Sensations and scents and tastes whirled into a maddening tornado, twisting inside her, pushing her to the edge of the abyss. Reid sucked her clit into his mouth and dragged his teeth lightly over it. Oh, God. A piercing scream ripped from her throat and poured into Jace’s kiss, her orgasm shattering her into a million different shards of glittering pleasure.
The men continued pushing her, ratcheting up her volume, until she wondered if the people outside the building could hear her. Then, as if sensing she couldn’t take another second, both eased back, giving her a chance to drift back to earth.
After her breathing calmed, her body sagged into the couch, sweat glazing every inch of her. Reid slipped her legs off his shoulders and replaced Jace at his side. He brushed the damp hair off her forehead and her lids fluttered closed. “Beautiful, sugar. Take a minute to relax. We’re not done with you yet.”
Her eyes blinked open, and he smiled as he took her hand and put it on the impressive erection straining against his pants. “You still have two very hard cocks to take care of.”
She ran her hand along the length of him, all brain activity numbed by the afterglow of her rocking orgasm. “Looking forward to it, sir.”
He bent down and kissed her tenderly, catching her off guard. “That’s my girl.”
His girl. The words sent a jagged slice through her chest, ripping through the stitches of the old wound. She turned her head before he could see the stupid tears that jumped to her eyes.
FOURTEEN
then
Brynn slipped off her shoes before she pushed through the front door so she wouldn’t wake her sister or her mother with the click clacking of her heels. But when she stepped inside, she was surprised to see the light of the television flickering on the walls of the living room, and her mother lying on the couch awake.
Brynn glanced at the time on the VCR—2:21 a.m. Usually her mother went to bed early on her nights off. “Hey, what are you still doing up?”
Her mom sat up, pulling the afghan she had draped over her legs around her. With her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail and no makeup on, she looked younger than her thirty-eight years—pretty, even with the world-weary lines around her mouth and eyes. She nodded in Brynn’s direction. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I had a date.”
Her mother eyed her outfit, her gaze shrewd enough that Brynn knew she hadn’t been drinking tonight. “Where’d you get that dress?”
She and Reid had gone to a restaurant outside of town, and he had surprised her with a new dress for the occasion. Brynn set her shoes by the door, wishing she had come through the back instead of the front. “It was a gift.”
Her mother’s shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. “Baby, you’re treading in dangerous territory.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I saw that boy you’ve been going out with. Saw his clothes, that brand-new truck he’s driving. And I can tell you that dress cost at least a few hundred dollars.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and dropped onto the love seat. “So.”
“So, I’ve been down that path. Handsome guy. Lots of money. Makes you feel like a princess. It’s hard to resist. But relationships with boys like that are bad news.”
Anger began to percolate in her belly. “You don’t know anything about him.”
“I know his type. And his type only dates girls like you for one reason. They use you and then when they get bored, they leave and go marry a girl who’s a member of their country club.”
“Mom, with all due respect, you’re the one who lets guys use you for sex. Not me.”
Instead of the angry retort she expected, sadness crossed her mother’s tired face. “You’re right. I’ve made more mistakes than I can count. I never meant for my life, your lives, to be this way. But sometimes once you start rolling down a hill, you find there’s no way back up it.”
Brynn looked down at her hands, unable to bear the tears gathering in her mother’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“It’s okay,” she said, her voice soft. “I’ve earned it. But I’ve also learned a lot along the way, and I love you too much to watch you follow the same path. You’re too smart and good-hearted to let some guy take advantage of you. Go to school. Get a job that allows you to support yourself without any help from anyone. Then, worry about falling in love.”
“I’m not in love,” she said, maybe a bit too quickly.
Her mother nodded, though the knowing look in her eye said she didn’t buy it. “Just be careful, baby.”
“I will. I promise,” she said, even though her mother had it all wrong. Reid wasn’t one of those guys. He’d proven over and over how much her cared about her and wanted to be with her. She climbed off the love seat and headed toward her bedroom, but paused before she left the room. “Mom?”
“Hmm?” she asked, her gaze lifting from the TV.