Becoming His Mistress
Page 39
“Still think this is the best Christmas ever?” he asks. I nod into his neck and cry because it really is.
“I’m going to have somebody,” I whisper. “I’m going to finally have a blood relative.”
“Oh my God,” Izabella starts sobbing again and wraps her arms around both of us. “You just broke my heart.”
Mine has never felt so whole.
* * *
Bella Erika Conti, the most beautiful little baby girl, was born six months later, purple and screaming her lungs to the high heavens. Erika helped guide her into the world, Ezra cut her umbilical cord, and I got to hold her first.
My husband and I married six months after. We honeymooned six weeks later for two weeks, and we will live together, happily ever after.
The sixes will always be there as a comfort to me but so will Ezra Conti. So will Bella. So will everybody that I love. My people comforts. My anxiety busters as Laurie calls herself.
It wasn’t right how I achieved this happiness, but it ended right, for everyone, and for that I’ll always be grateful.
THANK YOU FOR READING BECOMING HIS MISTRESS
Please continue for an after-credit Conti wedding special and also a clip from my latest release, NAKED OR DEAD.
Snapback to the wedding…
“If you could all look my way,” Laurie calls into the microphone, swaying drunkenly, tapping a plastic fork against a plastic glass because the servers are not about to give her another crystal one when she has thrown five. The tapping makes no noise, she’s too drunk to care.
“What is she doing?” Halley asks.
“No idea,” I whisper back, smiling at my best friend who looks stunning.
“I did a thing,” she announces, grinning mischievously.
“Uh-oh.” My smile slowly fades, and my eyes become wider. When Laurie does a thing, it’s not usually a thing anybody else would do.
“Why uh-oh?” Halley shifts forward.
“If you could all look underneath your fancy-ass name cards, you’ll see a folded piece of paper. DON’T OPEN IT!” She shrieks the last part and we all cringe. I don’t have a name card.
“What is she doing?” Ezra asks me.
“How the hell am I supposed to know? It’s Laurie.”
“Fair point.” He holds my hand for dear life.
“Right, well, so my best friend, the gal getting married today.”
“Already got married,” I correct and the crowd laughs.
“Whatevz,” she murmurs and then continues at a normal drunken tone, “she kept a jar full of all the reasons she loves Mr. Ezra Conti—”
“Oh dear God no,” I breathe, leaning forward and placing my hands flat on the table.
“Mr. Ezra Conti’s idea, as a plea to get our girl here back.” She yanks on her own hair and almost falls off the stage. “So I thought, why not share their love with you?”
“Oh God,” I choke, unable to form a coherent thought.
“Everybody very carefully open up the paper and make sure to return them to me by the end of the night because I need to put them back in the vase.”
Oh my God…
Finally, I get a hold of myself and my shock and stand then shout, “NOBODY OP—”
It’s too late. The nosy bastards would have opened them even if I said no.
Everybody opens theirs and though there are some collective awwws, some people comment on how sweet theirs are, Izabella screeches and throws hers away from her like it’s on fire.
I sit back down and let my forehead hit the table six times. Ezra does the exact same beside me.
“I’m going to kill her,” I groan.
Halley finds this all hilarious and laughs so hard she has to reapply her makeup afterwards.
“So much love,” Laurie cries as Kyle guides her from the stage.
Mario drops his in front of his son. Ezra reads it and I look at it over his shoulder.
He gives AMAZING head. Like so good. Mind blowing.
He grins at me, smug and satisfied. I let my head hit the table again.
Yep. Going to kill her.
Have you read…?
NAKED OR DEAD
I swing my keys around my finger, making it look like I’m headed to my own car, and hasten my steps when they all climb into a large four-by-four truck with a covered bed. I memorize the license plate and brand as it peels out of the lot, and then, smiling to myself, I climb into my own car and type it into my phone.
Got him.
They return forty minutes later, and I follow them inside, not because I have to, but just because I want to appreciate his rear for just a bit longer. It’s a nice, firm, round, athletic rear. It’s just a shame it’s attached to such a douchebag.
I do love though how he automatically has an issue with me. Like he just knows I’m about to make his life hell. He’s obviously very perceptive.
But so am I.
He obviously has good instincts.
But so do I.
I notice him glance over his shoulder at me as we both stroll down the hall in the same direction. I notice his lips purse and his eyes narrow. I notice him whisper to the guy on his right.
They keep going, but so do I. I quicken my pace to get even closer, shouldering past coeds and even teachers. I get so close at one point I’m a nose breadth away from his back. I could kiss his spine if I wanted to; that dip that rests perfectly center to both sides of his body.
God, he smells good.
Then I drop back, just in time for him to check again without seeing how close I was. Though he felt me for the most part, I was too quick for him to catch.
He glances behind him again and I smirk at him.
He takes the bait, stops, and turns so suddenly it takes his friends another two steps to realize he’s no longer walking with them.
“What the fuck do you want, maggot?”
The people around us still like before, a few laugh, the boys with him share excited glances.
“Your attention,” I state boldly, still smirking.
He scoffs and looks around him with a fake smile on his face. He’s assessing his peers. Checking they’re listening to him for when he roasts me.
I beat him to the punch and hold up the black leather square, full of bank cards and cash and likely his ID. His smile fades and his eyes go to the wallet. It really is quite full of some serious dollar. I should have snuck a few out of it.
“You dropped your wallet.” I hold his gaze and his dark eyes lose the hardness they had.
He tries to snatch it from my hand while sneering at me. “Don’t touch anything that belongs to me, belegana.” I move my hand away, keeping it out of reach.
“Okay, so I should have just let somebody else pick it up and steal your cash? I’ll do that the next time your irresponsible ass can’t keep track of your shit in my path.” I slap it against his chest so hard the sound echoes around the hall and his chest muscle twitches under the force. He grits his teeth. “You’re welcome.”
He catches it before it falls past his waistline and watches me saunter away, flipping him off over my shoulder as I go. I catch the eyes of Barbie and her squad; she surprisingly gives me a sympathetic smile.
Sympathy over what?
I’ve got Nok exactly where I want him.
Acknowledgments
PamPammy Shepherd, you had such an influence on this book in the best kind of way. It felt okay before, but for me, now, it feels perfect and that’s because of you not being afraid to tell me where I was going wrong. Rose thanks you for taking care of her character and making sure I did her justice. You’re an amazing friend, person, everything.
Jami Kehr, you give so much and ask for nothing. I am always awed by you.
Everyone who read and reviewed NAKED OR DEAD, I am so grateful to you. Your reviews and recommendations are what help my books get noticed in those first few days and forever after. Small-time authors like myself rely so much on the kindness of readers to help us spread t
he name of our babies so that people might read them. I am forever humbled by your kindness and willingness to help me do just that. I love and appreciate you all.
Jami Kehr, Charlotte Day, Pammy Shepherd, Savanna Miller, Victoria Full, Miz Biheiv (Monika), Megan Mees, Belen Francesconi, Diane Norwood, Frank Kothbauer, Heather Packer, Jackie Ashmead, Jaimie Stevenson-Cox, Lucy Coverdale, Synclare Moss, Tania Renteria, Shannon Garner. Tania Shrimpton, Elizabeth Butts, NaeNae (Jenn Hare), Scarlett Emily, Gail Stalley.
About the Author
A. E. Murphy is the queen of sarcasm and satire, she likes long walks in the park, as much as ice cubes like to chill in a roasting oven. She’s effortlessly independent and so good at adulting it’s unfair on the rest of the world. She only napped twice today and has only avoided the dishes for three days before making the child slaves do them this morning. Winning! Her favourite hobby is writing, her worst hobby is reading through that writing. Also, she has three cats that carry toys to the top of the stairs and drop them down so they can chase them. They do this repeatedly in the middle of the night. Who cares if she has work the next morning? Not the cats, that’s for sure. And if it’s not the cats doing the waking, it’s the toddler crawling into bed with her and pulling individual hairs from her scalp with pudgy little fingers for comfort.
This is likely why she’s in a constant state of grump unless there’s chocolate and coffee. P.S. Please leave feedback, if not on the book then on this ridiculous bio she wrote herself. It’s the least you can do seeing as she’ll forever talk in the third person now. Alex loves her readers. Alex says thank you. Alex smiles.
Contact
Website
aemurphyauthor.com
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twitter.com/A_E_Murphy
Facebook
www.facebook.com/a.e.murphy.author
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Email
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Also By The Author
Standalone Novels
Masked Definitions
HIS FATHER
STEPDORK
NAKED OR DEAD
Becoming His Mistress
Seas of Seduction
Seizing Rain
Freeing Calder
The Little Bits Series
A Little Bit of Crazy
A Little Bit of Us
A Little Bit of Trouble
A Little Bit of Truth
A Little Bit of Guilt
The Distraction Trilogy
Distraction
Destruction
Distinction
The Broken Trilogy
Broken
Connected
Forever
A Broken Story
Disconnected (Dillan)
Sweet Demands Trilogy
Lockhart
Lockdown
Unlocked