Her naked body stretched tiredly and she let out a quiet grunt. She rolled over without opening her eyes, desiring to touch him. Damn it, she was utterly, completely hooked. Her hand tapped his side of the bed in an attempt to hold her object of obsessive addiction. Empty.
She groaned and opened her eyes. Sure enough he wasn't there. Her groggy raspy morning voice called. "Eddie? Are you in the bathroom?"
There was no answer. A chill that had nothing to do with being naked in a cold morning ran down her spine. She curled her legs and tucked her knees under her chin. Her thoughts scattered and disoriented, only one thing was vivid. A depressingly unsettling realisation. He was gone. He had only gone last night to have breakup sex. He hadn't wanted to see her cry and beg him in the morning that he stay with them. It was over. Tears welled in her eyes. She wanted to sob for her loss. Her child's loss. Before she could let out a loud cry, the door pushed open.
Her eyes lit up and her heart leaped with exhilaration only for the eyes to drop in sadness and her heart to sink in disappointment when Rosanna entered the room. She expected someone else.
"Ah, there you are my sweet girl. I came to wake you. You will run late for work unless you don't intend to go." The older woman beamed. She stalked towards Gina and held a note to her. "That sweet boy left this for you." The teasing excitement was heavy in her tone.
Gina's tremulous hand took it. Her heart thundered violently that she thought a cardiac arrest would be inevitable. "W...what's in it, Rosanna?" For the first time in years she sounded meek and scared.
Rosanna giggled. "Only you can read it dear. He made that very clear."
Dread filled the pit of her stomach. He couldn't even wait to end things with her verbally. She and her unborn baby disgusted him that much? Why hadn't he waited for her to explain?
"So...?" Rosanna dragged out curiously. She playfully nudged the other woman and wiggled her brows at the folded note, a ridiculously naughty smile etched on her lips.
Heaving a deep sigh she unfolded the note. Still not prepared for the heartbreaking content in the note. It was too small. He clearly had nothing much to tell her. Her eyes slowly diverted from the joyously awaiting nanny to the words on the note.
I had to leave you way before you woke up. So much work on my desk. But enough space for our morning 'appetites'. See you at the office beautiful.
Love,
Eddie! Harder! Faster you prick!
That's not my name kitten. *wink.*
Relief swept through her tensed body like an angry wave. But still a welcomed wave. What was she thinking judging him like that? He couldn't and wouldn't leave her. They were each other's life. How dare she doubt that? Her eyes roamed the note again and embarrassment flushed all over her. Harder! Faster you prick!
She had called him a...
Suddenly she felt too shy to see him again. A giggle filled the room and she realised Rosanna had been peeking as she read. A disapproving scowl masked her face as she faced the ecstatic woman. She pouted in return and both women burst out laughing.
"You can't peek on people's private notes, Rosanna." She scolded but the humour and affection laced in her voice was evident.
"Oh I was only curious and you looked like you were expecting something dreadful. Besides, both of you made so much noise last night and..."
"Rosanna!" She scolded more sternly but the woman didn't stop.
"We barely caught any sleep and the girls had wet dreams about..."
"Rosanna I'm late for work. Please go serve my breakfast while I take a quick shower." She interrupted the woman's blatant revelation and without waiting for a response she wrapped the sheet around her body and made a dash for the bathroom.
She winced at the soreness on her body before giggling at the memory of what caused it. She had to tell him about the baby. She couldn't risk him finding out from someone else.
***
He despised lying to Gina. She was so beautiful and kind. The epitome of perfection and all she deserved was the best things the world had to offer. Not lies. Certainly not from him because he saw the reckless trust she had in him in her eyes. The abandon in her body as she surrendered to him. The beautiful body he left tangled in sheets. Naked.
But he couldn't tell her he was hurrying to the office to get rid of his wife of five years who took his money and vanished three years ago, before she arrived at work. At least not like that. Gina was delicate and no doubt she would turn cold and shut him out. Completely. He ran a hand through his face in exasperation. His murderous glare contemptuously on the haughty, spiteful woman bent on destroying his life. Again.
He'd had to rush to the company, abandoning the perfection that was his Gina when Frank called to report a nuisance that was the woman from the other day. He hadn't needed further information to know just who it was. Ruefully, he'd kissed his angel goodbye and driven like a madman to M&A; where he stood in his office, undiluted fury bubbling to the surface despite attempts to contain it. Oh, how he wished she was a man. He would have beaten the life out of her without so much as a care for repercussions.
He felt a hand slide up his shoulder from behind. He jerked it away rudely. "I told you to never lay your filthy little hands on me again." He snarled with venom.
She smiled utterly unperturbed. "Darling you are mine. That little distraction you have at home doesn't change that." She moved to twirl his tie with her fingers but he swatted her hand away. "Stop it Eddie, stop pushing me away."
He kissed his teeth in dire frustration. "Are you blind? I hate you. You repulse me. I would rather die that be in the same room with you. Crawl back to hell like the cunning, conniving, venomous, serpent you are and leave me alone!"
A lump formed in Regina's throat. She could feel the sting of tears form behind her pupils. He despised her? He couldn't and wouldn't dare. He loved her, it's only that Gina and her dang body were distracting him. Entirely confusing him. He needed saving from the claws of the treacherous woman. Regina knew he had spent the night making love to the despicable woman. She had followed him from his and his best friend's real estate company all the way to the bitch's mansion. She'd tried calling him but his phone was switched off. The fool was absolutely oblivious to the fact that she knew them more than they did each other. Their phone numbers, their houses, their finances, friends, families and routines. Everything, Regina Bernstein knew everything. Which left them disadvantaged and exposed to her schemes.
She swallowed the unwavering lump and plastered a smile on her face. Never would she allow him to see that he affected her. That would disable and disarm her against him. She loved him dearly, she admittedly knew he was her obsession. By God, she got what she desired. And she desired Eddie Raymond. She retracted her steps back until she hit the work desk. Her behind leaned on it and she crossed her legs, exposing them through the slit of her red dress in the process. He barely glanced at her bare thigh before holding her gaze. Seduction failed. But what do they say about skinning cats? Ah, there were very many different ways. Regina was familiar with each one of them. She hadn't stayed with the man for five years oblivious to his various buttons. She knew them all and she intended to press every last one of them, until he reacted.
Button number two; tears. A lot of them welled in her eyes and she bit her wobbly lip to trap a loud sob. "I love you, Eddie." She professed. "I swear on_"
"What? What do you swear on?" He snorted dismissively. "People swear on things they hold dear and you Bernstein have none. You don't care about anything apart from your conceited self."
Her lips moved to speak but he beat her to it. "Oh, I know!" He beamed in feigned realisation. "Could it be the house and cars you tricked me into signing to you? Of course not, you couldn't have kept those old models this long. So it must be the company you stole using similar perfected tactics." His tone was now low and disgusted. "Or is it that gorgeous body you flaunted for all those men to use."
Slap! His head jerked to the side at the impact of her strike. A sadistic satisfied smirk curved on his lips. "Why Regina, does the truth hurt so much? Quite unbearable huh?"
Regina was raging furious and she clenched her fists so tight that she drew blood from her palms. She dug them to her dress to placate the sting. She was about to throttle the man when she caught a glimpse of a woman at the glass door. She smirked cynically as the woman pushed the door open before she smothered her lips on an off guard Eddie's. She snaked her hands around his neck and deepened the impromptu kiss ignoring the man's protests. He tasted so good. And they'd been caught. Two birds, one stone. Regina was a damned good tactician.
"Eddie." A disbelieving hurt voice whispered.
Gina! Eddie shoved the woman kissing him away not caring that she would fall and spun around to face Gina pleadingly. He shook his head at the questioning, hurtful gaze she held for him aware of what that must have looked like. Before a single word escaped his lips... She fled.
Oh uh, trouble in paradise. Hope you enjoyed enough to press that little star on the corner. Down here.