Redemption (The Bet) (49 page)

It would be so easy, Ellie achingly thought, here and now, she could take what Devlin offered. She could take Devlin's love and run, run as far away from Nicholas as she could. She could learn to love Devlin, temporarily live the life of hypocrisy and give him the illusion he so desperately wanted. They could be good friends, adoring lovers and wonderful parents. They'd have it all, idyllic bliss, without the potential of anyone getting hurt.

No lies. No secrets. No sadistic murders for the sake of 'business'. It would be so easy to live that life, to take the easy way out and never look back. Forget Nicholas Grayson and his diamond grey eyes, his rare, but beatific smiles. Forget him and the pain and challenges he'd undergone alone. Forget that when he was with her children he was the best human being Ellie had ever seen. Forget the tears he'd shed in her arms despite his hardened pride. Forget his silent declaration of love and the sincere way he spoke those three little words, as though they came straight from his soul. Forget how his touch, his beautiful mouth, and his lovely, ravishing kisses could incite the passion of Aphrodite herself in Ellie.

Forget that, without him, Ellie's soul would wither and die.

"I can't love you, Devlin, not the way you want me to." she whispered a small eternity later, taking a step back and deliberately passing the back of her hand across her lips. "I wish I could. I wish I could be the love of your life, but I'm not."

"You could try,
 we can try, Ellie. You said you loved me before, if you allowed yourself, you'll see that we belong to each other. I've been there with you, Ellie, through thick and thin, I was always there for you. I never abandoned you and were you pregnant I wouldn't have left you." He was pulling out the big guns, hitting Ellie where he knew it hurt the most.

Desperation however
fueled Devlin and he could not stop. "He left you, what would prevent him from doing it again?" He pressed on, "He’s fooled the children into thinking he's a good person and every day you're with him he's pulling the wool over your eyes too. Before you know it, he'll be gone, and you'll be left with nothing but a cooling bed and his memories to keep you company…again."

"He won't leave us." Ellie feebly answered, Devlin's words echoing thoughts that she'd refused to bring to light. Now that she heard the
m, spoken loud and clear, by her ex-fiancé, no less, Ellie was forced to face the truth.

"You're a smart woman, Ellie. How can you not see what he's doing?"

"He's changed." In more ways than one, her mind whispered. "He's not perfect, but he has the potential to be good and I want to help him. He's a great father to Bella, Dylan and Sophie. One thing I can honestly tell you is how fiercely he loves those children, he wouldn't hurt them." she said with conviction. "He's hurt me, yes, but I've also hurt him. I've failed to be there for him when he needed me, failed to see how deeply he was hurting and for that I can't be any sorrier. But he's done his penance and its time we forgave and moved on."

"How can you still defend him, knowing the type of person he is? The sort of things he's capable of?"

How indeed, Ellie silently wondered. "Because I have faith in him." And that was all it came down to, really, faith and love.

Despite her many misgivings, Ellie knew that her faith in Nicholas would be their eternal salvation. Her father told her to have faith, hold it close to her heart and desperately pr
ay. Ellie would do exactly that. What other choice did she have? Her heart would never permit her another choice.

"Ellie…
"

"I don't know what you thought to accomplish by coming here, Devlin, but I think you've only managed to cement my resolve. Nicholas and I
have a tough road ahead of us. But we'll get through it as long as we can trust each other. I think we'll be okay. He needs me, Devlin, more than you will ever need me and I can't see myself in any other place then by his side. It's where I belong." Ellie believed every word to be true and she put as much faith into them as she did in Nicholas. No matter what happened, they would be okay. "So, please, try to understand. I can't be with you."

Devlin's gaze trailed away from Ellie and glanced at something over
her shoulder. "You're a lucky bastard, Grayson."

Ellie spun around and there, on the top step of the marble grand staircase,
was Nicholas. He looked so casual, completely at ease in his stance and yet, staring into those hardened storm grey eyes, Ellie saw emotions running rampant. The facade of cool indifference could not hide the fact that Nicholas was wound as tightly as a coil and it took sheer will alone to keep him rooted to the floor.

Ellie wondered how long he'd been sitting there. Had he witnessed the kiss?

"Lady Luck seems to love riding Me." he shrugged broad shoulders, his gaze lancing through Ellie, making her feel naked and vulnerable. "I keep hoping I won't fuck it up, but knowing me," he shrugged again, this time the gesture brought him to his feet. "It's only a matter of time."

"And I'll be there to pick up the pieces when you do."

Nicholas mirthlessly grinned. He leaned his hip against the banister and shoved his hand in his front pockets. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

Ellie felt like she was standing in a middle of the biggest dick contest. Like testosterone driven boys, who thought no further than the size of their cocks! "Honestly, you're both acting like imbeciles." She said, her exasperation putting a chink in the tension that had managed to box them in. "Dev, it's late and I think you and I are done here, so please, leave."

"Ellie,"

"Just go!"

Before he walked out Devlin turned around and said. "You know where to find me when he leaves." The door slammed behind him.

"Damn it." She cursed, before turning her contemptuous fury on the dark haired man standing on the top of the staircase. "Would it kill you, not to revert to the proverbial asshole every time you're upset? This may be hard to grasp, but you're not the only one hurting here."

"You seemed to be doing fine a few minutes ago."

Momentarily stunned, Ellie opened her mouth and then closed it again, than knowingly smiled. "You were jealous."

Nicholas descended the stairs, his feet bare, he advanced on Ellie and came to stand a few feet away, "Most men might be after witnessing their lover pawed…"

"I wasn't pawed."

"You enjoyed it."

His accusation hurt, but Ellie understood Nicholas far better than he realized. It was preservation, human nature, to hurt before being hurt and Nicholas had become an expert over the years. He always reverted to Charles's scion, when he was upset and
as natural as that was for him Ellie wanted Nicholas to understand that he didn't need to hide anymore. He had her to lean on now.

"Would you believe me if I said I didn't feel a thing?"

"Why didn't you just go with him? It seemed like you wanted to." The open palmed smack across Nicholas's face was as unexpected as the forceful shove that came afterwards.

With his head set at an angle, Nicholas was astounded, his cheek burned and he was trying to come to grips with the reality of being bitch slapped. He tongued the inside of cheek and rightly so tasted blood.

"You slapped me." Nicholas said wondrously.

Ellie silently regarded him, "
yeah and I’d do it again, damn it. You deserve a good kick in the nuts too. For someone so smart, you can be awfully dense."

"He kissed you," Was Nicholas's obstinate retort, staring into Ellie's face like a sullen child.

"Yes and along with kissing him, I also told him to leave, or did you not catch that part of the conversation?" It was becoming increasingly hard to keep the annoyance from her voice.

How had they gone from touching each other in the bedroom, to arguing in the foyer?

"I won't be second choice, Ellie. I don't share."

Ah, yes, because Nicholas Grayson was a moron!

"And you don't listen either!" Now, Ellie was angry and to prove it she tried to slap Nicholas again, only this time, he expected it and captured Ellie's hand mid-way down.

"Don't."

Ellie scowled and wrenched her hand away, "God! You stupid, stupid man!" she fumed, her eyes ablaze. "Would that have made you happy? Did you want me to leave with him, Nicky? I can still catch up to him if I want, I'm a fast runner, remember?"

Nicholas looked at her, his own gaze incensed, his cheek reddening from her slap, "Don't play these fucking mind games with me!"

"Oh I wouldn't dream of it," Ellie feigned innocence, bringing her hand to her chest, "How could I ever fool, the master of mind games? That's your thing, Nicky. You excel at it." Nicholas grabbed hold of her, his face furious. He smashed his lips to Ellie's, the kiss hard and punishing. It was demanding and overflowing with passion. Nicholas forced his tongue between her mutinous lips and took control.

Ellie held onto his shoulders, not knowing whether to push him away or pull him closer, nevertheless, she held on tightly afraid that her weight would give out from under her. The onslaught too much for her to stay unaffected, she kissed back, submitting to the ravishment of the man who held her so tightly, mastered her so forcefully. She loved every minute of it.

"I hate that he kissed you." He whispered gruffly. "I wanted to rip his throat out." His eyes were beautiful filled with emotion, filled with a sort of possessive love that it shone like diamonds. "I hate the fact that he might be right. I may not deserve you, Ellie, but that doesn't mean I'm willing to let you go and I'll be damned if it takes another ten years to make me realize it." He took hostage of Ellie's mouth again, only this time, the meeting of their lips and tongues was a languid lovemaking. "I will 
never
 let you go." A shiver ran down Ellie's spine, delicious and erotic, those words, Nicholas's words, producing in her something unexplainable and volcanically hot.

~*~*~*~

Sophie stood in the alcove, eyes wide, shock and delight played a great role in the dance of emotions crawling across her face. She couldn't stop smiling even if she tried. To stop the fizzing glee erupting through her core, she slammed her hand across her mouth, stifling her joyous laughter. She watched them devour each other, like the imported chocolates Aunt
Maddie loved to eat. Nicholas held her mother to the wall, where one began the other ended.

T
here wasn't room for anything but the thin layers of clothes separating their bodies. Their mouths warred, while their hands roved. Sophie saw, more than heard her mother breathy moans, her lips parted, eyes tightly closed as Nicholas suckled at her neck. Sophie wasn't naïve enough not to understand exactly what she was witnessing, they had cable, and she saw things. With her cheeks stained pink, Sophie decided she'd seen enough.

This was incredible.
After so many years, after wishing so hard, her parents were finally together! Again, her smile did not desert her. In fact, it got impossibly wider. With a little effort, she turned on her heel and attempted the journey back to her bedroom. Unfortunately one of her crutches slipped from her hands and clattered to the floor. She cursed, looked up from the fallen crutch and straight into her mother's dilated hazel eyes.

"Sophie! Are you all right? What are you doing up?" Ellie clucked, fretting and coddling just as Sophie knew she would. She cursed again, this time directed at her clumsiness. The last thing she'd wanted was interrupt them, now it seemed she'd done more than that as her mother gently ushered her back to her room, concern clearly evident in her voice. Nicholas followed at a more sedate pace.

"Mom." Sophie patiently called to her babbling mother, once she settled in bed. "Mom!" She called a little more firmly, taking hold of her mother's trembling hands.

"What?" Ellie met her daughter's dancing gaze. "What?" she asked again, cheeks pink, lips Dahlia red.

"Mom, I'm happy." She took a glance at where Nicholas stood, leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded across his chest. Over her mother's shoulder, Sophie and Nicholas shared a knowing look, and before Sophie turned her gaze back to her mother, she received a wink from Nicholas.

"Why?"

Sophie grinned, then pulled her mother down and planted a kiss on her warm cheek. "Because you're happy."

Ellie smiled softly, "Do I look, happy?"

Sophie nodded, "And in love."

"And you're okay with this, right? With me and Nicholas?"

"Mom, are you kidding? Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this? I am more than okay with this, trust me." She accepted the hug from her mother and the kiss and another hug, before Nicholas managed to pull her away.

They bade her goodnight and vacated the large room that now belonged to Sophie in Nicholas immense estate. Once the door softly clicked behind her mother, Sophie reclined back on her bed, the bevy of fluffy pillows was a welcome. She brought her arms behind her head and stared aimlessly up at the ceilings, her smile bright and joyful.

She'd witnessed the conversation between Devlin and her mother and for a brief moment, Sophie had feared that her mother would leave with Devlin. But everything had turned out wonderfully and now, Devlin was out of their lives. Nicholas could finally be with her mother, as they were meant to and soon, Sophie knew that they would all be a family.