Westham Night and Day: Temptation

Volume 2
1. Auflage 2016
ISBN: 978-3-7392-3799-2
Verlag: BoD E-Short
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 6 - ePub Watermark

E-Book, Englisch, Band 2, 212 Seiten

Reihe: Night and Day

As in Part I of her novel-debut, Carla Westham lets loose again with her brilliant narration in Part II, the crackling continuation of her erotic thriller: Albeit in the first volume Michael Clay was able to save his fiancée from the clutches of his rival, Peter Sullivan, the events in the second novel are directly connected with Sophie's difficult past. Her sister, Eva, tries to bring him closer to the story of her family and reveals her shocking secret to him. Clay dives deeper and deeper into a whirlpool of erotic and deadly tales that surround the two sisters. As Lucifer, the personification of the devil, appears in front of him, it is almost too late, and a fight between life and death takes place. We anxiously await what Eva, the individual adversary, will make of it!

Caral Westham is Born 4th of August 1968 in Landsberg a. Lech, Germany. She is an successful entrepreneur and loves writing books. Today she is living with her husband and three kids in South Africa.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Westham, Carla

Leseproben

Chapter 1

Exhausted, Michael Clay leaned on the large window of his living room on the twenty-sixth floor and cooled his forehead on the glass surface. He had been trying for hours to sort out his thoughts and feelings. The occurrences of the previous night had moved his emotional meter to Danger-Red Alert; his rampaging adrenalin had oiled his emotional motor, set him in gear, and was robbing him of his sleep, without mercy.

His face was marked by sleep deprivation, his eyes were framed by dark shadows, and yet he was incapable of sleeping even for a few minutes. Once again, he traversed the area between the generously-sized kitchen and the living room window, running his hands – with fistfight-raw knuckles – unconsciously through his hair again and again, then across his face, stopping finally at his beard, which he usually kept carefully groomed but which now seemed a little matted.

As if in slow motion, the images of the previous night appeared before his mind’s eye. Sophie, as she hung from the ceiling in that dark torture chamber, naked and apathetic, fastened by a Carabine snap hook; Peter’s face distorted in pain as Michael’s fist smashed his cheekbone with full force; the fear and the rage that he felt, and finally the great relief that Sophie was still alive.

The emotions that he experienced as he learned that Sophie was considerably older than he had believed until now, a fact that relieved him considerably; and not least, the moving ride home, during which he declared his love for her and asked her to marry him. These were stirring experiences that he had to process.

He had to swallow hard when thinking of that extraordinary moment when he actually affirmed his love, and he didn’t regret having taken that step. With this moving confirmation it was abundantly clear to him that his life would change from top to bottom, and that it was right. Sophie’s face appeared again in his thoughts, how she smiled happily and returned his gentle kiss.

He still had the scent of her hair in his nose and a smile played around his mouth. How good it was to feel her in his arms, her nearness, her warmth, and her trust. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.

Only by summoning all powers of persuasion could Cathy finally convince him to return Sophie to her own room. He left her only when the physician whom Cathy had called stepped into her room. He had held her in his arms the entire trip from the car to her home; he would have preferred not to have let her go at all. Sophie was extremely tired; she was spent, but astonishingly collected. How bravely she had endured everything!

Again and again, he marveled about her ability to bear pain and sorrow. Measured according to what she had been subjected up to now, her stable mental condition was more than surprising. He felt a deep admiration for the girl whom he wanted to take as his wife; she was so strong and yet she seemed so fragile. He missed her already, after just a few hours, but to leave her alone was the best decision for all involved. She was being cared for medically and psychologically under Cathy’s oversight, to which he had entrusted her, and who seemed to be doing the right thing.

Suddenly, the sun blinded him, appearing above the rooftops and beaming its rays toward his face with amazing strength, as if to announce the arrival of the summer months. He turned away from the window and looked at his watch; it was 6:30 am. He hadn’t slept a wink the entire night, but didn’t feel tired; it was astonishing what a person can do when he is under great stress.

A quiet rustling in the hallway attracted his attention. With a tentative “Mr. Clay?” his housekeeper, Zoe, came through the door and looked at him in disbelief. “You’re up already? I didn’t expect you to be awake yet!”

“It was a restless night,” he responded concisely. That was the understatement of the century! I would like very much to have something warm to drink before I get dressed. Would you be so kind as to make me a Cappuccino, Zoe?”

“But of course, Mr. Clay; right away!”

With a smile, he observed her eager response – Zoe had arrived at the right moment. Sighing, he decided to take the day as it comes and perhaps return home from the office a little earlier, depending on when he would be overcome by fatigue. He knew it would catch up with him at some point, possibly when he relaxed a little, at the latest.

The hot Cappuccino banished his thoughts and fatigue, but also awakened some hunger pangs. He sprinkled a little sugar over the foam and spooned it carefully into his mouth. It tasted divine and brought several of his senses that had already threatened to go to sleep back to life.

“I’ll be in for breakfast in half an hour, Zoe! I need a little more time in the bath.” With that, he disappeared into his bedroom which had not been touched during the night.

A half hour later, spic and span, he sat down on the barstool in his three-piece suit to read the Times. Zoe had hung his jacket over the chair, but he was in no hurry today.

At 7:30 am on the dot, the doorbell rang. Michael didn’t expect anyone, but it was pretty clear who would be at the door at this hour. Theo was already at the elevator and was ushering the two visitors inside.

Michael stood up politely and greeted Sophie’s sister Eva with a nod. He respected her reluctance to extend her hand to others and waited to see if she would approach him. Without hesitation, she stretched out her hand and grasped his – a kind of gesture to signal her sympathy, he was sure. Another step closer, he thought, completely beside the point.

Despite the early morning hour, Eva again looked fantastic. She was wearing a close-fitting black jumpsuit with a deep décolleté, and a rhinestone-studded belt with rivets and pearls around her waist. Brilliant-cut diamond studs sparkled on her ear-lobes, and no other accessories were to be seen. Her make-up was perfect as always: a dark gray was blended with the black kohl to provide a painterly background for her deep blue eyes. It was only her eyes that betrayed that she might be tired – the whites were marked by small red veins. It is astonishing that this woman actually ever gets tired!  

Eva introduced the man at her side. “Michael, this is Professor Shelby; he has been treating Sophie for a number of years and was here last night to help Sophie begin to recover.” As always, her voice was cold and emotionless, but her tone didn’t sound as assured as during their other encounters. Michael assumed that she was somewhat nervous, but didn’t let on, and greeted the stocky man at her side with a friendly handshake.

Professor Shelby appeared to be in his late fifties, with a face as wrinkled as his suit, but he gave the impression thereby of being very approachable. He smiled pleasantly, and small wrinkles formed around his eyes. Thick tortoise-shell glasses dominated his face, and made his eyes appear larger than they were; it was as if he could see through a person, which was surely useful in his profession.

Presumably he was awakened in the middle of the night and had put on his shirt and suit in the dark!

Michael smiled to himself as he noticed that the professor had forgotten to button a couple of buttons on his shirt. It didn’t make much difference in the big picture, but Michael noticed it immediately because he had an eye for such details. The shirt collar also didn’t sit properly, and he wasn’t wearing a tie. Nonetheless, it all seemed appropriate for the friendly type of person who stood across from Michael and introduced himself as Professor Chris Shelby.

“Would you like to sit down? Coffee or tea?” Zoe stood attentively but not too closely beside him. Both visitors shook their heads, and Zoe politely withdrew to busy herself with Clay’s breakfast. Eva seemed hardly able to wait to turn to the topic that had prompted their visit.

“Mr. Clay, Cathy called me during the night and I came over immediately. Sophie will spend a couple of days in my clinic under observation.”

Michael inhaled deeply. “How is she doing now?”

“She is stable, amazingly stable! Beyond that, she has a more than sufficient number of black and blue marks, but the physical pain is not what concerns me, it’s the psychic aftermath that I fear. But so far there doesn’t appear to have been a relapse into her earlier psychosis; she seems to have a clear goal and you have a considerable responsibility for that.”

He smiled encouragingly. “Are you ok at this point? Do you need any help? You certainly also experienced a few unsettling things last night?”

Michael was surprised by his concern; he hadn’t thought about needing help himself because of his worries about Sophie. He looked at the little man very seriously, pointed to the sore knuckles on his hands, and responded quietly but very deliberately: “I most certainly suffered the least damage last night; I’m fine, thank you!”

And he added with a smile: “Besides it was also a very intense and moving moment that I was able to experience with Sophie.”

“You are speaking of your marriage proposal?” Shelby looked at him both knowingly and questioningly at the same time. Eva exchanged a quick glance with Michael and nodded imperceptibly. He inhaled deeply again and responded to Shelby’s question. “Yes, I would like her to be my wife. She has mentioned it to you already?”

“Yes, she is extremely happy about it; that has surely helped her cope with this situation. I would very much wish her this happiness!” As he said this, Shelby looked at Michael piercingly. His overly large eyes penetrated into Michael’s and tried to...