by Kaylee, Katy
Then again, I was under the same pressure Ben was, plus I had to raise a child and manage an alcoholic brother. Having grown up wealthy, it had been a change to learn to live on a budget. To be honest, while I didn’t want to be poor, I didn’t mind living on less. Managing a big house and staff wasn’t how I wanted to spend my time, although I did miss spending more time with Morgan, who worked for us until we were too broke to afford her. I was glad we were able to maintain our friendship.
Ben, Hannah, and I now lived modestly in the townhome my father had bought probably for one of his mistresses, doing our own grocery shopping, making our own meals, cleaning our own toilets… it wasn’t bad.
I left him to sleep on the couch and went back to Hannah, guilt rising that she was witness to all this.
“Is Uncle Ben sick again?” she asked as I sat with her at the table.
“Yes.” I was so angry and frustrated I could cry.
“He should go to a doctor.” Hannah put another bit of pancake in her mouth.
“Yes, he should.” I was beginning to think that my trying to help him by taking care of so much was enabling him. When this was done, Hannah and I would be starting our new life, and while it was harsh, if he didn’t get his crap together, I’d have to leave him behind.
“Why doesn’t he?” Hannah asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know baby. Finish your breakfast.”
“I’m done. Can we go to the park today?”
“Yes. Why don’t you go get dressed while I do the dishes and then I’ll take you to park,” I said wiping her face and helping her down from her chair. “I’ll be up to help you in a minute.
“I can do it,” she said running out of the kitchen and heading upstairs. Ben was completely oblivious.
It was nice to be out of the house in the fresh air and able to focus on what was most important; Hannah. I’d been scared to death to have a child at eighteen, but now, five years later, she was my pride and joy. I’d been fortunate to have a family of means that could help me care for her as well as finish my education. Now I was using what I learned to try to salvage our finances. Hannah wouldn’t be surrounded by wealth growing up as I was, but she’d have more experiences with me. More love. She wouldn’t have her father, something which hadn’t bothered me much until lately. My father wasn’t very active in our lives, and when he was, he was dictating it. That was probably why Ben was having so much trouble; my father wasn’t here to tell him what to do. But Ben was smart and he had business sense if he’d get his head out of the bottle.
I shook my head of that thought and pushed Hannah on the swing. Later she played with some other kids while I sat on a bench and watched. I hoped she was happy. Despite the hardships around her, I hoped she felt content.
We arrived home later that afternoon to find Ben at the table going through his phone. “Go get cleaned up and I’ll make you lunch,” I said to Hannah.
“Okay,” she said trotting upstairs.
I entered the kitchen with a judgmental look on my face, but I didn’t care. It was time he pulled it together.
“Sorry,” he murmured, as he sipped coffee.
“No, you’re not,” I quipped. “You’re selfish and weak.”
He closed his eyes, and I worked to not feel guilty at being so harsh.
“I need help, Ben. I’m doing all I can to get us on track, and not only are you drunk or hungover 24/7 but you’re drinking away what money we have.”
He scraped his hands over his face. “I’ll do better. Ash called and left a message about the club.”
My heart stopped in my chest. What else had Ash said? “I’m dealing with that.”
“It’s my club, I should be doing it.”
“We agreed that I would. What did he want?”
“Just to be sure I wanted to sell.”
So Ash didn’t trust me? “What did you tell him?”
“Nothing.” Ben looked at me, his now sober eyes filled with hatred for his former best friend. “I can’t stand what he did.”
“Which is why I’m taking care of it.”
“He shouldn’t have touched you.”
I sighed. “He didn’t take advantage of me, Ben. I was a willing participant. I was just naïve to think it meant something, that’s all. As far as the club, I’ll show him the paperwork that allows me to handle the deal.”
Ever since Ben learned about me and Ash that summer, he’d been livid with Ash, wanting to confront him about Hannah. But by then, I realized that Ash had gone on with his life and made the decision to not tell him. I’d tried to let him know initially, but he’d dismissed my attempt. That told me all I needed to know about him.
But the cold, cruel Ash I’d been carrying the image of in my mind, wasn’t the one I’d seen over the last week. Good God, I had sex with him in his limo. Was I that lonely and desperate to let the man who’d knocked me up and then left me brokenhearted touch me again?
I shook my head of Ash.
Ben looked down. “I’m sorry about all this, Beth. I’ll try harder.”
Like I hadn’t heard that before. “When this is done, Hannah and I are moving. If you don’t have your life together, you can’t be a part of it.”
“I’ll get better,” he snapped, his tone changing suddenly, another issue I had with him being around Hannah. He hadn’t ever been violent, but he could get angry.
I shrugged, acting like I didn’t care one way or the other.
He huffed out a breath. “We need an infusion of cash quickly, Beth or we’ll lose this place.”
I steadied myself at the sink. “I’m working on it.”
“Dad did this to us.”
“Dad made some bad decisions, but he’s not forcing you to drink your life away,” I whirled on him. “I’m sorry your life isn’t turning out how you want. But instead of being a baby about it, how about you put on your big boy pants and help me get us on the right track.”
His jaw ticked. “You don’t think I’m trying to fix this? What do you think I do all day at the office?”
“Drink.”
His shoulders tensed. “I’m working with dad’s creditors, figuring out what we can maximize to bring in money and cut to save. Do you know how many people I’ve had to lay off? People who relied on us to feed their families—”
“I rely on it to feed my family too, Ben.”
He stood, swayed slightly but his face was hard. “We wouldn’t be in this mess if you hadn’t fucked Ash.”
I stared back at him, not wanting to go off on him with Hannah in the other room.
“Dad wouldn’t have cut ties with Cam Raven after he learned you fucked him and we’d be financially secure, and you wouldn’t have to be raising a kid on your own.”
I moved quickly and jabbed my finger into his chest. “Don’t you ever suggest that Hannah is a burden to me or the family. She’s the only good thing in our lives right now.”
He backed off, blowing out a breath. “Hannah is a great kid, but it’s because of you and Ash that we’re—”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t you blame her. We’re in this problem because dad made bad decisions based on emotion not good business sense. That’s not my or Hannah’s fault. And you could help us get out of it if you’d keep off the bottle long enough to have a coherent thought.”
“Mommy?”
My gaze shot to Hannah standing in the doorway of the kitchen. Crap, did she see all that? “Yes, baby.”
“Are you and Uncle Ben fighting?”
Ben smiled, and it made my heart hurt more that he wasn’t the Ben I knew and loved. “She’s my kid sister. We’re supposed to fight. That’s what brothers and sisters do.”
She looked from him to me.
“Do you want lunch?” I asked her.
She nodded. “Can I have peanut butter and jelly?”
“Absolutely.”
“I’ll get cleaned up,” Ben said moving out of the kitchen. He squatted down in front of Hannah. “Did you gr
ow overnight? You look taller.”
Her eyes widened and she grinned. “Did I mommy? Did I grow?”
“Yes, of course.”
Ben winked at her and then headed upstairs. Ben was right that we fought sometimes as kids. As we got older, we got along well. Had he not been drinking, we’d probably be stressed over our situation, but hopefully not fighting. It would infinitely worse if he knew I spent time with Ash… and had sex with him again. Ben knew we needed to sell his part of Jet, but had been putting it off because he couldn’t get past his best friend not only sleeping with his sister, but knocking her up. That was why having sex with Ash was so reckless. I needed to set up the deal and then never see Ash again.
7
Ash - Wednesday
In my office, I finally read the email from Beth responding to my proposal. I’d come up with something I thought was fair. It included half of what the bar was worth, minus half of what we paid Tuck. I’d considered subtracting all of the expenses of having Tuck since the reason he was hired was to replace Ben. But in the end, we’d agreed to fifty-fifty, so I’d decided to take on half of the cost.
Beth apparently hoped for more but said she’d take the offer. The fact that she didn’t counter the offer suggested that she was eager to sell. Was that because there were financial issues or because she just wanted to be done with me?
I picked up the phone, feeling surly at the idea that she’d want to avoid me. The minute her angelic voice answered, my heart zoomed to a million beats per minute. What was it about her that made me yearn so deeply?
“I got your email,” I said. “I’ll have my lawyer draw up the contact.”
“Send it over when it’s done. We’ll get it signed.”
“I only do business in person, Beth. Meet me for dinner.” I gave her the name of one of my brother Kade’s restaurants.
“Ash, I can’t—”
I couldn’t bear to hear her rejection. “I’m a busy man,” I said a little too sharply then I’d have liked. Trying to soften my voice, I said, “It has to be over dinner Friday, or not until late next week here at the office. You’re choice.”
I heard her huff out a breath. “Fine. I’ll be there.” She hung up before I could respond.
I sat back in my chair, reflecting on how something so beautiful had gone so wrong. Of course, I understood why she was upset. The way I’d left was cruel. Still, I wanted to make it up to her. To tell her how I really felt about her then, and now. Why I hadn’t already I didn’t know, except perhaps the fear of being rejected.
But she wasn’t all hate for me. She’d rode me hard and well in the limo last weekend. It reminded me of the summer six years ago when we couldn’t avoid each other. We couldn’t keep our hands off one another. I tried to not touch her. Oh, how I tried. But when I saw Beth at her family’s place in the Hamptons, gone was Ben’s scrawny little sister and instead was a beautiful, sexy woman. She was also my best friend’s sister, so I tried to avoid her, but as the summer wore on, it was impossible.
She acted friendly as always, but there’d been times when I caught her looking at me that had made me think she was into me. Or maybe it was wishful thinking. To find out, I started spending time with her alone. At first, it was stealing a few moments to talk to her on the beach while Ben was boogie boarding in the water. There was nothing untoward about me talking to her on the beach. But then one night, when I was taking a late run, she’d been on the beach alone. We walked and talked, and I was completely enthralled. She was smart and funny. She didn’t give a shit about my money because her family had its own, so I felt like she was authentic in the way she treated me.
For a few nights, we’d meet on the beach by accident, but finally, one night as I pushed a tendril of hair out of her face, and ended up touching her soft cheek, I threw caution to the wind and kissed her. I wouldn’t have called myself a romantic. I was a young man with raging hormones, but that night, with the glow of the moon on the water and the lulling sound of the lapping waves, kissing her was the epitome of romantic. Her mouth was warm and sweet, and I knew right away I’d probably never enjoy a kiss from anyone as much as I liked kissing her.
I’d been playing with fire all summer, sneaking out to meet her. We’d walk and kiss. One night she showed up still in her bikini and by the time I brought her back home, I’d sucked on her fantastic tits and fingered her to orgasm. God what a sweet sound that had been. She’d offered to return the favor, but feeling guilty at touching her, I’d brought her home, and then jacked off, coming harder than I’d ever had before when masturbating.
Eventually, I couldn’t resist, and I taught her how to get me off. I could still see her hand wrapped around my dick, stroking until my cum shot out. In many ways, I knew eventually we’d go all the way, even though I tried to resist. She was Ben’s sister and there were rules about that. But I couldn’t help myself. As the summer drew to a close, I knew I loved her. I knew I had to keep seeing her which meant I had to tell him.
I remembered our final walk on the beach. At the time, I thought we still had a week left. I’d made all sorts of plans for us, and although I hadn’t shared them all with her, I did know she was into me. I told her I didn’t want us to end, and she’d agreed. Then she’d told me she wanted me totally and completely. I was already hard from wanting her, and so it was impossible to consider Ben or anything else at that moment.
The beach was empty except for us. It was like the universe had created the moment just for me and Beth. In the past, we’d touched each other and got each other off, but we were always still wearing some clothing. My shorts were at my knees or her shirt was pulled up. But this time, I made sure we were completely naked. I didn’t want any barriers between us.
The moonglow over her body gave her an ethereal look. Like she was an angel. My angel. We never spoke about her experience, but by then I felt sure she was a virgin. I was so fucking turned on by that. And also in love with her more for wanting me to be her first. If things went my way, I’d be her only.
I so I took my time, my hands caressing every inch of her. I sucked her tits while she fondled my dick. I wanted to go down on her, but I was too needy. I moved over her, pressing my dick to her hot wet pussy.
“You’re sure, Beth?” I was betraying my friend, and I’d learn to live with that. But I knew I’d have a hard time if she came out of this experience with regret.
“I’ve never been surer of anything,” she said, her fingers pushing back my hair. “I want you.”
I kissed her then, and slowly pressed inside her. She was so fucking tight I thought my head would explode from trying to go slow. I remembered hitting her barrier and then looking down at her.
“This might hurt.”
“I don’t care.” Her fingers gripped my shoulders.
I withdrew slightly and then thrust. She gasped and her body arched. Stars flickered in my brain as pleasure radiated through me. My instinct was to fuck her hard and fast. I had to bite my lip to hold back as she adjusted to my invasion.
Her breath came out in harsh gasps.
“You okay?”
She nodded, but I got the feeling she was just saying that. I dipped my head, licking one nipple and then the other. Her next gasp sounded more from pleasure than pain. I sucked one nipple into my mouth and then slowly moved, sliding my cock in and out of her.
Before long, her hips were moving in sync with mine. She moaned as her legs wrapped around my hips and held me close.
“Does it feel good, baby?” I asked her, needing a distraction because I was going to blow any minute.
“Yes, Ash, So good… Oh!” And then she was there. Her body tightened around my cock and on my next thrust, I started pumping my cum into her sweet, tight body.
Afterward, I held her, feeling so fucking good. We waded naked out into the water, and swam and played like lovers. And then because I couldn’t get enough, after we’d dried off, I started touching her again.
She hadn’t been the first
woman I’d fucked, but she’d been the first I’d made love to. She’d been the only woman I’d made love to. And while my mother had told me that someday I’d meet someone else and fall in love, I’d come to accept that Beth was the only woman I would ever make love too.
Of course, the other night in the limo, we’d fucked. And based on how she acted toward me, I suspected that we’d never get back what we’d lost.
No, I couldn’t accept that. She was angry and wary, for good reason. But I’d explain and apologize to her, and then we could rebuild what our fathers had taken away from us. I’d still have to deal with Ben, but I was ready for that. In fact, I wondered if maybe he already knew and that was why he avoided me. It would make Beth’s statement about our friendship being in the past make sense.
First things first, though. I called my lawyer and arranged for him to draw up a contract under the terms Beth had agreed to. I remembered that I needed to make sure she had the legal authority to sign, but I could do that at dinner. If not, we could have Ben sign. I owed him an explanation as well.
8
Beth – Friday
Pain pierced sharp between my legs, making me gasp. But he was there. His body filling mine. His warmth covered me. His kind hazel eyes looked down on me in concern.
“You okay?”
I forced out a breath, urging myself to relax as my body accommodated his size. I nodded, letting him know I was okay.
He dipped his head and licked one of my nipples and then the other, sending a delicious sensation down to my pussy. Then he sucked my nipple into his mouth, and the warmth of pleasure that flooded me relaxed my body.
He withdrew and then pressed in, and the feel of his huge dick against my pussy walls was amazing. He kept doing it, moving in and out, and pretty soon my body was moving with him. My hips rose to meet his as he filled me. Each time, the tension in my center increased, coiling tighter and tighter until I thought I might burst.