The Letters (Carnage #4) (3 page)

Cameron

After what feels like just five minutes of sleep, I wake with a start. I open my eyes and see Georgia lying in the recovery position next to me. Her side pressed into mine as I lie on my back. I hear quiet footsteps walk past the study and on into the kitchen. I assume it’s one of the kids but get up anyway to check.

At some stage, I must have taken off my jeans, as I’m now just wearing a T-shirt and a pair of boxers. Georgia stirs and so does my dick as I hear her little sigh. I adjust what’s happening inside my Calvin’s, collect the glass things Georgia insists we drink our coffee out of, and head up the hallway.

Tallulah is standing at the coffee machine with her head resting on her arms, which are resting on the kitchen worktop. Her long dark hair, which is the exact same shade as her mother’s hair, is hanging down her back, and she’s watching the hot dark liquid fill her cup.

When the fuck did my daughter start drinking coffee?

Tallulah is probably going to be our problem child. She has a short fuse and a quick wit. She can cut with a glare from her blue eyes or a single word from her sharp tongue. She’s also loyal, possessive, and protective of those she loves. Lu has no fear, and her strong will and defiance have already gotten her into trouble. She takes no shit from anyone—not even her teachers, and I’ve had to go up to the school on more than one occasion. She’s not naughty, per se, just outspoken, fearless, and headstrong. She’s a passionate kid. I don’t wanna sound like I’m making excuses for her, but I don’t want the system to knock her spirit out of her. Despite what life has thrown at Georgia, she still maintains hers to this day. In fact, it’s what I think got her through everything. I want Lu to grow up to be as resilient as her mum. I want that for all of my kids.

The problem at home is that Lu and Georgia are a fucking nightmare when they start going at each other. Their personalities are identical, and when they clash, most of Essex hears about it. Georgia always thinks she knows best, and Tallulah can’t, or won’t, be told she’s wrong. Like I said, she’s a carbon copy of her mother, right down to her striking blue eyes.

That’s the other reason I worry. The girls turned fourteen in February, Georgia was just twenty when I first met her. In six years’ time, they could potentially have men like me sniffing around them. I clench my hand into a fist and push it against my chest where it suddenly feels like I’m having a heart attack.

Lu must catch my movement, because she spins around and her hand flies to her own chest.

“Shit, Daddy. You scared the crap outta me!”

“Language, Syrup,” I say in my best warning voice. That’s the other thing Lu has in common with her mother, her foul mouth. She swears more than her brothers, and I blame that on her mother.

She rolls her eyes and folds her arms across her chest, and I already know what’s coming.

“Don’t call me Syrup.”

Lu hates the nicknames I’ve called the twins since they were babies. She’s always been Syrup, Kiki has always been Treacle.

She walks towards me, wrapping her skinny arms around my chest.

“Sorry for swearing, you made me jump. I thought you weren’t coming home till later.”

“I missed you all and managed to get a flight home last night.” I kiss the top of Lu’s head as I speak. Her hair smells of mint.

“You been nicking your mother’s shampoo again?” Another cause for conflict between Georgia and Lu, they have the same taste in a lot of things. Lu likes to borrow without asking, Georgia throws a fit, and Lu tells her to take a chill pill and be flattered that at her age, her fourteen-year-old even likes her taste. That’s when I generally step in to prevent my wife from throttling our daughter.

I feel her shake her head against my chest. “Nah, Mum treated me to the shampoo and conditioner while you were away. If she’d have just done that in the first place, it would’ve saved a lot of arguments.”

I can’t help but laugh at my daughter’s reasoning. “I hope you also said thank you?”

“Do you think she woulda let me keep it if I hadn’t? You know what Mum’s like with her manners.”

“Manners cost nothing and will get you a long way in life, Lu, believe me.”

She doesn’t reply, but I can hear her brain thinking that one through.

“What you doing up so early anyway?” I ask her.

“I didn’t muck out last night. I need to get over to the stables and get it done.”

“What about Kiks and Mum?”

She shrugs her shoulders and huffs. “No, they did theirs. I went to Lakeside with Harley and Jimmie. We went for pizza after. Mum said it was fine as long as I did the horse stable this morning.”

She steps away from me and pours milk into her coffee cup.

“Fair enough, but take your phone.” I tell her.

“Dad!” She rolls her eyes as she says my name. “You can see the stables from the back patio if you’re that worried.”

This is true. It had made sense to have them rebuilt reasonably close to the house. Georgia has kept a horse ever since we bought and renovated the place, and the girls have had ponies since they could walk. Kiki still rode with Georgia regularly, but Lu is starting to lose interest, preferring to spend her time at the shopping centre with her mates. I’d threatened to sell Bella, her horse, on more than one occasion, but Lu’s only response was to ask if she got to keep the money, seeing as the horse
was
a Christmas present and it was only
fair
!

Lu drinks her coffee while I make one for myself and Georgia, and then she heads upstairs to change.

I step back into the office and note that apart from kicking off the throw I put over her, my wife hasn’t moved. She’s not a big fan of mornings and she’s probably gonna have a hangover if she drank the contents of the two empty wine bottles sitting on her desk.

I park my arse on the floor next to where Georgia sleeps and sip my coffee. We have more bedrooms than the Hilton in this house and my wife chooses to sleep on her office floor.

I watch her sleep for a few more minutes. Her T-shirt has risen, and I fight the urge to run my fingers along the strip of skin showing at the small of her back.

I lose the battle, and very gently trace a line along the top of her barely-there shorts with my fingertips. She has the best arse and legs and the most amazing tits. My dick’s hard again, and I close my eyes, debating whether or not I should just slip myself right inside her and fuck her and the consequences.

I open my eyes and she’s looking right at me. She blinks, once, twice, and then a smile lights up
her
face and
my
entire existence. I love the fuck outta this woman.

“You’re home,” she states, still smiling as she speaks, her eyes sparkling with mischief. I know that look and exactly what it means, I can’t help but smile back at her.

“I couldn’t keep away.”

“I missed you.”

“I know.”

“I’m so fucking horny,” she tells me, whilst moving to straddle my lap.

“I know.”

“How?”

“Kitten, I’m your husband, it’s my job to know what my wife wants, and besides, I need to be inside you right fucking now.”

I tap her arse cheek. “Get these shorts off.” She stands, whips them off, and lowers herself back down onto my lap, as she does, I release my dick from where Mr Klein has been smothering him and slide right inside her.

“Fuck, T,” she groans, whilst wrapping her arms around my neck. I slide my fingers into her hair and pull her face towards me. She resists.

“Morning breath.”

“I don’t give a fuck. Kiss me.”

She does.

My dick throbs, my heart soars, and all is right in the world.

I slide my hands over her skin, up under her T-shirt, and brush my thumbs over her nipples, all while moving my hips underneath her.

“Fuck, Kitten, I’ve missed you.”

Before she gets the chance to reply, the office door flies open.

“Dad, have you seen— What the fuck? Oh my god!” Tallulah shrieks.

“Shit!” Georgia shouts.

“Lu, language!” I shout.

There are a few seconds of silence as Lu just stands in the doorway and casts her gaze around the room. Georgia buries her face in my chest, and I wrap my arms protectively around her. Luckily, the T-shirt she’s wearing is long and covers everything important. Just as I think Lu is going to step out of the room, the door is pushed further open and our two dogs, Rooney and Becks, come bounding in, closely followed by George.

Georgia screams, and I jump as Rooney sticks his nose right where I imagine her arse crack must be.

“Oh god,” Georgia groans, trying to bury herself further into my chest.

“Get the fucking dog’s outta here!” I shout.

“Rooney, Becks—” George’s mouth snaps closed, and he stares for a few seconds, taking in Georgia’s shorts lying on the floor and the fact that she’s straddling my lap. “Oh my god, are you two actually having sex?” he chokes out.

“This is so gross. Who does that?” Lu is still shrieking.

Rooney barks, and Becks tries to squeeze his way between Georgia and me so he can sit in her lap.

“Get out. Get the fuck out,” I bellow. “And take the dogs with you.”

Lu turns to step out just as a bleary eyed Kiki appears.

“What’s going on?” she asks through a yawn.

“Don’t go in there, Kiks. Mum and Dad are having sex,” Lu warns her.

“Ewww, gross,” Kiks replies before turning and leaving with Lu close behind her.

George is still standing and staring at us. “I didn’t even know you could still do it at your age,” he states.

“What?” As soon as the words left my lips I wonder why I would even ask.

“Sex stuff. I thought you were too old.”

I feel Georgia’s shoulders shake as she laughs silently against my chest. I look into eyes the exact same shade as mine and, as calmly as I can, say to my son, “Take the dogs, George. Take the dogs and close the door on your way out.”

He calls Rooney and Becks, and they trot out of the room at his side, the door closing quietly behind them.

I pull Georgia’s hair gently so her face tilts up to mine.

“And what exactly has tickled your fancy, Kitten?” I ask, feigning seriousness.

“Rooney’s wet nose, and it wasn’t my fancy he tickled, it was my bum hole.”

“Lucky dog.”

“Never gonna happen, T. Besides, you’re too old for that kind of thing.”

“Like fuck I am. I’ll show you …” My voice trails off as I notice Georgia’s eyes fill with tears.

“Kitten?”

“Thank you,” she whispers as tears spill onto her cheeks.

“For what, baby?”

She holds her arms out palms up and moves them around her.

“For all of this. This life, our home, the chaos, our children. Bum-sniffing dogs. For all of it. Thank you for this second chance.” She smiles and sobs at the same time as more tears overfill from her pretty blue eyes. I shake my head.

“Georgia, this, our home, our kids. You never have to thank me for any of it. We built this together. Us baby, me and you. We’re each other’s second chance. Don’t ever thank me.”

I pull her in closer. My dick, which is still inside her despite the commotion that just went on around us, starts to stir, and I proceed to show my wife just how old I ain’t.

Georgia

I turn off the shower and reach for a towel, singing to Chet Faker’s “The trouble with us”, as I do. I wasn’t a big fan of his earlier stuff, but I love this song.

I walk out of the en suite and into my bedroom as I wrap the towel around myself. Cam’s lying on our bed with his back pressed against the headboard, his big arms folded across his broad chest, and his long legs stretched out in front of him, crossed at the ankles.

I know he’s waiting for an explanation as to why he found me sleeping on my office floor, surrounded by empty wine bottles, and the contents of the packing crate labelled “Sean’s stuff”.

I know he won’t ask me about it. I know he’ll just wait until I’m ready to talk, and I know full well he knows I know all of this.

“That was an interesting homecoming, Kitten.” He both winks and smiles as he speaks, making my insides and toes curl simultaneously.

“Well, the orgasm was unexpected but most definitely welcome. Becks’ wet nose in my arse crack and our audience,
hmmmm,
not so much.”

“Never before in my life have I been jealous of a dog.” His eyes shine as he talks.

“Oh yeah, always wanted a cold wet nose, have you, Tiger?”

“If it gains me access to that tight little arse of yours, then fuck yeah, I can do cold and wet.”

There’s a moment of silence as we stare at each other. My heart hammering hard in my chest as I contemplate the conversation we need to have and the explanation I should offer.

Our relationship is based on total honesty, it always has been. Cameron King has never made me feel guilty for the thoughts, feelings, grief, or guilt I still carry for the death of my first husband.

He’s jealous and possessive, but he’s never ever done anything other than hold me tight and tell me to let it all out whenever I have a meltdown, which thankfully happens rarely these days.

I chew on the inside of my lip as his eyes rake over me from my head to my Racy Red shellac-coated toenails.

I try to organise my words before speaking. The last thing in the world I would ever want to do to this man is hurt him or make him feel as if he is anything less than the centre of my world.

The life we have, our children, the chaos that surrounds our hectic home life, the love we share, are all things I would sell my soul to keep. The man lying on our bed in front of me is responsible for it all, and I love him beyond any kind of measure. And yet, there’s Sean. There always has been Sean, and there always will be Sean.

I lick my dry lips and draw in a breath, preparing to offer my explanation, but he shocks the shit outta me by saying, “Come over here and talk to me, baby,” while patting the mattress next to him.

“Let me just put some clothes on,” I request.

“I prefer you naked.”

I stop in my tracks and tilt my head to the side and smile at him before starting up again and disappearing into our walk-in wardrobe. “Yeah, but we don’t get much talking done when clothes don’t factor into the equation and naked bodies do.”

My husband’s been gone for almost two weeks, so I’m more than ready to jump his bones again. First we need to talk, and then I need to organise the kids. I pull on a pair of shorts and a T-shirt, not bothering with underwear.

Instead of sitting beside him, I straddle his lap so I can look him in the eyes. Which I do, while he pulls my hair out of the messy bun I had it in for my shower and lets it fall down my back.

He pulls me towards him and drags his nose up my neck and through my hair, before tucking it behind my ears.

“Fuck, I’ve missed you.”

“We’ve missed you too.” I rest my forehead against his as I speak.

“So, you bought Lulah some of your shampoo? Her hair smelled just like yours when I got a cuddle off her this morning.”

“Yeah, rather than keep arguing with her, I called Conner’s wife, Nina, and she got me some wholesale. It meant I had to buy twelve bottles but—”

“But anything to stop the screaming matches that go on between you two?” he interrupts.

“I scream because she takes it out of the shower. I wet my hair, and then I realise it’s missing. I don’t mind her using my stuff, as long as she puts it back where she finds it.” I let out a small huff before continuing. “We really need to have a word with her about her language, too. She’s a fourteen-year-old school girl, not a twenty-five-year-old brickie on a building site.”

He throws his head back and gives me one of his big Cameron King laughs.

It still does things to me, and my belly squirms.

“Oh my god, that’s funny! All these years, Kitten, all these years I’ve picked you up about your language, and now, your complaining that our daughter sounds just like you.”

“But I don’t swear around the kids, you dropped the F bomb more than once this morning when you were shouting at them.”

“We were shagging, they wouldn’t leave the room. Then the dogs tried to join the party. Of course I bloody swore.”

We’re both quiet for a few seconds. I assume, that like me, he’s reliving this morning’s embarrassing events in his head, which I know are going to lead him back to what he really wants to know.

“I opened that old crate, the one that’s labelled ‘Sean’s Stuff’.”

“I know, I saw.”

I nod my head and chew on my lip again for a few seconds.

“He would’ve been fifty this year, and Tom and Billy have agreed to play at the Triple M event to mark the occasion. Conner Reed is gonna play lead, like he did the other year, and Marley is gonna front the band.”

He brushes the back of his knuckles over my left cheek and lets out a long sigh.

“Why’d you need to open the box?”

“Marley’s been trying to write a new song for the band to perform. I thought maybe there might be something amongst all of the stuff in there that might help him out. Marley’s great with the music, but it was nearly always Sean that wrote the lyrics.”

He puffs his cheeks and purses his lips, they roll together as he blows out air. He looks over my shoulder, either unable or unwilling to meet my gaze. My belly twists and turns in on itself. He’s not happy about this.

“Kitten …” he sighs out my name, and I get goose bumps across my skin. “I’ve always supported you. Every year, I’ve done whatever I can to help out with this event, and I will always do that. You’ve achieved great things and helped untold charities and I couldn’t be more proud of you, I really couldn’t.” I hold my breath as I wait for the “but”.

“But …” And here it comes. “You, are my priority. When I come home early from a business trip and find you curled in the foetal position on a cold hard floor, surrounded by empty wine bottles, alone and sobbing, well, that’s when I can’t help but think you need to take a step back.”

I close my eyes when I realise he had come home and seen me crying. I’d had my Beats on, Bluetoothing my music through them so I didn’t wake the kids, and obviously missed his arrival. I feel a combination of guilt and shame as I consider how he must have felt walking in on that scene.

“I’m sorry you came home to that,” I whisper, but he just shakes his head.

“Don’t be sorry, I’ve told you a million times never to be sorry for feeling what you do, that’s not the issue, Kitten, it never has been.”

He rubs the tips of his fingers up and down my bare arms, once again causing goose bumps to spread down my spine to my toes, despite the fact that I suddenly feel too hot.

“The issue is with you deliberately seeking out something that you know is going to upset you so badly. That, and the fact that I’m not overly impressed with you knocking back two bottles of wine when you’re here on your own with the kids.”

I remain silent as I fight the urge to jump in guns blazing to defend myself. I try to remain quiet and calm when I do speak.

“I didn’t drink two bottles, it was one and a bit, the first one was open and only had about a half glass worth in it. And I’m not deliberately seeking out things that are gonna upset me. I was looking for lyrics to pass on to Marley, and I decided that while I did that, I might as well go through everything that was in there. That bloody box has sat there long enough, it needs sorting through.”

“Why, why now?”

“Because it’s sat there taunting me for long enough. I should’ve done it years ago, I shouldn’t have left it this long.”

“Well, it’s because you’ve always known how fucking upset it would make you.” I shrug my shoulders.

“Regardless, it needs doing. It’s going to upset me no matter how long I wait, so I might as well just get it done. There could be something useful in there, something that Marls can work his magic on and raise money with.”

He slides one hand around the back of my neck and pulls me in for a long lazy kiss. He lets out another long sigh as he breaks away.

“All right, I understand all that. But you do it now while I’m around and not when you’re here all on your own. What the fuck would the kids think if they saw you in that state?”

I nod my head in agreement. As usual, I’m wrong and he’s right. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done it while I was here by myself. I had a few wines for courage, but they just ended up making me feel even more emotional.”

“You all right now?” he asks, and for some reason, his concern touches me deeply and tears sting my eyes. He’s so good to me, so unbelievably good
for
me. The emotion of the moment suddenly overwhelms me. My face crumbles as I let out a sob, wailing, “I love you,” as I launch myself against his chest.

He holds me tight for a few long moments, running his big hands over my back, arms, and scalp.

“Thanks for putting up with all my shit, Cam. Don’t you ever get sick of it? You must. I get sick of myself sometimes.” I eventually look up at him and ask, “Don’t you ever think about trading me in for someone without a shit load of issues?”

His eyes dart all over my face. “You don’t have issues, babe. You just have a past. We all have one. Ours, yours and mine, is just a little more traumatic than most.” He gives a small smile and then a quick peck on the lips. “That’s why we work. That, and the fact that I love you. No one will ever love
you
like I do, and I’d never want
anyone
to love
me
like
you
do.”

He pulls his knees up, and I lean back on them and look over his face.

“I read a few of them,” he says matter-of-factly.

Shit
!

“The letters?” I know what he’s on about, I’m just trying to work out how I feel about that. He nods his head slowly, eyes darting all over my face, assessing my reaction.

“Are you pissed off with me?”

I’m not, not at all. I’m just not sure how I feel about it.

“Cam, shaving and leaving your whiskers everywhere, leaving the milk out of the fridge, or not putting your seat belt on before you pull away are things that piss me off. You reading those letters doesn’t. It makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable though.”

That’s the only way I can think to explain how I feel on the subject,
uncomfortable
.

Cam has a small box of memories from his first marriage: wedding photos, birthday and Christmas cards he and Chantelle sent each other, her wedding and engagement rings. I’m a woman, so of course I’ve been through it. I’ve looked at the photos of the pair of them. She was beautiful. I know she’s dead and no threat to me, but I still had to look. I’m not sure if it’s a woman thing or just my warped little mind, but when I saw it in amongst his things when we first moved in together, I couldn’t help myself.

“Yeah, they made me a bit uncomfortable, too,” he admits.

“Then why’d you read more than one?” He shrugs his big shoulders.

“Morbid curiosity I suppose.” Ah, so it’s a human thing then, or is it just us two?

“Yeah, I get that. I’ve looked at the photos of you and Chantelle more than once.” His eyebrows shot up to his hairline. Oops, I assumed he knew this.

“It’s just human nature, babe. We’re wired to be curious,” he says after a moment.

We once again both quietly contemplate each other’s admissions.

“So?” I ask.

“So?” he repeats.

“You’re okay with it then? For me to keep going through this box?”

“Would there be any point in telling you no, Kitten?” I give him a big cheesy grin.

“Absolutely none, but I’ll only do it while you’re around, I promise.”