Frayed (2 page)

It took me approximately twenty minutes to get to the hotel. Add another ten to park and walk towards the cottage. I took three calming deep breaths before my finger pushed on the buzzer
and the door was opened after only a few seconds.

Harry
stood there wearing his grey suit and I paused to drink him in. He looked polished and put together. He was about six feet tall, dark, slicked-back hair with chocolate eyes. His build was on the lean side and he had that roguish sex appeal.

“You’re looking at me like you haven’t eaten for days. I promise I will feed you,
Trista.” Harry laughed as he pulled me into his arms and kissed me thoroughly.

He was right
,
,
I was hungry for him. I showed him how much I hungered for him through my kiss. As I pressed my body against his, he made a deep growl against my lips. Harry swiftly pulled us inside without breaking lip contact. It was always like this.

Crazy hunger took me
over. It was in charge of my body, and I ached to be with him and only him. He hastily used his foot to shut the door closed. I was moaning against him when he lowered us both to the foyer floor.

“
Trista…” he grunted, still kissing me.

With one hand, he swiftly took care of his pants. I could hear the tear of the condom packet before he brashly lifted my skirt up. His fingers hooked the sides of my thong
, pushing it to the side and I buckled when he parted my wet folds; stroking me passionately. It took him less than a minute of foreplay before he was sliding inside me. Harry kept saying my name each time his cock entered me. His lovemaking was hard and fast; like he knew our time was running out and he wanted to get as much as he could from me.

“Harry!” I sobbed when I felt my release run through my body. On cue, he started to pummel me more. I felt him tense. After a few more hard
,
rough strokes, he came.

He took my lips and kissed me a few more times. “I’ve missed you.” He smiled at me with love in his eyes. With the back of his finger, he gently stroked my cheek.

I love him so fucking much it hurts.

I think my heart started to crack from then on. That smile he usually
gave me—the kind where it showed how much I meant to him—might be the last he’ll ever give me after I tell him the news.

I lovingly looked at him and smiled back. “I’ve missed you
, too… very much.” I started to get choked up, knowing what I was about to tell him would make or break us. Yet, I knew I had to. I had to tell him the lowdown of what happened at the doctor’s office.

Harry softly chuckled against my neck before he started kissing it. He was still buried deep in me
, but it was obvious that he was starting to get hard again. I was ready for another round, always. “We have to talk… it’s very important…” I trailed off as he started to slide in and out of me. Fuck, he felt so good.

“Can it wait
until after we finish? I can’t help it if I always want you. You’re so beautiful, baby.” His hand found my breasts, roughly caressing them. “I love these,” he rasped out as he started to pick up his pace. “I love you.” He growled as he went in and out of me.

My betraying body responded to his lovemaking
, but I knew I had to do it now. Although the idea of waiting appealed more, I simply couldn’t wait to spill the news any longer. I needed to tell someone, now. “It can’t wait… I have to tell you…” I paused and shut my eyes, but Harry seemed to be too occupied with his rapid strokes to hear me. “I’m… pregnant.” I waited a few more seconds for it to dawn on him, but he was still fucking me.

Did he not hear me at all? Goodness gracious!

“I’m thirteen weeks pregnant!” I yelled at him, loud enough for him to hear me through his labored pants and grunts. That did get his attention.

“For fuck sake, are you serious?” Harry looked incredulous.

Dead
serious
.
Like I would joke about something like being pregnant?
Fucktard!

“Yeah
, because I have a sick sense of humor, idiot. Of course I’m serious!” I spat back at him. He immediately looked stony before he pulled out of me and got up, pacing. As he paced he took care of the condom, throwing it in the trash bin.

“Fuck! Fuck!
Becka is pregnant! You’re pregnant! Fuck! Becka will kill me. Shit, your entire family will murder me—your father will be the one to stab me first!” He purposely knocked the vase on the foyer’s table over before he started to cuss and pace about again.

Granted, I expected him to freak out,
though I didn’t see him acting all paranoid. I gathered myself up and fixed my clothes before I walked to where he stood. He needed my reassurance and I needed him to calm down before we could discuss things like rational adults.

“You have to get rid of it. There’s no other way to fix this and solve the problem. That baby will be the end of me—
end of us
—and my marriage.”

Yeah, I was always the second place. I knew that, but it hurt every time
he chose to remind me. “What if I want to keep it? We could move and live somewhere, just you and me, and our baby.” I suggested mildly. The idea never occurred to me before… but now that I think about it, it made perfect sense. I wanted to be with him. I loved him without a doubt, I’d give up everything just to be with him.

Harry glared at me like I suggested the most horrid thing. His dark eyes sliced me in two. “Don’t be stupid! I will be taken out of my parents will if I do. I stand to lose more than you do.” He inched closer to me, eyes hard. “Prove this love you speak
so highly of, Trista. If you truly do love me, you will do this for
me and
your family
and me
. I will arrange everything. All I need you to do is say yes.”

I stood there frozen. Torn between my child and the man I loved, but deep down, I knew he had a point. My family would disown me. Or, they would hate me and I would never live it down for the rest of my life. The shame, the humiliation that it would bring to my family, would be hard to endure. Harry impregnated cousins, a few months apart. How does one fathom the idea? It was inconceivable.

“Give me a few more days to think about it,” I murmured not looking at him.

My response got me another menacing glare. “You have until Sunday. I will have everything set up the following day to get rid of it. This is fucking serious, Trista. Think of Becka and what this will do to her. If it comes down to it, I will choose my marriage over this. I never wanted this to end, but it’s inevitable now.” Harry walked off towards where he left his pants in the foyer. He quickly dressed and stood a few feet behind me.

“No, don’t say that…” I was crumbling inside, but he didn’t seem to care. My tears flowed and I couldn’t be bothered to wipe them away. I was beyond caring. I wanted to
scream, yell and reason with him, but his cold-hearted demeanor stopped me. He already made his point clear. His family comes first. I simply couldn’t compete with that.

“Expect my call on Sunday. I will
not speak to you until then.” Harry stood there for another minute before he sighed and walked out of the cottage.

I felt betrayed by him. I understood what I needed to do, but what I couldn’t fathom was his harsh treatment of me. For the very first time, I really felt like a mistress. Harry’s sex puppet
, something to be used and abused until it was time to be thrown out.

I had no clue how long I stood there, silently crying. There was no one to blame
except me. Being a mistress was always a disadvantage. Every woman knew that. It didn’t stop me, though. The temptation was too hard to resist. Harry’s seduction was difficult to refuse.

At
the end of it all, I stood at the losing end. No matter how you looked at it, I was irrevocably defeated.

Chapter 2

Present

Trista

“Carter and I will be there in thirty. You better get your stinky ass ready!” Lindsey enthusiastically spoke on the other end.

“Yes, Lindsey, anything else?”

“Yes, doll. Bring your fantabulous self because we’re going to Greece
to frolic with hot European men. See ya!” Lindsey hung up the phone, but I held it against my ear for another minute before I placed it on the table.

I’m all packed and ready.

This trip was planned a month ago, before Emma left to shoot a film in some private Greek Island. I really was ecstatic that Emma was doing her thing and a month ago, nothing could’ve stopped me from going to see one of my best friends.

But that was a month ago.
A couple of days after Emma left, my life crumbled before me.

When I heard a knock on the door, I distractedly went for
it. I was momentarily taken aback when I saw Carter standing outside looking fresh out of the shower. “So you’re taking us to LAX, huh?” I asked while I studied his frowning expression. I liked Carter… back before he broke Emma’s heart.

“Yup, where’s your luggage,
Tris?” He asked glancing about the living room when I let him in.

“It’s in my bedroom.
Lemme go get it really quick.” I strode inside my room and was surprised that Carter followed me.

Okay. I paused and looked at the infamous playboy again. He was acting rather odd. What gives?

“I need a favor,” Carter murmured out of the blue.

I knew it!
He wouldn’t have gone all the way in my room if he didn’t need something. This favor would be about Emma. This douche bag, womanizing jerk wants something and I sure as hell won’t do it. He had caused enough damage to my friend. “If this is about Emma, you can forget about it, Carter. Let her go. You’ve done enough damaging shit.”

He suddenly looked offended at my unexpected retort. Possibly because I was never mean to him, but when he cheated on my friend in the nastiest way possible, that’s where I
drew the line.

Carter handed me a white gift bag. “
Tris, you know I would never ask you if this wasn’t so important. I love her and I just want you to give this to her.”

“Carter, I don’t know about this.” I bit my lip as I eyed the item he was holding. Whatever was in it, it
contained bad juju.

He exhaled a breath as he gripped the bag. “Promise
, I will owe you one, Tris. Just this once, that’s all I ask.” Carter suddenly looked a little unsure. I saw him run his fingers through his hair a few times.

Well, maybe he should’ve thought it through before he decided to get down and do the
nasty with Cece, Amanda and her trio of skankerettes. “Let it go, Carter. Emma’s doing her thing now. Besides, I don’t want to be on Bass Cole’s bad side, either. I mean they live in the same house… they may even be sharing the same room. Why would I risk that? What’s in the bag anyway?”

Carter’s eyes bulged out. “Live in the same place?” He screeched. “FUCK! Fuck! Mother Fucker!”

Yeah, buddy, that would be you aiming at yourself.

Sighing, I moved towards my table and got my tote. “Let’s go.”

When I spun around, I was surprised to see Carter… a little messed up? The hurt was so obvious on his face, I suddenly felt bad for him. “Carter?” I threw an empty water bottle at his direction.

It went
past him. Though his eyes flicked toward it, it didn’t change his state. I huffed out loud and waited for him to snap out of his idiotic, trance-like state. I should be a little considerate. After all, hadn’t I gone through the same crap four weeks ago? Yeah, Carter and I are in the same boat on this one. I guess I should be a
little
sympathetic.

We were both, after all, cheaters.

Funny, how admitting that now doesn’t hurt any longer. I felt numb inside. I hoped being around my friends would help me get through the hell that I made for myself. How I wished Amber was here. She would help lighten up the mood, her dumbass jokes always worked like charm.

“Do you think Bass will be successful this time?” Carter asked, breaking my own thoughts.

“Carter, LISTEN. The last time… Emma was super, hella, head-over-heels in love with you. After that kinky debauchery you pulled, though, I can’t answer that. Bass and Emma are like fireworks. They spark up and explode. Do you honestly think for a second that for the last month nothing’s been going on? Come on, dude. You’re smarter than that.”

“Fireworks… how would you describe
Em and me, then?” Carter looked up and his dark depths caught me off guard. Sure, I grew up with this idiot, BUT I admit… there are times I get caught off guard… speechless… when it comes to his hot-o-meter.

“You and
Em were like a ticking time bomb… hot and explosive… but it has a limit.”

“I got her back after Bass almost got to her. I can do it again.” He sounded so sure of himself
, too. Whatever, dude.

“Sure,
now
, can we go? I feel weird doing heart to heart with you.” That granted me a smile. He begged me again about the stupid gift. Blah.