Bedmates Soulmates novel Chapter 87

Claim 

He’s With Another Woman 

Her shrieking was drowned out by the deafening roar of the thunderclouds. 

Kira had been deathly afraid of thunder since she was a little girl. 

It was an intense, almost debilitating fear. 

Clap! 

A storm was about to hit. 

Adrenaline surged through her body. 

Her heart was racing. 

Her mouth was dry. 

Her breathing was fast and shallow. 

Her eyes were wide open but unseeing. 

Boom! 

Another thunderclap signalled impending doom. 

She loved summer and rain, but she hated thunderstorms. 

The thunderclouds seemed to be directly overhead. 

Kira curled up into a ball. 

She tried to tell herself that fear of loud noises was perfectly rational and that it was rare for someone to be killed by thunder or lightning, but facts did little to soothe her anxieties. 

The fear was already deeply entrenched. 

Being all alone in a big house in the middle of a blackout did not help. 

She wanted to crawl under the bed. 

Smaller spaces felt safer. 

But her legs refused to move. 

When Gideon was around, he would always come and find her, gently pull her out from under the bed, hold her in his arms, and stroke her back, cooing in a voice meant for babies. 

‘It’s nothing. You’re going to be fine.” 

He would cover her ears with his big, warm hands. 

Cocooned in his strong arms and enveloped by his scent, Kira could momentarily forget about the terrifying noise. 

But Gideon wasn’t here. 

A flash of lightning lit up the room. 

Boom! 

Crack! 

Kira shut her eyes. 

In her mind, the thunderclouds had morphed into a monstrous giant ten stories tall, striding towards the house with big, earth–shaking steps. 

It was coming for her! 

Boom! 

Kira’s entire body shook. 

She groped desperately for a weapon, anything to defend herself with. 

A hard object cut into her side. 

Realising what it was, she grasped it and pressed the side key. 

The phone screen lit up. 

Austyn’s number was right there. 

She hit “dial.” 

‘Please pick up! Please pick up!” 

She was willing to apologise, surrender, grovel…anything 

Whatever it took to get him to come back here. 

Meanwhile, in Farindon. 

Cora whipped out a compact mirror and checked her makeup. 

Perfect. 

Then she adjusted the straps of her pink babydoll to give her 32D breasts an extra lift. 

She glanced to the bathroom. 

Water was running. 

Cora had offered to give him a hand with the shower, but the tall, dark, handsome man refused. 

She imagined the powerful body underneath the Zegna bespoke suit, and felt herself starting to get hot. Cora arranged herself in bed, trying to strike an alluring pose. 

She wanted the man to see the best side of her when he came out. 

After a night he wouldn’t and couldn’t forget, maybe he would consider taking her with him when he left Farindon. 

Brrring. Brrring. Brrring. 

A ringtone shattered her fantasy. 

Cora searched for the source of the sound. 

It wasn’t her phone. 

She found it on the coffee table. 

The screen was lit up. 

The caller ID showed Kira. 

Brrring. Brrring. Brrring. 

He’s With Another Woman 

It kept on ringing. 

After a quick look towards the bathroom, Cora answered the call. 

‘Austyn, where are you?’ a weepy voice come on the line. Can you come back, please? It’s raining. The thunders are getting louder. I’m scared. Could you-” 

“Sorry, Mr McCarthy is not here. Cora had caught that name when the other man, who appeared to be an assistant, talked to his boss. 

Kira’s mouth hung open, the last sentence stuck in her throat. 

She put her phone in front of her face. 

It was Austyn’s number, but it was a woman’s voice answering the call. 

“Who…who are you?” 

‘I’m the person keeping Mr McCarthy company tonight, Cora said in a breathy voice. “Who are you?” 

Beep beep. 

The call was cut off. 

Cora stared at the screen. “Weird.‘ 

Belatedly, she started to fret. 

It was her client’s phone. 

Would the man be mad to know she’d answered the call without permission? 

Maybe it was best if he did not find out about this. 

Cora tapped her slender fingers on the screen and deleted the call log. 

Kira gripped her phone, still in a daze.