The Ties that Bind (Kingdom) Read Free Page B

not.”
    “Oh, she’ll leave with me.”
    “In a way I hope she does. At least that way the more time she spends with you the more she’ll come to know you, and exactly what kind of man you truly are, mistress and all!”
    Hope saw the look of amusement overtake her mother’s face even as her father’s visage changed to astonishment at Taryn’s last comment.
    “Oh my God. You thought I didn’t know. Did you honestly think that I didn’t know that you’ve been changing your mistresses, every two years for the last twenty-two years? I’m a substance abuser, Mason, not an idiot.”
    “Well what about you? Answer that, Taryn… what about you?”
    “I made one mistake, Mason… one, and it was a mistake that I readily admit to. But you know what, if I had it to do over, I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”
    “You bitch!”
    “Yeah, I’m a bitch of your creation, and so is my daughter. I don’t know what happened tonight, but I bet it’s got you written all over it. That man was the first person in her life who could possibly get her away from you. Yet instead of us attending her wedding, she’s here, without Steve; and you’re placating her with ‘Daddy’s going to take care of everything’.”
    “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He wasn’t good enough for her. He was never good enough for her, and she’s better off without him.”
    “He is good enough for her. Stephen Blackman is exactly what and who Hope needs in her life, and if I have anything to do with it, he will be in her life for the rest of her life.”
    “I’ll fight you on this, and you know I’ll win.”
    “I would expect nothing less from you, Mason.”
    Hope had heard enough. Her head was spinning with their constant back and forth jibes for supremacy. As far as she was concerned, she didn’t want a damn thing to do with either of them. They were as bad as each other. No wonder she was such a monumental fuck up.
     

Chapter 3
    Steve knew he was awake, but his mind almost refused to accept it. He knew there was something his subconscious was attempting to pull up, but currently recollection eluded him. Using his other senses, he concentrated on his surroundings in an attempt to focus his mind.
    He could feel that he was laying on his back on cotton sheets, his naked body attested to that. He could hear the sound of an air conditioning unit as it droned in an attempt to cool the air, but his body still felt sticky with sweat.
    Running his tongue across his lips, Steve was aware of the horrible taste of his mouth. The taste that normally came the morning after an over indulgence of alcohol.
    Flashes of light passed behind Steve’s closed eyes, and he instantly recalled what had taken place at the house between Hope and Jason. His hands fisted in the material of the bedding as his breathing intensified until he was panting. Fresh sweat broke out across his body as his agitation grew.
    He didn’t want to remember, but he had no control over the direction his thoughts took him. Over and over again he heard her, Hope. He heard the way she had blatantly propositioned his best friend. The way she threw herself at Jason, refusing to take no for an answer.
    He replayed the way he had stood outside the balcony door and heard it all. He recalled How he had felt as the woman he loved above all others, had ripped his heart out of his chest leaving behind a gaping hole that sent shockwaves of pain through him with every breath.
    Steve’s eyes popped open in an attempt to push away memories of what had taken place. Gazing up at the ceiling, he attempted to regulate his breathing, to take short breaths, but it was no use, calm eluded him.
    Not wanting to look but knowing he had to, Steve slowly turned his head, and only just managed to hold in his groan at what he saw. Spread out beside him were two women he had no recollection of ever having seen before.
    Steve’s eyes sprung to the nightstand. He had no recollection of the past