by Tatum Throne
Brine slept on the couch downstairs with Shadow curled on the floor next to her. Early the next morning, she awoke to the sound of cursing. Brine rushed upstairs. Thane was in the process of trying to dress himself. They glared at each other from across the room. Her long T-shirt was just enough to skim her ass. Thane took an extra long look at her legs.
“What the hell are you doing here?” he demanded.
Oh, he is in a bad mood. “Janis asked that I stay the night.”
He glowered. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“What are you doing out of bed?
“I need to get some work done today. That means I have to get downstairs to my office, and I don’t want to do it in my boxers. That okay with you?”
“No. It’s not. I can bring it up to you. Tell me what you need.”
He shook his head and bit out, “The files stacked on the right of my desk.”
“Get back in bed and put up that foot. I’ll get your files and breakfast,” she said.
“Don’t order me around,” he warned.
“Too bad. That’s why I’m here. So deal with it!” She took a few steps toward him to help him back into bed.
“I can fall into bed by myself!”
She heard him cursing as he made his way back into bed. Brine brought up his files and breakfast at the same time. She went to the curtains and opened them to let in some morning sunshine.
She stood at the foot of the bed with her hands on her hips. “I’m getting a shower. When I get out, you’re going to do everything I say with no more complaints...or I will never sleep with you ever again.”
Thane’s mouth dropped open and shut. “Fine.”
She headed for the bath. “I’ll be out in a few to get you whatever you need.”
“Brine.”
She felt her heart beat a little faster. “Yes?”
“Thanks.”
He looked away. There was so much to say and like him, she couldn’t find the perfect way to fix what was going on in their relationship. “I’m here for you, Thane.”
“I know.”
Brine went back to check on Thane after her shower and she found him asleep. A flush covered his cheeks and sweat dotted his brow. She felt his forehead. He was hot. Not good. She called Janis first to fill her in on what was going on.
“I’ll call his doctor,” Janis said. “Thanks for calling me, Brine.”
Brine hung up her cell phone. She had to do something for him.
Brine wet a wash cloth with cold water and put it on his forehead. An hour later a text came over her phone. The doctor was calling in an antibiotic for the infection, and he was sure it wasn’t anything to do with the break. The type of break he had wouldn’t cause this. Janis had set it up to be delivered by the pharmacy to the house. Brine let out a whoosh of relief. Brine paced and switched out Thane’s washcloths.
The antibiotic came in the afternoon. Brine ran upstairs with a glass of water and woke Thane. His eyes were heavy. “I have some medicine for you. Janis had it sent over.”
“You’re still here.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She shook out a pill and he swallowed it. “You should be feeling better soon.”
She curled up next to him in the bed. She closed her eyes for a second and fell asleep to the quiet tick of a clock echoing softly in his house.
Later that night, Thane woke up and called for her. Brine startled awake. “Are you in pain?”
“No. I wanted to make sure you hadn’t gone,” he said.
He sat up and pulled her close to his chest. It felt so natural for Brine to move in close to him to lay her head on his shoulder. “You need to take another pill.”
She shook out a pill and helped him with the water. Then she slid back into bed next to him. “Are you hungry?”
“Not really.” He tucked her in close to his side. “Tell me about your article.”
“There is no article, Thane. I think your fever has gotten to you.” She felt his forehead but he was cool to the touch.
He chuckled. “No, the interview you wanted from me. What kind of questions did you want to ask me?”
She chewed on his question for a while. “I wanted to know more about your environmental projects. Honestly, I wanted to know more about you. I was uncovering all these things. I didn’t know what to believe.”
“Now you understand what I’m up against. I piss off one logger and I’m fodder for rumor. It’s not easy to balance what my company does.”
“Your company buys up land for development?”
“Among other things. A lot of what I do comes from government contracts. We work with the U.S. Forestry Service to target land before loggers can come in and swoop it up. It’s like a game of chess. We make a move, they make a move.”
“What were you doing at the site the day I showed up?” she asked.
“We were there to take down some dead trees affected by the water mold plant disease. I have to be careful about how I do things. I have environmental groups on one side and the loggers on the other.”
“They’d tried to stop you before you could buy the land.”
“Exactly.”
Brine felt so foolish for making him out to be this horrible person that he wasn’t. “I’m sorry, Thane.”
“No harm. No foul. I think we both made some mistakes. I think some are worth making at least once,” he said. “I met you.”
Was he thinking that their relationship was a mistake? Brine knew that what they shared wouldn’t last forever. Eventually, he’d want to move on to someone who could have children. Men wanted the white picket and two-point-five kids.
“How old are you, Thane?” she asked.
“Almost thirty-five.”
“Have you ever been married?”
“Almost once.”
“What ended it?” she asked.
“The bar fight.” She shivered and he tucked her in closer. “Chilly?”
“A little.” She pulled the covers around both of them. “I think you should know that I’m not interested in getting married.”
“Why not?”
The honest answer felt so difficult to say out loud, but she knew she wanted him to know the truth before things went further. “I can’t lose another family. I’d rather be alone than lose the ones I love again.”
The hand that was caressing her shoulder stilled. “You have family, right?”
“No. It’s just me. The fire took my mom and dad. My twin brother lived another two days before he died from his burn injuries.”
Thane cursed and pulled her closer. “No aunts or uncles?”
“No. We were already a small family.” She sighed. “I can’t go through that again. It was too painful.”
“What are you saying?”
“I think we should just be friends.”
“Friends.”
The word was said as though it was a dirty secret they were sharing. “Yes. Are you okay with that?”
“No. I’m not okay with being just friends.”
She could hear the hurt in his voice and feel the pain tense his body. “Thane…”
“You’re dumping me.”
“I’m telling you what I’m capable of doing.”
“No, you’re running.”
“I’m not running. I’m protecting my heart!”
“It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
Brine felt tears swim through her eyes. He was good with words. He knew exactly what to say. “Alfred Lord Tennyson said that.”
“It’s true,” he said.
“It’s easy to say when you haven’t lost everyone you ever cared about.”
“Don’t run from me, Brine.”
“I’m not, Thane. I’m telling you what I can do. Being friends won’t be so bad.”
He kissed her softly. “Go back to sleep. We don’t have to talk about this now.”
Brine couldn’t compromise on how she felt about her relationshi
ps. She couldn’t ever get close enough for keeps. She made a mistake in having sex with Thane, and she knew she’d be paying for it for a long time. Sex without emotion was impossible for Brine. She knew that going into this. Now she had to deal with the fallout from doing something she knew she shouldn’t have.
Chapter Nineteen
Sexual tension was running high through Brine’s pussy when they woke up again later that morning. It’d been days since they had sex. She felt Thane’s morning erection pressing up against her backside as he slept. She flexed her ass toward him and felt his thick cock slide between her cheeks. She shuddered as the head of his cock pressed on her anus. Part of her wanted to roll over and take him one last time, but she knew she shouldn’t.
They were going to be just friends. That meant no sex. Or did it? No, it had to be just friends. If she tried to set up ground rules with Thane, she knew he’d only try to manipulate his way around them. Thane was a beautiful person. It wouldn’t be long before he found someone else. That thought brought a chill to her body. She didn’t want to share him with any woman, but she would if she had to.
It was wrong, but Brine slipped out of bed before he awakened.
She crept downstairs, dressed for the day, and made breakfast, giving her body time to cool off before she had to face him again. Things were going to be difficult while they figured out how to be just friends. Part of her knew he didn’t want that and he was doing everything in his power to get closer. She made up his tray and tucked in the rolled-up paper Shadow had dragged down from the driveway. She found Thane sitting up in bed with his shirt off.
“Don’t go,” he said. “Stay.”
They couldn’t be friends. The thought kept Brine from moving to the bed to sit next to him. She’d have to do something that would make him hate her. Brine didn’t want to do it, but she knew she’d have to. She set the tray on his lap and went about straightening his bedroom.
“How’s your foot feeling?”
“Better. I think I can move around more today.”
“That’s great! You’ll be back to work soon.”
She could feel his eyes on her as she worked. A thrill of sexual desire vibrated hard through her pussy, taunting her body into submission. Beneath her silk bra her nipples pebbled hard. She heard him eating and looking through the paper. Brine went to the bathroom and wiped down the sink. She came back into his room and hung by the doorway.
“I think I’ll hire a maid service for you until you’re back on your feet,” Brine said. “I don’t want you to overdo things when I’m not here.”
They stared at each other. Thane was everything she knew him to be. Sexy, devastating, seductive, and willing to do anything she wanted with his body. One look was enough of a persuasion for her to think about doing the things they had yet to do sexually. Some of which she’d never done with any man.
“Come here.”
His voice caressed her skin in the most erotic way. He made no attempt to hide the fact that he wanted her despite the pain he was feeling in his foot. “No.”
“Brine.”
Her name was a seductive threat whispered through the room. A threat she knew he’d make good on when he was able. Her body wanted to obey while her mind knew it wasn’t good for her. “I won’t have sex with you anymore.”
“Come to me.”
She glanced at his tray. He’d eaten quickly and set the tray off on the nightstand. Maybe she’d read the situation wrong. Heat bloomed over her cheeks and she couldn’t meet his gaze. “Why? Do you need more to eat?”
“My boot is tight. Can you help me adjust it?” he asked.
There was a quiet sincerity in his voice that pulled at her heart. “Sure.”
There were fasteners to the side of the gray boot. Brine snapped them open and slid the boot off his foot. “Maybe if you give it a break for a few minutes you’ll feel better.”
“I was thinking that, too.”
She turned away and he grabbed her by the wrist, snapping her body down across his lap. “Thane!”
She pressed her hands against his chest as his mouth crushed hard against hers. One of his hands smoothed up the back of her neck, forcing her to keep contact with his searing lips. Their tongues fought in erotic play. Brine’s pussy clenched hard, milking what she knew she wanted. The possibility that he would give her his thick, hot cock sent her body into orgasmic shivers. She wanted him to rip her clothes off of her and take her sex like he owned her.
Thane worked her down to the bed. “Take off your clothes.”
She thought about fighting the need but she couldn’t. She had to have sex with him one last time. He didn’t have to know it was good-bye, but it would be.
She stripped in a slow seductive dance as she stood to the side of the bed. She arched her breasts up as she dropped her shirt to the floor. Thane groaned. Brine unsnapped her pants and slowly edged them down over her curvy hips.
“Help me out of mine.”
Brine grinned as she prowled like a cat over his legs. Her breasts brushed his legs as she moved. He thrust his cock up against her breasts as they caressed him. Brine hooked her hands into the waistband of his sweats and pulled them down over his hips. His throbbing cock jumped out of his pants, slapping her breasts. She worked his cock between her breasts a few times. His scorching flesh throbbed hard with the beat of her heart. She leaned down and licked his cock head, tasting a drip of salty-sweet dew melt like chocolate over her tongue.
She shivered. She wanted him deep inside. Brine edged his sweats over his hips and worked them off fast, careful of his broken foot. Thane watched her with a quiet understanding that he knew she was in control of everything that happened next. And it was exactly where she wanted to be. This was it. Their final time together. It was for the best that she had one final good-bye with him. Then there wouldn’t be any regrets later on either side, she hoped.
Thane flexed his swollen cock up off his abs as Brine prowled her way back up his legs. His thick, muscular thighs always turned her on fast. The tips of her nipples brushed the black hair on his legs, sending shivers of pleasure spiraling through her sex. Wetness coated her vulva. Brine purred as her mouth came in contact with his cock. She licked her tongue over the bulging head, sucking him inside. Thane’s hips rutted up and he growled his approval.
Brine’s hand stroked over the thick base of his cock. He was so thick she couldn’t get her fingers around him. Her middle finger and thumb wouldn’t connect. She stroked and sucked him until he was twisted up with unleashed desire. He pulled her away from his cock. Brine felt his cock slap against her pussy as she was positioned above it. Their gazes locked as she sat down upon his hard cock.
He slid their bodies lower, flexing her ass up into the air. His big hands cupped her ass as he moved her up and down over her shaft. Brine turned her head into his neck, intimately sucking and nipping at his throat. His fingers skimmed the crack of her ass. His mouth sought hers and they tangled in passion. Thane’s fingers rubbed down from the top of her ass, finding the rim of her anus. A jolt of sensation rippled down her pussy.
Thane rutted up with his throbbing cock. Erotic sensations made her pussy go wild on his shaft. She arched up, putting her breasts in his face. His mouth sought out one of her swollen nipples where he sucked it over his teeth. He sucked wildly on her nub. She bucked on and off his cock, working him hard. Brine was on sensation overload. She loved the feel of his chest hair rubbing against her body. Hard muscles flexed with the softness of her skin.
“Come for me, baby.”
His fingers rubbed frantically on the outside of her anus, causing her pussy to explode. Shudders vibrated down her pussy. Honey dripped down over his sex, hitting his thighs. The slaps of their bodies thrilled Brine. She loved the sound of their sex. Thane ran his hands through her hair.
“Look at me when you come again.”
Their eyes held as he thrust up in quick, short moves that sent her falling over the edge without a safety line. �
�Oh, Thane…”
Her orgasms hit one right after another. Thane’s cock flexed out hard. His ejaculation shot up inside of her with unleashed power. Brine shuddered as she slid down onto his body. They were both breathing hard. Brine sensed that both of them had been screwed speechless.
That thought frightened her greatly. Brine threaded her fingers through his chest hair, letting the pad of her fingers move over his manly nipple.
“Just friends?” he asked.
She could hear the rumble of challenge in his deep voice. She didn’t want to fight with him about this. Not right now when she was still feeling her pussy quake with aftershocks. She knew what she wanted was different than what was best. It’d been reckless to think she could have sex with him one last time and think she could walk away from Thane without a fight. She was going to try.
She rubbed her cheek along the corded line of his shoulder. “We can be.”
Thane pulled her on top of his naked body so that she felt him breast to toes. He held her close. “You would rather throw me away than let me love you?”
Pain slashed through his eyes, cutting her heart wide open. “Please, Thane. Don’t make this any more complicated than it needs to be.”
“Is this what you really want?”
She pulled away. “Yes it is.”
“Then there’s nothing else for you to say.” He swung his legs to sit off the side of the bed. “You need to go, Brine.”
Pain like she’d never known shot through her body. If they couldn’t be lovers, he wasn’t willing to be friends? That hurt. “Thane, don’t…”
“Don’t what? Try to convince you that I’m worth loving? I don’t think so. Don’t you think you’ve done enough?”
Brine grabbed her clothes. “I’m sorry, Thane.”
She was downstairs grabbing her things when she heard something shatter against the wall upstairs. She fought the urge to run back to Thane and make things right. Things would never be the same again for them.
Chapter Twenty
Brine packed her bags.
She was doing something she hadn’t done in years. She was driving out to her brother’s lake house. It was the only thing she had left of her family. It was two hours outside of Salem but she knew if she left now she’d miss most of the evening traffic.