UNTAINTED Read online

  “Are you sure you want to stay here?” she asked me when we made it out to the parking lot. She was side-eying me, her lips pressed thin. She was onto me. I knew it.

  “It’s been a while, Iz. I’ve missed it here. Feels good to catch a break.”

  “Yeah.” She breathed a dry laugh, popping the trunk of her rental. I tossed in the suitcase and when it was closed, she came up to me and threw her arms around me. I kissed the top of her head and hugged her back. “Wish me luck?”

  “I wish you all the luck in the world, Izzy Bear. You’ll do great. I know it.”

  She beamed as she pulled back. I watched her walk to the door and pull it open. When she was inside and had the car started, I tapped on the window.

  “What?” she asked after rolling it down.

  “Put that seatbelt on.”

  She laughed. “Sheesh, Dad. I was about to.”

  “Drive safe. Call me when you get there.”

  She buckled in and gripped the wheel. “I will. You be safe, Dad, okay?”

  There was a look in her eyes before she dropped her sunglasses. I couldn’t pinpoint it, but there was definitely some concern there. She was wary about leaving me here alone in Bristle Wave. Here, where she said she hated me. Here, where she knew I’d fallen for another woman that wasn’t her mother. A woman who just so happened to be her best friend.

  “I will,” I assured.

  She blew me a kiss, and then drove off. I watched her go until my phone chimed.

  I thought it would be Chloe.

  I was wrong.

  It was Sheila again.

  Chapter Thirteen

  THEO

  After getting dressed in decent clothes, I heard my phone vibrating on the counter. This time, it wasn’t Sheila, but the person I wanted to hear from most at the moment.

  A text message.

  Little Knight: Still doing lunch? Want to see you again. I’ll cook.

  Me: Yes, we’ll still have lunch.

  But you won’t cook. I will. I’ll bring something by. See you in an hour.

  Little Knight: Already, you spoil me

  Damn right.

  I made my way to the store, already with a meal in mind. As the groceries were getting rung up, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I fished it out and saw it was Sheila. Again.

  What the fuck does she want?

  I ignored the call and then sent a message stating I was busy. I knew she wasn’t calling about the papers. She was calling to try to start something with me. I knew Sheila, and if she wanted it done, she’d just mail it all back, not call repeatedly. Until she agreed that this was necessary, we wouldn’t be talking.

  I pulled up to Chloe’s house and there was a white van parked at the curb. I took out the groceries and walked to the door, knocking. She answered in no time, sporting a grin.

  “What’s up with the van?” I asked, walking in.

  “The patio roof is leaking. Getting it fixed,” she called behind me. I walked into the kitchen and saw the repairman on a ladder, patching it up.

  “You know I could have fixed that for you, right?” I called out to her.

  “I know, but you have to cook, remember? Plus, I called him weeks ago.”

  “And they’re just now coming today?”

  She shrugged and then sank her teeth into her bottom lip. I set the groceries down on the counter and then turned to reel her into my arms.

  “It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours and I want you again,” I murmured in her ear. I felt the shiver hit her. Her mouth pressed on my chin.

  “Did you talk to Izzy?” she asked, already breathless.

  I drew back a little and gave a small shake of the head. She was clearly disappointed because she pulled away in an instant.

  “Theo, why not? You have to tell her. We can’t sneak around like before. You know that.”

  “I know, I know. But she’s going off to her audition.” I adjusted my jeans. “I don’t want her thinking about us when she needs to be focused, Chloe. Let her get that role or believe she did her best, and then I’ll talk to her. We’ll talk to her.”

  Her lips pursed and then twisted. She knew I was right. Her shoulders relaxed and I stepped forward, planting a smooth kiss on the center of her forehead.

  “I’ll tell her. I promise. Don’t worry, all right? It won’t be like last time. You don’t have anything to fear, and quite frankly, you don’t have much to lose anymore.”

  “But you do,” she replied softly.

  I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing at all. I turned for the groceries instead. “I will figure it all out. Just trust me. All right?”

  She wrapped her arms around me and held me from behind, resting her cheek on my back. “I do trust you, Theo. You know that. I have since I was a teenager,” she laughed.

  That was true.

  I turned in her arms and cupped her ass in my hands, picking her up and planting that same beautiful ass on top of the counter. Like an addict in need of more, I kissed my girl like she was a drug, stepping between her legs.

  “Don’t worry too much,” I whispered when our mouths barely parted. “Just let me kiss you right now. Let me make all that lost time up to you, Knight.”

  She moaned when my tongue passed over hers. I groaned when her fingers trickled through my hair and she tugged lightly.

  I was hard all over again. Ready. Her touch. Her body. Her heart and soul. Everything about her drove me fucking crazy.

  How the fuck did I let all of this go before?

  Why didn’t I fight harder? Why did I walk away?

  She tugged me closer, sucking on my tongue, still gripping my hair tight. I grabbed the ends of her hair and craned her head back so my mouth could reach her neck. I sucked on the curve of it, thrusting between her legs now, breathing raggedly as my other hand cupped her ass.

  “Fuck,” I breathed against the hollow of her throat. “You feel so good, Chloe.”

  Just then, a throat cleared behind us and I pulled back a little, looking towards the repairman. He had on gray overalls, his chubby cheeks red as hell.

  I tried hard not to laugh as I stepped back and let Chloe hop down from the counter. Of course she was embarrassed as hell, her cheeks rosy red too.

  “I am so, so sorry about that,” she apologized with her hands in the air, as if the man would run at any given moment.

  “No worries.” The man was clearly lying. He was either bothered by it or secretly turned on. I kept my groin pointed in the opposite direction of them. I was hard as fuck and I’m sure he knew it, but I didn’t give a damn. “I . . . uh . . . have the roof all patched up. There were small holes here and there but everything should be okay.” He glanced over at me, swallowing hard. “If it starts to leak again let me know—well, let the company know. I’m sure they’ll send someone out here in a jiff.”

  I sniffed as I adjusted my jeans and bent down to search for the frying pans.

  “Thank you, Bobby. I appreciate that,” Chloe responded, mostly ignoring me and my silent remark of snide.

  Bobby left with a bob of his head and not one look back, and Chloe rushed my way, tittering. “Oh my gosh, Theo! He was so embarrassed! I’m so embarrassed!”

  I finally bellowed with laughter, resting my lower back on the edge of the counter. “Must have liked what he saw, huh?”

  She tossed her hair back, eyes full of life. “Maybe, but I know one thing for sure: Bobby won’t be the one coming back to repair my roof if there’s a problem.”

  We stared at each other, but neither of us could help it. We both broke out in laughter again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  CHLOE

  “You’re still a great cook,” I said after sipping my Diet Coke.

  He half-shrugged, chewing the Cajun chicken pasta. “Never stopped.”

  “Even when you married . . . well, you know?”

  He shook his head, fighting a smile. “Nope.”

  I fidgeted in my seat then,
placing my can down. “Do you miss her? I mean, I know you want us to get back on the same page, but what about her? You have to feel something.”

  “I do feel something,” he stated calmly, dropping his fork and sitting back in his seat.

  “What?” I asked, nervous for the answer.

  “Guilty.” He exhaled. “I left the papers without facing her like a man. But we’d talked about it before. She kept trying to ignore the subject, calling me crazy, tired—treating me like I was an idiot, really. I was tired of getting ignored so I just went and got it set up.

  “When I left the papers on the counter, I knew exactly how she would feel when she saw them. I personally hate hurting people, especially women.” He pushed a hand through his hair. “I . . . well . . . I don’t know. I just wanted to tell her the truth because her not knowing the truth was eating me alive. I have a feeling she already knows there’s someone else on my mind, she’s just too stubborn to hear it, and so I kept it to myself. She’s a decent woman—doesn’t deserve to be neglected because I’m thinking about someone else.”

  “Wow,” I murmured.

  “She’s upset now, but I think she’ll come around. She’ll understand this is the wisest choice.”

  I was quiet for a moment. Watching him—contemplating whether I wanted to know the answer to the question that was on the tip of my tongue.

  “Do you love her?”

  He blinked slowly. “I care about her, so I guess that means I do. But I’m not in love with her. Never fell in love either.” He reached across the table for my hands. “You already know who owns the reins of my heart.”

  I bobbed my head. “I know. I’m just curious.”

  “And what about you? If that motherfucker walked through that door right now, would you tell me to leave?” He bobbed his head towards the door.

  “What? Of course not!”

  “You sure?” he mused. “’Cause I would understand. The awkwardness and all. Plus, this is his house too.”

  “He’s not going to come back—at least not anytime soon. He hasn’t called in days. I think it would be even more awkward for him to come back after telling me how he truly felt, and also calling off the engagement.”

  “A fucking dumbass is what he is,” he scoffed.

  I rolled my eyes, fighting a laugh. His phone started ringing and he pulled his hands away, digging in his pocket for it.

  “Let me take this. It’s one of the guys calling from work.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, go ahead. I’ll clean up.”

  He walked around the table and kissed my cheek before answering the phone and making his way to the living room.

  I sighed as I picked up some of the dishes. I didn’t know what the hell we were doing. Right now, I was the other woman—the one that his wife probably knew about and probably despised. These new terms were no better than when I was sleeping with him behind Izzy’s back.

  I didn’t know whether Sterling was going to come back or not. Deep down, I hoped that he wouldn’t, and if he did it was probably going to be so he could get his things and never speak to me again.

  My Theodore was back, but he was acting as if everything was okay between us—that he had it handled, but I couldn’t believe it just yet. I trusted him, I did, but this was happening way too fast and things were way too easy for us right now.

  I knew a storm was coming, and it was going to be a fucking hurricane.

  It was only a matter of when, and because I loved him as much as I did—because he was the love of my life and I would have done anything for him—I was going to take the risk and walk through the eye of the hurricane with him.

  I refused to let go again, not because I was lonely or afraid or stupid, but because what we had was real. What we had couldn’t be denied, and I could no longer block the cold, hard truth.

  I couldn’t fight against it or run away anymore.

  I felt alive with him.

  Better.

  Happier.

  Sterling couldn’t even make me feel half of what Theo made me feel. And that was the truth.

  Later that night, Theo had grabbed one of my movies from the shelf and popped it into the Blu-ray player. I was between his legs, my ear on his chest, my arm wrapped around his torso.

  He was quiet since the movie had started.

  I couldn’t tell if he was actually watching it, or thinking about something else. Closer to the middle of the movie, I finally looked up at him and rubbed his shoulder.

  “Why are you so quiet?” I whispered.

  He looked down at me with warm, gentle brown eyes. Holding me tighter, he sighed and shook his head left to right.

  “I’m wondering if it’s too soon to ask you something,” he sighed again.

  I sat up a little, watching his face carefully. “Ask me what?”

  “About leaving from here with me for a few days.” He opened his arms and I sat up straight. “I want you to pack some clothes and come with me,” he said.

  “Where?” I asked.

  “I have a few things to do in San Francisco for work, but I don’t want to leave you. Summer break is coming soon for you, right? You don’t have much work to do at the school right now. I think you deserve a little break.”

  Oh. I pressed my lips. I was quiet for a moment, looking down at his lap. He tilted my chin so our eyes could meet again.

  “If I’m rushing anything, Chloe, we don’t have to—”

  “No—no.” I grabbed his hand, bringing the warmth of it up to my cheek. “You’re not rushing anything. I was only thinking how nice it would be to get away from here.”

  “It would. And you haven’t been there before. It’ll be a fun and new experience for you.”

  I nodded. “Okay. Fine.” I sat up with a grin. “When are we going to go?”

  He smirked. “Two days.”

  “Such short notice. Are you sure you want me tagging along, Mr. Black?”

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way, Little Knight.”

  I laughed, wrapping my arm around him again and leaning in. I pecked his lips and he exhaled, looking down at me as my lips traveled down his neck and to his collarbone.

  Before I knew it, he was on top of me with my hands pinned above my head, and the rock in his pants pressing between my thighs. I sighed when his soft lips came to my neck and he kissed me gently.

  He took his time, leaving traces of his lips all over my neck.

  Tilting his head up, he met my eyes and his mouth pressed on mine. He ground between my legs, making himself harder by the second. I fidgeted, but he still had me pinned to the couch.

  “I need to get you away from here,” he whispered in my ear. “I want us to escape like we did before. I want us alone—completely alone. No distractions. Nothing to interfere. Just us, baby.”

  I bobbed my head. “I want that, too.”

  “I missed the hell out of you, Chloe. I don’t care how many times I say it or how annoying it gets hearing it, it’s the truth. I missed you.” He released my wrists and when he sat up, I leaned forward to unbuckle his belt and then unzip his jeans.

  “Whoops.” I bit back a smile.

  His mouth twitched when he looked down. It didn’t take much after that. He knew I was ready.

  I knew I was ready.

  He shoved my skirt up, tugged my panties down, and then pushed his jeans down. His pants were around his ankles, so I could feel the jean fabric as he bent down. But what I felt more was his cock sinking inside me. Inch by inch, going deeper and deeper. My back bowed, but he didn’t let me go too far.

  He cupped the back of my neck and worked up a light thrust, his warm breath trickling past the shell of my ear. “Whoops,” he mimicked, his voice deep and husky, and I looked up, unable to fight the hoarse laugh.

  He pressed his forehead to mine and it was that gesture alone that made me cave. I kissed him whole. I never wanted to let go. I mean, I had him back. He was right in my arms—he was inside of me.

  He was claimi
ng my body and heart all over again, and I couldn’t deny it. I had always been Theo’s. Even during our days apart, I was his and he was mine. It’s insane to think that nothing about that had changed.

  We still loved hard.

  We still fucked hard.

  We still stared at one another with so much passion and ferocity that it would have been impossible for anyone to ignore. There were obstacles we had to overcome, but they could wait. Because right now, in this moment, I was taking my man back.

  I was holding on tight. I was moaning and sighing and panting and grinding along with him. I was sticky, hot, and wet, and we were one—one all over again.

  Around 2:00 a.m., while we were lying in bed, I heard a phone ring. It wasn’t mine, but Theo’s. He groaned and rolled over.

  Picking it up, he blew a heavy breath and silenced the ringer.

  “Who was it? Izzy?” I asked, but I could tell by his hunched shoulders that it wasn’t her.

  “Sheila,” he responded dully.

  “Oh.” I sealed my lips and stared up at the ceiling, unsure of what to say. I couldn’t say I was pleased to know she was calling this late at night.

  “She’s been calling for the past few days. She’s trying to talk me out of it,” he continued. At least he was telling me the truth.

  “Why don’t you just answer?” I avoided his eyes when he turned his head to look at me.

  “I don’t want to be talked out of it. I just want her to sign the papers and be done with it.” His voice was a little irritated as he said that.

  “She loves you, Theo. I don’t think she will just be able to be done with it.”

  I heard him swallow and then he lied back down. He rested a hand behind his head and stared up at the ceiling with me.

  “When we go back, do you think she’ll show up?” I whispered. He’d told me earlier that we were going to be staying at their house. I didn’t like it, but I figured since he was spending so much time in the house that Sterling and I once shared that I could spare a night or two at his.