by Lisa Simmons
My heart hammered in my chest, my body overwhelmed by the way his fingers slid slowly in and out of me and the constant reminder that Luke was only feet away, completely oblivious to what was going on. My chest rose and fell too quickly to look natural, and I could feel sweat pricking at my forehead from the intensely rising heat in my body as Reece touched me. His fingers curled inside me, the pads of them putting pressure deep inside against the wall of muscles while his thumb pushed into my clit.
It was almost too much for me to handle, what with Reece filling me and attending to the sensitive nerves in my clit all while his lips kissed and sucked against my neck. That, in combination with the taboo naughtiness of being in the same room as his best friend, was enough to quickly build the pressure in the pit of my stomach. My breathing was coming out raggedly now, and all it would take to bust us was one glance from Luke in our direction, but luckily he was too engrossed in his game to bother looking our way.
Reece's fingers pushed in and out of me, the pressure he was creating adding quickly to that in my stomach while his thumb circling my clit set me on fire. Every subtle movement of his hand was a push closer to the edge that I was quickly nearing. His lips found my ear, his breath hot and surprisingly ragged as well as he whispered.
"Remember, baby, quiet," he said, easily able to tell that I was nearly finished. His breathy tone only served to turn me on even more as fire burned through my veins. The pace of his hand increased slightly, his fingers pushing in and out of me faster while his thumb increased the tight circles on my clit. One more curl of his fingers against me and I was done, my muscles tightening around his fingers as the pressure released and flooded through me.
A moan about to escape my lips was stifled my Reece's lips as his found mine, his kiss effectively masking the noises I was making. He kissed me hard, his mouth pressing firmly to mine as my heavy breath blew out of my nose, my current state making it difficult to focus on anything at the moment besides Reece and how he made me feel. Fire ripped through me as I felt the after effects of my orgasm, Reece's hand working me through it until he felt me starting to come down.
His lips stayed on mine as he deepened the kiss, the purpose no longer to keep me quiet but simply to kiss me now. My lips were parted by his as he let his tongue sweep into my mouth slowly, his hand pulling from between my legs to wrap around my waist like his other arm. My heart still pounded in my chest and the lingering burn remained in my veins as I melted into Reece and kissed him.
"Ugh, come on guys," Luke groaned, apparently finally breaking his gaze on the screen to glance at us, not a moment too soon. From what he had seen, it just looked like we were making out. Or at least, that's what I hoped. Reece broke the kiss and looked me in the eye, a mischievous glint there before he shot me a smug grin and looked at Luke.
"Sorry, man," he said, not sounding the least bit sorry. I blew out a deep breath, my body still buzzing from what Reece had just done to me as I relaxed against him. My worn out body slumped slightly lower against him as I sighed contentedly. He tightened his arms momentarily around me and I let my head fall back against his shoulder once more.
"Good job, baby," he said into my ear. I could practically see the smirk on his face.
"I guess you are pretty nice," I admitted quietly, grinning widely as I pushed back against him. His palm left my stomach to clench into a fist as he gave a tiny celebratory fist pump.
"Yessss, knew it," he said, laughing. His lips pressed into my jaw and I grinned even wider. Reece made me do and feel crazy, irrational things, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
"These chills didn't come from the cold- they came from you."
Chapter 55
“Wait, so is he the bad guy or not?” I asked, confusion flooding through me as I attempted to understand the movie Luke had insisted we watch. It was a typical boy movie, the title long forgotten and full of fights, car chases, and intense gunfire exchanges. With all the chaos, I was having difficulty keeping the characters separate. As far as I could tell, there were no good characters in this movie.
“We don’t know yet,” Luke chimed in. His body was sprawled across the couch, his eyes riveted by the screen. He’d seen the movie and couldn’t even remember, it seemed.
“Just don’t ask questions,” Reece advised, chuckling softly as he hugged me to his chest, his arms still wound around my stomach. We were still folded together in the armchair, my body relaxed now thanks to his generous touch. I leaned back lazily against him, my head resting on his shoulder while his settled next to mine. Every once in a while his lips would find my cheek in a light kiss, earning a wide grin from me. My fingers trailed lazily down the sides of his legs, my nails dragging lightly over the fabric of his jeans.
I loved everything about this- cuddling together on the chair, hanging out casually with Luke, doing nothing really but still having a good time. Luke had entertained us by demanding we watch this movie, swearing it was better than it sounded. I honestly didn’t care what we did as long as I got to be with Reece. “Dude, that girl is so hot,” Luke said suddenly as the lead actress finally succumbed to the main character.
“Oh yeah, Luke?” I asked in amusement, an idea coming to mind.
“Yeah, seriously,” he said distractedly. He was too enthralled with what was happening on the screen to really pay attention to me.
“You know who else is hot?” I asked lightly, a mischievous grin pulling at my lips. I could feel Reece’s lips shift to a smile against my cheek as well, easily catching on to my train of thought. While he had stopped drinking when I’d arrived, Luke had carried on brazenly. His words became more and more slurred and his thoughts poured unfiltered from his mouth.
“Who?” he asked interestedly.
“Emily.”
My grin was wide as I leaned forward slightly to see his face react. His eyes widened as his jaw fell open before snapping shut again, cutting off whatever he’d been about to say.
“I know what you’re doing,” he mumbled, his words running together. Reece chuckled before tightening his arms around me and pulling me back to him. I frowned in exaggeration at my failed attempt to get him to admit anything.
“I’ll have to tell you about that later,” Reece whispered in my ear. I grinned, curious to know what they could have talked about.
“Okay,” I said, wrapping my arms over his and shrugging against him.
“I can hear you two whispering over there,” Luke grumbled, shooting us a glare. “Stop talking about me.”
He sounded like a petulant child, whining about being left out on the playground. I couldn’t help but laugh.
“For all the shit you’ve given me, you deserve it,” Reece rebuffed, his voice light with amusement. I felt giddy from the light mood despite Luke’s griping. It was clear he wasn’t serious, and I enjoyed every second of it. “Screw you guys and your whispering and your sketchy business under the blanket,” Luke said playfully, his voice dropping the mock annoyance. Reece burst out laughing, the beautiful sound of it enveloping me completely. His chest expanded against my back as he cackled, highly amused that Luke apparently wasn’t as completely oblivious as we had thought. My cheeks flushed red in embarrassment and my hands flew to cover my face, beyond humiliated that Luke had apparently known exactly what we’d been up to. The only thing that made me feel better was Reece’s booming laughter, which instantly made me feel better already.
Before I knew what was happening, the embarrassment had seeped away as laughter took over. Soon the room was filled with all three of us laughing, our hysterical cackles sounding slightly ridiculous as we fed off each other. All of a sudden, a loud, shattering crash sounded through the room, cutting off our laughter in less than a second. My laughter turned to a panicked scream as the window to our side shattered, the loud crash sending a terrified shock through my body. Reece instantly tightened his grip around me, twisting us so my body was pinned between him and the chair, his body shielding me
from any potential harm. My hands flew to cover my face, a slight tremor setting in as terror and confusion flooded through me. Reece gripped me tightly, sheltering me from whatever had just happened as I waited for it to happen again. After several moments of silence, a breath sucked violently into my lungs, filling them with air after holding my breath for so long. Reece tentatively lifted his head from where it had been tucked into my neck.
“Don’t move,” he commanded, sitting up enough to try and determine what had just happened. My hands covered my face as I curled into a ball, desperately wanting Reece to stay curved around me and stay safe in case whatever had just happened repeated. “What the fuck was that,” Luke said from the couch, his tone sounding suddenly clear. The sudden interruption had done wonders for sobering him up, it seemed. Reece was silent for a few more seconds as he looked around, his hand resting on my shoulder to keep me down in case I disobeyed his instructions.
“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me,” Reece said angrily.
“What? What happened?” I asked, my voice muffled by my hands and the arm of the chair.
“Stay down,” Reece repeated, ignoring my question as he stood up gingerly. I felt him shift the blanket we’d been using to cover me completely.
“Reece,” I repeated, my voice weak and confused. I heard a light crunch of glass as he walked across the living room. “Be careful!”
“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Reece repeated, anger ripping through his voice.
I pulled the blanket down enough to uncover my face as I looked around. Shock took over my features as I observed the mess around me. Reece stood by the window, glaring out into the darkness through a hole about a foot in diameter. Cracks radiated out of the hole, and the missing glass lay spread dangerously out on the floor very close to where Reece and I had been sitting. In the middle of the broken glass was a brick with a piece of paper wrapped around it, held in place by a rubber band. Reece placed a bare foot gingerly on the floor, careful to avoid the dangerous shards of glass scattered around as he bent to pick up the brick. I gasped in fear, terrified he’d hurt himself accidentally before he managed to pull back unharmed. A livid expression sat on his face, his brows pulled low and his jaw clenched tightly as he ripped the rubber bands off the brick and pulled the paper off it. Steam was practically rolling off his body as he read the paper while Luke and I watched with bated breath. “What’s it say?” Luke dared to ask. His voice was serious and low, the weight of the situation clearly sobering him up even more.
Reece didn’t answer him as his chest heaved with heavy breaths, his nostrils flaring and pupils widening drastically. He stared at the note in his hand, his grip shaking slightly with rage before he dropped the brick to the floor. A loud clash rang out as it collided with the wood floor and shattered the small shards that had settled there, making both Luke and I jump. “Reece,” I said carefully, hoping to calm him down. His eyes stayed fixed on the paper as he took a deep breath. I felt like I couldn’t breathe and my heart was hammering faster than it had in a long time as I waited for him to answer me. “It says, ‘she’s mine,’” he said, his voice tight and strained as his eyes finally darted up to me. The beautiful green of his eyes was nearly gone, the black of his irises blocking almost all of the color. I couldn’t move as I absorbed what that meant.
She’s mine.
Jack. He had done this, no question about it. Maybe Samuel had helped, maybe not, but it didn’t really matter. They were a package deal now, it seemed, and this was only another onslaught they would lead in their efforts to break Reece and I up. So many different emotions were flowing through me, freezing me to my seat; anger, fear, shock, and confusion all battled inside me, fighting for attention. Most dominant, though, was the need to get to Reece and make sure he didn’t do anything drastic; I had to calm him down before something terrible happened. I shifted beneath the blanket and whipped it to the side to try and get to him but the movement caused a sudden sharp, searing pain to shoot up my leg. I let out a strangled groan, wincing and reaching down instinctively to the side of my calf where the pain was radiating from. My hand gingerly touched the spot on my leg and pulled back to hold my fingers in front of my eyes. A shaky breath blew from my lips as blood dripped from the tips of my fingers. Reece heard my sudden gasps of pain, his eyes shifting down to my leg before he bolted forward.
“Abigail,” he said, his voice strained. He was far less careful than I would have liked as he returned to me, his long body kneeling down next to me as he gingerly placed his hands on either side of the wound. A tear was visible in my leggings, the black fabric soaked with the thick, red liquid. A gash was visible in my calf through the hole, and a piece of glass about an inch long stuck out of my leg.
“Oh my god, Abby, you’re hurt,” Reece said, his voice sounding suddenly afraid as opposed to furious. His fingers floated over the injury, unsure of what to do as he stared at it intently.
“It’s okay,” I said shakily, my mouth speaking of it’s own accord because my brain seemed unable to process anything. “It’s okay, I’m alright.”
“No, you’re bleeding a lot, Abby,” Reece said.
“It’s not bad,” I said blankly. I vaguely heard Luke shifting as he approached us gingerly. He muttered to himself as he observed the damage to the window.
“We’re going to the hospital,” he stated firmly, never tearing his gaze from my leg.
“No!” I nearly shouted, finally making him look at me.
“Yes, we’re going,” he said, his gaze burning into mine.
“We can’t, how will we explain that?” I said, panicking suddenly at the thought of telling them what had really happened and somehow having Jack and Samuel find out only to retaliate again. Surely things like this were included in the whole ‘don’t say anything’ threat. “The truth, I don’t give a fuck, you’re going to the hospital,” Reece said, anger leaking into his voice now. I wasn’t sure if it was directed at me or not.
“No, Reece, just pull it out, it’s fine! It’s not in that deep, it just looks bad because it’s so long,” I said, trying to reason with him. In all honestly, it hurt a lot and I had no idea how deep it really was, but I knew we couldn’t go to the hospital. “Please, let’s just stay here.”“Abigail-“
“Please, Reece,” I begged, cutting off his argument. “I don’t want to go.”
He stared at me incredulously and it was clear he thought I was insane. I held my breath as I waited for him to respond, praying he would agree.
“No, we’re going,” he said finally, shaking his head. Before I could protest, he stood up and looked at Luke. “You coming?”
“Yeah, of course,” he said somewhat distractedly. He appeared to still be in shock about what was happening.
“Good, get the door,” Reece instructed before leaning down so his face was in front of mine.
“I love you, but I’m not listening to you on this,” he told me, leaning forward to kiss my stunned lips lightly.
“I don’t wanna go, Reece,” I said quietly, my voice shaky. I was on the verge of tears, the pain and emotions I was feeling adding to my struggle.
“Abigail, please,” he begged, concern etching across his features as he observed me. “You’re hurt and I can’t fix you.”
I was surprised to see fear in his eyes, the emotion coming through stronger and stronger by the second as it overtook the anger that had been there previously. His eyes stayed locked on mine as he waited for the permission he didn’t need but wanted.
“I need you to be okay, Abby,” he said quietly. His eyes pleaded with me to agree.
“Let’s go,” I said finally, my voice softer than ever. The pain really was getting worse, and I was relieved to finally have caved. “But we just say I tripped or something.”“Fine, whatever, as long as you agree to go,” Reece said distractedly, his hands clutching my face before leaning forward to press a kiss to my forehead. He stood up suddenly, darting the pile of glass to pu
t on his shoes and return to me. Luke stood by watching, the shocked expression still clear on his face as he numbly pulled on his own shoes.
“Can you drive?” Reece asked him sharply.
“Um, yeah, probab-“
“No,” I cut him off. Despite sounding and acting much more sober, I knew there was no way he actually was and the last thing we needed was to get in a car accident. “Reece you drive, I’ll be okay.”I knew he wanted to be able to hold me on the drive, but I’d feel safer with him driving after stopping drinking hours ago rather than have him hold me and let Luke drive. Luke looked relieved at my interruption, clearly knowing he wasn’t okay to drive but not wanting to refuse Reece at a time like this. Reece frowned, disappointed but accepting my answer as he ducked down and slid his arms beneath my back and knees. He moved slowly, careful not to jostle me and hurt the cut on my leg. “Ready?” he asked, his eyes locking on my own. I took a deep breath and held it while I nodded brazenly. I focused on not wincing as he lifted me off the chair, the pain shooting up my leg again at the movement. Despite my efforts, Reece saw that it hurt me and he frowned even more.
“I’m sorry, baby,” he whispered. My arms wrapped around his neck and I hugged myself to him before taking another deep breath.
“It’s okay, I’m okay,” I said weakly. Reece moved through his house easily, his body moving gracefully despite carrying me. Luke grabbed Reece’s keys and opened the front door before jogging to Reece’s car and opening the backseat for him. He stood back as Reece approached. His long body leaned as far into the car as possible before he gingerly set me down, wincing as I grimaced once again. I scooted backward, letting my leg drag limply as I pulled myself to lean against the other door. I watched as Reece leaned forward and pressed his lips into my knee, kissing it gently before shooting me one last concerned look. I took another deep breath, my heart pounding in my chest as adrenaline from the pain flooded through me. It occurred to me how ironic it was that it was now Reece taking care of me, my blood on his hands as he tried his best to fix me. I rested my head against the window as Luke climbed in the front seat at the same time Reece jumped behind the wheel. Reece’s eyes darted continuously to the mirror as he watched me carefully, his brows pulled tightly down. He winced every time he hit the slightest bump or turned, torn between wanting to get to the hospital quickly and driving cautiously so as not to hurt me. I focused on masking any reaction that tried to break through on my face, not wanting Reece to feel bad if his driving caused any pain to shoot up my leg. Once again, I was thankful for the small size of the town we lived in because we were at the hospital in no time. Luke jumped out of the car ahead of us to tell them we were coming while Reece repeated the process in reverse to get me into his arms. My arms wove around his neck again as he secured me against him, his strong body easily carrying me up to the door. “I’m so sorry, Abby,” he said again. I wasn’t sure exactly what he was apologizing for, but I knew no matter what it was, he didn’t need to say it. He had nothing to apologize for. “Reece, none of this is your fault,” I told him gently. My face pulled back from where it had been buried in his neck to look at him. He shot me another concerned look, his brows knit together as he watched me. “I’m still sorry. I hate seeing you hurt,” he said. He moved us through the automatic doors and carried me to the front desk of the emergency department. Luke stood waiting with a nurse, who smiled widely at us.