Frayed (Torn #2)(42)

Lindsey shook her head as she placed her sunglasses on. “I don’t know. We had this similar conversation before you went back to my brother, remember? You chose him over Bass. I want you to be happy, that’s all I care about. If you do think about it, just know that a man like Bass Cole will not take second rejection lightly. In a sense, Bass and I are alike in that department. I could just tell by the way he talks, his beliefs and how he treats people. He’s a great man, but he has limitations, Em. No matter how crazy you are about a person, without trust, that’s shit goes downhill pretty fast. Just be careful, okay?”

Emma nodded before responding. “Yeah, I will.”

Was that what happened with Brody? Must be. Lindsey seriously forbade us from ever speaking his name while on vacation. Yes, we were on a yacht on vacation and yet we were all so depressed. “Right, now that we got the bad doo-doo out of the way, can we have some fun now?” I threw my sunglasses at Lindsey.

She stuck a tongue at me and handed her iPad over. “Here, bust out some good beats while I go get those guys to make us some drinks and cater to us.”

I arched my brow at Emma when Lindsey left us. Emma simply smiled and started to untie the string from her back. She was on her chest with her eyes closed. “Good music, please,” she mumbled.

“Yes, missy.” The playlist I chose had Kesha, Maroon 5, Rihanna, LMFAO among others. We certainly needed upbeat songs to lift Emma’s spirits.





Chapter 16


Trista


Lindsey came back with the four, buff crewmen dressed in white cargo shorts and white, crewneck, cotton shirts. One of the men with brown hair and brown eyes held a tray of champagne flutes containing pink liquid topped with frothy pink stuff, while the second man had a tray of snacks. The third had stacks of towels and the fourth one had all types of lotions and oils in a silver bucket.

The guy with the champagne flutes came over and handed me one. “Strawberry bellini.” He then gave one to Emma before handing one to Lindsey.

“Trista, this is Jacques. He’s French and he’s going to be your masseuse.” Lindsey referred to the guy who handed us our drink. She sounded so blasé about it, like we did this on a daily basis.

Holy shit, Lindsey worked fast. Was this even allowed?

“Antonis and Gino here will take care of Emma.” She directed the two Greek men to Emma, whose eyes sparkled mischievously.

Yeah, who wouldn’t if you had two men to cater to you?

“I get Preston here.” Lindsey downed her drink and turned onto her stomach.

Was I the only one who was shy and hesitant here? Emma had her eyes closed as one of her men started to work on her hand, the other on her foot. “Do you want me to untie your bikini?” Jacques said in fluent English with a hotter-than-thou French accent. His hand was located on the tied strings on my spine.

“Sure, untie away,” I mumbled. It was somehow erotic when he applied the oil on my back and on my legs. My shyness dissolved as the Frenchman worked his magic on my back. Trust Lindsey to distract Emma in the most awesome way. Now, I couldn’t really blame rich housewives cheating on their husbands if you had guys like these at your beck and call.

To be quite honest, I think Lindsey’s plan was to rouse some emotion out of Bass. This was Lindsey’s vindictive, evil twin working. I was sure that the whole once-over Bass gave to that woman earlier was noted, especially since we knew the whole exotic brunette with an accent preference of his. The agreement Bass and Emma had bothered Lindsey. Then let’s not forget Dimitris. Lindsey meant well, but if I ever had confided about what I had gone through with Harry then, I don’t think he would’ve survived it. Since Lindsey lost her parents in that tragic accident, she held her friends close to her heart and went overboard to protect us sometimes. That’s Lindsey, passionate and feisty to the very core.

I was drifting in and out of sleep when I faintly heard Bass’s chatty voice from afar. I could hear footsteps drawing near, and so I twisted my head to the other side, away from where they were approaching. Bass was now on the stairs and Taylor was with him, talking. “Missed out on ice climbing last year, but this year is on. It’s a blast—What the hell Emma!”

Heck, I was way too curious not to watch Bass Cole lose it before my eyes, so I turned my head back to watch the action. Bass was shooting daggers at the guys who were touching Emma. When they tried to apologize and started to leave, Emma interrupted. “It’s fine Antonis and Gino, please continue.” The guys went back to kneading her shoulders and her thighs. She then spoke to the golden boy. “Bass, don’t be an ass. It’s only a massage. Think nothing of it. I’ll see you in a bit.”

My eyes flickered towards Taylor who simply shook his head and left the scene. Yeah, we were definitely involved at only a physical level; no more no less.

“If you want a massage then I will give you one.”

“Honestly, Bass two hands to four? I’m good.” Emma then turned her head away from him. It was a cue for Bass to leave her alone, but that gesture didn’t sway him.

Damn, she was beyond jealous with that Katarina woman.

“I’m giving you sixty seconds. If you don’t get up and wrap that towel around you, I’m going to haul your ass out of here, with or without that bikini top. I don’t think I deserve to suffer like this, Emma.”