Three's A Crowd Read online

  Three's A Crowd

  by Zee Shine Storm

  (Book 1 of the FORBIDDEN series)

  Table of Contents

  Three's A Crowd

  Copyright

  Blurb

  Playlist

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  BOOK 2 TEASER! (Once A Cheater)

  Other Books by Zee Shine Storm

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Copyright

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Three's A Crowd © 2020 by Zee Shine Storm

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  October 2020 Edition.

  Blurb

  Skye

  When I first fell for him, the man of my dreams, I never imagined for a moment that he could be in love with someone else. I certainly did not imagine that someone else would be his long-term boyfriend, the same man who had been eyeing me like he wanted to eat me alive mere weeks ago.

  Cole

  I have been in love with Jasper Wells since I first laid eyes on him. It felt like we were two halves of a whole. We were perfect together. So then, why did I find myself yearning for her?

  Jasper

  From the minute I found out about her, I hated her with a passion. I wanted to destroy her for being the reason Cole decided I was no longer enough for him. But what I was not prepared for was the way she ended up destroying me.

  ***

  Note : This story is an MMF romance and contains mature themes meant for 18+ readers only.

  Playlist

  *Becky G : Shower.

  *Selena Gomez : Hands to Myself.

  *Ashlee Simpson : Pieces of Me.

  *Ellie Goulding : Beating Heart.

  *Taylor Swift : Blank Space.

  *Brick N Lace : Love is Wicked. (Danley Remix.)

  *James Arthur : Say You Won't Let Go.

  *3 Doors Down : Kryptonite.

  *Sam Smith : Fire on Fire.

  ~~~

  (Find the playlist on my YouTube channel : Zee Shine Storm)

  Dedication

  For my ZeeStormers!

  Forever grateful.

  Prologue

  Finale Ligure,

  ITALY.

  Skye

  Feeling the gentle lapping of pool water against my skin brought on a strange sense of peace. It was quiet up here. The morning sun was the only thing keeping me company. If you did not count my loneliness.

  One of my good friends from college, Olivia, had invited me over to spend the weekend at her mountaintop villa in Finale Ligure, just a couple of hours drive from Milan, complete with a rooftop pool and all.

  It was only seven in the morning but I had gotten up early because inspiration had knocked and I had been only too happy to answer. The result of that inspiration now stood at one corner of the patio. A dewy, yellowish Italian dawn painted using bold, confident strokes. My lips curved up in a smile before I rose from the pool and picked up a towel to wipe my hair.

  The paintings kept me company too. I had been doing it for as long as I could remember but I never imagined I would be so good at it that people would actually pay me for my pieces or pay for me to teach them the basics of painting. I had a few, very wealthy private clients in Milan and it helped support my lifestyle in a European country after having moved here from London two years ago.

  A prickle of awareness made me look up from my task and musings. Frowning slightly, I searched the rooftop area before my gaze shifted upwards and I froze, feeling more than a little creeped out.

  Adjacent to the villa, was a small hotel and I could see a man on one of the balconies, leaning against the railing.

  Watching me.

  A tall, blonde guy with bulging muscles. I glared at him but he did not seem fazed as his eyes ran over my bikini-clad body. His hands were actually cradling a camera. Shit. Did he just...?

  I couldn't be sure if he had been standing there taking pictures of me or if his gaze simply happened to land on me as I looked up but I sure as hell was not interested in finding out. Perv.

  Shooting him another fierce look since he still would not stop ogling, I wrapped the towel around myself and strode inside the house. A subconscious part of me argued though that ogling was not the most fitting term to describe the way he had been looking at me.

  He had also seemed curious. Interested even. I rolled my eyes. Yeah. I had been swimming out there for all of five minutes. The only thing he probably found interesting was my size 8 body which I had proudly put on display.

  "Skye, you up?" Olivia's voice rang out from downstairs. "I'm going for a run, you want to join?"

  I grimaced. Olivia was most definitely a morning person.

  "Er...you go ahead, Liv," I called out. "I have to make a phone call!"

  The front door closed while I instinctively turned towards the patio entrance and peeped from behind a curtain. The man was still there but he was busy clicking away on his camera as he faced the ocean beyond. His movements were sure and his body strong and lithe.

  Pausing for a moment, he ran his fingers through his hair and stood still, observing the magnificent coastal scenery. Or maybe he was just lost in thought. Okay, why was I even noticing him, much less trying to figure out how his brain worked? Just because he looked attractive....

  Shaking my head, I made my way to the bathroom thinking I was no better than him when I had just labelled him a pervert for checking me out.

  And also wondering why I felt so reluctant to let him out of my sight when I had no idea who he was.

  ***

  X

  In the quiet solitude of my darkroom that afternoon, I studied the photographs for longer than was appropriate. As a matter of fact, taking those photos in the first place had been inappropriate along with watching her and thinking the dozen other thoughts which had flooded my mind as I had observed the play of emotions on her face even from a distance. The serenity. The wistful smile. The loneliness. But her body when she had risen from the pool was what had jammed my heartbeats. Fuck.

  Hanging the photos up to dry, I took a deep breath and gave myself a mental scolding. This was wrong. I was not supposed to notice anyone that way. I already had someone whom I loved more than lif
e itself and who loved me back. There was no room for a third.

  There never will be...

  Chapter 1

  2 weeks later.

  Milan,

  Italy.

  ~~~

  Skye

  "So what do you think?" Marco Rossi stared at me with huge, expectant eyes as he showed me the newly designed hallway in the west wing of his house and asked for my opinion on hanging one of his paintings up on a spot along a wall.

  "Er...I...I think it's a great idea and would look absolutely beautiful," I lied smoothly, my lips curving in a sweet smile as I regarded the short, stout man.

  He was one of those wealthy clients I mentioned before who paid me to teach them painting, had been a customer for two weeks now and the truth was, I had seen kids in kindergarten paint better.

  But I was not about to tell him that. I did not want to hurt his feelings. Or lose my job.

  Returning my smile, Marco hollered down the corridor at one of his maids for some watermelon juice, making me flinch because he was annoyingly loud sometimes. Thankfully, he left me to my own devices when his phone rang a moment later and instructed me to join him for a drink later out on the terrace.

  It was hot today and my session with Marco Rossi was over. I was dying to get back to my tiny apartment in Via Dei Gerani a couple of miles away, take a long shower and just put up my feet but a huge part of my steady income depended on keeping some of my clients entertained and interested enough to keep booking sessions with me and recommending me to others.

  "That was a wise move, by the way," a voice declared from behind me. "I would've just told him his paintings suck and to not torture people with visions of them all over this beautiful house."

  I rolled my eyes. "No wonder he keeps grumbling about wanting to hire another architect."

  The man behind me chuckled and then moved in my line of vision with a smug expression on his face. "He won't, though. I'm brilliant and he knows that."

  I pout playfully as I pretend to consider something. "Well, I wouldn't say brilliant actually...," I drawled and he shook his head at me, humour dancing in his eyes.

  "You just hate admitting I'm right," he quipped and then added, "Admit it."

  I laughed a little, tucking a few stray strands of my wavy blond hair behind my ears as they stuck to my skin because I was sweating in the heat. This part of the house was still under construction and the air conditioning had not been installed yet.

  Cole Sawyer, the twenty-eight-year old architect working on Marco's house aimed his beautiful smile at me. God, he was gorgeous. And perfect. Just a few years older than me with a warm, flirtatious nature. And he wore glasses. Fuck, I thought it was so hot when I first came here to give Marco painting lessons and was introduced to this hunk of a guy. He was lean, dark-haired, the same height as me which was about 5 feet 8 and he loved reading.

  Yeah, that was a huge turn-on for me. Boys who loved to read. Not just boring shit but fantasy novels. Brandon Sanderson. Patrick Rothfuss. Terry Goodkind. Even Jay Kristoff.

  Damn, my panties almost melted the first time he discussed my favourite fantasy books with me upon discovering me reading a novel during one of my breaks here. He flirted with me every chance he got and if we could not talk to each other due to being busy at work, he would seek me out even if it was for a few seconds and wink or wave, never failing to shoot that charming smile in my direction.

  Needless to say, I was crushing on him hard. He never asked me out though. Never asked for my number either. I wondered how long it would take for me to stop waiting for him to make a move and just do it myself. Because I really, really liked him.

  "Energy bar?" he asked, offering me one from his never-ending supply. That was another thing I knew about him. He loved those things, a health freak through and through.

  "Thanks, Cole. Um...I have to meet Marco for a drink before I head home so...see you tomorrow, I guess," I said quietly, reluctant to leave him just yet.

  He nodded once and winked at me. "It's a date, beautiful," he replied smoothly, chewing on his energy bar.

  I sucked the insides of my cheeks, my heart thundering inside my chest as I took a leap of faith, taking my cue from his words even as I wondered if this was a bad idea.

  "Would be great if it didn't have to be with Marco keeping track of our hours," I ventured carefully, noting his reaction.

  He was still chewing but his expression turned serious as he watched me for a while before saying, "Hmm."

  Hmm. That was it. He was not getting the hint. I mean, he looked like he did get it but he was clearly not interested in doing anything about it. I tried not to let disappointment creep in but it did, the fucking thing. Argh. Even though I was a fully grown woman, this moment felt like the time when my first crush in school laughed at me in front of his friends when I wrote him a note telling him I liked him.

  It sucked. That rejection. And I had not been with anybody since graduating college a couple of years ago but men have always told me I was gorgeous with my honey-gold hair, curvy figure and blue eyes. Maybe I just wasn't Cole's type.

  "Okay, then," I said, forcing a smile on my face which was tight with the effort from trying not to cry in front of this guy. "I better go. Bye."

  I walked away from him as quickly as I could before I embarrassed myself any further, focusing on my next task. It kept my mind off the pain. The loneliness. The goddamned loneliness which followed me everywhere.

  For once in my life I wished I could just find someone to connect with. A bond unlike any other. My parents had given me up for adoption and the couple I grew up with had started to neglect me soon after they had two of their own kids after years of unsuccessful pregnancy attempts. I had friends here and back in London but they all had their own busy lives.

  There was nobody in this world I could call mine, though. My person. Mine to hold and own. Just mine.

  Cole had seemed like he was made for me but I could not force myself on him. Besides, now I knew he had no intention of ever asking me out so I had to start keeping my distance before I lost my head completely to this guy. Along with my heart.

  ~~~

  Cole

  I was in a bad mood. This rarely happened because usually, I was a pretty easygoing guy and hardly gave two shits about what many others would consider stressful situations.

  But tonight was different. I had worked extra long hours at Marco's today intending to take the day off tomorrow. The man had grumbled some shit or another under his breath but since my work was exemplary, he agreed to the last minute schedule change.

  I needed to take a break from her.

  Two weeks. Two weeks of looking at her gorgeous body, her angelic face, observing the warmth of her laughter and the vulnerability of her lost-in-thought expression.

  Did she think I did not notice? That I was not aware? I worked in different areas of the unfinished house, drawing up plans according to what Marco wanted and making adjustments which required all of my energy since this was a huge project but...the minute Skye Madison set foot on the premises, I felt the uncontrollable urge to just see her. What she was wearing, if she was in a bright, sunny mood or plagued by one of her demons which made her go all quiet.

  Usually, I could judge her emotional state from what she taught Marco to paint that particular day. Colourful, bright pieces meant she was happy. It was the grey, morbid ones that worried me.

  Which was unsettling because she was not mine to worry about. She was nothing to me. Just some girl at work.

  Whom I spent hours thinking about.

  I wanted us to be closer but I was scared to go there. I was scared to drag her into my life and ruin someone else's in the process. Every day, I resisted the temptation that was Skye Madison. But every day, a part of me also kept asking the question, 'How bad could it be?' She wants me and I want her. It should work. I could make it work.

  I clutched the steering wheel of my Ford Escape hard while navigating through the road leading to
my house, banishing those dangerous thoughts like I usually do. But tonight, it became especially hard. The hurt on her face when she tried to ask me out and I could hardly get a word out still haunted me. I made her feel that way and I hated myself for it.

  An incoming call started to come through the Bluetooth system of my car and guilt weighed down my heart when I saw the caller's name. Pressing the answer button, I schooled my voice to sound cheerful and normal.

  "Hey, baby. What's up?"

  I heard the TV blaring in the background and a door clicking shut muting the sound. "Just wondering what's taking you so long. All okay?"