The Complete Perfect Series Read online

  The Complete Perfect Series

  Lindsey Powell

  Content copyright © Lindsey Powell 2021

  Cover design by Lindsey Powell & Wicked Dreams Publishing 2021

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form, or by any electronic or mechanical means, without the prior written permission of the author.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional. Any similarities to other fictional workings, or real persons (living or dead), names, places, and companies is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

  The right of Lindsey Powell to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents act 1988.

  A CIP record of this book is available from the British Library.

  Except for the original material written by the author, all mention of films, television shows and songs, song titles, and lyrics mentioned in The Complete Perfect Series are the property of the songwriters and copyright holders.

  Contents

  Books by Lindsey Powell

  Perfect Stranger

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Perfect Memories

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Chapter Forty

  Chapter Forty-One

  Perfect Disaster

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Perfect Beginnings

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter twenty seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Chapter Thirty-Five

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  Bonus chapter

  At First Glance

  About the Author

  Author Acknowledgements

  Books by Lindsey Powell

  The Perfect Series

  Perfect Stranger

  Perfect Memories

  Perfect Disaster

  Perfect Beginnings

  The Complete Perfect Series

  Part of Me Series

  Part of Me

  Part of You

  Part of Us

  The Control Duet

  Losing Control

  Taking Control

  Stand-alone novels

  Fixation

  Take Me

  Checkmate

  Perfect Stranger

  Chapter One

  This is it.

  This is how I am going to die.

  I would never have imagined my life ending in this way. The fear coursing through my entire body only moments ago has now been replaced by a feeling of shock.

  My body trembles as I acknowledge an agonising pain in my left side. Everything is becoming hazy, making it difficult for me to register exactly what is happening to me.

  Time seems to stop as I try to focus on my surroundings. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to divert my focus from the immense pain that is spreading through me like wildfire.

  My head throbs from where it smashed against the floor when I fell only seconds ago. I dazedly manage to lift my head slightly, so that I can look to my left side where the pain is all consuming.

  It’s difficult lifting my head up off of the floor as all I want to do is give in to the darkness that beckons to me. It takes all of my remaining energy to move, and when I look down, I see shiny metal sticking into my side.

  My mouth starts
to fill with saliva and I desperately swallow it down, willing myself not to vomit. The red substance seeping out of my side is starting to saturate my clothes.

  My blood.

  Lots of my blood.

  I try to call out, but my mouth doesn’t want to cooperate. I let my head fall back to the floor and my eyes begin to feel heavy. I fight the urge to close them, but the darkness seems so inviting.

  Images flash through my mind rapidly. So many images and memories, and so little time in which to process them all.

  In the distance I can hear some sort of commotion. An evil laugh brings back the element of fear and then there’s the sound of footsteps beside me. I hear a voice shout, “NOOO,” which alerts me to who’s voice it is. The voice shouting brings me comfort. Such a beautiful voice.

  I let go of the fear and let my eyes flutter shut. A pair of arms feel like they are enveloping me. Strong arms that hold me in their embrace. It brings a warmth that I wasn’t expecting to this moment. I try to open my eyes once more to look at what I know will be the most handsome face I have ever seen, but all of my energy has left me.

  I stop fighting against the urge to sleep and I let the darkness slowly seep in. The images return and flicker through my mind, until they stop at one particular moment of my past.

  Full lips grazed my cheek softly as he leant in to whisper, “Spend the night with me.”

  A statement, not a question. His words made my insides melt. My knees felt like they were going to buckle beneath me. Excitement raced through my core. Butterflies fluttered wildly in my stomach.

  His heated breath on my skin was enticing. He smelt incredible. His voice deep with smooth undertones, luring me to accompany him.

  Sparks jolted through my body as his hand found a resting place at the bottom of my back. A delicious tingling ran through me and arousal radiated from my body.

  The memory fades and the image of caramel coloured eyes fills my brain. The eyes of my perfect stranger. The mere sight leaves me gasping for my final few breaths. Through the fogginess I am abruptly pulled back to reality for a few seconds by three simple words.

  “I love you.”

  That beautiful and comforting voice is lulling me into a secure feeling.

  With the images and memories now gone, those final words imprint on my last waking moment.

  I finally give in.

  Darkness has consumed me.

  Chapter Two

  Three weeks earlier

  “STACEY! What the bloody hell is taking you so long?” Charles bellows up the stairs, his voice making me cringe.

  “I’m coming. Will you keep your voice down!” I shout back to Charles.

  “Well for goodness sake’s, get a move on. We need to leave in the next five minutes.” I can hear the irritation in his voice. He is such an impatient man. How I ever thought that I was in love with him I will never know.

  Charles is my boyfriend and we have been together for nearly three years. I used to think that I was quite lucky to have caught his eye. His short blond hair and dark green eyes were what first attracted me to him. I am a sucker for nice eyes.

  His athletic body wasn’t bad to look at either. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t what you would call ripped, but he certainly wasn’t lacking in the abs department. To be fair, Charles still has a good physique as he likes to take care of himself.

  When we first started dating he was kind and charming. He would take me out for dinner and to the movies, and we had a fairly decent sex life. Not outstanding but satisfying enough.

  He seemed to want to look after me, and I craved that feeling. It was a feeling I had craved ever since my Nan had passed away. My Nan was my rock and she looked after me from a young age.

  I was nine years old when my parents were taken from me. They died in a horrific car crash, and a little piece of me died along with my parents on that day. The two most precious people in my life were taken in such a brutal way. The crash wasn’t even their fault, it was caused by some drunk-driver who obviously couldn’t resist the urge to drive rather than walk.

  My Nan instantly became my legal guardian. She embraced her role and made me feel loved and cared for. I worshipped her. She took me in, an angry little nine-year-old girl, and made me into the woman I am today. Well, the woman I was before Charles came along.

  I think that if she were around today, she would be disappointed by my life choices at this moment in time. I try not to think about that too much though.

  My Nan died three and a half years ago after a long battle with cancer. I was devastated. There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t miss her, and of course my parents. I was twenty-five when my Nan died. She never met Charles. I don’t know what she would have thought about him, but I can take a good guess that she would have seen right through his nice guy act from the start.

  Charles came into my life six months after my Nan’s death. I am not close to many people, so at a time when I was vulnerable, Charles managed to get through to me.

  My best friend Lydia has never liked him. She says that she has had his card marked since the day I introduced her to him. I never let her dislike of him phase me though. He wanted to care for me and that was all I wanted at the time. How ridiculously naïve of me. I should have listened to Lydia.

  “STACEY! COME ON!” Charles bellows again, breaking me from my thoughts.

  I roll my eyes, quickly finish applying my lip-gloss and take one last look at myself in the full-length mirror.

  I am wearing the most gorgeous red, floor length, lace dress with killer red stiletto heels. The fabric of the dress hugs my body in all the right places and gives me just the right amount of cleavage due to the slight plunge from the neckline. I look classy, and of course the dress has been pre-approved by Charles. He is such a control freak.

  I have my long brunette hair loosely curled and swept to one side, where I have placed a clip so that it flows down my right shoulder. I have kept my make-up to simple nude shades as I don’t want to distract from the dress. I have small silver-hooped earrings in, and a plain silver bracelet on my left wrist. The bracelet has sentimental value as my Nan gave it to me for my twenty-first birthday.

  Pleased with my appearance, I quickly make my way down the stairs to find Charles waiting by the front door with his car keys in his hand, tapping his foot and glaring in my direction.

  “Finally! Why do you always insist on making us late for everything?”

  “We’re not late. If I was to come down the stairs looking slightly dishevelled then you would moan that I embarrass you, and we can’t have your colleagues seeing us as less than perfect now, can we?” The sarcasm drips from each word that I speak.

  Whilst muttering under his breath, Charles passes me my coat and ushers me out of the front door and towards his car. His brand new, flashy sports car that he purchased this morning. We couldn’t possibly be seen in my car, the boring bog standard three-door run-about. Heaven forbid that people see us arriving in any vehicle that’s isn’t classed as ‘posh’ by Charles’ standards.

  Once in the car, we sit in silence and my mind starts to wander. How did things become so bad between us? How have we lost the respect that we used to have for one another? Maybe he has never respected me, and it is only since living together that I have noticed?

  I took the plunge and moved in with him six months ago. Charles had been pestering me for a few months, prior to me giving in, about living with him.

  He made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse, and I agreed to share his home. The offer was one in which I would be able to become a full-time writer. My dream is to become a published author and Charles used this reason to finally get me to say yes. He told me that I could give up work and that he would look after me.

  Now, up until that point I had never been a kept woman, but I am so passionate about my writing that I had to seriously consider his proposal. At the time I was working at The Den and I had been there for five years.