by Lulu Pratt
“Freya…”
“No!” she said. “Let me say it! I can’t regret you,” she repeated.
I sat down on the floor beside the couch and took her hands, then her face. I kissed away the salty tears that were now flowing freely down her face, and she cried even harder.
“I can’t regret you, either,” I said.
Chapter 44
FREYA
WE HAD TALKED long into the night, sitting by the stove, and going over everything until we had finally got the whole sorry story straight. There was only one solution, only one answer that made sense, and that was that Sean had set everyone up. We didn’t know what was going to happen next, but Keegan knew his brother, and he was sure that he had more tricks up his sleeve. We had talked until neither of us could talk any longer, and then I had followed him up the creaking staircase to his room.
I have to admit I checked Keegan’s ass out as I followed him up the stairs.
The room was small, and the bed was just a double. Keegan drew the curtains closed, even though we were miles from anywhere. I sat on the bed a little nervous, as I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. Would we make love or would he take his things into another room? The seconds dragged as I watched him.
Keegan walked towards me and sat beside me on the bed. I could feel the warmth of his body through his clothes and mine. I sat there, unsure of myself, and I started to play with my nails. Keegan slipped his arm around my shoulder and drew me close. I turned to him and he ran his hand through my hair.
“Freya, you’re so beautiful.” He pulled me close and kissed me. His tongue explored my mouth, and I sighed.
My hand rested on his thigh for a second before I slipped it under his shirt. I could feel the outline of his muscles as I ran my fingers over his stomach. Keegan began kissing my neck and nibbling on my earlobe. My hand went to his belt, and I let my hand rest lightly on his cock, which was straining against the fabric of his jeans. I swallowed as I remembered how it felt inside me back in Dublin.
Keegan pushed me back on the bed, and his hand slipped underneath my jeans. I sucked in my breath, and he laughed.
“You are perfect.”
He undid my jeans button, and within seconds, my jeans were down around my knees and my panties halfway along my thighs. Keegan brought his hand up my thigh slowly, and I ached for his next move. He got up and pulled off the rest of my clothing from the lower part of my body, while I lay there watching. He sunk to his knees and pushed apart my legs. Without warning, he pinned me to the bed and ran his finger over my wet center. He raised himself up an inch and made a show of licking his index and middle fingers. He pushed my thighs further apart, and the tip of his tongue circled my clit. My breathing got heavier as he plunged his wet fingers into me. I ran my hands through his hair, pulling him closer to my center.
He sucked and moved his tongue back and forth while his fingers moved in and out of me.
My entire body reacted to his touch. I could feel myself tensing and my walls pulse with pleasure as he continued to thrust his fingers inside me. I threw my head back and arched my back as the orgasm ripped through me. Keegan continued lapping my clit as I came down from the climax.
After I recovered, I pushed myself up and ran my hand through my hair. Keegan stood up, and I grabbed his belt, undid it, and pulled down his jeans. Once again, he wasn’t wearing underwear, and his cock sprung free.
“Do you wear underwear?” I asked.
Keegan shook his head and smirked as he removed his shirt. “Sometimes, but I find it too confining.”
“I bet.”
I slid off the bed, onto my knees. Keegan’s cock was hard and right in front of me. I looked up at him, and he was biting his lower lip, trying to suppress a grin.
I ran a finger lightly over his cock from the head to the ball sack. I curled my hand around it and slowly brought my mouth to it. I kissed the head and then licked the head with the tip of my tongue. Taking the head in my mouth, I flicked my tongue as my thumb and index finger moved up and down the shaft.
Keegan groaned with pleasure and ran his hands through my hair, guiding my head as I moved back and forth. I cupped his balls and could feel them tighten in my hand.
“You have to stop or I’ll come. I want to be inside you,” Keegan said as he pulled away and drew me to my feet.
He lifted my shirt off me and then unhooked my bra, letting my breasts free. He bent down and lifted one to his mouth, and he flicked his tongue over my erect nipple. I pulled him closer and nuzzled into his neck.
Keegan grabbed me by the waist, threw me over his shoulder and carried me to the bed. He skillfully let me down, and I never felt anxious that he would drop or hurt me. I could hear the bed springs squeak beneath me. I moved the pillow under my head and shifted to the side so Keegan could lay beside me.
Resting beside me on one elbow, Keegan traced patterns on my skin between lingering kisses on my lips, breasts, and collarbone. I watched him, kissing him in return.
He sat up for a second and grabbed a condom from the nightstand. I lay there watching as he rolled it on his hard cock. He rolled on top of me and spread my legs with his knee. I kissed him as he entered me, and I ran my hands over his strong back. Keegan raised himself on his arms as he ground his hips into me. I felt a second orgasm start to build, and the warmth of the reaction spread through my body as Keegan buried his cock deep inside me.
“Freya, I want you on top of me,” Keegan said as he pulled out of me.
I felt a little nervous as I’d never tried it before, but I was willing to make Keegan happy.
He rolled on his back, and I straddled him. I positioned his cock at my entrance and gradually lowered myself. I leaned forward and grabbed the headboard and managed to raise myself a little and back down again. Up and down. Keegan began rubbing my clit with his thumb as he held my hip with his other hand. I bounced up and down, and Keegan guided me as he stroked me faster and faster.
My entire body tensed as I neared my second orgasm. His rhythm changed slightly, and it was perfect. I closed my eyes and arched my back as the tension built and the floodgates opened. I let out a moan, and Keegan continued circling my clit with his thumb and his thrusting. I could feel my walls milk him, and Keegan let out a groan of satisfaction as he came inside me.
Afterwards, I lay beside him listening to his breathing as he fell asleep. I kissed him on the forehead, and he hummed a little in response.
I fell asleep a few minutes later with a smile on my face.
Chapter 45
FREYA
WAKING UP BESIDE Keegan was like waking from a nightmare, and I didn’t move in case I would wake him.
Sex in the soft early morning light was slow, healing. We had moved gently against one another, slowly building up to something more passionate. He had finally entered me lying on his side, pulling me onto him and using his arms wrapped around me to move me up and down on him. I clung to him and pulled him closer to me with my thighs. We had climaxed at the same time, and although he had been quiet all the way through, when he came, he cried out almost as though he was in pain. I held him close and felt tears come to my eyes as he thrust inside me again and again. We were still lying facing one another when we woke up later that same morning, having fallen asleep exhausted from our early morning love making, and I watched him for a while, his lips parted slightly, one hand curled up by his face. I kissed him, and he woke with a start, looking surprised and then delighted to find me there.
“I thought you might have been a dream,” he murmured.
“Dreams don’t do this,” I whispered, sliding my hand along his stomach to where he was already hard.
He smiled and stretched out his body, but then his expression changed and I heard a faint ringing noise. He leapt out of bed and ran downstairs, coming back up with a sheepish expression and handing me my phone.
“I thought it might be the police – I’ve got to be contactable. But it’s Drew, for you,” he said
.
“I don’t need to take this,” I said. “What on earth Drew could possibly have to say that I would want to hear?”
“Answer it,” Keegan said. “You never know.”
“Drew?” I answered, sitting up in bed and covering myself with the blanket as though he could see me.
“Freya, I’m in trouble, I need your help.” He sounded so scared that I couldn’t even ask him why I should even consider helping him. “And I think I can help Keegan.”
Sitting on the bike with my arms wrapped around Keegan was infinitely better than balancing while holding the handles, and the journey back to the city gave me time to get my head around everything Drew had said in his panicky phone call. He had had a call from Sean, introducing himself and saying that he knew what Keegan had been up to, and what he had paid Drew to do. Apparently, he had been perfectly nice – too nice – and offered to help Drew get out of the whole situation. Of course, this would mean testifying what he knew about Keegan’s intentions to defraud Clover House. He told him to think about it and meet him the next day at Clover House. I had listened to everything he had to say, and then relayed it back to Keegan, who must have known from my tone that something serious was going on and was already pulling on his clothes. He had been furious when I told him of the latest developments, and we had sat on the fence outside the farmhouse and talked it over before I would get on the bike with him. I made him promise that we would discuss everything we did before we did it. This needed to be handled carefully.
We left soon afterwards, and Keegan had promised to show me the land the next time we were there. He had left detailed instructions for someone called Joe, and disappeared for an hour to check on the horses before we could leave. It was a new and unexpected side to him, and I loved it. We made it back to the city by the afternoon, and I ached when I slid off the back of the bike. The sense of freedom had been invigorating, but the sense of having a sore butt took longer to wear off.
We had arranged to meet at my parents’ place; it wasn’t ideal, but we couldn’t risk Sean showing up at either Drew’s or Keegan’s. Anyway, it was time my parents knew the whole story. By the time we got there, they were sitting around the layout table and Drew had given them his version of events. We entered the studio, and my mom looked up through tear-stained eyes. I knew she would feel Drew’s betrayal keenly, and I was so sorry not to have been there for her.
“Hi Mom, Dad,” I said as I went in. “This is Keegan.”
Their shock was clear, and Keegan stayed by the door, saying awkwardly, “I know I’m the last person you want to see, but I want to…”
“Sit down,” said my dad. “We have just heard the truth about what has been going on. We have no grudge against you.”
“Thank you,” Keegan said, sitting down and staring at Drew, who looked at the table in front of him.
“Oh, Freya,” my mom sobbed. “What an awful mess!”
“We have a plan, Mom,” I said. “And it all comes down to Drew.”
Everyone at the table turned to look at Drew, who, after some time, lifted his head and said, “Okay, just tell me what to do. I want to make this right.”
“You don’t get to be the hero, Drew,” I said, pissed at his martyr attitude.
“It’s okay,” said Keegan, calming me with his hand on mine, a gesture that my mother saw and which made her look quizzically at me. “No, you don’t get to be the hero here, but you might just get to undo some of the damage you have caused.”
Drew nodded his head, looking back down at the table. Once we had all agreed to a plan, he got up and stood uncomfortably, his hands in his pockets.
“I meant what I said about making this right, if I can,” he murmured.
“You will,” said my dad. I had never heard any threat in his voice before.
When Drew was gone, my mom got up and went through to their kitchen. She had been watching me as we made plans and discussed how to proceed, and soon she reappeared and ordered us all into the kitchen. She had piled everything she could lay her hands on onto the kitchen table. There were different breads, cold cuts, a bowl of salad, three kinds of cheese, olives, chips, and various dips.
“When did you last eat?” she asked me.
“I couldn’t face eating, not with all of this going on…” I began to make excuses.
“Well, you are going to eat now,” she said. “And you, Keegan.”
“Really, Mrs. Hancock, I’m…” He was silenced by one look from my mother. Nobody turned down food in this house if she presented them with it.
“It’s Helen, and you haven’t eaten today either, I’ll bet, so sit down. You are eating too. Hancock was my maiden name; where did you get that from?” She looked puzzled.
We looked at one another and smiled, and she handed us plates as we sat down.
“It’s easier to just do as she says,” I shrugged, helping myself to food.
“Ah now, that is a Hancock thing!” my mom smiled, oblivious. “All the Hancock women are like that!”
Keegan laughed at this, and took some food, smiling at me as though it were only the two of us there.
Chapter 46
KEEGAN
I SUPPOSE THE most difficult thing about working out how to sabotage my brother’s plans wasn’t even trying to come up with a tactic. For me, the hardest thing was not knocking Drew out cold. He clearly wanted Freya. It was written all over him – the way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her, everything about him screamed that he was madly in love with her. I think she knew it, too. She had told me that they had ancient history, and I was relieved to find it had never come to anything, but the fact that I still felt a twinge of jealousy over him – the guy who had almost ruined her family – told me that my own feelings for her were probably stronger than I had admitted to myself.
Freya’s family were like her. They had welcomed me, fed me, listened to me, and reassured me, as though I hadn’t been a sworn enemy until just a few hours earlier. When I left their home to go back to my condo, kissing Freya on the doorstep as though we were teenagers, I felt my old loneliness seep back. I couldn’t go back to the lonely, angry life I had been living. Whatever happened the next day – which largely depended on whether Drew could carry out his part of the plan – I knew I was going forward as a different person than I had been, and I had to be grateful for that. It was like Freya had said; I couldn’t regret her.
I don’t think any of us slept well that night, and the next morning there was a sense of anticipation at Dynasty Games, a nervous energy among us. Drew went along to the offices as planned for his meeting with Sean, and told him that he would agree to everything he said. There was just one condition. He wouldn’t discuss it until the CEO was in the room. He wanted my father to hear his version of events. This was a gift to Sean, and he had called our father to join them. Apparently, an assistant brought them coffee and it was all very respectable. My dad had joined them and sat there silently listening to what Drew had to say. He told them word for word what the person from Clover House had asked of him, how he had felt threatened, how he was offered further work, and told about accounts being hacked.
I think I must have walked in just after he got to the part about ‘me’ asking him to falsify some accounts, because Sean had seized on this and exclaimed, “He wanted you to fix the accounts to cover his tracks!” His voice was full of fake outrage.
I had coughed at this as I entered, and they spun round to see me. Their expressions were priceless. I had pulled up a chair and sat down, smiling at them all.
“What else did I ask you to do?” I asked.
Drew stammered. “It wasn’t you.”
“Sorry?” I asked.
“It was him.” He looked up at Sean and then to our father.
Dad stood up and turned his back to us, saying steadily, “Thank you, Drew. I have heard enough, you can go.”
“Wait,” I said. “Drew, tell us about…”
“No,” my father said. “I have he
ard enough. I already know enough.”
“This is lies!” laughed Sean. “You don’t believe this, do you?”
Drew left, his eyes meeting mine for a second, and I nodded slightly. It was all the thanks he was going to get from me, but it meant a truce.
“Dad,” Sean was saying. “You have seen the files, you know that this is bullshit!”
“This is not bullshit,” repeated Dad, turning to face him, and handing him over a folder.
Sean took it from him. “What is this?” he asked, flicking through it, and then glaring at me.
“He did this!” Sean said, but his voice betrayed his panic.
“There are digital copies,” I said. “With the date of retrieval. The game is up, Sean.”
“Why?” roared Dad, with an anger I hadn’t heard since my youth. “Why are you so intent on destroying one another? Sean! I never, ever thought I would see the day when I felt so ashamed of my own son. Nothing either of you have ever done comes close to this.”
“Dad, I can…”
“You can what? Explain? You can explain to me why you would have your own brother jailed for something he didn’t do?”
“It would never have come to that!” Sean argued. “We wouldn’t have pushed it that far…”
“We wouldn’t have had a choice. We aren’t in control of this now, Sean!” his voice raised further, and I wondered what the staff were thinking.
“Da,” I said, trying to calm him. “It is what it is. He wants this place, he can have it. I’m out.”
“Nobody’s out until I say so!” Dad said, calm now, but no less angry.
“That’s the problem, Da,” I said. “You aren’t in control of this situation, and you aren’t in control of me, either. I can walk away.”
He stood there looking at me, and I could see he knew I meant it.