Seventy-FiveNathan My shrilling phone woke me out of my sleep. That rarely ever happened. My phone hadn't rung at the midnight in a long fucking time. With a grunt, I reached across the bed to the bedside table so I could pick up my phone. The screen flashed with the name Freckles on it. Cam. Why was he calling so fucking late? It had to be about the investigation we were making. I swiftly picked up the call. "Cam?" I mumbled sleepily. At first, he didn't speak. But I could hear his heavy breathing. He must have found something. Something he was hesitating to tell me. Was he in danger? "Cam!" I yelled sitting upright. Sleep fled as adrenaline pumped through my veins in large doses. "It's okay, I'm here," he urged. "I was just... Trying to get over the shock,""What shock?" I asked, feeling confused. "Have you seen Arabella Montgomery, Nate?" He asked and I frowned. "This again? Cameron, please tell me you didn't call me so you could gush over a woman!" "Will you call down?
Seventy-SixChloe"Hello,"I could hear his voice. It pierced through the walls erected around my heart, possessing every nook and cranny of my soul. He sounded the same. No, that was wrong. His voice had the same silvery feel to it. But he sounded different. Gruff and hoarse. The sound of a man who had carried more than he could bear. I glanced at the card in my trembling hand while the other held the phone to my ear. I had suspected that it would be him. When Melissa handed me a card with the initials NB on it, I suspected it was his. I just hadn't wanted to believe it. "Hello?" Nathan said again and the tears I thought were home forever, stung the corner of my eyes and rolled down my cheeks. He had met Adele the day before! He had seen her and talked to her. Dammit, had he seen the resemblance? Did he know she was his daughter? "Hello?" His voice increased in urgency and pitch showing he was getting impatient. I cut the call quickly and tossed the phone on my bed, feeling stup
Seventy-Seven Nathan Cameron was right. She was here. He had predicted that she would come to the Hamptons gala. And she did. "Chloe," I whispered, gripping the glass of whiskey in my hand tighter. She walked in dressed in the most lavish red gown I had ever seen. Her hair, golden in the bright glow in the hall, was tied up in a series of curls and knots that was most likely more complicated than phantom physics. They were the only thing about her that hadn't changed. She had grown older. It was clear from the way her face had lost the chubbiness that made her look innocent and naive. The woman before me was anything but innocent. Her eyes, blue as always had a sharp haunting look to them. She greeted everyone with a bright smile or lips but I could see the wariness deep in them. She was here. In-person. Chloe. God, how long has it been? I was transfixed, staring like a fucking dumb horse. She stopped before Hampton and his wife as they enveloped her in a hug. How did the
Seventy-eightChloe Muffled sounds came from over my shoulders. I froze still, my heart racing wildly in my rib cage. Was he crying? I almost couldn't believe it. Heck, I couldn't believe any of it. I was pressed up against the door, with a strangely familiar hulk leaning against me. His scent,... Dear God. I sighed, taking in a whiff of him. It was male, tangy, and... And damn it made me heady with desire. Like an addict exposed, I wrapped my hand around him- well I tried to, dragging in more of his delicious scent. More of him. More... "Nathan," I whispered, drugged and drunk on him. Everywhere my hands grasped was hard and hot and feelings I thought had been buried for years came resurfacing. Nathan groaned at the feel of my wandering hands. His face left the crook of my neck and he trailed his nose over my face. Soft, light, and terribly sensual. "Chloe, Chloe..." He whispered, his warm breath caressing my face and sending my brain into overdrive. "Yes," I panted,
Seventy-NineNathan I was so fucking hard. That was the one thought that stood out as the crazy woman before me yelled and twitched like she was on drugs. The man who constantly hovered around my wife had dragged Chloe to the farthest corner of the study, glaring daggers at me. Oh, the feeling was mutual. I hated his guts. Why the hell was he with my wife? He had no right to shield her from me. I looked beyond him, at Chloe who sat on a chair in Hampton's study. She wouldn't look at me. Ever since her friend and whoever that old guy was came in, she had been sober and sad. Gone was the woman who had melted like butter in my hands a few minutes ago. "....fuck you." The voice of her friend dawned on me, drawing me back to reality. How could you do that to her?! You should be jailed. Jailed you bastard-" With a growl I grabbed her arm, glaring down at her menacingly. "Shut your trap or I'll do it for you." "You don't scare me!" She spat, wriggling to get out of my hold. "You
EightyChloe"What the hell was that all about?" Addison spat as soon as we walked into the house. The car ride had been silent- surprising if you as me, I could swear Addison was ready to burst into a raging tantrum with each passing minute. But she held it in like the champion she was and unleashed it when she was sure we were in the safety of my home. Bravo. She deserved more credit. Leaving the Hamptons home had been like walking through the wilderness. Addison had helped me readjust my appearance, but my dress had become rumpled around the chest area, thanks to Nathan's constant tugging, and my hair had lost a few pins. If I had changed my hairstyle completely, the press would suspect something had occurred at the party. And they wouldn't be wrong. My body zinged and tingled at the memory if being pressed up against the door. Against Nathan. His hard body bearing down on me. I closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the memory. I shouldn't be happy. Dammit, I shouldn't be satisf
Eighty-One Nathan The cool Sunday air seeped through the windows of my car, making the air around me chill and freezing. I ignored the strain in my fingers as they tightened around the steering wheel. There was no way I would take my eyes off the gate. Or off the building that stood behind the gate. Arabella Montgomery's home. "Arabella," I mumbled dryly, tasting her name on my tongue. It rolled out smoothly and perhaps it suited her. I didn't give a shit. She was Chloe to me. My Chloe. My phone beeped and reluctantly, I let go of the steering wheel to reach for the device. It was barely seven in the morning and here I was, at her doorstep. All that was left was for me to stick my tongue out, lapping like some dog. Mahn, sometimes I hated how she affected me. How my insides tied up and my heart shook in Its place at the thought of her. How every part of me, just as it was now, tightened up like a coil only she could unwind. I clicked on the message Cam had sent and my bro
Chapter eighty-twoChloe A pregnant silence filled the air. I stared blankly at Tristan who sat on my sofa, grinning at me like we were two souls connecting over a heart-to-heart. His wife, my mother, or ex-mother, whatever role she was assuming at the moment, sat beside him, her eyes roving every nook and cranny of the living room. "State your business," Addison spat with so much venom, it startled me as well. The man I had grown up calling Father smiled even wider. But the look in his eyes told me exactly what he thought of Addison. The same thing he had always thought of her. A nuisance. A bother and someone who I shouldn't associate with. Perhaps it had been foolish of me to allow them into my home. I was pretty surprised to find them outside my gate too. It wasn't like I could turn them away. Tristan was tricky, if he wanted to see me, he would find a way to do so anyways. "It is sad to see my daughter return without so much as a visit." He said, his smile dimming as he sp