Forty-Three
Branwen
The exhilaration of today had not only made combing through Stevie’s hair with the detangler after her bath easy, but she had fallen asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
We had spent several hours at the stables while Linc worked with Stevie on basics and then put her on the back of Jack with him to go for a longer ride. It had been so many years since I’d ridden that I hadn’t even asked if I could ride Diane. I felt as if I needed lessons too.
I hadn’t realized just how bad I’d missed it until today. Even being at Hughes Farm hadn’t brought back the desire to feel myself on the back of a horse with the wind in my face like it had today. There had been a few other saddles in the tack room, and if Linc continued being so…friendly, I might get brave enough to ask.
Glancing down at my phone, I saw it was after twelve, but I was thirsty, and sleep wasn’t coming for me. My brain refused to shut off. Getting up, I headed out the door and toward the staircase.
Linc had left with Luther shortly after we got back from riding, and they still hadn’t returned by the time I brought Stevie up to bed. Jayda had taken Maui and put him in Linc’s room for me.
It wasn’t until I reached the entrance to the kitchen that I heard voices coming from the great room. Considering the time, I was curious as to who was up this late. Jayda had said she was going up after she finished cleaning the kitchen, and that had been three hours ago. I hesitated and then decided to just go peek. As I got closer, it sounded as if the television was on, but I heard something else too. Loud, feminine laughter caused me to pause.
That wasn’t Jayda.
It could be someone with Luther…and Linc. I winced at the stab of jealousy.
I should turn around and go back to the kitchen to get a drink and head back upstairs, where I belonged. Today had been a good day. Linc had treated me as if I was human, and I’d like not to mess that up. If he had woman here, he had waited until well after he knew Stevie was asleep. Yes, it was painful to think about, but that was something I’d have to learn to live with.
Before I could do something stupid, like go see who was here, I went back to the kitchen, not stopping until I had my glass and was filling it with the pitcher of cold water from the refrigerator.
“Linc,” a female’s voice said with a purr in the hallway just outside the kitchen.
I stopped pouring, sat the pitcher back up, and stood there, staring down at my glass, trying to decide what to do.
“Where’s your room?”
“Not going to my room.” His deep voice was slightly husky.
“Oh,” she breathed.
Then, I heard her gasp, and something hit the floor.
“You want my cock, then you’re gonna get it on your knees.” His tone turned hard.
I was going to have to stand here and listen to this. My eyes darted around the room for any escape that I hadn’t noticed before.
“God, I forgot how big it was,” she moaned.
Apparently, she wasn’t new.
“When you fucked me at the club, I was sore for days,” she told him with a reverent tone.
I didn’t know what club, but I’d bet it was one where she had on no clothing and there was a pole involved. Pressing a hand to my stomach, I put the glass on the counter, no longer wanting it. Reality was a mean bitch, and I was getting a strong dose.
“Shh,” he said. “Don’t talk. Just suck. Ah, that’s it. All the way down that throat. Fuck yeah.”
The sounds of his pleasure were difficult to hear. The jealous pang in my chest was mixed with the fact that it turned me on. I just hated knowing it wasn’t me making him sound that way.
“Open that throat up,” he growled. “I’ll shove it down if you don’t. AH fuck. That’s the way.”
“Such a good girl, Barbie,” Luther drawled with a dark chuckle.
My eyes widened. Why was Luther out there too? Was this about to become a threesome?
Shit. Crap. I didn’t want to have to listen to more of this.
“You suck him off real good, and then I’ll fuck you while you eat Arabella’s pussy,” Luther said.
Make that an orgy. There were two girls. Jesus, how many of them did they need? I already felt inadequate at sex, but this…I would never do this for Linc. In fact, the next time he did attempt to get my panties off, it was not happening. I needed to go get tested. God, I could have some STD and not know it.
“That’s right. Play with my balls.” Linc’s tone was thicker.
I was staring at the door, wondering if I could hide in the pantry and muffle the sound of this, when Luther walked into the kitchen, completely naked. My breath hitched in my throat, and I felt my face instantly heat up from the embarrassment of this entire situation. He stopped, and his head tilted to the side. The edge that always seemed to be there in his expression, even when he was joking around and appeared relaxed, was sharpened. Of their own will, my eyes dropped to his penis, and seeing his semi begin to thicken and the metal at the head sent my gaze shooting right back up to his face.
“I’m sorry,” I stammered. “I came to get wa-water…” I stopped trying to explain this and ran for the door.
Luther’s hand shot out and grabbed my arm, almost too tightly. I let out a yelp, and my eyes swung back to his face. The threat that hung in the air as his eyes traveled down my body made me tremble. His nostrils flared, and he moved his gaze back to mine.
“Mmm,” he said, then shook his head slightly before releasing my arm.
I didn’t wait for him to say anything more before I broke into a run, thinking I could get past Linc without seeing what was happening even if he saw me. It was a mental image I didn’t want.
His demanding words as he told her she was gonna swallow his load meant he was about to come. Maybe his eyes would be closed.
When I reached the door, his back was against the wall, and he was facing toward the kitchen, only a few feet away from me. My hope that his eyes were closed was my only good luck. The actual act, however, I wished I had never had to see.
The veins bulging in his neck; his fingers threaded through blonde hair, holding it tightly as he moved her head back and forth in rhythm with the pumping of his hips; teeth clenched; the muscles in his arms and chest flexing—he looked like a depraved god. The sight of her hand, with long hot-pink nails that had rhinestones on them, lying flat against his abs sent a stab of vicious jealousy through me.
I hated her. Everything about her. And it wasn’t her fault. She was just a reminder of what I had been to him. While I had felt a connection, he’d gotten his pleasure and used my body to do it. I was just another willing place for him to bury his cock.
Shame took any other emotion I might have been feeling and moved them to the side. It needed all the space in which to fit. My eyes stung, and I forced myself to move. But in that second, Linc’s eyes opened and locked on me. The surprised flare in them was followed by his gaze running down my body.
When his eyes snapped back up to mine, I saw the crest begin to take him as he reached his climax.
“Ringlets,” he groaned.
Helpless to move away from this, I watched his body jerk as he thrust into her. He went lax while he held her head still and released into her. His eyes never leaving mine.
I had stopped breathing when he said, “Ringlets.”
Sometimes, pain made it too hard to inhale. Calling me that name while he had his dick down another woman’s throat…I wasn’t sure I would ever recover from it. Before I could break down crying and humiliate myself any further, I ran.
When I reached my door, I slipped inside and closed it quietly so as not to wake Stevie, then locked it. If she needed me, she would knock. Stepping back from the door, I blew out a breath, then let the first tear fall. The fact that I was even crying was ridiculous. I was ridiculous.
How long would I want that man? Was I doomed to this…this need for him…my entire life? I hadn’t been enough in Vegas to get him to even leave me a number or tell me his name.
The fear that this obsession I had for him, this longing for him, would one day completely break me was a real threat. He made me weak. He made me think that if I tried harder, I might be the one for him. That he might see me and feel the same way I did. That…that he could love me.
I was a fool, and I continued to be one. Time and time again.