Deception (2 page)

I heard her
scurrying around in the old shack gathering her belongings, when she came out
the door her old Levi's hanging off her hips and what looked like...wait a
minute was that my shirt?

Almost One Year
Earlier

So here I am on
the Isle of Crete. Mom had confiscated my laptop, work phones and anything that
had to do with work. I literally had to sneak my blackberry. The woman was
relentless.

I'd been pretty
tense on the way here, after having not taken a real break in almost eight
years it felt strange not having anything to do.

The first day I
was pretty antsy, I kept checking the Berry for anything from the office. I
suspect my mother had played the dragon lady with my assistant because there
was nothing, not a peep.

No ringing phone
with the latest crisis, no progress sheets, no deadlines. This was too fucking
weird.

Relax Stewart
it's a vacation; you know what that is, lie on the beach, soak up some rays,
and get sick on Ouzo. Good times.

The villa was
situated on one of the many secluded coves on the island. Well away from the
tourist traps and heavy traffic. The staff was instructed to provide for my
every need, much as they'd been doing for my family for the past forty years or
so. We'd spent many a summer here when I was a child. Guess that's why mom
chose this location, it held fond memories of carefree days and happiness.

By day three I
was hitting my stride, I felt the tension leave me as I enjoyed the warm
seawater, lazed around the pool, and enjoyed the local bounty of fresh foods.

It was on this
day as I made one of my daily treks up the cove that I saw her. Her body was in
profile, camera raised to capture a flock of seagulls in flight. Though I
couldn't see her face something about her captivated me. Maybe it was the way
her long dark locks blew in the wind or the way she stood. I don’t know what it
was but something about her called to me.

I must've stared
at her for a good ten minutes without moving before she finally lowered the
camera and turned my way as if sensing me there.

Holy...was she
real? Couldn't be. My heart raced, my pulse went haywire and I swear my vision
blurred. I made as if to go towards her before I caught myself and forced my
feet to stop. I don't think I'd blinked once since coming up on her.

And then she smiled
and my whole world changed forever.

PRESENT DAY

I rushed around
the cabin trying to grab as much of the baby's stuff as possible while my mind
raced a mile a minute. Every moment my son was out of my sight was an agony of
fear. What if he left without me? The thought made me gag.

I threw the last
of the baby's little onesies in the bag and rushed out the door almost tripping
over my feet.

He was standing
next to the car with a confounded look on his face. I don't think I'd seen him
look anything but confident and self assured before.

I picked up my
walking until I reached their side wanting so much to take my baby out of his
hands. It may seem a bit extreme but except for the time spent in the hospital
I had not once let him out of my sight.

When Colin
didn't move from his position I found the courage to look up at him timidly.
Still the most gorgeous human being on the planet, the mere sight of him hurt
my heart. It hurt because he could never be mine, and I wondered; was it better
to have had him for that little while, only to have lost him? Or would I have
been better off not knowing him at all?

My beautiful
son, that wonderful surprise blessing would've filled the void in the coming
years, having inherited all that was his father. At first sight, much as with
his father, I had fallen in love with my precious boy. In that moment he had
become my world, my reason for living when I had thought all was lost. Now
Colin was here, threatening to take him away, to once again rip my world apart.

Someone else had
done that not too long ago, then I'd ran away like a frightened rabbit, this
time there was no way. I would fight every force on earth to keep my son
nothing or no one was going to take him from me. Not even the great Colin
Stewart.

"Get in the
car."

She sat like a
statue in the seat next to me, the baby clutched tightly to her chest. I wanted
to rip him away from her, wanted to hurt her the way she's hurt me. "You
ran with my kid in your womb." I had a tight leash on my anger. She swung
her head towards me, eyes wide with fright. I gave her a cursory glance,
gritting my teeth against the pull she still held for me. How could I still
want her after what she'd done? Not only had she played me for a fool but she'd
stolen my seed. She was the only woman I had ever been that careless with and
she had used it against me. I couldn't regret my son though, no matter how he
came to be.

"I didn't
know I was pregnant when I...left."

"Really,
you expect me to believe that? Admit it, this was all some elaborate scheme to
get your hooks into me wasn't it? But I've got news for you, whatever you had
planned will never come to pass, you will never use my son against me. By the
time I'm through with you you'll wish you never met me on that beach." I
was back to fuming, when I thought of how thoroughly she had deceived me I
wanted to lash out. I wanted her insides to be spilled on the ground, gutted,
the way she had left me when she disappeared from my life.

"Were you
even a virgin? I have to wonder now, because your actions since we landed back
in the states does not reflect the innocent naive girl I..."

I stopped myself
short; I’d almost given too much away. There's no way in hell I'd ever utter
those words to her again.

"Colin
I..."

"Save it,
you're a liar and a thief there's nothing you can ever say to convince me that
you're anything more than a manipulative calculating bitch."

She drew back as
if I'd struck her, but I could care less. Her ploys wouldn't work on me a
second time. I was getting ready to tear into her when my son started to wail
as if in pain.

"What's
wrong, why's he screaming like that?" I was almost in a panic.

"He's just
hungry." She fidgeted a little in her seat.

"Well feed
him." I glared at her before returning my attention to the road.

"I..."
She bit her lip looking out the car window as if suddenly interested in the
passing scenery.

"What is
it?" I glanced at her in confusion the baby was really starting to wail
now. What the hell was her problem?

"He doesn't
have a bottle."

"Well why
didn't you pack one?"

"Uhm what I
mean is he doesn't drink from a bottle, I um... breast feed." The last was
said in an almost whisper but I heard all the same. I swallowed tightly, hands
tightening on the steering wheel. My body had reacted immediately to the image
of her feeding my son. Fuck. I looked around for somewhere to pull over so she
could tend to my son and I could maybe walk around a little to relieve the
sudden strain in my pants.

He seemed so
angry as he pulled over into a copse of trees, little Anthony was really
bawling his little heart out by now and any embarrassment I felt at baring my
breast in front of his father to feed him was superseded by my motherly
instinct to give him what he needed.

I avoided
Colin's eyes as I opened the shirt, pulled down my bra and fed my breast to my
impatient son. It was only then that I remembered what I was wearing. It's
something I did when the separation became too much to bear, it made me feel
connected to him somehow. His scent had been long gone, but the soft texture
next to my skin brought some comfort.

He took a harsh
indrawn breath before exiting the car; it was only then that I lifted my head.
He paced back and forth in the grass his hands tugging at his hair in that way
of his that I used to find so adorably cute. He was still so beautiful I ached.
Even with the anger today was my best day in a long while, in fact except the
day I gave birth this was my brightest day in almost a year. All because he was
here, it was almost disheartening to realize that I would accept any part of
him, even his anger.

There was fear
here, fear of the unknown, of what he would do. Obviously I couldn't run he had
proven that he would find me wherever I went, but he couldn't take my son. He
had money and power yes, but I had a mother's natural instinct and no one was
taking my little piece of heaven away from me.

I looked down at
my son in wonder, this amazing being had been created out of love no matter
what came after. For those two weeks on that island we had belonged to each
other wholeheartedly I still believed that. We had connected immediately, both
surprised and astounded by the electric currents that had flowed between us.
From our first meeting we had been inseparable, until we came home and I walked
into my own personal hell.

I turned back to
his pacing only to find him staring at me.

How could she
still seem so innocent? Everything I had learnt about her said she was the
worst type of female. So why couldn't I feel it? Why did my traitorous heart
insist on wanting her?

I have every
right to hate her she had played me for the biggest of fools. The great Colon
Stewart, business tycoon and one of the country's most eligible bachelors. It
wasn't easy accepting that I'd been duped it was even harder accepting that I
was stupid enough to still want her.

And then there
was my son, my child, a part of me the best part of me. Already I felt so much
love for him. I couldn't wait to introduce him to my family, especially mom.
They were going to spoil him rotten I was sure.

I hadn't said
anything to anyone about my search for Amber. I didn't want them to know how
deep my foolery ran. They only knew that she was no longer a part of my life,
here one day gone the next. Nothing was ever said as to why; my refusal to even
discuss her with any of them had soon put an end to any awkward questions.

The first few
weeks after she'd left me I'd been fit to be tied, everyone had been wise
enough to steer clear of me. No one dared cross me they trod very carefully. My
family understanding my need for privacy had left me alone.

I had plenty
offers from women of course, but none I found of interest. Not because I was
shying away from all intimacy, but because the very thought of taking anyone
else to my bed left me cold. I only wanted her, since the beginning it had been
only her. And that really pissed me off. I will make her pay for making me want
her.

I watched her
now with my son, so loving, so tender. Was it all an act I wondered? That wail
back at the cabin seemed genuine enough. It seemed to have come from her soul,
but I couldn't afford to be sucked in by her again. The last time I'd almost
lost myself, this time would probably kill me, and I couldn't have that I had a
son to raise; Alone.

I felt the
familiar strains of anger once more, only this time they were tempered with
lust. Was there anything more beautiful to a man than his child feeding at his
woman's breasts?

Oh the anger was
still there but my vengeance was now taking a different form.

Maybe I'd just
use her as she'd used me then discard her in much the same way. Yes, I like the
sound of that. How does the saying go? Keep your friends close and your enemies
closer? Yeah, I'm going to keep her close all right; I'm gonna bury myself so
deep inside her she wouldn't know where she ended and I began.

My body stirred
with the burning hunger only she had ever been able to call forth from me. Yes
indeed my revenge was going to be the sweetest. I would have the added bonus of
her delectable body, while I destroyed her bit by bit.

I watched as her
eyes widened through the windshield at the sinister smile that formed on my
face. That's right my little deceiver, be afraid, be very afraid.

Almost One Year
Earlier

He was too
beautiful to be real, nothing about him fit a mere mortal. From his chiseled
cheekbones to his burnished copper hair, he was...perfection. I felt the smile
grow in my heart and spread across my face, before compulsion forced me to
raise my camera and snap away. I had to capture that beauty for prosperity
sake.

When he threw
back his head in laughter, the sunlight glinting in his rapscallion hair I lost
my heart.

We were standing
before each other before I realized I had even moved. As I gazed into the most
amazing green eyes I'd ever seen I wondered if I'd had too much of the Greek
sun, there was no way he was real. But he smelt real, all sunshine and man with
a hint of spice.

"Hello."
Was that really my voice? I sounded out of breath like I'd run a mile in high
heals. And when he smiled up close and personal I almost swooned. No joke like
a sixteenth century maiden. Okay the maiden part was dead on, but women didn't
swoon over gorgeous men in this day and age, not with television and Hollywood
exposing us to them in droves.