Unforgotten Family (An Ariel Kimber Novel Book 6)

by Mary Martel

  "We're not having sex for the first time out here on the grass." He smirked down at me while squeezing my ass playfully. "So don't get any ideas in that pretty head of yours. There'll be no taking advantage of me and definitely not in front of my twin, he's innocent and needs me to protect his virtue for him."

  I grinned up at him. "Ha ha. It's my virtue here that's in need of protection. Not yours, and certainly not Abel's."

  He scoffed and rubbed his nose along my cheekbone. "You don't get to use that as an excuse anymore. Not since you started letting more than one man defile you on a regular basis."

  I turned my cheek into his touch, craving more of it. "Not at the same time, I haven't."

  Part of me was still terrified simply at the thought of being with two men at the same time. It felt like I'd be breaking some kind of rule I'd never be able to come back from. Would that make me a slut?

  I already knew people outside of our community would never understand my relationships, and I was working on being okay with that. Would it be even worse if two of my boyfriends weren't just brothers, but twins, and I slept with both of them at the same time? Anything different always ended up being painted as wrong by the rest of the world. People feared what they didn't understand, and fear always brought out the ugly in people.

  "Hey," he murmured. My eyes focused back on him. "Don't do that. Whatever it is that you were just thinking about, you need to get it out of your head. I'm never going to hurt you. My twin is never going to hurt you. We've got absolutely nothing but love for you. You don't ever have to worry when you're with us."

  I knew all of this already. Sometimes I forgot and let my fear take control over me, and I became a scared little girl again. If something seemed too good to be true, it probably was. And my Salt and Pepper twins seemed too good to be true.

  Warmth hit me from behind as a big body molded itself to my back, pressing tight against me. Fingers ran up the nape of my neck and into my hair. My head was pulled back by my hair and I looked up into bright green eyes.

  "I'm not like my brother. I don't mind grass stains and I have no problem being out here in the open with you."

  Using his hand in my hair, he jerked my head to the side, angling it just so, and his mouth descended upon mine. I closed my eyes as he kissed me and my fingers dug into Addison's shoulders, holding onto him while I kissed his brother.

  Abel broke the kiss first. He groaned as he shoved his face into my neck. His tongue flicked across the underside of my jaw. My eyelids grew heavy, slowly lowering to half-mast.

  Fingers grabbed my chin and my face was turned back to Addison. My eyes fluttered open all the way and he made a noise in the back of his throat when my gaze met his.

  "So pretty," he murmured. "I hope you know I don't really give a shit about being outside. I just said that because I thought it was what you'd want to hear."

  "Shut up and kiss me," I muttered, as my lips began to stretch wide into a smile.

  "You shut up," he muttered back with his eyes glued to my lips.

  The grip on my hair loosened before falling away. Addison's lips brushed against mine and my eyes fluttered closed again. I lost myself in the kiss and the rest of the world faded away.

  The hands on my ass moved to my hips. One stayed there, gripping my hip, as the other slid around and up my back. He clutched me tightly to him as he fell back onto his back in the grass. My legs wrapped around his back loosened and dropped down to his sides, my knees going to the grass as I straddled him. I missed the heat from Abel at my back, but soon forgot about it as Addison deepened the kiss. The hand on my back slid away, coming to my face. He swept the hair that had fallen in my eyes away, holding it clutched in his fingers at the back of my head.

  A hand brushed against my side and I broke the kiss, turning to see Abel laying on his side on the grass, facing us.

  He leaned in and his lips molded to mine once more. He kissed me as his hand went to my back. Fingertips slid underneath the hem of my shirt and, ever so slowly, dragged it up.

  The grip Addison had on my hips tightened as his brother slowly pulled my shirt up my back, stopping just below my armpits. Now it was my choice to make. We could stop now, neither of them would care because unbelievably they had a wealth of patience when it came to me. Or, we could continue on, and quite possibly take things further than we ever had before, and out in the open no less. Granted, we had some cover due to the porch beside us and no one ever came back here besides the guys. And, thankfully, we were on the opposite side and away from Marcus's house so the one neighbor would be none the wiser.

  To hell with it. I threw caution to the wind, broke the kiss, and sat up all the way on Addison's lap. My hands went to the shirt slowly sliding back down my stomach. I dragged it up and over my head, tossing it carelessly to the side and onto the grass.

  You only lived once, and I was ready to stop living my life like I didn't deserve anything good in it. Where was the fun in that?

  My eyes shifted back and forth between glassy, glazed over green ones and hazy with lust blue ones. It was a good look on both of them, and my heart stuttered in my chest at the sight of it. Maybe it would have been easier to handle coming at me from only one of them, but it would never work for me if they were separated. I took that whole packaged deal gig they had going to heart.

  Abel's hand went back into my hair and my head was tipped to the side. His lips came to mine and he kissed me like a man possessed, consumed by the hunger inside of him. It was time to set it free.

  Warmth blazed through me as the hands on my hips slid up. Big palms covered my stomach, fingers traced over each rib on their way up my body. I shivered in delight when they stopped just below my bra and his thumbs trailed along the skin just below the edge of the lace.

  Abel broke the kiss first. His mouth trailed kisses along my jawline and slowly down my throat.

  I moaned outrageously and if I'd been in a different state of mind, I would have been embarrassed with myself. As it was, I most certainly was not.

  Abel kissed along my collarbone and over the raised skin of my scars as Addison sat up with his hands still holding me in place below my breasts. I didn't allow myself to think about the scars on my skin Abel was getting up close and personal with. They were there, they weren't going anywhere, and I needed to get over my hang-ups about them.

  Addison kissed me on the lips unexpectedly, his tongue sliding inside. I forgot all about my worries, they seemed to just melt away as I sunk further and further into his kiss, losing myself to it and the sweet kisses his twin placed along my body. My hands went in opposite directions, needing to touch them both, to hold them to me. My fingers tangled in Abel's hair, clinging to the soft strands clutched in my fist. My other hand landed on the hard plains of Addison's chest. My fingers splayed wide and I slowly moved my hand down on a journey of great discovery. His muscles tensed beneath my touch, but that wasn't enough to stop my descent.

  Compared to me, they had far too much clothing on. It didn't seem fair, and I had every intention of making the playing field even. Fair was fair.

  I slipped my fingers beneath the soft hem of Addison's t-shirt and up. Greedily, I smoothed my palm over hard, packed, tight muscles that burned my hand in the best way possible.

  I scraped my teeth along his bottom lip and ordered in a husky voice, "Take your shirt off. Now."

  I usually wasn’t so bossy, but fuck it. I was going to take what I wanted and give as good as I got along the way.

  Addison's hand fell away from my skin and he leaned back. I pulled my hand out from his shirt, immediately missing the feel of his skin as soon as I'd lost it. His hands dropped to the hem of his t-shirt, and without hesitation, he dragged it up his body, and in one smooth move it went up over his head and broad shoulders, and the next second he was naked from the waist up. His shirt landed on the grass not far from where my own had been discarded.

  Abel's hands smoothed up my back, stopping at my bra. His fingers hesitated a
t the clasp, waiting for me. We all understood this was my decision to make, and if I said no this would all stop in a heartbeat and we'd go about burying the rest of my jars without any hard feelings.

  Goodness, but I loved the both of them. Very much.

  I nodded my head slightly, giving him permission, and he didn't waste any time. The clasp was unhooked in the next second and the straps were being pushed down my arms. Abel tugged the bra away from my body, freeing my breasts. The bra went sailing, flung to the side. I didn't care where it landed. The only concern I had about clothing at the moment was how quickly we could get it all off and if it would make me seem like a wanton hussy if I just flat out demanded they take all of their clothes off now and we get that part out of the way.

  The scared little girl inside me had receded far into the back of my mind. Not gone for good, she'd be back to ruin my life another day, but for now the woman I'd worked so hard to become had come out to play with a vengeance. With any luck, she'd come out more often and I'd get all the things I wanted because I wouldn't hesitate to take them.

  Abel's hands slid around me from behind and he cupped my breasts in his hands. His thumbs gently brushed across my hard nipples. My head dropped back to rest on Abel's shoulder and my mouth dropped open in a silent moan.

  I tipped my head down in time to see Addison lean forward, toward my exposed breasts with a hungry, indecent look in his eyes that had wetness beginning to pool between my thighs. His tongue flicked out, swiping across my nipple, and my body began to shake uncontrollably with need.

  Addison's tongue swirled around my puckered nipple, teasing me, and I arched my back, pushing my chest into his face like that wanton hussy I'd talked about earlier.

  Addison murmured his appreciation as his twin held my breasts up for him to feast on. And he got right in there and went down to business. His mouth latched on to my nipple, his teeth scraped gently against the underside as he sucked it into his mouth. His tongue swirled around my nipple before he pulled away and moved over to the other one to pay it some attention too.

  I turned my head to the side and looked back at Abel. "You've got far too many clothes on. Take something off... Please."

  I tacked the please on the end so as not to sound too much like a bossy brat. It didn't seem necessary, because he started stripping off his shirt before I'd even finished the first sentence.

  His burning, hot chest pressed up against my back as he tilted my head and gently nipped at my mouth with his teeth. "What else do you want me to take off?" he asked me playfully. "My pants? Please say you want me to take my pants off."

  My lips tipped up in a happy smile.

  A smile that was wiped away less than two seconds later.

  "What in the actual fuck do you think you degenerates are doing with my daughter?" Rain snarled in a voice like granite that bled venom all at the same time.

  The three of us froze on the spot for a brief second while the horror of hearing the sound of Rain's voice washed over us and the harsh reality that we were no longer alone sunk in.

  As a whole, almost as if we were connected on some weird level, the three of us looked up to the back porch and I groaned loudly. The urge to shove my face in Addison's neck and hide from the whole thing was way harder than I would have liked to admit aloud.

  It was way worse than I ever could have imagined.

  Rain stood up there with a face full of thunder and rage. His arms were crossed over his chest and his whole body twitched as if he were seconds away from exploding into action so he could leap over the railing and come down here and beat the life out of my Salt and Pepper twins.

  Not good. Oh boy, was this not good.

  And it got much, much worse.

  Quinton stepped up beside Rain. He leaned forward and dropped his forearms down onto the porch railing. His eyes never left me, and I was glad my half naked body was covered by the half naked bodies of my twins. I certainly did not want to feel more exposed than I already felt, and Quinton was watching me like a predator watched their prey before they attacked and made their move.

  Marcus Cole stood on the other side of Rain. He didn't look angry like my father or deranged like Quinton. But he did look slightly confused and somewhat disappointed. That last one killed me, because he wasn't my father, but there'd been a time when I'd wanted him to be, and he was still very much family to me. He always would be. But what's more is I didn't feel he had a right to be disappointed in me. Not when I'd come home from school to him boning Vivian on the dining room table. I'd never forget the sight nor the sounds of that particular memory. He had no right to look at me in such a way. No right whatsoever.

  I don't know when or how, but somewhere along the line a tiny plume of resentment had started to form inside me toward Marcus Cole. I had a feeling it had something to do with my disappointment in him, and that hurt my heart to admit even to myself.

  I loved him, truly, I did. And this was a surprise to me as well. But I couldn't help the way I felt any more than he could, so here we were, both of us looking at each other with disappointment in our eyes.

  "It's the middle of the day, Ariel," Marcus chided in his best parental voice. "For goodness’ sake, anyone can see you out here. What do you think you're doing, and with the two of them together? You should show more respect for yourself than this." He very rudely waved his hand down toward where my half naked body was still wrapped up in the twins’.

  My cheeks heated as shame and embarrassment threatened to kill me dead on the spot. And I kind of wanted to die. At least at the moment I did.

  Rain turned on Marcus and snarled in his face, "Shut the fuck up, Marcus, and do not ever speak to my daughter that way again. I'll kill you if you do. I swear I will."

  At the moment, I kind of wanted to kill them both. They were making this whole shitty situation five hundred times more mortifying for me than it had been five minutes ago.

  Marcus put his hands on Rain's shoulders and shoved him backwards. Well, he tried to. Rain barely even twitched and Marcus's face morphed into pure, unadulterated rage. A look I had never seen before or expected to see on Marcus Cole's face.

  Rain sneered at him, "Please, try me, you pansy ass motherfucker. I dare you to try me. You'll be eating your own teeth if you do. And I've been waiting for my chance to put my fist in your face. You fucking deserve it for not only the way you tried to steal my daughter away from me, but for the way you just spoke to her right now. You owe her an apology, and you damn well know it."

  I was glad Rain had found a new—but old—target to direct his anger at, no matter the coward it made me out to be.

  While their attention had been diverted away from me, except for Quinton’s of course, I scrambled sideways to grab my shirt off the grass. Screw the bra, there was no time for that. Addison shifted us around so that his back was to the porch and he stood up with me in his arms. I clung to him, our bare chests pressed tightly together so as none of my pink parts—read: my perky nipples—were showing to the men on the porch. Men that now also included both Simon and Trenton.

  Addison's hands slid down to my ass. Completely uncaring that my father stood mere feet away and was halfway to a total meltdown that would more than likely end with Marcus Cole's broken and dead body piled up at the bottom of the stairs. Addison held me up against his body with his hands on my ass. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and held on tight to him with my legs dangling uselessly while he carried me around to the side of the house and out of view from prying eyes. Abel was right on his twin's heels, keeping as much of me hidden from view as he could.

  I appreciated the both of them and their protection of my modesty. They didn't give a rat's ass about their own state of undress, just my own nudity. Very sweet of them.

  "Thank you," I whispered, as I pressed a kiss against Addison's neck, right below his jawline.

  "Don't thank me just yet," he whispered back, as he lowered me down far enough for my feet to touch the grass.

  My fa
ce came out of his neck and my arms dropped away from his shoulders. I took a step back. Abel stepped up beside his brother. They stood shoulder to shoulder. A wall between myself and anyone else who might have followed us.

  Quickly, I slipped my shirt on over my head and shoved my arms through the appropriate holes. I dragged it down and looked down at myself, making sure everything was tucked away and in the correct place.

  My nipples showed through the thin material.

  Just fucking great.

  At least they were no longer bared for the whole world to see. I had to take the bright side when there was one offered up to me.

  "That douchebag Marcus is lucky we had a reason to walk away from him," Abel growled dangerously.

  Addison nodded in agreement with his twin. "Same here, twin. I wanted to climb up there and beat his face in for trying to make her feel bad about being with the both of us at the same time. How fucking dare he."

  They were both boiling with anger and spoiling for a fight. I couldn't blame them, because I was right there with them. Once the embarrassment had faded to the background, all sorts of other not so lovely emotions had started to leak out.

  Marcus Cole had tried to slut shame me for being intimate with two of my boyfriends in the privacy of our own backyard.

  I had done absolutely nothing wrong when I looked at the situation past my prudish ways.

  And that man owed me an apology.

  I marched around the mountain of half naked male perfection that was my salt and pepper twins and stomped back to the backyard to confront him.

  I tried not to think about how ridiculous I was going to look with my high beams on for all to see, but failed miserably.

  "Shit," one twin whispered frantically.

  "You can say that again," the other one whispered back.

  I barely even heard them.