by Beck, J. L.
As I sit in the kitchen staring into my coffee, my mind wanders to the questions that still plague me. It’s been a while since I talked to my father. He hasn’t tried to contact me or seek me out, at least not that I’m aware of. Maybe the guys are not telling me that he is, which I wouldn’t put past them. They want to protect me, and my father is the last person they want me speaking to.
“What are you doing, beautiful?” Sullivan’s husky voice tickles my ear, and goosebumps blanket my skin at the tone.
“Thinking…” I reply, “Do you think my father knew that Shelby was the one that tried to kill me?” I can’t imagine him knowing and not doing anything, then again, this is the same man that tried to marry me off to someone as if I was a business contract, and not a human with feelings, and choices of her own.
“I don’t know.” He plucks an apple out of the fruit basket in front of me, his toned body presses against mine, and a spark of electricity zings through me into my core. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.”
Swallowing thickly, I try and push the fluttering of butterflies in my belly away. I can’t be thinking about crawling all over him when there are bigger things that I need to be thinking about.
“Eventually, I want to go back to classes, but as long as Shelby is out there, I’m not safe to do so.”
“You think we would let anything happen to you?” Oliver enters the room, his laptop in his hand.
“No, but I would feel better if she was locked up. I don’t know why she did the things she did, but I’m terrified of something happening again, and I can’t expect one of you to always be with me.” I don’t try and hide my anxiety from the brothers. There is nothing to hide. They know how worried I am.
“What do you want to do?” Sullivan asks, biting into his apple.
“I don’t know, but I need to find her.”
“You aren’t doing shit,” Banks growls, walking into the kitchen, the look on his face says, fight me, I dare you.
“Yeah, I’m going to have to agree with Mr. Alpha over here.” Oliver hooks a thumb in Banks’ direction. “Over my dead body will you get within ten feet of that bitch.”
All I can do is roll my eyes at their protectiveness. Like I was really going to go out and search for her? A part of me wants to find her and ask her why she did the things she did, while the other part of me is afraid to know the answer. Why would my best friend of over 10 years want to kill me? Yes, she was having an affair with my father, but that can’t be it.
“I don’t mean I’m going to physically seek her out.”
“Better not or I’ll take you over my knee,” Oliver says, the tone of his voice serious, and when I look over at him, even his face says he would do it. “And I’m dead serious, Harlow, if you do something to risk your life for us or put yourself in danger, I will blister your ass so bad you won’t be able to sit for a week. You mean the world to us, and losing you would kill us.” His confession makes my heart beat a little faster.
“I’m not going to do anything. Don’t worry, please,” I murmur softly.
“Stop scaring her with your overprotective tendencies,” Sullivan shakes his head and cups my cheek. Leaning in, his lips gently graze mine. He smells like apples and sunshine, and I want more. Greedily, I reach out and grab on to his shirt, clinging to him. Before I get the chance to deepen the kiss, he’s pulling away. Damn him.
I need some air, air that isn’t filled with Bishop scent, because right now my body is on fire, need pulsing through my veins.
“I’m going to go sit outside,” I announce.
“I’ll join you,” Banks offers, but I shake my head as I get up from my chair, my coffee mug in hand.
“No, I need some time to myself,” I announce, cringing as Banks’ handsome face falls. “It’s not you, really it’s not. I just…”
“We get it, don’t feel like you have to explain yourself,” Oliver answers before either of the other brothers can, and I nod, sliding past Sullivan, and then Banks on the way out. Walking out the French doors attached to the kitchen, I close them behind me and settle on to the porch swing. Sullivan’s phone sits heavy in my pocket. Sipping the coffee from my mug, I know what I have to do, and I hope that the brothers don’t get angry with me for doing it.
I don’t think they’re trying to keep me away from anyone or control me. They just want to make sure I’m protected, but there isn’t anything my father can do to me through the phone, and I’m done sitting around here doing nothing while hiding from the world. I need to know.
Setting my cup down, I pull out the phone and stare at the screen. It feels a little bit like I’m betraying the guys, sneaking around, and taking Sullivan’s phone while he wasn’t looking, but just like they are not trying to hurt me, I’m not trying to hurt them.
I type my father’s name into the search bar and watch as Google pulls up multiple pages, the first one being my father’s company. I look through it until I find my father’s office number and dial it. A high-pitched female voice answers my call on the second ring.
“Lockwood Real Estate, how may I direct your call?”
“Mhm, hi… this is Harlow Lockwood. I was wondering if you could connect me to my dad?” The line goes silent for so long that I pull the phone away from my ear, worrying that the call got disconnected. “Hello?”
“Ah, yes. Could you hold, please?” the woman on the other end asks, sounding a bit frazzled.
“Sure.” I’m immediately put on hold, classical music filtering through the line. I don’t have to wait long before my father picks up.
“Harlow?” His deep voice fills my ear a second later.
“Yes, it’s me.”
“Christ, Harlow. Where are you? Tell me, right now,” he demands as if I would tell him.
“I’m fine, thanks for asking,” I answer sarcastically. “I will not tell you where I am, and I definitely do not need you to pick me up. I’m just calling to ask you one thing…”
“I already told you if you want to know about Phoebe, you need to meet me.”
“I already know who Phoebe was… and that I’m her daughter.” Even though I’ve known for a few weeks now, the words are still foreign in my mouth.
“Who told you?”
“It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that you’ve been lying to me my whole life. But that’s not why I’m calling. I just want to know one thing, and then you can go back to your perfect little life. Did you know? Did you know that it was Shelby who tried to kill me?” I hold my breath, the seconds ticking by as I await his answer.
“She wouldn’t…” He finally says. “Who told you it was her? Did the Bishops tell you that? I swear, I will end them for good this time.” Contempt drips from his words.
“No one told me. I remembered. She drove through the intersection right as I was crossing the street. She tried to kill me.”
“No… it-it must have been an accident.” My father sounds a bit flabbergasted, and for a moment, I try to figure out if he is really surprised or faking it. Then, as if he gathers his thoughts, he says with a stronger voice, “I don’t believe you. You either saw it wrong, or it simply was an accident.”
Now it’s my turn to be flabbergasted, I can’t believe him. “Are you serious, right now?” My voice rises with each word, my anger simmering, threatening to boil over. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that you would defend her, not when she’s spreading her legs for you.”
“What proof do you have?” My jaw aches as I grind my teeth together.
“Proof? What proof do I need? I saw it with my own eyes. She drove through the stop sign… she sped up! She hit me with her fucking car. I know she saw me, how couldn’t she?”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure, and if you see her, let her know the police are looking for her. I can’t even go back to classes because I’m worried she’s going to hurt me, or worse.”
Silence lingers between us, making the space heavy.
“I…
I believe you, and I’m sorry. Your mother and I have been worried sick about you. Will you please just come home?”
“No, and that woman you married is not my mother. My mother was Phoebe, who you refuse to tell me anything about. But that’s okay…” I can feel the smile curving at the corner of my lips, “I went to Mr. Bishop and got all the information I need.”
“Harlow,” the desperation in his voice makes me pause. “I… I can’t do this over the phone. We need to meet in person, and I’ll tell you everything. I don’t know what George told you, but I’m positive that not all of it is true.”
“There is nothing left to say, and I’m not sure I would believe anything you have to say now anyway.” The only reason he wants to see me in person is so he can drag me back home and lock me in my room. Does he think I’m stupid?
“I know where Shelby is,” he blurts out, shocking me once again. “Would you forgive me if I tell the police where she is?”
Forgive him? I have to suppress a laugh. “How about you tell the police where she is because it’s the right thing to do?”
“I’ll do it, but know that I’m doing this for you. Everything I’ve done is for you. You’re my daughter, the only thing I have left of your mother, and I can’t lose you.”
I wish I could believe him. I wish I could love my dad like a daughter should love her father, but too much has happened, and I don’t think we can ever repair our broken relationship.
There are too many lies, too many secrets. I can’t trust that he’ll protect me, that he’ll take care of me. The thought brings tears to my eyes. My emotions are all over the place, and talking to him isn’t helping things.
“Goodbye, Dad,” I say before hanging up the phone.
6
A few days have passed since the phone call with my father… a phone call that the guys still don’t know about. I feel bad about hiding it, but I don’t want to disappoint them or hurt their feelings either. I know they just want to protect me, but I had to talk to him.
With all of that, I find myself getting cabin fever, the same four walls of this rental house close in on me a little more every day. Crawling out of bed, I strip out of Banks’ shirt and walk into the bathroom connected to the bedroom. I’ve been bed hopping since we got here, each brother getting their own time with me. Last night, I fell asleep on the couch and woke up in bed with Oliver, all while wearing his brother’s shirt. Strange, but normal for us.
Turning the shower on, I let the bathroom start to steam up before I step under the hot spray of water, letting it massage my neck and shoulders. A moan escapes my lips as my muscles relax under the spray.
“I like that sound very much, but I’d prefer you making it while I’m in there with you,” Oliver murmurs, chuckling as he does. Before I know it, he’s stripping out of his clothes and joining me in the extra-large shower stall. I’m not surprised to see his cock already hard, pointing at me angrily. The veins popping out, throbbing and begging to be touched.
“That looks… painful,” I say quietly.
“It is. I’m so hard it hurts. It’s what you do to me, Harlow. Always. Every time I’m in your presence, my cock is hard.”
“Maybe I can do something about it?” I try my most seductive voice, and judging by the growl coming from Oliver’s chest, I’m doing pretty good.
“Fuck yeah,” he groans as I wrap my fingers around his length. Giving him a hard squeeze, I revel in the way his eyes squeeze shut, and his hands curl into fists.
“I never thought it would be possible for me to want all three of you, but I do. Each of you do something to me that I can’t explain.”
Oliver’s eyes open then, the brown in them almost black, leaving only a small ring of brown behind, “You make us whole.” He hisses out, his muscular chest rising and falling as he inhales. There is nothing like the power I hold over these three men. The way they fall to their knees for me. Stroking him faster, I swirl my thumb over the head of his cock and down his slit. Pre-cum beads the tip, and I smear in over his length, my eyes mesmerized with the motion.
“I need to fuck you, Harlow,” Oliver’s voice is raw with emotions and reaches down inside of me, sinking its claws deep into my core.
“I want you so bad…” I murmur, as I release his cock, and take a step back. His eyes smolder as he stalks toward me, lifting me in one fluid motion. In seconds, I’m in his arms, my back pressed against the tile wall of the shower, my legs wrapped around his middle. His swollen cock bumps against my clit and I suck a labored breath in through my teeth. Oliver stares down at me, watching me, knowing that he holds power over my body and my heart.
“Every night….” His cock brushes against my soaked entrance, and I sink my nails into his shoulder, urging him on. “I think about stealing you from my brothers’ beds to have my way with you.”
Feeling as if I might die if he doesn’t start fucking me, I grin and say, “You should.”
That must set him off because he pulls back and slams into me, making the air in my lungs still, and my entire body shake with tremors of pleasure.
“Fuck, there is nothing like sinking into you. So tight, so warm, so fucking perfect,” he pants, pistoning his hips, sinking deeper inside of me. His fingers dig into my flesh hard enough to leave bruises, and I want him to. I want him to mark me. Everything around me fades away as Oliver fucks me into oblivion. My nails rake down his chest, and he hisses at the pain.
Then he starts to swivel his hips between thrusts, the head of his dick brushing against what I now know is my g-spot.
“Ahhh, Oliver…” I mewl. Strands of wet hair stick to my face, but I couldn’t care less how I look in this moment. All I can do is hold on for dear life as Oliver takes from me, fucking me to the brink of insanity. The orgasm I’ve been chasing for the last couple of minutes stirs deep in my core and slithers up my spine.
“I’m going to come…” I whimper, staring into Oliver’s eyes. He’s looking at me with a determination I’ve never seen, a wicked grin on his handsome face.
“Fuck yeah, you are, all over my cock…” His dirty words only add to the pleasure, and within seconds I’m going off, launching into space like a rocket. My pussy clenches around his length, and just from the grunts and pants that he’s making, I know he’s close, and strangely, I want his come like I’ve never wanted it before. I want it inside of me, marking me, claiming me.
“Fill me with your come, Oliver, fill me…” I plead through the sound of blood swooshing in my ears. With a steel grip and a growl, I’m pretty sure his brothers can hear, he comes, his thighs shaking, his head tipped back, exposing his throat. Acting on impulse, I nip at that unmarred skin and smile when I feel his cock jump inside of me.
Sucking the pain of my bite away, I wait for him to come floating back down to me. Seconds later, he’s staring down at me and gently placing me back down on my feet, and with the loss of his cock inside of me, I feel like I’ve lost a piece of my soul.
“I love you, Harlow, and I’d love you even if you didn’t fuck me like you love me back. You’re it for me.” He peppers kisses against my face, and I start to giggle.
“You’re welcome, and the feeling is mutual, you definitely know how to make a girl feel good.”
Oliver grins. “All for you, baby, all for you.” He gives me one more kiss, a kiss that makes me want to climb him like a tree, and not shower at all. But then we wouldn’t get anything done, and as much as I love being here with them, I really want to get back to living a normal life. So instead of begging him to take me again, I focus on washing my body and hair, and less on the pulsing between my legs.
Once we’ve finished showering and are dressed, we make our way out to the living room. Sullivan and Banks are already lounging on the couch, both with shit-eating grins on their faces.
They heard us, or at least Oliver.
“Have a nice shower?” Sullivan asks, chuckling.
“Yeah, did you get all clean?” Banks chimes in, “It sounded l
ike you did.”
“Yes, don’t worry. I was thorough… made sure I got every spot clean.” At Oliver’s words, my face turns about five shades redder.
“Don’t be embarrassed,” Sullivan tells me, rubbing my back when I take the seat next to him.
“Can’t help it,” I say, even more embarrassed. While I’ve become more outspoken sexually, it’s still a lot for me. After all the bullying and hate I’ve gotten about being with all three of them, it’s hard for me to handle any type of teasing without feeling like caving in on myself.
Oliver opens his mouth, and it looks as if he is about to say something when his phone starts ringing. He takes it out of his pocket and looks at the screen with his eyebrows drawn together. “It’s the detective.”
Before anyone can say anything, he answers the phone, placing it on speaker for all of us to hear. “Hello…”
“Good morning, Mr. Bishop. How are you doing today?”
“Very good,” Oliver answers, grinning at me while he does.
“Good, good… Is Miss. Lockwood still with you?”
“Yes, I’m here,” I say before anyone else can answer.
“Great. Hello, Harlow. I hope you are doing well. I know you’ve been through a lot, so I wanted to call you right away to let you know that we arrested Shelby a few hours ago.”
“Finally,” Banks mutters under his breath.
I know I should say something. I know I should probably be happy and relieved that I’m safe now, but for some reason, I feel neither. All I feel is the need for answers.
“Did she say why she did it? Why she wants me dead?” Not knowing has been eating me up. I thought she was my best friend before all of this, so why did she want me dead?
“No, I’m sorry. She didn’t give us a real reason as to why, but she did confess to wanting to hurt you.”
“You put her in jail, right?” Oliver asks impatiently. “And she won’t be getting out any time soon?”
