Illusions of Love (29 page)

‘Would you like that word
now
?’ Kenny asked, still staring at her.
 
‘Or, are you too busy?’

She looked at Dominic, whose expression told her he’d really rather they just got out of there and got down to something he knew they both wanted to do, but India needed to know something first.
 
Otherwise she was only going to be distracted.

‘Give me five minutes, baby, okay?’

‘Do I have much choice?’ Dominic asked, pulling her against him for a long, slow kiss.
 
He wasn’t letting her go
that
easy.
 
Kenny Ross might not be a threat anymore, but Dominic still wanted him to know where he stood as far as
India
was concerned.
 

‘She doesn’t give anyone much choice in anything,’ Kenny said, and
India
swung round to look at him, letting go of Dominic and grabbing Kenny’s hand, pulling him away from everyone else.

‘What the hell was
that
supposed to mean?’

‘What?’

‘Oh, quit with the innocent act, Kenny.
 
It doesn’t suit you.
 
That comment, back there.
 
Was that some kind of dig?
 
Because I didn’t deserve that.’

He pushed a hand through his jet-black hair, looking down at the ground for a second.
 
A momentary lapse, that’s all it had been.
 
Thinking aloud.
 
A mistake.

‘I’m sorry.’
 
He looked up at her, her beautiful blue eyes confused, with good reason.
 
‘I didn’t mean anything by it, okay?
 
I didn’t.’

She couldn’t be bothered to argue with him.
 
It didn’t matter anyway; she had more important things to worry about.
 
‘What’s going on with you and Charley?’

‘Nothing’s going on with me and Charley.’

‘I said quit with the innocent act, Kenny.
 
Look, you know me, don’t you?
 
You know me inside out, wouldn’t you agree?’

‘Yeah… what’s your point?’

‘I know you too.
 
So, what’s going on?
 
And if you tell me it’s nothing again I swear, I’ll hit you.
 
And I can hit hard, you know that.’

He looked back down at the ground, pushing a hand through his hair in an action that was fast turning into a nervous habit, because he was more than aware that he wasn’t going to be able to keep this from
India
for much longer.
 
Even though he really didn’t want to involve her.
 
The memories it could bring back would be just too painful for her.
 
And the situation far too dangerous.
 
‘There’s nothing going on,
India
…’

‘Jesus, Kenny…’

‘She’s just got a lot on.
 
Believe me, baby, I’m not lying to you.’
 
Wasn’t he?
 
Charley
did
have a lot going on, it was just that
India
didn’t need to know what, exactly.
 
She didn’t need to know.

‘Because Vince thinks there is.
 
Are you aware of that?’

‘Yes…’

‘Then sort it out.
 
For Christ’s sake, Kenny… if you and her…’

‘It’s nothing like that,
India
.
 
Nothing
like that.’
 
And it wasn’t, not really.
 
What he and Charley had done, well, it had been once.
 
One time.
 
A chance for both of them to have that moment of escape, those few minutes to forget everything that was killing them both inside.
 
Two very separate reasons, but both he and Charley had demons they needed to push aside, just for a little while.
 
However, the last time he and Charley had done something once, just one time, look what had happened.
 
But it wouldn’t be like that again.
  
Not this time.
 
Nobody’s relationship would be ruined, nobody would get hurt.
 
History wasn’t going to repeat itself; Kenny would make sure of that.

India
looked at him, right into eyes that she honestly thought she could trust, but she just couldn’t read him tonight.
 
‘Shit!
 
Do you know what?
 
Forget it.
 
I haven’t got time for this.
 
If she doesn’t want to talk to me then that’s up to her.
 
I can’t force her.
 
But if she’s hurting Vince…’

‘She isn’t hurting Vince.’

‘You know that for sure, do you?’

He looked down at the floor for a second, shoving his hands in his pockets.
 
‘Yes, I do.’
 
He looked back up at
India
.
 
‘I promise you,
India
, I’m not lying to you.
 
I would never lie to you.
 
She isn’t hurting Vince.’

India
just stared at him.
 
She was tired now, and this obviously wasn’t getting her anywhere.
 
She wasn’t finding anything out here, except the knowledge that whatever Kenny was telling her, it wasn’t the whole truth.
 
She believed him when he told her he wasn’t lying to her, but that only meant that he wasn’t telling her everything.
 
‘And if
you
can’t talk to me either…’

‘
India
… Jesus, just trust me, okay?
 
Please?’

He held out his arms and she stepped into them, letting him hold her tight, hugging him like the best friend that he was.
 
She needed this man, she always would, but tonight he was making her feel as though they’d lost that closeness, that he was putting up a barrier, something to stop her from getting too close.
 
And it was a feeling she hated, but one she knew he was all too familiar with because she’d given him plenty of opportunities in the past to feel just how she was feeling right now.

She pulled back slightly and looked at him, up into those deep, dark eyes, still holding onto his waist.
 
‘Don’t shut me out, Kenny.
 
Don’t do that.’

He stroked the hair from her eyes, absent-mindedly letting his fingers fall down to her shoulders, running them over her skin, all the time looking at her.
 
The woman he’d never stopped caring about.
 
‘Trust me, baby.
 
Please.
 
That’s all I ask.’

She leant into him again, falling against him, suddenly just wanting to feel his body against hers, that familiarity that always –
always
– made her feel safe.
 
A few seconds of remembering how it used to be.
 
Then she pulled back again and hit his arm, hard enough for him to wince in pain.

‘
Jesus
,
India
!
 
That fucking hurt!’

‘It was meant to.
 
Whatever’s going on, sort it out, Kenny.
 
I mean it.
 
Because I’ve got enough to worry about, okay?’

He gave her a mock salute and she had to smile, leaning over to kiss him on the mouth.

‘And we both need some “together” time.
 
Soon.
 
You got that?’

He smiled back, relieved she was backing off from the questioning, and ridiculously happy that she was acknowledging the fact they needed to spend some time together.
 
Because they just didn’t get the chance to do that so much these days, and he missed it.
 
He missed
her.
 
More than he cared to admit.

She ran back over to Dominic who was leaning against the wall, his hands in his pockets, a look of concern all over his handsome face.

‘What was all that about?’ he asked, somewhat moodily, holding out his hand which
India
took, letting him pull her against him.

‘I don’t know, to be honest.
 
Something’s going on with Kenny and I just can’t work out what it is.
 
But there’s something he isn’t telling me.’

‘What is it with you two anyway?’

She looked at him.
 
‘We’re best friends, Dominic.
 
You got a problem with that?’

‘Do you kiss all your best friends like you kiss him?’

She stared at him.
 
‘Where’s this come from all of a sudden?
 
What’s the matter with you?
 
Me and Kenny, we’re friends.
 
That’s all.
 
Just friends.’

Dominic held up his hands.
 
‘Hey, okay.
 
Okay.
 
I know you guys are close, it’s just that, seeing it for real, seeing the two of you together – you really
are
close, aren’t you?’

‘Are you trying to say something?’

‘
Jesus
,
India
, you’re on the freakin’ defensive, honey.
 
I’m not trying to say anything.’

She sighed, playing with the collar of his shirt, her whole body tensing up and suddenly she just wanted him to take all the crap away.
 
The fear of Kenny and Charley getting themselves into something she couldn’t even comprehend, the fact Michael was back to his game-playing best – she wanted Dominic to take it all away.

‘Come on,’ she said, taking his hand and leading him away, out of the club.
 
‘They won’t miss us for a few minutes.
 
Anyway, it’s
my
birthday and I want something right now that only
you
can give me, and this time, I’d rather we were behind closed doors when it happened.’

Dominic smiled, quite happy to be led anywhere by this crazy, hard-to-understand woman because there was a good chance it was going to lead to more mind-blowing, hot and dirty sex.
 
And if that was the case, who was he to put up a fight?

***

Michael watched them leave, knowing where they were going and what they were going to do.
 
But he also knew they’d be back.
 
And he hated having to do this to her, especially on her birthday, he really did.
 
He hated having to do anything more that could hurt her, but it was time to get the truth out there.
 
Time to start winning her back.
 
Time to put an end to Dominic MacDonald taking anything else away from him.
 
It was time.

***

Jimmy tipped his hat further down over his eyes as India Walsh and Dominic MacDonald – two very famous movie stars quite obviously on their way to find a quiet corner in which to fuck each other senseless – ran past him, laughing like a couple of high school kids cutting Prom Night early.

So, things were moving along nicely for
India
.
 
Things seemed to be moving along nicely for quite a few of them.
 
All of Charley’s friends, happily getting on with their successful, A-list lives.
 
All except Charley.
 
But, soon enough, she wouldn’t be the only one whose life was slowly being turned upside down.

Yes, things were working out just fine right now.
 
But Jimmy knew he didn’t have all that much time left.
 
They wouldn’t all be together in this one place forever, and he needed everyone together.
 
If he wanted this plan to work out just the way he wanted it to.
 
Because, once everyone went their separate ways then his chance was lost.
 
So, he had to start moving.
 
He had to start making Charley pay, and he had to start now.

Jimmy Cash wanted revenge, and he was about to make Charley
Maine
pay bigger than she’d ever thought possible.

***

Dominic pushed
India
up against the sideboard, the huge French windows of his Penthouse suite thrown open to let in the warm, stuffy
Las Vegas
night air.
 
The sounds of a vibrant 24-hour town filled the room as he bent her forward, pulling her back against him as he thrust into her, his hands on her hips to keep her right where he needed her to be.

Her shouts and moans were turning him on more than ever before, the sound of the air conditioning and the noise of a Vegas night doing nothing to drown them out.
 
He was in the middle of a fucking living dream here, a fantasy he never wanted to wake up from.
 
Even if he didn’t really know where it was heading.
 
Jesus!
 
What was he doing thinking about shit like that when he was inside one of the world’s most beautiful women?
 
And the grip she had on him was verging on painful as he tried to go deeper, tried to push farther into her, tried to forget that – underneath everything that was happening here – one hell of a mess was just waiting to be unleashed.
 
A mess he really had no idea how to deal with anymore, because he was falling for this woman.
 
She was no longer a pawn in a game; she was no longer some kind of trophy he wanted to take from his long-lost dad – just because he could.
 
She was no longer any of that.
 
She was somebody he cared about, somebody he needed.
 
And that had changed everything.