Tied to You (14 page)

Both Alex and I stare at Sheila with mouths open. What the hell? I suddenly see a twinkle in her eye. “Besides, I don’t think Becca would probably ever go near you again…not after you left her tied to a tree in the orchard.”

I have seen Domly Alex, I have seen passionate Alex, I have seen cold Alex, but I think it is safe to say that I have never seen Alex so thoroughly embarrassed. Yet his cheeks are tinged red through his tan and he is currently beating his head against the countertop.

“You knew about that?” Alex rasps out, unable to look his mother directly in the eye, and I quickly swallow down the giggle that is threatening to escape. This is so not the time to laugh and it comes out as a soft snort instead.

“Yes, Alex. I think most of the town knew about that. Mothers know everything. I thought you would have learnt that by now.” I can see Sheila is trying to hold back a laugh herself.

“Fuck!” The word is said so softly and I see Alex tense as it slips out, but I guess Sheila chooses not to hear it and says nothing. Instead, she narrows her eyes at me and I wait to see what is coming next. Yet all she does is watch me. Eventually, though, she speaks up, her words soft. “Do you love my son, Olivia?” I am Olivia rather than Liv, so I know I am not in her good graces, but her tone is even.

“Very much, Sheila. Alex saved me. Literally. He is the most amazing person I have ever met.” I feel shaky, but my voice is strong.

A look of approval crosses Sheila’s face and then she turns to Alex. “And what about Olivia? Do you love her?”

Alex’s expression softens as he looks at me. “Yes, Mum, I love her with all my heart. I knew she was the one for me before I even knew her name.” Sheila stares at her son in wonder for a moment, before a smile crosses her face.

“All right then…” Sheila seems to sway a little. “I think I need to have a sleep. Didn’t get a wink on the plane.”

“Yeah, because you were probably spending sixteen hours planning on how you were going to rip me a new one, Mum?” Alex says snidely.

“Precisely,” snaps Sheila, but there is no malice. “Righto, I am going to have a nap and then we are going for some dinner. Alex, can you bring my bags up?” I leave Alex to escort his mum up to the guest suite that, not so long ago, I had been occupying.

I am emotionally exhausted by everything that has just happened, but in a really strange way, I am grateful that Sheila knows the truth. I hate lying full stop, and the deception that I have played a part in has always sat uncomfortably with me. I lay my head down on the cool countertop as I try to collect myself, allowing the silence to soothe me. After a couple of minutes, I realise that Alex has not come downstairs, so I make my way up to the first floor to see if he is in our room. There is no sign of Alex, so I surmise that he is probably with his mum and, not wanting to intrude, I decide to lie down on the bed and wait for him to come down and find me.

~~~~~~~~~~

A soft voice and hand brushing my face wake me from a strange, disjointed dream. I turn on my side to find Alex lying next to me, his expression intent. “Hey,” I say softly.

“Hey. How are you doing?” Alex asks, and I can see the concern written across his features.

“I’m okay. Tired. Sorry, I fell asleep. I was just waiting for you to finish up with your mum. What time is it?”

“Six thirty. I have booked us a table at Medlar for some dinner in an hour. Is that okay with you?” I nod my consent and struggle into a sitting position, my body still tense from all the anxiousness earlier.

“Is everything okay between you and your mum?” I ask tentatively. “I am so sorry about blurting that out. Mouth engaged before brain and all that,” I joke weakly.

“It’s fine, Liv. We talked some more. I am not sure how long it will take for her to get over us lying to her, but mostly we are forgiven. I think it helped that we actually do have feelings for each other. I think she will end up spinning this as some kind of fate thing in her romance-obsessed mind,” Alex says reassuringly.

I stretch my arms above my head in an attempt to work out the cricks in my neck and then mutter that I need a shower. I am just stepping out of the warm steam when Alex saunters in naked. I take a moment to let my eyes wander over his delicious body and he smirks back at me, his expression knowing. I barely have a chance to let out a squeak of surprise at what I am feeling, then he is walking me up back into the shower and pushing me against the wall, his mouth on mine in all-consuming kisses. Gently, he uses his knee to push my legs apart and then, with one firm thrust, he is entering me. I can feel my nails digging into Alex’s back as I hold on to him desperately. In one swift movement, his hands are suddenly under my thighs, hoisting them around his waist, so that he can sink even deeper into me. I cry out as he finds the right spot buried deep within me and then I find myself biting down onto Alex’s shoulder as my orgasm rolls through me. My inner muscles clamp down onto Alex’s rock-hard cock and moments later I feel him twitching and spilling into me as he grunts through his own climax. Panting, we both crash back down to earth moments later and I find myself grinning.

“A bit more relaxed?” Alex asks with an insufferable grin and I actually find myself going pink in response. “You look so cute when you blush like that,” he continues.

“Pah, grown women shouldn’t blush,” I say. “And I am certainly not cute.”

Alex just smirks at me and starts to wash his body as I rinse off the fact we have just had steamy shower sex.

As I stare into my wardrobe rails ten minutes later, I unconsciously pull on clothes that seem to match my mood. Dark grey tailored trousers combined with a lighter grey jumper and a dark grey scarf. I don’t even think of it until Alex follows me in still towelling himself off and raises an eyebrow. I know on the surface I am pretending everything is okay, but all this stuff with my dad, and now Alex’s mum, has taken its toll. Truth be told, despite the awesome shower sex, I am just feeling overwhelmed.

“Hey,” says Alex quietly, coming to wrap his arms around me. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise.” I nod as I hug him back hard, nestling into his chest. I glance down at my watch and see we have only about fifteen minutes until we need to leave, so I hurry over to the mirror to finish my makeup in an effort to disguise my pale skin and puffy eyes. I have just finished applying some mascara when Alex emerges dressed in black jeans, black skate shoes and a light blue shirt that moulds to his body, the arms rolled up as always. I offer him a smile and he holds out his arm as he says, “Ready?”

The conversation between the three of us remains light as we walk to the restaurant chattering away about the frustrations over my latest treasure hunt. Sheila has returned to calling me Liv, making me feel utterly relieved and hopeful that I can repair the damage to our relationship. When we have finally slid into a bright green leather booth and settled on what food we want to order, I find myself slowly relaxing. Alex and Sheila are both chatting with the sommelier, going over the recommendations for the meal, when suddenly Alex’s phone rings.

Excusing himself, Alex walks away to a private spot and spends a couple of minutes having a very intense conversation with whoever is on the other end. I watch Sheila watching Alex’s rigid posture and I am slightly worried when I see him angrily push the phone back into his pocket. By the time Alex returns to the table the tension is rolling off him, and I can see my worry reflected in Sheila’s eyes.

I am about to ask Alex if he is okay when he turns to Sheila. “Mum, where did you get our prenup?”

I can see Sheila weighing up her options before replying.

“It arrived via FedEx a few days ago at the house, addressed to me,” Sheila says softly. “There wasn’t a note attached, and to be honest, I wasn’t really thinking about who had sent it once I started reading it.” Alex nods and runs his hands through his hair in agitation.

“Would you still have the packet it came in, do you think?” Alex asks. I can sense something is going on and I call Alex on it, needing to know what the hell that phone call was about.

“Probably, back at the house. I would need to call your father to have a dig through the bins,” Sheila says, the worry in her voice apparent. “Let me call home.” Sheila leaves the table for a short while. While she is gone, I ask Alex what is going on again, but he simply ignores me. He continues to stare down at the table like he is trying to contemplate a solution to world peace or, in this case, who the hell would send a document like that to his mother.

“Okay, Alex,” Sheila says sharply, as she slides back into the booth, “you have five seconds to start talking and tell me what the hell is going on. Your dad couldn’t find the packet, so in all likelihood, it was chucked when Maria was around earlier in the week, and yesterday was bin day.”

“Shit!” exclaims Alex loudly, and I am really starting to wonder if Alex is about to lose it. “I think someone is trying to destroy me—destroy Liv and me, that is. I am not a hundred percent certain and I don’t have definitive proof, but things are starting to slot into place.”

“Okay…” says Sheila, as she waits for him to continue. “Maybe you should start at the beginning.” Oh shit. If Alex is really about to tell his mother about all of this, she is going to want to know why he was being blackmailed. I can see Alex is thinking the same thing, and for a moment I glimpse the insecurities he has buried so deep beneath his usual persona.

“It’s okay, Alex,” I all but whisper. “I think you need to tell her.” I slip my hand into his and give him a reassuring squeeze.

“Oh, Mum…” Alex lets out a deep breath before he starts his explanation of how my father came into his office to blackmail him. I can see Sheila is desperate to ask a million questions, but she manages to keep quiet and let Alex talk. “There were photos, Mum, and I just knew that I couldn’t let them get out. It would damage the Davenport brand and I just couldn’t risk all the hard work that you and Dad have put in all these years. If it had just been about me, I could have dealt with it, but there is no way I could let the family get dragged down with me…”

Sheila raises an arched eyebrow. “Photos?” Alex goes red and I can see how exposed he is feeling. “You mean of your…um…kinky fuckery? Isn’t that what that
Fifty Shades
lady calls it?” I feel myself going bright red and Alex nearly chokes on the sip of water he has just taken.

“What on earth do you know about
Fifty Shades
, Mum? And kinky fuckery, for that matter?” Alex mutters. This is so not the conversation you want to be having with your mother. I look over at Sheila and I can see the twinkle in her eye. I guess it is not often she manages to ruffle Alex.

“I may be your mother, Alex. But I am not dead. And anyway, where do you think you got it from, huh?” Sheila says with an actual smirk.

“Too much information, Mum. Seriously!” Alex barks out. So far he is has been studiously trying to avoid eye contact with his mother, but he is now looking at her straight on. “How did you know?”

“Oh, Alex,” she replies gravely, with a soft sigh. “And I already told you…a mother generally knows these things. Plus you started showing an extraordinary interest in knots when you were sixteen and those magazines you kept under your bed were not exactly innocent. Who do you think used to vacuum under that damn thing anyway? And then, of course, there was the whole Becca thing...” I can see Alex just wants to die, but I am relieved at the complete lack of judgment coming across the table.

We are suddenly interrupted by the arrival of our food and for several minutes the conversation is put on hold as we tuck into our meals. My crab raviolo with samphire is delicious; I hadn’t realised how hungry I was until I took the first mouthful. When the starters have all been finished, Sheila looks across at Alex and says softly, “Oh, honey. Is this why you left Perth?” Alex nods but stays silent.

“I am going to ask you one question about this, and then you can forget that this conversation ever happened.” Sheila pauses briefly before continuing. “Have you ever hurt anyone—I mean, that didn’t want it?”

I can see Alex processing her question and taking a deep breath. “No, Mum, everything I have ever done has been entirely consensual.” Alex’s words are barely above a whisper and I can see it is taking every ounce of self-control not to run out of the restaurant.

“Well, there you go…” Sheila says brightly, as if we haven’t been talking about her son’s sexual preferences. “Alex, you are every bit the man your father and I brought you up to be. So what if you like it a bit different in the bedroom? As long as you have never brought harm to anyone, then I don’t care. You will never ‘dishonour’ the family name. And you should know us better than to think we would ever think that, son.” Sheila looks at me suddenly and I see comprehension dawn, but she holds her tongue as I squirm under her scrutiny until she gives me a discreet wink. Oh my god, this conversation is disturbing on so many levels.

“Okay, so now that is out of the way, where are we at with the whole Liv’s dad trying to blackmail you scenario?” I think Alex is just so grateful to be past delving into his whole sexual history that unwittingly he lays open the whole mess that is my family, including my dad’s phone call earlier today. “Oh, sweetie. You know your dad is an idiot, don’t you?” Sheila says, taking my hand and giving it a sympathetic squeeze. I try to shrug off the horrible weight in my chest that keeps pressing down when I think of how he has treated me, but the tears that just don’t seem to want to go away rise to the surface.