by Heather Long
Frankie’s eyes opened wide as she gasped out little sounds that were the syllables of my name, but I swallowed them in a kiss before sinking into her. My cock ached to feel those shudders and spasms as she wrapped me up, and when her fingers dug into my shoulders, I exulted. My girl was flying, and she wrapped those legs around me as I began to pump into her, and my denied orgasm was right there but I fought it.
Not until she came.
One more time.
I might have blacked out when it hit, or maybe we both did. But I was right where I always wanted to be—with her.
Subject: ARE YOU SERIOUS?
Sorry about the all caps, but are you serious about us doing a cover of one of your songs? I mean, I know all the words to every single one. No lie. The guys love that about me. Which is good, because I sing along to every album when they come out.
I’d offer to pinch myself, but I do not want to wake up. If you mean it, then hell yes, I would love to cover one of your songs. How does that work? Do I just tell you which one? How do I choose?
Also, down girl, I will happily share Ian’s voice with the world, but the only panties he gets are mine.
Have I mentioned how awesome you are?
We’re in paradise at the moment, on vacay, see the pictures attached, but we should be heading back to civilization soon. Actually, I’m not even sure if this email will go through until we’re back, but I didn’t want to forget to respond.
F.
P.S. Ian said I’d never forget. If I was going to leave them for anyone, it would be you three, but I think Rachel would disagree.
Chapter Nineteen
Farewell to Paradise
Frankie
Dawn of our last full day on the island, and I sat out on the deck watching the sun rise over the water. We’d all been up super late, but as the guys dropped off one at a time, I’d stayed awake. My body was sore in all the right ways. It had been an amazing week. I thought we were only going to get five days, but Archie stretched it out somehow and we ended up with an extra three.
I didn’t ask him how he did it. Just thanked him. A light shawl landed around my shoulders, and I glanced up to find a shirtless Archie gazing down at me. Smiling, he dipped his head and pressed his lips to mine before he set a tall mug with an even taller cone of whipped cream on top of the table next to me.
He added a second one that he’d left just inside before moving around to tug me out of my chair and then down he sat and pulled me into his lap. I stretched my legs out on the lounger and leaned back against his chest.
The air was chillier than I’d realized, but the shawl was warm. Archie was warmer still. We didn’t talk, he just passed me my foamy coffee with the crown of whip. The chocolaty goodness had been made to perfection. When I tilted my head, well aware of the whip cream mustache I had, he grinned and cleaned it off before kissing me slowly.
Peppermint. Coffee. Chocolate. Archie.
I sighed.
“What’s wrong, babe?” Archie asked in a low voice as he drew his finger down my cheek. “Why so pensive?”
“Hmm…not pensive.” Well, not really. I took another sip of the coffee and glanced down to where the ocean rolled in, the white caps of foam suggesting more agitation than normal. There had been a storm offshore the night before. We’d gotten to watch the lightning show for a while before we’d gone inside. “Maybe a little… I don’t want to leave.”
The last might have come out a little petulant. I winced.
“I mean…I love it here. I love us here. But I loved us in the lodge in Colorado. And in my apartment in Texas.” Head tilted back. “And your house…”
“Our house,” he corrected, then gave my hair a little tug. “The lodge will be ours too. I already told Grandpa I wanted it kept in our family.”
A shiver went up my spine.
“You want an island, babe? I don’t know if Grandpa’s friends will sell this one, but I can make them a hell of an offer.”
“How much would one even pay for an island?” The question popped out, and I twisted to look at him. He gave me a faint grin and a shrug.
“A few million, I’m sure. Probably have to clear it with the government, since I think this island falls under Fijian law, but we’d figure it out.”
“A few million?” I was pretty sure I blanched.
“We can go halfsies…but I kind of like the idea of our very own fantasy island.”
With a groan, I stared down at my coffee. “You’d do it too. Even if it would cost some ridiculous amount of money.”
“If it made you smile? Hell yes, I’d do it. Though…as nice as this one is, maybe we get one in the Caribbean or the Mediterranean. Something a little closer to us.”
Laughter fluttered through me. “Maybe later.”
Was I seriously saying that?
“Yeah?” Archie teased, tugging the shawl down to bare my shoulder so he could kiss it. “How much later?”
“We’ll revisit it…after college.”
“So, bachelor’s degrees in three and a half years? We can probably do a couple of really nice investments with high yield returns that would build that nest egg.”
“Archie…”
“Come on now, babe, you’re the one getting the business degree. An island retreat, particularly if we use a country with good banking laws, like the Caymans, means we can secure our investment capital offshore and then get what we want.”
“Always thinking five steps ahead. Five days. Five weeks. Five months…”
“Five years,” he murmured against my ear. “Fifteen. Fifty.”
Fifty years. I snorted. I couldn’t help it, and Archie chuckled before drawing the shawl back up and tugging me back against him.
“Five minutes after I met you, I knew you were something special. It wasn’t five days later that I knew you were the girl for me. That you’ve always been the girl for me. I was planning a future with you before you even realized I wanted to date you.”
The unadulterated love in those words warmed me.
“Maybe I don’t tell you enough how much I love you and maybe I obsess about your perfect breasts, sweet gorgeous ass—which I very much liked fucking on the plane, by the way—or that way your pussy pulses around my cock as you come. How sweet you taste on my tongue when you lose control. Yes, I fucking adore your body, and I adore fucking your body. But loving you? I’ve done that forever, and I plan to go on doing it forever.”
Tears burned in my eyes, and I let out a soppy little laugh.
“You’re going to make me cry.”
“As long as they’re happy tears.” He folded his arms around me and tucked his chin on my shoulder. “I can live with a few of those, but only a few. You want an island, we’ll get an island. You want school? We’ll go to school. You want a hundred cats? Well, we’re gonna have to work on robo-litter cleaners…”
That made me laugh, and I shook with it. “You’re such an ass.”
“But I’m your ass,” he said. “I always have been.”
“Well, my ass isn’t so bad-looking.”
It was his turn to snort. “Your ass is spectacular.”
I grinned. We sat there on the deck for another little while, finishing our coffees. Then we went back inside before heading downstairs. The guys were all passed out. I had to laugh at the fact that Coop was sprawled across half the bed and Jake and Ian were both sleeping at the worst angles to avoid his legs and arms.
Outside again, we followed the water’s edge. The sand here was so fine, it was like powder. We’d kept an eye out for rocks and shells, but we’d been pretty fortunate.
“I wanted to talk to you about school,” Archie began, and I glanced at him.
“Do you want to talk to me about school or your dad?”
He frowned. Like the guys, I’d been aware of Archie’s calls with his father. Coop and I had heard part of one the other day before we ducked out of the house to let him have his privacy. “How long have you known?”
“For a while.”
He sighed.
“I wanted to let you come to me with it, if and when you needed to.”
“I wasn’t trying to lie to you,” he offered, and I squeezed his hand.
“Archie, I know that. I know you’re not lying to me or trying to lie to me. Things with your father are…complicated.”
“That’s a really generous word for it.”
“It’s not about being generous,” I scolded him. “Archie—right, wrong, or indifferent—your relationship with Edward is yours. As long as he isn’t hurting you or trying to hurt you, I will keep my distance. If he turns into a giant douche canoe again, all bets are off.”
It was Archie’s turn to laugh.
“I’m serious.”
“I know you are, babe. Just like I know you’d kick his ass for me, no problem.”
“I would too.”
“I believe you.” His tone wasn’t placating. If anything, he sounded impressed. “And Jake would probably pummel him, while Bubba and Coop pinned him down.”
“Well, you’re not wrong.” The breeze carrying in off the water pushed my hair across my face, and I ran my fingers through it to push it out of the way. “That’s because we have each other’s backs. All of us.”
“You know that’s something else you gave me,” he said, and I shook my head before pinching him. Hard. He grunted. “Ow.”
“Stop doing yourself a disservice. You’re awesome. I can’t make anyone like or care about someone else if they don’t want to.”
“Really?” he retorted. “Explain Rachel.”
“I can’t.” I grinned. “That’s all Rachel. You have to love her.”
“Uh-huh. And why is that?”
“Because she’s Rachel.”
“You realize that’s circular logic.”
“You’re changing the subject.” I bumped him with my hip. “The guys love you for you. They’re your friends too. They were before they were your brother boyfriends.” I could kiss Sara for that term. Archie sent his gaze skyward.
“That phrase is never going away.”
“Nope,” I said. “But I promise never to tease you guys publicly about it.”
“You can tease us anytime. You know that. We love that you’re our girlfriend, and we’ll shout it from the fucking rooftops. Trust me when I say there will never be a mistake made that you’re not ours again.”
Love cascaded through me. “And I’m your girlfriend. So, agreed. No others get their hands on any of us. But back to what we were talking about—Archie, the guys love you for you.”
“Let’s not go that far.”
I rolled my eyes and twisted to walk backwards so I could meet his gaze. With the sun up and bathing us, the light highlighted all the shadows and planes of his face, from his adorable half-smile to his rough cheeks with their morning stubble and the disheveled hair that the wind kept tossing. He looked like a sexy god out for a stroll.
Or a Greek tycoon.
Yeah, Archie could totally rock Greek tycoon.
“They’re your friends too. They’d throw down for you. Last summer, you didn’t lose them, even when I wasn’t there.”
His expression tightened.
“That night we had sex the first time…that whole weekend, you had an advantage over all of them because even when I was furious with you for keeping our parents a secret and hurt about you making decisions for me, I never doubted for an instant how you made me feel or how you felt about me.”
I stopped, and so did he. “Frankie…”
“I’m not bringing that up to rehash the fight we had. That’s done. I’m pointing out that you and I, we made up before I made up with the others. We had sex again before Jake showed up, and when you could have persuaded me to stay, you encouraged me to go with him. To keep giving each of them a chance.”
He blew out a breath.
“You did it with Ian too. After everything that happened, you still supported the idea of him and I working things out.”
“You need him,” Archie said quietly. “You need all of them. Even if I wanted to be a selfish prick and keep you all to myself, which admittedly, there are times, Frankie. There will be times now and times later when I’m going to want to run away with you and just have you to myself for a day, a weekend, a night.”
“But you won’t ever want me to leave them for good.”
He let out a long sigh. “No…because those assholes need you too. We work. All five of us. What we have…it just works.”
“So why can’t you believe you deserve their love and support?”
“Because I’m the guy who fixes things.” If that didn’t define his self-view, I didn’t know what did.
Stepping closer, I cupped his face in my hands so he wouldn’t look away. “Even the mechanic needs help sometimes. Even if it’s a lift to get the car up so he can see what’s wrong or a second opinion on what’s making that pinging sound in the engine. When you don’t need that, it never hurts to have another guy hanging out, shooting the shit while you get the job done. Because you’re not alone. You and me? We didn’t do so hot with our parents, but this family? This family we got.”
“I think your dad is pretty cool,” Archie teased before wrapping his hand around my nape and stroking his thumb against the column of my neck. “I think you’re exceptional.”
“Right back atcha, Standish,” I informed him as I rose up on my tiptoes and slid my arms around him. He caught me close, and the fierceness of his hug lifted me off my feet. I didn’t know which of us needed it more. “Don’t ever forget we all have your back, okay?”
“I won’t,” he promised. Then after a moment, he chuckled. “You’d probably beat my ass if I did.”
Well, he wasn’t wrong.
“But I’d kiss it and make it better after,” I promised him. He squeezed me and then blew a raspberry against my neck before sucking a kiss against the skin and making me shriek with laughter.
“Like this?” And then he kissed me again, almost sloppily, and it made me laugh harder. “Or this?” Then he kissed me for real, and my laughter faded on a long sigh as he claimed my mouth.
“All of the above,” I whispered between kisses, and then he tugged my shawl off and tossed it toward the sand. My top followed. I hadn’t dressed for the walk, I was still in sleep shorts with no panties on underneath. “If you get sand in unmentionable places…”
“I’ll be on bottom,” he told me before we went down together. The kisses turned hotter and the touches more fervent, and in the same moment, we took our time. I was on my knees straddling him, and he kept his shorts on, so I guess I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want sand anywhere delicate.
Still, when he freed his cock and I sank down on it, we both sighed.
“Frankie,” he murmured, fisting my hair as if to hold me still. “You know I love you, right?”
“Yes,” I answered, meeting his gaze as our breath mingled. “I know you do. I love you too.”
“Good,” he said slowly, then thrust up into me and I let out a harsh breath. “Then hold still, babe, ’cause I’m going to fuck up into you until you come all over these shorts. I want to go back sticky with you all over me.”
“Only if I don’t lick it off you before we get there.” His eyes flared at the declaration, and he shifted his grip on my hip as if to hold me still.
“Talk dirty to me some more,” he whispered. “Tell me how much you want my cock drilling into you. How you like to feel me thrusting against these trembling walls. How every spasm reminds you of when I come and fill you up.”
Yeah.
He still won at dirty talk.
I lost the battle at finding an appropriate response when the first orgasm crashed down on me.
An hour later, he kissed my shoulder in apology as he rinsed between my ass cheeks. “I promise to make it up to you…”
“Does anyone want to share how Frankie got sand in her ass?” Coop asked. “Inquiring minds and all that.�
�
I flipped him off, and Jake dragged Coop out. “Just make sure you check that you got it all,” Jake warned. “We’ll go make breakfast.”
“I’m sorry,” Archie whispered, but it was Ian who was helping too. He took the sprayer and traced it over the folds of my vulva. Oh, this was embarrassing and kind of hot at the same time.
“It’s fine,” I grumbled and then laughed as Ian circled my clit. “Pretty sure there’s no sand there.”
“Good,” he told me. “Just making sure.” He was using his fingers to trace every single fold, and then Archie cupped me from behind and eased two fingers into me. I flattened one hand on the wall and gripped his Ian’s shoulder with the other. “Carefully,” he instructed.
“What do you think I’m doing?” Archie countered. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“Then you shouldn’t have flipped her,” Ian responded. I touched Ian’s cheek, and he flicked his gaze up to me as he kept running the sprayer over my vulva and down to where Archie pushed into me.
Honestly, it all felt good. There was no more bite of sand or grit. My nipples beaded under the contact, especially when Ian slid back to my clit again.
“Don’t fight,” I murmured. “I was just as guilty. We got carried away.”
“Angel, we’re not fighting.” His voice dipped.
“And if you think we are…” Archie scissored his fingers inside of me, and I swore I rose up on my toes at the sensation. “Then we need to work on our method.”
Wait…
“Exactly,” Ian stated, and then he kissed me. The massage of his lips against mine sent the questions pinging around off each other in my brain. The firmness of his fingers against my clit combined with Archie’s thrusting fingers forced me up on my toes again. Too many sensations competing for attention.
If it had been Jake and Coop, I would totally get where this was leading. Archie and Ian didn’t… Ian’s tongue thrust against mine, and Archie bit down on my neck. “I think she can handle this,” he said softly. “You up for it, Rhys?”
