Coral Hearts

by Avery Gale

  Chapter Ten

  Lunch was a roller coaster ride unlike any Coral had ever experienced, from the disaster at the top of the stairs to Sage’s heartfelt apology, to the wild stories the brothers shared about their childhood. But all of it had paled in comparison to the riot of emotions marching though her. God in heaven, her heart was about to beat right out of her chest. Before they’d settled down to eat, her stomach was doing somersaults, but it still managed to growl in agreement when Kip declared he was starving. “I can’t help it, I’m a growing boy.”

  Coral was convinced Kip’s flip response was more about distracting her than fact, but his brothers assured her with Kip, hunger was “situation normal.” Sage had carried her to the table insisting she wasn’t ready to walk yet, but she knew he was probably trying to minimize the stimulation to her clit. She had a news flash for him, just breathing was too much movement.

  After setting her carefully on a chair covered with a soft towel, Sage leaned close speaking softly against her ear, “Spread your legs apart, pet. Hook your feet around the outside of the chair legs.” When she followed his instructions she realized how exposed the position left her, the glass tabletop wasn’t going to conceal anything from any of the brothers’ view. She felt her face flush and knew she wasn’t hiding her embarrassment. “Remember, we’re all Doms, pet. You’re lovely and this is as good a time as any for you to become acquainted with one of the foundations of the lifestyle. As your Dom, it’s my privilege and responsibility to push you to broaden your horizons. I’ll always respect your hard limits, but be forewarned, pet—I’ll challenge every “good girls don’t” notion that pops into your pretty little head.”

  Coral wanted to argue she hadn’t been given much moral guidance growing up, but the argument fell flat. She’d always prided herself on her ability to be honest with herself and she knew she’d managed to impose all those social restrictions on herself without any help from her parents. Sighing to herself, Coral accepted the fact hiding anything from Sage was going to be virtually impossible—hell, he’s going to see right through me…I’m thinking this could be a real pain in the ass—literally. Keeping the protest to herself, Coral nodded in agreement even as she worried whether or not she’d ever be able to let go of her self-imposed rules.

  Sage sat on her right and Colt took the chair on her left. When Sage’s calloused palm slid up her thigh, she knew he was not only reminding her he considered her body his to play with, but he was sending a clear message to his brothers as well. Coral felt Colt’s gaze on her, and when she turned she found him watching her closely. “Which voice are you going to listen to, sweetness?” Coral sucked in a breath wondering for just second if perhaps she’d spoken out loud. “It’s written all over your face, the turmoil between what your mind thinks is socially acceptable and what you know your body has been clamoring for as long as you can remember.”

  “How did you know?” All four of the brothers seated around the table chuckled and she felt her face flush with embarrassment—again.

  “We aren’t laughing at you Coral, we really aren’t. We’re laughing because it’s a question submissives ask Doms all the time. The truth is we’re trained to recognize subtle changes in your body language. But even more than that, we’ve had the benefit of each other’s experience and that of our fellow club members,” Phoenix’s voice had a thread of steel she hadn’t heard before—obviously there was a very real Dom lurking beneath his compassionate demeanor.

  Surprisingly, it was Kip who did the most to allay her concerns. “Coral, always remember you have a safe word. If you start to get uncomfortable for heaven’s sake, use yellow. A lot of the time a brief time-out is all you need, and it gives your Dom a heads up the situation is out-pacing your ability to assimilate everything. And if you find yourself in over your head before you realize it’s happening, call out red. You won’t be penalized for using your safe word…unless it’s clear you are doing it simply to manipulate a scene.”

  Coral took a deep breath and nodded. She was grateful for their reminders. It was easy to forget she had any control in this situation when she hadn’t felt as though she had any real control in her life for a very long time. The rest of their lunch passed in a blur of conversation related to plans for the upcoming New Year’s Eve party, mixed with updates on their various business interests. She was impressed at how involved Sage was in each of his brother’s lives even though he didn’t appear to micromanage them. Coral hadn’t heard the door open and she was startled to see Brandt standing in the doorway.

  Watching the Sheriff visually assess the situation sent a shiver of something between awareness and fear up her spine. Coral realized she was holding her breath awaiting his judgement, and she didn’t take another breath until a smile tipped up the corners of his lips. It occurred to her she’d rarely seen Sheriff Brandt Morgan smile, but even this subtle show of amusement completely changed his appearance. Holy hula-hipping hippos, how insanely good looking would he be if he actually smiled more often? His deep voice brought her out of her musings, “Is this a punishment or a reward?”

  Even though his question had been about her, Coral was sure it hadn’t been directed at her, so she didn’t respond. “Definitely a reward. And we were just on our way downstairs for a swim.” Brandt’s brows raised in surprised but he didn’t seem willing to push the subject either.

  “Before you take Coral downstairs to continue her…reward—I have a question for her.” She could see his obvious hesitance to ask and she wondered what he could possibly consider so personal he didn’t want to make the inquiry in front of his brothers. Fuck a fat fairy, maybe he’s decided you were involved with the drug dealer’s death after all. He could send you back to Georgia in a heartbeat. If he doesn’t believe you, there is no way in hell anyone else will. Fuck me, there are those blasted dots again.

  “Coral. Look at me. Now!” Sage’s sharp command brought her attention to his face and she was surprised to see the concern in his eyes. “Jesus, you weren’t breathing. Where on earth did you go?”

  “I’m sorry, my imagination sort of ran away with me when I saw how hesitant Brandt was to ask me the question…”

  Brandt shook his head, as he stepped forward. “No. It’s nothing like that. I’m tired and frustrated because every damned lead I track down on those yo-yos who broke into your apartment nets absolutely nothing.” Setting a small bag on the table Brandt spoke to Sage, “Here is the phone you asked me to pick up. We’re keeping Coral’s for a while longer. We know someone is tracking it so we’ve hidden it in her apartment and we’re forwarding all the calls and messages to my phone.” Returning his attention to her, he asked, “Who is Josie?”

  Coral had just taken a drink of water and choked at the mention of her friend’s name. Damn, who knew you could actually choke on water? “An old friend, why?” Her mind was scrambling, and she hadn’t intended her response to sound as defensive as she knew it had. She’d always been fiercely protective of her friend’s privacy—even before she became a worldwide musical phenomenon and old habits die-hard. Josie was better known as county music’s newest superstar, Josephine Alta. But Josie hadn’t always been the gorgeous woman fans worshipped today.

  At one time Josie had been an awkward young girl who was bullied almost daily—that is until a new girl at their school intervened. Coral’s childhood had been filled with bullies and she’d learned at an early age how to fight back, but what was even more important was she had also learned it was equally important to help those who couldn’t help themselves. The day she’d stepped between Josie and the bullies, explaining to the posse of sixth grade bitches exactly how she’d rearrange their perky little faces, had been the last day they’d made Josie their target. It was also the day Coral and Josie became best friends.

  Coral wasn’t aware of how tightly she’d pulled her legs together until she felt Sage’s fingers flex between her clenched thighs. Her hands were fisted in her lap, the cumulative effect was a punishing
grip trapping Sage’s hand against her sex. All five Morgan brothers’ attention was focused on her, but to her relief they were looking at her face rather than the fact she’d reacted so negatively to Brandt’s inquiry.

  “Coral, your friend has texted you a couple of times. I’ve responded as you because it wasn’t clear exactly who we were dealing with and for some reason we can’t trace the number.” Coral bit back her grin. Yeah, I’ll bet her people have made tracking her phone difficult at best. “Now that I know the messages are from a friend I will forward them to you so you can respond personally. I’d suggest you do that fairly quickly as I believe your friend is beginning to get suspicious she isn’t actually talking to you.”

  “I’m not surprised. She’s usually pretty cautious.” She turned to Sage who was already pulling the phone out of the bag Brandt handed him moments earlier.

  “Don’t suppose you’d be interested in elaborating on the friend comment?” She heard the concern in Sage’s voice. Damn it all to dented doorbells. Sage had done so much for her she didn’t want to give him any reason to doubt her.

  Looking around the room, Coral realized if she was trusting these men with her life it seemed like a no-brainer they could be trusted with the truth about Josie. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be overly secretive, I’m just accustomed to being really tight-lipped about Josie. She’d been my best friend since we were kids, and even though our lives have taken very different paths, we’ve stayed in touch. The friend I know as Josie is actually Josephine Alta.”

  Sage’s eyebrows notched up in surprise and she heard Colt’s whistle from beside her. “Holy shit, Coral. That’s awesome.”

  For once, Brandt was looking at her with an expression that didn’t make her think he was analyzing her. Holy crap…did he actually just chuckle? As in almost amused? “Well, that certainly explains why she was cautious—and why we couldn’t get a bead on the phone. Hell, the NSA needs to hire her people.”

  After just a few texts, Coral realized how much she’d missed her friend during the past year. When she’d asked how Josie had gotten her phone number the response had been short and sweet, “MONEY.” And while Coral was grateful her friend had tracked her down, it had also lead her to a disturbing conclusion. If Josie could find her, so could her ex, and Donny Sanders had more motivation than most people. By the time she’d finished texting with Josie, Coral’s hands were shaking so badly she could barely hold the phone. Setting the small electronic device aside, she looked up to see all but one of the Morgan brothers visiting with one another. Sage’s full attention was laser sharp and focused on her.

  “You’re worried.” He hadn’t needed to ask, he’d already known. “Pet, we already knew the phone you’d purchased was compromised. That sort of information is actually quite easy to obtain, and a star of Josephine’s caliber would definitely have people who could get your number for her.” Mixed emotions swirled in her eyes, but doubt wasn’t one of them. Sage was both grateful and humbled by her trust.

  “I guess I hadn’t given enough thought to the fact they’d be waiting for me to get a phone.” Running her fingers over the phone she’d just set down, he could almost hear the questions swirling through her mind. “What is to keep them from finding out about this one?”

  The question had been whispered so softly, Sage might not have heard her if he hadn’t been watching her so closely. “This phone is in my name, pet. The only people who would think to search for it that way are local.” Looking up, Sage noted it had started to snow and decided to use the weather change as the distraction he thought Coral needed desperately. Threading his fingers through the soft curls framing her heart shaped face, he cupped his hand over her ear and used the position to turn her toward the windows lining the back of the house. “Look, pet. It’s snowing. I can hardly wait to swim with you while the snow swirls a few feet away. Let’s go, it’s time for you to think about something else.”

  Sage watched Coral’s eyes flit around the table in nervous anticipation. Oh yeah. There is an exhibitionist deep inside my sweet sub—and I’m going to enjoy helping her explore that poorly kept secret. There wasn’t much he looked forward to more than helping Coral expand her sexual horizons. “Do you think you can make it down the steps on your own or would you like for me to remove the clit ring now?”

  He loved the pink that stained her cheeks as she whispered, “Now? Right now?”

  “Right now—right here.” Sage was close enough he knew his warm breath had caressed the side of her face, even as she continued to stare out at the falling snow. He could almost hear her calculating the distance down to the pool. Yes, sweetness it’s further than the hallway upstairs that almost sent you into orbit. Reconsidering is a wise decision.

  “Can you do it without everyone seeing my pink bits?” This time she’d turned to face him and he was pleased to see the same mix of emotions he’d seen every time their topic of discussion had ventured to public displays.

  Sage didn’t even try to hold back his wicked grin, “Well, I suppose I could, but where would the fun be in that?”

  Leading her down the stairs to the pool area several minutes later, Sage felt Coral begin to withdraw emotionally. He hoped the small scene they’d just done upstairs hadn’t overwhelmed her too much—he wanted to push her, but knew there would be a fine line between enough and too much. Before they’d reached the large glass doors leading to the pool he turned her so she faced him. “Tell me what you’re thinking, pet.” He knew he’d surprised her and he hoped she’d blurt out her answer before taking time to edit it into something she thought he wanted to hear.

  “I’m embarrassed about what I did just now…upstairs I mean. I can’t believe I did that. How am I ever going to look your brothers in the face again? They have to think I’m beyond desperate. Geez, what was I thinking? I’ve never been like this before. And the worst part is I liked it. What does that even mean? I’m sure it isn’t anything good.” She was quickly working herself into a real state as his granny had always said. It needed to be shut down quickly before she got so caught up in her “good girl” limits she forgot about the pleasure she’d felt.

  “Stop.” His one word command had been sharp enough to snap her out of the downward spiral, but he could see the shame in her eyes and those unshed tears were almost enough to make him change the course he’d chosen. No, stay the course with her. She needs your strength and guidance, not coddling. “You didn’t do anything wrong and if I hear you say it again I’ll paddle your pretty little ass until I’m convinced you’ve gotten the message.”

  “You’ve spent entirely too much time trying to be good enough to make up for the shortcomings you saw in your parents. Not only were those efforts unnecessary then—damn, you were a child for God’s sake. But now they’re simply wasted energy because they’re gone. Let them go and live your life, pet—you’ve earned it.” The first tear to breach her lower lid and shimmer its way down her flushed cheek made his heart squeeze, but he was determined to hold himself back. If he gave in and cuddled her close she wouldn’t understand how firmly he believed the words he’d just spoken. One of the things Sage had learned about submisives was they were usually far too caught up in doing what they felt was expected of them. Their need to please others trumped their own needs so frequently they forgot they deserved happiness as well.

  With his hands on either side of her pretty face, Sage used his thumbs to brush away her tears. The tortured look of need in her eyes brought the Dom in him raging to the surface. “I’ll help you, pet. You’ll learn to see the deserving woman I see. And as for what happened upstairs—you showed my brothers how brave you are. Do you think they didn’t know how far outside the lines you were coloring?” The grin that tipped up the corners of her deep pink lips let him know she was starting to relax once again. “I assure you your place in their hearts is even more solid now that they’ve seen first-hand how brave you are. Pet, the willingness to try is a magnetic pull no Dom can resist.”

/>   He suspected she was nearing the point of being completely overwhelmed. The day had been filled with distractions and while he had definitely wanted to switch her focus from the break-in, he didn’t want to push her past her emotional limit either. “Let’s swim. I think we could both use some time water time.” For him swimming was a way to work out the kinks stress and physical labor left behind, he hoped she’d enjoy the pool as much as he did.

  Stepping into the cavernous room he heard Coral’s soft gasp. “I haven’t actually been in this room yet. I just looked in from the door earlier. It’s amazing—almost like a tropical jungle.” She was right, the entire area was filled with tropical plants surrounding the pool as well as several sitting areas giving them each an illusion of privacy. The far end of the room was taken up with a fully functioning bar and grill. The kitchen behind the bar was capable of keeping even the largest party well fed. And God knew, the bar was well stocked enough to make every drink imaginable.

  “The waterfall is my favorite feature. Come, let me show you.” He grasped her hand and led her to the stone covered wall at the back of the pool. There were dressing rooms and showers behind the wall, but he’d insisted they leave a small area behind the falling water as a private area. He and his brothers had been young adults when his parents had decided to redo the basement adding the pool so they’d each had ideas of how to best use the new area in their romantic endeavors. Sage’s dad still laughed about some of the outrageous and downright lurid suggestions they’d made. Yeah, he laughed, but he damn well incorporated several of their ideas into the final design. The old saying about the fruit not falling far from the tree is truer than dad probably wants to admit.

  Chapter Eleven