Divine Charity (5 page)

Val felt like hell, sitting next to his cousin, Ransome, at the bar in the Dancing Pony. Charity, Grace, and a number of their friends had arrived twenty minutes before. After greeting him and Ransome, she’d taken a seat with her friends and now they were all moving toward the dance floor as “I’m The Only One” by Melissa Etheridge began to play. One of the girls had to have special requested that from the DJ because he hadn’t heard that song in forever.

Ransome let out a soft groan from beside him and Val realized he wasn’t the only one suffering as he watched Charity move in the reflection of the mirror behind the bar. Val couldn’t take his gaze from her curvy hips as she swung them to the driving beat of the song. He imagined sliding his hands beneath the waistband of her skirt and how warm her lush ass would be in his hands. Twenty plus years and two kids later, she was even more vibrant than when they’d fallen in love with her in high school.

“Damn.” He groaned as she swung her ass around, and his cock hardened despite his best efforts to forestall the reaction. He noticed that other men in the club were watching her as well. Charity could take care of herself but territoriality still reared its head.

Charity laughed at something Rachel said and slid her fingertips up her torso as she turned so he could see her sexy body in profile, her hands sliding into her long, wavy blonde hair. The move tilted her full breasts up and Val took a sip of his beer to wash down the saliva pooling in his mouth, wishing his could lick those curves and feel her nipples against his tongue. His cock became rock-hard just thinking about it.

Ransome shifted in his seat next to him and groaned before he whispered, “I can’t look away. All I can think about is the way she sounded this morning.”

They’d arrived at Justin and Charity’s house during the night, after finishing clearing out their apartment in Houston. They could’ve spent a final night there since the rent was paid up through the end of the month, but the last of their furnishings had been picked up by a local charity organization earlier in the day, and neither had relished the thought of sleeping on the floor, nor had they wanted to get a hotel room.

They’d come to an easy decision, knowing how each other already felt, gotten on their Harleys, pointed them west, and driven through the night. The sooner they got to Divine, the better. He’d felt even more strongly about that when they’d pulled up and seen the remnants of a good old-fashioned toilet papering hanging in the trees and a few scattered egg shells in the grass. Something was evidently going on with the kids.

They’d been quiet when they’d entered the dark house, using one of the keys Justin and Charity had given them years before, and crashed on the comfy couches in the living room. Val had looked forward to surprising them, and their kids, when they got up the following morning.

They’d been awakened in the predawn hours by the sounds of passion coming from the master bedroom just down the hallway. Val had quickly surmised the kids weren’t home that weekend because Charity and Justin had left their bedroom door open, which meant they could hear pretty much everything.

Ransome had rolled over on the couch and made eye contact with him before putting his forearm over his eyes. Morning sex between Justin and Charity was energetic judging by Justin’s growling commands and Charity’s teasing noncompliance. She’d mewed and panted as the sound of their bodies pounding together had grown in volume, punctuated with the sound of Justin’s hand impacting with what Val could only guess was her ass. Because listening wasn’t painful enough all on its own, he’d also been able to imagine their exact positioning, with Justin fucking her from behind while he laid more smacks on her ass.

Val had grown painfully hard as her cries increased in volume. Justin had given her what she needed and she’d come with an enraptured-sounding whimper. Both men had lain frozen on the couches when Charity had quietly padded to the bathroom, oblivious to their presence. A little while later she passed within their sight again, her nude curves catching the silvery moonlight as she returned to the bedroom. The bed creaked slightly as she climbed back in and the soft sounds of their voices widened the empty feeling in Val’s chest as he listened to their relaxed, unintelligible cadence.

Charity had laughed and then Justin had strolled out, through the living room as though headed to the kitchen, still naked. He’d paused when he saw them, and probably the hard-ons they were both sporting. He’d had the audacity to grin, like them being there and hearing all that was okay.

“Looks like our house guests got here a little early, babe,” Justin called as he continued on into the kitchen.

“Oh crap!” Charity blurted and then after a few endless seconds of silence she began to giggle. “Sorry, guys!”

Val growled and murmured, “Didn’t sound sorry five minutes ago.”

Justin chuckled from the kitchen, “I heard that. And no, she didn’t sound sorry at all, did she? Want some coffee?”

She’d dressed and joined them a few minutes later, her cheeks glowing but she was obviously happy to see them as she gave them hugs.

Pulling him back to the present in the Dancing Pony, Ransome said, “It blows me away how easy Grace makes being in a ménage look. It’s been a long time and things have changed. He didn’t seem all that upset that we were listening to them make love. We could talk to Justin…”

Val knew what Ransome was thinking by the way his words trailed off. “Lucy Owen also made it look easy but you saw how territorial Patrick and Beck were at the ROT Rally and you remember what Justin was like way back when we were in high school.” He recalled again the fistfight and the harsh, decisive tone of Justin’s words that day all those years ago.
She’s mine. I don’t share.

“I know.”

After taking another sip of his beer, Val said, “I’m not opposed to the idea. I’m just not willing to risk what we have. At least this way we get to see her and Justin, and the kids. I don’t want to fuck that up.”

“But the rally—”

“I know the ROT Rally gave you hope, man. It gave me hope, too. But they have kids and a life. We’ve changed and so has she. It’d be humiliating to find out that she never felt that way about us to begin with.”

Ransome shook his head. “No man. You saw the hurt in her eyes when we came to blows with Justin back in high school but there was something else there. She wasn’t just surprised. And she was really into us being there at the rally last year, watching, while she and Justin went at it. It made her hot.”

“She has a thing for public exhibition but that doesn’t necessarily mean she’d be interested in carrying it further. That may be why Justin wasn’t pissed about us being there this morning. He knew she’d enjoy knowing they’d been overheard. That was about Justin giving her what she needs. Remember what Justin told Beck, after his monumental fuckup over the body painting? Any man there could look at her, but only he gets to touch Charity. He said he’s the one she shares her soul with. That did
not
sound like an opener for a ménage discussion to me.”

He could shoot Ransome’s suggestion down all day but the truth was that he’d never met another woman like Charity. He didn’t want another woman. He wanted her. He flicked a glance up into the mirror and made eye contact with Charity in the reflection, and his heart sank a little further.

* * * *

Grace leaned toward Charity as the conversation between Lily Cook, Rachel Wolf, and Jayne Carter continued while Lydia Carlisle and Maya Warner made a trip to the ladies’ room. She nudged Charity and said, “They haven’t taken their eyes off of you practically since we got here.”

Charity averted her gaze from the two men she hadn’t even realized she was openly staring at across the night club. “What? Who?”

Grace snorted and rolled her eyes. “Okay, I may be the innocent, oblivious sister but even I noticed the way they were watching you while we danced.”

Charity shrugged, wishing away the heat creeping into her cheeks. “They were just watching over us, same as the rest of the guys do, sis.”

Grace gave her a sad smile and let out a deep breath as she sat back in her chair, absently stroking her palm over the tiny bulge at her middle. She’d blossomed right along with the spring, but Charity knew she was tired. It’d been a stretch for her to come out that evening. Grace peered at her and bit her lip before saying, “I want to remind you of a conversation you and I had a few years ago.”

“You can remember our conversations from that far back?”

“Life-changing ones, yes,” Grace responded with a nod. “Remember the night you met my guys for the first time?”

Charity grinned. “Yes. I was so disappointed that I didn’t have a front-row seat for Owen’s beatdown after he hit you in the face. I also vaguely remember you trying to climb Adam like a tree the first time you kissed him.”

Grace gaped and then laughter burst from her until she hiccupped. “In my defense, he was hot. Still is. Anyway, that’s not what I was trying to remind you of. You asked me how I felt about the three of them.”

Charity nodded. “And you told me that you cared for all three but you could never choose.” Charity remembered vividly because she didn’t want Grace to miss out on the chance the way she had. She’d never regretted her relationship with Justin but she was sometimes a little envious of what Grace had, thanks to the fact her men were able to share.

“I could barely even voice that out loud. But you pushed me to talk about it. Get it out in the open. You said it would be crazy to miss out on a chance to be happy just because what made me happy didn’t fit into a nice neat mold like the world says it should. You told me sometimes you have to take the opportunities life gives you and enjoy the love that finds you even when it’s a little unorthodox.”

“Pretty impressive memory, sis.”

Grace laid a gentle hand on her arm. “I remember because you were right. You said it would be sad if the guys never knew I loved them or they never took the chance to tell me themselves.”

Charity chuckled, remembering her slight duplicity that night, speaking those words to Grace but intending them for Jack, Ethan, and Adam who sat right outside an open kitchen window. They’d heard nearly every word that was spoken but they’d been afraid to make a move for fear of alerting Grace and embarrassing her.

Grace said, “And it worked out for me.”

Charity recalled the certainty she’d felt once she’d realized the guys could hear what they were talking about. She knew Grace was so shy, she’d never tell the men who’d obviously adored her, how she felt on her own. And who knew how long the three of them would take to clue her in, if ever. Yeah, she’d been meddling a bit but it’d all turned out well for Grace and the guys. Better than all right. Grace was the picture of happiness if one overlooked the pregnancy-induced exhaustion and lingering nausea.

Grace sipped her ginger ale and said, “What I recall best was your reply when I told you that I hadn’t acted on the attraction because there was no way I could choose one over the others. Remember?”

“I said a lot of stuff. We consumed a bottle of sangria during that conversation if I remember correctly,” she fibbed, remembering her exact words.

“You said, ‘I’d be on them like white on rice, any way they wanted me.’”

Charity sighed. “But I also remember telling you that they’d have me eating out of their hands
if I wasn’t married with a family
. Sis, I know where you’re going with this but I’m married. I’m the mom of nearly grown kids. Look at those guys. They’re virile, in their prime. They’ve already been approached by a couple of women just since we got here. Why would they want a woman fast approaching middle age?”

Rachel snorted with laughter and then butted in. “Middle age?
You
, Charity? What a crock of horseshit. There isn’t a hotter woman in here.
You’re
in your sexual prime and they’d have to start working out”—she shot a glance at the guys—“or working out
harder
just to keep up with your sexy ass. Please
do not
say shit like that and not expect to be called on it.”

Jayne snickered and said, “Rachel sounded a whole lot like
you
for a second there, cuz, but she’s right. Nobody would ever guess you had two practically grown kids. Look at you. You take good care of yourself and
you’re hot
. What are y’all talking about?” she added, presumably as an afterthought, and hiccupped as she licked at the salt on the rim of her nearly empty margarita glass.

Rachel said, “We were doing our best to not observe the way Val and Ransome have been eye-fucking Charity from across the room in the mirror. And we butted in on Grace and Charity’s mostly private conversation about how she secretly has the hots for those two badasses and wants to get naked with them and Justin.”

Jayne choked on her drink and Charity was sure Grace was about to fall out of her chair, she was laughing so hard.

“Who wants to get naked with Justin?” Maya asked as she and Lydia returned from the ladies’ room.

Lydia’s eyes got big and she scanned the room and then glared across the club. “Is it that blonde gold digger in the corner? I wouldn’t put it past her. I still want to kick her ass every time I see her.”