Unmasked

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Welcome, angels!

You made it to the sequel 🥰

If you haven't read Unhinged yet, it might be a good place to start as the first chapter will jump straight in with the main characters from book 1.

This one is going to be much shorter than Unhinged, less than half the number of chapters. It's not a proper sequel, just a little something. I hope you enjoy it anyway.

As usual for my stories:

♡ I don’t always mention contraception or STI’s, please assume the characters are being safe and not playing pregnancy roulette.

♡ I use British English. Please don’t correct my spelling with American English.

♡ That being said, if you notice any grammar mistakes, it would be great if you could point them out. Occasionally, I use conversational language that may be grammatically incorrect. For example ‘You good?’ instead of ‘Are you good’ etc. Feel free to ignore those.

♡ I write mature romances. The words ‘clit’ and ‘cock’ will make an appearance. If that’s not your thing, please leave without complaint.

♡ You can follow me on Instagram, naughtyxchristian.

Thank you and enjoy! L x

Nick.

I unlatch the gate and let myself into the back garden. As I close it behind me, the soft sound of Bel’s laughter reaches me. I round the back of the house and find Wolf sitting on one of the white Adirondack chairs, his fiancée on his lap. Bel has her arms around Wolf’s neck as she smiles up at me.

“Nick! How are you?”

I sink down into one of the chairs and get comfortable. The Sun feels good on my skin, summer is almost here.

“I’m good thanks, Bel. How are you doing?”

She grins back at me, her diamond ring glinting in the sunlight. “Can’t complain.”

Wolf smirks at me, his hand laid possessively on Bel’s thigh.

“Aw, go on, I’m sure you can.”

She rolls her eyes at my teasing and kisses Wolf’s cheek. “I’ll get us some drinks.”

His eyes follow her as she slides off his lap and heads into the house. It’s been seven months since the Halloween party. I’ve never seen my friend so smitten. He’s like a whole different guy to the one I went to university with.

“Where’s Ollie?” He asks.

“Following a lead.”

He raises his eyebrows but doesn’t ask any questions. He knows the deal with us. Ollie and I run a cybersecurity company, but like Wolf, we make a little money on the side from doing some not-so-legal hacking.

Bel comes out with a tray of lemonade and a plate of her perfect gooey cookies. I grab one eagerly and take a bite.

“I swear you put crack in these,” I tell her through my mouthful.

She smiles broadly. “Just sugar and butter. Lots of both.”

“They are so good, baby,” Wolf says and she leans in to kiss him, melting against him.

I look away because one; it’s uncomfortable watching my friends make-out, and two; it reminds me how fucking single I am.

But not for long.

My mind, as always, goes to Clementine. I will never not think of that girl when I see a citrus fruit. Or pigs. She loved pigs.

My phone buzzes and I quickly check it. There’s a text from Ollie.

Confirmed. Papers were exchanged this morning. She’s bought Pine Lodge.

I smirk in triumph and slip my phone back in my pocket. Our girl just got one step closer to being back in our lives.

Clemmie.

“How the hell have you been living for a month here already?” My sister exclaims dramatically from my sofa.

“I know, hasn’t time gone so quickly?”

“It really has, it needs to slow down.”

Jennifer gets up off my sofa and winces. I watch her start to do some basic stretches, an impressive feet given the giant bump she’s sporting. She married her high school boyfriend at 21 and now, at 26, they’re expecting their first baby together. So many people said they wouldn’t last, but I’ve never seen two people so in love. It reminds me how very alone I am. There’s a furry nudge against my hand followed by a wet tongue.

Okay, I’m not completely alone.

“Hey Mabes,” I murmur and pat her little cockapoo, Mabel.

“I should really be getting off soon,” Jennifer says as she gathers her bags together. “Jeremy wants to finish packing tonight so we can make an early start tomorrow.”

They’re heading up to the Scottish Highlands to stay with Jeremy’s family for a mini babymoon before her due date next month.

“Four weeks to go, so exciting!”

She smiles tiredly. “Exciting and terrifying. I go back and forth on which one I feel more.”

“Let’s go with exciting.”

“It’s not your vagina on the line,” she reminds me and I pull a face.

“Yeah, better you than me. Do you want to use the bathroom one more time before you go?”

She looks at me for a moment, considering it, before nodding. “Yeah, good idea.”

As she waddles to my one and only bathroom in this little cabin, I admire our work. I now have a TV and a TV stand. I did most of the assembling but Jennifer was a great supervisor and read out the instructions to me.

It’s taken a few weeks, but this place finally feels like home. My family live about an hour away and they were delighted when I graduated university last summer and decided to move to Redhill. The local football team was hiring for a physio and they decided to take me on, even though I’m only 23. I’m the youngest on the team, bar the players, but I’m already loving it.

This cabin was the perfect choice for me because it’s only half a mile from the centre of Redhill, just over ten minutes from the stadium and yet it’s still secluded because I’m 500 yards off the main road, nestled in the middle of Redhill forest. This land is owned by two brothers, I think. I’ve never met them. A large wooden post fence marks out the part I now own. My property lawyer worked with them and secured an amazing deal for this place. It’s only one-bedroom, one-bath but the kitchen is large and fully-equipped and it has a wrap-around porch. I couldn’t ask for more.

“I feel bad that I’m not even going to be with you on your birthday,” Jennifer says, pouting at me.

“I’ll be fine, I’m a big girl,” I reassure her, pulling her in for a hug. “I’ll be busy with work in the day and then I’ll treat myself to a takeaway in the evening. It’ll be great.”

After a few more reassurances that I will be fine being by myself on my birthday on Friday, I wave my sister and her cockapoo off.

Ollie.

Sweat drips down my temples from my workout but I head to the office instead of the shower. That can wait. I have something more important to do first. It’s quarter to eight, right about the time that Clem will be getting up.

I sit carefully on my gaming chair, making sure my sweaty back doesn’t touch it as I log into my computer. I pull up the camera feed from two of the CCTV cameras that point towards her cabin. The second camera is directed straight at her kitchen. A smile spreads over my face as I see her.

Dressed in a tiny pair of shorts and a loose t-shirt, her petite body is perfection. Her hair is up in a messy bun and she’s using a whisk as a microphone as she sings along to the radio which is no doubt blasting. I’ve walked past her cabin before when she’s been playing that thing, I’m surprised she can still hear.

“Nick,” I call out for my roommate, sort-of brother and best friend.

He comes in and stops next to my chair. I glance at him and find his eyes locked onto the screen. He grins as he watches our Clem dance around.

“Happy Birthday Clem,” I murmur.

Nick chuckles. “T-minus ten hours.”

Clemmie.

One of the lead physio’s, Sandra, is waiting for me in the foyer when I arrive at work. She offers out a take-out coffee cup.

“Toffee latte for the birthday girl.”

“Sandra! You shouldn’t have. Thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing, just a drink. It’s your birthday, you should have called in sick.”

“I’ve only been working here two weeks, I can’t call in sick yet,” I reply and she scoffs.

“For your birthday, you can do anything. So, tell me, any exciting plans for tonight?”

“Oh, yeah, it’s gonna be wild,” I reply sarcastically. “Disney+ and pizza.”

She laughs for a moment before dead-panning. “Wait, what? You’re serious?”

“Yeah. It’s cool though, it’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal! No one should be alone on their birthday. Ugh, I’m so annoyed that Derek and I have tickets to that play. I’m sure they’re sold out but I can try and see if I can get you one so you can join us?”

As much as I love Sandra, the thought of crashing her date night with her husband is not appealing.

“Oh, no, really, don’t do that! It’s honestly fine. I’ve got big weekend plans so tonight doesn’t matter and honestly, I’m really looking forward to having a takeaway.”

It’s the partial truth. I definitely do not have even a single plan this weekend, but I am looking forward to the takeaway. I’ve been cooking for myself each week because my new kitchen is so damn nice, but it’ll be a treat not to have to do it tonight. There’s a chicken BBQ stuffed crust with my name on it.

I survive through a full day of work without Sandra making any plans for me. As much as tonight will be a bit lonely, I’m actually looking forward to a weekend of no plans. There’s a nature reserve I want to check out and my trust hiking boots are by the door, ready to go. I want to binge watch the new true crime documentary that came out last week and I really need to get my car washed. It might not be a glamorous life I live but I recognise that I’m lucky enough to have the freedom to make these choices, boring as they may be.

When I get home, I take a shower and settle down on the sofa. I usually do a yoga or Pilates session after work but it’s my birthday so I’m slacking off. Instead, I turn on the TV and click on the first episode of the documentary I’ve been eyeing all week.

At half five, my phone buzzes. It’s a text from my sister. I’m not expecting to hear from her because she should be up in the highlands with no signal right now, but clearly she’s managed to get a bar or two.

Don’t be mad. I’ve sent a little treat to your door.

I raise my eyebrows at that. I wonder if she’s sent letter-box brownies or something. Recognising that there may be a delivery and I’m in my stained sweater and holey-sweats, I get up and do a quick change into one of my comfier summer dresses. The material is soft, the thin straps don’t cut into my shoulders and it’s only a plain blue colour so it’s the perfect casual outfit.

When the doorbell rings, I’m ready for it. I turn off the TV and get to my feet, hoping that whatever my sister has sent will pair nicely with my pizza that I’ll order later. My phone buzzes in my hand and I check it before answering the door.

Don’t panic. I sent them.

“Don’t panic? What the hell…”

A bit nervous, I open the door and stagger backwards in surprise. Standing on my porch are two men, dressed head to toe in black camo gear, sporting balaclava skull masks that cover their mouths and noses but leave their eyes visible. It takes me a second to put two and two together, but I recognise the Kevlar vests and masks from my favourite masktok account on TikTok, the ‘unmaskedbros’. I’ve been following them for a couple years and Jennifer always teases me about them.

“Clementine?” One of them speaks through his mask. His voice is deep and really fucking hot. “Don’t be scared. We’re here to treat the birthday girl.”

What, now?

My phone buzzes again and I quickly look down at another text from Jennifer.

Happy birthday! They’re your strippergram.

“My what?” I mutter to myself.

My head snaps up to look back at the two strangers on my doorstep. There is no way this is actually happening.

Has my sister really sent two strippers in cosplay to my home?