was, it didn’t change how badly I wanted to be with Bass.
I’ve begged, but he was unyielding. I was completely out of options. The only way left was to free him.
Looking away from Bass, I focused on Carter. “I—I have to go.” I cut off the call before I started walking away, fast, really fast. Before I knew it, I was running away from there like the hounds of hell were upon my heels. I was running until I reached the cottage, heaving and out of breath as I went inside.
There was nothing I wished more right now than to leave this forsaken island and to be away from Bass because I couldn’t take it any longer. I had less than two weeks. How the heck was I supposed to survive the explicit torture?
Then the idea came.
I could stay at the villa. Well, at this point, I had to do what was the best for my sanity, even if that was moving out of this cottage and ending this blasted misery of being around him every single day. It was the best I could come up with without being too irrational. So I best get a move on with packing.
I wasn’t even surprised when I heard him enter my bedroom, all rogue and uncontained a few minutes later. “Why were you running? What are you doing with all this luggage?”
Without glancing his way, I continued packing as I contemplated if I should reply or not, but I suppose, the reasonable side of me won out. With the calmest voice I could muster, I graciously answered him, “I’m moving to the villa. It’s better this way.”
“Why? Is that because you’re French boyfriend demanded you move out?”
Ah, so he found out about Paris! No wonder he was here, demanding to know things. “Think whatever you like,” I said nonchalantly, still not looking at him. I was going to play it cool.
“You love playing with my head, don’t you?” Bass kept on going.
Not particularly. “No. I want nothing to do with you.”
He sighed, cussed, and then sighed again. “Of course, my imagination doesn’t have to work extra hard knowing how easily you put out.”
War of the words. He was sharpening his tongue, goading me to fight back, but I wasn’t going to be baited. “Well, at least that saves you time,” I calmly whispered.
I could hear him move closer. I didn’t even need to look up to see the spite, revulsion and scorn permeating off him like a cloak. “You fuck another man while my come was still buried in you. You fucking disgust me, Emma!” Bass screwed each word with venom.
It shot through me like a virus, chipping away at my resistance, slowly breaking through my cool composure. “That would be right, Bass. Will you go now?”
“No! I. WILL. NOT. FUCKING. GO!” he exploded like a detonated bomb. “You will tell me every single detail, Emma. God help me before I draw them out of you! You’re walking on very fucking thin ice here. So think twice before you open that treacherous mouth of yours.”
Great, just freaking great! Why couldn’t he just disappear and go back to party with his admirers? “Stop talking because nothing good is coming out of that mouth!” I screeched, shooting him a death stare. He simply matched it, his stance ready to pounce any second.
“I’m only going to tell you this once, so you better listen good. I didn’t fuck or kiss any man. I want to move out because I can’t take this anymore. Being around you is draining. Fighting with you is pointless because, guess what? There’s no point anymore, we’re through. Now that you’ve got that out of me, please, just go away.” I was genuinely pissed as I walked past him and went out to the patio to cool down.
How dare he march in here like he hadn’t rejected me? How fucking dare he!
When I heard him follow me out, I exploded. “God, please, give me space! What the hell do you want from me, Bass? Isn’t it enough that you’ve paraded it around that you’re all happy? Isn’t it enough to flirt around with women when I’m around? I get it. We. Are. Done! I’ve accepted it. You’re done and I’m so fucking over this.”
“Well, fuck, do you honestly think you’re the only one here that’s hurting? You fucking threw everything in my face, Emma!” he blasted at me.
“You had the power to end this misery for the both of us, but you didn’t and because of that we’re unbearably hostile to each other. I’ve finally accepted it.” It seemed like all energy, all the life, just drained out of me. “I’m tired of fighting with you, Bass. Let’s end the spite right here.”
“It wasn’t that easy… I had doubts…” Bass trailed off.
“I know you did. I truly did. That’s why I don’t want to talk about it any longer.” With another defeated sigh, I went back inside my room and continued packing my things.
“If I give you another chance, will you promise to be honest with me?”
I stopped midway as his words set in. “You’ve rejected me, over and over again. What made you change your mind?”
“This.” He gestured at my haphazard things all over the room. “You’re packing and willing to move away from me.” He paused. “I’ve wanted to mend things with you, but I needed more time—more time to figure my feelings out. I feel that if I don’t fix this now, we’ll never get the chance to again.”
I shrugged, unconvinced by his admission. He was just getting paranoid because we were kaput. That was all. Men tend to do this. Heck, Carter did this, too.
“I’m not ready for us to end,” Bass choked out. He suddenly seemed vulnerable as he waited for me to say something.
“Yet you were and you pushed for it to happen.” I shoved my clothes on the floor, remembering what I went through the past two weeks. “Look at me, Bass. Didn’t you see that I was falling apart? You saw, I know you did. You saw me hurting for quite some time now, but did that ever change your mind? No, you were unyielding.” Pressing my lips together, I gathered more courage. “But it’s fine. These affairs usually end right about where reality checks in, so we’re right on schedule.”
Bass instantly tensed up with that admission. “Is that what we had? An affair?”
No. You were my love affair… my dream come to life. The thing about dreams, though, you inevitably wake up. Dimitris shook me, but it was Jacques who woke me up. “An affair, arrangement, friends with benefits, fling and the list goes on, but it all comes down to one thing, sex. So, yes, that’s what we had. Lot’s and lots of sex.”
“You make it sound like what we had was cheap, Emma.”
“Maybe it was.”
“Take that back!” Bass snapped like I just told him he was a poor actor.
As if. “Fuck off and leave me alone.”
“Take those words back, Emma!”
Bass yanked my arm when I was about to leave the room, holding me down. “Take. It. Back,” he bit out, determined to get his way.
“No.”
Cupping my jaw, he penetrated me with those vicious eyes. “Tell me one thing, Emma,” he murmured in such a succinct, deadly voice, it was all I could hear. “Did you love me at all?”
I could lie about other things, but never my love for him. “I meant every word.”
“If you love me, then why aren’t you happy that I’ve changed my mind?”
“Because you were cruel,” I said with sadness. It was the truth. He truly was cruel, much more so than Carter because he meant so much more to me. If he’d given me time, I would’ve been completely his, but he was too caught up with his own misery that he didn’t see what it was causing me.
“I’m deeply hurt, Emma. I just love you so much it completely changed me. I’m a reasonable man, but with you, I become this jealous, overprotective, insecure guy. I feel like you’re going to leave me for Carter because you chose him once and you could do it again.”
“If I wanted Carter back, then nothing could’ve stopped me from having sex with him. If I wanted him back, not even you could’ve stopped me from being with him, but I did none of those, Bass. I was completely enamored with you. I was so happy that I felt like I was floating most of the time. All good things come to an end, though.”
“Emma…”
I shook my head, stopping him from talking.
Bass slowly took his fingers from my arm, before letting it completely drop to my side. He dropped his gaze, parting his lips as if to say something, but changed his mind and closed it shut. He gave me a curt nod before leaving my bedroom and going into his.
