Page 7 of Cruel Salvation

Chapter2

“Ow, that hurt.”Lotus yanked her fingers back from the huge pile of carved roast beef on the platter, after Charlie whacked her knuckles with a wooden spoon.

“Leave the meat alone or there won’t be enough to go around.”

Lotus looked at the two huge platters and cocked her head at her friend. “Are you kidding? There’s practically an entire cow on that counter.”

“Don’t start with me. You’ve seen how these men eat.”

Lotus shrugged. “True, they are like ravenous beasts most of the time.”

“Who’s ravenous?”

The two women turned as Duchess strolled into the large open-plan kitchen from the front of the house. Duchess looked stunning as always, her winged eyeliner and bright lips effortlessly stylish, with not a dark circle in sight. Lotus envied her friend’s ability to shine so brightly, no matter what the occasion.

“All of them, and this one keeps sneaking food behind my back.” Lotus had barely admitted to herself the reason for her hunger but the two pink lines on the seven pregnancy tests had confirmed it. She was pregnant and in complete denial until she could figure out how or when she would tell Damon, so she’d avoid him for now. How her life had ended up like this was a mystery to her, but then maybe not. She’d always attracted chaos.

Duchess slung her arm around Lotus and leaned in, letting her friend take the load for just a second. Her familiar perfume was a comfort to the lost ache in her heart that she couldn’t seem to get rid of, no matter what.

“Well, you have one more now, too. We brought Damon with us.”

Lotus snapped upright, moving away from Duchess and groaning. “Really, you had to bring him?”

Hands on her hips, Duchess gave Lotus a sharp look of reprimand that only she could manage. “Don’t start. Damon is a good man and whatever is happening with you two needs to be fixed.”

That was exactly the problem. He was a good man, the best, and the night they’d spent together had been spectacular, which was why she had to stay far away from him. She was toxic, and she couldn’t risk getting close to him and losing him too. Everyone she got close to seemed to end up hurt or dead, and she wouldn’t survive another loss.

Damon was one hundred percent not her type but, from the first meeting, she’d been attracted to the charismatic, handsome billionaire. Once she’d got to know him, it was worse than she’d thought. He was funny, loyal, sexy, and attentive, and she’d felt herself relax her guard around him, and then Rykov.

God, Rykov. Even now she could barely think about that day without a scream of pain building in her gut. Grief was something she understood, it had been a constant in her life from a young age, but, coupled with the knowledge and guilt that she was the reason he’d died, it was almost impossible to breathe.

“Lotus, are you listening?”

She blinked her attention, coming back from her dark thoughts and focusing on Duchess. “What?”

“Can you carry that platter of Yorkshire puddings through?”

She shook her head like she’d seen Monty do, and nodded, a smile stretching wide. “Yeah, of course.”

The second she stepped through the door to the dining room, she felt his eyes on her and fought the draw to look his way. Damon Cavendish wasn’t a man anyone could ignore. With his tall, dark, and handsome vibe and broad muscular shoulders, he was a snack she wanted to gorge on.

As she set the plate down, her stupid gaze moved to him as if she had no control whatsoever. He greeted her with a wide grin and wink that she felt all over her body. God, why did he have to be so nice and sexy? Turning away quickly, she busied herself by taking a seat far away from him, beside Titan and Snow, careful to make sure there wasn’t a seat on either side he could snag. Her walls were up, but she’d learned with him that they were made of cotton wool.

Thankfully, with the entire team in attendance, it was a loud, lively affair, and avoiding conversation with him was easier than she’d hoped. Her appetite was a little off, but she ate enough not to be rude and laughed with Titan as he told stories about his mum, who she knew he missed.

Her phone buzzing had her excusing herself to answer the call, surprised to see Jack Granger’s name on the screen.

Making her way into the garden, she answered. “Hey, Jack, what’s up?” Jack never called and her stomach twisted in dread.

“Hi, Lotus, sorry to disturb you.”

Her heart stuttered every time Jack called her that name because it reminded her of the day Rykov had given it to her. The same day Jack offered her this job.

“That’s okay, what can I do for you?”

“There’s no easy way to say this but Simon Dorsey and his girlfriend Kelly Jones have gone off the rails.”

Her heart was almost beating out of her chest now. “What? How? He was doing so well.”