Attraction: (A Temptation Series Stand-alone) (The Temptation Series Book 4) (13 page)

‘Carly. My name is Carly.’

‘Sorry, Carly. I’m fairly sure it’s metaldehyde poisoning
which is the lethal toxin in snail pellets. Sasha’s symptoms are a clear indication
of it.’

‘Oh, okay ... and this will make her vomit it up and she’ll
be fine?’

‘This will force her to empty her stomach, yes. But we will
also give her activated charcoal, orally, which will bind any excess toxins she
has already digested so that she can pass it in the form of a stool.’

I nodded again and carefully watched Sasha. She was
beginning to whine more obviously now.

‘So, Derek,’ Layla said from her squatted position next to
Sasha, ‘how have you been?’ She gave him a look that made me feel there was a
hidden question behind it. I got the sense they knew each other well.

‘I’ve been great, thanks. And you?’ he answered, while
clicking his jaw from side to side.

I may not have known Derek for long, but in the short time I
have known him, I’d figured out that when he was aggravated he would perform
this movement.

‘Things are good. We miss you, you know,’ she said sadly.
I
knew it!

All of a sudden, you could cut the air with a knife. No one
seemed to want to break the silence that ensued, except for Sasha, who began
retching over and over until she finally threw up.

Layla inspected the vomit and stood up quickly, stretching
as she went. ‘Yep, snail pellets.’

To me, the pile of sick looked like brown mush.
Yuck!
I’ll take her word for it.

***

Sasha vomited a few more times, then was given the charcoal
substance. She was definitely
not
a fan of that stuff and shook her head
violently, flicking some of the residue on Derek, Layla and I.

Layla had looked at my blouse sympathetically, informing me
it would more than likely stain. I figured that at some point I would mourn my
desecrated top, but for now I was just happy that Sasha was okay.

Before we left the clinic, I thanked Layla profusely for not
only curing Sasha, but for taking time out from her personal life and rushing
to the rescue. She said it was her job, but I sensed it was more to do with
Derek, which she kind of confirmed when she said goodbye to him and touched his
cheek.

Seeing that intimate gesture made me feel ill, although I
was pretty sure my feeling sickly was more to do with the drama of the night.
Derek’s past girlfriends were none of my business.

***

When we returned to the house, Lib came rushing out to the
car. She was clearly distraught over what had happened, and even had the
remnants of a cry-sesh.

‘What happened? Is Sasha okay?’ she asked as she opened the
passenger side door of Derek’s car.

By that stage, Sasha had almost returned to her vibrant,
mischievous self — almost.

‘She’s fine, but when you took her for a walk she must have
eaten snail pellets at some point.’

Lib shrugged her shoulders regretfully and put both her
hands on either side of Sasha’s face. ‘I honestly can’t say that I saw her do
it. The only possible time she might’ve eaten them was when she stuck her head
in Mrs Robins’ garden for a sniff around.’

‘That was probably it,’ I sighed and passed Sasha’s leash to
Lib.

Sasha jumped from my lap and Lib happily took her inside.

By that stage, Derek had exited the car and was by my door
as I slid out of my seat.

Turning back around to snatch up my purse, I noticed the
mess of dog hair Sasha had left behind. ‘Oh my god, Derek, I’m so sorry. What a
mess.’

I leaned into the car and began scooping up the hair; the
fact of the matter is I’d need a freakin’ vacuum.

‘Carly,’ he said as he leaned over me and placed his hand on
mine to stop its movement. ‘Leave it. I’ll get it cleaned tomorrow. Come on,
it’s late. You have had a shit of a night. Let’s go inside.’

He was right. Our night had turned into an emotional mess.

Dropping my head against his shoulder, I sighed with exhaustion.
‘I’m sorry our date was ruined.’

He chuckled lightly and kissed the top of my head. ‘Baby, I
got to feel you, taste you and see your vulnerable side. Our date was anything
but ruined.’

OMG! This man is going to crush my heart.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Derek didn’t stay long after we’d gone back inside. He’d
been terribly sweet, making sure both Sasha and I — and even Lib — were all
right. He’d left me with a kiss that I still felt on my lips even as my head
hit the pillow. But as my head did hit the pillow, I couldn’t stop myself from
wondering who Layla really was and what she had meant to Derek.

Those thoughts still plagued my mind the following day as I
made myself breakfast: a choc peanut butter Pop-Tart.
Yum!

‘Why aren’t you the size of an African elephant?’ Libby
asked as she spooned her muesli into her mouth.

I shrugged my shoulders and drank some milk. ‘Because I was
blessed with the ability to put many things in my mouth and not worry about the
consequences,’ I mumbled with a smug grin as I swallowed my mouthful.

Libby raised an eyebrow sceptically. ‘Yeah, well, some
things have a tendency to catch up to us. Roles can reverse.’

‘You need a penis in your vagina,’ I said with assurance as
I placed my plate in the sink.

She tutted and returned to her cereal. ‘Sex is not the
answer to everything, Carly.’

Turning around to face her, I placed my hands on top of the
bench. ‘Yes, it is.’

‘No, it’s not. It doesn’t answer unanswered questions.’

‘What questions are you trying to answer, Lib? Sex is sex.
You open your legs and enjoy yourself. Why does it have to be more complicated
than that?’

‘Obviously, you don’t appreciate the act of lovemaking,’ she
retorted.

‘Oh, I appreciate it all right. I appreciate it right down
to the point where I’m screaming a name and digging my fingers into something,’
I slurred, pretending to have inner visions of doing just that.

She placed her spoon in the bowl and put on her ace-card
face. ‘Okay, tell me something. Have you ever had sex with someone you have
been in love with?’

I smiled at her attempt to sway me toward her side of the
argument. ‘No.’

‘Then I rest my case. When you have, we’ll revisit this
discussion,’ she said conceitedly.

‘Whatevs,’ I responded unperturbed. ‘See you later. I’m off
to have coffee with Lexi.’

Grabbing my purse, I headed out the door, hiding the fact
that I was now curious about the different acts of sex.
Surely there isn’t
that big a difference?

***

When I’d arranged to catch up with Alexis, she’d asked to
meet at Gloria Jean’s. Why? I’ll never bloody know. She lived at the most
prestigious hotel complex in Melbourne and was happily screwing the owner’s
brains out. He was, in turn, quite happy to give her whatever she wanted. If
she wanted her own private high tea in a ritzy suite, she could have it. But
instead, she chose to sit in Gloria Jean’s with everyone else in the damn
place. She was nuts!

When I walked into the coffee shop, I found her sitting on a
couch in the far corner of the cafe, her leg propped up on a seat. She was
flicking through her phone when she looked up and noticed me.

‘Hi,’ she greeted and went to stand up.

‘Hey, sit your arse down. I don’t want you falling and
breaking your other leg,’ I teased as I gave her a quick peck on the cheek.

She grumbled. ‘I’m not an invalid.’

‘You sure ’bout that?’ I goaded.

Narrowing her eyes at me, she picked up her hot white
chocolate. ‘Fuck you.’

‘I see you didn’t wait to order,’ I said playfully.
I
probably wouldn’t have either.
‘Give me a sec and I’ll organise my coffee.’

‘I’ve already done it for you,’ she explained as she nodded
to the perky blonde barista.

Relief flooded me as I took in her happy aura. To be
completely honest, I wasn’t sure what to expect where her temperament was concerned.
On the phone, when I told her I wanted to see her and that she’d had enough
time to herself, she sounded fine. But with everything she had been through, I
just couldn’t be sure. I didn’t know whether to metaphorically tiptoe on
eggshells or interact like we usually did. So to find her — for the most part —
appearing her usual self, was such a relief.

Sitting down, I took hold of both her hands. ‘So, how are
you, truthfully? No fucking lies or pretences. This is
you
and
me
.
I want to know it straight up.’

‘Carls, I’m fine. Life moves on. Will my heart forever be
incomplete? Yes. That cannot and will not change. Nobody can bring my baby back
and, because of that, I will forever mourn my loss. But I will do it in a
healthy manner. I’d rather focus on what makes me happy, rather than what makes
me sad.’

‘I don’t know how you do it,’ I said quietly, trying not to
choke on my words.

She laughed mildly. ‘I could say neither do I, but I’ve come
to realise that we just simply ... do. We do all we can do. It’s basic
survival.’

‘Yeah, well some people survive better than others,’ I
added, as the barista placed my coffee before me.

‘Thank you, Stacey,’ Alexis said politely.

The young blonde smiled. ‘You’re welcome, Ms Summers.’

As I watched her return to her duties, I gave Lexi a cocky
grin. ‘You’re a fucking socialite, you know that?’

‘Bite me, bitch. Okay, change of subject, hmm. How about
Derek?’

‘What about him?’ I bit out, harshly.
Shit! What has he
told her? And why would he tell her? Unless he told Bryce and Bryce told her.

‘Geez! Settle, petal. I was just going to ask you what
happened at my birthday party. The two of you seemed to spend a lot of the
night together. You appeared to hit it off.’

Phew.
‘Yes and no,’ I said dismissively, inwardly
sighing with relief.

‘That’s not what it looked like to me. It looked as if your
fiery hole would see his extinguisher.’ Alexis pursed her lips together to try
and prevent an outburst of laughter.

‘Sorry to burst your perverted bubble, but there’s nothing
to say,’ I explained flippantly, deciding that playing none-the-wiser was my
best option at this point. If possible I did not want Alexis knowing about me
and Derek, whatever Derek and I were. Hell, I didn’t even know what we were.

‘Come on. There’s got to be
something
to say,’ she
probed, her face glowing with mischief.

I couldn’t help smiling, it was so nice to see her happy and
being ... well ... Lexi. ‘He fucking sang to me.’

‘What?’ she squealed, nearly spilling her drink. ‘When?’

‘At the beginning of the night, shortly after you and Bryce
left us. I’d made a stupid remark about his voice being to die for and Derek,
being a bit of a smartarse, wanted to call my bluff. So he sang Bon fucking
Jovi.’

‘Oh my god! Really? How sweet.’

‘Yeah, it definitely added to the heat already blazing in my
snatch.’

Alexis laughed and nearly snorted her white chocolate. ‘Only
you, Carls. Only you.’

I gave her a wink. ‘So, apart from hobbling around on those
crutches, what else have you been doing?’

‘To be honest, not a whole lot. I’m bored shitless. I’ve
been having physiotherapy sessions, and every now and again I go for a short
hobble around the precinct. Apart from that, I read. And I’ve been getting
guitar —’ she cut herself off and turned a nice shade of rose.

‘You’ve been getting guitar what?’ I asked curiously.

‘I’ve been getting guitar solos played to me by Bryce,’ she
explained, her weird expression confusing me.

‘Do you think he’d play a solo for me?’ I asked teasingly.

She glared half-heartedly. ‘No! Hey, changing the subject
again, can I tell you something in confidence?’

‘Of course, you know I’m tight-lipped.’

Alexis cracked up laughing, spraying her white chocolate
over the table and me.

I was far from impressed as I slowly wiped it from my face
while displaying an artificial smile.

‘You ...?’ she asked incredulously, still giggling. ‘I don’t
know which set of your lips you are referring to, but both are far from
tight-lipped.’

Biting the inside of my mouth, I gave her a
don’t-mess-with-me look.

She fired back a go-on-I-dare-you-to-deny-it look.

No more words were said about the issue.

‘So, as I was saying, I have something to tell you that I
need you to swear you won’t repeat. It involves Bryce’s cousin, Gareth.’

My eyes widened. ‘Did he try to fuck you?’

‘Carls! No! No, he’s sick.’

‘Sick as in ... bletch, puke? Or sick as in twisted
motherfucker?’

‘Neither. Sick as in mentally ill. He suffers from Dissociative
Identity Disorder,’ she whispered, looking around the cafe unobtrusively.

I leaned toward her and narrowed the space between us. ‘As
in multiple personalities?’

‘Yeah, it’s really quite sad. We went to the cemetery just
the other day, as it was the anniversary of the accident that claimed the lives
of Bryce’s parents and brother. It was also the accident that resulted in
Gareth’s illness. Anyway, we went to the cemetery to pay our respects and the
emotion of the visit triggered one of Gareth’s alters to appear. Carls, it was
so strange to interact with a man whose persona was that of an elderly woman.’

I sat back in my seat and drank the final mouthful of my
coffee. ‘Woman? Are you for real?’

‘I’m serious, her name is Deirdre. He has another alter who
I have met, his name is Scott. Scott can be a nasty piece of work though. I
can’t stand him. He sets off my alarm bells.’

Noticing her distressed appearance, which was rare for Lex,
I touched her hand to gain her full attention. ‘Why? What has he done?’

‘He’s threatened me many times. How can I put this?’ she
said as she took a deep breath and looked at our hands. ‘He is in love with
Bryce and sees me as a threat.’