by Lily Harlem
“No, I’m not really sure it would fit where I have in mind for it.”
“It’s not big.”
“My home isn’t big, it’s in Chelsea.”
“Ahh…expensive place to live.”
“Exactly, which is why sixty is my final offer.” I folded my arms and tipped my head.
“Eighty.”
“Seventy.”
“Seventy-five.”
“Deal,” I said and laughed.
He grinned too and I was sure he’d made a decent profit out of me.
“Let me wrap it for you,” he said. “You’ve a long trip home.”
“Yes, please, that would be great.” I followed him to the till. “You have an amazing place.”
“Thank you.”
“I picked up a sundial last week, but I didn’t see you here.”
“I don’t normally work on a Sunday, I leave it to a young man in the town who is building his career in the antique world. I need one day of rest, but this week he is away on his honeymoon.”
“How lovely.”
“Very lovely.” He began to wrap the mirror in tissue paper.
I glanced over his shoulder. A large pin board was stuffed full of local notices and adverts. One big sheet of paper with a picture of a pink ribbon made me study it closer because beneath it were the words, Hardon Manor’s Annual Afternoon Tea.
“What’s that?” I asked.
He turned. “This, Afternoon Tea at the Manor?” He nodded at the small poster.
“Yes.”
“It’s an annual event hosted by a local family.”
I smiled and resisted pointing out that I’d gathered that much. “I know Brent Dawson,” I said. “He lives at the manor.”
“Oh, Brent, gosh, he’s all grown up now but I’ve known him since he was a small lad.”
“You have?” I raised my eyebrows. “How come?”
“Well, it might appear to be a big place, Henley, but it really isn’t, everyone knows everyone and also,” he smiled, “I helped his late mother source some of her beautiful furniture.”
“Yes, there are some wonderful pieces in the house.”
“I miss her,” he said, looking down again at the mirror he was wrapping. “Wonderful woman.”
“So I’ve heard. Brent speaks very fondly of her.”
“Of course, he loved her very much, which is probably why he’s carried on with the Afternoon Tea party in aid of cancer research. She held it every year, without fail. It got so popular the last ten years she was alive it had to be invitation only. People were travelling for miles around. She raised thousands, hundreds of thousands for charity.” He paused and sighed. “Ironic isn’t it, that cancer should be the thing to get her.”
I swallowed. Poor Brent. Cancer was an evil thing for anyone to have in their lives.
“It’s marvelous,” he said, peeling off a strip of Sellotape, “that he’s still managing to hold such an event when he’s so busy. Gone are the days he was content to fish in the river, climb trees and walk his dog through the town. Now he’s a high-flying businessman but…” He paused. “The apple never falls far from the tree, he comes from good stock, people who cared and made a difference, you can’t go far wrong with Brent Dawson.”
I stared at the poster again. The event was in three weeks’ time. His divorce hearing would be over by then. His weekend with Gabe would be a distant memory. But would he still be in our lives?
A sudden pang went through me. The thought of Brent being a one-weekend-stand made me feel sick. It hurt a very deep part of me.
I didn’t want him to soldier on alone, even though he could, was capable. I wanted him with us. I had a vision of cocooning him within Gabe and I. Protecting him from people who wanted to hurt him and from the sadness he carried inside.
“And that woman…” the shopkeeper said. “His wife. Well…” He glanced at my wedding ring. “I’m sure you’re not that kind of wife. But my goodness me, she was a gold digger if ever I saw one. Only met her the once, at the last Afternoon Tea Mrs. Dawson was at, but the woman had her eye on every bit of silver in the house.”
“Really?”
“Yes, and now I hear they’re getting divorced. Thank the Lord, but I hope to heck Brent has a damn good lawyer. She’s the sort who’ll fleece him for everything. The last thing the people of Henley want is her moving into Hardon and swanning around like she owns the place.”
“Oh, that won’t happen.” I handed over seventy-five pounds in notes.
“You sound pretty sure.” He opened the till. “She’s a wily one if ever I spotted one. Cunning as a fox.”
“She is, and also, I think the word is bitch.”
He grinned. “My thoughts.” His smile dropped and he frowned. “So how come…?”
“My husband is Brent’s lawyer; he’s one of the best in the business.”
He shut the till and it pinged. “Well, young lady, you should have said and I wouldn’t have driven such a hard bargain.”
“Well, you still could offer me a discount.”
“Ahh, too late, shut the till.” He winked. “Tell your husband good luck and if any character witnesses are required I can sing Brent Dawson’s praises till the cows come home, he’s salt of the Earth, the type of man you can rely on in a crisis.”
I picked up my mirror. “Yes, he is, and I’ll be sure to pass that on.” I smiled. “It was nice meeting you…”
“Gerald. Gerald Peters.”
“Hayley Stone.”
“I hope to see you around these parts again, Mrs. Stone. It’s been a pleasure, no, more than that, a delight.” He grinned and handed me a small printed receipt.
I wandered out of the shop full of thoughts of Brent as a small child and now as the man he was. An upstanding member of the community, a charity fundraiser and a seriously sexy guy who had wormed his way into both mine and Gabe’s heads. We were getting more and more hooked on his charming brand of smooth sophistication and sexy allure. It was as Gabe had said right at the beginning of this whole thing: there was just something about him.
Chapter Fifteen
I caught a cab back to Hardon Manor but this time instead of going through the front door I ambled around the side, wondering if the men would be in the pool again.
They weren’t, the water was quiet and calm and the sunbed Gabe and I had enjoyed together sat innocently in dappled shade awaiting the heat of the day.
A repetitive thud-thud, caught my attention. I realized that they must still be playing tennis. I was surprised, I’d thought that Gabe would have given up by now and cried off.
The bang-bang of the rackets and the ball was hard—they were having a good rally. I decided to leave them to it, and with just a quick glance at the court from the patio, I slipped into the cool of the house. I grabbed a can of cola from the refrigerator then wandered up the stairs. It was strange how quickly the manor had come to feel like home. Despite it’s grandeur, it had a nice welcoming feel to it. It was as though it was crammed full of happy memories and that ambience had soaked into the very fabric of the bricks and mortar.
I slowed and enjoyed the space and the high ceilings. Our room was bright and airy, the windows open and the covers on the bed peeled back. I shut the door, kicked away my shoes then set the mirror on the floor by my overnight bag.
Again I looked at my tatty fingernails. I’d just redo the varnish and then wander down and see if the men wanted me to rustle up some lunch before Gabe and I headed back to London.
Back to London.
Away from Brent.
I opened the can of drink and took a slug. It was silly to be feeling this way. Brent was Gabe’s crush not mine, for heaven’s sake.
I sat at the dressing table and pulled my nail varnish remover and a cottonwool pad from my makeup bag. After tipping cool liquid onto the pad, I began to rub my nails. The familiar scent and action calmed me and I rubbed away at the red polish, transferring it from nail to pad.
Suddenly, the door burst
open.
I looked up, my heart skipping a beat.
Gabe stood there, his face flushed and his eyes scanning the room.
He saw me.
“Thank Christ for that, you’re here.”
“Yes,” I said, pausing with my fingers in the air. “Why, what’s the matter?”
“We need to fuck,” Brent said, rushing up behind Gabe and placing his hands on his shoulders.
“But we couldn’t, not without you watching.” Gabe turned and shoved at the door. It slammed shut.
He grabbed Brent, rammed him to one side and pushed him up against the wall.
God, really? I let my jaw fall open as Gabe propelled his body into Brent’s and claimed his mouth. His hands skimmed Brent, feeling him over his tennis whites. He ruffled his clothes, grabbed, squeezed and dragged at his t-shirt.
As it flew to the side exposing Brent’s hard, tanned torso, Gabe groaned. I knew it was him, I recognized the throaty quality of it.
Their kissing was wild, animalistic, as if they were jostling for dominance over it.
Gabe stepped backward. He pulled Brent with him, roughly. “Come here. Turn the hell round.”
Brent paused, briefly, stared at Gabe and then did as he’d requested.
Excitement flooded me. Gabe was topping; this was new, unchartered territory. I could hardly wait.
Gabe hauled off his t-shirt and threw it. It landed on the floor near my feet. He then stepped out of his shorts and boxers and irritably pulled at his shoes.
Brent grabbed hold of one of the posts at the end of the bed. He was breathing fast and his cheeks glowing pink. He was already hot from the tennis, and the ends of his hair were a little damp and sticking to his neck.
Gabe was frantically ripping open a condom—tearing at it with his teeth then spitting out the tiny fragments of foil.
I resumed removing my nail polish but didn’t shift my attention from them for a second.
“Fucking hell,” Gabe swore as he fumbled rolling on the condom.
“Hurry the hell up,” Brent said, shoving his shorts and underwear to his knees and exposing his ass cheeks.
Their energy seemed to swirl around me and carry me with them. I was hot, my skin flushing, and my stomach had clenched with eagerness for them to start, both for them and for me as the observer.
Gabe finished putting on the condom. He reached for the tube of lube and went quickly back behind Brent. “More, bend over more,” he said as he shoved at Brent’s shoulders, forcing him to place his hands on the bed and tip to a ninety degree angle.
Gabe lubed up his cock then tossed the tube away.
“Please…” Brent said, jutting his ass toward Gabe. “Fucking hell…just do it.”
“It’s coming,” Gabe said.
I squirmed on my seat. I wore a short skirt and cotton knickers and I could feel arousal heating my pussy.
Gabe put his right hand on Brent’s buttock and dragged the flesh, exposing his hole. “Oh, God, you are so going to get it,” he said, his voice tense. “Get ready.”
“I am fucking ready.”
Their impatience was palpable and it seemed to fill the room with electric tension.
Gabe smoothed his finger over Brent’s anus.
“Just fuck,” Brent said in a low growling tone and hanging his head down “Sod the fingering, just fucking fuck.”
Gabe sucked in a deep breath and bared his teeth. “You asked for it.” He lined his cock up at Brent’s hole, ran his hands up Brent’s back and clasped his shoulders.
“Yes…” Brent said, locking his arms on the bed and bracing his legs. “Now.”
Gabe forged in.
Brent cried out, but Gabe kept on tunneling deeper.
“Ah, yeah,” Gabe shouted.
“Jesus, fuck…” Brent yelled, throwing his head back. “Fucking hell…”
Gabe’s biceps bulged and his fingers paled where he was gripping Brent’s shoulders so tightly. He jerked Brent back onto his cock, thrusting ever forward at the same time.
I switched to my next nail—on automatic—and studied the way Gabe’s buttocks had tensed. He had a small dent in the side. His lats, the long muscles at the edges of his back, were ridged and flushed and his thighs thick with straining muscle. He looked glorious burying his cock deeper and deeper into Brent.
Brent was groaning; he’d screwed his eyes up and his arms were shaking.
Gabe reached full depth and his pubic hair mashed up against Brent’s ass.
I tensed my own anus, thinking of what it felt like to have Gabe’s big cock enter me there. I always needed some prep, but it seemed Brent hadn’t had the patience for that and now he was toying with pain and pleasure.
“Damn, you grip me so…much…” Gabe gasped.
“Give me…more…” Brent moaned, reaching for his cock. “More, damn it.” He began to wank, fast jerking movements that made his arm and shoulder twitch furiously.
I added another splash of nail varnish remover onto my pad and switched to the other hand, working without having to think as I watched Gabe pull out of Brent’s ass. His cock looked impossibly big as it came into view and he shifted his hips back until just the tip sat within the hoop of Brent’s sphincter.
“Ah, yeah, I’ve dreamed of having you like this,” Gabe said, staring down at where he joined with Brent. “Fucking awesome.”
“God, I need you,” Brent said. “All of it, right on my hot spot.”
“It’s here…” Gabe shut his eyes and slid back in, fast.
Again Brent called out, the shout ending on a low moan.
“Take it all,” Gabe said, withdrawing then slamming back in. “I’m gonna make you come so good.”
The energy cranked up a gear. Gabe withdrawing and steaming into Brent, all the time holding Brent’s shoulders so he had to take whatever Gabe doled out.
The bed shook and creaked and the curtains at the posts trembled with each of Gabe’s thrusts. Gabe had never fucked me with such vigor, with such unharnessed passion and abandon. It was fascinating to see him like this, not worrying about my slighter frame and being an equal when it came to strength and robustness with his partner.
“Ah, yeah…” Gabe shouted, a feral look spreading on his face. “Fuck yeah…”
I wasn’t sure if they even remembered I was in the room, but I didn’t care—watching them, listening to them was incredible.
On and on Gabe pounded. The pace seemed to increase with each lunge. Gabe was putting all of his muscle power into his thrusts and grasping Brent so hard the skin on Brent’s shoulders was now red and glowing.
“Oh…oh…don’t fucking stop…it’s here…” Brent cried out. “Fuck…”
Gabe gritted his teeth. He slipped his hands to Brent’s waist and clutched him there.
“Ah, yeah…” Brent shouted as Gabe stabbed at him harder than ever, his cock surging in and out and his belly slapping up against Brent over and over.
Long ropes of cum burst from Brent, each one dragging a yelp of delight from his throat.
“Come, come…more…” Gabe yelled. He tipped his head to the ceiling, sucked in a deep breath and froze. “Ahh…I’m coming…now…”
The stillness of his release was a harsh contrast to his wild, abandoned fucking. It was as if he just wanted to concentrate on the deliciousness of orgasm without any other movements to distract him.
“Ah…” he said again on an outward breath. “So fucking amazing.”
Brent was jerking his cock. He’d dropped his head to the covers and his back had become a downward slope.
Gabe slid his cock almost out then smoothed back in. He blew out a breath and a tremble snaked its way up his body. His abs were tense and his chest shiny with sweat.
“That was…wild,” he said, rubbing a circle in the small of Brent’s back. “Wild and amazing.”
“You can say that again,” Brent said, his voice muffled in the bedding.
“I want to stay inside you,” Gabe said, ea
sing out and in, his journey an easy ride now Brent had loosened.
“Mmm…you can.” Brent released his cock and his body seemed to sag with exhaustion.
But Gabe kept a hold of him, gently sliding in and out of his ass and studying the way Brent stretched around his shaft. “So sexy,” he murmured. “So fucking sexy.”
I finished removing my nail varnish and set the cottonwool aside. I reached for the can and drank.
Would one weekend be enough for Gabe? Sure, he’d lived out his fantasy, but would it leave him hungry for more?
Watching him now, I wasn’t sure. He seemed so lost in Brent, so utterly absorbed by him and captivated by everything he did.
I looked at Brent, his long body sated and coated in sweat. My hands itched to touch him, to learn the texture of his skin and the contours of his muscles. I could deny it no longer.
I wanted Brent too.
Gabe pulled out of Brent’s ass then walked to the bathroom with his sheathed cock bobbing. He seemed a bit dazed so I left him to it, stood and went to the bed.
“Brent,” I said quietly.
He appeared to be sleeping.
“Mmm…” he murmured. “What?”
“Are you okay? That was…”
“Hard and fast.” He kind of grinned. “And I’ve never been better.” He reached for his boxers and shorts and dragged them up. He wore his tennis shoes but that didn’t deter him from shifting up the bed and flopping his head onto a pillow.
I sat on the edge. He had a dreamy expression and his stubble was thick and his hair messy. He definitely had the just-fucked look.
“How you coping, Hayley?” he asked, reaching for my hand.
“I’m fine. More than fine. You and Gabe are incredible together.”
He smiled again; it was a bit of a crooked grin but it just made him all the more adorable. “I’m glad you’re okay, you’re pretty cool, you know?” He squeezed my fingers. “And gorgeous.”
His gaze connected with mine. The sleepy look vanished and the dark depths of his pupils seemed to burn right into me.
I pulled my hand back.
Fuck.
He wanted me too. I wasn’t stupid. Desire was plain as day in his eyes. My husband had just fucked him but still he wanted me.