And Abel?
The man currently fucking me with his tongue as if he can’t get enough of my taste?
I fucking hate that he seems to enjoy it when I snap back. That, after an hour together, he’s offering me something Eli never did. That he sees me. I hate that I like it, even if I can’t sit back and allow him to harm our faction in his revenge. My only chance to alter whatever his plans are is to submit to this.
I didn’t expect to enjoy it, though.
Abel sucks hard on my clit, and my back bows off the mattress. “Fuck.” He does it again, this time wedging two blunt fingers into my pussy. It takes the bastard fifteen seconds to find my G-spot, and then he begins stroking it lightly as he plays with my clit.
He’s going to make me come.
I stare blindly at the ceiling as my body coils tighter and tighter. I’m doing my duty. Yes, that’s all it is. But as I turn my head and look at Eli, see the furious, tormented look on his face as he watches Abel eat me out, a dark, savage part of me enjoys it. I’m so angry at him. I’ll regret this tomorrow, but right now, the chains of control that usually keep me placid and submissive have long since snapped. They snapped the moment Eli served himself and our faction up without a second thought. He’s supposed to be better than Bauer Paine. Better than his father, too. He’s supposed to be a true leader.
A leader puts our faction first. They protect our people, even if it means sacrifice.
They do not, under any circumstances, throw that all away for single person. Not even if they love them. I catch Eli’s gaze and, even now, he’s trying to find a way to save me from this. As if I’m nothing more than a victim to be sheltered.
He never did see me as a full partner.
I turn my face away, breaking our eye contact. It couldn’t be clearer that he’ll never see me for who I truly am. After all this time, I didn’t expect it to hurt so much. I let the pain buoy me, embracing it with both arms wide open.
Abel turns his head and nips my thigh, making me jump. His dark eyes drink me in, and he’s not faking the lust burning there. His mouth and beard are wet from my desire, and he holds my gaze as he works a third finger into me. “How does that feel, sweetheart?” A gauntlet thrown at my feet.
I make myself release his hair and stretch my arms over my head. It feels so good, I’m pretty sure my bones are in danger of turning to liquid, but I’ll be damned before I admit it. “It’s adequate.”
“Adequate.” His dark eyes flare hotter. He likes this verbal sparring. He likes it a lot. “Guess I’ll have to up my game.” He dips down, and then his mouth is on my clit again. I didn’t realize he was just toying with me until now. Testing me. Figuring out what I like. He puts all that knowledge to good use now. Abel strokes my clit with his tongue slowly, his eyes on my face, his fingers buried deep in my pussy.
It’s so intimate. Horribly, unforgivably intimate.
It’s everything I can do to hold still and not grab his head and grind my pussy all over his face. I grab fistfuls of the sheets, my breath coming in harsh gasps. Fuck, I’m close.
Tighter and tighter. Hotter and hotter. Higher and higher.
And then he tips me over the edge, and I’m hurtling into an orgasm that draws a cry from my lips. I clamp my thighs around his head, but he yanks his fingers out of me and wedges my legs wide again, devouring my pussy in deep kisses as if he’s trying to lick up every bit of my orgasm.
When he finally raises his head, he looks completely feral. “I’m giving you my cock, Harlow.”
I pant as I watch him rip open a condom and roll it onto his massive cock. And it is massive. He’s wide and thick, and my body clenches at the sight. Abel plants a hand next to my shoulder and leans down to cover me with his body, his gaze on my mouth.
Oh fuck, he’s going to kiss me.
Panic flares, and I shove at his chest. He stops immediately. “Second thoughts?”
“No.” I want this, even if I don’t want to want this, but I can’t let him kiss me. I can’t lose myself that much when I’ve already compromised everything. I keep pushing his chest, and he lets me guide him back enough that I can turn over.
Abel gives a harsh laugh. “You’re not going to be able to forget that it’s my cock inside you just because I’m taking you from behind.”
I know that. Of course I know that. But it feels less intimate, and it has to be less intimate. This man already looks at me like he sees me. I can’t let him get closer. I bend down, pressing my face to the bed. “Stop talking, and fuck me already.”
He digs his hand into my hair and turns my face in Eli’s direction. I could close my eyes, but that’s the coward’s way out. I stare at Eli as Abel guides his cock to my entrance. He doesn’t ask me again if I’m sure. I appreciate that small kindness, just like I appreciate the fact that he doesn’t comment on how fucking wet I am. Abel starts working his giant cock into me, and I stare at the man I both love and hate.
And Eli?
I expect the guilt on his bruised face. I expect the anger.
I don’t expect the lust.
He watches Abel thrust into me, and there’s a heat in his hazel eyes that burns hot enough to set the room aflame. He sits perfectly still as if memorizing this moment. Alarms blare through my head, but I’ve gone too far to change my mind now. And, truth be told, I don’t want to. Things were always going to end between me and Eli. I’ve known that for longer than I want to admit. I didn’t expect them to end like this, but life has a way of throwing curveballs.
I expect Abel to drive into me and chase his own pleasure. I really should know better, even after such a short time.
He covers me with his big body, pressing me into the mattress, and snakes his hand around my hip to stroke my clit. He kisses my neck and chuckles when it makes me clench around his cock. But when he speaks, it’s all for Eli. “She feels fucking good, Eli. Hot and tight and wet just for me.” He thrusts into me in slow, grinding motions that nearly make my eyes cross. I’m pinned between his cock and his hand and, gods, it feels so good, I might die from it.
“Shut up,” I grind out.
He doesn’t pick up his pace, doesn’t do anything but keep fucking me in the direction of another orgasm. Abel lowers his voice, but not enough that Eli won’t hear. “Do you scream when you come for him, sweetheart? Do you fuck him mean like you’re doing to me?”
Eli’s cuffs rattle against his chair as he leans forward. He’s got his practiced smile in place, a mask I loathe because he’s started using it on me in private and not just when we’re in public. The bruising of his face dampens the effect, but only slightly. He laughs, easy and light and completely at odds with the look in his eyes. “Enjoy Harlow’s pussy, Abel. I’ll be taking her back when this is over, and you’ll only have the memories.”
Something ugly and dark surges through me. I am not a toy to be fought over like they’re jealous children. I expect that from Abel. The only reason he chose me as his Bride was to hurt Eli. I didn’t expect it from the man I’ve been sharing my bed and life with for the last five years.
Abel’s dark chuckle teases the damp skin on the back of my neck. “Don’t like that, do you? He’s a fool if he thinks you belong to him.” He grinds into me in that decadently slow motion. “You do what you want, don’t you, sweetheart? And right now, you want to come all over my cock.” He shifts his hand, adjusting the angle of his fingers against my clit, and then resumes fucking me.
I’m spread out for him, pinned in place by his big body, but I can’t help enjoying every moment of it. Regrets will come later, maybe, but right now I am riding on a wave of darkness akin to hate. I let go, free-falling into an orgasm that has me arching back against Abel, trying to take his cock deeper. He hitches my hips higher, giving me exactly what I need, coaxing my orgasm into wave after wave, until I collapse onto the bed in a sweaty mess.
He drags a free hand down my spine as he leverages himself off me. It’s a weirdly comforting move, especially the way his tou
ch lingers on my hip for a long moment. He turns away and drags the condom off his cock then tosses it in the trash. “Your turn, Eli. We’re back to my original question; easy way or the hard way?”
Eli looks at me for a long moment before he focuses on Abel. “What are my choices?” He still sounds carefree and distant, and it makes me want to slap him.
Abel’s expression is strangely neutral. “I fuck your mouth. I fuck your ass. Either way, I’m not going to be gentle, but if you choose mouth and try to bite my cock, I’m going to break your nose.”
“There goes that idea.” Eli grins, though his eyes remain cold. “My mouth. Make it quick.”
Abel moves to stand next to the chair but doesn’t bother to uncuff Eli. I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t either. He grips Eli’s blond hair and gives it a tug. “Behave.”
“Tonight, I will.”
I expect more taunting, more…something. But the air is charged with a tension that goes beyond hatred. Abel holds Eli’s gaze as he guides his cock into his mouth. I half expect Eli to pull something, but he simply sucks the other man down.
I lay there and watch Abel fuck Eli’s mouth in short, brutal strokes as he holds the back of his head. It’s hot. Really, really hot. Every muscle in Abel’s body stands out in restrained violence, right up until the moment he curses and jerks as he comes down Eli’s throat. “It’s done. You’re mine for the year.” He glances at me. “You’re both mine.”
My eyes feel gritty, and my throat is hot, but I muscle down the response. I can’t show weakness right now. Not to Eli and certainly not to Abel. I won’t give these assholes the satisfaction of knowing that either of them hurt me.
I can’t believe it’s come to this, but I’m nothing if not resilient.
I’ll find my way through.
I always do.
6
Eli
I can still taste Abel on my tongue. Maybe I truly am concussed because I sit there and stare at him as he walks to the dresser and pulls on a pair of jeans. A shirt quickly follows, and then he disappears into the bathroom. When he returns, he’s got his boots back on. He tosses a key onto the bed next to Harlow. “Uncuff him, or don’t. Your choice. Don’t try anything funny.”
And then he’s gone.
It feels like he sucks all of the air out of the room when he leaves. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, how I’m supposed to feel. I’m pissed, but this is a thousand times more complicated than a simple coup. We have too much history, and it bled into every moment of that interaction.
Once upon a time, Abel was the most important person in my life.
I know all too well how love can turn to hate and fester, especially after what he’s experienced, but I didn’t expect to feel anything resembling conflicted.
I didn’t expect to enjoy the sight of him fucking Harlow, even a little.
I sure as hell didn’t expect to like sucking his cock.
I push the confusion away and look at Harlow. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She climbs to her feet and bends over to grab her dress off the floor. She’s got beard burn on her thighs, and her skin is still shining from the sweat of their fucking.
She fucked him right in front of me. She came twice. That’s not simply submitting to the handfasting consummation. She did it out of spite.
I exhale and slump back against the chair. My whole body aches. My face, my mouth, my shoulders. It’s not impeding my ability to breathe, but everything hurts like a motherfucker. “I didn’t realize you meant it when you said you’d never forgive me.”
“I meant it.” The quiet words land between us like bombs. Harlow sinks onto the bed facing me, her expression painfully locked down.
It strikes me that we haven’t been alone like this in a very long time. She’s taken to sleeping in another room, citing our differing schedules as a reason. I let it go at the time. I thought she just needed some time and space because things had gotten so tense between us. The more I tried to hold her close, the more distant she became. Nothing helped, not gifts, not little surprises, not doing the shit that forged our relationship in the first place. Not even sex.
But the days turned into weeks, and before I knew it, a year had passed and her shit started disappearing from the room we once shared. The room that was only mine now.
And I let it happen. It was easier that way. Easier to ignore the growing distance between us. Easier to keep going through the motions of running our faction and keeping the people I care about safe. Always a delicate dance, and now I’ve gone and fucked it all up.
I rattle the cuffs. “Are you going to free me?”
“I’m thinking about it.” She studies the key in her hand. “I told you to let me go, Eli. You should have just done what I asked.”
“I couldn’t let Abel hurt you.”
She narrows her eyes. “I can handle Abel just fine on my own. Something you’d know if you ever bothered to pay attention. He’s a monster, but he’s a monster with a code.”
“You don’t know that.” That might have been true with the Abel I knew eight years ago, the one that I was raised practically alongside, but that was before everything in his life went up in flames. This new version of him is harder, colder, crueler. Like his father. I can’t say I don’t deserve everything coming to me—I do—but I don’t want Harlow to pay the price of my sins. I witnessed what Bauer Paine did to his enemies; I can’t afford to assume Abel won’t do the same.
“It took two conversations to figure it out.”
“I’ll talk to him. Now that it’s consummated, he can let you—”
“Eli.” She shakes her head. “Stop whatever you’re about to say. He’s not going to fuck me, pat me on the ass, and send me on my way. He won me, just like he won you, and it couldn’t be clearer that he intends to keep the faction even after the year is up. He might not technically need both of us to make that happen, but he’s not going to throw away a resource just because it bothers you. If anything, he’ll keep me around to needle you with until the very end.”
She’s got a pretty clear read on the situation, but that doesn’t mean she’s right. “I’ll talk to him,” I repeat.
Harlow lets out a bitter laugh. “Sure. Right. Why listen to me? Do you know what’s going to happen if you keep pushing Abel?” She holds my gaze, her dark eyes hard. “He’s going to take it out on me.”
Fear raises its ugly head. I don’t want to see her harmed. That’s the very last thing I want, the last thing I’ve always wanted. “I won’t let him hurt you.”
“Who said anything about hurt?” She drops the key on the bed and stands. “We gave him the perfect method of punishment tonight, didn’t we? You hate to see his hands on me, and I’m just angry enough to welcome it. How many times of him fucking me in front of you will it take to get the truth through your thick skull?” She glares. “You’ve only ever seen me as a prize to keep safe and display when it suits you. Now he’s stolen that prize, and he’s going to rub your nose in it every chance he gets.”
“Don’t talk about yourself that way.”
“Why not?” I’ve never heard her sound so cold. “It’s the truth, isn’t it?” She walks into the bathroom and shuts the door quietly behind her. A few seconds later, the shower turns on.
I let my head drop and curse hard. I fucked that conversation up, just like I seem to fuck up every conversation Harlow and I have had in the last couple years. No matter what I say or how I say it, I cut her with my careless words. The closer I try to hold her, the farther she slips from me.
If this hadn’t happened, she would have left me within the year, and I still don’t understand why.
“You’re a fucking fool.”
I lift my head. I hadn’t heard the door open, but now Abel leans against it, watching me with a cold expression. He was never so icy when I knew him, but I recognize it all the same. It’s the same face his father presented the world. “Thought you’d be gone for longer.”
“Yeah, well, plans change.” He studies the bathroom door. “I thought I’d have to spend some time bringing her around, but she’s so angry, she’s only too happy to jump on my cock to punish you.”
It takes everything I have not to react to that. I give him a slow smirk. “Are we going to talk about Harlow? Or are we going to talk about the fact that you just fucked my mouth and liked it?” He’s not the only one, but I’d rather die than admit it.
“A means to an end.” He’s still watching the bathroom door with a contemplative look on his face. “You know, I thought you’d make it more difficult for me, but you’ve served your faction up on a silver platter. Your old man must be spinning in his grave.”
More like my father might find a way to come back from the afterlife to gut me for the events of tonight. “He’s dead. What does he care?”
“Mm-hmm.” Abel finally looks at me. He was never soft, but the years away from Sabine Valley have made him look like he’s carved from stone. Like he’s seen shit and made choices no person should have to make. Because of what my father did to his family. Because of events I helped put into motion.
I search his face for the Abel I used to know, even as I recognize it as a hopeless endeavor. My best friend is gone. The man who’s become my enemy is the only one who remains.
“Why not just kill me and be done with it? That’s what you really want, right? Your revenge.”
“All in good time.” He says it so casually. “Where did you find her?”
I don’t like how I can’t seem to distract him from Harlow. No matter what she thinks, you can’t get a good read on a person from two conversations. Even with his absence, I’ve known Abel Paine the majority of my life. He is not a man to be trifled with, and while the man I used to know wouldn’t hurt an innocent, he won’t see Harlow as an innocent. She’s my woman, my other half in public. As far as he’s concerned, she’s in this world up to her eyeballs, and he’ll treat her accordingly. As a threat. Which means there are no protections in place to keep her safe.
Abel: A Sabine Valley Novel Page 4