Magnificent Ruin (Everlasting Series Book 2) (22 page)

He explodes with shivers and trembles in my mouth, guttural sounds escaping his lips. I know that he belongs to me as much as I belong to him.

***

It’s almost noon when Tomas is finally handed his medical records and signs the release form so that he can leave the hospital with us. Jesse wheels him all the way to the parking lot where Nathan is waiting for us with the rented car.

“Where’s Grace?” I say, looking around the parking lot.

“She went back to the hotel,” Nathan says. There’s this weird expression on him that usually means he’s holding something back.

“Don’t you think he’s hiding something?” I ask Tomas as he rises to his feet to get in the car.

“What’s up, Henley?” he asks Nathan.

Nathan steals a glance at Jesse who just shrugs. “Okay, here’s the thing,” Nate says. “That chick Sophia showed up at the hotel this morning. She’s with Grace. She says she wants to talk to you.”

“Are you serious?” I say, flabbergasted.

Nathan nods. “I can call Grace and tell her to send her away. You don’t have to see that looney woman if you don’t want to.”

“No,” Tomas says. “I’m curious to hear what she has to say.” He turns to me. “Is that okay?”

“Yes, it’s fine.” It really is fine. Sophia cannot touch me anymore. There’s nothing she can do to us now.

Grace waits in the hotel lobby with Sophia who stands up as soon as we step through the door. She’s dressed casually, but has heavy makeup on her face, making her look older.

We stay like this for a while, just staring at each other.

“Do you want us to go?” Grace says to me.

“It’s up to Sophia,” I say.

Sophia glances at Tomas. “I’m glad you are okay,” she says. “And I’m sorry.”

Tomas nods. “You should be.”

Sophia turns to me now. “I wanted you to know that nothing ever happened with Tomas and me.”

“We know this much,” I say. “It’s good to see you have some remorse though. There may be hope for you.”

“If there’s anything I can do to make it up,” Sophia says, staring at Tomas.

Tomas stays silent, examining her face.

“You can start by telling us why you went to all that trouble,” Jesse says.

Sophia studies Jesse for a second, no doubt thrown off by his resemblance to Tomas. “Okay,” she says. “Adrian put me up to it. I swear at first I didn’t know it was on De Luca’s orders.”

“This was De Luca’s idea?” I say, confused.

Sophia nods. “They were planning to blackmail Tomas. They were going to have me accuse him of rape. Some pictures that you didn’t see… they were violent.”

“Why would you agree to that? I thought you liked Tomas,” I ask.

“I told you, at first I was told it was a game.”

“Did they pay you?” Jesse says.

Sophia goes pale. “Yes. Later, when I found out,” she says. “I didn’t know what to do. Those people leave you no options.”

“We can’t argue with that,” Grace says.

Sophia takes a step closer to me, taking my hand. “Those pictures were never meant for you, Taylor. De Luca never cared if you saw them. Adrian wanted you to see them. It was his idea.”

I can’t believe I fell for all that. I can’t believe I allowed Adrian to manipulate me like that.

Sophia turns to Tomas now. “That day at the yacht, Adrian put something in your drink. I think that’s why you can’t remember how we took you to the hotel and took pictures of you.”

“You roofied him?” I say, shocked as my suspicions are confirmed.

Sophia shrugs. “I don’t know,” she says. “Tomas, I’m sorry. Nothing really happened. You were passed out. I’m not a whore.”

Tomas takes her hand and shakes it. “We all fuck up,” he says. “Don’t throw your life away.” With that he walks away toward the elevator.

Sophia stares at his back for two seconds, sadness taking over her face.

“You did like him, didn’t you?” I say to her.

“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she says. “Take care, all of you.”

I watch her supple body go through the glass door as she exits to the street. If she’s lucky, she’ll find a little redemption and maybe if she keeps her heart pure enough, a little love in the world.

***

At the airport, Grace gets worried. It’s time to go through the security check but Nathan is nowhere to be seen. He said he had to take care of something at the last minute and that he’d meet us here at nine but it’s nine thirty and there’s no sign of him.

“Should I try calling again?” Grace says, getting more nervous with every passing minute.

“Give him another ten minutes,” Tomas says. “We can wait.”

“There he is,” Jesse says, pointing at Nathan who’s approaching us with two young women at his side. Amelia and Irina.

I never thought I’d see those two again. I thought they’d have already left for Ukraine.

“We had to thank you,” Amelia says, her gorgeous face beaming with happiness and enthusiasm.

She throws her hands around Tomas’s neck, kissing his cheek. “Thank you for saving us,” she says with her heavy accent. “You didn’t have to, but you did. You are a brave man.”

Tomas pulls her off him to look at her. “Anytime, kiddo,” he says. “Glad to see you both doing well.”

Amelia smiles and then she hugs me. “Irina is like in love with you,” she says. “You’re all she talks about. She thinks you are famous hero. Thank you so much, Taylor.”

“Oh, boy,” I say, feeling the tears welling in my eyes. “Helping Irina was the best thing I ever did in my life. It was my honor.”

Irina takes my hand. I squeeze her hand and stroke her hair.

“Here,” she says, handing me a cigarette.

I take the cigarette, glancing at Amelia for an explanation.

“She wouldn’t let anyone touch it,” Amelia says. “She wanted to give it back to you.”

The cigarette I took from the goon and passed on to Irina. All of a sudden, I can’t control my laughter.

“That’s too cute,” I say. “Thank you, Irina.”

“We’ll let you go,” Amelia says. “Nathan said you are boarding. Have a safe trip. You will be in our prayers always.”

Seconds after they leave, Irina comes back running. “Don’t smoke that,” she tells me. “You should know that smoking is very, very bad for you.”

As the plane takes off, I squeeze Tomas’s hand, bringing it to my lips. The healed skin on his knuckles is soft and smells of green tea and aloe soap. I’m looking out the window at the land I’m leaving behind, the beautiful land of ancient monuments and poetry, the magical land of gods and goddesses, the sun-splashed land of sparkling islands and the blue Aegean Sea.

Magnificent Greece almost beat the last breaths from my dying soul, but instead I rise quickly above her ruins into the clean, blue skies. I fly happily now, hand-in-hand with my soul’s salvation.

Chapter 26

LOS ANGELES

A week later

“M
mm, why don’t you make me come again?” I say. “With your tongue.”

“You’re so demanding. This would be, what? Number five?”

“Four,” I say, impatiently. “I’m not greedy.”

“Yes, you are. But I love it.”

He lowers his face between my legs to rock my world one more time. This man is so good with his tongue, it’s a wonder any woman managed to move on from him.

Holy fuck
, I think to myself as he laps at me, fingers exploring my wetness. We’re actually having sex on a bed and it’s not even a hospital bed. It’s his bed in his crammed apartment that once belonged to Nate, and we’ve been making love all afternoon and into the evening.

My hands reach for his hair, pulling him closer to my need. “Oh yes, baby,” I scream out. “Lick me like that. Just.Like.That.”

Pleasure overtakes me, racing through every fiber in my body. He keeps his tongue firm against me even as I climb down from Mount Ecstasy until I literally have to pull him off by the hair.

“That was so wild,” I say. “Totally exhausting but totally worth it.”

He kisses my belly button again and again. “I’m here to please you,” he says. “Never forget that.”

How could I forget? Sex with Tomas has been more than a shattering physical experience. It has been all I ever wanted. It makes me feel strong, loving and loved. It makes me want to conquer the world.

I had told my lovers before that I needed them, that they made me come harder than ever, but only because I thought they needed to hear it. Now it’s the first time that I actually know what it means to need a man inside me. To feel complete and whole in his embrace.

“I’ll go wherever you want me to go,” I say. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. I can’t wait to start our life, to start living.”

“That’s sweet,” he says, “but I don’t want to take you away from your friends. We can stay here for as long as you want.”

“You’d actually settle down here in LA to be with me?”

“Of course,” he says. “Don’t be a silly rabbit.”

I take a deep breath in. “I’m ready to tell you my story,” I say.

He sits up, drawing me up against his chest. “I’m listening,” he says.

“Okay. Not even Grace knows this. It was before we met in Junior High.”

He nods, squeezing my arm.

“I was eight years old when I was diagnosed with leukemia,” I say.

I feel his whole body jolt a little at my words but he remains quiet.

“I’m not going to go into details. They thought I was going to die. My body did not respond to any of the treatments. All that the treatments did was to make me miserable, so sick I couldn’t get out of bed.”

“Jesus, baby,” he says.

“I should be dead, Tomas. It makes no sense that I’m alive. One day, I went into remission for no apparent reason. Just like that. I’ve been scared ever since that the disease might come back—that it’s not fair to allow anyone to love me. Whoever loves me could end up hurt if I died.”

His chest shakes and I look up to see if he’s crying. Nope, he’s actually chuckling.

“What? You think it’s funny?” I say, confused.

“Taylor,” he says with a sigh, “nothing will scare me away from you. Nothing. We’re not that unique. None of us are.”

“I never thought I was unique,” I say, pouting.

“What I mean is, there’s always a tragedy in our life stories. We’re either running from it or toward it. Nobody can escape that. We’re all together in misery.”

His words cut deep because they’re true. And because they’re not just sappy sentimentality. We’ve both had our share of misery. We’re survivors.

“By the way,” he says. “Is this why you turned into a health freak?”

“What do you mean a health freak?” I say, punching him. “Eating healthy and exercising does not make a person a freak. I’m taking care of myself.”

He’s laughing again.

“What?” I say, punching him again.

“Ouch,” he protests. “Exercising? When did you ever exercise since I met you? You’re a couch potato.”

I can’t help but smile. “I do mental exercises. And Kegels.”

“Kegels?”

“Never mind,” I say, kissing his lips. But he’s right. I have to concentrate on doing the right things again.

“And I do you,” I say. “A lot. I burn wicked calories doing it.”

“That’s true,” he says. “Don’t ever change the way you exercise.”

“Then watch your mouth,” I say. “Or I will go to the gym more and do you less, big talker.”

“Please strike all my previous comments from the record.”

“Case closed,” I say and then kiss his chest right above his heart.

***

Grace takes me by the hand to lead the way to the little office in the back of the aromatherapy shop where I spent endless hours trying to figure out a way to keep the shop going.

“Wow,” I say, as I step in the office. “You didn’t change a thing. Why didn’t you bring your own things in here while I was gone?”

My Christmas mug, my poster of Coachella 2009, even my fancy pens and pencils are exactly where I left them, untouched.

“Don’t be silly,” she says. “This will always be your office. Besides, I liked having your things around. I missed you less.”

“I can’t believe I’m back. Tomas and I were supposed to stay in Greece for another month.”

“Be glad you didn’t stay there forever,” Grace says, squeezing my arm. “You were both incredibly reckless and, yes, I’m still mad at both of you.”

“I don’t know how I’m going to be able to work at all with all the sex,” I say, giggling like a schoolgirl.

“It’s an adjustment,” Grace says with a wink. She starts patting down some envelopes on the desk and then dusts the shelves with a feather.

“Grace?” I say. “Everything all right?”

“Yeah,” she says. She lowers her eyes before she locks them on mine. “Except I have this new condition where I put on pounds steadily.”

“What the hell, Grace!” I say, overwhelmed with excitement. “No!”

She nods
yes
and I don’t believe it until she says it. “I’m pregnant.”

“You’re lying,” I say.

“I’m not,” she says, beaming.

It takes me a second to absorb it. “Oh, my god,” I say, taking her in my arms. “I’m so excited. I’m going to be an aunt.”

Grace smiles at me, saying nothing.

“It’s good news, yes?”

“I hope it is,” she says slowly.

“What does Nathan say?”

“I haven’t told him yet.”

God, give me patience.
“What are you waiting for?”

She taps her fingers on the desk before she answers my question. “I just don’t know how he will take it.”

“What do you mean? He’ll be thrilled. Call him now. This is a moment for the two of you to be together.”

Silence. More finger tapping. Lord, this girl can be her worst enemy. “You know how these men are. I don’t know if he’s ready for a child. I’m just scared it might be too much too soon.”

“Grace Marie, there’s only one way to say this. You’ve lost your mojo again. Big time. Get it back on and go tell him,” I say sternly. “The sooner the better. There’s nothing Nate wouldn’t do for you or that baby.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she says.

“Baby girl, I know I’m right.”

Ashley knocks on the door. “Grace, Taylor,” she says, “we have customers.”

“We’re in the middle of something, Ash,” I say, opening the door. “Can you take care of the business?”

“Nope, I can’t. They’re asking for you.”

All three of us walk to the front of the store where Tomas is waiting for us with Nathan and Jesse.

“What’s this?” I say. “The three Musketeers?”

“More like the three Stooges,” Tomas says, putting his arms around me, pressing his body against mine.

“Put that back down,” Grace says, sternly. I turn to her to see her scolding Nate for picking up a small lavender bottle.

Okay, that does it. “Wait,” I say, slipping away from Tomas. “Nate,” I say, “Grace has something to tell you.”

If looks could kill, Grace would be my assassin. I gently take her hand and then Nathan’s. “There, go talk in my office,” I tell them, nudging them forward.

Nathan’s eyes question me for a second but he finally follows Grace, rubbing her butt which earns him a slap of the hand.

“What’s going on?” Tomas says.

“Don’t you worry yourself about that, dude. Just kiss me.”

Tomas gently lifts me off my feet to give me a quick, wet kiss.

“Ahem,” Jesse says, “we’re right here.”

Tomas puts me down just as some excited squeals and laughter come from the office in the back.

“Will you tell me what’s going on?” Tomas says.

“You’ll find out soon enough, big guy.” I turn to his dazzlingly handsome brother. “So Jesse, have you met Ashley?”

“Nice to meet you,” Jesse says extending his hand to Ashley.

Ashley looks at me before she takes his hand.

“Don’t ask me,” I say. “I don’t know where they keep the factory that makes these guys.”

“Taylor!” Ashley scolds me, fire on her cheeks. Yep, I guessed right. She likes him. But who wouldn’t like a hot, twenty-six year old artist who happens to reside in Paris?

I grab my purse from the counter and fold my arm around Tomas’s elbow. “Get me out of here,” I say. “The store can survive one more day without me.”

“As you wish,” he says.

The sky outside is storybook blue, clear and fragrant. The parking lot is busy with shoppers and their everyday comings and goings, people scurrying for something to eat or wear.

“Nathan and Grace are having a baby,” I say suddenly, unable to keep the news to myself any longer.

Tomas’s jaw drops so low, I think he dislodged it.

“It’s true,” I say, answering his unspoken question.

“Wow,” he says. “Will you, um, be wanting one of those, too?”

“Maybe,” I say, sticking my tongue out. “If you bore me too much.”

“You know what?” he says. “I heard that the harder and longer the orgasm, the cuter the baby.”

“Really?” I say, grinning at him. “You work every angle, don’t you?”

“Are you complaining?”

“Not even a little.”

“We’ll have to experiment,” he says. “And I mean we need to be dedicated. If I am to tie my life down to have a crying, pooping baby that will grow up to be a teenaged asshole, it better be the cutest baby ever.”

“You’re a nincompoop.”

He becomes serious. “I leave these things up to you,” he says, burying his face in my hair. “I’m a work in progress but I will work to be the man you need. I’ll do whatever you want. No questions asked.”

“I want you to have a voice,” I say, growing dangerously emotional. “And I want you to be happy. That’s all.”

We kiss sweetly now, more gentle than ever. Quiet fireworks buzz through my belly. Every part of me yearns to feel the electricity of his vulnerability and love. This is all still beyond my dreams. I wake up every day and fear it will all be gone, that I will be alone again but then his warmth finds me in our bed, his arms wrap me up and his love shields me from my fears.

And now here, standing and kissing in this parking lot, he whispers to me the same thing he whispers every morning when he wakes. “I love you,” he says. “Every day more than the last.”

###

Author Note

I hope you have enjoyed MAGNIFICENT RUIN! Join my
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Author Alison Foster

If you enjoyed this story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon. All reviews are greatly appreciated and help make books visible.

Coming soon

EVERLASTING RUIN

Everlasting Series – Book 3

a steamy, new adult suspense novel by Alison Foster

Jesse Keller fell hard for his best friend when he knew he shouldn’t. Now he has a secret to hide and it’s not going away any time soon.

Have you read
BEAUTIFUL RUIN
yet? If not, keep reading for an excerpt of the first chapter of the story of Nathan and Grace—which is also the story of how Taylor got to meet Tomas in the first place!