Abel: A Sabine Valley Novel

by Robert, Katee

  He shoots me a hard look. “Watch yourself, Abel.”

  Fuck, but I like it that his charming facade has cracked. I can’t help but poke at him further. “Nah, I’m good.” I give him a little push, urging him onto the mattress. “Unless you just want to sleep. Seems like a waste with all this potential in bed.”

  He snorts. “You mean with you in bed.”

  “I said what I said.” I focus on Harlow. “What do you say, sweetheart? You willing to let him do a bit of oral groveling?”

  She’s a bit too wide around the eyes, looking as spooked as she did earlier. It’s like now that the worst of her rage has drained away, she’s easily bruised. At least easily bruised by Eli. All I have to do is kindle that angry flame. I give her an arrogant grin. “Though if you’re not in the mood to play, you can just scoot on over, and we’ll have some fun without you.”

  “Fun,” Eli grinds out.

  “Sure. Fun. What else would you call me fucking your ass?”

  He startles and gives me a long look. “Well, when you put it like that, how am I supposed to argue?”

  “Easy answer: you’re not.” I wave at his hips. “Lose the pants, Eli.” While he does that, I round the bed to Harlow. She’s blinking up at me as if she’s never seen me before. Earlier, in the bathroom, the gentleness felt right. It won’t work for this situation. I put one knee on the mattress and lean down to wrap my fist around her long hair, tugging her head back and baring her neck. “I meant what I said before. You change your mind, you let us know.”

  Her breathing picks up, and she licks her lips. “This isn’t going to change anything.”

  “No shit.” I lean down and drag my mouth over the long line of her throat. “But it’ll let loose a little steam. Tomorrow we can go back to being at one another’s throats. What do you say?” I can’t pretend that I’m entirely selfless when it comes to this. Shit with Eli is complicated in the extreme, and I’m not sure what the hell will happen if it’s just the two of us fucking. Blow jobs are one thing. I can maintain some control there. But taking his ass? Having so much of me pressed against so much of him? Even as jaded as I am, I can’t deny that it might shift things. We have too much messy history.

  With Harlow in the mix, it gives us both something to focus on that isn’t each other.

  Her eyes narrow, some of the shocked look bleeding out of them. She reaches up almost tentatively and presses her hand to the center of my chest. “Do you want me to do this?”

  Half a dozen replies spring to mind, every one of them designed to increase the distance between us. I don’t know how she got so close to me, but even if I mean to keep her, vulnerability isn’t on the agenda. I’ve learned what happens when you trust people, and evidence of that is kneeling on the other side of the bed, watching us with a frown on his handsome face. Eli’s betrayal carved my heart out because I cared about him. Because I trusted him. If I give Harlow the same opportunity, will she slice out what’s left?

  I’ll never find out.

  Still, when I finally answer her, it’s the truth that emerges. “Yes.”

  She searches my face and finally nods. “Okay.”

  It strikes me that Harlow trusts me to see us through. That thought might stagger me if I think about it too closely, so I shove it aside. I snap my fingers at Eli. “You know what to do.”

  “You snap your fingers like that again, and I’m going to break them.”

  I grin. “You’re welcome to try.” This is normal. Or, rather, the new normal. Sharp edges and sharper words.

  Instead of answering, he crawls across the bed to Harlow. Without a word, Eli hooks her thighs and drags her down the mattress, settling between her thighs with an ease that speaks of familiarity. He doesn’t say anything to her, doesn’t hesitate, just wedges his hands beneath her ass and lowers his mouth to her pussy. She gasps a little and starts to reach for his head before she seems to catch herself. She fists the sheets on either side of her body as he works her with his tongue, a pretty pink stealing over her skin.

  They look good together. Really fucking good. He’s all long, lean strength, and she’s soft skin and parted lips and a mass of light red hair.

  They look like mine.

  I pull off my pants and drop them onto the floor. There are a thousand ways to play this, but I let instinct guide me. Eli would call that being impulsive, but my impulsiveness has landed both him and Harlow in my bed, so it’s not like that’s a deterrent. I crawl onto the mattress and, after considering my options, I kneel at Harlow’s side and palm her generous breasts together. Her pretty pink nipples look neglected, so I lean down and taste first one and then the other, alternating with licks and sucks and little nips. She moans, and then her fingers are in my hair, holding me to her as Eli eats her pussy.

  She’s all flushed skin and harsh breathing, but he’s just playing around right now, teasing her. He’s not actively trying to make her come. I shift down so that I can skate my hand up the lean line of Eli’s spine. He tenses beneath my touch, but the moment I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, he gives a growl that has me going painfully hard. Fuck, he’s sexy, even if he drives me up a wall when our cocks aren’t involved.

  I keep hold of his neck as I move to stretch out on top of him. We’re nearly the same height, which puts his pert little ass right against my cock while still giving me access to his neck and Harlow’s thighs. I give her a light nip, and she jumps. There’s almost too much sensation, almost too much pleasure, and we’ve barely gotten started.

  She presses herself up onto her elbows and looks down her body at us. I’d pay good money to see it from her perspective, because her eyes go wide, and she bites her bottom lip. It takes her two tries to speak. “Are you going to fuck his ass, Abel?”

  Beneath me, Eli goes perfectly still. I plant my fists on either side of his ribs and leverage up a little, pressing my cock more firmly against his ass. “Do you want me to?” The question is for both of them.

  Harlow nods so fast, her hair flies around her head. “Yes.”

  I give another slow thrust against Eli’s ass. “And you?”

  He lifts his head just enough to turn his face in my direction. “Yes.” A ground-out word, permission to do something I’ve wanted for far longer than I care to admit. This feels different than him sucking my cock. This whole night feels different than anything I’ve done with either of them to date.

  This could change everything.

  I want to take his ass, want it so bad, my hands are shaking, but I’m also not ready for this to end too soon. I bite the sensitive spot where his neck meets his shoulder. “Then earn it.”

  He curses, and then his mouth is back at Harlow’s pussy. There’s no finesse this time. He’s going after her like salvation is on the other side of her orgasm. I snake one hand around and down his stomach to wrap around his cock. He jolts, and then his hips are moving, fucking my hand and grinding back against my cock as he eats Harlow out.

  Fuck, it feels good. Having his whole body available to me. Building each of our pleasure in steady, rolling waves. All of it.

  We don’t need much in the way of words when there’s sex involved. And without words, we have nothing to fight over. The past doesn’t matter. The future is nonexistent. There is only the three of us in this bed. Time stands still until we decide otherwise.

  “On your back.” I barely sound like myself, but that’s okay.

  I slide off Eli, and he wastes no time obeying, rolling onto his back and taking Harlow with him. She lets out a cute little squeal, and then she’s straddling his face. Her surprise flips right back to pleasure as Eli sucks on her clit.

  Playing this slow is the right way to go. Teasing Eli until he’s fucking panting for me, until he can’t think past his need for my cock.

  I can’t do it.

  Every encounter I’ve had with him in the days since Lammas have been tense and filled with things unsaid, things undone. None of that matters right now, not with lust so
thick in the air that I can taste it on my tongue.

  It’s not the only thing I want to taste on my tongue.

  Before I can think too hard about it, I lean down and take Eli’s cock into my mouth. He’s not as girthy as I am, but he’s longer and has a wicked curve. I press my hand to his stomach as I suck him down, enjoying the way his muscles flex beneath my palm as he fights not to arch up into my mouth.

  I explore him with my tongue slowly, forcing myself to go easy instead of sucking him off until he loses control and comes. I want that, want it more than I can say, but I can’t shake the feeling that the moment he does, he’ll find a way to end this.

  I can’t remember the last time I felt anything resembling peace, the last time I set down the burdens that weigh so heavily on my shoulders. Even when I’m in bed with Harlow, focused entirely on her, part of me has always been wondering what bullshit Eli is getting up to.

  They’re both with me tonight. I don’t have to wonder. I don’t have to watch for a knife in the back, not until the sun rises and this strange peace dissipates like the morning dew. Tonight, there’s nothing on the agenda but pleasure and I didn’t expect the sheer relief that knowledge brings.

  I’m not ready for this moment to end.

  With that in mind, I drag myself off his cock. “Get over here, Harlow.”

  She whimpers a little, but I’m not in the mood to argue. I hook her around the waist and lift her off Eli’s face and down to perch astride his hips. “Take his cock.”

  “Abel—”

  I catch her chin in a light grip and drag my thumb over her bottom lip. “Take his cock, and take mine, too.”

  Her breath catches. “I thought you were going to fuck his ass.”

  “I am. I will. But he hasn’t earned it yet.” I hold her gaze and give her a slow smile. “Before I fuck him, we’re going to fuck you. Over and over again until you can’t take any more. Right, Eli?”

  “Right.”

  I skate my hands up her thighs to her hips and look over her shoulder at Eli. “You have lube stashed in here somewhere?”

  His grin is slow and arrogant. “Yes…”

  “She’s going to need it.”

  Harlow’s jaw drops, but she recovers quickly, her expression settling into the familiar challenge that I enjoy so much. She looks at him and then at me. “You think you can outlast me?”

  “Sweetheart, I know we can. Now, where’s the lube?”

  21

  Eli

  Trust Abel to turn this into a competition, to somehow know it’s exactly what the three of us need keep things from spiraling out of control. At least in theory. I feel completely untethered as he wraps a fist around my cock and guides me to Harlow’s entrance. She sinks down slowly. This is nothing like the last time we had sex, with ugliness bubbling up between us and spilling from our tongues.

  Here, there is only pleasure.

  She looks down at me, her hair a tangled mess around her head, her skin flushed from pleasure, her lips parted around each ragged exhale, and it’s almost like all the bad shit doesn’t exist anymore. There’s just us and our love, and things make sense again.

  And then she leans over and takes Abel’s cock into her mouth.

  I wait for the anger I felt last time I watched them together, for the pain and jealousy and rage. There’s a faint pang in my chest, but it’s different. Diffused. Maybe because this feels different. This isn’t us or them. It’s the three of us meeting on a somewhat even playing field. No one’s trying to prove a point, at least not one beyond the fact that we could be good together.

  Can’t afford to think like that.

  Except it’s nearly impossible to resist the siren call of what could be as Harlow starts rocking on my cock, slowly fucking me even as Abel thrusts into her mouth. It’s seamless, and it feels like we’ve been here before, like this isn’t new but merely a continuation of what was.

  Dangerous thoughts. Ideas I should tuck away and forget as quickly as possible. Any future with either of these people is an ask I’m sure as fuck not entitled to.

  But then, I’ve always been a selfish bastard when it comes to what I want. I don’t want to let Harlow go. And, even knowing it’s impossible, part of me still craves a future similar to what Abel and I once dreamed of. Not the same one, not when we’ve both changed so much, but a future where we stand side by side.

  Impossible.

  And yet…

  I arch up and capture one of Harlow’s nipples. I use one hand on her back to hold her to me and slide the other up Abel’s inner thigh to cup his balls. He curses and then gives a rough laugh. “So, it’s like that.”

  I lift my head enough to glance at him. There’s something in Abel’s dark eyes that I can’t define, but it looks a whole lot like possession. There was a time when he looked at everyone he cared about that way, with an emotion that went beyond love. I never thought to have it aimed my way again, and even as my mind tries to reason its way through it, part of me can’t help responding. “It’d be a shame if you came before Harlow did.”

  He gives a rough laugh. “Uh-huh. Since you’re not getting the job done…” Abel moves down to straddle my thighs. I realize what he’s doing a second before he lifts Harlow off my cock and impales her on his.

  She cries out and falls forward, bearing us both back to the mattress. It’s the most natural thing in the world to kiss her; it's something I’ve done a thousand times in the past without thought, but it feels different now. Of course it does. We have so many things that were left unresolved between us for far too long. They might be out in the air now, but I’m fucking terrified that it’s too little, too late. I know better than most that sex isn’t enough to bind Harlow to me, but I’ll be damned if I don’t at least try.

  As Abel fucks Harlow in short, brutal thrusts, I slide my hand between us and stroke her clit. She starts to retreat, but I’m having none of it. This closeness might never happen again, and I’ll be damned before I miss a moment of it. I hook her neck and tow her back to my mouth, kissing her even as she moans and whimpers against my tongue. She clutches at my shoulders, her whole body going tense. I know her signs as well as I know my own, and I keep up that steady, light touch against her clit as Abel pounds into her. Her thighs tighten on either side of my hips, and then Harlow is moaning her way through an orgasm.

  Abel barely lets her finish before he’s moving us again, a conductor of our bodies and pleasure. He ends up leaning against the headboard with her between his legs and leaning against his chest.

  I kneel between her thighs and spread lube over my cock. She just came hard enough that I can see evidence of it all over her thighs, but I meant what I agreed to; we’re going to fuck her over and over again until she can’t take any more.

  And then Abel’s going to fuck my ass.

  I have to pause, to let the thought wash over me and away, or I run the risk of blowing my load the second I penetrate her. It’s been a long time since I had anal. Harlow and I have engaged in some pegging, but it’s more an extra little spice than a regular occurrence. And her dildo is not Abel.

  Fuck, I have to get control of myself.

  Abel’s watching me closely as he palms Harlow’s breasts. He’s playing with her, keeping her riding that edge, touching her body with a familiarity that I crave and resent at the same time. “Problem?”

  “No problem.” I drag my cock through her pussy folds, watching her part around me. The sight does nothing to drive back my desire. Gods, I’m already in trouble, and we’ve barely gotten started. I clench my jaw and press into her.

  Abel takes the opportunity to hook his hands around her thighs and pull them up and out until her feet touch down on either side of his knees. The position allows me to sink even deeper into her, and she whimpers in a way that tells me I’m rubbing against her G-spot with every stroke.

  He presses three fingers to her pussy above where I enter her. Not stroking her clit so much as providing the tiniest bit of frictio
n as I fuck her. The tips of his fingers brush my cock with every stroke, the light touch nearly sending me out of my mind with need.

  How many years did I fantasize about Abel’s hands on my body? How many partners did I have while we were still friends? People who were great but simply not him?

  Harlow is the first person I was with who didn’t come with that baggage. I was never thinking about him when I was with her, because she’s overwhelming in a completely different way.

  It’s as if eight years of missing him, decades of wanting him, all of that time spent not having him, roll into this moment.

  Even as I try to hold back, it feels like the most natural thing in the world to press my body to Harlow’s, to lift my chin until my mouth is even with Abel’s. We share a breath, a harsh exhale as I drive into her, and then his mouth is on mine.

  Abel kisses me like he owns me. Like he has just as much pent-up, thwarted desire as I do. He keeps strumming Harlow’s clit, and I keep fucking her, but he laces his free hand through my hair, keeping my mouth to his.

  Her cries escalate, reaching a pinnacle well before I’m ready to break the kiss. Harlow digs her nails into my ass as she comes around my cock. I try to hold out, to resist the feeling of her pussy clamping around me, but it’s too good. I curse against Abel’s tongue, and then I’m following her over the edge, pumping into her and filling her with my come.

  Finally, a small eternity later, Abel leverages my face away from his. He’s grinning in the low light. “That’s a good start.”

  Harlow curses, but I don’t have to look at her to hear the smile in her voice. That strange feeling in my chest gets stronger as I ease out of her, and Abel makes an impatient motion for the bottle of lube I dropped near his feet. I raise my brows but retrieve it. A few seconds later, he’s lowering Harlow onto his cock.

  She makes a keening noise. “Not even a little break?”

  “You can take it. Can’t you, sweetheart?”

  She whimpers but finally nods. “Yeah. I can take it.”

  I kneel between their spread thighs and watch Abel fuck her. Or, rather, watch him use a grip on her thighs to lift and lower her on his length. The sight of his thick cock spreading her pussy has my cock giving an answering twitch. It’ll take me longer than this to recover, but hell if my body isn’t doing its damnedest to make a liar out of me.