Page 172 of Checkmate
“Alex, you’re hurting me!”
He forced himself to look into her eyes and recognise the fear there. Loosening his grip, he narrowed his eyes on her. “What gives you the right—”
“I am the mother of your child and you have been lying to me for months!” She screeched at him, tears filling those beautiful blue eyes that had captured his attention so many months ago. “Oh, Soph, I’m sorry,” she said, mimicking him. “Erica just won’t sign the papers.”
“Be that as it may—”
“No!” She pulled her arm from his grasp, slapping him across the face with such force, that the sound echoed through the room. “What you have done is fucking horrible. You’ve used me and strung me along, and now things are too real and you hate it.”
“I haven’t strung you along,” he scoffed, refusing to lift his hand to his cheek despite how much it stung.
“You have. You told me you loved me. That everything you did was for me.” Despite her anger, a tear fell down her cheek, falling to her heaving chest. “But what you really meant was everything you did was just pretend until you got what you really wanted.”
“And what is that?” He asked, rolling his eyes. “What do I really want?
“Erica!” Sophie spat her name with such venom, Alex took a step back. “It is always and will always be about Erica. I have no chance. Your daughter has no chance. You are a selfish man who is so obsessed with a woman who wants nothing to do with you, you can’t see what is right here in front of you offering you a future!”
Silence followed her rant, only broken by the sound of her heavy breathing.
Alex sunk to the bed with a sigh, pulling her down with him, more carefully this time. She wasn’t wrong. He had no interest in this relationship. He wanted nothing to do with this child.
Without Erica, nothing made sense, and he was tired of pretending it did.
“This isn’t working, is it?” Sophie asked quietly.
“I don’t think so,” he replied, reaching for her hand. Funny, it looked like this was the end for them, and yet he’d never felt closer to her. “I’m sorry.”
“Yeah,” she sniffed, “Me too.”
And he was sorry.
Sorry, he’d let things get too far. Sorry, he’d lied to her and tried to use her as a substitute for what he really wanted. This farce had been going on for far too long and now…
Now, there was nothing left to do but go their separate ways.
Chapter 51
Marcus
“Shush, you’ll disturb Anna’s ghost.”
Marcus laughed, the sound disturbing the silence of the night and doing the opposite of shushing as he focused on putting the key into the lock.
“Look how cute you are sticking out your tongue to concentrate,” Erica giggled. After spending her birthday with her siblings, they ended up shitfaced. Celebrating not only her birthday but her freedom, they’d overdone it.
“Sorry, Anna,” he whispered loudly into the night air. “We’ll be more quiet next time, promise!”
Finally opening the door, they stumbled through the entrance. They leaned on each other and laughed at nothing in particular. “We’re going to regret this in the morning.”
“Worth it though,” Erica said, pulling him against her as she leaned back against the wall. Taking the hint, he dipped his head, brushing his lips against her neck as her fingers trailed down his spine. Moving over his hips, she reached for his belt, his cock twitching in anticipation.
Goddamn, but this woman made him feel alive.
Peppering kisses down her neck, he nipped at her skin, growling at her soft and pleasured mewls. She tugged at his belt, loosening it deftly. “God, I want you,” she whispered, pressing her head back against the wall.
Three distinct knocks interrupted his reply. He rolled his eyes as his fingers made quick work of the buttons of her blouse. “Not the time, Anna,” he muttered. “Fucking ghosts, I swear.”
“Mm, I don’t think it’s Anna.” He pulled back and followed Erica’s gaze. She looked towards the door and the dark shadow highlighted through the glass.
