by Frost, Sosie
“Hopefully there won’t be a need.”
And I knew only one way a douche-fuck like Duke would even attempt to harass my brother.
“Do you really think Varius gives one flying fuck about Glory’s past?” I asked. “Glory saved his goddamned life. The town already had enough rumors about what she did before coming to Butterpond. Let he who casts the first stone fucking duck, because the minister won’t play around if you attack her.”
“This isn’t about Glory being a stripper,” Duke said. “Christ, any red-blooded American man could tell by the way she moves her hips.”
“Then what is it?”
“Glory and Varius have other secrets…issues that make a life in the church exceedingly complicated. Something that could potentially tarnish his reputation.”
“Bullshit. Varius is as clean as they get.”
“Would you risk it?”
I had very little faith in God, but all the faith in the world in my brother. Varius had endured enough over the past two years. All my brothers had suffered in their own personal torment. Some of them nearly surrendered. Others nearly made worse choices.
But they’d survived.
And they were better for it.
The last thing I’d ever tolerate was anything threatening my family.
“You hurt any one of them, and it’ll come back to you tenfold,” I said. “Maybe they have a lot to lose, but I’ve got nothing right now.”
Especially if I lost Lady.
I looked him in the eye. “Duke, don’t make me your enemy—especially when I’ve tried to make things right.”
“Have you now?”
“Why do you think I’m working with Lady?”
“Sleeping with my sister is hardly playing peacemaker.”
“I consider it a perk,” I said. “We’ve been trying to figure out a way to bring both families together. So far, everyone is too pigheaded to even consider a truce.”
“You want to end this feud? Bring peace to our families?” Duke held out his arms. “Then do right by your family. Convince them to take the money and keep their secrets. Let them start a life somewhere else.”
“Butterpond is our home too.”
“Not for much longer.”
Duke didn’t bother with any formality. He limped from the room and showed himself out of the house. The door slammed behind him.
I sunk onto Lady’s bed, head in my hands.
The fuck was I supposed to do?
I’d done everything I could to protect my family from any sort of heartache or drama. And I would have done anything in my power to shield them from whatever bullshit Duke had in store.
Had it just been them—had it only been my brothers and sisters who needed me to fight—nothing would have stopped me from ensuring their happiness.
It’d only been a year in a half since we’d faced off with each other, forced together after Dad’s death. We’d fought. We’d said terrible things. We’d wished the worst on each other.
And we’d come out the other side closer than ever.
A real family. Kids running around the farm. Brunches and holidays. Cookouts and game nights.
No good man would ever ruin those perfect lives.
But I hadn’t been a good man for a long time.
Who the fuck was Duke to tell me to stay away from Lady?
But the staggering truth nearly brought me to my knees. How long had she had feelings for me?
I’d never noticed her when I was a kid. Never thought about her or even considered her any more than the cute neighborhood girl with the sweet smile and troublesome last name.
But now…she slept in my arms at night. Lady transformed from a quiet, bookish little nobody into an amazing woman so hot and sweet, eager to please and desperate for my touch that every moment I spent with her pinned under me felt like a damned miracle.
I’d be a fool to walk away.
And a monster to stay.
Lady could’ve been mine. Forever. She’d practically said as much. Wished for futures and promises I’d never wanted to give.
But I’d been honest.
I told her, again and again, I didn’t know how to give her what she wanted. And I had no idea how to provide the life she deserved.
I’d promised her nothing, took from her everything, and hoped she’d forgive me every night I laid her in bed and demonstrated all the naughty pleasures that weren’t mine to teach.
And for that cowardice, she’d awarded me absolute passion. Blinding, beautiful moments of such intensity I swore I’d poured my very soul into her.
She wanted to understand me. The worst part was that I let her try. Again and again. I craved her touch, savored her smiles, and whispered terrible promises neither of us could fulfill.
It wasn’t fair.
I had to push her away…but I couldn’t imagine a life without her now.
What the hell was I supposed to do?
I constantly fought my own damned body. Worried about my illness. Dreaded the future and the insulin pumps and constant monitoring and the complications.
The woman wanted to go to Europe—see Paris and Rome, London and Amsterdam. How could I ever hope to give her a whirlwind, romantic life when every minute of every day I had to live on scheduled meals, rigorous bedtimes, medicated stops, and more and more injections for an illness that refused to stabilize?
I wasn’t ready to face the future yet, but Lady already lived there. Planning her life. Imagining where she’d be five, ten, fifteen years from now.
Married? Probably. Kids? A whole mess of ‘em. Happy?
God, I hoped so.
But could I be the man who offered it to her?
No.
I wasn’t a kid anymore. The only reason I clung to the farm was because it was the only place for me. I had no education. No hopes. Nothing to offer anyone except whatever muscle I could use to push dirt around all day. It’d be a hard life. A penniless life. I’d never be proud of it, and I couldn’t share it with a woman who harbored such wholesome ambitions.
I lived on the farm because I wanted to stay in the past.
Lady eagerly anticipated Paris because she wanted to explore a future.
She hated the town, the monotony, the routine. Every day in Butterpond was exactly like the last, and even the usual chaos couldn’t change that. Yesterday and tomorrow were the same, and for men who dreaded what the next morning would bring, this town was the best place to hide from it.
The front door opened. I went still, waiting for Lady to call to me in the dark.
“Quint?” Her whisper rose up the stairs, a hushed excitement, a secret only for me. “Are you here?”
I debated retreating to the window. Running away might have been cowardly, but tonight it would’ve been the right thing to do.
Except I needed this woman now.
My fingers craved her touch. My body went cold without her fiery embrace. Every instinct demanded that I take her in my arms, if only for this instant. If only to know that she was mine, and I was hers, and nothing in the world existed save for my desire for her.
Lady snuck into her own room.
I didn’t let her speak, and I hated how mechanically my hands wove over her body. I treated her as if she were any other woman I’d picked up at the bar. No lights. No words. Just a kiss and a press of my hardness against her leg to remind her why she’d come.
But Lady wasn’t like those other women.
She was better.
Beautiful.
And so damned responsive.
I knew how to earn that sexy little smile with a lick of my tongue and a gruff promise whispered in her ear.
She deserved better than my mauling, but as the panic clutched my chest and the truth stole my words, I had to revert back to instinct. The world went dark to everything but her body, her scent. I became an animal—a beast who wouldn’t concern himself with sugars or carbs, medications or illnesses. My blood boiled for this woman, and I’d lose m
yself in her one last time.
Before I’d lose myself forever.
“Wow…” Lady allowed me to strip her. “Jail must’ve made you ravenous.”
I growled.
She giggled, tossing her arms around my neck. “Good thing you’re on the outside now, huh? You can expel all that pent-up energy.”
Christ, she flirted with me. How many times had she flirted with me before, and I’d never known?
How many opportunities had I squandered to take this woman?
How many days had I wasted, months had I lost, and years had I destroyed because I’d lost myself to my own fears?
I’d pitied myself when I should have praised this woman.
Fuck. I’d been so blind.
I’d ruined my life.
And now I ruined hers.
I’d already taken so much from Lady. Her virginity. Her innocence. Any chance for her to forget what pleasures we had together.
I’d only ever worried about being her first. What a joke. I should’ve worried about being her only.
I wrestled with my clothes and lowered her onto the floor. The bed was too far away, and my own desires had already clouded my mind to everything but the heat of her skin and the hardness that conquered my sanity. I hated myself for how badly I needed this woman. How fiercely I acted. How crazed I became at the first sound of her whimpered devotion.
I’d take her without preparation, and it shamed me.
But this was my Lady. She was always ready for me. Always slick with anticipation, eager for a touch or taste or that wild, untamed moment when I’d slam into her.
Maybe I apologized. I couldn’t tell. My breath released in a harsh grunt, and I fell over her, slamming between her legs as I buried myself to the hilt within her slick heat.
I took her harder than I had before. Harder than I ever thought I could take a girl as innocent and pure as Lady.
But her hips arched to meet my every thrust. Her mouth parted, but I stole her surprised gasp with a kiss. Then I pinned her arms above her head and stretched her body to take more of my pulsing cock.
She stared at me. Breathless. Panting with excitement. Sweat prickled over our bodies. The summer’s heat had broken, but the room fired hot with our desire. She moved with my body. Took every bestial thrust and demanded only a quick and furious release to match her own.
I’d never thought something so perfect could be so terrible.
Sex had never revealed a fucking thing to me before, but with her, my lust exposed secrets and lies, fantasies and fears.
In those moments, she saw me. The real me.
And I hated it.
And loved it.
And fought against my own instincts to pull from her and escape to somewhere safe where my heart couldn’t follow.
She muddled my thoughts. Twisted my soul. Delighted me with absolute agony and wrenched every part of me into aching pleasure.
I couldn’t tell her the truth, but what else could I hide from her that she couldn’t feel with my deliberate thrusts?
I no longer feared Lady Barlow.
I only feared losing her.
I crashed over her. Her tightness enveloped me, her hands clutched my shoulders, and our bodies pressed together in a perfect, undulating movement that cast my shivers into her and back again.
It was selfish. It was inexcusable. It was perfect. It was agonizing.
And if I wanted to protect my family, myself, and her heart…
It had to end.
No matter how much I wished I could change.
Lady crested to her peak and waited on the edge for my push. No sense tormenting her any more than I already had. I circled my thumb over her clit, bit her neck, and rode the absolute explosion that was her orgasm.
She amazed me, experiencing her release with her entire body. From the crinkle of her brow to the parting of her lips, the quickening of her pulse, the hardening of her nipples, and the sharp prick of her fingernails digging into my muscle. She faced every orgasm as if she stared into oblivion, and she clung to me as if she’d lose herself into the deep, dark chasm, never to return.
If this was the future she’d planned, I finally understood.
Nothing could be more beautiful than this.
I came inside of her, but what should have been a straining, wild relief instead turned to insult. As if I hadn’t ruined her already, I’d desecrated her beautiful surrender.
For the past few weeks, it had felt so wonderful to bury myself deep inside. Good. Natural. I couldn’t imagine pleasure in any other way. Every jet of my heat brought us closer. It’d been a gift from her to me. A moment of closeness and intimacy I’d never before experienced.
But this time…
I felt wrong. Disgusting and slimy. A beast and a burden and someone who poisoned her from the inside.
But Lady mewed with contentment. She groaned against me, kissed me, welcomed my seed. Her body yet submitted to me, and she panted my name as I drove that heat in deeper.
“What’s gotten into you?” She giggled. “You’re a wild man.”
Her laugh always made me smile. This time was no different.
It only made me hurt more.
I’d never been so fucking broken in my life.
“I just wanted to take you,” I said. “Couldn’t wait.”
She didn’t hide her nudity from me anymore. She pushed onto her elbows, letting me feast upon the beautiful view that were her curves, her ebony skin, and the mess between her thighs.
“I like this kind of surprise,” she said.
The words nearly trembled as I spoke. I cleared my throat. Looked away.
“Yeah,” I said. “Figured I’d come over now. Save you some time later.”
“Time for what?”
The words were like a knife in my gut. “So you can pack.”
“Oh. Where are we going?”
Fuck me.
I shook my head. “Not me. You. You’ve been here long enough. Should start thinking about heading to Europe.”
Lady shifted, tucking her legs under her. Her hand fell over her body, drifting over her tummy.
“About that…” She sucked in a breath of air. “I…just learned something interesting, and I was kicking around…staying in Butterpond a while longer. I wanted to talk to you before…” She shrugged. “Well, to be honest, before we got into more trouble.”
Duke was right. The woman had feelings for me, and it was my own damned fault for chasing what wasn’t mine.
But I couldn’t look away. I brushed my hands over her curves, cupped her swollen breasts. Christ, she seemed to change before my eyes, more beautiful than ever. And yet I could do nothing but kiss her lips as I spoke words like daggers.
“Don’t worry about that,” I said. “We’ve got a good plan for the debate. One good night with our families is all we need. I promise.”
Lady didn’t seem convinced. Her expression had shifted, and a new worry dared to darken her features.
“But there is something very, very important we need to talk about,” she said. “It might not be a good idea for me to go to Europe now.”
I didn’t let her finish the thought.
The woman wouldn’t ignore her dreams just for me. I wasn’t the man who could give her the trip of a lifetime, a passionate romance, or the sort of future she imagined.
But I wanted her as much as I wanted to help her. And that meant getting out of her way.
I hardened again. It disgusted me, but I was already a broken, pathetic man. What more damage could I do?
I kissed away her questions, dazzled her with my tongue, and entered her once again. Her protests silenced with a single thrust deep into her heated core.
I was a monster for taking this woman.
But I’d be her savior once I let her go.
15
Lady
Falling in love with a man meant knowing when to lie to him.
Even if it killed me.
For twenty
years, I’d lived a perfectly respectable life. I’d never once misbehaved, lied, cheated, stole, or snuck home after a night out with a local bad boy.
So how was it possible that the first time I got into real trouble…
Was now?
And this was a lot of trouble.
How could I be so careless?
I’d ignored any and all consequences all summer. Hadn’t even stopped to think about how hearts could be broken, lives changed, and futures fundamentally altered. In the heat of the moment, nothing had mattered except his commanding touch, his nibbling kisses, and his masterful skill...
This wasn’t me.
And yet, I’d disappointed myself in more ways than one. I wasn’t a bad person, and I certainly wasn’t a coward, but I’d been too terrified to tell him what he needed to hear…and too selfish to stay away.
I’d never been so completely and thoroughly ashamed of myself.
…Or totally ravished and utterly satisfied.
Shame and pleasure made for one hell of a trade-off.
How much longer could I keep everything secret? And not just the biggest, most terrifying surprise of my life, but the reality of us. How well we fit together. How easily we laughed and smiled. How comfortable we were divulging not only our every fantasy and secret desire, but also our dreams and plans and stories about our crazy families and our crazier town.
But after our bout in jail, rumors swirled. We’d agreed—we had to be more careful. If we wanted this to work, we had to ensure that no one would ever think that Lady Barlow and Quint Payne were anything more than perfect strangers crossing the opposite sides of the street.
Easier said than done.
How much longer could I really hide the truth? Soon it wouldn’t be about sly glances or bumped hands. We had to figure out what to do now.
But Barlows were Barlows.
And Paynes were…well, pains.
And nothing like this had ever happened in the entire history of Butterpond.
Quint had returned to his farm for a family cookout. Beer, burgers, bonfires. Kids and music. Paintball in the fields. Fireworks if he could send Sherriff Samson out on a fake call around ten.
It all sounded so wild and fun, especially compared to the formal dinner at Grandma’s with dry food and dryer conversations.
