Chapter Thirty Seven
Six weeks later.
I set my brush down, and stepped back from the easel looking at the painting critically. With Doctor Harper’s permission, Bast had arranged for all my paints and art supplies to be brought to the beach house, and on the tenth day of being here, I’d walked into my very own studio. It had been an emotional moment, and I’d burst into tears, much to Bast’s dismay, and it had taken some work to reassure him that it had actually made me happy, as was his intention. I’d been secretly worrying about my course, and the showcase which was coming up in a month. I didn’t want to miss it, but at the same time, the thought of walking back into the art department at Blackvellyn where I’d met… him… was unthinkable.
Not only had Bast arranged for my things to be brought here, he’d spoken to my professors who now assigned me work remotely and checked in every week over video call. They didn’t know exactly what had happened, Bast had told them I’d been in a car crash and needed to be rehabilitated, and Doctor Warner had backed him up. I was still passing my course, and still good to enter the showcase, assuming I finished in time.
Bast had also found me a counsellor, who visited every two to three days, and although our sessions often lead to nightmares on the nights following, I was definitely starting to feel less haunted. Nate had clearly noticed a difference in me, because I’ve overheard him book his own sessions with her, which made me very happy and so proud that he was moving forward like that.
The last few weeks had been difficult, just as the doctor had said, but Bast and Nate had taken such good care of me. They had switched to studying remotely as well, taking turns to return to Blackvellyn when their courses, or businesses required them to be there in person, but I was never left alone.
This time, it had been Nate’s turn to go back, and even though he’d only been gone two days, I was really missing him.
There was a gentle knock at the door, and I pulled it open a fraction.
“Are you in the zone, or can we talk for a bit?” he asked. I loved the fact that they were learning to leave me alone when I was in the painting zone. Other than bringing me food and drink, they’d let me get on with it, and I’d made surprising progress over the weeks to the point I’d not only caught up, but was going to be ready for the showcase a week or so early.
“I’m good, I’ll come out though.” The series of paintings I was creating for the showcase were something new, and I didn’t want any of them to see any of the paintings until the event. Nate and Bast had both assured me they were coming, and Tristan too, if he was finally out of the hospital. Apparently he’d caused some problems the day Bast and Nate had found me. He’d heard what had happened to me and tried to leave, getting into a fight with two security guards and bursting several stitches as well as triggering some more internal bleeding. They’d had to sedate him, and operate again, and it was only my voice on the phone the next day that had stopped him trying again. We’d spoken on the phone every day since, but I’d called him earlier today and he hadn’t answered.
I followed Bast out onto the deck, enjoying the warmth of the breeze that met me. The house really was beautiful, stretching out over a small private beach, sheltered by trees and screens, and there was a large hot tub on the deck that I now used every night without fail. Doctor Harper had said it was good for softening the scar tissue. Sadly, Bast led me to the recliners rather than the hot tub, and I settled onto the white cushions, leaning back and letting the sun warm me.
Bast passed me a bottle of water, and I smiled at him. I loved that he took care of me so well, and Nate too. After spending so long without anyone caring, being fussed over by two very hot men was becoming rather enjoyable.
“What did you want to talk about?” I asked, after taking a drink.
“I had a call from my detective today,” he began, looking over at me. I nodded and took a deep breath.
“Go on.”
“They’ve completed the excavation on the cottage garden, and so far they’ve found sixteen bodies of young women, dating back about twenty years, they think.”
“Oh God, sixteen?”
“They’ve confirmed one of the bodies was Amy.”
I gripped my bottle staring down at it as the tears fell down my face. I’d known she’d be there, after seeing her jacket, but I’d still hoped that it was only a coincidence.
“The detective’s team believes that he came to our house wanting to take you, and found your mother who was visiting us. She put up a fight, and he killed her, before attacking Tristan and fleeing the scene. The knife that was used on both her and Tristan was found at the house, with the killer’s prints on it.”
I nod, taking a sharp breath as the reality of what he just said sinks in. A shiver runs down my spine, an icy dread settling into the pit of my stomach. It could have been me that ended up in that garden. I would have ended up in that garden, if not for Bast and Nate.
That fact rings in my head, solidifying the terror that”s been haunting me ever since... him. Sixteen young women, and it could have easily been seventeen.
“Are they going to release their names? The girls?” I ask. It seems like such a small question in the face of everything else, but I need to know. Amy was a person, not just another body found in a deranged man”s garden. They all were. They all had names, they all had lives and dreams. Just like me.
“Yes, once their families have been contacted first,” he answers quietly. “There”ll be a press conference.”
A moment passes as we sit there in silence, the only sound being the far-off crash of waves on the beach and distant calls of seagulls overhead.
“Is there anything else I should know?” I finally ask.
Bast glanced back through the door, and I thought I heard a door close inside the house.
“Actually, yes, there is one more thing. You have a visitor.”
I frowned. “Doctor Harper isn’t due for another two days.”
“Well, my name isn’t Harper, but I’m always happy to play doctors and nurses with you, sunshine.”
My heart leapt at the sound of the voice in the doorway and I jumped up from the chair, running across the deck and throwing my arms around him.
“Tristan!”
He gave a quiet grunt as I collided with him, and remembering his injuries, I tried to pull back. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in close, squeezing me so tight I could barely breathe.
“God, I’ve missed you, Paige,” he said, burying his face into my hair.
“I’ve missed you too,” I whispered, my voice choked with tears. He was thinner than before, and there were dark circles under his eyes, but he was here in front of me, alive, and that was enough.
I laughed, a sound of pure joy, pulling back to look at the man I’d missed so much. “You”re out of the hospital,” I stated, more a confirmation for myself than a question.
He nodded, his face serious. “Yeah, they finally let me go. Nate picked me up and we came straight here.”
“But your family… didn’t you want to go and see them first?”
“They visited me in hospital, and we stopped off on the way here to pick up a few things, but I needed to see you, Paige. That image of you on the floor in a pool of blood, it’s haunted me for weeks.”
“That wasn’t me, Tristan,” I reminded him.
He nodded. “I know, but in my dreams it was you, and I just couldn’t wait any longer to see you. To hold you again.”
I looked up at him, tears filling my eyes. “He told me he killed you,” I said. “He soaked up your blood with cloths and brought them with us. He painted me with it.”
“Fuck,” Bast said behind me. I hadn’t told them every detail yet, I wasn’t sure if I ever would.
Tristan reached down, brushing a loose curl away from my face.
“My body, my mind, my heart, it all belongs to you, Paige. Every drop of blood, if you need it. I’m yours completely, Sunshine. Now, how are you doing? Are you ok?”
It was a loaded question. Was I okay? Physically, I suppose I was healing well, but emotionally...I wasn’t so sure.
“I’m getting there,” I said truthfully. “One day at a time.”
Tristan nodded, the corners of his mouth twitching in his familiar half-smile.
“That”s all any of us can do, isn”t it?” he said. “One day at a time.”
“I”m really glad you”re okay, Tristan,” I said softly. He smiled again, reaching out to place his hand over mine.
“Tristan!” Nate’s voice came from the front of the house. “Tristan! A little help, please!”
”Of course I”m okay. Nothing”s going to keep me down for long,” he assured me with a grin. “Oh, and by the way, Bast? I brought a friend along for Paige. I didn’t think you’d mind.”
There was a scuffling noise inside the house, and then a flurry of cream fur came flying through the door, claws scratching over the wood as it collided with me and Tristan.
“Max!” I dropped down to the deck, laughing as the excitable retriever lunged at me, panting and licking as I ran my hands through his fur.
“Dom is going to have you killed,” said Bast, rolling his eyes at Tristan. “And I am not standing up for you.”
“Who’s Dom?” I asked.
“The friend of mine who owns the house. He’s not really an animal lover,” said Bast, glaring at Tristan who grinned and held up his hands.
“He’s not just an animal, right now he’s an assistance animal and they’re allowed everywhere. He’s stress relief for Paige.”
“What do I get for the stress he’s going to cause me?” grumbled Bast.
“Brandy,” answered Nate, stepping out onto the deck. “Tristan picked up a couple of bottles for you on the way down.”
“I might learn to forgive him then,” muttered Bast, fighting a smile.
“You can’t be mad at me, I’m an invalid,” whined Tristan, pulling me back up to my feet, and wrapping his arm around my shoulders.
Bast rolled his eyes again. “How about you make dinner, and we’ll call it quits?”
“Deal,” answered Tristan. He looked down at me, and I melted under that warm smile. “If my little sous chef will help me?”
I tensed up as the memory of the kitchen in the student house flashed through my mind. My mother, her story, David showing up, and the blood…
“It’s ok if you can’t,” he said softly.
I took a deep breath. “No, it’s not. And I’m coming. Lead the way.”
After a delicious meal of steak, new potatoes and salad with an incredible sauce that apparently Tristan had made up on the spot, we relocated outside to the hot tub, my favourite pastime in this beautiful house. After his very own steak, Max had curled up on the white sofa and gone to sleep, much to bast’s disgust. Outside, the sun was setting and the sky was painted with brilliant hues of orange and pink fading into purple.
I stood looking out over the ocean, my white satin rope tied tight around my waist. Tristan came up beside me and put his arm around my shoulders and we stood there for a while, looking out at the sunset. I leaned against him, resting my head on his shoulder.
“I’m sorry for not being there when you needed me the most,” he said quietly. “If I hadn’t forgotten my phone, if I’d just fought harder…”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, don’t say that. It wasn’t your fault.”
“But if I—”
“If I hadn’t opened the door, if I’d just told her to leave, if I’d fought harder, screamed louder… it doesn’t work that way, Tristan. It was his fault. All of it.”
He fell silent, his hold around me tightening a little. “You”re right,” he murmured after a while.
Turning to face him, I reached up to brush a stray lock from his forehead. “You”re here now,” I said softly, meeting his gaze. “That”s all that matters.”
His eyes searched mine for a moment before he pressed his lips to my forehead. “I would do anything for you, Paige. You know that, right?”
“I do.”
The sound of footsteps came from behind us, and we turned together as Bast and Nate came out onto the deck wearing nothing but swim shorts. My eyes drifted over them, enjoying the sight of their lean, muscular bodies, and I smiled at the sight of Nate’s tattoos twisting over his skin. I turned back to Tristan, running my fingers over the raised scars on his bare chest.
“I have a surprise for you,” I said, looking up at him coyly. “And Bast too.”
His hold tightened just a little and heat blazed in his eyes.
“Oh really? And what’s that?”
“Nate and I have been working on a little art project together.”
“Nate? Art? No… Nate and art don’t mix well. I still remember the design lessons at school and the crying teacher.”
“She did not cry,” grumbled Nate.
“She did,” whispered Tristan and I grinned.
“Well, he was pretty helpful with this one.” I stepped back out of Tristan’s arms, and untied the sash around my waist. Slowly, I slid off my robe, letting it fall to the ground in a pool of satin, and Tristan’s mouth fell open as he saw my naked body underneath.
“Do you like it?” I asked, turning to see Bast’s reaction too. He looked just as stunned as Tristan, moving closer to get a better look.
Tristan reached out, trailing his fingertips ever so gently over the climbing rose tattoo that now covered a good deal of my body. Vines climbed up one leg from my ankle, spreading out to wrap around my back and stomach and reaching up over my breasts. Pale pink roses lay between mint green leaves, and though Nate’s roses had thorns, mine didn’t.
“Sunshine, you look so… different…” breathed Tristan. I glanced over at Nate, my nerves growing.
“Different, bad?” I asked, my voice small.
“Different, wow. You look stunning. What made you do this?”
I glanced back at Nate, who nodded.
“I wanted to cover the scars he left. Not because I’m ashamed of them, because I’m not. I survived something horrific, and I’m proud of that, but I survived because of you, and Bast, and Nate. You saved me in that dark room. I knew I couldn’t give up, because of you three. The scars are still there and what happened to me both at home and with him will always be there in my past, but that doesn’t mean my life can’t become something beautiful.”
“You look incredible, sunshine,” Tristan said softly, and I smiled, then turned around to Bast. When Nate had offered to take me, I’d wanted to ask Bast first, but Nate had insisted I needed to make the decision myself. It was my body, and my choice, and he had been right, but I was still nervous how Bast would take it.
“What do you think?” I asked.
His gaze was fixed on the roses over my breasts and he looked up as I spoke.
“I didn’t think you could be any more beautiful than you already were, but then again, you always manage to surprise me, princess.”
He smiled, and I let out my breath as he came forward and brushed his lips over mine.
“God, I love you, woman.”
I blinked.
“What?”
“I said, I love you. Or do only Tris and Nate get to be sappy?” He grinned down at me, and I shook my head, tears in my eyes.
“I like you sappy.”
“Like?” he said, looking down at me.
“I like you sappy. I love you so much just as you are.”
There was a loud pop behind us, and we jumped, both turning our heads to where Tristan stood beside the hot tub, the open bottle of champagne in his hands.
“What?” he said, all innocence. “I just thought we could celebrate.”
Bast laughed. “Well, that’s what I bought it for.”
We climbed into the hot tub, the guys refusing to let me go back to my room for my swimsuit, and Tristan passed around glasses of champagne before climbing in himself.
“What are we celebrating?” I asked.
Bast smiled and raised his glass. “To survival. To healing, and new beginnings.”
“To growing stronger together and being here for each other, as we have so far,” Tristan added.
“To love, above all else,” Nate murmured, meeting my gaze directly.
“To love,” I echoed.
We all sipped at our glasses, and then I reached back, setting mine on the surround, my heart starting to speed up. I’d seen Doctor Warner the day before, and she’d given me the all clear, but it hadn’t seemed right without Tristan here. Now we were all together again, and the night was perfect.
I gave him a cheeky smile, sliding my leg over his and sitting astride him.
“Maybe you should get tattoos as well,” I suggested, sliding my hands down his chest.
“Oh yeah, good idea. I think I’m going to have “Property of Paige Matthews” in huge letters.”
“Really? And where would you have that?” I grinned, my hands dropping lower through the water, fingers tracing down his stomach.
“Why, on my cock, of course!” He grinned and I laughed.
“I thought you said it was going to be huge letters?” asked Nate, and Tris splashed him.
I laughed harder, and Tristan’s eyes flashed. He slid his hands down my back, cupping my ass and pulled me against him. I gasped as I felt his hard cock push against my bare pussy. For a moment, I felt sick, and dizzy, but I focused on Tristan’s eyes gazing into mine and shifted against him.
“Well, maybe not huge, but certainly sizable letters,” I murmured.
Tristan leaned forward, his lips trailing down the side of my neck. “I’ll take sizeable,” he said, pulling me harder against him.
I heard the splashes of water as Nate and Bast moved behind us. Bast touched the side of my face, bringing me around to kiss him, as Nate moved up behind me, his hard chest pressed against my back, his hand stroking down my side.
“Slowly, baby,” he murmured in my ear. “What’s your safe word?”
“Pomegranate,” I said breathlessly as Bast pulled away for a moment.
“Are you sure you’re ok with this, Paige?” Bast asked me, his face serious.
I nodded, taking a deep breath. “I want this. I want all of you. I hate that he was the last person to touch me. I need you everywhere, I want your touch to erase his. I want you to make me yours again.”
“Oh princess,” breathed Bast against my lips. “You’ve always been ours. And you always will be.”