He broke off, rubbing his hand along the back of his neck before he sighed. “Come here.”
He held his hands out. She took them and let him pull her to her feet. He put his arms around her, locking his hands behind her back. “So, yeah, maybe we skipped some steps in…”
“Our relationship,” she offered.
“Yeah. That.” Then he shot her a look because he guessed she was silently laughing at him. “Relationship. I can say it.”
“Okay.”
“Okay,” he said, a bit belligerently, and she mostly suppressed a chuckle. He brushed his hand along her hair, and his look of annoyance faded to something tender. “I like having you in my house, Felicity. I like…you. I want you to stay.”
“You want us to live together.”
Apparently, he could say that, too, though it took him a couple seconds. “Yes.”
“After we’ve spent essentially two nights together?”
He muttered something about dog years.
“What?”
Reinen sighed again. “All right. I agree it seems a little crazy. It wasn’t what I meant, or you meant, either, that night I brought you home. But it feels right.” He gave her a little squeeze. “It feels right to me. What about you?”
Felicity dropped her forehead onto his chest, looking at the ground. It was crazy. It had to be. She’d walked out on a three-year relationship and into another man’s home in a matter of hours.
She could justify it when Reinen was gone, when she had the excuse of helping out with Juniper. Now, it meant something different, something important, for her to stay. She lifted her head to look at him. “It feels right. But—”
He kissed her quiet. “How about if we just hold off on the ‘buts’ for a while? Would that be all right, sweetheart?”
“‘Sweetheart’?” She smiled a little. “Does that mean you’re going to stop calling me ‘bitch’ and ‘cunt’?”
He gave her a little look. “In the heat of the moment? Probably not, no. Is that going to be a problem?”
He used his lips to forestall her response again. Not knowing what it would be, in any case, she let him have his way.
Besides, she had a party to put on.
* * * *
They had a small, only slightly goofy party for Juniper. Felicity had a bunch of balloons delivered and pesented a really decent meal of a shrimp and melon and mango salad with a delicious herbed and cheese-dotted flatbread, and topped it all off with her fancy cupcakes.
The edible ones, Reinen meant.
And she didn’t seem to care that the guys drank beer with it all.
She could have gone over the top, like he knew some women did, but she hadn’t. She’d bought and wrapped just a couple of gifts. Juniper was particularly delighted with a stuffed cat that was big enough for her to crawl all over and that didn’t run away.
Mostly they just hung out on the deck, three men watching one woman and a baby.
Through it all, with what he considered totally reasonable resentment, Reinen did as Wesley had asked.
He watched Felicity and Juniper together and had to admit that Wesley was right about that one. The two were bonded. In two weeks’ time, Felicity had come to mean just as much to Juniper as he and Wesley did, even as much as Andy. When the little imp checked to see who was watching so she could show off some new stunt, she looked first to Andy. When she was checking to see if she could get away with a little mischief—like snitching another cupcake from the table—she scoped out whether she was on Felicity’s radar first.
And she was. Always.
Like a mother, Felicity had sixth sense for kid-hijinks.
Like a daughter, Juniper was both comforted and challenged by it.
So, yeah, Wesley had nailed that one.
The other was tougher. He watched Felicity and thought about his two friends. They watched her, too, and every once in a while, they all exchanged an aware look. They were all thinking, wondering the same thing.
Reinen felt as close to his two buddies as he did to anyone. He liked living with them, liked it more, he was pretty sure, than he would like living alone. He’d missed Andy through the months of that rotten marriage and hadn’t hesitated to ask him back to the house when Ellen died. Even the idea of Andy bringing a baby along hadn’t caused him to hesitate.
Damn Wesley was right about that, too. These men—and the goofy cute kid—were his family.
So he took a deep breath several times over the course of the afternoon. He watched Andy watch Fee and had to agree with Wes. The man would be an idiot to not go after her. And he wasn’t an idiot.
Reinen sipped beer and tried to imagine how that would feel. He had no difficulty seeing Felicity as Juniper’s mother. What he had trouble with was seeing her as Andy’s woman. Not just Andy’s but his, Reinen’s, too.
Much to his surprise, he could see it more easily with Wes. Clearly, Wes and Fee also had bonded while Reinen and Andy were away. Wes saw when she needed help before Reinen did, even before Felicity did. He took the jar she was trying to open before she started to struggle with it. He pushed her away from a stepstool and reached up himself to hang a streamer for her.
She finished his sentences, laughed at his jokes before he finished them, like she knew what was coming.
Wes didn’t appear the least bothered by Reinen’s shows of possession. He took her hand and pulled her out from under Reinen’s arm when Juniper needed a little soccer lesson with the ball Felicity had gotten her. He leaned in between them, a hand on Felicity’s hip, when he reached for the chips on the table.
When he had to go to work—he was starting a string of midnights—he picked Juniper up in his arms, lifted her over his head to get her squealing a couple times, and then tucked her on his hip while he approached Felicity. He looked at her, spoke to her, just as though Reinen wasn’t standing right next to her.
“Nice party.”
Felicity smiled. “Thanks.”
“I’ll be back in the morning, around eight.”
“All right. I’ll try to keep the rugrat quiet so you can sleep.”
Wes shrugged. “No worries. We shouldn’t be busy. I’ll probably get some sleep tonight.”
He kissed Juniper and wished her a final happy birthday. Then he handed her over to Felicity, leaning in to kiss her, as well. Right on the lips, like he’d done it every day for the last two weeks. “Have a good night.”
Felicity’s answer was a little wobbly. “You, too.”
Wes backed off, met Reinen’s gaze, and held it for a minute before he nodded. “G’night, man.” He fist-bumped Andy on his way across the deck. “You, too, dude.”
When Reinen looked back at Felicity, she had her head ducked down toward the kid. He tucked a finger under her chin and tilted her head up until she met his gaze. Her cheeks flushed a little as he watched her. Andy saved her—him?—by coming to fetch Junie from her arms.
Felicity turned to start party cleanup, and, after watching her for a long moment, he set in to help.
* * * *
Staying largely silent, Reinen helped Felicity take care of the party mess outdoors and then clean up the kitchen. Andy came back with the freshly bathed birthday girl, and so they both kissed her goodnight before Andy took her up to bed.
When she’d wiped the counters for the third time and really couldn’t find anything else to do, Reinen came and took the towel from her hands.
“Let’s go upstairs,” he said.
Felicity nodded, compliant, as he took her hand and led her.
For maybe the first time, she couldn’t read him.
Wesley had kissed her good-bye just as he had the last several days they were alone together. Except he had done it in front of an audience, one that happened to include her, well, her boyfriend, for lack of a better word. That, and the fact that they’d previously shared a singularly hot, groping kiss, made his casual but still intimate touch unexpected.
Something had happened among the thre
e of them, and it involved her. Reinen was an obviously possesive, dominant sort—an alpha male. Even a friend wouldn’t likely test his temper by, for example, kissing his girlfriend right in front of him.
Reinen just wasn’t the kind of man to stand by and watch it happen. And there had been something—something stewing in his mind, something he was going to say—in those moments after Wesley had left. He’d watched her with such intensity. Felicity was already a bit taken aback, already a bit nervous following Wes’s kiss. She’d felt her face heat as Reinen held her with the power of his gaze.
She’d seen Andy watching out of the corner of her eye, and she knew his interruption wasn’t accidental. He’d been watching, wondering, no doubt, just like she had, what Reinen’s reaction would be.
She’d been surprised that Reinen had let it go, had allowed Andy and Juniper to distract him. But they were alone now, and Reinen was obviously back in charge. His hand on hers was gentle, but she was certain she wouldn’t be allowed to pull away.
He took her to his room, nearly dark now after sunset. Beside his bed, he turned to face her. He held her arms and watched her with glittering eyes, intently, like he could see right into her.
He was quiet for so long she thought maybe he was waiting for her to speak. Nervous enough to want to get on with it, she tried. “Reinen—”
Firmly putting his thumb to her lips, he stopped her. “Let’s put that mouth to better use.”
Dropping his hands from her but not his gaze, he opened his fly. Then he pressed one hand on her shoulder, a clear signal to go to her knees.
He kept control of her head with his two big hands. Pressing her face into his cock, he rubbed against her. He was long and filling but not yet erect. That changed quickly, though, as he stimulated himself against her face.
“Open your mouth.”
Felicity complied. Keeping her head cupped with one hand, Reinen used his other to rub his cock over her lips and then inside her mouth.
“Lick me. I need to be wet for this. I’m going down your throat.”
It wasn’t long before she understood what he meant. As instructed, she slid her tongue along his length, wetting his entire shaft. She realized he was helping, using his fingers to add his own spit. When he was satisfied, he put his cock in her mouth and used both hands on her head to steady her. He tilted her back so she could see his face. So she would be aware of his intent. His mastery.
And so he, she realized, could watch as his cock fucked her mouth. Her throat.
Abruptly, he slid the fingers of one hand inside her top and into her bra straps. He tugged down, baring her breasts. Apparently, he wanted that view, too.
Silent, grim, even, he pressed his cock into her, filling her just to the back of her mouth, deeper than he’d gone that first night when they’d been in his shower. Then he went further than that.
“Swallow, bitch,” he said. “Swallow me down. Do it, you fucking cunt.”
So, no, Felicity guessed. He wasn’t done calling her by those rough words.
This was the harsh, dominant side of Reinen, exciting and scary at the same time. The side that liked to demonstrate his overpowering strength, liked to fuck her ass for his own pleasure, liked to use her as his vessel.
She’d been aware of this side of him from their first moments together. It had been surprisingly enticing, wickedly seductive. She’d found an unexpected side of herself in response. A side that liked him to dominate, that liked to submit.
But this moment was a little edgier, his intent tinged with anger. She fought panic as he pushed down her throat. She wanted to gag, and she couldn’t breathe, so she started to fight him.
He pulled back, still in her mouth. “Breathe through your nose. Keep your throat open.” His commands were gruff, dispassionate. Impatient. His eyes were fierce. “Fucking do what I say, because this is going to happen.”
He steadied her head with both hands once more and went deep. Felicity concentrated on following his instructions. She relaxed her throat and let him in, trusting that he’d pull back to let her breathe.
Growling in feral victory, Reinen arched back when she took all of him. He held her head, securing her as he pulled back and pumped into her mouth, then took deep strokes again. “Fuck! Fuck, yes. You fucking bitch!”
He thrust into her mouth, using her wildly. He moved one hand from her head to grab her tit, taking hold of her nipple and tugging as he fucked her. The pinch was hard, painful and thrilling all at once.
He chanted as his climax drew close, calling her his bitch and his cunt, swearing out harsh fuck words. He pulled back when he told her he was coming. He told her to open her mouth.
She did what he said, tilting back to receive what he was determined to give her. He took his cock in his own hand, finishing himself off with a few fast, rough strokes. He came, his cum blasting out at first and then spilling into her, filling her mouth. He groaned, every muscle in his body tense, spasms of pleasure quivering through him.
She took what he wanted. She let him fill her with his cum and then swallowed it down.
He watched her do it, his eyes glowing. “Yes. Good girl. Good little bitch. Fuck, yes.”
He leaned over her, a hand braced on her shoulder as he caught his breath. Then he used the hand still tangled in her hair at the back of her skull to bring her to her toes.
His breath was still hot, urgent, as he brought her face close to his. His eyes were still fierce. Locking her gaze with his, he shoved two fingers under her skirt, inside her thong, and up her cunt. When he set her back down on her heels, his fingers settled deeper into her.
Slowly, his breathing calmed. The raw pressure of his fingers eased as her body accommodated to his rough incursion.
After a long moment, he drew his fingers out and stepped back from her.
“I’m going out,” he told her. “Get in bed. Be naked. When I get back, I’m probably going to fuck you.”
Chapter Seven
Reinen threw himself into his truck and backed out of the drive. He fucking needed out of the house, and as he’d left Felicity, he was certain of what he would do. He’d find some dive, pick up a cheap, uncomplicated woman, and fuck her brains out.
He’d use her mindlessly, recklessly, and not have to think about, about…
Hell.
He slammed his fist onto the steering wheel, put the truck in drive, and parked it right back where it had been.
He couldn’t fuck another woman. But he didn’t have to be with Felicity, either. He didn’t have to think about what he’d seen in Wesley’s eyes when the asshole had kissed her good-bye. He didn’t have to think about how Andy needed a woman just like Felicity.
No, not just like Felicity.
But Felicity herself.
The woman Reinen had just used and abused, taking his frustration out on her in a way he’d never done to a woman before.
The woman he fucking loved, God dammit.
There was nothing like watching your buddy kiss a woman with love in his eyes to clarify your own feelings about her. Damn Wesley was exactly right. If Reinen didn’t love her, he should give her up to Wes, who did. Or Andy, who needed her the most.
And he could have done it, too, might have done it, if Felicity was just his hot sex-toy.
She fucking wasn’t. Somehow, the fucking bitch had got her sweet, fucking claws into his fucking heart. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Well, he didn’t have to like it. Even if he couldn’t go off and bury his troubles between some other bitch’s thighs, he didn’t have to go to Felicity. He didn’t have to hang his head in apology and kiss his regret gently onto her lips.
Still storming, he slammed his way out of his truck and into the house. He ignored Andy in the kitchen and strode downstairs to the workout room. There, he stripped down to his jeans and worked on his mad at the weight machine.
He’d stopped cursing out loud and was dripping sweat by the time he noticed Andy leaning against the doorway, drinking from a
long-neck. Reinen was on an incline, working on pec flies when their eyes met. He dropped the weights.
“What?” he demanded. “I suppose you want her, too.”
“Not if it’s going to drive you berserk.”
On a heavy breath, Reinen sat up, and Andy threw him a towel. He wiped his head, then took the beer Andy handed him and finished it.
“He kissed her like he loves her. Did you see that?”
Andy gave a small shrug. “Yeah. He kissed her like he loves her. Just like he said he did.”
“He said I love her, too.”
“He’s right, is he?”
“Yes, dammit.”
“Then you’re going to have to work something out.” Andy sat down on the bench across from him, waiting in that simple way he had.
“Do we have to work you into it, too?”
Andy shook his head. “Let’s wait, see what you and Wes figure out. I’m not going to fall in love with her just because she’d make a good mother to Junie.”
“Maybe all you need is two weeks with her, like Wes.”
“Or one night in the sack with her, like you.”
Reinen lifted a brow. “I’d rather the first.”
His friend answered with a grin. “No shit.”
“Do you really think men can share a woman, and all of them be happy?”
Andy sucked his teeth for a second. “I don’t know. We do okay sharing a house. You didn’t mind sharing my beer.”
“I didn’t fucking share it. I killed it.”
“Yeah, well. It seems like a woman’s love might be a limitless resource.”
“You’re thinking Felicity’s a bottomless bottle of beer?”
Andy chuckled and stood up. “She’s not bottomless. I noticed that right off.”
Reinen sighed as his friend left the room, left the image of Felicity’s sweet ass in his mind. He wiped himself down one more time and headed upstairs. He had some apologizing to do. Some regret to convey.
* * * *
Felicity knew she wouldn’t sleep when Reinen had slammed out the door.
Billings, Rachel - Three Men and a Woman: Felicity (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 10
