“Bye, Charli with an i,” he said. But before he walked away, he added, “Maybe you should wear your rings?”
His words prompted me to scan her fingers. He was right. She was without a ring. I couldn’t refrain from adding to her scolding, “Yes, Charli, don’t tell me you’ve misplaced them again.”
Her gaze never left mine as her lips quirked upward to a grin. “No. I’m most certain they're right where I left them.”
I hope you enjoyed this alternative POV to the beginning of Betrayal, book one of the Infidelity series (not about cheating).
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If this was your first experience with Lennox Demetri and Alexandria Collins and, after this small taste, you’d like to learn more about this sexy, cocky hero and strong, intelligent heroine, please give Betrayal a chance. It’s the first book of the completed six-book Infidelity series and is free on all sales platforms.
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For those of you who have met Lennox and Alex and have enjoyed the Infidelity series... I have one more chapter for you.
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Warning: if you haven’t read the Infidelity series, the bonus chapter contains spoilers.
Enjoy!
And turn the page.
Bonus Chapter
Contains spoilers if you haven’t read the Infidelity series
Nox: (You’ve been warned)
Years into the future
My footsteps echoed up the stairs. Reaching the top, I stilled, not wanting to wake anyone at this late hour. Step by step, I continued until I reached the large double doors to our bedroom suite. I imagined Charli asleep in our bed, her beautiful hair fanned over her pillow, her pert lips parted as she breathed.
My dick hardened as I pictured her beneath the blankets, her sexy body unclothed, nothing to stop my touch as I pulled her warmth close.
I shook my head. That fantasy most certainly wouldn’t be the reality. Not with our two children sleeping down the hall, the same two children who had strict orders not to disturb Mom and Dad while we slept.
The same two who managed at least one middle-of-the-night emergency every other night.
Of course, emergencies for a six-and-a-half-year-old beautiful girl and her nearly three-year-old rambunctious brother weren’t exactly the kind of emergencies that in my head warranted the opening of our bedroom door or the leaping into our bed. Yet on each occasion, in their minds, their reasons were valid.
Unquenchable thirst.
Ravenous hunger.
You’d think we starved the poor children.
A noise.
A monster under the bed.
The list could go on and on.
The moral of that story was that my beautiful wife no longer slept in the nude nor did I. My lips quirked upward as I reached for the door handle. I was all right with that, unwrapping her was equally as fun and built the anticipation.
The darkened suite was bathed in the moon’s blue glint as the sphere hung low over the Long Island Sound and cast eerie shadows over the familiar surroundings. Turning to the bed, I found it empty. Even the covers were undisturbed.
My pulse quickened.
It was after midnight. I’d gotten home as soon as I could from the meetings on the West Coast. My Charli was great about keeping me informed of her whereabouts. So too was her necklace. She should be here.
Where was she?
Last week she’d taken the children to Savannah for some annual party her mother threw. It was funny to think about the way my wife now enjoyed her childhood home, something that came about after we met.
One night, she explained it to me.
“I want Angi and Dominic to love Montague Manor. Someday they will be the ones who decide what happens with it. I don’t want it to be a monstrous, unfriendly castle. I want them to think of it as a home.”
“Their grandparents’ home,” I said.
Charli smiled. “As weird as that still is, yes. And also where their momma grew up.”
“If it makes you happy...”
“It does,” she said. “And you don’t know how much I like that.”
Looking around our house in Rye where we now lived and called home, I did know.
I wasn’t able to go with my family to that party, though they flew on our bat plane.
Although I refused to be the workaholic my father was while I was young, there was still work that needed to be done. There were still Demetri Enterprises and Montague Corporation. Charli and I knew the pressures. She worked part time in Demetri Enterprises’ legal department. After all that she and her mother had been through, learning the ins and outs of corporate law became her passion.
My wife was as smart as they came and nothing stood in her way.
However, I was thankful that practicing law wasn’t her only passion. And as I scanned our darkened suite, I wondered about another, the passion I’d planned on showing her upon my arrival home.
The drapes covering the glass doors leading to our balcony rustled in the autumn breeze as a shadow outside caught my attention.
Going to the open door, I peered out. Standing at the railing in a long satin robe was my wife. Her beautiful hair wasn’t fanned over her pillow, but blowing back, clearing her gorgeous face as she watched the lights play across the dark waters of the sound.
“Princess?”
Charli jumped as she spun my direction. “Oh my God, Nox, you scared me.”
In merely one stride, I was before her, my hands upon her arms as I pulled her petite frame close to mine. “What are you doing out here? It’s late.”
She nodded against my chest as we melded together. Like two pieces of an interlocking puzzle, we were strong on our own, but together we were invincible. “I was waiting for you. Isaac said you wouldn’t be too late.”
I grinned. “I told you the same thing.”
She peered upward as her golden eyes shone with amusement. “And I believed you. I just like confirmation from Isaac or Deloris.”
Lifting her chin, I brushed my lips over hers. The small moan as she snuggled closer returned the blood to my cock. Wrapping my arms around her small waist, I pulled her closer.
“Nox?”
“Princess, I’ve missed you.”
Her small hand found its way to the front of my trousers and rubbed my growing erection. “I didn’t notice.”
My head fell backward with a laugh. “Then I’m losing my touch.”
“No way,” she purred. “I’ve missed you, too.”
Reaching for her hand, I tugged her inside our room. The late September night air held a hint of the impending season change, leaving her hand chilled in my grasp. “How about we go check on the kids,” I asked, “and then we come back here and I show you how much I missed you?”
Charli nodded. “I like that. Just please don’t wake them.”
“No way. I have plans for our bed that include two, not four.”
I slipped off my shoes and wiggled my sock-covered toes, peering at her with a grin and a wink. “We can be sneaky.”
“I like sneaky,” she said. “Like Batman.”
“I think that would be stealthy.”
Together we made our way first to Dominic’s room. At nearly three years of age, he resembled something of a starfish as he slept, arms and legs pointing all different directions. His little head was covered with dark hair, reminding me of myself as a child. And as if life hadn’t thrown us enough obstacles, he seemed to have a bit of my defiant attitude. When he’s older, some may call it cocky.
It was hard to argue that Charli and I were in for some rough waters as opinions clashed. Luckily, right now our disagreements were over things like screen time and snacks. My father was quick to remind us that we had no idea what we were in for, but he would enjoy watching every minute of it.