Again (Time for Love Book 3) (18 page)

They rocked together, their bodies dancing to the same erotic beat, as their movements took them closer and closer to the crest.

“Amanda,” Connor moaned, his breathing hot and heavy, his thrusts focused. Then he rubbed her clit with his thumb as his cock slid in and out of her. She keened, unable to control her lustful reactions as her body clamped in an intense climax.

Connor bucked into her four, five times more, then erupted inside her, groaning in ecstasy.

*

“D
o you want to have dinner?” Amanda asked, tenderly stroking Connor’s head, which was resting on her shoulder.

“The lasagne’s probably too cold now,” he answered sleepily.

“I could heat it up.”

“Hm,” Connor responded, before dozing off.

She smiled. After the multiple orgasms they’d both had, she wasn’t surprised at their tiredness. Besides, she hadn’t had a decent night’s sleep since they broke up. She was eager for a good rest too.

She breathed a sigh of contentment. Now that Connor had allayed her fears about the genuineness of his feelings, she couldn’t help but dream of a more long-term future with him. Err, actually, she was dreaming of permanence. Her heart told her she wanted to be with Connor for the rest of her life. Could he really be the one?

She closed her eyes, wishing for a happily-ever-after with him, then let sleep take over.

*****

A
manda parked her car behind Ash’s in front of their mother’s house, her palms sweaty from nerves. She hated being this nervous, and wondered if there was still a chance to avoid this night altogether.

Her mum had sent her an alarming text earlier that day. Lori was in town for a visit, and her cousin was coming for dinner. She’d tried to call Lori, but all she got was her voicemail. She could only hope Lori would be so kind as to shut her mouth about that particular night in Melbourne in front of her mother and Ash.

Ash and her mother weren’t aware of her relationship with Connor yet. For the last three weeks, she and Connor had been meaning to let her family know about the two of them. But they wanted to tell Ash and her mum in person, especially since Ash could overreact to their news. There just hadn’t been a good time yet for all of them to get together because of their busy schedules—Connor’s especially.

She sighed, getting out of her car and steeling herself for whatever Lori’s presence brought. She wished Connor could be with her tonight so they could lay everything out in the open, but he was invited to a function by one of his big corporate clients. And since she didn’t want him to worry, she hadn’t told him that Lori was around either.

*

“A
manda! Good to see you again,” Lori cried, hugging her as she walked into the house.

“Thanks. You, too,” Amanda responded, surprised that Lori answered the door.

“Listen,” Lori said, whispering in her ear. “Don’t be shocked, but I brought a friend with me. And don’t worry. Both of us have our lips sealed about your escapade in Melbourne. I made him promise.”

“Who?” Amanda asked, dread prickling her scalp.

“Lucas.”

Amanda’s eyes widened in shock. “What?!”

“Well, Ash mentioned to me before that you guys had met Connor at a party of mutual friends. That was such a spooky coincidence and I happened to tell Lucas about it. When he learned I was visiting Sydney, he wanted to come with me.”

“Lori!” Amanda whispered anxiously.

“Don’t worry. He won’t breathe a word about your night with Connor. I threatened him with violence if he broke that promise. But he does want to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Lucas thinks you’re colluding with Connor and aiding him to win the challenge. Are you?”

“Challenge? What challenge?”

Lori stared at her for a long moment before chuckling. “Don’t you know anything, woman? Didn’t Connor tell you anything? Well, I kind of suspect Lucas is right. Connor might be doing whatever he could to win the challenge.”

“What challenge, Lori?” Amanda asked, her voice many degrees colder.

“It’s better if you speak with Lucas about it. Get the story straight from the horse’s mouth.”

“Hey, sis!” Ash called, walking from the back of the house.

“Hey, Ash,” Amanda said, hugging her brother and faking a bright smile on her face—which instantly disappeared when she spotted Lucas following Ash.

“Hi, Amanda. Fancy meeting you again.”

She forced her lips into a semblance of a smile. “Hi, Lucas.”

“I thought Lori might have run into a door-knocking salesman,” Ash said. “You two were taking too long.”

“No, just catching up,” Lori said, taking Amanda’s arm and leading her to the kitchen as if the place was hers.

“Hey, wouldn’t it be fun if Connor was here, too?” Lucas said in jest. “I bet he’d be so surprised to see me here.”

“That’s not a bad idea. How about I call him?” Ash said, pulling his phone out.

“He’s not home, Ash. He’s at a work function.”

Three pairs of eyebrows rose in question. “How do you know?” Ash asked.

“He told me.”

“Oh. So you guys talk to each other a lot?” Lucas asked, his tone laced with suspicious curiosity.

“Amanda and Connor both live in Bondi,” Ash explained. “Amanda and I even helped Connor move houses.”

“Interesting,” Lori mused.

“Yeah,” Ash said. “I like him. He’s an all right guy. As a
friend
,” he added with a glance at Amanda.

Lucas laughed. “I agree, Ash,” he said, winking at Amanda.

Amanda frowned, apprehension looming large.

*****

W
ith dinner finished and the dishwasher all loaded up, they all sat in the living room having a general chat.

Amanda thought it was all surreal. Never before had Lori spent this kind of time with them, ever. Yet there she was, enthralling both Ash and their mum with her stories. The fact that Lori was shamelessly telling them some of her past exploits—without being too detailed, thank God—guaranteed her listeners’ undivided attention. Amanda shook her head surreptitiously and went to the table at the corner to refill her coffee.

“So how are you doing, Amanda?” Lucas asked, standing next to her with his full cup.

“I’m good, thanks,” she said, smiling politely. “I’m surprised you’re here in Sydney, Lucas.”

“Yeah. I’ve got a few weeks off in between races. I was going to let Connor know I’m in town, but I decided to surprise him instead.”

“Well, I’m sure he’d be very surprised,” she murmured.

“I’m sure,” Lucas agreed, his stare scrutinising. “So you’re helping him win the challenge?” he asked abruptly.

Amanda frowned. “Lori mentioned a challenge, and I don’t know what she’s talking about.”

Lucas pursed his lips, deciding on something. “Connor didn’t tell you?” he asked after a moment.

“Tell me what?”

“You’re really not in on this?” Lucas asked, sounding sceptical.

“Lucas, if you tell me exactly what it is, I’d be able to give you a definitive answer.”

Lucas sighed. “When you girls crashed Connor’s farewell party, I issued a challenge to Connor. As you probably already know from Lori, Connor has a title. Have you heard about it?”

“Yes. And I heard you wanted to win it from him.”

“I do. But Connor doesn’t seem to be playing fair,” Lucas said.

“What do you mean?” she asked, getting impatient to hear about this challenge.

“Well, the rules were that we pick at least one girl from those of you who crashed his farewell party in Melbourne. You girls seemed to be up for some fun, so we thought it was a great idea. Anyway, we said that Connor and I would bed the same girl—or girls—and let the ladies score us based on our bedroom performance. The women’s decisions were to be final. If they think I’m better in bed, I win the title fair and square. If they think Connor’s better, he retains the title.”

Amanda held her breath, not daring to show emotion in case Lucas curbed his sharing of details.

“I saw Connor leave with you, so I knew you’d be the judge. And since Agnes and I were already getting along famously, she was to be the other one. But it seemed that Connor didn’t tell you about the game. Which makes me think he’s cheated.”

“Cheated as in how?”

“Don’t take any offence, okay?” Lucas asked. “I’m just going to tell it as I see it.”

“Sure,” she said casually, putting on her Miss Professional mask.

“Lori said you’re not the kind of woman to sleep around. Connor must have picked up on that, so that was why he chose you for the game. You see, by you refusing to have sex with me, then you have automatically cast your vote in his favour.”

“Who did Agnes vote for?” she asked, trying to keep her voice even.

“That was another thing. Unfortunately, their timing was messed up. They were just about to head up to Connor’s room when Agnes had to go. So they haven’t done it yet. Agnes is happy to come to Sydney to finish this game and settle the winner once and for all. But seriously, Amanda, if you didn’t know anything about this, then you shouldn’t count at all. I’ll need to speak to Connor about what’s fair.”

Amanda swallowed the bitter taste on her tongue. “This title seems so important to you,” she said.

Lucas laughed. “Frankly, it’s not the title, Amanda. It’s about winning against Connor. The two of us are super competitive, especially against each other. Neither of us gives up that easily.”

“Excuse me,” she murmured, heading out of the room. Her heart was racing and her mind was blank—except for one question: Did Connor make her believe he loved her to ensure he won Lucas' challenge?

C
onnor walked into his apartment and turned on the lights. He checked the time. It was almost eleven. Amanda wasn’t back yet from her dinner with Ash and their mum.

He undid his tie, wondering what time she’d be home. He smiled, thinking they’d have to make it official very soon. He’d love for her to live with him permanently. She already stayed at his place at least four nights a week anyway.

He was unbuttoning his shirt when his security buzzer sounded. Did Amanda forget her keys to his place? He went to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Connor, it’s Ash.”

“Ash? Come on in.” He pressed a button to let Ash into the building.

This was totally unexpected, and from the sound of Ash’s voice, it wasn’t good. His heart hammered. What happened?

He opened his door just as the elevator coughed up a stony-faced Ash.

“Hey, bro, what’s up?” Connor said, his scalp tingling with anxiety.

Ash pushed past him into the living room after giving him an unreadable stare. Connor closed the door and went to face his girlfriend's brother.

“Ash?”

With a swift move that took Connor by surprise, Ash grasped him by his shirt collar. “How could you do that to my sister?” Ash hissed.

“Do what, Ash?” he asked calmly.

“You know fucking well what I mean. You played her, toyed with her feelings.”

“Who told you that?” he asked with irritation. “I’m assuming it’s not Amanda, because that’s not how it is. Your sister would have told you exactly what happened. And where’s Amanda?”

Ash let go of his collar, shoving him as he did so. “Don’t even think about showing your face to her again, Connor. If you so much as try to call her, I’ll punch you.”

“What is going on, Ash? Amanda’s my girlfriend. We’ve been going out for a while now. We been waiting for the opportunity to tell you and your mum in person.”

“Your girlfriend?” Ash asked with venom. “Why? So you could ensure Lucas doesn’t win your obscene game? You used her, Connor. You knew she’s not the type to agree to the kind of games you play. And yet you went ahead and seduced her for the purposes of winning a challenge.”

Connor shook his head, his breath leaving him at Ash’s accusations. “It wasn’t like that, Ash,” he insisted.

“Oh? There was no challenge? It's your word against Lucas’. Even Lori and her friend Agnes are ready to back up Lucas’ version of events.”

Connor broke in sweat. “There was a challenge, Ash. But I accepted it with the intention of not playing by the rules. I intended to lose! I never meant to go ahead with the game, meaning I never planned to have sex with whomever Lucas slept with—or anyone else for that matter. That would have guaranteed him getting my title ‘fair and square’, and he’d finally let this stupid rivalry go. But I met your sister and the attraction was just too great—”

Ash’s fist came flying to Connor’s face.

Connor reeled, tasting blood on his lips.

“Don’t you dare try to put a spin on this, Connor,” Ash said furiously, pointing a finger at him. “You hurt her so badly.”

Fear gripped Connor’s heart. “Where’s Amanda, Ash?”

“Are you kidding me? You think I’m going to tell you?”

Connor hastily pulled his phone from his pocket, dialling Amanda’s number. It went straight to voicemail.

“Baby, it’s me. Ash is here and there seems to be another misunderstanding. Please call me. Please.”

“You’re not gonna hear from her again, Connor,” Ash said in a deadly voice.

“No, Ash, please. Is she at home? I need to see her,” he pleaded. At Ash’s silence, he headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Ash asked.

“To your sister’s.”

“She’s not at her place, Connor. You’ll just be wasting your time.”

“Then where is she?” he demanded, striding towards Ash.

“She’s with Brenna. And you don’t know where Brenna lives, do you? I sure as hell am not telling you.”

Connor retrieved his phone again.

“If you think any of her best friends would tell you Brenna’s address, think again,” Ash said dryly.

Connor chucked his phone on the sofa and raked his hair. “Ash, you gotta help me.”

“Why?”

“She can’t think it’s all a game, Ash. She’d be so hurt. And it’s not true. I love Amanda. I love your sister,” he said, his voice cracking.

Ash simply stared at him.

Connor took a deep breath, trying to contain his emotions, and failing. His eyes swam in tears. Why couldn’t he put an end to this nightmare?