“Do you? Because you were coming all over his cock twenty minutes ago.”
I lift my chin. “Do you find that threatening, Abel? Even when he’s being an asshole, he makes me feel so fucking good when he’s inside me.” I know I’m tugging a tiger by the tail, but I can’t seem to help myself. I hurt. I hurt so fucking much, I can barely breathe past it, and Abel’s standing here, solid and unbreakable. He can take whatever poison I need to purge; I’m sure of it.
“What you do with him has nothing to do with us. Keep fucking him, for all I care.” He leans down until his breath ghosts over my lips. “But don’t pretend you weren’t still aching even after he was through with you.”
“I—”
He grabs my arm and spins me around, pressing my back to his chest. I’m still processing the new position when he hooks his thumb beneath the band of my jeans. It’s the slightest touch, but I jump like he’s zapped me with a live wire. His words growl in my ear. “That orgasm was just an appetizer, wasn’t it, sweetheart? You’re still feeling needy, and I have nothing but time today.”
I shouldn’t.
I might have learned a long time ago the necessity of separating sex from emotion, but Abel is too overwhelming already. I’m not certain I can keep my distance, avoid getting washed away through the sheer force of his presence.
I’m not sure I care. “I’m tired. It was a long night.”
“You’re not going to be able to sleep, not with your mind spinning out. I can help.”
My chest feels like I have a gaping hole in it. I’m all too willing to let him distract me from it, at least for a little while. I lean my head back on his shoulder and relax against him. He takes it for the invitation it is and pops the button of my jeans. The slow drag of my zipper, and then his fingers are there, dipping beneath the denim until he cups my pussy. The jeans are too tight for him to do much more than that, but it feels unforgivably possessive, as if he’s claiming me.
“You didn’t use protection with Eli.”
I close my eyes, giving myself over to this. “I’m on birth control. We’re monogamous; or at least we were before you came along.”
He slips his hand almost all the way out of my jeans and then back in, this time wedging two fingers into me. I inhale sharply, barely biting back a moan. I shouldn’t like how owned I feel right now. I shouldn’t be fighting down the need to beg him for more. Abel holds me like this, deep and intimate, for several long moments. I can feel my heartbeat racing through my entire body, but I somehow manage to hold myself perfectly still.
He flattens his free hand to the space below my breasts, pressing me back against him more firmly. “I’d like to have you without a condom, Harlow. Have you wet and slick and pump you full of my come.”
I let out a harsh laugh. “You only want that because he has it.”
“Maybe.” He nuzzles my hair off my neck and kisses me there. “But I think you want it, too. Isn’t that why you’re arching back against me right now? It’s not because you want me. It’s because you want me to erase all evidence of him on your skin.”
He’s not wrong, and I hate that he not only sees the truth but doesn’t hesitate to call me on it. “Bold of you to think that I trust you enough to go there.”
“Ah, but I’ve never lied to you, sweetheart. And I never will, even if you hate me for it. I was tested before we came back to Sabine Valley—all of us were—and I haven’t touched anyone since.”
Strangely enough, I do believe him. I don’t know if the Paine brothers plan on trying to keep any of these relationships going past the year deadline, but it makes sense that they’d prepare for the eventuality of possibly fucking their Bride more than the first night. If they’re all as arrogant as Abel, they’d probably assume it’s a sure thing.
“Then maybe you shouldn’t trust me.” I gasp a little as his fingers flex inside me. “Be a shame if I got knocked up and didn’t know which of you was the father.”
“Would it?” His voice is so dry, I can’t tell what he’s thinking. “I don’t think so. That kid would be mine, regardless of whose DNA contributed to its creation. And wouldn’t that be a kicker? Me and you raising his biological kid. Just another thing of his that I’ll take, and gladly.”
I tense. “You really hate him.”
“I would think that’s readily apparent.” He gives my neck another light kiss. “So what will it be, Harlow? Do you want my cock or not?”
I don’t understand how everything with Abel feels so inevitable, but I want what he’s offering. Escape. “Yes.”
“With a condom or without?”
So reckless to go without, but he’s right. He has no reason to lie to me. Not about this. Not when we’re stuck together for the next year. I lick my lips. “Without.”
He makes a growling sound against my neck, and then he’s moving, easing his hand out of my jeans and pulling my tank top over my head. My bra joins it on the floor, and then he sits on the bed and tugs my jeans down, his gaze on every inch of exposed skin. When I finally stand before him naked, he slowly peruses me as if he didn’t have me pinned to a bathroom counter just this morning. He finally catches my gaze. “I want you to ride my cock, sweetheart. Use me to make yourself feel good.” I open my mouth, but he catches my chin before I can speak, his eyes going hard. “I can keep fucking you from behind, but there’s no pretending I’m just some asshole off the street. It’s my cock you need right now, and you know it.”
He’s right. I hate that he’s right.
I pull in a shuddering breath. “Stop talking and get naked.
11
Abel
I lied to Harlow.
I told her that I’d never let something as mundane as sex cloud my vision. It’s mostly the truth, but as she climbs up to straddle me, I have enough self-awareness to recognize that I want to keep her. It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours, but like recognizes like. I meant what I said. This woman is a monster, just like me. Just as ruthless, just as ambitious. She’d do anything to protect the people of this faction, just like I’d do anything to keep my brothers among the living.
Imagine what we’ll do together.
I skate my hands up her thighs to grip her full hips. She’s soft and strong, and I have to remind myself that she’s got to be the one behind the wheel for this interaction. She wraps her fist around my cock and guides me to her entrance. No fucking around. The woman might have one hell of a poker face, but it’s failing her right now; her expression flickers with messy emotions as she sinks onto my cock. Pleasure and guilt and fury and determination. No matter what she claims, she still loves Eli, and what happened back in their room hurt her.
I palm her heavy breasts, enjoying the way they fill my hands. I have hours before I have to be anywhere. My brothers are all occupied with getting their Brides settled and navigating that mess. So many strong personalities under one roof will make for an interesting year.
But I don’t have to worry about that right now.
My only concern is tying Harlow to me as tightly as possible, until she sees us as a team. If she’s loyal to me, it will be unflinching. We’ll be fucking unstoppable. I lightly pinch her nipples. “I changed my mind.”
Her brows pull together in a frown. “What are you talking about?”
I’m moving her before she has a chance to tense, hauling her off my cock and rolling us so that she’s beneath me. She shoves at my shoulders, but she’s nowhere near strong enough to move if me if I don’t want to move. I press her legs wide and settle between them. Her pussy is slick against my cock as I thrust a little, and the knowledge that she’s filled up with Eli’s come makes me feel a little loose around the seams. I can’t decide if I want to fuck her until all evidence of him is erased, or if I want to go down on her and lick her clean.
Actually, the decision is pretty fucking easy when I put it like that.
“You’re thinking too hard, Harlow.” I catch her bottom lip with my teeth and bite gently. “If I w
ant Eli in this bed with us, I’ll bring his pretty ass in here and chain him to the headboard.”
“There you go again, talking kinky,” she whispers.
“You’re mean. You liked it that he watched me make you come.” I move down to drag my mouth along her neck to her shoulder. “You loved hurting him like that. Riding my mouth while he sat cuffed to a chair and totally helpless.”
Her breath catches as I press her breasts together and lavish kisses across their curves to her nipples. Harlow digs her hands into my hair, not trying to guide me anywhere, just hanging on as I do what I want. She whimpers. “I’m very, very angry at him.”
“Want to punish him?” I nip the underside of one breast. “Plant him face-down in your pussy while I fuck his ass. He can’t run that smart mouth while his tongue is inside you.”
She shivers. “There’s only one tongue I want inside me right now.”
“Liar.” I move down her body. “But I can take a hint.” It’s where I was headed anyway.
I use my shoulders to spread her legs wider yet. She’s pink and flushed with desire from having just been riding Eli’s cock. Maybe I shouldn’t like that shit so much, but I’ve never been one to ignore my desires. I want to taste him inside her, a mixture of their orgasms. I need it.
I don’t give her a chance to brace for it. I kiss her pussy and shove my tongue inside her. Harlow’s back bows, and her fingers tighten in my hair to the point of pain. “Fuck.”
Fuck is about right.
I’m chasing my own desire, but it doesn’t matter because she’s riding my face and making that sexy whimpering sound. Her legs are already shaking, but I don’t care. She can come as much as she needs to until I’m finished with her.
It might take years before I’m truly sated.
I suck on her clit, rubbing my tongue against the sensitive bud as I watch her come apart. She’s not one of those shy people who close their eyes and are borne along by the wave of pleasure. No, she’s staring down at me as if memorizing the sight of my mouth all over her pussy. Her dark eyes are wide, and her lips are parted around each panting breath. I keep up that motion on her clit, and it’s too much for her. She cries out, and only then do her eyes slide shut. Her whole body goes tense as she orgasms, her legs locking around either side of my head to keep me in place.
As if I have any plans of leaving.
I move back to slide my tongue into her pussy again, tasting her and the saltiness that is Eli. Fuck, that’s hot. Hot enough that I have to fight to keep my hips still and not grind against the mattress. I don’t normally have control issues, but this is hardly a normal circumstance. No, this is pure need.
She tugs on my hair hard enough that I let her guide me, crawling up her body until she claims my mouth. Harlow kisses me as if she can purge every thought with this single contact. I could tell her that shit is always there on the other side, but it doesn’t matter. It’s an escape, and if she gets it from me, she’ll come back again and again.
She hooks her leg around my waist and shoves. I let her roll us back to our original position, her straddling me. This time, there’s no conflict on her face. Just a hunger hot enough to match my own. Her lips curve as she slides onto my cock. “Abel.”
Fuck, I like my name on her tongue. “Yeah?”
She leans down until our faces are kissably close, her breasts rubbing against my chest with each slow roll of her hips as she works my cock. “You want Eli.” Apparently she doesn’t need an answer, because she keeps riding me, keeps talking. “You just went down on me as if you could lick up every bit that he left inside me.” She props her hands on either side of my neck, giving herself better leverage. “How long until you’re fucking him?”
I grab her hips and thrust up into her. Harlow cries out and grinds down on my cock. For a moment, the only sound in the room is flesh slapping against flesh and our harsh breathing. I should keep using sex to distract her, but even if I didn’t exactly promise honesty, every time I tell her the truth, I bind her to me more effectively.
I release one hip and clasp her chin. She doesn’t stop moving, doesn’t stop fucking me, and I like her all the more for it. Finally, I grind out, “Yeah, I’m going to fuck Eli. I said as much earlier.”
Surprise flickers over her face, but it smooths out almost immediately. “Another manipulation.”
“Yeah.” I hiss out a breath as she plants her hands on my chest and leans back, taking me deeper yet and breaking my hold on her chin. I press my hand to her lower stomach and stroke her clit with my thumb. “I’ve wanted that fucker for a long time; not even hate and betrayal can take that away. I’m going to have him, and then I’m going to kick his ass to the curb at the end of this. He’ll walk away knowing that I have his territory, his home, and his woman.”
Harlow doesn’t speak again. She simply gets down to fucking me hard enough that we’re both panting and sweating, and there’s no space for words. She doesn’t like what I’ve said, but sometimes the truth is shitty. Hell, most of the time it is. She’ll come to terms with it sooner or later. She’s too practical, too angry, to fight against the inevitable.
And me and Harlow?
We’re fucking inevitable.
She comes with a cry loud enough that everyone in this hall has to hear it. A sound that’s almost a scream. I hook the back of her neck and pull her down to claim her mouth as I pound up into her, chasing my own orgasm. I clench my jaw as I come, a fierce, dark part of me elated that there’s nothing between us in this moment. She’s taking all of me. Everything.
She slumps to the side, and I follow her, turning onto my side. Harlow starts to sit up, but I plant my hand in the center of her chest, lightly holding her in place. “We still need to talk.”
“We’ve done nothing but talk. I’m over it.”
“Mmm.” I slide my hand down her stomach and push two fingers into her.
Her eyes go wide. “What are you doing?”
“I told you I have nowhere to be for the next few hours. You didn’t really think once would be enough, did you?” I fuck her slowly while I wait for an answer. She spreads her legs the tiniest bit, which is answer enough. I prop my head in my hand and twist my wrist, feeling for the spot that… Yeah, there it is.
She moans, and her eyes flutter closed. “You said you wanted to talk.”
“You ready to listen?” I lightly stroke that spot, enjoying how she melts against me in response. “Or you want to come a few more times to take the edge off?”
Harlow hisses out a breath and grabs my shoulder. She doesn’t try to move me; it’s more like she needs something to hang on to. Her breathing picks up. “What? You can’t multitask?”
That surprises a laugh out of me. Yeah, I like this woman. A lot. I watch her face as I ease her closer and closer to orgasm. “Taking this faction isn’t enough.”
At that, she opens her eyes. There are bright spots of pink on her cheeks. “What?”
“Come on, sweetheart. If I only wanted this faction, I wouldn’t need to take the other six Brides for my brothers. You think I chose the heirs to the Mystics and Amazons by accident?”
She blinks slowly. “You’re out of your mind.”
“Nah, I’m just ambitious.” And I have enough rage to burn this entire city to the ground. That would only give me a momentary flare of pleasure, and it would hurt too many people whose only sin is living in the wrong place. This is better.
She lifts her hips, subtly fucking my fingers. “What’s that have to do with me?”
“After you’re done fucking out the worst of your rage, you’re going to be my new Bride wrangler.” It’s a damn shame to be this close to her perfect mouth and not taste her, so I dip down and give her a thorough kiss.
She follows me as I break it, chasing down the distance between us. When she speaks, her lips move against mine. “And if I say no?”
“You’re not going to say no, Harlow.” I withdraw my fingers, enjoying the way she whimpers in protest, and
slide between her thighs. A few minutes is a hell of a recovery time, but Harlow so sexy, it’s no wonder my body’s rising to the occasion. I slide into her and leverage my arm beneath her hips to guide her into an angle that will have the head of my cock rubbing against that same spot. Her harsh inhale tells me I’ve found it.
“Why would I say yes?” It takes her all of three seconds to have her hands on my ass, her nails digging into my skin as she lifts her hips to meet each thrust. That’s my girl.
I nip her earlobe as I fuck her. As she fucks me right back.
“Because you want to be queen, Harlow. And I’m your ticket to the throne.”
12
Eli
I stand in the hallway outside Harlow’s room and listen to her fuck Abel for ten minutes before it’s clear that they won’t be finished anytime soon. It’s just as well. After how things fell out with us, she’s not going to be ready to see my face again today.
I’m not even pissed that she left my room and immediately jumped on Abel’s cock, another indication of what she’s been trying to tell me for a very long time. She’s not the woman I thought she was. The image I built up in my head. It’s my fucking fault that she’s in this mess, and she’s making the best of it. Hard to blame her for that, even if jealousy curls through my stomach at the sound of her moans, of his low curses.
I can’t even say for certain that it’s jealousy that Abel’s fucking her. It might be that she’s fucking Abel. That is an attraction I can’t afford, but I’ll use it just like I’ll use any other tool at my disposal.
Right now, Abel is distracted. I turn and head down the hallway. My people have already been pushed out, but that doesn’t mean they’re gone for good. I might have been caught flat-footed yesterday at Lammas, but I had a contingency plan in case any of the other factions tried to stage a coup. My security people will have gathered at a secondary location to await orders.
Abel: A Sabine Valley Novel Page 8
