THE SECOND DECEPTION (EBOOK)

My eyes fluttered open, and I found myself in unfamiliar surroundings.  A sharp pain pulsed through my head, making me wince. The room seemed to tilt and sway around me.  I tried to lift my arm, but a dull ache radiated through my shoulder and down to my fingertips.  

Every breath sent a twinge through my ribs.  I felt as though I’d been put through a meat grinder, each movement revealing a new source of pain.  

I swallowed hard, pressing my hand against whatever I laid against.  Warmth shot back through my fingertips, startling me.  

Something tickled my arm as I shifted my head, craning my neck to glance upward.  My heart stopped as I spotted Ethan Sterling.  

This must be a nightmare.  What was I doing in his arms?  Why was my head splitting?  And why did I feel like I’d been through a war?

My lower lip startled to tremble as I pushed away from him.  No.  This couldn’t be.  

I must have fallen asleep after I’d arrived home from the flat tire incident and dreamt that Ethan had brought me to the cabin after we’d argued.  

“Hey,” his voice said as he rubbed my arm. 

“Ethan?” My voice cracked as my features pinched.  Nothing made sense.  

He shifted me out of his arms, laying me back on a pillow.  I suddenly realized I was lying in bed.  A wave of nausea passed over me as my pulse quickened.  

“Easy,” he said as he reached to stroke my hair.  “Easy, Livvie.  You were in an accident.”

“What?” My mind stretched to make sense of those words.  Details began to flood back into my mind.  

The sickening screech of metal on metal.  Airbags exploding.  Pain blooming before only blackness surrounded me.  

“Yeah, it’s okay, though, you’re okay,” he said, his voice soft and soothing.  “Someone plowed into the Lamborghini.  I think they did it on purpose, but it’s okay.  You’re safe now.”

Lamborghini?  My mind filled in the details.  He’d insisted I drive his car back to town.  I’d spotted a car revving its engine as the buildings had filled in around us.  Then the car, screaming into the intersection as I approached it, slamming into me.  

My gaze darted around the room as I tried to figure out what had happened after that accident.  “Where are we?  Why are we not at the hospital?”

“It’s okay, Olivia. I’m protecting you.  Like I said, someone did this on purpose.  We need to lay low for little bit, okay?  But it’s fine…it’s perfect actually.”

I couldn’t understand what he was talking about.  It was too many things at once.  I’d barely been able to cope with the idea that I’d been in an accident that had apparently knocked me unconscious for what appeared to be an extended period of time.  But on top of that, I hadn’t been taken to a hospital, I’d been taken somewhere else…by a man who didn’t like to hear the word no.  

And now he claimed the accident had been deliberate.  

Tears formed in my eyes as I fought the panic rising within me.  

He grinned, rubbing my cheek with his thumb.  “Whoever did this…they did us a favor.  We get our weekend early.  You’re going to stay here with me.  And I’m going to show you exactly why we belong together.”