Asher
“Turn it off! Oh my God, please turn it off!” Samantha’s slender frame whips around the corner of a Cattle feeder display, bolting directly to Liam and I.
Her face is rosy and flush, and I get a little stiff thinking about Liam and I being the ones to give her that pleasure so publicly.
“How many orgasms would you say you just had?”
“I’m serious!”
“But we were having so much fun,” Liam whines.
He’s cute in ways I’ve never noticed.
“Maybe not as much as you are though.”
Liam removes his hand from the remote.
“Is something wrong?” I ask. “Are you okay?”
“It’s my dad,” Samantha’s breathing steadies but her sense of urgency never waivers. “I just saw him. I guess he was in the mood to chat and… I think he knows something’s up.”
Liam tenses beside me.
“How can you tell?” Liam asks.
“He said I was an embarrassment to the Laurier name and that I needed to get my act together.”
Samantha’s eyes are glossy now.
“He told me he will do anything to stop this, stop us, stop whatever’s going on... I know my father. You both know my father. He’s good on his word.He will doanythingto get back at us if he finds out-”
“Samantha,” I say, staring deep into her baby blues.
I don’t even want to give her worries a chance to push tears out of those gorgeous eyes. I grab her hand, tight, so she knows I mean what I’m saying.
“It’s time we end this. Your father has no right to do the things he’s doing. You are a grown woman, and you’re strong. Stronger than he is. This manipulation has gone too far. Sam, are you hearing me?”
The fair fades around us.
It’s just the three of us. Samantha, Liam, and me.
Liam jumps in, resting a hand on both Samantha and I.
“It’sdamntime for him to stop controlling you,” says Liam.
She releases a hot breath as a single tear streams down her cheek. She’s nodding like her head might fall off her neck.
“There’s something I need to tell you both.”
“What is it?” says Liam.
“I’ve been keeping it in for so long, I swear I almost mademyselfforget,” Sam's chuckle doesn’t feel light, but she’s wearing a dangerous smile.
“You can tell us anything,”
Liam and I can both see how tired Samantha is. She’s tired of lying for her father. Tired of covering up. Tired of keeping dirty little secrets.
“It’s about his ranch… Hestoleit.”