At the Billionaire's Pleasure Christmas Stocking (6 page)

He
grinned and pushed the next boot onto my foot and laced it up. "I
promise not to let you fall or hurt yourself."

He
handed me a large padded jacket, gloves and a pink hat. I crinkled
my nose at the thought of putting the hat on but David shot me a
stern look and I tugged it on. He wrapped himself up in another
thick coat, gloves and his own hat. He looked adorable and I
couldn't stop a smile from creeping across my lips.

Pulling
me to my feet he scooped me into his arms and it was then I
realised he wasn't wearing any skates.

"What
are you doing? Where are your skates?"

David
grinned and carried me out the door, he descended the steps and
plonked me down on a seat that surrounded the lake. The air was
freezing and my cheeks tingled with the change in temperature.
David jogged back up to the house, leaving me sitting in the
cold.

I
contemplated standing but quickly changed my mind when I felt how
slippery the ice really was. Lucia skated towards me. She was
graceful and she skidded to a stop, small shavings of ice kicking
up around the blades as she dug them in.

"Where's
David? We've been waiting for you to come out... What took you so
long?" She probed.

I
flushed but I hoped that the chill would simply hide my blush,
making it look like I was just really cold.

"We were
busy... We didn't realise how much time had passed." I answered
honestly. It wasn't until we had gotten out of the shower that
David had checked the time and realised how much time had really
passed.

"Oh."
Lucia added. Her blue eyes narrowing as she tried to read my
expression. I smiled at her, choosing to look as harmless as
possible.

"I hope
you're not going to hold David prisoner all weekend. Surely you
have things you could do on your own..."

I
bristled at that. Who the hell did she think she was. David was
with me. If he had wanted her no doubt he had plenty of
opportunities to have her. A horrible thought struck me. What if
they had slept together? I shuddered at the thought. I knew David
had girlfriends before I came along, but the thought of him
sleeping with Lucia was almost too much. Knowing past girlfriends
existed was one thing. Having it rubbed in my face all the time was
another thing altogether.

David
came bounding down the steps a pair of skates in his hands. As he
approached I part whispered to Lucia. "Holding David prisoner isn't
an issue. If he doesn't want to leave my bed, I can't force him." I
winked at her. A little shocked with my own bravery I swallowed
hard and watched as David sat down beside me on the
seat.

"I
thought I was going to come back out and find you on your ass." He
teased me as he pulled his own skates on.

I
slapped his arm playfully and shot Lucia a look that said he was
all mine. She looked completely sour but the look disappeared from
her face when she spoke to David. "Finally you made it! I thought I
was going to have to go in and drag you out. It's not fair to the
rest of us who don't get to see you that much if Carrie keeps you
cooped up inside all the time."

David
started to laugh and shot me a sideways glance. "There's no cooping
up going on..."

Lucia
didn't give him a chance to finish. "Well good because I always
knew you liked being outdoors. Come on and meet everyone else
again." Lucia started to skate away. She moved as though she
expected David to just follow her. Instead he turned back to me as
he stood. He held his hand out to me and I took it
gratefully.

David
tugged me to my feet and I immediately started to wobble and slide
across the ice. He held me tightly as he moved behind me. He was as
confident on the ice as he was off it. It surprised me a little. I
knew he was good at everything he did but I hadn't honestly
expected to be as professional at skating as he was. It was as
though for him there was no difference in walking on the pavement
or skating across the ice.

He held
me tightly, his hands a steadying effect around my waist. David
moved us both across the ice after Lucia, his pace never faltering
as he sped up. The wind whipped against my face as we moved out to
the centre of the lake and into the circle of who were David's
friends.

I
remained quiet and a little shy as David made the introductions.
The guys shook his hands and the women smiled politely. Lucia had
moved up to beside what I assumed was her sister Marcia. There was
a definite look of similarity between them but Marcia was much
younger. She smiled openly at me and the look she shot David was
nothing more than friendly. I released a breath I hadn't realised I
had been holding. It seemed all I had to worry about was
Lucia.

David
never let go of me as we skated around the lake. I could sense it
in him that he wanted to really let go. That if given a chance on
the ice he would be magnificent and I wanted to see that side of
him. I feigned tiredness and David skated me back to the seat. He
sat down next to me and watched the others for a few
minutes.

"Go back
out there. I know you want to."

David
smiled at me and shook his head. "Nah, I'm bored of it now
anyway."

I
snorted and began to laugh. David watched me, his expression
serious.

"Don't
be ridiculous. I'm happy here. Go!" I urged him again.

The
smile he gave me was back to the boyish grin that I had glimpsed in
him earlier. It made me happy to see it. He was always so serious,
especially where work was concerned. I would have done anything to
keep him smiling like that. The look he gave me was filled with
love. He leaned over and kissed me. His lips and face cold. My own
lips were practically numb but David's kiss left a tingling
sensation on them.

He
hopped up and skated out a little further. "I won't be long I
promise. I don't want you getting sick." He turned and skated out a
little further passing the woman who had been introduced to me as
Stephanie.

She
smiled at her and waved as she skated past and came to a halt in
front of the seat I was perched on. "May I?" She asked, gesturing
to the empty space next to me.

I smiled
and scooted over so that she could join me. The silence between us
was a little awkward. I listened to her steady breathing as we both
surveyed the scene in front of us. Lucia I noticed didn't waste any
time in joining David. Try as might to keep up to him, he quickly
outstripped her. Zipping across the ice like a dark
arrow.

"Watch
your back with her. She has had her eye on David for-ever now...
She was furious when she found out about you..." Stephanie spoke
softly.

I turned
and looked at her. It seemed I wasn't being paranoid about Lucia
after all. Stephanie's soft green eyes were filled with sympathy as
she gazed at me. She brushed her dark hair back from her face and
leaned in closer to me.

"David
is a good guy. And I can see that he loves you, but don't trust
Lucia. She'll do anything to get him, no matter what it
takes."

Stephanie reached out and patted my gloved hand with her
own.

"I
thought maybe I was paranoid. That Lucia was just a really good
friend and I was imagining things where they weren't really
there."

Stephanie shook her head and returned her gaze back to the
ice and the others skating around.

"No, she
is a good friend but she hates just being a friend. She has wanted
David as long as I've known them both. And that is a number of
years now. She'll stop at nothing to get him. Just be
careful."

I
smiled. Thinking back over the past few months and everything that
had happened. Lucia wasn't really someone I had to worry about. Not
after what we had been through together. And as I had decided
earlier that day, David's look didn't lie. He loved me. Not
her.

The
group skated back in our direction. David was the first to reach
us, his hands automatically reaching out to me. I took his
outstretched hand and he helped me to my feet.

Lucia
chose that moment to careen out of control and bump into me, just
as David's hands closed around mine. The only thing that kept me on
my feet was his firm hold on me. He never let me go, instead he
folded me in tighter to his arm and pressed my body against his
chest.

I turned
as Lucia began to apologise. "I'm sorry, I didn't even see you
there..."

"It's
fine. No harm no foul." I answered, enjoying the touch of David's
body against mine.

Lucia
shot me another sour look as we skated up to the edge of the lake
and stepped out onto the edge of the bank. David held me tightly as
we wobbled back up to the steps of the house. He swapped his boots
lightening fast and then picked me up and carried me back into the
small room that was filled with coats and boots.

***

Later
that evening the entire group sat around a large roaring fire in
the living room. There was wine and Stephanie and Andrea who seemed
to know each other best had cooked spaghetti bolognese. David's arm
was draped across my shoulder as we sipped the red wine that had
come from the cellar.

Lucia
sat across from us, every so often I would catch her staring
dreamily at David. But each time I did the look she gave me was
filled with venom. She stood and stretched placing her half full
glass on the table.

"I'll be
back in a little while." She padded softly from the
room.

Something nagged at me but I wasn't sure what. I had a bad
feeling about her but I wasn't sure what she was planning. I was
certain it was nothing that David would fall prey to. He chose that
moment to lean over and press his lips to my forehead.

I
climbed up from my warm seat and whispered to David that I was
going to the ladies. The bad feeling wouldn't go away. It niggled
at me as I made my way down the hall towards the bathroom that
stood between the living room and the heavy wooden door to mine and
David's private quarters.

The door
to our private area stood ajar. I knew David had closed it, I had
heard the latch fall into place. Moving closer I could see a light
on beyond the door. I pushed the door open and made my way down the
through the hall. The light was on in the bedroom.

Stepping
into the room I caught sight of Lucia with my handbag and phone in
her hands. She lifted her head in surprise but once she saw it was
me she shot me a triumphant glare.

"I'm
sure David won't be too thrilled to hear that you are back in
contact with your ex..."

I stared
at her in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"Richard
and you. The little texts you've been sending back and
forth..."

I shook
my head and started to laugh. "David knows all about Richard. He
knows there is nothing between us."

Lucia
shot me a cruel smile. "The I suppose you won't mind him seeing the
message you sent tonight saying you missed Richard..." She inched
around the bed towards the door.

I
blocked her escape but my mouth was hanging open in surprise. "I
never did that, you're lying!"

She
lifted the phone and shoved it in my face. The message was there
plain to see. The message I had sent to Richard telling him to drop
dead was gone. She skirted past me as I made a grab for my phone
but she was off and running down the hall.

Stephanie had warned me but this seemed completely over the
top. David knew me, he knew I would never do something like that. I
followed her out into the hall and came face to face with David.
Lucia stood by his side the phone held in her hand. I could tell
from the look on David's face that he had at least heard part of
the conversation.

"Will
someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" His voice was low
and dangerous. A tone of voice I had only heard him reserve for
people he didn't like or didn't trust.

"David,
I can explain." I pleaded with him but the look on his face had
grown harder.

"She's
lying! You know I would never go back to him or even entertain the
idea for a second."

"And yet
here the message is... Plenty of messages from him too..." Lucia's
voice was filled with cruelty. She was enjoying this far too
much.

David
spun on his heel and stalked back down the corridor.

"David!
Wait!" I raced down the hall after him.

He
turned and the look he gave me was so cold, so hurt that it stopped
me dead in my tracks.

"I need
some time. I need to be alone." He turned and moved down the hall.
Lucia followed him, throwing a triumphant look over her shoulder as
she went.

My heart
froze in my chest. He believed her over me. He believed someone
else over me... It didn't sound right. The words repeated over and
over in my head as I made my way back into the bedroom and plonked
down dejectedly on the edge of the bed. The edge of the bed that I
had shared with David mere hours before.

I
couldn't cry, the tears wouldn't come. I was sure it was because my
whole being was in shock over what had just happened. He had
believed her over me.