Page 20 of Blind Sin

I nod my head slightly. I no longer feel as though I’m going to pass out, but the thought of being in deep water has my heart pounding.

“Good girl. I'm going to lift you out of the pool. Dacre will help you, okay?” Nolan reassures me, but I resist, shaking my head and clinging even harder to him, reluctant to part from the safety of his arms.

Alexander's voice cuts through the haze of my anxiety, bringing me back to the present. “Lauren, remember when we were at that party, and you quite rightly bawled me out for leaving you alone? You were scared that you wouldn't know where to go if there was an emergency.”

I bite my bottom lip, the memory of that night vivid in my mind, including what happened in the car afterwards. It's not an experience easily forgotten.

Alexander continues, his words calm and soothing. “Well, this is like that, except I'm here, and I'm not going to leave you. Let go of Nolan's neck, and I'll pull you from the pool.”

The fear of the water is all consuming, but I let Alexander take my arm and then I surrender to him. He wraps his arms around me and hoists me out of the pool where I land on top of him on the pool deck.

“What the Fuck are you doing?” Lucy’s voice cuts through the silence. I roll off Alexander onto the deck and bring my knees up to my chest. Now that I no longer feel like I’m dying, I realize I’m still in my bra and panties, but little else.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Nolan gripes. “She’s got heatstroke. I had to get her in the water.”

My body begins to shake and I suddenly feel tired. We’ve been here less than twenty four hours and already I’m causing the rift between Lucy and the three men that brought us here to widen.

“They saved me, Lucy.” I feel tears dripping down my face. I don’t even know why I’m crying, but it’s probably because I don’t want to be the cause of more stress. We’re all under enough already and I feel like I’m being helpless when I want the opposite. I thought I’d come into my own once I was away from my father, but I literally can’t be in a swimming pool without panicking.

“What?”

“We needed to cool her down,” Nolan explains and I hear the water lapping around him as he pulls himself out of the pool. “I think she’ll be alright, but look at the fucking state of her. Her face and hands are burnt.”

“I slathered her in factor fifty and left her fully clothed under a parasol.” Lucy’s voice falters. “I should have been watching her.”

“Don’t beat yourself up,” Alexander cuts in. “Her skin has literally never seen sun. Of course it’s going to burn quicker than anyone else’s. More iced water, a couple of painkillers and a fuck ton of after-sun and she’ll be good as new. She’s not that burnt.”

I hate how they are talking about me as though I’m a helpless puppy and as I stand, someone helps me.

“I’m so sorry, Lauren,” Lucy says, telling me it’s her arm wrapped around my waist and not one of the men. “I thought I protected you enough. I’ll not leave you for a second ever again.”

Frustration bites at me. I feel totally fine now except for a slight stinging of the skin on my hands and face. “You don’t need to watch me all the time, Lucy. Nolan found me. It was my fault anyway. I should have noticed that I was burning.”

“How could you know?” she counters. “You don’t even know how damaging the sun can be to normal skin. I promise I won’t let this happen again.

She leads me inside and the coolness of the air con hits my bare skin, making me shiver. In my room, Lauren begins to douse me in after sun. As she guides the cream over me, I almost wish her hand was Nolan’s hand, or Alexander’s... And then I remember the way Josh touched me and the thought of one hand, turns into the thought of three.

13

MERCIER

Ican’t keep still as I wait outside Sinful’s door.

“Don’t knock,” Dacre cautions, but I can see he’s as tense as I am and wants to know what’s happening with our girl as much as I do. I don’t want to knock. I want to burn the whole fucking door down and see that she’s alright. His eyes move skittishly from me to the door. He’s right. Knocking will only piss off Lucinda more, and even though it was kinda her fault Sinful is in this mess, I doubt she’ll just let us go in there and see her. But I’m feeling skittish and seeing Lauren is the only thing that will calm this itch.

The door opens before I have time to make my mind up and Lucinda stops, apparently surprised to see us.

“She’s in bed,” Lauren whispers, closing the door silently behind her.

“I want to see her,” I assert, but Lucinda blocks the doorway, arms folded, her mouth set in a thin line.

“That’s’ not going to happen. She needs to rest.”

Irritation burns in my veins. “No. She can rest after I see that she’s okay.” I don’t care that she’s practically Hollywood royalty. No one keeps my girl from me. I push past Lucinda and open the door. Lucinda hisses something under her breath, but it’s too late to do anything. I’m already in Sinful’s room. She smiles when she hears me approach the bed and I get the sneaking suspicion that she already knows it’s me. Like she’s got some psychic shit going on.

“Nolan,” she says, confirming my suspicions. “I’m so sorry I scared everyone. Thank you for saving me.”

She could have died, and she’s apologizing. I’d almost forgotten that she’s all kinds of fucked up.

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