by Zoey Marcel
He nodded as he walked off. “You can get up now.”
Justin slowly rose to his feet, overflowing with gratitude and growing warm again over the question of why he waited for Aiden’s command to rise.
He wasn’t sure how much cash was there, or why his boss had been so generous with his money, yet refused to help him find a BDSM play partner. Maybe he could just find a partner on his own.
He glimpsed the money in his hand and then looked up, a steady smile spreading across his face, followed by a decisive nod. Paying off debt was great and all, but it could come after he bought a plane ticket to California. If his puma was too shy and wrapped up in her career to come to him, then he would fly out there to meet her.
Chapter Seven
Kendall couldn’t stop smiling as she walked through McKenna Downs with a foxy man flanking her on either side. René and Quentin showed her around the small town that had a fair amount of the basics in spite of its tiny size. She could see why its residents were content with the place.
Still, compared to the city, how the heck did these people entertain themselves if they lived here for years or all their lives? It was quaint and cute, but it took all of a few minutes to walk from one end of town to the other.
Then again, Melanie’s men were lookers and had money. She had a good feeling she knew what her sister would spend a lot of time doing with them.
Kendall knew if René and Quentin were hers, she’d probably never be able to take her hands off them. That would keep her plenty busy.
“Looking for someone?” Quentin asked her.
She hadn’t meant to be so conspicuous about her vigil for Charlie. Hopefully she didn’t run into him. That would be awkward, and she didn’t even want to think about how she’d react if she saw him out with someone else.
“Just taking in the sights. How long have you guys been friends?”
“A long time,” René answered. “He’s worked for my father for years. We were friends before that. Went to school together.”
Quentin nodded. “Your father is a good man to work for. You did well, picking René, Kendall. He’s the nicest and most civilized of the Huntingtons.”
She smiled before freezing dead in her tracks. “Huntingtons?”
The men paused and turned to look at her. Quentin appeared confused by her response, but René didn’t.
“Yes, why?” Quentin asked.
She cast an almost beseeching look at René. “Your last name is Huntington?”
René nodded, countenance shadowed with caution. “It is.”
She gulped anxiously. “Are you related to...?”
The words dried up in her mouth.
“Yes, Kendall, Charlie is my half-brother.”
Her spirit plummeted and her eyes fell from his slightly guilty ones. He knew what he did.
Quentin still didn’t. “What’s this about?”
“She used to date Charlie several years ago, back when he lived in California,” René explained.
“Is that so?” Realization flickered in Quentin’s dark eyes. “Ah, Kendall Laurie, that woman Charlie was stuck on.”
Was.
Her heart clenched and then hurt when she slowly directed a pitiful look of betrayal at René. “You knew? How long have you known?”
“Since I first met you and you told me who your sister was. I remembered Charlie mentioning your full name a few times when he talked about you...a long time ago,” he added, almost firmly, as if willing the last part to be as true as the first.
Kendall shook her head. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I know I probably should have, but I thought—”
“Yes, you should have. Don’t you think I had a right to know that I slept with my ex’s brother?”
“Half-brother,” Quentin corrected her, shutting up when she glared at him.
“I can’t believe you, René. What if—”
“What?” René shrugged, seeming as bugged about something as he was apologetic. “You’re leaving soon. You’ll go to New York and forget any of this ever happened. You put your career before a man once. It should be easy for you to do it again.”
Her heart went out to the almost bitter pain in his tone, but her hand flying at his face fell more in line with her offense at his flippant remark.
Hell, even Quentin just winced at René’s comment and shook his head like, “Dude, what the hell just came out of your mouth?”
Kendall stormed off, cussing at the tears pricking her eyes.
“Kendall, wait!” René called after her.
She kept walking.
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“Stay away from me!”
“Boo, wait!”
“I’m not your boo!” she yelled, hating that she was making a scene in a small town where everyone probably knew everybody’s name and what color load of laundry their neighbor had going in the wash at the moment.
She wanted to be his boo, but damn him.
“Stay the fuck away from me, René!”
Quentin’s voice came out calmer. “Kendall, if you would just listen—”
“Back off...Sir.” She stormed away.
They quit following her, which sucked as much as it made her glad. When she was alone, she took a side street to try to sneak back to the hotel and hope they didn’t go over to the main street and see her doing so. She needed to be alone right now. She had to cry her eyes out and scream “Stupid girl” into the pillow.
* * * *
René tidied the counter in Chicken Shit, the tack and feed store his family owned in McKenna Downs. He couldn’t get Kendall off his mind. It bothered him that she was upset with him. If they’d been in a serious, long-term relationship, then a fight wouldn’t necessarily be a destructive blow to what they had. As it was, they’d only known each other for a few days, and while he already felt so much for her, a fuming argument could mean the end of the road for them.
He was certain he could forgive her for anything, no matter the severity of the grievance. Would she forgive him?
He tried to steady the jealous anger that arose with alarming strength inside of him when he finally admitted to himself that Kendall probably wasn’t over Charlie. It must have been love, or five years would have erased her feelings for him.
The bell dinged and he became irritated when Charlie walked into the feed store. There weren’t any other customers in the place at the moment or René would have simply feigned busyness and ignored his obnoxious half-brother.
Charlie acknowledged him with a Neanderthal half-nod of his head as he wandered through the store.
“What can I get for you?” René asked.
He really hoped the twit left soon, just in case Kendall stopped by.
“It’s about the kid.” Charlie let his eyes wander around the store as if looking at anything else was preferable to having to make eye contact with him.
“What about Justin?”
“He keeps hounding me to share a woman with him. I told him no.”
“Is it because you’d rather share one with me?” René quipped.
Charlie glared at him. “Don’t flatter yourself. The kid’s too young.”
“He’s twenty-three and an adult.”
“My father wants him to behave himself. Justin’s a troublemaker, and if he gets his heart broken, the old man is gonna be pissed at whoever introduced him to whatever woman screwed his young heart over.”
“You mean our father,” René corrected him in mild annoyance. Charlie never could resist an opportunity to throw up the fact that René wasn’t full-blooded family.
Charlie rolled his eyes. “The kid said he’d ask you to have a threesome with him if I didn’t agree to it. I told him no and threatened to kick his ass if he went behind my back or tried to blackmail me into it.”
“Why you telling me this?”
“To give you a heads up that he might try to connive you. Tell him no.”
“Frankly, I don’t see how it’s you
r business one way or the other.”
Charlie looked irritated, but his tone conveyed concern for their youngest brother. “Justin gets attached too easily. He’ll end up getting hurt. He’s been talking to some woman online for a while now. Probably thinks he’s in love. Never mind that he’s never met the broad.”
René leaned into his hands against the counter. “She could be a nice woman, for all you know.”
Charlie scoffed. “From California? Right, I’ve seen what comes from there. Great for flings, but not wife material for a kid who’s grown up on a small-town ranch.”
“It’s hardly fair to lump everybody in one state into a derogatory label. I’m sure there are some nice people and marriage-worthy women from there.”
Like Kendall.
Charlie turned on his heel to leave. “Just tell him no if he asks you. I don’t want the starry-eyed fool getting attached to someone who’s gonna break his heart.”
“Better than feeling nothing at all.”
He pivoted to face René, a cross warning look shadowing his face. “Is that supposed to mean something?”
“Why don’t you just admit the real reason you don’t want Justin to have a ménage with me? You don’t want to acknowledge the fact that I’m family.”
Charlie stalked toward him, eyes shady and jaw taut. “You’re not family, René. You’re just the bastard child of some floozy who dumped you off with our father because she was too lazy to take care of you herself.”
René almost slugged him.
Charlie’s smile was diabolical. “Go right ahead. See what happens.”
René approached the situation from a different angle. “I understand why you’re bitter, Charlie. It can’t be easy, knowing that my mother was the one our father loved the most.”
Charlie pursed his lips in a vindictive, fake smile. “I don’t know how in touch with the Bible you are, but if you ever do read it, you should start with the story about Joseph and his brothers. Joseph got too cocky and flaunted his supposed favoritism, so his brothers threw him into a pit and then sold him into slavery. Think about it.”
René retaliated when Charlie gave him his back and headed toward the door. “I read about that. Is that the same Joseph who saved his father’s and brothers’ lives during the famine? He became a hero, but not before fucking with his brothers’ heads a bit first. Good stuff.”
Charlie gave him a dirty look with his hand on the door. “The same, but the story doesn’t end there. After their father died, the brothers lied to Joseph and told him their father didn’t want him punishing them for selling him into slavery. Joseph had to forgive them and never got to execute his revenge on them. Good stuff.”
René glowered at Charlie as he left the store.
About a half an hour later René looked up when the bell dinged. This time it was his beloved Kendall who entered the store. His heart softened and glowed with affection when he saw her. He wanted to take her in his arms and hold her, but he held back, not knowing where he stood with her.
“Hi,” she said meekly.
“Hey. You here to buy a saddle?” he teased.
She gave him a sweet, almost repentant smile before shaking her head. “No. I wanted to talk to you about earlier. I’m sorry I lashed out. I didn’t mean to bite your head off.”
“It’s okay, boo.”
A giddy little smile lighted her face at the endearment before she became apologetic again. “No. It’s not okay. I should have given you a chance to explain, tried to be more understanding. My relationships would probably last a lot longer if I didn’t have such a temper.”
He smiled and petted her arm. “Your temper doesn’t bother me, Kendall. You were right. I should have told you my last name. I was just worried that if you knew Charlie was my half-brother...you’d pick him over me.”
“Why would I do that? You’re worlds sweeter than he was.”
He grinned. “That’s what I thought. Frankly, I didn’t know what a nice girl like you ever saw in him.”
“I was young and in love, I guess. It happens. I’m older and smarter now.”
“Glad to hear it. Charlie’s an ass. You deserve better than him.”
“Thanks. He had his good points, too. He’s really good to people he cares about.”
René felt jealousy coil in his stomach again. If only he’d hit Charlie a little bit ago when he had the chance. He’d seen Charlie treating those he cared about well. Problem was, there were few people he cared about, so his show of self-sacrifice was rare. René was definitely not among the people Charlie gave a damn about.
“Do you love him?”
Kendall looked shaken up by the question. “I did at one time, but I’m over him.”
“You sure about that?”
She looked down as she nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
He had his doubts, but he knew she felt something for him, too, at least. Maybe in time her love for him would grow and erase what she felt for Charlie.
“Do you forgive me for being a bitchy bitch?” she asked.
René pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her head, savoring her fragrant lavender aroma. “There’s nothing to forgive, cherie. I’m just glad you’re not mad at me anymore.”
“I can’t stay mad at you, René. You’re too sweet, too perfect for me.”
The compliment gave him hope. “That means the world to me. So do you.”
She squeezed him tighter. “These past few days have been so wonderful. I wish they could last forever.”
They could.
He damn near said it. “I’ve enjoyed them as well.”
She pulled back and looked up at him adoringly. “I really want to show you how sorry I am and make it up to you.”
His cock perked with interest. “Well, you could always buy a saddle or a bag of feed.”
He chortled when she slapped his arm playfully.
“I meant I want to have make-up sex with you.”
“Ah, well, if you insist,” he teased.
Her green eyes simmered with heat when she saw him lock the front door and put up a sign. “How long do we have?”
“About fifteen minutes. We’ll have to work quickly.” He guided her around the corner. “Pull your pants down and bend over. I’m gonna spank you for scaring me to death.”
She seemed turned on as she obeyed him. “How did I do that?”
He ran his hand over the soft, lush curves of her ivory buttocks. “I thought I was never gonna see you again. You have no idea how bad that hurt me.”
She winced and yipped when he swatted her left ass cheek. “I’m sorry.”
He soothed away the sting on her beautiful, warm flesh. “I know.”
“It hurt me, too.”
He slapped her other side, making her flinch and mewl. “I’m glad.”
She laughed lightly. “My misery pleases you, huh?”
He snickered and kept spanking her. “I meant I’m glad that you care about me as much as I care about you.”
“I do.”
Her cringing and muffled yelps turned into moans when he massaged her pink buttocks, absorbing the lingering fire he inflicted on her skin.
“You’ll have to come quickly for me, boo. We’ve only got about ten minutes left.” He smiled with satisfaction at the softness of her heady sigh when he skimmed his finger through her soaked folds. “You’re so wet. I think somebody enjoyed her spanking.”
She whimpered and arched into his hand as he stimulated her soft, fleshy clitoris. “Very much. I’m really going to miss you.”
His heart clenched. “I’m gonna miss you, too. Let’s not talk about that right now. Just come for me.”
A few seconds later, she cried out softly and writhed against his hand and the saddle she was bent over. Her noises of passion and the helpless convulsions that seized her gorgeous body turned his cock to steel in his pants and touched something deeper inside of him. He couldn’t let her go to New York. Somehow, he had to convince her to sta
y here with him. He didn’t care if he got to have her all to himself, or if he had to share her with Quentin from time to time, or even permanently. He just wanted her, today, tomorrow, and forever. Hell, he’d share her with all of his brothers if it meant she would stay...except for Charlie. Never with him.
Kendall shivered against the saddle as she came down from her second climax. “That felt so good. I need you. How long do we have?”
René looked over at the clock on the wall. “About six minutes.”
“Do me fast.”
He grinned and undid his jeans with haste. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“Anything would feel good right now. I’m so hot for you.”
A guttural groan rumbled deep in his chest at her words. He quickly sheathed his penis and then rummaged his cockhead through her drenched slit until he found the molten entrance he searched for. Her stifled cry of discomfort caused him to ease up some. He shoved forward and his dick wedged in her snug passage. She felt so hot, so slippery and good wrapped around him like a steamy sauna that made him harder, hotter.
“Oh god, René,” she whimpered as he pushed forward and packed himself deeper into her vagina.
Soft, pleading cries of pleasure poured out of her, and he wanted to savor her narcotic sounds and the unbelievable bliss of being buried balls-deep in her tight pussy. Time was of the essence, though, so no cunt-basking for him.
He pelted into her hard and fast, drowning in her amazing body and her damp, scalding tightness that clenched around him like a vise. It was pure heaven, made somehow better because he loved her. He hadn’t told her and didn’t know if he should. It probably wouldn’t change anything, but it was enough to know that he did love her and probably always would, even after she was gone.
Kendall gasped in shock as he hammered into her hard and fast. She even let out girlish screams a few times that said the sensations were too much, felt too good, too intense.
Mostly he felt lust and adoration during the encounter, but some lingering resentment toward his half-brother made him fuck Kendall that much harder and deeper. Charlie lost her and would never get her back again. Now René was fucking her and had her heart in his hands.