by Hart, Rye
“She feels a little warm to me. Is she sick?” Sarah asked.
“Yes, she’s got a bit of a cold. I gave her some medicine right before dinner,” Brian told her.
I had to laugh at how just inside of ten minutes, Sarah had Brian answering to her. It was one of her many talents.
“So, I didn’t interrupt anything did I?” Sarah asked, feigning innocence.
Brian shook his head. “Not really. I was just going to ask Amanda if she was still willing to come to court with me tomorrow.”
I looked at him with something like mild shock coursing through my veins. “Of course. If you need me to be there for Lanie, then I will.”
“Great, now that that’s settled, it’s late and I’m tired. You coming Amanda?” Sarah asked, gathering her coat off of the hook by the front door.
I was about to say yes, when something in Brian’s eyes changed my mind. I could tell that there was more that he wanted to say, but I knew he wouldn’t with Sarah still here.
“Actually, I think I’m going to stay for a bit,” I said. “I’ll give you the key to my place, and you can get settled over there.”
Sarah crinkled her nose. “Oh hell no. Now that I’ve seen it in person, there’s no way I’m going in there before it’s been rebuilt, redecorated, and exorcised!” she said dramatically.
I laughed and shook my head.
“I reserved a room at the same hotel in town,” she said. “Are you sure you won’t come with me?” she asked.
I looked from her to Brian and back. “I’m sure. I’ll be ok,” I told her.
“She was crying when she called me yesterday,” Sarah said, swinging her eyes to Brian.
“Sarah. Can it,” I said curtly, heat rising to my cheeks.
“Whatever the hell your issue is, I highly suggest you fix it. Because I don’t tolerate my best friend crying that way,” Sarah said.
I felt Brian’s eyes on the top of my head as I gritted my teeth.
“Goodnight, Sarah,” I said.
She gave Brian one last hard look, before she turned to me and opened her arms. I hugged her fiercely and thanked her for coming to make sure I was alright. She told me to call her if I needed anything, that she had made arrangements to work remotely for a few days so she could be close to me.
I thanked her again and watched as she climbed back into her rental car and headed slowly down the mountain. Once she was out of sight, I closed the door but stayed facing it. I couldn’t believe she had shown up on Brian’s doorstep, and I wasn’t sure how he was going to react. “Amanda?”
I sighed as I turned my face up to find Brian’s eyes.
“If you’d like to stay here, you’re welcome. If I made you feel like you were unwelcome yesterday at all, I apologize. But if you want to go sleep in your own cabin, I understand,” he said.
“You did make me feel unwelcome. We have a lot to talk about, but I figured we could do it after everything was done tomorrow. We have enough on our plates for now,” I said.
“We?” Brian asked.
“Yes. We. Now, let’s go get some rest,” I said.
I backtracked into his room without a second thought, but Brian continued to stand at his door.
“Aren’t you coming to bed?” I asked.
“I’m just, well, yes. I am.”
“You’re what?” I asked.
Brian took a step into his room before he shut the door behind him.
“I’m surprised you’re not taking the guest bedroom,” he said.
“We have to give the illusion that we’re in love. Engaged. Getting married. Right? We’re still doing that?” I asked.
“We are,” he said.
“That means we sleep in the same room,” I said.
I watched Brian debate over my words before he finally relented. He started casting off his clothes and I diverted my eyes. I didn’t have anything to sleep in, so I picked his shirt off the floor and pulled it over my head. I wasn’t about to sleep in jeans and a sweater, but it was too late and too cold to go back to my cabin for something to wear.
I flipped back my side of the covers and slipped into bed. I could feel Brian’s warmth as he crawled in beside me, attempting to actively keep distance between us. I hated this. I hated the hesitancy looming between us. I turned onto my side with my back facing Brian, hoping to erase this moment from my mind. I didn’t know what he wanted, and I didn’t know what role I was supposed to play any longer. One moment, I felt like the new and craved woman in his world, and the next I felt like nothing more than a useless pawn. It was messing with my emotions and affecting my ability to think straight, and I didn’t enjoy it.
“Amanda?” Brian asked.
“Yes?”
I felt his body heat grow closer to me as my muscles braced.
I rolled over and found him face-to-face with me. Our noses were close, and his chest was hovering millimeters from mine. There was confusion and fear and restrained impulsivity flashing upon his face as his eyes danced along my features. I felt myself falling into his gravitational pull again. I felt my body yearning for him. My leg drifted out toward his, sliding in between his knees.
“What do you want?” I asked lightly. “Just tell me. That’s all you have to do.”
I could feel his breath pulsing upon my lips. I could feel the way his legs clamped down onto mine. His hand slipped around my waist and pressed into my lower back, pulling me closer to him as my hands planted on his bare chest. His muscles twitched underneath my touch. Jumping and trembling as I ran my skin across his. Our lips were ghosting against each other’s as our eyes stayed connected.
The electricity surging through my veins was threatening to fry my brain if I didn’t do something about it.
“Damn it, Brian. Just tell me what the fuck it is you want,” I said.
“You,” he said. “I want you.”
His lips encompassed mine, and that was all it took. I rolled him over onto his back as our lips massaged one another’s, our tongues meeting in a tango of sweetened passion. My hips rolled down onto his growing cock as it slipped through the opening of his boxers. I could feel his tip already dripping for me as his hands ran up and down the curves of my body.
He rolled me back over before his lips attached to my neck. He nibbled and sucked, leaving a trail of marks from my pulse point to my breasts. His teeth scraped along my skin, curling my toes. My hands rushed to his hair as I tangled my fingers up in his tresses, pulling him closer to me as my hips rolled desperately into his.
I rolled us over once again before I moved my panties off to the side. I felt his cock teasing my entrance, my pussy dripping for him as his eyes clouded with lust. His hands planted firmly on my hips as I grabbed his girth, feeling it pulse in my hands as I guided it toward my entrance. The two of us groaned together as my pussy swallowed him whole, filling me and stretching me as my eyes rolled back. His hands were massaging my hips and thighs as I adjusted to his thickness, but soon I felt his hips rolling up into me.
My hands pressed on his strong chest as our bodies moved as one. My swollen clit was peeking out from between my folds, seeking friction wherever it could. The scruff of his pelvis raked against the tip, making me dig my fingertips into his flesh. His hands were everywhere; massaging my tits and grabbing my ass. Holding my waist and moving my hips. He touched every part of me he could as I picked up my pace, slamming myself down on his cock as I chased my high.
“That’s it, Amanda. Ride my cock. Show me what you can do.”
I rolled my hips in tandem with his as my clit found the friction it needed. My vision was becoming blurry, and my nails dug into Brian’s skin. His hands cupped my ass, rolling me forward and filling my pussy while his cock twitched against my walls. I could hear my name tumbling from his lips like a whispered chant as my movements began to stutter.
Suddenly, I found myself on my back. I was at the foot of the bed as Brian hovered over my body, our lips crashing into one another’s. He pounded into
my hips, shaking the bed as my hands wrapped around his neck. I kissed his neck and his shoulders and his cheek. I kissed his forehead and his nose and his arm. Anything I could put my lips on, I kissed. Anything I could run my tongue over, I tasted. My head was hanging off the bed as he cradled it in the palm of his hand, my body jumping with every thrust he delivered.
Stars burst behind my eyes as my toes curled. My jaw unhinged in silent pleasure as his skin massaged my clit. I grasped onto his back, clinging on for dear life as he held me close to him.
“Brian. Shit. Please don’t stop. I’m so close. There. There. Right there. Shit. It’s right there. Brian. Brian. Please!”
I wrapped my legs around his waist and locked them as I came. My body pulled him deeper into me. My head was spinning, and I felt like I was falling. Electricity surged throughout my body as my head swam with dizziness. I clung to Brian as he held me tightly, murmuring my name into my skin as he filled me with his arousal. I could feel his dick twitching inside of me, pumping me full until our mixture ran out onto the sheets of his bed.
I panted into his neck as my grip loosened on his body, then he pulled me close to him as he moved us up to the head of the bed.
He kissed my forehead as he cradled my body against his. He brought the blankets up over our bodies as we shook from the force of our pleasure. I nuzzled my head underneath his chin as his hands danced along my back, and I found my leg between his once again as I drifted off to sleep.
I knew we needed to talk. But for now, I would take whatever I could get.
CHAPTER 28
Brian
“It’s going to be okay. Just settle down.”
Amanda’s voice comforted me as we drove to the courthouse. I was a nervous fucking wreck. I was going to have to stand in court and keep my cool as Lanie’s asshole sperm donor sat there trying to prove he had some decent life for her to go back to. And I knew I was putting on a charade as well. Sort of. The ring in my pocket was burning a hole into my thigh as we drove to the courthouse. I knew I had to give it to her, but I also knew she deserved better.
I cared about Amanda, and I cared about how this affected her. She deserved a proper proposal. One at a fancy dinner or in a butterfly garden underneath the stars. One that took place on an isolated tropical island beach, or maybe one that happened in the middle of her art gallery. All of these wonderful ideas kept pounding my head as we parked my truck.
It was now or never, but I wished I didn’t have to do it at all.
I wished things were different. I wished that Lanie’s father hadn’t done this to us. I wished my feelings for Amanda weren’t concealed underneath some plan to keep Lanie in my custody. I wished so many things were different.
“You ready?” Amanda asked.
“Almost. I have something to give you,” I said.
“Oh? What is it?” she asked.
I pulled the ring out of my pocket and I saw her expression shift. Her eyes widened as she took the ring from my hand, her eyes studying the shimmering diamonds. It was a princess-cut diamond surrounded by chocolate and yellow diamonds. They outlined the central diamond as well as cascaded down the sides of the rose-gold band. I watched her take it in, turning it around so she could see it from all angles.
“It’s, um, your engagement ring,” I said. “Since we aren’t married yet. But it’ll make things look intentional, especially since I filed for the license.”
“Brian. This is beautiful. You know a small one would’ve sufficed,” Amanda said.
“It needs to look real. And if I was proposing to you —”
My words caught in my throat as Amanda slid it onto her finger. It looked perfect, perched there on her hand. The diamonds not only accentuated her long, delicate fingers, it also accentuated the tone of her skin. The ring was fucking perfect for her, and it twisted the knife that had buried itself in my heart.
“It’s beautiful,” Amanda said breathlessly. “And I understand. You kept the receipt, right? So you can return it afterward?”
I felt like I was bleeding onto the floorboard of my truck with every word she spoke.
“Of course,” I said. “I did. Ready?”
“Ready as I’ll ever be. Do we need some sort of story about how we met?” she asked.
“Stick with how we actually met. Your inherited home, how we clicked instantly, how Lanie has already taken to you. There’s paperwork to back up that story, so let’s go with it,” I said.
“Perfect. Okay. Let’s go do this,” she said.
I escorted her into the courthouse, and my lawyer found us at the front door. He led us through the winding corridors and up the stairs as he talked us through what would happen. We would sit in a waiting room until our docket number was called, then we would follow him and sit beside him in front of a judge. We would present all the information we had, we would give our defense and our arguments, the judge would ask some questions, and if all went well, he would award custody today.
“Today?” I asked. “The judge might make that decision today?”
“It’s okay, Brian,” Amanda said. “We’ve got this. Trust the system. It does work.”
Our fingers were laced together as she laid her head on my shoulder. I was glad she came along because her presence was a comfort. She pressed kisses into my shoulder that settled my rapidly-beating heart, and she traced pictures on top of my skin that settled my shaking hands. But we weren’t sitting long before my phone rang in my pocket.
“Hold on,” I said. “Hello?”
“Brian. It’s me.”
“Man. Where the hell have you been?” I asked.
It was my private investigator, and my entire body went on high alert.
“Two things. One, it took some time to get Daryl out of town, but he left town yesterday morning.”
“What the hell’s the second thing?” I asked.
“Docket Number 245612-07.” A woman’s voice called out a docket number.
“That’s us,” my lawyer said. “Wrap it up.”
“I have to go. Can this wait?” I asked.
“You’ll figure it out in court. And you’re welcome. I expect payment in my account by the end of the day. Give your family my regards.”
I had no idea what the fuck he was talking about, but I didn’t have time to figure it out. I turned my phone on silent and placed it back in my pocket. Amanda was holding her hand out for me, and my lawyer was staring me down. It was time to go and face the asshole that was trying to shake me down and using Lanie to do it.
We walked down the hallway and slipped into the small courtroom. It wasn’t like the courtroom I imagined it would be. It was small, with no room for any sort of audience or jury to sit and observe. Amanda and I followed my lawyer to one of the desks, and we sat down. The only person sitting at the other desk was a lawyer.
A lawyer who didn’t have any sort of briefcase or files with him.
“All rise for the Honorable Judge Macon C. Clemmons.”
“Everyone stay seated. I have a full schedule today, and I’m ready to get this over with,” the judge said.
I shot my lawyer a look, but he seemed unconcerned. Was this the kind of judge we wanted presiding over my niece’s fucking custody case? Someone who just wanted to ‘get this over with’? I felt Amanda squeeze my hand as her eyes scanned my body.
“Relax,” she said in a whisper.
“I see there’s a suit for custody as well as a counter-suit for custody. I’ll start with the people who are actually here. Mr. Brian Murphy. Why do you feel you deserve custody of Lanie Murphy?” the judge asked.
“Because I’m her uncle. I’ve been taking care of her for the past year. I have a stable home, a stable income, and a family that loves her,” I said.
“Any history of drugs or alcohol in the home?”
“No, your honor,” I said.
“And who is this?” the judge asked, motioning toward Amanda.
“My fiance, your honor.”
“H
ow long have you been in the household with Mr. Murphy and the child in question?” the judge asked.
“A few months, though it’s been more permanent the past couple of weeks,” Amanda said.
I took in her story and committed it to memory in case I was questioned about it later.
“And how long have the two of you been engaged? I see here there was paperwork filed for a marriage license last week?”
”About two weeks, your honor. We knew right away that we wanted to spend our lives together, but Brian wanted to make sure that I was the right person to be around Lanie first before we made it official,” she said.
“And how do you and Lanie get along?” the judge asked.
“Famously,” Amanda said, beaming. “I couldn’t love that little girl any more than if she were my own flesh and blood.”
Amanda was handling this like a champ. I was so incredibly proud of her, and grateful. The judge continued to throw questions at us while he shot the lone lawyer curious glances. But once the judge was done, he was not only sold on our story but so was I. We answered those questions as if we had been together for years. The stories rolled right off our tongue and the way Amanda spoke about me lit up her eyes.
No one could fake that kind of shit if they tried.
“Okay, Mr. Bergeron. Where’s your client?” the judge asked.
“My client was arrested early this morning.”
“On what grounds?” the judge asked.
“Use of methamphetamines and domestic abuse, Your Honor.”
I felt my entire body grow numb as the conversation with my private investigator slowly fell into place. His cryptic response. The fact that I would find out during the hearing. I had no idea what the hell that fool had concocted or how he managed to uncover the bullshit man Lanie’s father really was, but I owed him big time.
Not only was he getting paid, but he was also getting a big fucking bonus.
“I guess I should’ve started with you,” the judge said. “In the case of Docket Number 245612-07, Witlowe vs. Murphy, I hereby declare full custody awarded to Brian Murphy. My decision on this matter is final.”
