by RG Alexander
She believed him. Peter was too smart to be that reckless. Except he had been. He’d almost…what if he had come inside her? What if he hadn’t been in control enough to pull out in time? Just because he was healthy didn’t mean she couldn’t have gotten pregnant.
Holly started to shake again at the thought. A baby. She couldn’t let that happen. Babies came with happy endings, the kind she didn’t have.
“Holly, talk to me, please.”
The loud knock on the open door made them both tense in surprise. “Remember me?” Henry’s voice sounded strained, so much so Holly was almost afraid to look at him. “Peter, we’ve been ordered to make a morning appearance and save Dean’s bacon again. Get dressed—Roy and Tracy are waiting outside.”
“Fuck,” Peter swore. “Henry, man I’m—”
“If you say you’re sorry for breaking your own rules, I’ll have to kill you. Dress. Now. And consider us even after this. My guilt is gone.”
Henry turned away without acknowledging her presence and Peter kissed her forehead before releasing her reluctantly. “Holly…”
“Go.” She bent down to grab the torn shirt, covering herself as best as she could. She wanted to go to Henry and make sure he was okay. She didn’t want to feel guilty for what had just happened. Not when it had made her feel so special. So treasured. “Your friends need you.”
He didn’t move. “Promise me you’ll be here when we get back, Holly.”
A feeling she didn’t want to explore gripped her heart and squeezed. “We still have a month and a half, Dick.” She smiled when he raised one eyebrow at the nickname. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The smile that lit his eyes made her breath catch, and then he was gone, leaving her alone in the room filled with pieces of her. She hoped it wasn’t a preview of what would be left of her when their time was up.
Chapter Eight
“Still pissed?”
“What do you think?”
Peter sighed and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. They’d dropped off Tracy after their group intervention with Sara and Dean, and Roy was taking them back to his estate. Back to Holly and the mess he’d left behind.
“Can we talk about this, Henry? I wasn’t planning it. I didn’t mean for that to happen.”
Henry pulled off his sunglasses and stared at him. “Which part? The part where you were fucking Holly without protection? Or the part where you were fucking Holly without me around when you wouldn’t let me do the same?”
“Both.” When Henry shook his head, Peter leaned forward, his hands between his knees. “I don’t know what came over me. I deserve whatever you have to say, but I really need you to say something. You’re my best friend, man. Will you have the fucking decency to tell me off? Yell at me. Punch me. Tell me you want equal time. You offered to leave me alone with her a few weeks ago. Is that what you want me to do?”
Henry pressed his head back against the seat. “Man, you are dense, aren’t you? I don’t want to yell at you. Okay, I do, but only because I’m still hard as a fucking rock from catching the tail end of the show. Sexual frustration makes me grumpy. And you should have used protection, idiot, because nothing sends a girl like Holly running quicker than a baby scare…unless it’s an engagement ring.”
A baby. A baby with Holly. Jesus, he was a sick, sick man. The idea of her carrying his child didn’t send him running in the opposite direction. It made him desperate to have her again. Made him blissfully fucking happy. “Fuck.”
Henry pointed at him. “That. I saw that. And that’s why you’re dense. We both know why you did it. We both know how you feel. At least, I do. Hell, I might be the only one in our trio who really knows what’s going on. Who’s willing to embrace what’s happening. With great power comes great responsibility, I suppose.”
Peter snorted. “Really? I think you’ve been reading too many comics, buddy.”
“You love her. You always have, and it’s only gotten stronger since she’s been with us. That’s why you held back, and why you didn’t hold back. Why you’ve been acting like a bipolar lunatic for close to two months now. You. Love. Her.”
He couldn’t deny it. He loved Holly. Completely. And Henry was right—looking back, he couldn’t remember a time when he didn’t. Holly had her own reasons for running, but his were clear. She was in his heart, and when she left she’d taken part of him with her. Without her there’d been nothing to do but keep moving from place to place, woman to woman. No reason to stay.
She wasn’t going to stay.
“What about you?” He challenged Henry. “Since you seem to know so much about how I feel.”
“I love her too. As much as you do. It’s insane how much.” He laughed without humor. “Last year, when my littlest nephew got sick and I left the tour for a few weeks? I saw it. My brother and his wife and children have something I want. I don’t mean marriage, picket fence, and a dog. I don’t mean the perks that come with being in the royal lineup. They’re a family. The love between them connects them, makes them more than they would be alone. It’s beautiful and I don’t want to live without it anymore.”
Peter studied Henry. “That’s why you started writing to her?”
He nodded. “I thought about it, about how long we’ve been wandering without her, and I was tired of waiting. I thought about you too, you know. I knew how you felt about her, knew it couldn’t work without all of us, but I thought you weren’t ready to admit it yet. It took me until now to see that I was wrong. You’ve been ready, you just had no idea what it was you were ready for. Dense.”
“What was it?”
Henry’s smile was almost sad. It made Peter uncomfortable and hopeful at the same time. Bastard. “Family, Peter. Love and family. You, me and Holly.”
“I may not be as clever as you are, Super Henry,” Peter responded sarcastically. “But even I know that’s an unusual equation that rarely equals a family. Certainly not one that would be accepted by the masses that read the tabloids.”
“You don’t care about that, Peter,” Henry snorted. “All you care about is what Holly will think.”
“There’s that too. You said it yourself. She’d run if she caught the scent of commitment. You and I can love her all we want, but in the end, she’ll be the deciding factor. As far as she’s concerned, this is a research project with a safe time limit.”
Henry made a face. “Sorry about that. It was a desperate addition to the plan.”
“Why are you sorry? It was my idea.”
“So you think.”
Peter glared at Henry. “That was your plan?”
He shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t expecting her to throw down like that. It stunned me for a minute, I have to admit. But yes, my devious master plan was to find something she’d want to write about and research for three months that would put her in our immediate vicinity long enough for us to seduce her.”
“Good plan.”
Henry sighed. “I thought so. But now we’ve only got six weeks left to convince her she can’t live without us.”
Peter’s fist clenched. The idea of their project ending, of her leaving, put a knot in his stomach and a bottomless hole in his heart. “How the hell do we do that, Henry?”
“You’re the genius. You figure it out.”
The car stopped and both men were still lost in thought when Roy opened the door. He smiled in concern. “I thought you’d be happy to know I got a phone call as I was pulling into the drive. Andrew says he got a heads up from accounting that Mr. Warren got on the elevator with Ms. Charles slung over his shoulder like a weeping sack of potatoes. So the plan worked.”
Peter grinned at Roy. “That is good news. About time someone had some.”
When he and Henry got out of the limo, Roy took his hat off and held it in his hands, waiting.
Henry tilted his head. “What is it, Roy?”
“I just wanted to tell you that you’re a good man in my book, Mr. Vincent. You too, Mr. Faraday. You di
d a great thing today. I’m honored to work for you, and I wish you both the kind of happiness Mr. Warren must be feeling at this moment. You deserve it.”
“Thank you, Roy.” Henry reached out to shake his hand. “We’re working on it, believe me. And it looks like Mr. Faraday might cry, so be on the lookout for a big, fat summer bonus from me for that alone.”
Roy snorted and slipped his hat back on. “I think I’ll drive back to Mr. Reyes hotel and see if he’ll be wanting a lift to the airport tomorrow.”
“Good man.”
They watched him drive away, both grinning like idiots. “He was carrying Sara over his shoulder. At the office.” Peter didn’t know Dean had that much rule breaking in him.
Henry nodded. “And they lived happily ever—”
“Shut up.”
“I know. I don’t want to jinx it either.”
They heard the front door open and Holly’s voice call out to them from behind it. “Is Roy gone?”
“Yes,” Peter called back. “Why? Are you hiding from Roy?”
The door opened wide and Holly came out to stand on the front steps wearing a smile…and very little else.
“Jesus, Betty,” Henry groaned.
Her hair was in pigtails. She had on pink sneakers and white ankle socks, and was carrying a small backpack over her shoulders. That was all. The sun was shining through the trees onto her bare skin, and Peter knew he was never going to forget this image. Before he died, the last thing he would see was Holly standing naked in the sun.
“I was just thinking.” She shrugged and her breasts jiggled in a way that made Peter’s heart stutter. “It’s a beautiful summer day and we’ve hardly been out of the house, which is insane and sad when you think of how many acres this estate has. When I saw the gardeners leave, I thought it would be safe to have a picnic.”
“I am hungry,” Henry assured her, stepping closer. “We both are.”
Her smile grew. “Good. Because I packed everything we’d need, including condoms, in case anyone’s wondering. Now all you have to do is catch me.”
Without another word she ran down the steps and around the house, and both of them moaned at the sight.
“Six weeks?” Peter muttered.
“Think fast, Dick.”
Henry started running and Peter swore, taking off after them. He caught up to her by the pond, picking her up and spinning her around as she laughed in delight.
He set her down as Henry caught up to them, swearing a blue streak. “You two are fast.”
Holly moved closer to him and caressed his arms. “Faster than you. All these sexy muscles are weighing you down.”
“Think they’re sexy, Betty?” Henry flexed playfully, wrapped his arms around her and cupped her ass in his hands. “Being slow did have a few perks. I had the best view.”
Peter saw relief flit briefly across her expression before she reached up to kiss Henry’s lips. She’d been worried he was upset with her. If she only knew the power she had over both of them. But now wasn’t the time to tell her.
It was the perfect time to show her.
“Is there a blanket in that backpack?”
Holly slowly ended the kiss and nodded. “A sheet. I took it off one of the guest beds.”
“That’ll work for Henry,” Peter said absently as he pulled the straps of her backpack down her arms and unzipped the bag. “His muscles will cushion him.”
Henry chuckled. “The boss is back.” He pulled Holly close again. “Sounds like you’re going for another ride.”
“I certainly hope so. I didn’t get all dressed up for a game of horseshoes.” Holly helped Henry out of his clothes while Peter spread the sheet over the grass, digging through the backpack for the box of condoms and using them to hold the cotton in place.
When he turned back around, Henry was kissing her again and she was kicking off her sneakers. She was so damn sexy. He had to get his hands on those pigtails. “Holly, let Henry lie down so you can give him a taste of your…picnic.”
She laughed against Henry’s lips and he pulled back to share a wicked smile. “I did mention I was hungry.”
Peter watched him lie back on the sheet and hold up his arms to guide Holly down until her knees were on either side of his head. Henry didn’t hesitate, his hands gripping her ass as he rocked her pussy against his mouth. Holly gasped and looked up at Peter with desire in her eyes.
He smiled. “I’m hoping you’re hungry too.” He tore off his shirt and reached for the zipper on his pants, stepping out of them before moving closer to her mouth.
Holly nodded, moaning. “Please.”
He guided the head of his erection to her lips, groaning when she opened her mouth and took him in. “That’s good, Holly. God, I’ll never get enough of your mouth.”
He stepped closer, watching her lips stretch around his cock as she took more of him, loving the vibration of her moans when Henry thrust his tongue deep inside her.
Peter gripped her hair in his hands and wrapped the strands around his fingers. “I caught you, baby,” he rasped. “We’re all going for a ride.”
Seeing the approval and need in her eyes, he growled, unable to stop himself from rocking his cock deeper into her mouth. She took everything, sucking him so hard he saw stars and swallowing when he hit the back of her throat.
“Fuck. That’s right, baby. Take it all. Suck my cock. Jesus, you’re driving me crazy, Holly. So good. So fucking good.”
Her muffled shout and the edge of her teeth scraping along his shaft made him groan, release his grip on her hair and pull out as Henry made her come.
“Oh God,” she cried. “Yes.”
Peter dragged her into his arms, though Henry resisted, and held her quaking body against his. “Condom, Henry. Now.”
“Damn it,” Henry snarled, sitting up and ripping open a foil packet with unsteady hands, rolling it onto his erection. “I’m still hungry.”
She shivered at that and Peter held her tighter. “I know the feeling.”
When Henry was ready Peter guided Holly back down to the ground, this time straddling his friend’s hips. Kneeling behind her, he whispered in her ear, “Take him, Holly. Take him so I can take you.”
“Yes,” she moaned, lowering herself onto Henry’s erection.
“Oh fuck, Betty,” he gasped. “You’re still coming. You feel fucking amazing.”
She nodded raggedly. “So do you.”
Peter reached for a condom, finding a bottle of lube in the backpack as well. “Smart girl.”
Wild girl. She was rolling her hips against Henry’s, bucking his hold when he tried to control her movements.
“If you don’t slow down, this will be over before Peter can join us, Betty.”
She stilled, trembling. “Peter needs to hurry.”
Peter smiled, his face tight with need. “Holly needs to listen or she might get spanked.”
Henry laughed. “She likes that idea, Peter. Not sure why we haven’t thought of it before.”
“Later,” Peter groaned, crawling between Henry’s legs and gripping her ass in his hand. “And you know I won’t forget.”
He poured the lube between her cheeks, rubbing it in sensually until she was pressing against his fingers. He couldn’t wait any longer, and then he was there, his cock pushing past the tight ring of muscles to feel that bruising grip he’d become addicted to. She was so tight.
“Oh my God,” she cried. “Oh my fucking God that’s—yes. Deeper. Fuck me de—”
Peter reached up and covered her mouth with his hand, the one slippery with lube digging into her hip to hold her close. “Baby, I can’t think of anything that gets me hotter than the sound of your screams. But out here, I don’t want to take the chance someone on the street will call the police and spoil our fun.” He pushed deeper inside her, making her groan against his hand. “Oh, that’s better. So good. And I know you like it. I saw your face that morning in bed when you and Henry thought I was sleeping.” He pulle
d back and thrust deep and both Henry and Holly moaned. “You like being a bad girl, don’t you? Like thinking you’re getting away with something. An outdoor ménage, where anyone walking buy could see my cock filling and stretching your sweet ass while Henry fucks your pussy.”
She was shouting against his palm, her hands covering his but not pulling it away.
“You love it, Holly. I know you do. I know what else you love.” His hand left her hip, trusting Henry to hold her as he reached up to cup her breast, squeezing her nipple hard between his fingers. She shuddered and Peter stopped talking.
He hoped that Henry could follow the pace he was setting, because he wasn’t sure he could stop. He loved her ass. Loved taking her like this.
Fuck, he loved her so damn much it was killing him not to tell her, killing him to hold back while he waited for her to come again.
“Jesus, that’s good,” Henry growled. “I can feel how wet you are. Take what you need, baby. Anything you need.”
She cried against Peter’s hand and he curled his body around hers, pumping faster, knowing she was close. Knowing he might scream himself if she didn’t come.
“Yes,” Henry moaned. “I’m coming with you, baby. Fuck.”
Peter closed his eyes and let it overtake him. The storm of fire and lightning, the shuddering thunder and howling winds. His body felt like it had been thrown against the rocks. Battered but victorious.
Home.
Six weeks. Five weeks, six days and seven hours to make her stay and get everything he’d ever wanted.
He hoped it was enough time.
Chapter Nine
Three weeks, six days and sixteen hours.
Peter opened his eyes and knew right away that something was wrong. Holly wasn’t in his arms and Henry wasn’t passed out on the other side of the bed. The sheets were cold.
He got up, went to the bathroom to splash water on his face and reached for the pants still crumpled on the floor, slipping them on before walking down the hall. It was too quiet. He hated the silence now more than ever. Two months had spoiled him forever. Laughter and screaming, the clattering of dishes or the sound of music—that was life to him. That was what made him happy.