[ Truyện Tiếng Anh ] Twisted Perfection

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 21



Della

I sucked at golf.

When the ball once again went flying out into the trees I spun around and looked at Tripp who was covering his mouth to smother his laughter. At least he found my extreme lack of luck with a golf swing humorous.

When he had woken me up at seven this morning to make the tee time he’d reserved I hadn’t been very happy. But after the way he’d helped me get through my episode the night before I felt like I owed it to him. So I had dragged myself out of bed and gotten dressed. Now, seventeen holes, and twelve lost balls later, I was thinking I should have stayed in bed. Yes, I’d wanted to learn to golf but not this early and now that I knew I was terrible at it I didn’t want to try again.

“I give up,” I said, handing him the club I’d used.

“You were getting better. You just jacked this one up,” Tripp said with a chuckle.

“Save it. We both know I’m horrible at this. Can I just watch you play out the rest?”

Tripp slid the club back into the bag. “We can call it a game. You tried hard. Maybe we need to spend a little time on the driving range and work on your swing before we attempt this again.”

He was talking like we’d be golfing together in the future. I didn’t want to ever golf again if I could keep from it. I didn’t want to sound rude so I just kept my mouth shut. I got back on the golf cart and Tripp drove us back to the clubhouse.

Without thinking about it I started looking for Woods’ truck. I could tell myself that it was because I wanted to make sure he wasn’t here and I wouldn’t have to see him. But I’d be lying. I was a glutton for punishment.

“Dammit,” Tripp muttered before pulling the golf cart into the first empty spot reserved for the carts.

I glanced over at him to see what was wrong when my gaze locked on Woods. He was headed toward us.

“He looks like a man on a mission,” Tripp said in a low voice then stepped out of the cart. Woods nodded at Tripp but his eyes immediately were back on me. I watched as he walked past Tripp.

He stopped in front of me. “We need to talk,” he said.

“Y’all did enough of that last night, man.” Tripp’s tone sounded like a gentle warning.

Woods ignored him. “I’m not engaged anymore. Angelina just left and it’s over. I ended it.” He reached out and slipped his hand into mine. “Please come talk to me.”

He’d broken off his engagement? I felt like I was still sleeping. Why would he do that? He wanted what a marriage to Angelina would give him. Why was he ending that?

“I don’t understand,” I replied. My voice was barely above a whisper.

A ***y grin tilted the corners of Woods’ mouth. “That’s why we need to talk.”

I glanced over at Tripp who just shrugged. I had lunch plans with him today. I couldn’t cancel on him. I needed him to say something instead of just shrugging at me.

“We… Tripp and I were supposed to have lunch together,” I said, still looking at Tripp.

Tripp looked from me to Woods then he shook his head with a small smile. “I’m not getting in the middle of this. Go with him. If he just broke it off with Angelina then there’s more to what he’s got to say than I thought there was,” he said and then his complete attention went to Woods. “No one’s puppet. It’s about damn time,” he said then walked off.

Woods was grinning when I looked back at him. “Have lunch with me?”

I glanced past him toward the club’s restaurant. I didn’t want to go in there with the boss and have lunch. I couldn’t let one of my coworkers wait on me. But I also wanted to talk to Woods. He wasn’t engaged. My heart started beating harder in my chest. Woods was free.

“I wouldn’t be comfortable eating in there. Could we talk first then go find something to eat somewhere else?”

“Whatever you want.” He pulled me to him and then nodded his head toward his truck. “Let’s go for a ride.”

Once we were in the truck, Woods didn’t start the engine. He looked over at me. His dark brown eyes were serious but the sadness wasn’t there. “I’m sorry for how I acted last night. I shouldn’t have talked to you that way. I was panicking and I lost it.”

I shifted in my seat and rested my shoulder against the leather so that I was facing him. “Why were you panicking?”

Woods ****ed one eyebrow as if he didn’t think this question needed an answer. As if it was understood. “Because Tripp was talking about taking you away.”

Oh.

“I want you to understand something. This needs to be very clear. I never loved Angelina. I never wanted to be engaged to her. I was doing it because she was the key to getting what I thought I’d always wanted. But you changed that. I realized I wanted other things. I didn’t want to be controlled. And I wanted a chance with you. Even if you don’t plan on staying long. Even if you aren’t one for commitments, I want this time with you.”

The idea of losing his freedom hadn’t been enough reason for him to refuse to do his father’s bidding? It had taken me to make him stand up to his father? Why me? I didn’t understand. “What if you get to know me and you realize I’m not worth it? Will you still be glad you let go of everything?”

Woods’ grin returned and he nodded. “Yeah. Like Tripp said out there. I’m no one’s puppet. It was time I put my foot down.”

He was right. Living under someone else’s control wasn’t living at all. I knew that all too well. But I didn’t want to be the only reason he gave up what was rightfully his. The pressure to be worth it was too much.

“I agree. Not being able to make your own choices in life isn’t fair. I guess I just want to be sure I’m not the reason you did this. Because honestly, you’re gonna find out real soon that I’m more of a mess than you already got a glimpse of the other night.”

Woods’ eyebrows lowered over his eyes as he frowned at me. He didn’t like me saying that but he didn’t know the truth about me. I wasn’t going to tell him either.

“I don’t like to hear you talk about yourself like that,” he said in a husky voice.

I turned my body back around in my seat. “We can discuss that another time. I’m starving.” I wanted to ask him more questions like ‘what happens with your job now?’ or ‘Will your dad fire you?’ or ‘Do you have plans to do something else?’ but I was refusing to talk anymore about me and my future so I couldn’t expect him to open up about his.

We could go eat and just see what happened next. He might realize what he’d done before the days was through and go running back to Angelina begging her to forgive him. There was no need for deep conversations right now. I just wanted to enjoy spending time with him and not feeling guilty about wanting a taken man.

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Woods

Della had eaten her sandwich in silence. She’d been rather focused on her food since it arrived at the table. I’d had a hard time eating because watching her was more entertaining. She patted her mouth with a napkin and her eyes lifted to meet mine. A blush tinted her cheeks and her eyes twinkled.

“I was starving. Golf exhausted me and I’m not sure why because I was terrible at it,” she explained as she lowered the napkin to her lap.

“Was today your first time playing golf?” I asked, trying to push back my immediate jealous reaction to the fact Tripp had taken her golfing today.

“Yes. I had wanted to learn to play and Tripp wanted me to go with him today so I went. But I think I lost so many of his golf balls he regrets it.”

This time I laughed. I knew Tripp didn’t regret a single minute of it. I just hoped he had enough memories to hold him for the rest of his damn life because that was his only chance to get her alone like that. “You just need a good instructor,” I replied.

Della pinched her lips in a thoughtful frown. Then she shook her head. “No, I’m hopeless. I wouldn’t plan on wasting your time.”

The chance to get to wrap my arms around her and teach her to swing a club then stand back and watch her ass while she did it was not a waste of time. I kept that thought to myself though.

“We’ll see,” was all I said.

The waitress brought us our ticket and I slipped enough cash to cover the meal and a decent tip before standing up and holding my hand out to Della. I was tired of being in public with her. I wanted to get her alone. There was a lot I wanted to say but first I needed to hold her. It had been too long.

“Where are we going now?” she asked as she stood up beside me.

“My place. I want you to see it. Especially the view. Is that okay?”

Della nodded and I tried to be good. It was hard though. The image of her naked against my sheets wouldn’t go away. I wanted her there.

“I’d love to see your place.”

We walked back outside to my truck. Della climbed up in the passenger seat and I didn’t even pretend like I wasn’t checking out her ass in the little white shorts she was wearing. There wasn’t a panty line and the idea of her not having on anything underneath made me break out into a sweat. I needed to think about something else. Anything else or I was going to be hard as a rock and incredibly uncomfortable.

“How long is Tripp in town?” There that should do it. Remind myself she was sharing a condo with another man. One who no doubt wanted her too.

“He didn’t say exactly. I think he was just ready to move on from Dallas and came back here before his next adventure.” The way she talked about Tripp’s life like it made complete sense reminded me that she led a life much like his. One I didn’t understand. But then if my dad fired me I would be just as lost as he was. Leaving town with Della didn’t sound like such a bad idea.

My phone rang in my pocket and I knew without answering it was my father. It had taken Angelina longer than I expected to get the word to him that the engagement was over. His grand plan was ruined.

I reached into my pocket and turned the phone off. I would deal with him later. Right now I wanted to focus on Della. Facing my father was going to put a major damper on my mood. I didn’t want that today.

“Do you work tonight?” I asked. Because if she did I was going to call in and change the schedule.

“This is my day off,” she replied, grinning. “Don’t you do the scheduling?”

I did but this past week had been hell. I couldn’t remember what day I’d given her off. “Just checking,” I replied before pulling into the split brick drive that led up to my house. It had been my parents’ first home. My grandfather had let them live here until my father had earned enough to buy them the house my mother really wanted. When my grandfather passed away he’d left the house to me. Even something that small had pissed my father off. He’d wanted complete control over me. What I’d really needed my grandfather to leave me had been a part of the club. He hadn’t.

“Woods! It’s beautiful,” Della said in awe as I pulled underneath the raised house. It wasn’t really. Not compared to my parents’ or most of the newer homes along Rosemary. But it had character.

“Thank you.”

Della opened the truck door and hopped out before I could help her.

“It’s like one of those seaside houses you see in the movies. The big hurricane shutters and the wrap around porch. This is just perfect.”

Hearing her gush about my house made me want to haul her upstairs to my room even more. I loved this place. It was the only thing that was mine.

“I can’t wait to see the inside. I could just live on your porch. The view must be perfect.”

She could live on my porch if she wanted. I’d even let her come inside and sleep in my bed. I didn’t say that though. Too much, too soon. Right now we had a few shared moments and some hot ***. I had to build on that. I wanted to build on that.

“Come on up. I’ll show you just how perfect the view is.”

Della followed me up the stairs and I unlocked the door then stood back and let her walk inside first. I hadn’t given much thought to my decorating before but knowing Della was here and checking everything out I hated the fact that I’d not changed much since my grandparents left me the house.

My grandmother had decorated it and they’d lived here the last few years of my grandmother’s life. When she’d been diagnosed with terminal cancer they had sold their sprawling mansion in Seaside and moved back here. After she’d passed away my grandfather had moved into my parents’ house and lived there for three months before he died of a heart attack.

I liked the warmth of the place. I hadn’t spent much time thinking of changing things. It wasn’t like I entertained here. I worked too much for that lifestyle.

Della ran her hand along the worn pale leather couch and spun around slowly looking at the details my grandmother had taken great care to leave behind. She had loved to paint. Seeing the canvases she’d painted out on that porch while she enjoyed the last years she had on earth always gave me a sense of peace.

“The paintings are beautiful. So bright and cheerful,” Della said as she stood in front of one that was my grandfather’s favorite. When I’d tried to give it to him he’d refused to take it. He’d said she wanted it here in this place.

“That’s a hole at the golf course,” she said. I was impressed that she’d recognized it.

“My grandfather’s favorite. His only hole in one was at that hole. It’s the fifteenth.”

Della smiled. “And you have it here on your wall.”

“My grandmother painted it. She painted all of these.”

Della’s eyes went wide and she started looking around at the other paintings on the wall. “She was very talented.”

I had to agree. She was. Yet she’d given up her dreams for my grandfather’s. I’d always heard my mother’s bitter comments about her not being the doormat that my grandmother was. But I never saw my grandmother as a doormat. She was quiet and reserved but she’d controlled so much more than anyone understood. She had owned my grandfather’s heart. As cold and unfeeling as many assumed it was, she had owned it. And she’d cherished it.

“It’s not what I expected… not from a single guy,” she said in almost a whisper. “I love it.”

“Come see the view,” I said, opening the doors leading out onto the porch. Della walked out and went straight to the railing. The ocean breeze caught her hair and it danced around her shoulders. I liked seeing her out here. I stepped back inside and went to grab a bottle of wine and two glasses.

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Della

“Here,” Woods said, walking up behind me.

I turned to look at him and he was holding a glass of red wine. I took it and hoped my inexperience in the red wine department wasn’t too apparent on my face when I took a sip. I was positive this was expensive but I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference in cheap or good wine. I’d had very little.

“Thank you,” I managed to reply without sounding as unsure as I felt.

“Come sit down. We can see the view just as good from over here,” he said, nodding toward two teak lounge chairs.

I walked over and sank down onto the thick quilted cushion and stretched my legs out in front of me.

Woods scooted the lounger beside me closer with his leg then lowered himself down onto it. He moved the armrest that separated us. If I shifted even an inch I would brush up against him. It was tempting.

“I didn’t ask if you liked red wine,” he said.

He was probably noticing my small sips. I was deciding that I did like it. I wasn’t sure how it would affect me though.

“I wasn’t positive I liked it or not. I’ve not really had much of it in the past. But this is good.”

He smirked and took a drink. I really shouldn’t stare at him but the muscles in his throat moved as he swallowed and it was mesmerizing. Woods set his glass down on the table on the other side of his chair but he didn’t take his eyes off me.

“I’d planned to be good tonight. But I can’t. Not with you looking at me like that,” Woods said as he took the glass from my hand and put it down beside his. “I think I’ll be okay if I can just have a little. Just a small taste. It’s been too long and I can’t seem to think about anything other than how much I want to kiss you,” he brushed his finger over my lips, “and the many parts of you I want to touch,” he said, slipping one of his hands around my waist. Then his hand slid down further until it was cupping my butt. “**** baby, you aren’t wearing any panties under these shorts.”

The reminder of the thin fabric being the only barrier down there to soak up the moisture his words were causing concerned me. I did not want a damp spot on my shorts. That would be humiliating.

“Come here,” he ordered, picking me up by the waist and pulling me onto his lap. I didn’t want to straddle him. What if I was already wet down there? His hand closed over my thigh and I shivered, unable to stop him from moving my leg over his lap until my crotch was hovering over him. I was going to ruin these shorts.

Woods’ hands slipped into my hair and pulled my head down until his lips covered mine. The moment his tongue eased into my mouth and flicked against mine I no longer cared about the possible shorts fiasco I might have to deal with later. I just wanted more of him. He cupped my face with one hand and then ran the tip of his very talented tongue over the roof of my mouth causing me to sink down onto him. The hard ridge of his erection pressed firmly against the burning ache that was alive and ready. I knew how good Woods felt inside me and my body was screaming for more.

“So sweet,” he murmured against my lips. Then his attentive mouth began to tease my jawline until his open mouth pressed against my neck. The heat from his breath made my nipples throb.

Woods moved his hand between my legs until he found the evidence of my arousal. “Already wet,” he said against my neck then suckled the skin there gently. “Do you know how incredibly ***y it is that your shorts are wet?” I didn’t respond. I couldn’t. I was holding my breath in anticipation. “I don’t think you do,” he said, continuing to kiss down my neck.

“Della, tonight wasn’t supposed to be about ***,” he said, looking up at me through lowered lashes. His mouth was so close to my cleavage I wanted to shove my chest in his face and beg. “I just needed a taste. Trouble is I forgot how intoxicating you smell. I want inside you baby. Right here. I want to rip these shorts off your body and slide deep inside you.” I was ready to agree to anything if he’d just touch me some more. A small whimper escaped me and I didn’t even care that I was showing him how weak and needy I was.

“Are you hurting?” he asked as he reached up and tugged the front of my shirt down and then my bra until both my breasts were free. “I’m a tit man and these titties are like ****ing nirvana. So round and soft.” He pressed a kiss to one of my pebbled up nipples and then stuck his tongue out and ran it slowly over the tip. “Perfect little round cherries. Meant to be sucked on,” he whispered before pulling it into his mouth and doing just that. I couldn’t keep myself from grabbing his head desperately and holding him there. I didn’t want him to stop. I could feel it all the way down between my legs. Each tug of my nipple had delicious waves of pleasure rolling through me. Woods hand slipped into the front of my shorts and I lifted my hips to give him better access. He covered my smooth mound and groaned when his finger found my slick heat. I was soaked and any other time I would care. Right now I just needed more.

Two of his fingers found my swollen clit and began to rub it in a steady rhythm matching the sucking his mouth was doing on my nipple. He pulled his head back and moved from one breast to the other. That was as far as I was letting his head move away.

The magic that only Woods seemed to be able to cause started to build and I spread my thighs wider. He pinched down on my clit at the same time he bit my nipple and the bliss I had been expecting exploded around me. I pulled his hair and screamed his name while my whole body shook from the violent orgasm.

“Ah, God,” he gasped and wrapped his arms around my body holding me against his chest. I collapsed against him. Woods breathing was as heavy as my own and I let go of the handfuls of his hair I still had in my grasp.

“I’m sorry,” I managed to croak out.

“For what?” Woods asked with his mouth pressed against my neck.

“Pulling your hair.”

A soft chuckle vibrated his body and he licked at tender flesh he’d nibbled on earlier. “Don’t be. That was hot. So ****ing hot. Anytime you want to pull my hair while you’re screaming my name, go right ahead.”

I felt his erection jerk underneath me and my throbbing well-pleased body jumped in response. We weren’t finished. That had just been an appetizer. I rocked my hips against him savoring the pleasant pain it created. Woods’ hands clamped down on my hips and held me still. “Don’t.”

I froze. Was I hurting him?

He sucked in a breath then picked me up and eased me off him. Maybe I had been too loud out here and he was going to move us inside.

“I’ve got some work to do. I should take you home.”

What? Home? Huh? I sat there as he stood up and adjusted himself before picking up our wine glasses. I hadn’t moved to follow him. I was still processing what was happening.

He glanced down at me and what looked like a wince crossed his face. Before I could ask what was wrong he set the glasses down and reached down to pull my bra and shirt back into place then he took my hand and pulled me up.

“I have to take you back,” was all he said before grabbing the wine glasses and walking inside.

Like someone on autopilot I followed him. He put both our glasses on his bar and then grabbed his keys. He glanced back at me and smiled then nodded his head toward the door.

We were really leaving. Okay. My stomach felt sick. I’d done something wrong. Had he seen how much I craved his touch? Did that scare him? It scared me that I wanted him to touch me so badly. It scared me that he made me feel comfort in ways no one else had ever been able to. I was willing to do anything to make him want to be close to me longer. Going back to the condo only meant another night ahead with dreams I wanted to escape. Memories that controlled me. I wanted what Woods could give me. But I wouldn’t be getting that. He was getting rid of me.

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Woods

Once I got her safely in my truck, I had planned on explaining. The confusion in her big blue eyes had been obvious. But every time I tried to I couldn’t think of a way to say it without scaring her off.

I was also afraid she might argue with me and all it was going to take to get me to snap was one little pleading look from her. My **** was still throbbing painfully and the fact I knew she wasn’t wearing any damn panties and she was soaking wet from that orgasm I’d given her was only making me harder.

Throwing her on my bed and ****ing her until I had her screaming my name again and telling me that her tight little ***** was mine had been the only thing I could think about while I touched her.

But then she’d gone off in my lap and I knew this was my moment to prove to me and her that I could be selfless. Tonight had been about her. Not what she could do for me but just about her pleasure. I didn’t want this relationship to be built on ***. There was more there with Della. I liked being around her. I wanted to protect her. She had me so wrapped up I couldn’t think clearly.

Taking her back to Tripp’s mother****ing condo was going to kill me. I didn’t want her sleeping there with him in the next room but I couldn’t exactly move her into my place either. That was moving way too fast and a girl like Della would run. I didn’t want her to run. I’d chase her ass down if she tried but I still didn’t want her to try. I wanted her to stay because she wanted to be with me.

Being the kind of guy a girl stayed for was harder than I thought.

“Did I do something wrong?” Della asked, breaking into my thoughts. I was already pulling up to Tripp’s condo. I’d been so torn about what to say to her that I hadn’t said anything. ****. She was worried. I parked the truck and looked over at her. The frown creasing her forehead bothered me. I didn’t mean to make her frown.

I reached over and soothed the puckered skin with my thumb. “No, not at all. You were perfect.”

Her frown didn’t go away. She wasn’t buying it. I should have explained this to her. I just couldn’t find the right words.

“Okay. If you’re sure,” she said slowly and reached for the door handle.

“Wait, I got it. I’ll walk you to the door.” I said, jerking my door open and going around to open her door. She watched me still frowning with a confused look on her face. It was adorable. I took her hands and helped her down. My eyes zeroed in on the very visible wet spot on the crotch of her shorts. Glancing around I looked for Tripp’s Harley and found it sitting over by Della’s car. Hell no. He wasn’t seeing this. Evidence of her wet ***** was for my eyes only. Reaching into the truck I grabbed a hoodie out of the backseat.

“Wear this,” I said, pulling it over her head before she could protest or even ask why. She obediently put her hands into the arms and it fell to the middle of her thighs. Completely covering her and her shorts. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Why am I wearing your sweatshirt?” she asked, studying me like she thought I might be going crazy.

I slipped my hand around her waist and pulled her closer to me then lowered my head until my mouth was at her ear. “Tripp’s home and that sweet little wet spot on those shorts of yours are for no one’s eyes but mine. When you get inside go change into something loose and baggy. And for all that’s holy, please wear panties and a bra.”

Della nodded her head and I let her go and stepped back. She smelled too good. Seeing her dwarfed in my hoodie wasn’t helping. It was making my swollen dick even worse. “Go on inside. I need to stay here. If I go to the door I won’t be able to leave.”

She stuck her hands into the front pockets of the hoodie. “Okay. I’ll, uh, I’ll see you tomorrow then,” she stammered then turned and walked to the condo. I waited until she was safely inside before I got back in my truck and left. I should have walked her to the door but I knew seeing her in Tripp’s apartment would bring out the ****man in me even more and I would follow her inside and go lock us both in her room. This had been the only way to let her go.

It was time I went and dealt with my dad.

My mother met me at the door with a frown. She didn’t ask how I was doing or even attempt small talk. She just pointed down the hall and said, “Your dad’s in his office.” Then she walked away without another word.

Most of my life my mother was only affectionate if I was doing exactly what she wanted me to. Whenever I failed or displeased her, she let me know exactly how she felt about me. I should be over it by now. I was a twenty-four year old man. Seeking my mother’s approval was a thing of my past. Still, her con***ional love was hard to swallow at times.

I knocked on the door to my father’s office then opened it up. No use in waiting on him to tell me to come in. He was mad at me anyway. He was sitting at his desk with the phone to his ear when I walked inside. His eyes glared at me with disapproval through his glasses that he only wore when he was reading.

“Of course. I agree. Woods has just walked into my office. I’ll speak with him and get back to you on where we go from here,” he said into the phone before hanging it up and leaning back in his chair to study me with a look of disdain.

The bitterness from the knowledge that my grandfather had given him the Vice President title and moved him into the big office the year he graduated from college was always there. He acted like I had to prove so much to him when I’d worked more in that club than he had. He had never gotten his hands dirty or dealt with employees. Yet he expected me to pay my dues.

“I hope you’re here to explain to me why you would toss away everything we’ve worked for because you think you’ll be unhappy? That’s bull**** son. No red blooded man would be unhappy with a woman like Angelina Greystone.”

He hadn’t worked for anything. He wasn’t being told whom he had to marry. I gritted my teeth and held the curses and insults in. They wouldn’t help matters now.

“I don’t love her. She doesn’t even like me much. I couldn’t go through with it. I’m sorry but as much as I want the job I was raised believing would be mine I won’t ruin my life and hers.”

My father leaned forward on his elbows that rested on his desk. “Love doesn’t make a good marriage. It isn’t forever. It leaves you. When reality sets in and times get hard the love disappears and you’re left with nothing. You marry someone who wants the same things you do. Who isn’t expecting romance but success. Angelina gets this. You don’t.”

When my grandmother was sick I had gone to visit my grandparents every chance I got. One day I had been sitting on the porch with my grandfather as he watched my grandmother paint one of her many pictures. The love and affection on his face was unmistakable. He’d turned to me that day and said, “Don’t miss out on the love of a good woman, son. No matter what that old man of yours tells you, love is real. I’d have never had the success in my life without that woman right there. She’s been my backbone. She’s been my reason for everything I’ve ever done. One day your drive to make a name for yourself will begin to drift away. It won’t be that important anymore. But when you’re doing it for someone else, someone you would move heaven and earth for then you never lose the desire *****cceed. I can’t imagine this world without her in it. I don’t even want to.”

I hadn’t thought about those words again until today. The man who had raised my father was similar to him in many ways. But there was a difference. My dad did all of this for himself. His drive *****cceed was selfish. There was no love in his work. My grandfather had built this business out of love for the woman he married. I’d seen that with my own eyes. I didn’t want to be my father. I wanted to be my grandfather.

“We need to agree to disagree,” I finally said knowing the mention of his parents would only infuriate him. He always thought my grandfather had made bad decisions even though he was the man who built this club.

My father smirked and shook his head. “No son, we don’t because I’m in charge here. If you’re choosing not to do what is best for this club and your future then you’re not ready to take over anything. I can’t promote you if I can’t trust you to make smart decisions. Your job at the club is safe for now but that doesn’t mean someone I can trust more to do your job won’t come along.”

Not only was he not going to give me the position I’d worked hard for he was threatening the position I currently had. I wanted to tell him to **** himself and walk out. Before this was over I might end up doing just that. However, out of respect for the man who’d built this with the desire to hand it down to each generation of the Kerrington name, I would stay. That man I respected. The one in front of me I held no respect for. If he pushed me too far, I’d be gone. I wondered if he’d even miss me then.

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Della

I changed into sweats and a tee shirt before walking back into the living room and talking to Tripp. I preferred to stay in this room and think about everything. I was still trying to figure out what happened and what I did wrong with Woods. He was giving me all kinds of mixed signals. Either he was disgusted by me and decided not to have *** with me or he had just been ready to get rid of me. I wasn’t sure. But then he’d made me wear his shirt and told me to change into baggy clothes. I wasn’t sure what to think about that.

As soon as I’d had that orgasm in his lap he’d been ready to get me the hell away from him. On the drive over here I had convinced myself that I’d screamed too loud and hurt him by pulling his hair like a crazed woman. Then maybe he was as embarrassed by the wet spot on my shorts as I was and that’s why he’d covered me up. He didn’t want Tripp to see me and know he’d been the cause of that. I reached over, picked his hoodie back up, and pulled it over my head. It smelled like Woods. I liked that. I had wanted to get to smell more of him tonight. The rejection I’d hoped to avoid was settling in.

I could talk to Tripp. I wouldn’t tell him exactly what happened but I could get his guy opinion on things.

Tripp’s eyes lifted from the book he was reading and he smiled up at me. “Already wearing Kerrington’s clothes. Damn the guy moves fast,” he teased.

I sighed and sank down on the sofa across from the chair he was sitting in. “Not what it looks like. Trust me.” The deflation in my voice had been a little more obvious than I intended.

“Uh oh. What’s wrong?” Tripp asked, setting his book down on the table beside him and sitting up straighter.

I thought about my words carefully. I didn’t want to tell him too much but I did want his opinion. “Woods broke things off with Angelina and we went to talk about that,” I began. Tripp nodded. He already knew this much but I was still scrambling on what to say to him. “We had lunch together and he explained that he wasn’t happy with her. He doesn’t want to be told who to marry. Then we went back to his place. He wanted to show me his house and I loved it.” I paused and chewed on my bottom lip a moment to think about my next words.

“He never takes girls to that house. It was his grandparents’ so it’s his off limits place. I’ve only been there a handful of times.”

That caught my attention. “His grandmother’s paintings are still all over the walls. They’re beautiful.”

Tripp’s eyebrows shot up. “He told you about her?”

I nodded and Tripp crossed his hands over his chest as he grinned. “Damn girl what have you done to Kerrington?”

Well, that was what I was wondering too. “I think he may have decided taking me there was a mistake. I… we… things got a little heated on the porch and then he stopped it and brought me back here. He said he had things to do. Just like that. No other explanation. It was weird.”

Tripp frowned and sat there quietly a moment.

“You two have, uh, had *** before, right? That was my understanding.”

I nodded.

“And today that didn’t happen,” he continued.

“No, he was really ready to get rid of me.”

Tripp rubbed his chin and then he shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell is up. That doesn’t sound like the guy I know.” He leaned forward resting his elbows on his knees. “Are you okay? Did he upset you?”

I was confused and a little hurt but I was okay. I smiled. “I’m fine. Just not sure what happened. I keep thinking I did something wrong.”

Tripp reached out and tugged on the sleeve of Woods’ hoodie. “When did you get this?”

There was no way I was telling him why Woods had stuck this on me. That was too embarrassing. “Um, when he brought me here. He put it on me before sending me inside.”

Tripp had a small smile tugging on his lips. “Did he see my bike?”

I nodded.

“What did he say when he put that on you?”

“Um, he told me to go inside and put on baggy clothes.”

Tripp cackled with laughter and leaned back in his seat. Once he was done laughing he took in my sweat pants and then looked back up at me. “You did as you were told.”

I nodded again.

“He likes you. He may be a little freaked out and doing stupid **** but he likes you. The baggy clothes are because he doesn’t want me looking at you and getting any ideas. Kerrington has gone possessive. Never seen it before but it is funny as hell. I think I’ll text him that we’re going swimming and see how fast his jealous ass gets over here.”

“No, don’t! He was going to deal with his dad I think.”

Tripp grinned. “I was kidding. It’s just funny.”

He went quiet and I hated the awkward silence. However, I was relieved that he thought Woods was acting weird because he was feeling possessive towards me. Maybe it was wrong to want that but it made me feel tingly and warm.

“I guess I should plan on traveling alone when I head out.”

I wasn’t sure yet.

“That depends on when you’re leaving and if Woods really is interested in something more with me. If this is just a fling for him then I may be ready to run soon myself.”

***

Last night I’d woken up screaming with Tripp holding me again. It was screwing with my sleep and his. I didn’t blame him if he left soon just so he could sleep without the nightly interruptions. My eyes felt puffy from the crying I’d done this time. Sometimes the screams were mixed with sobbing. Tonight had been one of those nights. I’d spent an hour in the bathroom trying to cover up the puffy with makeup. I wasn’t sure it helped.

“Girl, I got an eight top of women who came in here requesting me or I’d take table six for you,” Jimmy said with wide eyes as he walked into the kitchen.

“What’s wrong with six?” I asked, tying my apron on.

“Not sure how much you know but Woods broke it off with that uptight Greystone heiress. My guess is daddy is pissed. Anyway, the heiress, her equally uptight mother, and Mrs. Kerrington are sitting at six. There can be nothing good about that gathering.”

Oh no. I didn’t want to deal with those three. But I didn’t have a choice. It was just Jimmy and me for the breakfast shift. We would have more help for the lunch shift.

“I’ve scared you. ****. I’m sorry. It’s good. You didn’t piss them off, Woods did. You just serve them their food and all should be good.”

He was right. They didn’t even know I existed. Besides, I wasn’t sure what was going on with Woods. Yesterday he’d completely confused me.

“I can do it,” I assured Jimmy, taking my tray of waters out to table four.

Once I had that table served and orders taken I made my way over to table six. All three women seemed to be in deep conversation. I almost walked past them and gave them a few more moments before interrupting. But then that could piss them off and I didn’t want to add to this drama.

“Good morning,” I said in more of a squeak than a greeting. Fantastic. Mrs. Kerrington flashed an annoyed look my way. I had never met her but I recognized those dark brown eyes glaring at me. There was no mistaking that she was Woods mother.

“Sparkling water.”

“Evian with a glass of ice,” Angelina said.

“The same,” the third lady who had to be her mother informed me without looking at me.

I quickly headed to the kitchen and took a deep breath. They were just like all the other guests. No reason to panic. I fixed their drinks and went back out to serve them.

“He just needs time. He’s never been one to like being told what to do. It’s not you darling. He’s a male and he is as red blooded as they come. The boy wants to sow his wild oats.” Woods’ mother was reaching across the table patting Angelina’s hand as she said this.

“I don’t think that’s it. He truly doesn’t like me. He said that we’d be miserable together. And maybe he’s right. I want things he doesn’t. Obviously.”

Mrs. Kerrington sighed. “Yes. Well, his father is very disappointed in him. We expected him to think about something other than himself this time. But he’s a spoiled boy. He has always had his way. This is my fault of course. I should have told him no more often.”

I sat the waters down in front of them and tried to be as invisible as possible.

“Bring us a fruit tray please and make sure the kiwi is included.”

I nodded once before leaving. I wanted to hear more but then it was best that I didn’t. I wanted to argue with them. Woods wasn’t selfish. He wasn’t some kid having a temper tantrum. He was a grown man tired of being controlled and manipulated. And who did Angelina think she was? She wants different things obviously. Like she was so noble. Bitch.

I slammed the door behind me and let out an aggravated growl.

“Whoa, sugar. You look ready to tear someone up,” Jimmy said as he set the order that was up on his tray.

“Woods’ mother is infuriating. And that… that ugh… God, I’m...

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 26



Woods

I watched Della leave and wondered if I’d done the wrong thing letting Tripp see us like this. Her hair had been mussed, her lips swollen, and the look of satisfied female was oozing from her. I wanted Tripp to see that she was mine. That she wanted to be mine. But maybe that had been wrong. I hadn’t thought of Della’s reaction to this or how she would feel.

“I guess that clears up her confusion from yesterday,” Tripp said after closing my door and walking inside.

What did he mean? “What confusion?”

Tripp shrugged and sank down onto one of the leather chairs across from my desk. Then he ****ed an eyebrow. “You didn’t do anything in this chair, did you?”

I rolled my eyes and sat down on the edge of my desk. “What did you mean by that comment? What confusion?”

“The part where you dropped her like a hot potato yesterday and left her completely confused and unsure of herself. Even so, she sat around obediently in a pair of sweats and your damn hoodie all day and even slept in it.”

She had slept in my hoodie? I started to smile when the fact Tripp knew what she slept in registered in my brain and I scowled instead.

“How the **** do you know what she sleeps in?” I asked, moving to stand up.

Tripp ****ed his head to the side and stared at me. He didn’t even attempt to defend himself.

“Do you really know her? Or are you just ****ing her? Because she’s already been screwed over once since I’ve met her and I think you might have the power to break her.”

Blood began to boil in my veins. I was going to beat the **** out of him. And who the hell had screwed her over?

“You might want to be careful what you say. I don’t give a **** who you are or who the hell I’m supposed to be. And what do you mean she’s been screwed over before?” Then the memory of Jace sitting in my office saying she’d gotten mixed up with her boss came back to me. What had he said exactly?

Tripp held up both hands. “Calm down and listen to me. Damn when did you become a hot head?”

“Tell me what happened with her old boss? The one in Dallas.”

Tripp scowled. “Bastard played her. He’s married and his wife is pregnant. Della didn’t know because he doesn’t wear a ring and he never comes in the bar. She was new and he showed up late at night and did a little flirting. Then he was picking her up and coming by more often. It’s a big bar. No one asks questions. I’d seen him **** with waitresses before but I wasn’t sure if that was what was happening with Della. Until his wife showed up. Della was furious more than she was upset. That’s why I sent her here. He didn’t have the power to break her. But I think you do.”

Her old boss had been married. Damn. No wonder she was so careful to stay away from me when I’d been engaged. She’d been worried about history repeating itself. I was a dirtbag.

“I won’t hurt her,” I vowed. I wouldn’t.

“She’d be easy to break.”

I didn’t like the way he kept saying that. “What do you mean?” Had he seen her have a panic attack?

“She screams at night. Every damn night she screams like someone is beating her. It’s scary as mother****ing hell. She doesn’t wake up either. Nothing I do calms her down. She screams until it’s over. Then she wakes up. Sometimes she doesn’t. Sometimes she just lies back down and stays asleep. I just sit there in horror and watch her. I try to hold her and calm her down when she wakes up but it never helps. She trembles and it breaks my heart. I can’t make it better. All I know is she’s got some ****ed up **** in her head. I don’t know what and I don’t know why but it’s there and it haunts her. So, if you’re in this for a hot **** then I’ll gladly fight you. Because that girl ain’t the kind you **** with. She’s not strong enough for that.”

I was going to be sick. My stomach was wound so tightly in knots I couldn’t move. She was screaming, at night. The frozen terror I’d seen her in that night at the party had been scary enough. She’d clung to me desperately. I had worried that she might deal with that alone. I hadn’t known she had bad dreams. My chest hurt and my eyes burned. I hated this. I hated knowing she was tormented by something. I wanted to fix this. Fix everything for her.

I turned and headed for the door. I was going to find her. We were going to talk about this. I’d be there the next time she woke up screaming. Tripp might not be able to comfort her but I sure as hell would. I’d make this go away. I had to. I wasn’t sure I could live with her hurting like this.

“Where are you going?” Tripp asked.

“To find her,” I replied.

“You really think that’s the way to handle this? Do you not know her at all? Scare her and she’ll run. You need to stop and think about this. If you want to help her then good. I’m glad. She needs someone. She doesn’t want me and honestly, I don’t know if I could handle this. I’ve got my own demons. But she does want you. She held that hoodie so tightly, last night when she woke up and buried her face in it like she was trying to smell you that I was worried. I couldn’t imagine you cared enough about her to deal with this craziness. She’s smoking hot. I figured that was what you were in this for. But if you care about her enough to stay even though she has issues and it isn’t easy. Then good. I’m relieved.”

I looked back at him. “I’ll be whatever she needs me to be. I can’t walk away from her; I tried. I’m hooked. And now I’m about to lose my mind because I don’t know how to help her. I just need to go find her and hold her the rest of the damn day. I need to know she’s okay.”

Tripp walked over toward me. “I don’t know if she’s ready for you to know. I don’t think she trusts you to want her when you find out she’s got problems. Major emotional problems. You need to ease into this. Don’t go telling her you know and expect her to handle it. She’ll be furious with me for telling you and terrified of getting hurt when you run. So, she’ll beat you to it. She’ll run like hell. It’s how she deals.”

I hated this. He was right but I hated it. “What do I do?” I asked him needing someone to tell me. I couldn’t lose her.

“I’ll call you tonight when she goes to sleep. Come on over and sleep on the couch. When she starts the screaming you’ll be there. She’ll see that you aren’t scared and you can use that to prove to her you’re not running.”

Okay. I could do that. I could wait until tonight. But I was still going to find her now. If only to hold her. I wouldn’t tell her why. I just needed to make sure she was okay for my sanity.

Tripp opened the door and stepped back to let me in. I’d been sitting in the parking lot when he’d called two minutes ago to tell me she was asleep. I wasn’t sure how long it would take for this screaming to start up and I didn’t want Tripp to be the one holding her when she woke up this time. Never again.

“Were you already here?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

“Didn’t you just bring her home from work two hours ago?”

“Yeah.”

Tripp chuckled and shook his head. “Did you even leave?”

“No.”

He looked amused. “There’s a pillow and a blanket on the couch. I’m going to bed. It’s late and I need some sleep. Last night was rough.”

I didn’t have to ask him why. I knew what he meant by rough and it drove me mad to think about the fact I hadn’t been here. That she’d been suffering and I had no idea.

“Thanks,” I replied.

“Don’t thank me. You’ve not been through this yet. You may hate me when it’s over.” He had no idea what he was saying. I had held her when she’d completely checked out and froze at the party. I’d seen the blank look in her eyes and it’d scared me but I hadn’t wanted to run then either. I had wanted to protect her. This only made that instinct she brought out in me worse.

I lay down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to fall asleep. Not knowing that at any time now she was going to be suffering. My chest was so tight from the idea of it I kept having to take deep breaths to ease the pressure.

What had happened to her to cause this? My mind went back to that first day I saw her. She’d been so damn ***y yet adorable trying to figure out how to pump her gas. I’d thought she was just some carefree fun distraction. I hadn’t been prepared for the way she tasted though. And the smell. God, she smelled so damn good. I had gone a little crazy that night. Every time I brought her to an orgasm I’d needed to do it again. I kept thinking about the fact that this was it, that one night and then she’d be gone. So I’d wanted more. I had never eaten that much ***** in one night in my life. But I hadn’t been able to get enough of her. Then she’d finally fallen asleep from exhaustion and I’d forced myself to leave her there.

I closed my eyes as the pain sliced through me. Had she woken up screaming that night...

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 27



Della

The warmth and delicious smell of Woods hoodie was stronger than it had been when I’d fallen asleep. I snuggled closer and the hard body and arms wrapped around me caused me to pause. I took another deep breath and realized that it wasn’t Woods’ hoodie I was smelling. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Woods’ stubbled chin. He was in bed with me. He was also fully clothed. So was I. I thought back to last night and I was positive I’d gotten in bed by myself.

“Good morning,” his ***y deep voice said startling me. His eyes were still closed.

“Um… good morning,” I replied, watching him. A smile tugged on his lips and he opened his eyes and moved his head so he was looking down at me.

“You feel real good in the mornings,” he said, slipping his hand around my waist.

He did too. But where did he come from?

“Uh, thank you. Um, what are doing here?” I asked.

The humor in his eyes was replaced by something else. I wondered if I had hurt his feelings. Had I forgotten something? Was I blacking out now? Oh God…

“I came over last night after you went to sleep,” he said.

Relief swamped me. I hadn’t blacked out and forgotten something. I was okay. But why had he come back?

“Why?”

“Because I wanted to be here when you had a bad dream. I should be the one holding you, not Tripp.”

Understanding slowly dawned on me and I began to pull away from him. His arms tightened around me and I couldn’t move. “Don’t,” he said simply. “Let me finish.”

I stayed still in his arms. My body was completely stiff. He had been here to see my crazy. Had he seen it? I hadn’t woken up. Was he leaving me now? Did he see just how insane I was? I hated Tripp. He had told him. He’d seen us together yesterday and warned him that I was crazy.

“Tripp was worried about my intentions with you. He came to my office yesterday to talk to me about it before he caught us in there together. He wanted to see how serious I was where you were concerned. He was there to warn me off. I convinced him that I was more serious about you than I had ever been about a girl and he told me about your bad dreams. I wanted to be here. I couldn’t stand the idea of him holding you. Of you going through that and me not being here for you. Don’t be mad at me, sweetheart. Please, I don’t want you ever to sleep without me beside you again. I can’t stand the thought of you dealing with that alone.”

Tears swam in my eyes and I buried my face in his chest and let out a small sob. His words were so sweet and honest. He’d been here. He’d seen me and he wanted to be here again. Why? Did it not scare him?

“Don’t cry. I can’t stand to see you cry. I just want to make you happy.”

His words wrapped around my heart and I knew in that moment I had fallen in love with Woods. It might be stupid for me to love anyone but I did. I loved him. I couldn’t tell him though. He didn’t know everything about me and telling him I loved him was unfair. But I did. I loved him so much.

I wiped the tears from my eyes before looking at him again.

“Why do you want to stay near me? You’ve seen how messed up I am. Why aren’t you running?”

Woods cupped my face in his hand and he pressed a kiss to the tip of my nose. “Because of this. You don’t understand why anyone would want you. Do you have any idea how many Angelinas I’ve known? They expected attention and devotion. They used their beauty to control. But you… you have no ****ing clue how unbelievably beautiful and desirable you are. You’re not calculating and selfish. And you make me want to be better.”

I was completely sunk. This man had the power to destroy me. I moved over him and straddled his lap. I reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head before pulling his hoodie off me. I wanted to feel his skin against mine.

I pressed my bare chest against his and moaned from the pleasure. His chest was rising and falling hard and his hands tightened on my waist. But he didn’t move. He let me do this. I pulled back enough to brush my nipples across his hard pecs as I watched our heated skin touch.

“Baby,” he growled as his hand squeezed my waist.

“It feels good, doesn’t it?” I asked, unable to take my eyes off our chests. I arched forward and ran my nipples over his. The swift breath he sucked in through his teeth made me smile.

“Amazing,” he replied.

I loved him. I let that sink in as I ran my hands over his wide shoulders and down his arms. I wanted to kiss him everywhere. I wanted to know his body better than my own.

“Can I kiss you?” I asked looking up at him.

“Please,” he replied.

I pressed a kiss to his right nipple and his hands came up to grab my head. He hadn’t been expecting that. He’d thought I wanted a kiss. He hadn’t understood what I was asking. I continued to kiss him as I went down his body and licked each tight ripple of his stomach. When my hands found his jeans I unsnapped them and pulled the zipper down. Then I tugged them down and Woods lifted his hips enough for me to get them over his ass. I continued to take them further down his legs until they were lying in a heap on the floor. Smiling to myself, I began kissing my way up his muscular legs enjoying each flinch of his body as I licked the inside of his thigh. Then I reached up and took the erection that was standing at complete attention in my hands.

“Della,” Woods breathed unsteadily.

I didn’t look up at him as I opened my mouth and slid him in my mouth until the head of his **** brushed the back of my throat.

“Sweet, ****,” he cried out and his hand tugged lightly on my hair only making me more determined to drive him crazy.

I slowly ran my tongue over his sensitive flesh. His body was trembling beneath my touch and I loved it. I clamped my mouth over the head of his **** again and took him deep then I let him completely slide out of my mouth with a pop before filling my mouth with his hard pulsing flesh again.

“Della, baby, come up here. I’m gonna come,” he gasped.

I wanted him to come. I wanted this with him. I cupped his balls in my hands and began gently kneading and squeezing them as I sucked harder on the tip of his **** before taking it as deeply as I could until I gagged.

“****, ****, oh, oh,” he groaned. He liked hearing me gag.

I did it again and his hand tightened in my hair and he threw his head back. “I’m gonna come in that pretty mouth,” he warned and I took him even deeper and let the gagging noise last longer this time before pulling back.

With a roar he held my head still as he shot his release into my mouth. I’d never let a guy do this before. But I loved it. I loved feeling his body tremble and hear his words of praise. Once I had swallowed everything I ran my tongue over the red head of his softening **** and he grabbed me and pulled me away from him with a laugh. “You’re gonna kill me but it’s gonna be the sweetest death any man has ever known.”

I went into his arms as he wrapped me up in his embrace.

He buried his head in the curve of my neck and shoulder and let out a shaky breath. “Don’t leave me, Della.”

Those words meant more than he could ever know.

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 28



Woods

I wasn’t going to be able to get any work done today. My mind was on figuring out how to convince Della that she was moving into my house. Today. I couldn’t deal with her staying with Tripp any longer. That and the memory of my dick buried so deep down her throat that she was ****ing gagging. Damn. I’d never had a blowjob like that one. It had been completely different from any other one I’d experienced.

Della hadn’t been worried about getting it over with or what was coming next. She had sucked me with complete abandon. I’d tried to stop her when she’d gagged the first time but then she’d done it again and I snapped. When I’d come in her mouth, I had been afraid I’d pushed her too far but then she’d tried to ****ing suck me some more.

God. I was hard as a rock again. That one memory was going to keep me hard for the rest of my life. I had to find her. She worked the lunch shift and I had stayed hidden in here. I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself if I felt like she was being mistreated or if someone looked at her ass.

I headed for my truck when I saw Della standing by her car talking to Bethy who looked like she’d just gotten off work too. I loved Jace like a brother but Bethy I didn’t trust. She was a little too wild and I didn’t know if I liked the idea of her hanging around with Della. I wouldn’t put it past her to try and fix Della up with some guy. Bethy needed to know where things stood and that Della was mine.

I walked over to them and pulled Della into my arms causing her to squeal in surprise. She tilted her head back and smiled up at me. “Hey you. I didn’t see you at lunch.”

The playful look in her eyes had my already hard **** throbbing. “I had to get some work done. I’m finished now.”

“Oh,” she said, not moving from my arms. I stepped closer to her and let her feel the proof of my arousal against her back.

“So, she is the reason you didn’t go through with the Greystone thing,” Bethy said. It wasn’t a question. She was just affirming something she’d already suspected.

“Yeah, she is.”

Bethy grinned and nodded her head. “Good. You admit it.” She looked back at Della. “Well, I don’t think anyone would mind if you brought the boss. Since he will be sidetracked with you and all it should be fine. You’re invited and so is he.”

Della nodded her head and Bethy wiggled her fingers at us in a wave before walking off.

“What was she talking about?” I asked.

Della turned around in my arms and took a step closer so my erection was brushing her stomach. Damn she was a tease. “The club staff is having a bonfire Saturday night. It’s something they do at the end of Spring Break season before the summer season hits. You wanna go?”

I knew about the staff’s bonfires. I’d had to go bail several former employees out of jail in the past from indecent exposure on the beach during one of these bonfires. I wasn’t about to let her go without me.

“If you want to go, I’ll go with you.”

She frowned. “Do you think it’s okay for them to know we’re dating? Since you’re the boss?”

I could see directly down her shirt and her generous cleavage was distracting. “It will be fine. They need to know you’re mine.”

She moved against me and mischief gleamed in her eyes.

“Della, sweetheart, unless you want to get ****ed in the nearest closet you’ll stop it.”

Della tilted her head to the side. “I like closets.”

Hell. I grabbed her hand and dragged her giggling to the back of the cart shed. pulled out my keys to unlock the supply closet. It was nice and cold in there because it was where we kept the beers for the cart girls.

I’d discuss moving her out of Tripp’s later. Then we’d discuss both going to get tested and getting her on some form of birth control. I wanted to feel Della without any damn barriers.

***

The only things Della had to be moved fit into two suitcases. Tripp had told me he was leaving in a week or so and that Della would be alone again soon but that didn’t ease my mind. I’d just be sleeping there. I wasn’t about to let her sleep alone again. Ever.

She finally agreed to moving in with me but kept telling me I was going to regret it.

We’d both been tested yesterday and were clean. However, the recommendation for the pill they had given Della said that it was best to wait seven days until we had unprotected ***.

Just the idea that I could slide up inside her without worry was making it hard to concentrate.

I sat outside on the porch waiting on Della to get back from work. I wasn’t scheduling her on night shifts anymore. I hated her not being with me. I also didn’t do well sitting in the dining room watching her. Everyone pissed me off.

It was best if I just stayed away for her and me. The last thing I needed was for my dad to find out about Della and blame her for the fact I wouldn’t marry Angelina.

My phone rang interrupting my thoughts and I pulled it out of my pocket to see Jimmy’s name on the screen. ****. He was working tonight too. He wouldn’t call unless something had gone wrong. I stood up ready to go back to the club.

“Hello.”

“Uh, Woods. Hey, it’s Jimmy. I got a problem on my hands. It’s Della”

I was running for the door at the sound of her name. “What’s wrong?” I demanded as I jerked my truck door open and climbed inside.

“I don’t know, man. She just freaked or something. I can’t explain it. She was working and everything was okay. Then some teenage boys came in. Drew Morgan and that crew. They had a tennis tournament today. I think one of them cornered her on his way to the bathroom. I’m not sure but she isn’t responding and she’s in the corner back here outside the ladies’ restroom. I’m guarding her but I can’t get her to respond to me. She makes whimpering sounds sometimes but other than that she won’t say anything.”

My heart felt like it was about to beat out of my chest. “Stay there with her. Don’t let anyone near her. I’ll be there in less than five minutes. Just STAY with her Jimmy. Tell her I’m coming okay? Tell her I’m on my way.” I slung the phone across the seat and sped to the club. She was scared. I was going to beat the hell out of the kid who upset her. I should have never left her there. Pulling into the parking lot my tires squealed and I left the truck running as I slammed it in park and took off running for the back entrance. I saw Jimmy’s back as he blocked her from anyone’s view. I shoved past him and bent down in front of her and scooped her up in my arms.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ve got you. You come back to me okay,” I soothed her as I walked back out to the privacy of my truck with her. When I turned to push the door open with my back I saw Jimmy standing there watching us.

“You tell no one about this,” I warned.

He only nodded before I turned and took her to the truck. I sat in the passenger seat and kept her tucked up against my chest.

“Come back to me, baby. No one’s going to hurt you. I have you,” I reassured her, holding her close to my chest. “I shouldn’t have left you and I’m sorry. But I’m here now. You’re okay.”

Her wide vacant eyes blinked slowly and then the recognition in them as she focused on me was one of relief. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she held on tightly.

“I’m sorry. I did it again. I’m so sorry. I’ll leave. I promise.” Her garbled words made no sense until she said she would leave. I tightened my hold on her.

“You won’t go anywhere or I’ll chase your ass down. I’m the one who is sorry. I wasn’t here when you needed me. I should have been here. Tell me what happened. I won’t leave you again. I swear it.”

She sniffled and pressed her face against my neck. “This will happen again. It will always happen. I can’t make it stop. I’ve tried but I can’t. I shouldn’t be working here. It’s too nice of a place for a crazy person.”

“Don’t,” I snapped, pulling her back to look at my face. I wanted her to see me when I said this. She needed to believe me. “You’re not crazy. You’re beautiful and fun. You’re selfless and big-hearted. You’re a hard worker and you don’t expect anything from anyone but You. Are. Not. Crazy.” I grabbed her face in my hands. “I don’t want to ever, and I mean EVER, hear you call yourself that again. Do you understand me? You call yourself any of those things I said but never crazy.” I pulled her back into my arms and held her. I didn’t trust myself to say anything else at the moment. My emotions were running too close to the surface.

“There was this boy. He was a couple years younger than me,” she paused and took a deep breath. “He said he wanted to lock me up in a room and do things to me. It,” she stopped and I heard her swallow hard. “It wasn’t that I was scared really. It was when he threatened to lock me up in a room. My cr… my fears took over. The panic set in.”

She was scared of being locked up. Why? Had someone done that...

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 29



Della

Woods would have carried me inside if I would have let him. He was hovering over me so carefully that if I didn’t love him I’d be annoyed. He was worried about me and he deserved to understand some of this. Maybe not all of it but he needed to know something.

“I had an older brother once. I’ve only seen pictures of him and my father. I don’t remember them. I was too young when it all happened.” I wasn’t sure telling him this wasn’t going to send me into another tailspin but I had to try. He sat down beside me and put his arm around my back and pulled me against his chest. It was like he knew I needed him for this. His hand threaded with mine and he squeezed it. I was going to be okay. He was here with me.

“One day they went to run errands. I was a newborn and my mother was nursing me. We didn’t go with them. They never returned. They were shot along with several other people in a local grocery store. A guy had gotten angry or something and shot ten people before he was shot and killed himself. My dad and brother had been standing in the checkout line when he walked in. They were the first two killed.” That was a story I had heard many times from my mother as she explained the dangers if we went outside. I knew it well. I burrowed back into Woods’ arms and kept my mind from losing focus and getting lost in my memories.

“I’ve got you. I’m right here,” he assured me. His other hand found mine and he held it too.

“My mother’s mother had been mentally ill. I never met her. She was in a special home. We had no other family. My father had grown up in foster homes. Neither of them had siblings. My grandmother lost touch with reality shortly after my mother’s birth. Her father hadn’t stuck around to raise her for long. Mom was raised by her father’s mother who died when she was sixteen. She and my father met in a foster home when they were seventeen. From the pictures we had I could see a healthy woman and good mother. My brother seemed to love her. She seemed happy. But I never knew that woman. We moved after my dad and brother were killed. She moved us from a small town in Nebraska to an even smaller one in Georgia. My earliest memories were in that house in Macon. My mother’s wild eyes and screaming fits were all I knew of life. She could be so sweet at times but other times she was frightening. She talked to my brother a lot. I didn’t understand for years who she was talking to. It was just the two of us. But she saw him, I think.”

I closed my eyes against the memory of my mother speaking to my dead brother as if he were there. The plate of food she would fix him with his favorite snacks left uneaten and moldy on the table. Once it had gotten so rotten I’d been unable to go into the kitchen without getting nauseated. She would finally throw it away and fix him some more.

“Did no one see she was unwell?” Woods asked as his thumb traced circles on my hand.

“No. No one saw us at all. No one knew I existed. We didn’t leave the house. Ever. My mother believed there was danger outside. She was keeping us safe.”

Woods sucked in a breath and I waited for the questions. The ones I’d answered a million times since her suicide.

“Where did you get food?”

“There was a local grocery store that delivered it. She called and ordered it.”

“Where did you get money?”

“My father had a very good life insurance policy. My mother sold the house in Nebraska and used her profit to buy one much smaller in a cheaper location so she could pay for it in cash.”

“School?”

“I was home schooled.”

“You never left your house? Ever?”

This was what was so hard for people to accept. It was a foreign idea to them and it had been my reality.

“My mother suffered from a severe case of agoraphobia. Because of mental illness ran in her family it made her case so much worse. The death of my brother and father triggered it and she became desperate to protect us. To the extent of taking away my life. I knew nothing of the world until I was old enough to sneak out at night. Braden, she’s my best friend and the reason I’m on this quest to experience life, lived next door. She was curious about us because she and her parents had realized we never left the house.

The night I snuck out the first time she saw me because she had been watching my house at night when she was in bed to see if we ever left. She was convinced we were vampires and she wanted to prove it to her parents. I didn’t get far. I only stood in my front yard and looked up at the moon and touched the grass. Simple things I’d always wanted to do. Braden came out and talked to me that night still thinking I was possibly a vampire. Our friendship grew over the years and my sneaking out changed and got more intense as I got older. Braden knew more about me than anyone. She was the only person who really knew I existed. She also knew I worried about losing my mom if anyone ever found out. So she kept my secret.”

I couldn’t tell him anymore. I needed to stop. This was enough. The other was too dark and it hurt too much.

“Where’s your mom?”

“She’s dead.”

He didn’t reply. His arms tightened their hold on me.

“I can’t talk about it anymore tonight. That’s enough.”

He didn’t argue. He just continued to hold me. We sat there in silence for a long time until my eyes got heavy and I slowly drifted off to sleep.

Twisted Perfection
Twisted Perfection Page 30



Woods

There were no words. I had held Della all night and she hadn’t woken up screaming one time. Now that I knew the horror she’d lived through, I wondered what she was dreaming that caused her to scream. I knew it had to do with her mother. There was more to that story than she’d told me but for now that was all she wanted me to know. It was enough.

I watched her sleep peacefully beside me as the sun rose and the early morning daylight began to dance across the water. Having her in my room and in my bed was perfect. Nothing had ever been this perfect. But my chest was tight and my heart felt heavy. There was so much pain and emotional abuse that Della had suffered and I wasn’t sure how to help her heal.

She stirred in my arms and I kissed the tip of her nose. She was mine. I would take care of her. I wanted to help her forget all this pain and darkness in her eyes. Her long lashes fluttered as her eyes opened and she looked up at me.

“Good morning,” I told her as she stretched in my arms with a sleepy smile.

“I don’t think I’ve slept that hard in a very long time,” she said then stifled a yawn.

“It’s because I’m so damn comfortable,” I teased.

“I agree. All this softness is comfy,” she said and grinned wickedly at me.

“Softness? I’ll show you softness,” I said flipping her on her back to press my morning hard-on against the crotch of her panties. “There’s nothing soft about that.”

She made a purring sound and opened her legs so that I’d fit comfortably between them. “No, nothing soft at all,” she agreed and lifted her hips to rub against me.

I could feel the wet silk of her panties through my underwear and I groaned in pleasure. She was already wet.

“I was gonna get up and make you breakfast,” I said as she continued to rub her damp ***** against my ****.

“Hmmm, that’s sweet. Why don’t you make love to me first,” she said, reaching for the bottom of my tee shirt I’d dressed her in last night before bringing her to bed. I’d also taken the liberty of taking off her bra because those couldn’t be comfortable to sleep in. This morning both round globes bounced freely in my face and I forgot about the breakfast and my good intentions. Even the words ‘make love to me’ that had startled me at first no longer mattered. Della was in my bed and she was getting naked. She started shimmying out of her panties when I decided to catch up and jerked my shirt off and then pulled my boxers off and tossed them aside.

Della opened her legs and smiled naughtily up at me. “Put it in bare. You can pull out,” she said, lifting her hips up to me in invitation. Pulling out wasn’t always safe but **** me I didn’t care right now. I wanted inside her without a barrier and the sweet nectar dribbling out of her opening was more than I could handle. I pressed her knees open and plunged in.

We both cried out in pleasure as I filled her in one swift move. The heat was so soft and tight around me. I’d never felt it like this before. I was so close to coming already that I had to hold still.

“Woods, this feels so good. You feel so good. I need you close. So close,” she panted as her chest rose and fell under me.

I reached down and rubbed her clit with my finger using the juice from her ***** to stimulate it. She began to buck under me and I moved in and out of her slowly. Once she lost it and the walls of her heat started squeezing me I was going to have to pull out. I was too close. The sensation was killing me.

“Just like that. Oh, Woods, yes, rub it, yes, ohmygod, yes.” Her begging and cries came to a halt right before she shuddered underneath me and cried out my name.

I moved in her one more time before jerking out and coming all over her stomach. Seeing my spunk pooled up on her flat stomach only made my chest clench tighter. Mine. I’d marked her again. She was mine.

I slowly got up then went and got a warm washcloth to clean her off. She was staring down at my mess and grinning when I got back. I started to wipe it off and she giggled.

“What’s so funny?” I asked. I loved hearing her laugh.

“I’ve never had a guy come on me like that before. I think I liked it.”

The idea of any other guy’s cum getting anywhere near her pissed me off. I didn’t want visual images of Della and some other guy. How many guys could she have been with? She missed most of her life locked up by her mother.

“You look upset. What did I say wrong?”

I finished cleaning her off then looked up at her. “You didn’t say anything wrong. I just… I just don’t like thinking about you and another guy.”

She sat up on her elbows. “I’ve only been with three counting you.”

Two more than what would make me happy. But it wasn’t fair to get pissed. I had slept with more girls than I could count.

“You were my second if that helps.”

Her second? What the ****… did that mean? Ah, hell. I didn’t want to think about this. She’d had *** after our first time together. I had with Angelina. But **** me if it wasn’t hard to swallow. She’d gone to Dallas and hooked up with her married boss there. Why had I walked away from her that night? Because she was a one-night stand. A one-night stand that completely blew my mind but still. I’d done what we both expected me to do. Or had she?

I couldn’t think about this. I shoved off the bed and stalked back to the bathroom to calm down. This was not her fault. I was becoming a complete possessive bastard and she didn’t deserve that.

A small hand touched my shoulder. “Are you okay?”

I turned around and she was standing completely naked with a worried frown on her forehead. She’d woken up in a happy mood and I had ruined it with my need to own her. What was wrong with me?

I pulled her to me until her breasts brushed my chest. “I’m sorry. I’m an ass. I got all pissy thinking about someone else… about some… ****. I can’t even say it.”

Della stepped closer, ran her hands up my chest, and locked them behind my neck.

“No one’s ever been inside me without a condom on. Only you. When this week is over you’ll be the only man to ever fill me with his cum.”

The ****man was beating his chest at the idea of finding my release deep inside her and letting my seed coat the tight little hole I was obsessed with.

I brushed the hair in her face away and tilted her chin up until I could press my lips firmly against hers. This girl was going to consume me.