by V. F. Mason
All I wanted was to feel her against me and have those emerald-green eyes sparkle with desire. I wanted her lips to be swollen with my kisses while her voice was hoarse from screaming from the pleasure I gave her. A vehicle approaching in the distance burst our bubble.
Recognizing Maggie’s truck, I stood to greet them. Well, I had to give credit to the guy; he brought her home in exactly one hour. Serena slowly followed me.
Grady got out, went to the truck’s bed, and took out his motorcycle. “She’s asleep and has been for the majority of the ride. Back in the bar, she threw up, so I assume she’ll have a killer headache.” He finally got his bike out, parking it on the side, and then went to get Maggie, lifting her in his arms. Fuck, she was completely trashed, and I felt like shit for letting her stay. I just thought maybe she needed to try something else, to have a bit of fun after the pain Ren caused her—and she did seem to have fun.
“Where should I take her?” Grady asked.
“I’ll get her. You’ve already done enough. Thanks, man.” I went to take her, but he moved aside, not giving me the chance. The hard expression in his eyes made it clear he wouldn’t let her go. “Second floor, first room on the left.” He nodded and went inside the house. Grady had worked for Hawk almost ten years ago, so he knew the ranch and the house probably better than I did.
Serena was quiet, and as I looked over at her, I noticed she was on the verge of tears. What the hell?
“It wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for me.”
Oh man, I wasn’t the only one with guilt. “Serena—”
“No! Friends always have each other’s back, and I consider her a friend. Maybe not best friends, because I don’t know her well, but still. And I left her there with him.”
“It isn’t your fault.”
She shook her head, and I didn’t like how lost she looked. I drew her into my arms, and she let me. She pressed her face into my chest while I stroked her hair.
Grady came back quickly. “She’s in the bed. Can I stay the night in the barn?”
Whoa, what? His ranch was a fifteen-minute drive, and it didn’t look like he was tired. He mostly lived in his apartment in town. I didn’t really know the shit with his father, but he went to the ranch only if it was absolutely necessary.
“Why?”
“Because I want to keep an eye on Maggie.” That shit, I didn’t need. It was complicated, and he was acting all territorial, like he’d waited long enough and had some rights. I was surprised he was even asking me, for that matter.
“You won’t be able to keep an eye on her from the barn, you know.”
“I know.”
Looking at his face, I cursed inwardly. He wouldn’t stay in the barn. He would stay in Maggie’s room, watching over her, and then leave in the morning. The barn comment was just for Serena’s sake—who was in my arms—and as an excuse to other people. What the fuck was I supposed to do? I looked her in the eyes and smiled reassuringly.
“Could you please go inside? I need to speak with Grady.” My voice was soft. I didn’t need her to be more nervous than she already was. She glanced at us both, said her goodnights, and went inside the house. I waited until she’d completely disappeared from our view before turning back to Grady.
“What the fuck are you doing, man?” I didn’t see the point in beating around the bush.
“I told you, I want to stay the night.” He sounded so matter-of-fact.
“You and I both know it’s fucking bullshit.” We stared at each other for a long time. He was older than me by a few years, but it didn’t change the fact I wouldn’t let him hurt Maggie. I liked and respected him, but she came first.
“What’s so bad about me wanting to take care of her?”
“Are you sure she wants you to take care of her?”
His eyes narrowed. “She’ll get used to it. Someone has to.” It was a low blow, but I had to agree. Maggie let people walk all over her, and her parents didn’t care much about her feelings, either; they were too into each other. Ranch people and townsfolk loved her, but in the way people loved a geeky child who had never done wrong. The kind of love that is never tested. I think I was the first and only true friend she had here, hence the connection we had. And I felt it was my obligation to protect her. Plus, she was the only one who gave me total acceptance. Then there was Ren, with all his behavior.
Fuck, Ren!
“You do know there’ll be a lot of shit you’ll have to face, right?”
“I do. I want you to let me try.”
I had two choices. Either I let him do it, and Maggie and Grady could see where it led, or I could refuse, have a fistfight, and then still have to watch how their relationship unfolded. Maybe it would finally do some good for Ren and Maggie if someone else had her attention.
“Fine, but you better have your shit together with Ren. I don’t need any fights on the ranch.”
He nodded, though not convincingly enough, and I went inside the house. They didn’t like each other, and I was sure they never would, because there would always be Maggie between them.
God, that girl probably didn’t even know there were two guys who wanted her.
All the drama plus the physical work I’d done took its toll on me, and my body grew exhausted and begged to sleep.
I stopped by Maggie’s room and found her sleeping peacefully. I kissed her on the cheek and pulled her blankets around her. As I left, I heard Grady coming up, so I knew she would be taken care of. I tried not to think in what manner he would take care of her.
Next, I passed by Serena’s room, but the lights were off. I thought about knocking, but didn’t. Instead, I went to my room and tried to sleep, ignoring how badly I wanted to go to her room, take her in my arms, and sleep with her.
Serena
Surprisingly, I woke without a headache. After last night’s events, I’d fully expected one. Like a coward, I’d run to my room and shut off the light, but I still heard him enter the house. Shane paused at my door as if he wanted to knock but didn’t. It took everything in my power not to open the door and throw myself at him. Those moments we had on the swing and near the car were more intimate than the kisses we’d shared.
The kisses were about passion, desire, and lust. The other moments were about feelings. They were about Shane and me, where the outside world didn’t exist. Feelings I didn’t need or want—nor had ever felt before, for that matter. He made me desire him like I hadn’t anyone else, and it confused me. I didn’t want anyone to have that kind of power over me.
Done with the morning routine, I passed by Maggie’s room to make sure she was all right. Knocking on the door, I patiently waited for answer, but silence greeted me from the other side of the door. Deciding maybe she needed help, I was about to burst inside when it opened.
None other than Grady stood before me, shirtless, with his tanned chest and evident six-pack. I had no attraction to him or anything—that was all for Shane—but I could admire. He leaned on the doorjamb with his shoulder, raising his brow at me.
“Yeah?” Just like that, he acted as if it was completely normal he was there. I thought he asked to stay in the barn, but then he and Shane had a conversation, and I didn’t know how that went. When I thought about it, he probably intentionally made me go inside so they could sort their things out together.
Men.
“I wanted to check on Maggie.”
“She’s fine.”
I didn’t really care for his tone. “Yeah? Well, I want to see for myself.”
He looked at me for a while and then smiled, clearly amused with something. He stepped back, making space for me to move inside the room. I saw Maggie lying in bed. She was under the covers, but she had her clothes on from last night. Just her glasses, shoes, and bun were removed. I didn’t know she had such long, beautiful hair, but then it was hard to know anything about her looks, since she covered them so much. She didn’t look ill or anything, but she hadn't woken up yet.
My
eyes traveled to Grady with his shirt and shoes on, holding his jacket in one hand. “You’re leaving?” It seemed a bit odd to me, because Maggie was still asleep.
“Yeah, there is some work to do on the ranch and then at the bar. She’ll be out for several more hours. She’ll need your help once she wakes up. You’ll help her, right?”
“Of course!”
“Good.” He went to Maggie, touching her cheek with his palm so gently I felt almost like an intruder watching it. Then his face lost the soft look, and he turned to the doorway.
“Um….” I didn’t really know what he would want me to tell Maggie. In her state, no way would she know he was here.
“She’ll know. Bye, beautiful.” With those last words, he exited the room, leaving me standing there confused. I knew for a fact he’d called Maggie beautiful and not me.
After everyone was done with breakfast and I cleaned up, I decided to talk with Dad and Becky. Maggie was still asleep. Ren came home sometime in the morning and just shut his door, which in his language meant fuck off. And Shane, well, Carter made romance hard as he loaded Shane with tons of work.
In my room, I locked the door, sat on the bed, and took out my cell, deciding to talk to my dad first. If I was upset with him, Becky would cheer me up, or so I hoped.
He answered on the third ring, and by the echo in the background, I figured he was by the pool, probably at the beach house where he usually went.
“Serena!” Well, at least he sounded happy to hear from me.
“Hey, Dad.”
“How are things going?”
“Not bad.”
“Good. How is your collection going?” he asked.
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? The truth was I didn’t feel inspired to draw clothes at all. All I wanted to do was draw the horses, the ranch, and Shane. He was certainly the object of my fascination, and I wanted to buy paints and pastels, because pencils weren’t doing it. But I couldn’t tell Dad that, because I knew what was at stake.
My future, the one I wanted, not my old dream, something that was long forgotten.
“Yeah, Dad, moving forward with it.”
“Great. And the ranch?”
“It’s okay. Hawk is still not here though.” That was all the story I was going to give. I highly doubted my dad was interested in any drama that was present here.
“Yeah, he has had a rather rough patch with Elizabeth.” Dad’s voice was worried, and I was curious. No one ever discussed Hawk or his wife. All I knew from pictures and short conversations was they were a great couple who fell in love young and were living the dream because she left her wealthy family to live with a Native American while everyone was opposed to that decision.
“Baby girl, I’m happy you’re not upset like you used to be.”
Frowning, I couldn’t grasp what he meant. Something was off. “Umm, Dad, why would I be upset?”
“Because of today.”
“What exactly happened today?”
He was silent for several seconds, and then he exhaled a heavy breath. When he spoke, his voice was edgy and slightly husky, as though it was hard for him to speak. “Honey, today is the tenth of July.”
I froze on the bed, afraid to move or say anything.
The tenth of July was the date I hated the most.
On that day, a beautiful woman died. She may have lost all her hair, she was skinnier and only a shell of what she once was, but she was still beautiful. Her kind eyes still had laughter and warmth in them when she looked at me and finally closed her eyes.
She never opened them again. I remember shaking her, screaming for the doctors, and begging her to open them one last time. Her goodbye wasn’t enough; her letter wasn’t enough. I wanted my mom back. Dad had rushed to the room and held me while the doctors covered her up.
“Time of death.” I fought my dad, kicked him, but he didn’t once let me go. Finally, when all the fight was gone from me, I sank to my knees and cried. My beautiful mom was gone, and I didn’t know how to live with that. No, scratch that. I didn’t want to live without her. She was supposed to be there for my graduation, for my wedding, for everything else. She was gone. She’d left me. I was suffocating. The way to move on was by getting rid of everything she loved to do, everything she taught me to be. I saw her in myself, and I couldn’t stand it. I became someone I’d always hated, someone my mom would never have been proud of. As much as I hated being the new me, it helped me deal with the pain and sometimes forget about Mom, as selfish as that sounded.
However, for the last three years, I had always remembered the tenth of July.
I never forgot. The day that forever separated my life to before and after. I hung up the phone as Dad was saying something, but I didn’t care. I knew I should, but I couldn’t.
She was my best friend. She was always my safe haven. I didn’t know how to live in my world when she wasn’t there.
So I created a new one.
“I’m sorry, Mommy. I’m so sorry,” I whispered, and ran from the room.
Ran away from myself.
Shane
The day was one fucking, annoying mess. I woke up with a headache, which was no surprise after the previous night. Then I saw Grady leaving that morning. As he informed me, he’d come back. Ren came in late and looked like shit, not to mention smelling like cheap perfume. I wondered how his dick didn’t fall off from all the fucking he did. But the most annoying thing was Carter, who cockblocked me every damn day. As if he had some kind of radar and felt my connection with Serena.
I had to make a note for Hawk on Lightning’s progress. He liked to know what we were up to when he wasn’t around. I didn’t call him, but knew from Carter that he had made no progress with Elizabeth, and I didn’t expect him to. How could Hawk ask his wife’s forgiveness after what he had done?
The back door opened then quickly shut, and Serena was running to the field in the direction of the trees and lake. Glancing back at Carter, I found him watching her too. Concern laced his features, probably mirroring my expression.
“Carter, look after the horses for me, will ya?” I ran after Serena, passing several guys on the way who gave me curious glances. She didn’t go far. I found her sitting by the lake, staring at it. Maybe I was wrong and nothing happened. Maybe she just needed a break, and I was intruding.
But deep in my gut, I sensed something was off.
As I sat down next to her, she didn’t say anything. We were both silent, but then one lonely tear slid down her cheek. She did nothing to hide it or wipe it away.
I leaned forward, taking her chin in my hand, and finally she focused her eyes on me. They were filled with pain, but not the kind that comes with rage, agony, or hatred. It was the kind of pain that was numb. The one that made you question your place in life. The same pain I’d been feeling for the last year.
My lips gently pressed against hers and then traveled to lick the tear away. Sighing, she scooted closer. “Tell me.” Maybe I shouldn’t have asked, but deep down inside, I needed to know what was wrong so I could try to fix it. I’d never felt like that before toward other girls, never felt the need to protect and make everything better for them.
She shook her head and tried to move away, but I didn’t let her as I trapped her in my arms. Serena struggled a bit but then gave up the fight, resting her chin on my shoulder. She put her arms around my neck while mine circled her waist. Not the most comfortable position, but I wanted nothing except to hold her, so it worked for me.
“Don’t want to talk,” she whispered.
“What do you want?” She would get anything she wanted at that moment.
Her breath brushed my ear when she put her lips close and whispered, “To forget.” That wasn’t something we were supposed to do while she was upset, vulnerable, and trying to get away from her demons. I wouldn’t take advantage of her. What I could give her was comfort.
“Okay, princess,” I said softly, and before I knew it, she put her mouth on mi
ne, but the kiss was nothing like before. The kiss was sloppy, teeth clashing, while her hands held my head tight like she couldn’t get enough of me. No finesse or experience, we seemed like two kids who’d discovered kissing for the first time. She desperately craved to run away from whatever was hurting her, and for that, she needed control. I would gladly submit myself to her for as long as she wanted.
She pushed at my shoulders, laid me back on the grass, and straddled my thighs. I barely contained a groan when I felt her pussy covered in jean shorts right above my hard-on. The sun shone around her, making her hair appear hot as flames… and her green eyes...
Leaning down, she kissed me again.
At some point, I took back the dominant position and controlled the kiss. She needed to feel wanted and protected, but at the same time, she needed to allow herself to be weak. The pain that consumed her, she wouldn’t let it go.
I hoped to fuck I could help her, because the sight of her tears gutted me from the inside.
Serena
Kissing him was like having medicine that made you forget everything. My body craved more of him, of his body, his presence, his scent. I scooted down a bit lower, which resulted in my core touching his cock. His groan made me smile against his mouth. A thrill of happiness ran through me. I liked to affect him; it made me feel powerful. Sliding my hands under his shirt, I lifted it up to see his amazing abdomen. His glistening-in-the-sun tanned skin with his six-pack was something I didn’t want to resist.
Leaning down, I licked the path from the bottom to the top until I came back to his lips. Our mouths met in a leisurely, slow kiss, with our tongues entwined as our breathing sped up. My hands rested on each side of his head, and without thinking, I started to move on him and rub myself on his erection, which made him groan. His hands squeezed my hips painfully, probably leaving marks, and I felt the shift in power.
In one swift move, he pinned me to the grass, pushed my legs wide, and ended up between them, making me whimper. His mouth traveled down my neck, where he took his time sucking on my flesh as his hands moved under my shirt, softly touching my stomach. My back rose up and then down, making me wince as it hit the rough earth, and Shane growled in displeasure. He pulled me up to straddle his thighs, my legs wrapped behind his back as my arms circled his neck. We separated for a bit as I removed his shirt completely, but then it was back to kissing all over again.