Tess shook her head. “I love him, Mother. I have for years and I was too scared to admit to it. But I’m even more frightened of being alone and bitter, without at least having this time with him.”
Silence held the room. She thought she heard Cole whisper a reverent “Thank God.” But she wasn’t certain.
“You will,” Ella screamed furiously, her fists clenching at her side, her eyes glittering wildly. “You won’t stay with these monsters.”
“Perhaps it’s where I belong.” Tess wanted to cry out at the hurt that flashed in her mother’s eyes. “I love Cole, Mother, and I’m not ashamed of that, or what I’ve done. I enjoyed it.”
Ella opened her mouth to say more.
“Don’t speak, Ella,” Jason snapped. “Keep your mouth shut and leave her the hell alone.”
“You don’t control me, Jason,” Ella bit out, her body trembling. “You didn’t while we were married and you don’t now.”
“Probably what her problem is,” Cole whispered at Tess’s ear.
Her eyes widened for a moment before she put her elbow in his hard stomach. He only chuckled.
“I will if you don’t keep that viperous tongue quiet,” he growled. “And trust me, Ella, you better be careful. You may find out the monsters you hate so much are more a part of you than you know.”
“I’m not part of this,” Jesse finally sighed as he finished dressing. “I’m heading out of here, boys and girls. See you at the office, Cole.” He slapped Cole on the shoulder before leaving the room.
Ella’s eyes followed him, narrowed, furious.
“Mother, perhaps you should leave as well.” Tess took a hard, deep breath. “We’ll discuss this later, when we’re both calmer.”
Ella turned back to her. The perfectly groomed cap of auburn hair framed a surprisingly young face. At forty-two, Ella Delacourte looked nearly a decade younger.
But she was more bitter and vengeful than any woman twice her age, with a much harder life. “Come with me now, Tess, or I won’t allow you back in my home.” Ella’s lips thinned as she stared at her daughter, ice coating her voice. “You’ll no longer be a daughter of mine.”
Tess trembled. She had never seen her mother so angry.
“I’m sorry, Mother.” She shook her head. “I can’t.” Ella drew herself erect. She cast her ex-husband a dark look then turned and stalked from the house. Tess flinched as the front door slammed closed behind her.
“She’ll settle down, Tess,” Jason said gently. “You know how your mother gets.” Tess ran her fingers through her hair as she took a hard, deep breath.
“She won’t forgive me, Father,” she said, her voice low, thick with tears. “Not ever.
No more than she ever forgave you.”
“Tess,” Cole’s voice was soft, gentle as his arms wrapped around her, holding her.
What a perfect feeling, she thought, to be held so tight, so warm against him. But how long would it last? How long could it last? She loved him, but how could he love her? Had her own desires, her unnatural needs lost her the love of the only man she had ever truly wanted?
CHAPTER TWELVE
The question followed Tess through the rest of that night. Cole didn’t come to her bed. For the first time in six nights, he wasn’t beside her, tempting her, teasing her with his body, his lust. She lay in the middle of the big bed, staring silently up at the vaulted ceiling, the loneliness of the room smothering her. God help her, if she couldn’t get through one night without him, how would she handle the rest of her life?
What had she done? Had her desire to experience with him everything his other women had been her downfall? Had her envy, her depravity, ruined the only chance she had to make him love her? She swallowed the tight knot of fear in her throat.
Realistically, she had known that her chances of capturing his heart were slim. She just hadn’t expected it to be over so soon.
Realizing she wouldn’t be sleeping any time soon, Tess got up, pulling on the bronzed silk robe that lay at the bottom of the bed and belting it firmly. She slipped her feet into soft, matching slippers and left the room. She would prefer to sit in the kitchen, drowning her sorrows in the chocolate mint ice cream her father kept on hand, rather than wallowing in them.
As she stepped into the hallway, she followed the bright light spilling from the kitchen further up the hall. She halted in surprise at the doorway. Dressed in a thick robe, her blonde hair attractively mussed, her surprisingly pretty face free of makeup, sat Missy, digging into a bowl of the mint flavored chocolate, the box sitting temptingly in front of her.
“Great minds think alike?” Missy flashed her a smile as she looked up, waving the spoon in her hand at the cabinet. “Grab a bowl.” Tess walked to the cabinet and did just that, then sat down at the other side of the rounded table and began to spoon in a large portion.
“Nothing settles the nerves like Chocolate Mint,” Missy sighed. “And I guess today rates as definitely that.”
“I’m sorry,” Tess apologized, genuinely regretful that she had caused her stepmother any pain. “I didn’t expect Mother to show up.” Missy paused, her spoon suspended above her bowl as she flashed Tess a frown.
“Tess, I’m not upset for me,” she said sincerely. “I’m upset for you and Cole. Your private choices should not be aired in such a manner. Cole was furious, of course, that she hurt you. But I was angry for your sake.”
“Why?” Tess frowned. “We’ve never been close. We barely get along.” A knowing smile tipped Missy’s pale lips.
“Tess, you fight with someone when you feel threatened, and when you care without a safety net, an assurance that you are cared for as well. I know that. I used to be the same way, until I met Jace.”
Tess hunched her shoulders. Missy’s assessment was much too close to the truth.
“That’s how I knew you loved Cole.” Missy dropped her next bombshell. “At first, it was just general sniping, but as he teased and flirted and pushed you, it became outright fighting on your side. I knew then your heart was involved.” Tess nearly choked on the spoonful of ice cream she was attempting to swallow.
How could anyone, especially airhead Missy, who wasn’t such an airhead after all, know her better than she knew herself?
“Have I lost him?” Tess couldn’t keep the longing, the fear from her voice as she stared back at the other woman.
“Lost Cole?” Missy laughed in surprising amusement. “Tess, Cole has been fighting for your attention for over two years now. What the future will bring, I don’t know. But I sincerely doubt you have anything to worry about for the present.” This did little ease to her worry.
“He hasn’t returned.” She shrugged, dropping her eyes to her bowl. “Maybe I disgusted him. Maybe I was supposed to refuse when Jesse came in?” When Missy didn’t answer, Tess risked a quick look.
The other woman watched her sympathetically, warmly.
“Cole is different from other men,” she said as Tess watched her worriedly. “How different, is up to you to discover. But I’ve known him all his life, and I know Cole doesn’t play games. If he invited Jesse, then he wanted it too. He wouldn’t try to trap you, Tess, or hurt you. You have to trust him that far.”
“I’m scared,” Tess admitted, her eyes going back to the melting ice cream. “I don’t know how to handle what I feel and what I want.”
“Do any of us?” Missy’s chuckle was self-mocking. “It takes meeting the man who can give us what we need, who knows, because it’s what they need. I know, Tess, because that’s what your father and I have. A relationship that fulfills what both of us need.”
“Mother never loved him.” Tess knew that, had known it for a long time.