Page 18 of Cuts Like an Angel: Part 2

Chapter Nine

William

Rosie smiled as she kissed him, sending electricity right through his body, and all the way down to his erection that pressed against his jeans. He let himself appreciate the way her dress hugged in against the soft curves of her body, sending his mind to places he was more than happy to go. He wished they could spend their entire time in bed and not have to deal with life.

She disappeared into the kitchen and a moment later, William heard the familiar whoosh as she opened her phone, followed by some furious tapping, and when he followed her, her eyebrows were drawn together, her face fully focused on whoever she was replying to.

“Didn’t answer the phone in the end?” he asked, leaning against the door for a moment, enjoying just being be near her.

“No. It’s just my mom asking if I landed okay.” She raised her eyes to him quickly and then went back to her business. “If I answer, I’ll end up on the phone for hours and you’ll have to amuse yourself.”

“That’s pretty mad typing for just saying, yeah, I’m here,” he said, his mind latching onto the thought that what she was doing didn’t match up to what she was saying. Fucking William ... he almost shook his head just to try to shake off those whisperings. Way to go and bring out the possessive paranoia, shithead.

“Sorry. I’m just apologising, that’s all, letting her know how the flight was. How my trip is, the weather, you know. That kind of thing.”

He couldn’t deny the sense of relief he felt at her reassurance, and then the spike of guilt his mind offered as the two sides of himself clashed. He needed to stop jumping to those conclusions. He needed the William side of him to just quiet and let Josh be in control.

Slipping his jacket off, he hung it on the back of one chair and went to Rosie. She was leaning against the counter, still typing. He bit away the idea that she might be saying more. She’s allowed to message her mum. “You cooked?” He reached over and stirred a simmering sauce-looking type thing before bringing a spoon of it to his lips. “Hmmm, delicious,” he breathed, and then he pressed himself to the front of her, forcing her to lift the phone above him. He leaned in and nuzzled at her neck, “Just like you,” he murmured, making her squirm.

“William …”

He ignored her light protest, sliding himself in her way on purpose, his arm around her waist. She quickly pressed send and when he heard the ping as the message left her phone, he took it from her and placed it face down beside them, eager for this moment just to be with her. “Now, how long until the main course?”

“Twenty minutes?” she said, squealing the last word as in one swift movement, William placed his hands under her arms and lifted her onto the counter.

“Plenty of time then.” Rosie was like that Christmas gift you’re dying to have. Almost like making yourself stop breathing just to get to that moment, but then, when it is right there in front of you, you have to pause and take stock before diving right in. That was what William did … Josh did, his eyes on her, blazing with hunger just to take her, but knowing he couldn’t give into the need to possess her too quickly, or it would all be over.

He slid a hand up her back, hungry fingers resting on her shoulders and pulling her down to him to capture her mouth in a sultry kiss. He didn’t think it would matter how much he kissed her, how much he held her, it would never be enough. She was the thing he would hunger for his entire life. When he deepened their kiss, she opened to him willingly, inviting him to take liberty of what she was offering, and he pressed her backwards against the cabinet.

She moaned softly into his mouth and he broke away only to trail hot kisses along her neck, nipping his way along her skin. She gripped his shoulders, her legs tightening around his waist. He pressed her closer to him, working on the curve of her neck and her collar bone as his hands slid up along the smooth skin of her thigh until he found the edge of her panties. A ragged breath left her as he hooked his fingers into the band and slid them down, his mouth never leaving her.

He let out his own groan as her fingers traced up the back of his neck and sank into his hair, pushing his head down to the soft mounds of her breasts that were visible above the line of her clothing. His body seemed to crave her the way he had never craved anyone before … never allowed anyone to be this close to him. But fuck, there was something about Rosie.

He fixed his eyes on hers as he slid the fabric of her clothes from her shoulders, pulling it down both sides, slowly revealing the milky skin of her breasts. He was opening a gift, and he allowed himself to trail his gaze down, feasting his eyes on what she was offering to him. She let out a gasp when he leaned down and captured her nipple, sucking it, rolling it with his tongue until it hardened, then he went to the other side and did the same.

“William …” Rosie murmured as she arched, pushing herself further into his mouth. He pressed a hand to her back, holding her in place so that he could carry on with his onslaught.

The phone buzzed beside them, vibrating its way across the counter as someone called Rosie, making them both groan.

“Shit,” she said, slamming her hand down on top of it.

“Mum?”

Rosie nodded, her breaths still ragged, but her face changed to disappointment when William grabbed the front of her top and pulled it back up to cover her breasts. “Maybe you need to call her. She obviously wants you to.”

“It’s better if I don’t.”

“Well, she’s just going to end up calling every five minutes. So maybe get it over with?” He leaned to kiss her again, resting his hands on her thighs. “I’ll grab myself a shower. I feel crappy from riding today. It’s throwing it down outside.” He handed her the panties he had removed, before giving her a choice. “We’ll just have dessert instead,” he said, winking when he saw the expression flash across her face. “Don’t worry.”

He nipped out of the kitchen quickly before she could say anything or tell him that she would deal with her mother later. His mind was suddenly clamouring inside for something … an unease that fought. William pushing back against Josh. Pushing back about doing those things, being in control. He needed to be away from Rosie before his stupid mind took full throttle of his common sense and started to demand she show him the phone, explained the photograph and just dissolved into a pool of William Worries. He wasn’t going to be that guy. If she was lying to him, the truth would come out sooner or later. He had to trust her.

Rosie is different.

Yeah, he could tell himself that as much as he wanted.

That’s what they all say isn’t it? I thought she was different. Suck it up William. Suck that shit right up.

He closed and locked the door in the bathroom and any thoughts about Rosie leaving and lying soon disappeared when he opened the bathroom cabinet. She had lined her things up perfectly. Literally perfectly. Like she had placed each one on an invisible marker that he had made. Had she done that because she was neat and liked order? Or because she thought he was a fucking freak and liked things to be just right.

He stared at the bottles and creams like they were offending him. Not just hers, but his too. He tapped his fingers on the porcelain sink as his mind ticked over. He moved one bottle and then the next and then another. Like he was playing a game of chess in the bathroom cabinet, only the king and queen were him and Rosie … maybe he was the pawn?

Stop it.

He had to press his fists to his temples for a moment, jamming in the knuckles so that it worked like an electric shock to restart his brain. “It’s just fucking bottles. Bottles. It means nothing.” He raised his eyes to meet those of his reflection. “I hate you. You’re such a freak.” He fixed himself with a glare, staring until his eyes began to water and the image opposite melded into that of his other self—Josh. Why couldn’t he just have been Josh? Josh who was perfect. No insecurities, no fucked-up thoughts. Josh, who had his life in control and didn’t need damn bottles all in a neat line.

When his head cleared a little and he could think without his brain becoming like a web woven by a spider on crack, he moved the bottles and tubes so that they were just neat, but not in a line, no order … like a normal person. Josh … not William the nutcase. He closed the cabinet on them, forgetting what he actually wanted from it.

Hastily, he took off his clothes and tossed them in the basket before turning on the shower. He didn’t really need to shower because of the rain; his skin smelt like the hospital. He hated that smell—disinfectant and death. It clogged the pores like a sewage, and he had to wash it away. It reminded him too much of his mother. Nothing like dragging your kid along with you to the family planning clinic for free supplies for her job. The only thing he liked about those trips was getting a free lollypop and a sticker. Of course, his mother always ripped the sticker off if he didn’t hide it well enough, and she’d trash the lolly if he hadn’t finished it by the time she got him alone outside.

But she was gone now, wasn’t she? He’d seen to it that she could never take anything away from him ever again. No one would.

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