Cursed Ecstasy (Cursed Series) (16 page)

“Oh!” Ashley exclaims.

With a smile on my face, I tuck my head into the side of Etty’s neck, giving her a gentle kiss on the cheek.

“Is this okay with you?” I whisper into her ear.

She turns in my arms and looks up at me with those incredible eyes.

“Day by day, Dault, now get to work,” she says and then ducks beneath my arms, walking back down the hallway.

Looking to Ashley, I raise my brows and shrug my shoulders.

“When the hell did all this happen? I’m so out of the loop,” she remarks with a pout on her face.

A smile spreads across my face as I lean into the desk.

“You didn’t miss much; it’s a work in progress.”

“Dude, back off my woman,” Steve’s voice comes out of nowhere as I turn to face him.

With a questionable glare, I look at him and then over to Ashley.

“Now what the fuck did
I
miss?”

Damn it to hell. I really need to pay more attention to the people around me.

Chapter 18

Having Dault’s arms around me last night was one of the best feelings in the entire world. I’m not sure where this is heading with us, but I
do
know that I want it more than anything.

Hearing the words he shared, seeing how hurt he was, and trying to express himself to me showed just how much he’s willing to try and change.

All of the feelings and emotions that we’ve put each other through may finally be worth something—I suppose only time will tell.

I was a bit taken aback just now when he came up behind me in front of the new girl, Ashley. She seems nice and all, but his public display of affection caught me off guard. The expression on her face said it all—she was just as shocked as me.

I’ve never seen Dault with another woman; I’m not exactly sure how he usually acts.  From what I’ve gathered, he takes them home, loves ‘em and then leaves ‘em.

Could that be me, too?

No. I shake my head and continue walking down the hallway to Linc’s office.

Everything seems to be happening so quickly. I don’t want to rush into anything; I want to make sure he means it when he says he wants this. We have a physical attraction that’s evident, but it’s the
emotional
part that scares me.

As I approach Linc’s office, he’s sitting at his desk, focused on the computer screen.

“Hey, Linc, can I come in?”

He looks up and me and smiles.

“Of course, take a seat. I’m just working on this order that’s supposed to come in soon. I hate paperwork and need you and Jo more than I realized. This shit sucks.”

I let out a laugh and walk my way next to him behind the desk.

“Move over and let me take a look,” I say, gesturing for him to get up and move out of my way.

“You’re so bossy, Etty, it’s not becoming of you.”

I look up at him through my lashes and smile.

“I think it’s time I come back to work, at least until Jo’s ready to come back. It’s the least I can do for everything you guys have done for me.”

“When you’re ready, Etty, no rush.”

“I
am
ready, Linc. I need to get back to my life. It’s been too long and I’m sick of sitting around doing nothing.”

“Sounds like you have a lot of changes coming your way,” he remarks with a raised brow.

Leaning forward on the desk, I prop my chin up in my hands.

“What’s
that
supposed to mean?”

“Come on, Etty, you know I want you back in this shop like yesterday, but I want you to be careful with Dault. I love him like a brother, but there’s a lot of baggage that comes along with him. I don’t have to remind you that he can be a hard ass at times.”

Sitting back in the chair, I cross my arms and stare back at Linc.

“You know, for a guy that says you care about him, you sure don’t seem to want him happy.”

“Etty, that’s not it at all and you know it. I care about you both; I want the two of you to be happy. It’s just that I know him a lot better than you and I don’t want to see you get hurt. If things are meant to be with you guys, I’m all for it.”

Shaking my head, I close my eyes and ease myself down into the chair. I don’t know what is to come of this thing between me and Dault, but I just want Linc’s support.

“Etty, don’t second guess how you feel. I’m just being the big brother here and watching out for you. I’ve said the same shit to Dault. I won’t sit back and watch you two destroy one another, but I’ll be happy as hell if it all works out.”

“I’d much rather go with the ‘happy as hell’ part.”

“I know you do. There’s a lot to work through, not to mention the fact that you have another man in love with you. How are you going to break this to Christian?”

Oh shit, Christian.
With everything that’s happened in the past few hours, I completely forgot.

Shaking my head, I look into Linc’s dark brown eyes.

“I don’t know,” I mumble.

“You need to tell him, let him know that your feelings aren’t the same.”

“He knows that, Linc, I’ve made myself perfectly clear.”

“Then you have to talk to him about you and Dault. He deserves to know that your heart and mind are with someone else.”

Letting out a heavy sigh, I close my eyes and lean into the desk.

“Etty, you
have
to tell him.”

Opening my eyes and looking up, I give Linc a wicked smirk.

“That’s the thing, Linc, he knows. I’ve been completely honest with Christian from the start. He knows the whole story behind Dault and me.”

“Then it should be that much easier to break his heart.”

Groaning, I run my fingers through my hair, pulling on the ends to release my frustration.

“Don’t be a dick, Linc. It’s
never
easy to hurt someone you care about. But I do agree that I have to talk to him.”

“Do it soon before he finds out on his own. That man has been up your ass since we all got home. I can’t imagine he’ll want to back down that easily,
especially
if he knows how Dault has treated you in the past.”

Ugh, this sucks.
I don’t want to hurt Christian, but I know he’s not going to be happy. Reaching into my back pocket, I slide out my phone and check for any missed messages.

It’s not a surprise that there are quite a few missed calls and texts from Christian; he’s probably worried sick that I haven’t answered him.

My eyes scan back to Linc and then back to my phone.

I have to go talk to him and tell him about me and Dault. Linc is right—he needs to know and I have to be the one to tell him.

“Hey, Etty,” Dault’s voice echoes through the room.

My head perks up and I catch a glimpse of his adorable baby blues and the dimples that are peeking out from his smile.

“Hey,” I reply, giving him a sweet smile.

“I’m about to set up in my room before the first client shows up. Wanna come in and chat for a bit?”

As much as I came here to spend time with the guys, and of course Dault, I can’t.

I look to Linc and then back to Dault.

“Actually, I have to head out for a bit.”

Dault looks at me with confusion and leans his body up against the doorframe.

Nibbling on my bottom lip, I can only hope that what I’m about to say won’t upset him.

“So much for helping me with the paperwork, Etty,” Linc says, sitting forward in the chair.

“Linc, don’t start, you know I have to do this.” “You just got here. What do you need to do that we can’t go do later?” Dault asks.

“I have to go talk to Christian. He’s already blowing up my phone and he needs to know.”

“Needs to know what, Etty?” Dault asks in a stern tone.

“Relax, Dault, she has to do this.” “I do, Dault. He needs to know that you and I are…well, I don’t know what it is that we’re doing…but still, I have to tell him that we can’t…ugh, I don’t know.”

I stare up into his eyes. They’re set with a look of concern and I know this can’t be easy on him, either, but I need to end things with Christian before I can move on with Dault.

No matter how hard this situation may be, it’s the only way to make things right and start fresh.

Moving toward the doorway, I pause in front of Dault. Tilting my head, I look up at him and place my hand on his chest.

“I’ll be back. I just need to find him and tell him what’s going on. It’s the right thing to do.”

I can feel the rapid beat of his heart through his chest—it’s as if it’s about to burst through.

“It’s okay, Etty, I know. I should go with you.”

Shaking my head, I look to Linc, pleading silently with him to say something. Seconds go by with complete silence.

“Dault, I have to do this on my own; you being there won’t make things any better. I’ll be fine and come back as soon as we’re finished.”

I give him a smile and step on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

With a wave of my hand, I step out of the office and make way through Cursed Magic.

The local diner was the best place I could think of; it’s open and very public. Not that I think he’d ever do anything to hurt me, but I’d rather have other people around me for this.

The bells on the entrance chime and my stomach turns into a brick of worry.

Waiting for him to look my way, I wave my hand and gesture for him to come to the table. Without standing, I watch as he walks through the diner to my table.

“Hey Etty, I was beginning to get worried.”

“I know and I’m sorry. I was a little bit occupied and didn’t check my phone until right before I texted you back.”

Sliding into the booth, he reaches his hands out to grab mine. Rather than embracing his open palms, I clench my fists and slide my hands under the table.

I look up into his deep brown eyes, a look of concern on his face.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, everything is fine. I just wanted us to meet here so we could talk. I need to tell you something.”

“Etty, what is it? You’re starting to freak me out. This isn’t like you.”

Releasing a heavy sigh, I sit up tall in the booth.

“You know I’d never want to hurt you, right?”

“Yeah,”

“I had a chance to sit and talk some things through with Dault last night and…”

He raises his hand in the air, motioning for me to stop talking. A lump forms in my throat and the anxiety I was trying to fight is now coursing through my veins.

“Don’t say another word. I can’t believe this is happening.”

He pushes himself back against the cushion of the booth and runs his fingers through his shaggy brown hair.

Shaking his head, he looks up to the ceiling, down at the table, and then meets my gaze, eyes filled with regret and sorrow.

“I should’ve known this would happen. It was just a matter of time before he got to you.”

“Christian, it’s not like that. Dault and I have known one another since I got here; it’s not like he came out of nowhere.”

“No, Etty, he
didn’t
come out of nowhere. He’s treated you like shit from the start, and now…now that he sees you’re happy with me he wants you all for himself.”

“That’s not fair,” I retort.

“
None
of this is fair, Etty. I’ve been by your side since you were brought into the ER that night. I’ve wanted to do whatever I could to make you happy, but it just wasn’t enough.”

A tear begins to fall from my eye.

“I’m sorry, Christian. Things have
always
been complicated with Dault. I just can’t drag you along while I’m not sure what could be between Dault and me. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Sliding to the edge of the booth, he leans his head into his hands and pauses for a moment.

“I get it. Like I said, I knew this was coming, I just didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to fall for his shit again.”

“Christian,” I gasp.

“No, don’t even. I’m not the right guy for you and I won’t sit back and watch him hurt you. It’s been fun while it lasted, Etty, but I’m done. Have a nice life and don’t call me when he breaks your heart. I won’t have the courage to tell you I told you so.”

My mouth is gaped wide open, a dryness forming along my tongue.