And she didn’t want him to stop. She wanted more. She wanted him to make good on his words, to leave her unable to sit or even walk. She wanted to feel him everywhere long after he was gone, to have the constant reminder of just how badly he wanted her and how brutally he conquered her.
Sabrina wanted to be dominated. She wanted to belong to him. She wanted it all.
Their release was quick and unfettered. Neither held anything back, shouting with abandon without a care as to who might hear.
As it turned out, someone did overhear them. Two someones, to be exact. As Sabrina lay cradled in Conner’s arms, her arm and leg draped across his chest, William and Oliver cautiously entered the room, as if they were afraid to break the fragile connection that’d been made tonight.
“We heard a…uh…commotion.” William cleared his throat. “Then it got quiet and we thought…ya know…maybe someone had died.”
“Murdered, I think your words were,” Oliver supplied, a small, amused smile twitching to life.
“Yes, that. So, are you two okay? Does anyone need mouth-to-mouth? Or mouth-to-pussy? I’m not picky. Just here to serve.” William had that cheeky look about him again, and Sabrina turned her face into Conner’s chest and snickered.
“Come on in, brothers,” Conner welcomed them. Then, with a loud smack, his hand landed on her bare behind. “The water’s fine.”
Sabrina let out an eep! of surprise, then smacked Conner’s chest as William and Oliver stepped out of their own clothes and climbed into bed to join them.
In no time, she was surrounded by men. Her men, she mused as she reached down to slip her fingers between William’s questing hand that coasted along her round hip. He curled in behind her, and they got cozy, each of them resting comfortably in silence.
It wasn’t long before the struggles of all they’d experienced at her presumptuous hand dragged them into a light slumber, and Sabrina herself had never slept so well.
Chapter Twenty
“I want to take you to lunch.”
“Breakfast is barely over and you’re already thinking about food again?” Sabrina chuckled as she loaded the dishwasher. The guys had made her French toast and for them a side of eggs and bacon to go with it. She couldn’t pack away nearly as much food as they apparently could, but she’d enjoyed watching them eat it. It also made her a touch jealous because there was no way in hell she could consume that many calories in one sitting without it going straight to her thighs.
“Then dinner.” Conner was insistent. He wanted to take her out, to show her off. Sabrina was still on the fence. She wanted those things, of course, but she couldn’t help considering his brothers in the equation. Where did they fit? How did they all fit together? It seemed like someone was always going to get left out.
Sabrina busied herself with the dishes and then wiping the already clean counters, not sure how to answer him.
Conner approached and stood waiting on the opposite side of the counter. “’Brina, I want to take you out. We haven’t been out since that farce of a dinner date with the old man, what’s his name?”
“Mr. Thomas,” she supplied, thinking back on the night fondly. Although Henry was an old codger with a tendency toward sexist, he was kind and, at times, sweet. At least with her.
“Right. Well, that was business. I want to do something with you that’s purely pleasurable.”
She flashed him a coy smile and a heated and altogether suggestive look. For the better half of two days, they’d spent all of their time between the sheets, making up for lost time and hurt feelings. Sabrina’s body was so worn out, she was surprised she didn’t have callouses between her thighs instead of bruising from being ridden so hard.
There was still the question of William and Oliver that she was concerned about though.
Casting her gaze toward the living room not twenty feet away where they sat watching TV and trading pages of the morning newspaper, she lowered her voice. “What about your brothers?”
Sure, they’d shared showers and cuddled in front of the tube to watch movies together, one-on-one, over the weekend, but was it enough?
Conner’s eyebrows pinched together. “What about them?”
She lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “We’re supposed to be an us, right?” He nodded and she continued. “Then how is that supposed to happen when we’re always doing everything separate?” Maybe she was making this all more complicated than it had to be.
“I thought you didn’t want to out that there’s an ‘us’ right now? We agreed that it wouldn’t be beneficial for people to find out that we’re together. I know the world is supposedly more accepting of unconventional relationships now, but polyamorous relationships still turn more heads and cause more friction than, say, homosexual ones,” Conner argued. “I don’t see how we can get around that if we venture out as a unit.”
“Maybe not right now…” Sabrina trailed off, knowing he was right and that she was also right to be concerned. Still, she couldn’t deny how unfair it was that they had to hide and keep secrets just to be together. It didn’t bode well for any relationship, and theirs was more challenging than most.
“Later, if this lasts,” Conner said as he extended a comforting hand across the cool marble and held hers, “we’ll take that leap. But right now, this is all too new to take risks for either side. It’s better if we play it cool and see how it all plays out.”
Sabrina couldn’t help feeling stung by his words. To her, it made it seem dirty, what they were doing. It made it feel like Conner wanted to hide his connection to her, as if he were ashamed. She knew, logically, that was absurd, since he was the one who announced wanting to take her out into the world and have her on his arm. But the little thread of insecurity inside of her had been poked, and it was hard to ignore.
“We want you, ‘Brina. Don’t ever doubt that.” Conner’s earnest words came at exactly the right time, as if he knew what she’d been thinking. “If all of this works out, if it looks like it’s heading into serious territory, then trust that there isn’t a thing my brothers and I wouldn’t do to protect what’s ours.”
Staring deeply into his eyes, Sabrina found that she believed Conner. And a quick glance at William and Oliver only reinforced it. They must have overheard a piece of the conversation, because they were looking over their shoulders at them, and they wore the same earnest expression as Conner. That settled it, Sabrina thought fiercely. She wasn’t going to continue feeding the doubts. She was going to enjoy the moment instead, and rest secure in the knowledge that she had three handsome men by her side who wanted to be with her, who cared enough about her to swim against the current and take a chance.
And, therefore, she was willing to do the same.
Withdrawing her hand from beneath Conner’s, she stood tall and tossed the damp rag she’d been using for cleaning into the sink basin. “I’ll go get dressed and we can head out.”
Conner appeared like a man who’d just won a battle. A brilliant smile rose into place and he nodded, stepping back from the counter. “I’ll be in the living room waiting.”
“With bells on, I hope.” Sabrina winked and got moving, eager to see where this new day would lead her.
***
The beach was amazing this time of year. As it was always a good ten degrees colder by the water, she didn’t feel the heat of the day so much as she felt the chill of the coming fall, which was still a couple of months away. Cinching closer to Conner, she soaked up as much of his natural body heat as she could manage.
“Cold?” He chuckled, as if finding it amusing that she was freezing her butt off.
“Nope. Just looking for an excuse to get closer to you,” she commented offhandedly. Although it wasn’t untrue. Sabrina did want to get closer to the Hargreaves. The more time she spent with them, with her guard—mostly—down, the more she wanted to glean every ounce of information she could about them. She was like a starving person, needing to learn more and more, soaking it up like a spon
ge and finding herself still hungry.
“Oh, my sweet, you don’t ever need an excuse.”
His soft words were just what she needed to hear. Sabrina couldn’t get enough of this side of Conner. In this moment, he was nearly perfect. Her dream man brought to life.
After their brunch/lunch in a little restaurant overlooking the boardwalk, they’d decided to take a walk along the beach. As she sank her toes into the sand, Sabrina could think of no better way to spend the day than this. Conner hadn’t used his wealth or influence to wine and dine her. He didn’t seem to feel the need to go above and beyond to impress either. Instead, whether he knew it or not, he’d appealed to Sabrina’s down-to-earth side, the one that she retreated to each day after work.
This was Sabrina’s true idea of bliss. A simple walk on the beach, the sun in her hair and on her skin, the breeze cool and crisp and bringing with it an earthy scent that made her feel at peace down to her marrow.
And a man on her arm that was at once strong and foreboding and sweet and gentle and kind. Was it possible that he was her perfect match, in and of himself? Had she judged wrong in thinking that the Hargreaves brothers had to be a package deal in order to fulfill her needs?
She looked up at Conner through the bright sunlight and sighed inside. She didn’t know what the right answer was.
“What are you thinking about?” Conner’s question caught her by surprise. How did he seem to always know that she was in the midst of internal struggle?
Deciding to be honest, she said, “About us. All of us.” Sabrina cast her gaze ahead of them as the stepped up onto the long and winding walkway paved in concrete and surrounded by fine sand on the left and green, neatly cut grass on the right. “I just keep wondering if I’m making the right decision pursuing this thing with the three of you, or if I should be choosing just one. I can’t help thinking it’s going to get messy down the road.”
Even now, William and Oliver were back at her place, cast onto the sidelines yet again, in favor of her spending one-on-one time with Conner. There had to be some resentments brewing over their older brother always getting first dibs, right?
“You think too much,” Conner accused. “Although I see your point, I have to say again that we know exactly what we’re getting ourselves into. There are no jealousies or hurt feelings. Nothing that is going to get, as you say, ‘messy.’ Unless you let it.”
“Well, I don’t want to let it,” Sabrina defended, her voice rising. “I just don’t see how it couldn’t.”
“It won’t.” He sounded so sure, his words final. It was clear Conner was confident that he and his brothers had this handled, and that she was the only one complicating things, seeing problems where they didn’t currently exist or need to.
Sabrina had no desire to continue this line of conversation, knowing it would eventually lead to an argument that would breathe life into exactly what she’d been voicing concerns over.
“All right, if you say that it’ll be fine, then I’ll believe you.” She sighed and pasted on a smile. “So, what do you want to do with the rest of the day?” She hoped it involved his brothers, because the longer they spent out together alone, the guiltier she felt for leaving them behind.
Conner looked up toward the sky, using his arm around her shoulders to prop him up while she led the way so he could ponder the question. “Well…how about we head back home after we leave here, get our bathing suits, and go swimming.”
The apartment building housed an Olympic-sized pool on its first floor near the gym. She’d only used it a few times since she’d moved in, never enjoying being there alone. Now, it looked like she’d have the opportunity to try again. Maybe this time, she’d have more fun too!
“That sounds like a great idea.” After all, it was too chilly to get into the lake water, but the alternative would be just as enjoyable.
“Good, because I saw that tiny thing you call a bikini in your dresser drawer and I can’t wait to see you in it,” Conner purred, lowering his mouth to hers. They didn’t miss a step as they continued walking and he kissed her soundly on the mouth, even slipping her a bit of tongue in the process and sparking Sabrina’s imagination.
Her mind spun as they headed back to the car. He was right, the bikini was pretty skimpy. She’d been in a daring mood when she’d bought it, and now she was a little shy thinking of wearing it for her guys. Knowing them, though, she wouldn’t be wearing it for long. The question was, would she make it to the pool, or would they spend another day in the bedroom?
Chapter Twenty-One
Pool hours were strict, which was probably why, at this late hour, no one was around. Sabrina and the guys had decided on a late dinner before heading down for a swim, wanting to have some privacy. She could just imagine their reasoning, and she was in total agreement.
Sabrina didn’t want to share, even if it was something as simple as space, when it came to the brothers. She wanted all the time she could get alone with them, and if that meant pushing the limits of the management’s rules, then so be it.
Her guys were all dressed similarly: in boxers and nothing else. They hadn’t had the foresight to bring swim trunks, and why would they? It wasn’t their apartment building. Despite her protest and suggestion they go out and purchase a pair, they’d cited—logically—that boxers provided the same coverage of swim trunks as a pair of panties and a bra did her bikini. When put that way, she wondered why in the world she ever felt the need to invest fifty dollars per half of the overpriced outfit that could be lost with the simple tug of a string.
It seemed laughable, the way society placed everything, right down to the material of underwear, into a box they deemed appropriate. In the grand scheme of things, the logic didn’t really hold much weight.
The smell of chlorine was pungent in the halls the moment they stepped off the elevator and only grew stronger as they grew closer to the room, enclosed with heavily-tinted glass that made the inside of the swim area appear as if the lights had already been turned out for the evening.
Inside, it was far brighter, but still muted as there was no natural light, but rather the yellowed overhead canisters embedded in the tall ceilings.
The Olympic-sized pool was still, aside from the soft ripples that coasted along the surface from the filter system that cranked away day and night. Unlike the outdoor pool that was popular in the summer, this one was surrounded by cool slabs of square stone the color of mud that seemed to reflect off every surface, giving the entire room a drab seventies feel. Only the white lounge chairs set out every few feet and the complimentary blue-and-white striped towels that draped casually over their arms broke it up and brought it back into the present.
Sabrina had never been impressed with the accommodations, but finding an apartment building with the amenities she enjoyed here, at a reasonable price, were slim. That wasn’t to say she used any of them often, or in some cases at all, but she liked the idea of having it all at her disposal if she wanted to, and tonight, she did.
Walking around the entire length of the pool and settling on the end that would give them the best direct view of the windowed wall they’d come in through, in case they had any unexpected visitors, the four of them claimed chairs and pulled them closer together so they’d be within arm’s reach of one another.
Sabrina moved to sit, but a hand on her waist, pulling her up, stopped her in her tracks.
“Where do you think you’re going? Pool is this way,” William said with a mile-wide grin that made Sabrina’s heart flutter.
“I don’t usually swim,” she said dumbly as she allowed him to tow her to the water’s edge.
William appeared as shocked as his words sounded. “What do you think a pool is made for? For that matter, why would you buy a bathing suit if you don’t get in the water?”
Sabrina opened her mouth to utter some lame excuse that she was intent on winging because there wasn’t any real excuse that she could devise off the top of her head that would make any se
nse, when suddenly, her feet left the cool tile and she watched in horror as the water rose up to meet her.
The shock of the cold liquid encasing her body was enough to suck the oxygen from her lungs, and Sabrina felt a panic rise inside of her that she’d never experienced before. Immediately, her arms and legs began to flail as she sought the surface and the life-giving air she so desperately needed.
Gasping and coughing water from her lungs, she scraped at the wet hair matted to her face and obstructing her airways as if she’d been cocooned, and all the while, she could hear an argument ensuing.
Oliver and Conner were laying into William, not at all happy about his little prank.
“That was a dick move.” Ollie was outraged.
“You’re lucky she can swim. Honestly, Will, grow up.” Conner didn’t sound any more pleased than his brother, but there was no malice in his voice that she could detect. Only disappointment.
Once she could see again—and breathe again—Sabrina glared at William so hard, she was surprised he didn’t burst into flames on the spot.
At least he looked properly chastised. With pursed lips and his hands planted on his hips, he stared down at her as if he weren’t sure what he should do next. Maybe holding her head under the water until the bubbles stopped would make him happy, she thought snidely. But just as quickly as her anger had risen, it disappeared.
She wasn’t even that upset. Sure, he’d caught her off-guard and she’d taken in a lungful of water because of it, but she understood that Will had just been messing around. It was his smile that tipped her off to the kind of man he really was. It was always there, cocky and sure, and tonight, instead of being the uptight businessman she’d learned him to be, he’d let his real self loose.
She just hadn’t been expecting it.
Schooling her expression, Sabrina crooked a finger at him and smile demurely, welcoming him into the water with her.
Indecent Proposal: A Reverse Harem Romance Page 14